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B raving cold, farmers protesting at Delhi’s Singhu border against the Centre’s agriculture reform laws on Wednesday asked the Central Government to call a special session of Parliament to repeal new agriculture laws and threatened to block other roads of the national Capital if their demands are not met. Addressing a press con- ference, Krantikari Kisan Union president Darshan Pal accused the Centre of dividing farmers’ organisations by pro- jecting the ongoing protests as Punjab-centric. “The Centre should call a special session of Parliament to repeal new three farm laws. We will continue our agitation till these farm laws are repealed,” Pal told reporters. Meanwhile, the protest at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh bor- der in Ghazipur intensified, leading to the closure of a key route connecting the national Capital with Uttar Pradesh. At the Chilla Border, which con- nects Delhi with Noida, more farmers from Firozabad, Meerut, Noida and Etawah started gathering, prompting the authorities to close the key road stretch for the second consecutive day. Representatives of farmers’ organisations from other parts of the country will also be involved under Kisan Samyukt Morcha to decide the future course of action against the new farm laws, Pal said.The Krantikari Kisan Union pres- ident said representatives of farmer organisations will give their point-wise objections to the Union Ministers at a meet- ing scheduled for Thursday. Another farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chadoni said that if Centre does not with- draw the laws, more steps will be taken in the coming days to press their demands. Before the Press confer- ence, leaders of around 32 farmer organisations held a meeting which was also attend- ed by Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait at the Singhu border.The talks between the Centre and agi- tating farmer unions on Tuesday failed to end the standoff, and the two sides will now meet again on December 3. The farmer unions reject- ed the Government’s offer to set up a committee to look into issues raised by them and said they will intensify their stir until their demands are met. Farmers from the neigh- bouring States of Punjab and Haryana have been camping at five border points of Delhi for a week now. The number of protesters swelled at Delhi border points on Wednesday. Police stepped up security after thousands blocked key gate- ways into the national Capital. As farmers are in for long haul at Noida-Delhi border, Chilla route was partially re- opened on Wednesday. The Noida Traffic Police in the morning advised com- muters heading to Delhi to take the DND or Kalindi Kunj route instead of the Chilla route through the Noida Link road which was closed due to the demonstration since Tuesday evening.One of the carriageways on the route was opened in the evening, allow- ing commuters coming from Delhi to enter Noida as the protestors continued to sit on the other side of the road amid heavy police deploy- ment. The Delhi Traffic Police said beside the Tikri and Singhu borders, the Jharoda and Jhatikra borders have been closed for all kinds of “traffic movement”. The Badusarai border is open only for two- wheelers. Available open bor- ders to Haryana are Dhansa, Daurala, Kapashera, Rajokri NH 8, Bijwasan/Bajghera, Palam Vihar and Dundahera. C oming forward in support of agitating farmers, transporters have threatened to halt operations in northern India from December 8 if the Government fails to address concerns of the farming com- munity. The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), representing about 95 lakh truckers, about 50 lakh bus and taxi operators on Wednesday served an ulti- matum to the Centre.“The AIMTC has already extended its support to the farmer agi- tation from day one. We have decided on stopping our operations strategically start- ing from north India and if the Government does not address the issue of the farm- ers. Then we may decide to go for shutting down of transport operations nationwide in their support,” AIMTC president Kultaran Singh Atwal said. He said the road transport fraternity of the country has extended its full support to farmers who are “ann daata” (food providers). T he Supreme Court direct- ed the Centre on Wednesday to install CCTV cameras and recording equip- ment at the offices of investi- gating agencies, including the CBI, the ED and National Investigation Agency (NIA), which conduct interrogations and have the power of arrest. A bench headed by Justice RF Nariman said that states and Union Territories (UTs) should ensure that CCTV cameras are installed at each and every police station, at all entry and exit points, main gate, lock-ups, corridors, lobby and reception as also areas out- side the lock-up rooms so that no part is left uncovered. The apex court had in 2018 ordered installation of CCTV cameras in police sta- tions to check human rights abuses. It said further that the CCTV systems must be equipped with night vision and have audio as well as video footage and it shall be mandatory for the Centre, states and UTs to purchase such systems which allow stor- age of data for maximum peri- od possible, at least one year. “In addition, the Union of India is also directed to install CCTV cameras and recording equipment in the offices of: Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate, Narcotics Control Bureau, Department of Revenue Intelligence, Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), any other agency which carries out interrogations and has the power of arrest,” said the bench, also comprising Justices KM Joseph and Aniruddha Bose. “As most of these agencies carry out interrogation in their office(s), CCTVs shall be com- pulsorily installed in all offices where such interrogation and holding of accused takes place in the same manner as it would in a police station,” the bench said in its order. The top court said that in September this year, it had impleaded all the States and UTs in the matter to find out the exact position of CCTV cameras in each police station as well as constitution of Oversight Committees in accordance with the April 3, 2018 order. A mid standoff with India along the LAC, China increased its rice purchase from India for the first time in at least three decades, placing order for shipment of about 5,000 tonnes of broken rice in the last two months. Broken rice is used in making noodles and in the wine industry. India is the world’s biggest exporter of rice and China is the biggest importer. According to the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA), China has started importing Indian rice after a gap of two years and placed orders for shipment of about 5,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice as it is the cheapest in the world rice market. Indian traders have con- tracted to export 100,000 tonnes of broken rice for December-February shipment at around $300-320 per tonne. Other grades such as white rice 25 per cent broken and 5 per cent are ruling between $330 (24,600) and $360 (26,800) a tonne free-on-board. China, the world’s largest producer and importer of rice, used to place restriction on imports from India via various means. In 2006, China was given market access for Indian rice, but shipment took place only during the 2017-18 fiscal. Beijing imports around 4 million tonnes of rice annual- ly but avoided purchases from India, citing quality issues. China’s traditional suppliers, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Pakistan, have limited surplus supplies for export and were quoted at least $30-60 per tonne more compared with Indian prices. Indian rice exports for the January-October period of the current calendar year have already exceeded the ship- ments for the whole of last year. Over six million tonnes have been exported during January- October against 5.1 million tonnes in the entire 2019. Countries like Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone in West Africa, who are tradition- al buyers of non-basmati rice from India, increased their pur- chases during the pandemic. B ritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson is likely to be the chief guest for the Republic Day function next year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi invit- ed him for the national event during his telephonic talks recently. It will be the first high-pro- file visit by a foreign dignitary to India during the ongoing global pandemic. While India and the UK are yet to officially announce the visit, reports on Wednesday here indicated that Modi invit- ed Johnson during his talks on November 27. The British Prime Minister invited Modi to the G-7 summit there next year. If the visit materialises, Johnson will be the first United Kingdom Prime Minister to be the chief guest of the Republic Day parade after more than 25 years. The last British Prime Minister to be the chief guest was John Major in 1993. Besides the invitations, the two leaders discussed the fight against the coronavirus pan- demic, climate change, and other related issues. “The leaders reiterated their shared desire to impart a quantum jump to the India-UK partnership in the post-Covid, post-BREXIT era, and agreed that there was tremendous potential for enhancing col- laboration in trade and invest- ment, scientific research, mobility of professionals and students, and defence and secu- rity,” an official said. In November, acting British High Commissioner to India Jan Thompson had said Johnson will soon make an “in person” visit to India. She said, “We are expecting UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will be paying an in-person visit to India in the next few months. Beyond that, PM Boris Johnson is very keen to come to India. So we hope, over the next few months, we will visit, by both FS Raab and PM Johnson.” In a tweet message after the talks, Modi had said, “Had an excellent discussion with my friend, UK PM @BorisJohnson on an ambitious roadmap for India-UK ties in the next decade. We agreed to work towards a quantum leap in our cooper- ation in all areas -- trade & investment, defence & securi- ty, climate change, and fighting Covid-19.” A total of 480 new Covid-19 cases were reported from 28 districts and State pool. With this, State’s total caseload increased to 3,19,583.Of the new cases, 276 were reported from quarantine and 204 were local contacts. Khordha district recorded the day’s highest 51 cases fol- lowed by Angul 41, Mayurbhanj 36, Cuttack 35, Puri 31, Bargarh 30, Kalahandi 28, Baleswar 19, Kendrapada 17, Jharsuguda 16, Sambalpur and Nuapada 14 each, Keonjhar 13, Kandhamal 11, Koraput 10, Malkangiri 8, Jajpur and Balangir seven each, Nabarangpur six, Nayagarh four, Deogarh 3 and Bhadrak two. B hubaneswar on Wednesday registered 24 new Covid-19 positive cases, pushing the total tally to 30,802. The new cases included 14 local contacts and 10 quarantine cases. Meanwhile, 42 more per- sons recovered from the disease on the day, increasing the total recoveries to 30,164. In Cuttack, 23 new positive cases were detected, increasing the total tally to 15,893. The new cases included 10 local contacts, seven home quarantine and six institution- al quarantine cases. T he State Government on Wednesday reiterated that it has no statutory provision to fix a mechanism regarding the quantum of fees to be collect- ed from the students of the pri- vate unaided schools. In a fresh affidavit in the High Court in the context of the ongoing stalemate over collection of school fees by the private schools for the lock- down period, the Government mentioned that even the pro- visions of Odisha Education Act of 1969 are also silent on the issue. Surprised over such a con- fession made by the Government, the High Court asked the Advocate General to get instructions as to how there is no such law in Odisha as prevalent in other States like Punjab and Delhi. The HC fixed Monday for the next hearing. Private educational institutions are granted per- mission and recognition under the Odisha Education Act. There is no such provision under the Act or Rules fixing a mechanism regarding quan- tum of fees collected by the pri- vate unaided schools affiliated to the Board of Secondary Education and imparting instructions in Odia medium, the affidavit said. The affidavit further reit- erated that an MoU has been signed by all stakeholders and urged the court to accept it and pass an appropriate order. “This will help the parents whose incomes have been adversely affected,” the affidavit added. T he Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the State Government for probing into the abduction and murder of five-year-old girl Pari in Nayagarh district interrogated accused Babuli Nayak on Wednesday. The team led by IPS offi- cer Arun Bothra questioned Nayak at the Nayagarh Town police station for more than two hours from 11 am to 1.30 pm. The SIT also held discus- sions with district the police officials, who were earlier involved in investigation of the case. The team has already visited Pari’s village Jadupur and made queries from her parents. T he Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Vigilance police would take arrested and suspended IFS officer Abhay Kant Pathak on remand for three days from Thursday. The anti-corruption agency had on Wednesday prayed before the Special Vigilance Court, Bhubaneswar for a three-day remand of Pathak, who has been arrested by the Vigilance for alleged possession of disproportionate assets worth several crores. During the remand period, the investigators are likely to question him regarding the sources of the disproportionate assets and unearth the involve- ment of others in the offence. The Vigilance has formed a 20-member SIT for investi- gation of the case. Pathak was found in possession of dispro- portionate assets of Rs 9.35 crore beyond his known sources of income (435% of total income from all known sources), which he could not account for satisfactorily. This apart, the Vigilance officials have detected deposits of Rs 14.77 crore in the bank accounts of his son Akash Kumar Pathak. A Vigilance Press release on Wednesday said there is prima facie indi- cation of tax evasion on the part of Pathak. There is also suspicion of benami transac- tions and properties. As such, the Vigilance has referred the matter to the Income Tax Department for investigation. Similarly, in view of suspi- cion of money laundering activities, the matter has also been referred to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for investigation. Besides, three officials of the concerned pri- vate banks, where such huge deposits have been made, are being examined by the SIT. T he State Government on Wednesday asked the dis- trict administrations not to put up posters outside the houses of Covid positive patients who are under home isolation. In a letter, the Health and Family Welfare Department directed the district Collectors, Municipal Commissioners and Medical Officers to discontin- ue pasting posters in front of the house of Covid-affected with immediate effect. Mentioning that the num- ber of Covid positive cases is declining steadily across the State, the letter read, “It is now felt that identification of the houses of Covid-19 patients under home isolation by past- ing posters outside their hous- es is not a requirement any- more.”The State Government’s decision came a day after the Supreme Court observed that Covid-19 notices pasted out- side residences of patients lead to their considerations as “untouchables” by others. The apex court said that the ground reality is such that once such notices are pasted outside Covid-19 patients’ houses, oth- ers began to treat them as untouchables. Representing the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated before the apex court that the Union Government has not given any directions to paste Covid warning notices outside infected persons’ hous- es. “The States may have decid- ed to do it,” Mehta said. The SC was hearing a plea against the decision of States and Union Territories to affix posters/notices outside resi- dences of Covid-19 patients staying in home isolation. T he State Government on Wednesday launched a sin- gle emergency helpline number ‘112’ to provide all kinds of assis- tance by the police to the pub- lic. With this, people will no more need to dial different numbers like 100, 101, 102, 104, 108, 181 and 1098 for emergency services of police, ambulance, fire brigade and women helpline. The single helpline number ‘112’, which will function soon, will provide all the emergency assistances by the police department. Besides, the Government also approved creation of 1,098 posts in the police department to ensuer fast services to the peo- ple through this unified number. Four DSPs, 151 Sub-Inspectors, 203 Assistant Sub-Inspectors and 740 Constables will provide the ‘112’ emergency services. Besides , 198 Call Taker Executives will be outsourced and 236 vehicles will be deployed for the purpose. The unified emergency helpline would help police pro- vide better services more effi- ciently to the general public and strengthen the people’s faith in the system, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the occasion.
12

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Braving cold, farmersprotesting at Delhi’s Singhu

border against the Centre’sagriculture reform laws onWednesday asked the CentralGovernment to call a specialsession of Parliament to repealnew agriculture laws andthreatened to block other roadsof the national Capital if theirdemands are not met.

Addressing a press con-ference, Krantikari KisanUnion president Darshan Palaccused the Centre of dividingfarmers’ organisations by pro-jecting the ongoing protests asPunjab-centric. “The Centreshould call a special session ofParliament to repeal new threefarm laws. We will continueour agitation till these farmlaws are repealed,” Pal toldreporters.

Meanwhile, the protest atthe Delhi-Uttar Pradesh bor-der in Ghazipur intensified,leading to the closure of a keyroute connecting the nationalCapital with Uttar Pradesh. Atthe Chilla Border, which con-nects Delhi with Noida, morefarmers from Firozabad,Meerut, Noida and Etawahstarted gathering, promptingthe authorities to close the keyroad stretch for the secondconsecutive day.

Representatives of farmers’organisations from other partsof the country will also beinvolved under Kisan SamyuktMorcha to decide the futurecourse of action against thenew farm laws, Pal said.The

Krantikari Kisan Union pres-ident said representatives offarmer organisations will givetheir point-wise objections tothe Union Ministers at a meet-ing scheduled for Thursday.

Another farmer leaderGurnam Singh Chadoni saidthat if Centre does not with-draw the laws, more steps willbe taken in the coming days topress their demands.

Before the Press confer-ence, leaders of around 32farmer organisations held ameeting which was also attend-ed by Bhartiya Kisan Unionleader Rakesh Tikait at theSinghu border.The talksbetween the Centre and agi-

tating farmer unions onTuesday failed to end thestandoff, and the two sides willnow meet again on December3.

The farmer unions reject-ed the Government’s offer toset up a committee to look intoissues raised by them and saidthey will intensify their stiruntil their demands are met.

Farmers from the neigh-bouring States of Punjab andHaryana have been camping atfive border points of Delhi fora week now. The number ofprotesters swelled at Delhiborder points on Wednesday.Police stepped up security afterthousands blocked key gate-

ways into the national Capital. As farmers are in for long

haul at Noida-Delhi border,Chilla route was partially re-opened on Wednesday.

The Noida Traffic Police inthe morning advised com-muters heading to Delhi totake the DND or Kalindi Kunjroute instead of the Chillaroute through the Noida Linkroad which was closed due tothe demonstration sinceTuesday evening.One of thecarriageways on the route wasopened in the evening, allow-ing commuters coming from

Delhi to enter Noida as theprotestors continued to sit onthe other side of the roadamid heavy police deploy-ment.

The Delhi Traffic Policesaid beside the Tikri andSinghu borders, the Jharodaand Jhatikra borders have beenclosed for all kinds of “trafficmovement”. The Badusaraiborder is open only for two-wheelers. Available open bor-ders to Haryana are Dhansa,Daurala, Kapashera, RajokriNH 8, Bijwasan/Bajghera,Palam Vihar and Dundahera.

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Coming forward in supportof agitating farmers,

transporters have threatenedto halt operations in northernIndia from December 8 if theGovernment fails to addressconcerns of the farming com-munity.

The All India MotorTransport Congress(AIMTC), representing about95 lakh truckers, about 50lakh bus and taxi operators onWednesday served an ulti-matum to the Centre.“TheAIMTC has already extended

its support to the farmer agi-tation from day one. We havedecided on stopping ouroperations strategically start-ing from north India and ifthe Government does notaddress the issue of the farm-ers.

Then we may decide to gofor shutting down of transportoperations nationwide in theirsupport,” AIMTC presidentKultaran Singh Atwal said.

He said the road transportfraternity of the country hasextended its full support tofarmers who are “ann daata”(food providers).

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The Supreme Court direct-ed the Centre on

Wednesday to install CCTVcameras and recording equip-ment at the offices of investi-gating agencies, including theCBI, the ED and NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA),which conduct interrogationsand have the power of arrest.

A bench headed by JusticeRF Nariman said that statesand Union Territories (UTs)should ensure that CCTVcameras are installed at eachand every police station, at allentry and exit points, maingate, lock-ups, corridors, lobbyand reception as also areas out-side the lock-up rooms so thatno part is left uncovered.

The apex court had in2018 ordered installation ofCCTV cameras in police sta-tions to check human rightsabuses.

It said further that theCCTV systems must beequipped with night visionand have audio as well asvideo footage and it shall bemandatory for the Centre,states and UTs to purchasesuch systems which allow stor-age of data for maximum peri-od possible, at least one year.

“In addition, the Union ofIndia is also directed to installCCTV cameras and recordingequipment in the offices of:Central Bureau of

Investigation, NationalInvestigation Agency,Enforcement Directorate,Narcotics Control Bureau,Department of RevenueIntelligence, Serious FraudInvestigation Office (SFIO),any other agency which carriesout interrogations and has thepower of arrest,” said thebench, also comprising JusticesKM Joseph and AniruddhaBose.

“As most of these agenciescarry out interrogation in theiroffice(s), CCTVs shall be com-pulsorily installed in all officeswhere such interrogation andholding of accused takes placein the same manner as it wouldin a police station,” the benchsaid in its order.

The top court said that inSeptember this year, it hadimpleaded all the States andUTs in the matter to find outthe exact position of CCTVcameras in each police stationas well as constitution ofOversight Committees inaccordance with the April 3,2018 order.

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Amid standoff with Indiaalong the LAC, China

increased its rice purchasefrom India for the first time inat least three decades, placingorder for shipment of about5,000 tonnes of broken rice inthe last two months. Brokenrice is used in making noodlesand in the wine industry.

India is the world’s biggestexporter of rice and China isthe biggest importer.

According to the All IndiaRice Exporters Association(AIREA), China has startedimporting Indian rice after agap of two years and placedorders for shipment of about5,000 tonnes of non-basmatirice as it is the cheapest in theworld rice market.

Indian traders have con-tracted to export 100,000tonnes of broken rice forDecember-February shipmentat around $300-320 per tonne.Other grades such as white rice25 per cent broken and 5 percent are ruling between $330(�24,600) and $360 (�26,800)a tonne free-on-board.

China, the world’s largest

producer and importer of rice,used to place restriction onimports from India via variousmeans. In 2006, China wasgiven market access for Indianrice, but shipment took placeonly during the 2017-18 fiscal.

Beijing imports around 4million tonnes of rice annual-ly but avoided purchases fromIndia, citing quality issues.China’s traditional suppliers,such as Thailand, Vietnam,Myanmar and Pakistan, havelimited surplus supplies forexport and were quoted atleast $30-60 per tonne more

compared with Indian prices.Indian rice exports for the

January-October period of thecurrent calendar year havealready exceeded the ship-ments for the whole of last year.Over six million tonnes havebeen exported during January-October against 5.1 milliontonnes in the entire 2019.

Countries like Benin, CapeVerde, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria,Senegal and Sierra Leone inWest Africa, who are tradition-al buyers of non-basmati ricefrom India, increased their pur-chases during the pandemic.

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British Prime Minister BorisJohnson is likely to be the

chief guest for the Republic Dayfunction next year. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi invit-ed him for the national eventduring his telephonic talksrecently.

It will be the first high-pro-file visit by a foreign dignitaryto India during the ongoingglobal pandemic.

While India and the UKare yet to officially announcethe visit, reports on Wednesdayhere indicated that Modi invit-ed Johnson during his talks onNovember 27. The BritishPrime Minister invited Modi tothe G-7 summit there next year.

If the visit materialises,Johnson will be the first UnitedKingdom Prime Minister to bethe chief guest of the RepublicDay parade after more than 25years. The last British PrimeMinister to be the chief guestwas John Major in 1993.

Besides the invitations, thetwo leaders discussed the fightagainst the coronavirus pan-demic, climate change, andother related issues.

“The leaders reiteratedtheir shared desire to impart a

quantum jump to the India-UKpartnership in the post-Covid,post-BREXIT era, and agreedthat there was tremendouspotential for enhancing col-laboration in trade and invest-ment, scientific research,mobility of professionals andstudents, and defence and secu-rity,” an official said.

In November, actingBritish High Commissioner toIndia Jan Thompson had saidJohnson will soon make an “inperson” visit to India. She said,“We are expecting UK ForeignSecretary Dominic Raab will bepaying an in-person visit toIndia in the next few months.Beyond that, PM Boris Johnsonis very keen to come to India.So we hope, over the next fewmonths, we will visit, by bothFS Raab and PM Johnson.”

In a tweet message after thetalks, Modi had said, “Had anexcellent discussion with myfriend, UK PM @BorisJohnsonon an ambitious roadmap forIndia-UK ties in the nextdecade.

We agreed to work towardsa quantum leap in our cooper-ation in all areas -- trade &investment, defence & securi-ty, climate change, and fightingCovid-19.”

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Atotal of 480 new Covid-19cases were reported from 28

districts and State pool. Withthis, State’s total caseloadincreased to 3,19,583.Of thenew cases, 276 were reportedfrom quarantine and 204 werelocal contacts.

Khordha district recordedthe day’s highest 51 cases fol-lowed by Angul 41, Mayurbhanj36, Cuttack 35, Puri 31, Bargarh30, Kalahandi 28, Baleswar 19,Kendrapada 17, Jharsuguda 16,Sambalpur and Nuapada 14each, Keonjhar 13, Kandhamal11, Koraput 10, Malkangiri 8,Jajpur and Balangir seven each,Nabarangpur six, Nayagarh four,Deogarh 3 and Bhadrak two.

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Bhubaneswar on Wednesdayregistered 24 new Covid-19

positive cases, pushing thetotal tally to 30,802. The newcases included 14 local contactsand 10 quarantine cases.

Meanwhile, 42 more per-sons recovered from the diseaseon the day, increasing the totalrecoveries to 30,164. InCuttack, 23 new positive caseswere detected, increasing thetotal tally to 15,893.

The new cases included 10local contacts, seven homequarantine and six institution-al quarantine cases.

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The State Government onWednesday reiterated that

it has no statutory provision tofix a mechanism regarding thequantum of fees to be collect-ed from the students of the pri-vate unaided schools.

In a fresh affidavit in theHigh Court in the context ofthe ongoing stalemate overcollection of school fees by theprivate schools for the lock-down period, the Governmentmentioned that even the pro-visions of Odisha EducationAct of 1969 are also silent onthe issue.

Surprised over such a con-fession made by theGovernment, the High Courtasked the Advocate General toget instructions as to how thereis no such law in Odisha as

prevalent in other States likePunjab and Delhi. The HCfixed Monday for the nexthearing. Private educationalinstitutions are granted per-mission and recognition underthe Odisha Education Act.There is no such provisionunder the Act or Rules fixinga mechanism regarding quan-tum of fees collected by the pri-vate unaided schools affiliatedto the Board of SecondaryEducation and impartinginstructions in Odia medium,the affidavit said.

The affidavit further reit-erated that an MoU has beensigned by all stakeholders andurged the court to accept it andpass an appropriate order.“This will help the parentswhose incomes have beenadversely affected,” the affidavitadded.

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The Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) constituted

by the State Government forprobing into the abductionand murder of five-year-oldgirl Pari in Nayagarh districtinterrogated accused BabuliNayak on Wednesday.

The team led by IPS offi-cer Arun Bothra questionedNayak at the Nayagarh Townpolice station for more thantwo hours from 11 am to 1.30pm.

The SIT also held discus-sions with district the policeofficials, who were earlierinvolved in investigation ofthe case. The team has alreadyvisited Pari’s village Jadupurand made queries from herparents.

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The Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) of the Vigilance

police would take arrested andsuspended IFS officer AbhayKant Pathak on remand forthree days from Thursday.

The anti-corruptionagency had on Wednesdayprayed before the SpecialVigilance Court, Bhubaneswarfor a three-day remand ofPathak, who has been arrestedby the Vigilance for allegedpossession of disproportionateassets worth several crores.

During the remand period,the investigators are likely toquestion him regarding thesources of the disproportionateassets and unearth the involve-ment of others in the offence.

The Vigilance has formeda 20-member SIT for investi-gation of the case. Pathak wasfound in possession of dispro-portionate assets of Rs 9.35crore beyond his knownsources of income (435% oftotal income from all knownsources), which he could notaccount for satisfactorily.

This apart, the Vigilanceofficials have detected depositsof Rs 14.77 crore in the bankaccounts of his son AkashKumar Pathak. A VigilancePress release on Wednesdaysaid there is prima facie indi-cation of tax evasion on the

part of Pathak. There is alsosuspicion of benami transac-tions and properties. As such,the Vigilance has referred thematter to the Income TaxDepartment for investigation.

Similarly, in view of suspi-cion of money launderingactivities, the matter has alsobeen referred to theEnforcement Directorate (ED)for investigation. Besides, threeofficials of the concerned pri-vate banks, where such hugedeposits have been made, arebeing examined by the SIT.

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The State Government onWednesday asked the dis-

trict administrations not toput up posters outside thehouses of Covid positivepatients who are under homeisolation.

In a letter, the Health andFamily Welfare Departmentdirected the district Collectors,Municipal Commissioners andMedical Officers to discontin-ue pasting posters in front ofthe house of Covid-affectedwith immediate effect.

Mentioning that the num-ber of Covid positive cases isdeclining steadily across theState, the letter read, “It is nowfelt that identification of thehouses of Covid-19 patientsunder home isolation by past-ing posters outside their hous-es is not a requirement any-more.”The State Government’sdecision came a day after theSupreme Court observed thatCovid-19 notices pasted out-side residences of patients leadto their considerations as

“untouchables” by others. Theapex court said that the groundreality is such that once suchnotices are pasted outsideCovid-19 patients’ houses, oth-ers began to treat them asuntouchables.

Representing the Centre,Solicitor General Tushar Mehtastated before the apex courtthat the Union Governmenthas not given any directions topaste Covid warning noticesoutside infected persons’ hous-es. “The States may have decid-ed to do it,” Mehta said.

The SC was hearing a pleaagainst the decision of Statesand Union Territories to affixposters/notices outside resi-dences of Covid-19 patientsstaying in home isolation.

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The State Government onWednesday launched a sin-

gle emergency helpline number‘112’ to provide all kinds of assis-tance by the police to the pub-lic. With this, people will nomore need to dial differentnumbers like 100, 101, 102,104, 108, 181 and 1098 foremergency services of police,ambulance, fire brigade andwomen helpline. The singlehelpline number ‘112’, which willfunction soon, will provide allthe emergency assistances by thepolice department.

Besides, the Governmentalso approved creation of 1,098posts in the police departmentto ensuer fast services to the peo-ple through this unified number.Four DSPs, 151 Sub-Inspectors,203 Assistant Sub-Inspectorsand 740 Constables will providethe ‘112’ emergency services.

Besides , 198 Call TakerExecutives will be outsourcedand 236 vehicles will bedeployed for the purpose.

The unified emergencyhelpline would help police pro-vide better services more effi-ciently to the general public andstrengthen the people’s faith inthe system, said Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik on the occasion.

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There is much talk aboutsenior forest administrator

Abhay Kant Pathak hadplanned to spend a whopping320 million rupees on his son’swedding to Sruti, the daughterof Odisha MLA PradeepPanigrahi, just expelled fromthe BJD for several “anti-peo-ple activities’.

Pathak had booked a 5-starhotel in Jodhpur and several

chartered f lights for the

December 11 extravaganza.There is of course no doubt thatthe Odisha jungle-king fromBihar has been a daylight rob-ber for long.

But it is still not clear howhe could amass such a hugeheap of money so easily andflaunt it publicly without fear.How his kiddish son Akashevolved to become a profes-sional imposter is still bogglingthe sharpest psychiatrist sleuthsof the land.

The PhD testimonial hold-er MLA Pradeep Pandigrahi’swife Sujata is furious over herhusband’s expulsion from theBJD.

She is fuming as shebelieves her illustrious scholarlyhusband has not been anti-people even for a second in hislife. She turns amnesiac aboutthe whole family visitingexpensive pleasure destina-tions by chartered flights andstaying in classy 5-star hotels ata time when the coronavirushad forced mankind to stayindoors and millions of help-less migrant labourers withoutmoney or support were walk-

ing thousands of miles to reachhomes in Odisha. More dis-turbingly then, the MLA’s owndistrict had been identified asthe corona hotspot of Odisha.Besides, countless corona fight-ers, including doctors, essentialworkers and police personnel,were contracting Covid-19 anddying as an effective preventiveprotocol was not yet in sight.

The Panigrahis do not con-sider their pleasure trips to dis-tant locations anti-people actseven today even when thewhole nation had come to astandstill situation. Regular airtravel was banned as all modesof movement, even across dis-tricts, were not permitted then.As people were struggling tosurvive, the Panigrahis ofGanjam were having a rollick-ing time in Mumbai, Puneand Delhi.

The chartered planes wereorganised by the tiny-sizeimposter son of Abhay Pathak.The imposter had duped halfthe world by posing as theright-hand man of Ratan Tata’s.Most people believed him onlybecause he splurged money like

crazy claiming a 10-millionrupee monthly salary fromRatan’s company. had alsosaid to all and sundry thatRatan and he had living hous-es in Mumbai with a commonboundary as Ratan would bewitless without him in sight.Further, he had shared videosof a Pune-area farmhouse,which colossal movie stars andindustrialists envied because ofsize and style.

Though it is evident thatAbhay Pathak is a corrupt offi-cer, many a knowing individ-ual say the quantum of money,property and materials seizedfrom him are difficult to amassfor any forest officer who keepsspending big money and livesa monarch-size life. So obvi-ously, sleuths suspect someother invisible external creaturewho is dumping money withthe Pathaks, who are only afront.

Grapevine whispers as wellas flying rumours indicatePanigrahi may have bumpedinto big heap of money by wayof quid pro quo as unscrupu-lous liquor mafia of Ganjam

and wicked property dealers,who organised land for big cor-porate promoters, may havesought the ruling party legis-lator’s help for out-of-turn orout-of law favours.

Such public allegations areflying around and thePanigrahis are sweating outfulltime to dispel the charges,though unconvincingly.Meanwhile, the former Minsterand three-term MLA Panigrahihas held a Press conference tovent out anger and spew venomagainst people who he imaginesare foes.

Methodical investigationreveals a very simple truth: Thesame way as Baijayant Pandawas sore about skilled andscrupulous bureaucrats thatNaveen Patnaik trusted,Pradeep Panigrahi too hadissues with some bureaucratswho ensured that the ChiefMinister was kept comfort-able to dream logically andcome up with doable pro-peo-ple projects and schemes. Nowonder, Naveen has chosen atrusted few who can take pres-sure and get things organised

for hassle-free implementationand final execution of hisdream plans.

Panigrahi is known to havedisliked the officers whoremained close to the CM.Panigrahi, who loves to use the‘Dr’ prefix, though wrongly, forpossessing a PhD document,had chosen to declare waragainst the trusted officials, andwherever and whenever possi-ble, spew venom against theserving officers without anylogic or basis. He, in recentmonths, had even spent bigmoney, time and physical ener-gy to bring together a few leg-islators of the southern districtsto turn them fellow rebelsagainst the performing bureau-crats.

As ill luck would have it,the imposter junior Pathakcrossed Panigrahi’s path as aworthy suitor to his daughterand impressed him as a mod-ern-day problem-solvinggenius because the Pathak chaptold him he could pull anystring anywhere. The mes-merised PhD MLA surren-dered his life to the young con-

man. Naturally, the senior jun-gle-king Pathak imagined thecombination of his ‘superbrainson and PhD MLA’ would be aformidable force and set out ona spree of misadventures to robthe State exchequer moreintensely.

Panigrahi keeps sayingAkash studied at Brahmapur;and after obtaining anEngineering degree from theITER in Bhubaneswar, heworked in Romania for a shortstint before returning to Odishato look after his ailing mother.In 2016, he was selected by theTata Group. Accordingly, theyplaced him in their FortuneTower Corporate Office inBhubaneswar.

But shockingly, the TataMotors authorities have lodgeda complaint with the CrimeBranch police against AkashPathak, son of Abhay Pathak,accusing him of cheating,forgery, fraud and criminalimpersonation. Akash had ille-gally impersonated as MD ofTata Motor Pune PassengerDivision and CEO-designate.

The Vigilance raids on the

Pathaks have dug out mind-blowingly disproportionateassets and cash and more. Theaccounts of astronomical char-tered flight cost and hotelexpenses are known to all bynow. The media agencies haveforgotten corona, the farmers’agitation and the lifesavingvaccines coming soon.

All attention is focused onthe Pathaks and the Panigrahis.The poor Panigrahi girl, wholooks innocent, is perhaps thebiggest sufferer. ‘Her would-have-been’ husband and father-in-law are spending the earlywinter in jail. All the same, peo-ple are still not convinced thatthe riches dug out at Pathak’slocations are part of his loot.Many suspect the incalculablewealth found during the raidsare only dirty money parked bybigger criminals who trust andconfide in him.

Panigrahi with a PhD maynot have to worry so much.Because he has failed to recog-nise an imposter, he is perhapsa very innocent scholar-politi-cian who hates money andloves saintly State officials.

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The Congress on Wednesdaysought to corner the ruling

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) over theassociation of expelledGopalpur BJD MLA PradeepPanigrahi with IFS officerAbhay Kant Pathak, who wasarrested for corruption recent-ly. Senior Congress leader

Panchanan Kanungo asked theBJD a set of eight questions andtried to put the StateGovernment in the dock onmany issues, including theBrahmapur liquor deaths, inwhich Pradeep Panigrahi wasallegedly involved.

He asked the Governmentto reveal the name of the offi-cer who is considering thepolitical leaders as “dogs”,played a key role in developingrelationship between Panigrahiand 80 liquor mafia and escort-ed Panigrahi to the NaveenNiwas to invite the CM for hisdaughter’s wedding.

Kanungo questioned theGovernment as to how the

Chief Minister’s Office wasnot aware of the Rs 5-lakhdonation made by Pathak tothe Chief Minister’s Relief Fund(CMRF).He also raised doubtover the State Vigilance for itsdelayed action against the taint-ed IFS officer.“All the officerssubmit their affidavits showingworth of their assets before theGovernment every year.

Why did not the StateVigilance authorities suspectAbhay Pathak’s corrupt actssince a long time,” Kanungoquestioned. He also asked tomake the letters written byPanigrahi to the CM public toascertain the genuineness of theclaims he was making.

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Despite the Covid adversi-ties, the State Government

has been able to provideemployment to around eightlakh people through Kendu leafoperations.

Beating the adverse weath-er conditions in February andMarch along with Covidrestrictions, the operations areset to generate a trade surplusof Rs 100 crore during the cur-rent year. This was known

from State level CoordinationMeeting held under chair-manship of Chief SecretaryAsit Tripathy whereinAdditional Chief SecretaryForest and Environment DrMona Sharma outlined theissues for discussion.Reviewing different facets ofkndu leaf operation, Tripathydirected to do more bush cut-ting in convergence withMGNREGS.

Principal ChiefConservator of Forests (KenduLeaf) Pravakara Behera said, “Atotal of 7,54,631 pluckers and18, 223 binders were engagedin the work among whomnearly 80% were women.”Besides, 16,533 seasonal staffswere engaged in the operations.Bush cutting was done in 5.37

lakh hectares.Dr Sharmaapprised that procurement ofKendu leaves was taken up dur-ing April-May and near about2 lakh quintals of leaves ofworth about Rs 119.57 crorewere procured from the pluck-ers. The total sale value of theleaves procured during 2019was around Rs 377 croreagainst which the sale value tillend of November this year hasreached Rs 321 crore.

PCCF Behera appraisedthat the investment against theoperations till end ofNovember was around Rs 266crore, which might increase byanother Rs 50 crore at thetrade closing.

The entire operation mightyield the trade surplus of aboutRs 100 crore.

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The gross GST revenue col-lected in the month of

November is Rs 1,04,963 crore inthe country and Odisha hascollected Rs 2,528 crore duringthe same month.

While Odisha collected Rs2,347 crore in November lastyear, the State Government hasregistered 8 per cent growth ascompared to corresponding peri-od of last year, officials said.

Out of Rs 1,04,963 crore, theCGST is Rs 19,189 crore, SGSTis Rs 25,540 crore, IGST is Rs51,992 crore (including Rs 22,078crore collected on import ofgoods) and cess is Rs 8,242crore (including Rs 809 crore col-lected on import of goods).The

total number of GSTR-3BReturns filed for the month ofNovember up to November 30this 82 lakh.The Government hassettled Rs 22,293 crore to CGSTand Rs 16,286 crore to SGSTfrom IGST as regular settle-ment.

In line with the recent trendof recovery in the GST revenues,the revenues for the month ofNovember 2020 are 1.4 per centhigher than the GST revenues inthe same month last year.

During the month, revenuesfrom import of goods were 4.9per cent higher and the revenuesfrom domestic transaction(including import of services) are0.5 per cent higher that the rev-enues from these sources duringthe same month last year.

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Acold wave continued togrip the State as minimum

temperature dipped below 15degree in 17 places in the last24 hours.

While Sonepur became thecoldest station with 8.8 degreeCelsius followed by Phulbani 9degree, Angul 10 degree,Daringibadi10.5 degree ,Bhawanipatna 11.5 degree ,Keonjhar 12.2 degree ,Baripada 12.5 degree, Talcher12.3 degree and Koraput 12.6,Sundargarh 13 degree , Boudh14 , Balangir 14 degree, Cuttack14.2 degree, Titilagarh 14.5degree, Chandbali 14.6 degreeand Sambalpur recorded 14.6degree on Tuesday night.

The minimum tempera-ture in Bhubaneswar was 15.0degree. The cold weatherwould continue across the Statein the next four to five days.

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The Bhubaneswar SmartCity Limited (BSCL) on

Tuesday signed a memoran-dum of understanding (MoU)with Nagpur-based NationalEnvironment EngineeringResearch Institute (NEERI)for its projects under CityInvestments to Innovate,Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS)Programme.

The BSCL signed the doc-ument with NEERI in pres-ence of its Chief ExecutiveOfficer (CEO) Prem ChandraChaudhary and representa-tives from NEERI Dr NitinGoyal. On behalf of BSCLCITIIS Project In-Charge

Diptirani Sahoo signed thepapers.It can be mentionedhere that under the CITIISProgramme the city throughits Bhubaneswar-Active (B-Active) proposal has proposedto enhance the quality of pub-lic open spaces as it won thechallenge in February 2019from among 67 Indian SmartCities.

The B-Active projectfocuses on demonstratingimprovement of five majorcity components i.e. Streets,Water, Parks and Open Spaces,Sports and Playgrounds andHeritage.

Under the componentWater in B-Active proposalfrom the city as proposed to

the Ministry of Housing andUrban Affairs (MoHUA), thecity will improve the naturaldrainage channels No. 7 and10 and revive heritage watertanks in the Old Town area.

The MoU with NEERIwill help BSCL in systemdesigning and modelling ofwater-related projects.

The NEERI will f irstextend its technical expertisetowards the short-term QuickWin Project under CITIISProgramme along theDrainage Channel No. 10 pro-posed as a pilot initiative tocreate a Waste Water Parkand Urban Agriculture bothwithin the premises of BDACity Centre.

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Ahardcore woman MaoistRame Madkami, who had

carried Rs 4 lakh cash rewardon her head, surrendered beforethe Koraput police onWednesday. Madkami, whohad joined the Maoist-foldseven years ago, worked as anArea Committee Member(ACM) in the group of dread-ed Maoist leader AkkirajuHaragopal alias Srinivas aliasRamakrishana She has 10 casespending against her at variouspolice stations in Koraput andMalkangiri.

Koraput SP Mukesh KumarBhamoo hailed the decision ofthe woman Maoist to shunviolence and join the main-stream. Madkami said she gotdisillusioned with behaviourof senior Maoist leaders overthrough their partiality towards

Telugu cadres over other localtribal cadres. The tribal cadresare consistently meted out step-motherly treatment, are beingdenied promotion in the partyand are just being used as footsoldiers, who will stay at front-line during exchange of firewith police while the big cadresare escaping from spot undertheir cover, as had happened inmany instances, she said.

Besides, after inaugurationof Gurupriya Bridge by ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik,Swabhiman Anchal is seeing lotof developmental activitiesbeing undertaken by OdishaGovernment.

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The State Government onWednesday further

reduced the maximum pricefor the RT-PCR Covid-19 testsby private laboratories to Rs400 from Rs 1,200.

Earlier in August, theGovernment had reduced theRT-PCR test price to Rs 1,200from Rs 2,200.“After carefulconsideration, the stateGovernment is pleased to refixthe maximum price for RT-PCR test by private laboratories

at 400 only, inclusive of GSTwithin the state,” said a notifi-cation issued by the Health andFamily Welfare Department.

The tests would be con-ducted by private laboratoriesunder supervision of theRegional Medical ResearchCentre(RMRC) Bhubaneswarfollowing the ICMR guide-lines on the testing protocols,the notification read.

With this reduction,Odisha has fixed the lowestprice for the test among allStates.

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Everybody is same in theeyes of law. The BJD and

the Congress have joined handsto deny justice to family ofminor girl Pari of Nayagarhdistrict, who was abducted andmurdered, said the BJP onWednesday.

Besides, both the partiesare shielding the accused andMinister Arun Sahoo, whoprovided protection to the per-petrator of the heinous crime,said State BJP president SamirMohanty at a Press conferencehere.The parents of the victims

have alleged that their daugh-ter kidney and other bodyparts were stolen.

The Naygarh police whichwas investigating into the inci-dent for over four months, didnot question the main accusedBabuli Nayak and the Minister,Mohanty questioned.Healleged that there is involve-ment of a human organ traderacket in the kidnapping and

brutal murder of the girl.Suspecting a big racket behindthis barbaric crime, the partyhas demanded handing overthe case to CBI for a fair inves-tigation.

He also demanded CM tosack Sahoo from the Cabinet.He warned that if theGovernment does not budge,the BJP would be forced to hitthe streets.

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BJP national vice-presidentBaijayant Panda and wife

Jagi Mangat Panda havesquarely blamed two formerdirectors of the OdishaInfratech Pvt Ltd (OIPL) forthe alleged land irregularities atSarua, Khordha.

In an anticipatory bail pleamoved in the Orissa HighCourt, the couple has men-tioned that Bibhu Prasad Rathand Manoranjan Sarangi wererunning the OIPL’s day-to-dayaffairs its directors.

The plea further statedthat Rabindra Sethi, whoallegedly purchased land fromSC people and sold the prop-erty to the OIPL, was employedas Bibhu Prasad Rath’s driver.Rath was also the CEO of a

group company, ORTELCommunications Ltd.Baijayant and Jagi are onlyshareholders of the OIPL.Baijayant has never been adirector of the company andnever participated in its affairswhile Jagi was a director fromSeptember 23, 2008 till March10, 2010, the bail plea men-tioned.

Notably, the Additional SPof EOW, Crime Branch, onOctober 31, 2020 filed an FIRsuo motu in connection withthe OIPL’s fraudulent landtransactions. Baijayant and Jagilater moved the anticipatorybail pleas in the HC fearingarrests. Earlier, November 5,2020, the HC granted interimprotection to Panda couplefrom arrest but withdrew pro-tection on November 20.

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There would be a specialAct for the Lingaraj

Temple of Bhubaneswar likethe one for the Puri JagannathTemple, informed ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik onWednesday.

He announced it afterreviewing the progress of thebeautification project of theLingaraj Temple at EkamraKshetra.

Speaking to media,Patnaik expressed his grati-tude to people who havehanded over their lands to theadministration for the beau-tification project as it woulddraw more pilgrims andtourists to Ekamra Kshetra.

The proposed special lawfor the Lingara Temple wouldbe made on the lines of ShriJagannath Temple Act, 1954,Bhubaneswar (Ekamra) MLAand Minister Ashok Pandatold the media.Replying to a

question on the timeframe ofthe Act, Panda said that itwould be a lengthy process asthe legislative proposal has topass through various stagesbefore it becomes an Act.

First, the proposal needs

to be approved by the StateCabinet. After passing it inthe Assembly, it would be sentto the President of India forthe final Act after gettingapproval from the StateGovernor, Panda said.

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Can you imagine eatinghuman flesh? This was the

topic discussed by MagnusSuderlund, Swedish scientist inGastro summit 2019. As perMagnus, humans should nowstart to eat humans.

It can save earth. The climatechange is so conspicuous that

we can ignore it but we can’tescape from its effect. The

effect is global hunger. So a newform of cannibalism, eatinghuman flesh is needed as men-tioned by this professor fromthe Stockholm School ofEconomics. The term canni-balism is coined from a groupnamed as Caribs. From Caribsgroup Canibe was extracted.And finally from the termCanibe the actual term canni-bals was originated.

As per some historicalwritings Columbus coined theterm Cannibals. It was referredto an indigenous people inGuadaloupe Island. It is alsobelieved that Columbus andthe queen of Spain had con-nived and stigmatized people ofthat community as humaneaters for some economic ben-efits. In the 15th Century, abrown powder named asMumia was used to cure cer-tain medical complicacy anddiseases like epilepsy, hemor-rhage and nausea. This Mumia

powder was made by mummi-fied human flesh. This powderwas medically approved at thattime in Europe. In real, thereis less documented evidence tosupport cannibalism. On thecontrary, there are many talesand narratives which also sup-port this disgust act.

Culture plays a significantrole in promoting cannibalism.“Fore people” in New Guineaeat their own dead relatives asa community event. This formof culturally induced canni-balism is regarded as a ritualhonour. Eating human flesh byfellow community membersspread a disease, which isknown as Kuru. This kuru dis-ease is fatal in nature.

In some parts of China,young offspring (sons anddaughters) would offer theirown flesh from thighs or fin-gers to their sick and weak par-ents as a food to recover fromillness or disease. This type of

cannibalism is called as filialcannibalism. Another tribelives in Papua and Indonesiacalled as Korowai tribe isbelieved to be cannibals. Theyeat human flesh as a traditionand a part of culture. Mythsspin around Aghori or Aghorisadhus who live near the Gangariver in India that they lead amystic life with cannibalismtendencies.

In the year 1972, somepassengers waited for a longtime and started to eat otherdead co-passengers in Andesplane Crash. This type of can-nibalism is accepted because ofextra ordinary circumstance.Famine and unfortunate expe-ditions are the examples wherepeople eat the bodies of thedead. They eat to save them-selves from starving to death.

The Journal of ForensicScience has categorized thecannibals as pathological can-nibals. Paraphilia a state of

pathological cannibals isreferred to those who experi-ence an extreme form of sexu-al desire which are gratified bydangerous activities. Nitharicase, Noida in the year 2006 isthe best example to refer theparaphilia cannibals.

The businessmanMoninder Singh Pandher inNithari and his servant wereaccused of killing more than 10children and suspected to con-sume children’s livers and otherbody parts.

Another type of patholog-ical cannibalism is the result ofsevere psychotic mental ill-ness. It was reported in the year2020 , in Uttar Pradesh whena man was arrested for attempt-ing to cook human flesh. Laterthat man was identified asmentally unsound. Ego, nar-cissism and mental imbalanceinstigate this act of eatinghuman flesh. It is reportedthat in the year 2008, a Maoist

killed a man suspecting him tobe a police informer in Naxal-hit district Malkangiri and atehis flesh in full public. This actwas done to terrorise the vil-lagers.

Cannibalism is a savageact. In India we don’t have anyspecific law against it. It stillexists in a covert form with acultural and psychologicalshield. Many biologists stud-ied this cannibal behavioramong species.

But in case of humans it isa taboo. Tribal and aboriginalsare dehumanized and demo-nized as cannibals. Most of usare to some extent cannibalsbecause we eat animal meat.Scientifically, there is less dif-ference between human fleshand animal flesh.

(The writer is AssistantProfessor, Sophitorium Groupof Institutions, Khordha. Mob:8456879522)

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The Book Fair usually held inJagatsinghpur district head-

quarters town in January wasdecided to be put off due toCovid 19 pandemic. It wasdecided in an executive meet-ing held in collectorate here onTuesday. District Collector cumBook Fair Committee chair-man Saroj Kumar Mishrachaired the meeting.

This was to be the 22ndedition of the fair and thedecision to not hold it wastaken in view of the prevailingC o r o n a v i r u sinfection.However, the pub-lishers and book sellers wouldbe asked to participate in the

web based celebration display-ing their books and publica-tions. The yearly souvenirmeant for the event would bepublished. Writers wererequested to send their write-ups through email. Book faircommittee joint secretary

Sudhir Kumar Mohanty gavethe welcome speech. Amongothers, committee membersSarada Prasanna Das, ADMSatchidananda Sahoo, SubCollector Dharmendra Mallickand DIPRO KaminiranjanPatnaik attended.

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Ahead of the upcoming ULBelections, Health Minister

and Jharsuguda MLA NabaKishore Das on Monday urgedhis party workers to work hardto strengthen the party andengage them in developmentactivities and organisationwork.After the Assembly ses-sion, Das in Jharsuguda dis-cussed the matter with partyworkers. A preparatory meet-ing was held officially here withthe BJD party workers ofJharsuguda municipality inwhich Minister Das requestedthem to be prepared for theensuing municipality electionand take necessary action for

solving the problems of peoplein each and every ward andstrengthen the party's standtaking up development worksat grassroots level. He alsodirected the party workers towork with dedication anddetermination.In his address,Minister Das said, "We are

going ahead with a dream tobuild a new Jharsuguda."Newhospital, transforming old hos-pital to Urban CHC, large sta-dium, construction of new busstand, rail over bridge inChowkipara, Prasana PandaChowk and Sarbahal andwidening the approach road to

new headquarters hospital willbe completed soon in a phasedand time bound manner, toldDas. In the coming days, a 15-member committee will beformed alongwith ward-wisecommittees to prepare for themunicipality election, MinisterDas added.

Das asked the partyactivists to become tech-savvyand more active on the socialmedia to stay in touch with thepeople. The Town BJD presi-dent coordinated the prepara-tory meeting in the presence ofBJD Women's wing leaderDeepali Das, formerMunicipality Chairman TapasRay Chowdhury, HarishGanatra and SureshLokchandani among others.

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Repeated and deliberate theftof electrical instruments

and fluorescent lights from theheritage Ganjam fortPottagada, a 15th centurymonument, is a cause of worryhere. While tourists and localpeople are concerned abouttheir safety and security, they

also complained about repeat-ed negligence of the local policeto nab the anti-socials andliquor mafias.According toinformation available, twicethe local industry “BirlaGrasim” had provided lights toilluminate the fort area for thebenefit of the locals andtourists.

However, due to repeatedtheft, the Birla Grasim indus-try now has refused to supplylights to the fort any more, forwhich the district Collectorprovided the required fundfor lighting of the fort recent-ly.Notably, Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik had also sanc-tioned more than Rs 1 crore for

construction of a one km-longpucca road from the NationalHighway-16 to the fort, keep-ing public perceptions andtourist importance of the placein mind. After the pucca roadand illumination, the heritagefort witnessed a heavy flow oftourists and researchers fromall over the country, said a local.

The public now demandsthat, the police should keep astrict vigil on the antisocialsand liquor mafias and suchother elements responsible forsuch theft and disturbances.The local intellectuals and his-torical researchers now havedemanded stringent actionfrom the Government.

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The Nilagiri police onWednesday arrested the

owner of a brick kiln and atractor driver for allegedly rap-ing and killing a minor girl inthe Baghamara area ofBaleswar district on November30. As per the complaint offamily members of thedeceased, she had gone to apond in the locality on the fate-

ful day morning when theaccused raped the girl. The duoalso thrashed the victim andmade her consume poison.

The girl then returnedhome in a critical condition,following which her familymembers rushed her to theNilagiri Community HealthCentre. Later, she was shiftedto the District HeadquartersHospital as her condition dete-riorated but she died.

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Aman was critically injuredin a firing by a miscreant

on Tuesday evening, ahead ofhis wedding in Manikapur vil-lage under the Khallikote policestation in Ganjam district.

The victim Jitendra Barikfrom Bhaliajhara village visit-ed his aunt’s house inManikapura. He was scheduledto marry his maternal uncle’sdaughter at Rahanadebi Templeon Wednesday.

When Jitendra was speak-ing to someone over mobilephone in front of his aunt’shome at around 8.30 pm, aunidentified youth came frombehind and fired at him andfled from the spot. Later, hisfamily members of Jitendrarushed him to the KhallikoteCommunity Health Centre ina critical condition.

Later, he was shifted to theMKCG Medical CollegeHospital here after his condi-tion deteriorated. Hospitalsources said condition of theyouth is stable at present.

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Three JSPL Foundation-backed Wushu athletes

from tribal hinterland of Barbilin Keonjhar district have beenselected for training under theSports Authority of India(SAI).

While Krishna Khandayatwill join the National Centre ofExcellence (NCOE), Bhopalnext month, Babulu Mundaand Prem Munda will be

imparted coaching at SAI’sImphal centre. Notably, theseathletes are the only playersfrom Odisha who have madeto the national list of 57 play-ers under junior category,selected for Bhopal and ImphalNCOEs.

Congratulating the youngtrio for their remarkableachievement, JSPL Foundationchairperson Shallu Jindal said,“It’s really encouraging to seemore and more players mak-

ing it to the national level fromBarbil, which is emerging asOdisha’s incubation centre formartial arts. The JSPLFoundation would continueto nourish the rural buddingtalents to flourish in nationaland international events.”

District administration,Keonjhar, Wushu Associationof Odisha and Keonjhar dis-trict Wushu Association havecongratulated the athletes fortheir success.

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The Aditya Aluminium,Lapanga recently launched

a modern eye care centre atPuruna Basti in Rengali town,in partnership with theSambalpur-based TrilochanNetralaya. Revenue DivisionalCommissioner (NorthernDivision) Niranjan Sahu inau-gurated the state-of-the-art‘Vision Centre’.

The function was graced byHR Head, Aditya AluminiumLapanga Dr VivekanandaMishra and Cluster LiaisonHead, Sambalpur KrishnaKumar Pandey, Chief DistrictMedical and Public HealthOfficer Dr Sashi Bhushan Patel,local PRI members and theleadership team of AdityaAluminium and TrilochanNetralaya. RDC Sahu wel-comed the endeavours of

Aditya Aluminium andTrilochan Netralaya to bringthe best of eye care in theRengali block. DrVivekananda Mishra apprisedthe august audience that theCentre would cater to over10,000 people. Dr Patel, wel-coming the move stressed uponthe importance and need of eyecare centres in Odisha.

Trilochan Netralaya’sFounder Directorr ShivaPrasad Sahoo, while introduc-ing innovative techniques invision care, gave a live demon-stration on use of telemedicineand telehealth technologies incommunity for continued bet-ter healthcare delivery.

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As many as 74 labourers,including 13 children,

reportedly being trafficked toAndhra Pradesh on a trainwere rescued from theKantabanji railway station inBalangir district on Wednesday.

Among the rescuedlabourers, 42 were men and 32women.

They were from theBelpada, Bangomunda,Muribahal and Turekela areasin Balangir district and theGolamunda area of Kalahandi

district.However, the labourcontractor, who was carryingthem on the train, managed toflee during raid by police.Source said the labourers hadtaken Rs 30,000 each from thecontractor to get engaged inVisakhapatnam.

Acting on a tipoff, thepolice conducted the raid at therailway Sstation and found noauthentic credentials from thelabourers.

Later, the KantabanjiTehsildar made arrangementfor sending rescued labourersback to their respective homes.

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The trade in narcotics likebrown sugar is flourishing

in Brahmapur city. The con-traband is being smuggled intothe city from different parts ofthe State.

In an example , the Townpolice on Tuesday nabbed twoyouths from the near theKhallikote College and seized15.77 grams of the contrabandworth Rs 1.5 lakh, a bike, Rs

2,850 cash and two mobilephones.Additional SP PravatRoutray said the police werekeeping a watch on suspecteddrug peddlers when two youthsSandeep Agarwal and PrabhuKalyan Panda were questionedon suspicion.

While frisking them, thecontraband was seized fromthe, Police are interrogatingthem to ascertain from whatsource they procured the drugs.Further investigations are on.

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Vigilance officials onWednesday raided multi-

ple places in connection withthe allegation against SanjuktaDas, Section Officer at theoffice of Sub-Collector,Jagatsinghpur, regarding pos-session of assets dispropor-tionate to her known sources ofincome.

Simultaneous searcheswere conducted at her resi-dential three-storied building atSatapura in Jagatsinghpur, adouble-storied building atPanisalia in Jagatsinghpur, a3BHK flat at Mahanadi Viharin Cuttack, and her officeroom. The total assets of Dasand her family members werecalculated as worth �1.42 crore.

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Awoman tried to end her lifeafter her husband died by

committing suicide at his shopPraharajpur village in theSalepur area of Cuttack districton Wednesday morning.Traumatised by her husband’sdeath, the woman attempted

suicide by hanging herself. Shewas rescued in a critical con-dition and admitted to theSCB Medical College Hospitalin Cuttack.

The reason behind the sui-cide by the man was yet to beascertained. Notably, the cou-ple had tied the nuptial knot inMarch this year.

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A14-year-old boy of Class-VIII committed suicide as

his father failed to buy a mobilephone for him to attend onlineclasses at Kalasimuli villageunder Baliapal block ofBaleswar district on Tuesday.

The boy, who was a studentof the Kalasimuli Nodal School,had told his father to buy asmartphone for him as thedevice was necessary for onlineclasses. His father hadpromised him to buy a mobilephone after paddy harvestingand with subsequent income.

Shockingly, the boy tookthe extreme step of hanginghimself when no one was pre-sent at the house.A pall ofgloom descended on the local-ity after the tragic incident.

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The evasive response fromsouthern divisional forest

of Kalahandi drew sharp reac-tions from RTI activists whenit asked information about pastthree years expenditure madeby the officials under variousschemes.

RTI convener BinduMahanand allegedly told medi-apersons on Wednesday here atBhawanipatna that whenGhasiram Jagat, a BPL catego-ry person, sought the docu-

ments, the forest officials askedthem to pay Rs 2,23,234 for1,16,867 pages. Another con-venor Anjan Rath said thatwhen the Odisha Governmenthas ruled that informationshould be provided free of costto the BPL category, the Forestdepartment violated the rulesto suppress its loopholes. “Howa BPL can pay such a largeamount whereas he should beprovided information free ofcost,” he asked.

The activists alleged largescale corruption related to thelabour employment and plan-tation committed in the Forestdepartment. Another RTIactivist Sanjib Satpathy saidthey have appealed to the high-er authorities regarding theissue. They also threatened tohold dharna if information isnot provided free of cost.

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Assistant Sub Inspector ofPolice [ASI] Sanatan

Mallick hailing fromBiswanathpur village underRaghunathpur block suc-cumbed to coronavirus infec-tion in a private hospital inBhubaneswar on Tuesday.

The deceased cop was cre-mated in his village crematori-um after being paid State hon-our adhering to Covid 19guidelines on Tuesday.

Reports said that thedeceased ASI Mallick wasworking in Begunia police sta-tion under Nayagarh districtand had returned villagerecently. He suffered from ill-ness and was admitted in theDistrict Headquarters Hospitalfor treatment four days agowhere he reported Covid 19

positive. Then he was shifted toa private hospital inBhubaneswar for treatment buthe died there on Tuesday.

A pall of gloom descendedin the village on the demise ofASI Mallick. A host of person-alities including MLAsPrasanta Muduli, BijayaShankar Das, Collector SarojKumar Mishra, many PR rep-resentatives and villagers fromadjoining areas condoleduntimely death of ASI Mallick.

The cops from Beguniapolice station andJagatsinghpur headquartersalso paid guard of honour tothe deceased police man.

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Following a row over sale ofNirmalya of the Jagannath

Temple online by AmazonIndia, Anil Kumar Sahu serveda legal notice to the companyon Wednesday.

In his notice to CEO AnitAgarwal, Sahu as convenor ofthe Yuba Adhibakta Parisad,Puri, asked him to reply to hisqueries within 20 days failingwhich he would move court foraction.

The Suar Mahasuar Nijog,a servitor body of temple, reg-istered a written complaint atthe Lions’Gate police stationagainst Amazon India for sell-ing Nirmalaya without its per-mission of them and beyondcustom of shrine.

They have even chargedthat packing in the name ofNirmalya does not belong tothe Jagannath Temple.

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The Government has set upa national-level panel for a

coordinated approach to pur-sue the country’s climatechange goals under the 2015Paris Agreement under theUnited Nations FrameworkConvention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC), whichaims to limit the global tem-perature rise well below twodegrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursueefforts to limit the temperatureincrease even further to 1.5degrees Celsius.

Led by the UnionEnvironment Ministry, thepanel will include membersfrom over a dozen ministriesof the Central Government toavoid conflict and ensure syn-ergy between various min-istries working towards toapproach India’s ambitiousclimate change goals.

The “Apex Committee forImplementation of ParisAgreement (AIPA)” with theUnion Environment Secretaryas its head which was notifiedby the Government lastmonth would interact withoff icials across theGovernment departments,technical experts, civil societyleaders and other stakehold-ers to drive a coordinatedapproach to the nation’s cli-mate change goals under the2015 Paris Agreement.

India has ratified the 2015Paris Agreement under theUNFCCC. India’s NDC’s pri-marily targets by 2030 areduction in the emissionsintensity of Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) by 33 to 35percent; achieving about 40percent instal led power

capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources; ener-gy efficiency; and creating anadditional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbondioxide equivalent throughadditional forest and treecover.

The Government notedthat AIPA is needed to ensurea “coordinated response onclimate change matters thatprotects the country’s interestsand ensures that India is ontrack towards meeting its cli-mate change obligations

under the Paris Agreement”including the promises madeas part of the NationallyDetermined Contribution(NDC) in 2015, as per a state-ment here from the UnionEnvironment Ministry.

The panel is also expect-

ed to “define responsibilitiesof concerned ministries for”achieving India’s NDC goalsand receive periodic infor-mation updates to monitor,review and revisit climategoals to fulfill the require-ments of the Paris Agreement.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Wednesday won-dered why felling of trees wasnecessary to widen roads or tokeep them aligned in a straightline, and suggested that roadscould instead be zigzag, whichwould help reduce speed ofvehicles and save lives by avoid-ing accidents.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice SA Bobde said: “Whydo roads have to be laid in astraight line by cutting trees?Keep the roads zigzag. It willreduce speed of vehicles, andalso decrease road accidentsand save many lives.”

The observation came dur-ing hearing of a plea by theUttar Pradesh government tofell 2,940 trees for the KrishnaGovardhan Road project inMathura.

The Chief Justice asked thestate government to look at thevalue of trees in terms of oxy-gen supply they will provide intheir lifetime, and then evalu-ate their importance.

The top court observedthat though the Public WorksDepartment had assured thatit would compensate by plant-ing similar number of trees inanother area, felling of 90-year-old tree and then replac-ing it with a week-old saplingdid not make sense.

“It is obvious that therecannot be compensatoryreforestation if a 90- or 100-year-old tree is cut down,” thecourt remarked.

“It is not possible for us toaccept compensation in mere-ly arithmetical terms, espe-cially when there is no state-

ment forthcoming from theUttar Pradesh government orthe PWD as to the nature oftrees — whether they areclassified as shrubs or largetrees,” the bench said, citingabsence of information orrecord in connection withthe age of the trees proposedto be chopped.

“It is clear that the onlyeffect, i f the trees are retained, will be that the roadswill not be straight and there-fore incapable of high-speed

traffic. Such an affect may notbe necessarily deleterious,”added the bench.

The Chief Justice told thecounsel for Uttar Pradeshgovernment and state PWDthat the valuation of treescannot be done in terms of timber, and instead theyshould be valued by takinginto account their oxygen-producing capacity over theirremaining life span, assumingthey might be cut now.

IANS

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For the first time ever, theannual conference of the

country’s top police brass beganon Wednesday virtually amidthe coronavirus pandemic.Union Home Minister AmitShah addressed the DGPs andsenior police officers across thecountry from the IntelligenceBureau Headquarters virtuallyin the presence of heads ofparamilitary organisations.

About 250 officers in therank of DGP and IGP from allstates, union territories andcentral government are takingpart in the four-day virtualmeet, organised by theIntelligence Bureau and beingattended by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, NSA AjitDoval among others.

The key role played bypolice during disaster andpandemic, new-age crimeslike cyber terrorism, radical-isation of youth and Pakistan-sponsored militants in Jammuand Kashmir will be discussedduring the deliberations, to beheld in multiple sessions, aHome Ministry official said.As the role of police duringthe ongoing pandemic hascome under wholesomepraise from all quarters, themeeting is expected to dis-

cuss how to enhancetheir knowledge andcapabilities to han-dle natural disastersand such health cri-sis and even help inmass vaccinationdrive.

The state police chiefswill share their experiencesin handling the pandemicand how the police havehelped distressed people andmigrant workers during thenationwide lockdown. ThePrime Minister is likely tomake special mention aboutthe exemplary work policepersonnel have done whilefighting the coronavirus, theofficial said.

According to an estimate,nearly 80,000 police andparamilitary personnel wereinfected by COVID-19 inthe country and about 650 ofthem succumbed to thevirus. Among the infectedinclude about 35,000 para-mi l itar y personnel and25,000 pol icemen inMaharashtra, the worst hitstate in India. Among thedeaths include 100 paramil-itary personnel and about250 in Maharashtra Police,almost all of them whileplaying different roles duringthe pandemic.

The Modi Governmenthas been organising it outsidethe national Capital since itcame to power in 2014.Theprevious conferences wereheld in Guwahati, Rann ofKutch in Gujarat, Hyderabad,Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh,Kevadia in Gujarat and Pune.

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The Supreme CourtWednesday asked its high-

powered committee, monitor-ing the Chardham highwayproject, to consider within twoweeks the applications includ-ing that of the Ministry ofDefence seeking widening ofroads up to 7 metres in theIndo-China Border area. Thestrategic 900-km Chardham

highway project aims to pro-vide all-weather connectivity tofour holy towns — Yamunotri,Gangotri, Kedarnath andBadrinath — in Uttarakhand.The Ministry of Defence hassought modification of the topcourt’s September 8 orderwhich asked the Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highways(MoRTH) to follow the 2018circular stipulating carriagewaywidth of 5.5 metre.

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Ahead of the fourth roundtalks with farmers, Union

Home Minister Amit Shahheld deliberations withAgriculture Minister NarendraSingh Tomar and ConsumerAffairs Minister Piyush Goyalon ways to dispel their con-cerns over the farm laws. Andin a move to remove appre-hensions of farmers on theagricultural laws, the govern-ment has decided to involvesecretaries of home, agricultureand consumer affairs in themeeting with farmers onThursday.

During the deliberations,the ministers are believed tohave discussed the issues raisedby the farmers and how thegovernment can constructive-ly respond to dispel their appre-hensions.

“The Government willhold discussions with farmers’leaders on Thursday and let’ssee to what extend issues can beresolved,” Tomar said.

The agriculture ministerappealed to the farmers that thegovernment is ready to addresstheir concern if any. “I appealto the farmers that the laws arein their interest and the reformshave been done after a longwait, but if they have any objec-tion to it then we are ready toaddress their concerns,” Tomarwas quoted by ANI.

Meanwhile, the RashtriyaKisan Mahashangha has for-warded their demands to theagriculture ministry seekinglegal status of MSP, SDM courtnot to be made the final author-ity for all issues related to thecase of resentment and theneed to create a robust envi-ronment for access of latesttechnology in agro-inputs.

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The CBI has booked ChiefMedical Officer of

Hyderabad Central Universityin a disproportionate assetscase for allegedly amassingassets worth about �6 croreduring 2014 to 2019.

The agency has alsobooked his wife, a teacher inthe Campus School of the uni-versity.

Chief Medical Officer(CMO) of Hyderabad CentralUniversity, Dr Ravindra Kumarand his wife P Sujatha havebeen named as accused in thecase registered under variousSections of the Indian PenalCode and Prevention ofCorruption Act.

“The source informationrevealed that Dr RavindraKumar purchased the proper-ties in his name and also in thename of his wife P Sujatha dur-ing the period from 2014-2019i.e. mostly after he becameCMO in the university,” theCBI said in its FIR.

The source informationalso revealed that assets pos-sessed by the accused at thebeginning of the check periodwas �3,22,19,500 and at the endif was �9,0475680 during therelevant period.

“As such the total assetsacquired during the relevantperiod is �5,82,56,180 andexpenditure is �1,82,90192 andthe total assets and expenditureis �7,65,46,372 during the rel-evant period,” it said. Theincome earned by the accusedis �3,79,10,402.

“Therefore the accusedpublic servant is learnt to be inpossession of assets dispro-portionate to his knownsources of income during therelevant period is �3,86,35,970which amounts to 101.91 percent of disproportionate assetswith reference to their income.The information prima faciediscloses the commission ofcognisable offences by theaccused public servant DrRavindra Kumar, CMO andhis wife P Sujatha if criminalconspiracy, abetment, inten-tionally enriching themselvesillicitly and possessing dis-proportionate assets,”it fur-ther said.

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The Centre on Wednesdayset up a task force to pre-

pare a roadmap for impartingtechnical education in moth-er tongue. The task force setup under the chairmanship ofSecretary, Higher EducationDept will take into consider-ation the suggestions made byvarious stakeholders and willsubmit a report in a month.

The Government hasalready started short-listingsome Indian Institutes ofTechnology and NationalInstitutes of Technologywhere the engineering cours-

es will be offered in mothertongue beginning next year.

Offering technical educa-tion in the mother tongue ispart of the new NationalEducation Policy 2020, adopt-ed by the government recent-ly.

The decision was taken byEducation Minister RameshPokhariyal Nishank in a high-level meeting attended byseveral directors of the IITs,academicians andGovernment officials.

The agenda of the meet-ing was to discuss and delib-erate regarding the imple-mentation of the education

policy.Pokhariyal said that the

meeting was a step in thedirection towards achievingPrime Minister NarendraModi’s vision that studentsmay pursue professionalcourses such as medicine,engineering, and law amongothers in their mother tongue.

The Minister said thatwhile no language will beimposed on any student,enabling provisions shouldbe made so that bright stu-dents are not deprived oftechnical education due tolack of knowledge of theEnglish language.

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The Supreme Court onWednesday refused to

entertain a plea questioning thepublication of a photograph ofthe Hathras victim in themedia, saying the court cannotlegislate on it and the petition-er can make a representationon the matter to theGovernment.

A 19-year-old Dalit womanwas allegedly gang-raped byfour men in Hathras onSeptember 14. She died onSeptember 29 at Delhi’sSafdarjung Hospital duringtreatment. Her cremation atnight by the authorities,allegedly without the consent ofher parents, triggered wide-

spread outrage.The plea, which also raised

the issue of delays in the trialof cases of sexual violence,came up for hearing before abench headed by Justice N VRamana.

“These issues have nothingto do with law,” said the bench,also comprising Justices SuryaKant and Aniruddha Bose.

“Right to freedom ofexpression is there. There isenough law for this. It is unfor-

tunate that such incidents hap-pen,” the bench observed.

The apex court furthersaid, “We cannot legislate lawafter law”

It said the petitioner canmake a representation to thegovernment.

On October 27, the topcourt had said the CBI inves-tigation in the Hathras case isto be monitored by theAllahabad High Court and theCRPF would provide securityto the victim’s family and wit-nesses in the case.

The apex court had deliv-ered the verdict in October ona batch of pleas raising con-cerns on the incident and alsothe manner in which the teenwas cremated.

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Five populated states name-ly Punjab, Himachal

Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,Haryana, and Rajasthan arereporting an increase in activeCovid-19 cases in the country,particularly in the last onemonth. In the process, they arereplacing Maharashtra,Karnataka, Kerala, AndhraPradesh and West Bengal,which have now started report-ing a decline in active cases forthe last few days, said an offi-cial from the Union HealthMinistry.

India has recorded 36,604new coronavirus cases in thepast 24 hours, taking the totalCovid caseload to nearly 95lakh while total fatality hastouched 1,38,122. The totalactive caseload has signifi-cantly dropped to 4.28 lakh inthe last 24 hours, said the offi-cial. This is the lowest after 132days. The total active cases were4,26,167 on 23rd July, 2020.

The dai ly new casesadded to the country’s covidnumbers have been around30K since the past three dayswhile the number of daily

recovered cases has surpassedthe daily new cases since thepast five days.

Similarly, showing thepositive trend, the differencein new recoveries outnum-bering new cases has alsoimproved the recovery rate to94.03 per cent on Wednesday.

The official pointed outthat 78.35 per cent of the newrecovered cases are observedto be concentrated in 10States/UTs with Maharashtrareporting maximum numberof single day recoveries with6,290 newly recovered cases.6,151 people recovered inKerala followed by 5,036 inDelhi. On the other hand,77.25 per cent of the newcases are from 10 States andUTs. Kerala reported thehighest daily new cases at5,375, fol lowed byMaharashtra with 4,930 newcases.

On the fatalities front,the contribution of 10States/UTs account for 79.84per cent. Maharashtra saw themaximum casualties (95).Delhi and West Bengal followwith 86 and 52 daily deaths,respectively.

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All CGHS beneficiaries—serving as well as pen-

sioners— will now be able toavail the health benefits ofalternate traditional systemswith the Union HealthMinistry approving a propos-al to empanel such Centres ofAyurveda, Yoga andNaturopathy under theGovernment health scheme.

“Private Day Care Therapycenters of Ayurveda, Yoga andNaturopathy will be empan-elled under the CGHS shortly,in a manner similar to empan-elment of similar day care cen-tres of conventional(Allopathy) medicine alreadyprovided under the CGHS,”said an official from theMinistry.

Initial empanelment ofday care therapy centres will beundertaken on pilot basis forDelhi and NCR for a period ofone year and subsequentlywould be considered for otherplaces.

The official said that the

step has been taken keeping inview of the growing popular-ity of AYUSH system of med-icines amongst the public atlarge and all CGHS beneficia-ries. The aim of the scheme isto improve the health andwellbeing, reduce health careexpenditure and provide excel-lence in service delivery, effi-ciency, and comfort to thepatients.

The treatment procedurerequiring a short duration ofstay in the Day Care TherapyCentre, ranging from a fewhours to less than a Day will bemade available to CGHS ben-eficiaries under this scheme.

“As the treatment proce-dure does not requireovernight stay in the unfamil-iar environment, it is extreme-ly convenient for children andelderly patients,” said the offi-cial.

At present treatment ofapproved procedures likePanchkarma and Abhyangaetc. is given only after hospi-talization in CGHS empanel-ment hospital.

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BJP’s IT Cell head and theWest Bengal co-in-charge

Amit Malviya’s counter tweeton the image of an elderlyfarmer being hit by police-men in Haryana, posted byCongress leader RahulGandhi, has run into contro-versy and is being flagged as“manipulated media” and“misleading”, in what is beingclaimed as the first suchinstance in India.

The image, posted by sev-eral Congress leaders includ-ing Rahul, showed a copswinging a baton at thefarmer who was trying tododge the blow. Rahul, in histweet, said as against hisparty’s slogan of “jai Jawan, Jaikisan,” here Jawan is hittingthe Kisan, which is “sad”.

Malviya, responding toRahul’ tweet, posted a “pro-paganda vs reality” tweet witha video of the same still withthe caption: “Rahul Gandhimust be the most discreditedopposition leader India hasseen in a long long time”. Thevideo showed the cop raising

the baton but the farmerescaping the blow and nottouching the elderly farmer.

But fact-check websiteAlt News put out a longervideo of the ‘same incident’,which showed policemenraining blows on protesters.Malviya was accused by crit-ics of using a cropped vidioand not showing it fullstretch.

Following this, twittertagged Malviya’s tweet as“manipulated media”.

It is, however, not clearwhether the farmer was “hit”by the same cop in the pictureor by some other batoncharge in Haryana.

Thousands of farmers,last week, marched towardsDelhi for their protest againstthe centre’s new farm lawsand faced teargassing, batonsand water cannons at sever-al points in Haryana.

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The Uttar PradeshGovernment told the

Supreme Court on Wednesdaythat “shocking findings” haveemerged in the investigationso far in the case in whichKerala-based scribe SiddiqueKappan was arrested on hisway to Hathras, where ayoung Dalit woman had diedafter allegedly being gang-raped.

Kappan claimed that he isworking as a journalist in aKerala-based daily but thatnewspaper was closed twoyears back, the state govern-ment told a bench headed byChief Justice S A Bobde.

“Investigation conductedso far has found some shock-ing findings,” Solicitor GeneralTushar Mehta told the bench,which also comprised JusticesA S Bopanna and VRamasubramanian.

The apex court, whichwas hearing a plea filed byKerala Union of WorkingJournalists (KUWJ) ques-tioning Kappan’s arrest, askedthe petitioner as to whetherthey would like to move thehigh court.

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India is the only high malar-ia endemic country in the

world which has reported adecline of 17.6 per cent invector-borne cases in 2019 ascompared to 2018, accordingto the latest report by theWorld Health Organization(WHO).

Stating that various sus-tained anti-malarial measuresare bearing results, the Union

Health Ministr y onWednesday said that theAnnual Parasitic Incidence(API) reduced by 27.6 percent in 2018 as compared to2017, and by 18.4 per cent in2019 as compared to 2018.

“India has sustained APIless than one since the year2012,” the Ministry said in astatement here.

As per the WHO’sWorld Malar ia Report(WMR) 2020, India has also

contributed to the largestdrop in such cases region-wide, from approximately 20million to about 6 million.

The percentage drop inthe malaria cases was 71.8 percent and deaths were 73.9 per-cent between 2000 to 2019, itsaid.

India achieved a reduc-tion of 83.34 per cent inmalaria morbidity and 92 percent in malaria mortalitybetween the year 2000

(20,31,790 cases, 932deaths) and 2019(3,38,494 cases, 77deaths), thereby achievingGoal 6 of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (50-75 per cent decrease incase incidence between2000 and 2019).

“Decrease in the inci-dence of malaria cases isalso exhibited in the year-on-year tally. The casesand fatal it ies have

declined significantly by 21.27per cent and 20 per cent,respectively in the year 2019(3,38,494 cases, 77 deaths) ascompared to 2018 (4,29,928cases, 96 deaths).

“The total number ofmalaria cases reported in2020 till October(1,57,284)has further decreased by 45.02per cent as compared to thecorresponding period of 2019(2,86,091),” the ministry saidquoting the report.

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Nearly three months afterhis arrest in connection

with Sushant Singh Rajpuitdeath-related drug case,Showik Chakraborty - thebrother of Bollywood actressRhea Chakraborty, was grant-ed bail by the Special NarcoticsDrugs and PsychotropicSubstances (NDPS) Act Courthere on Wednesday.

Special NDPS court judgeG B Gurao granted bail to himon a personal bond of Rs50,000.

Showik (24) had beenarrested along with late actorSushant Singh Rajput’s housemanager Samuel Miranda onSeptember 4. His actress-sisterRhea was arrested in connec-tion with the Sushant death-related drug case on September8. While Rhea was granted bailby the Bombay High Court onOctober 7, Showik was denied

bail by the bail.In a fresh bail application

filed on Showik’s behalf beforethe NDPS court, his lawyerSatish Maneshinde had saidthat no drug was recoveredfrom his client's possessionand that the NCB’s only evi-dence against his client wasusing the statements of co-accused as the evidence.

Maneshinde had cited arecent Supreme Court rulingwhich said that the statementsof the accused recorded underSection 67 of the NarcoticDrugs and PsychotropicSubstances (NDPS) Act by theNCB officials (who were con-sidered “police officers”) couldnot be considered confessionsHe had told the court that inthe light of the SC ruling therewas no reason to keep hisclient behind the bar.

He has claimed that inlight of the ruling, there is no

reason to keep him behindbars.

The NCB, which is inves-tigating the various drug angleslinked to the death of the lateactor, had alleged that Rhea andher brother Showik used facil-itate drug deliveries and pay-ment through credit cards,cash and other payment gate-ways. At one stage, the NCBhad accused Rhea and Showikof being “active members of adrug syndicate” and financing drugs for use bySushant.

It may be recalled thatBollywood actor Sushant SinghRajput was found hanging froma ceiling fan in his closed roomof his duplex flat at MontBlanc building at Bandra’sCarter Road in north-westMumbai on June 14.

Having registered a case ofAccidental Death Report(ADR) in connection with

Sushant’s death, the Bandrapolice had collected all docu-ments and pieces of evidence,including autopsy and forensicreports and recorded 56 state-ments as part of the investiga-tions carried out by it undersection 174 of Cr PC. Aftersubstantial investigations, theMumbai police had inferredSushant’s death was a case of“suicide”.

However, in the third weekof August, the Supreme Courttransferred the investigations inthe case to the CBI. In crucialforensic report submitted to theCBI last week, the AIIMS --which studied Sushant’s autop-sy report, the injury pattern onSushant’s body and correlatedit with circumstantial evidenceand also examined the pre-served viscera – ruled out thepossibility of a “murder” andsaid that it was a clear case of“suicide”.

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Alongside brave Indian soldierswho are occupying 'icy heights'

and braving adverse weather condi-tions in the eastern Ladakh sector itis the team of doctors, ace surgeonsand paramedics, drawn from differentcommand hospitals who are workinground the clock to keep them fightingfit.

To accommodate the large Armyof soldiers in the highest battlegroundthe Indian Army has already createdstate of the art modern infrastructurefacilities to cater to the special needsof the soldiers stationed at forwardlocations at an altitude of 16,000 to18,000 feet.

Super specialists and senior sur-geons from different command hos-pitals have been roped in to performspecial duties ranging between six toeight weeks at some of these forwardlocations to ensure safety of brave sol-diers. Specialists have been stationedat a Forward surgical centre (FSC) inthe eastern Ladakh sector to provideimmediate treatment to the needy sol-diers deployed along the LAC.Official sources said, “Field hospitalson ground zero are fully functional andare already performing specialisedtreatment for extreme winter-related

issues faced by troops”.According to a doctor who had

recently completed his tenure at a highaltitude location in the Siachen sector,“patients normally complain of highaltitude ailments such as breathlessnesswhen they are deployed at a forwardlocation”.

Sometimes patients also com-plain of stomach ache due to sub zerotemperature conditions and over doseof packaged food. Soldiers also reportfluctuation in their blood pressure andbrain stroke, Heart attack, color blind-ness etc. To address the issue, soldiersare directed to perform yoga asanasand breathing exercises, wheneverpossible to stay fit.

Defence sources said, “medicalOfficers are deployed with each unitalong with nursing assistants andother paramedics. In addition, surgi-cal teams are also stationed at aForward Surgical centre to cater to anycontingency in the operational area”.

These sources said ,”For everyBrigade centre there exists one fieldhospital and for every Division head-quarter there is one Forward Surgicalcentre”.

To ensure their own fitness, doc-tors need one week acclimatization ifthey have to be stationed at an altitudeup to 9,000 feet.

The acclimatization period isextended by four more days if a doc-tor is stationed at an altitude up to13,000 ft and further four daysacclimatization is required for higheraltitude locations up to 16,000 to 19000feet.

Last month, Army doctorsachieved a major feat at an altitude of16,000 feet as they successfullyremoved an appendix of a soldier ina dug-in at a forward surgical centrein the Eastern Ladakh.

The surgery was performed by ateam of three doctors including a LtColonel, a Major and a Captain on asoldier, who could not be evacuated bychopper due to the weather conditions.

According to official sources, “Toprotect soldiers from harsh weatherconditions in the region adequate win-ter clothing has been provided to themto beat sub zero temperature condi-tions”.

Besides ensuring availability ofbasic amenities including high proteindiet, routine ration, fuel supplies, sol-diers have been accommodated inArctic tents which can sustain tem-peratures between -20 to -40 degreesin the region. At base camps, central-ly heated barracks have been set up,equipped with modern heating appli-ances to protect the soldiers.

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Trinamool Congress’ sigh of reliefin the wake of a “fruitful” secret

dialogue with rebel party leaderSuvendu Adhikari was short lived asthe former Minister on Wednesdaysaid it was impossible for him towork with the ruling outfit in thecurrent circumstances.

The leader with a formidablemass base is known to haveWhatsApped his mind to senior MPand Chief Minister MamataBanerjee’s special emissary SaugatoRoy with whom peace talks were onfor the past fortnight or so.

Sources close to the Adhikariconsidered the most powerful leaderin the party after Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee said that he didnot like the way the details of histalks with the senior leadership was

communicated to the media earli-er.

A secret meeting featuringAdhikari, Roy, his Lok Sabha col-leagues Sudip Bandopadhyay,Abhishek Banerjee and electionstrategist Prashant Kishore washeld at a private residence in NorthKolkata late on Tuesday evening fol-lowing which Roy said that talkswere held in a cordial atmosphere,things had been sorted out.

“Suvendu Adhikari is not goingto BJP. It was a foolish assumption.Today Prashant Kishore, SudipBanerjee, Abhishek Banerjee and Ihad met him. It was a fruitfulmeeting and things have been sort-ed out. He is with TMC and we willwork together to make MamataBanerjee win again,” Roy said.

However, TMC’s euphoriaremained short lived as its East

Midnapore satrap and a formerNandigram spearhead of the ChiefMinister communicated to Roy viaWhattsapp that it was not possiblefor him to continue in the presentcircumstances.

Roy who is being investigatedby the central agencies in Naradapay off and chit fund cases hadexpressed his displeasure afterAbhishek Banerjee was given morepreference in internal mattersincluding organizational schemesthan him, insiders said.

Reacting to newest developmentin the TMC. BJP observer forBengal Kailash Vijaybargiya saidthat the decision the former minis-ter had taken was a foregone con-clusion. “This was bound to happenas no one can live in the TMC withself-respect … not in the least a bigleader like Suvendu Adhikari… He

is bound to leave that party and heis welcome in the BJP if he choos-es to do so.”

Bengal BJP president DilipGhosh said “Our doors are open forany able, leader who has goodtrack record and honest back-ground.”

Adhikari however has not madehis intention clear. Playing the cardclose to his chest he has not yetmade it clear whether he would jointhe BJP in near future.

Meanwhile, the BJP workersattacked a TMC party office atNandigram captured it soon afterAdhikari’s decision of not returningto the TMC fold was made public,sources said. A fierce turf war hadensued in that zone with the TMCretaliating by taking out a motorbikerally and vandalising some shops inthe area.

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress is unhappywith the “affairs” that led to the postponing bythe Oxford Union Debating Society of a sched-uled virtual address by Chief Minister MamataBanerjee.

A furious Trinamool leadership subse-quently told the newsmen that the move to post-pone the virtual address in the final moment“unprecedented”...

A senior leader said “A programme plannedmonths ahead was cancelled a few minutesbefore the event was scheduled to start. This isnot the first time that such a thing has happened.Earlier, too, her programmes at internationalfora and foreign visits have been cancelled at theeleventh hour. All sorts of pressure wereapplied from the highest level to stop MamataBanerjee's address. We condemn such politics.”

Banerjee was would become the firstIndian woman Chief Minister to address the“The Oxford Union Debate” had her pro-gramme was not cancelled. The organizers can-celled the programme at 1.50 pm just about anhour before it was scheduled to take place say-ing that “nothing prevails over circumstancessometimes.”

Bengal Home Department subsequentlytweeted: “Today afternoon, the organisers havesuddenly sought postponement and resched-uling of the programme at the last moment!”adding “The request has been made telephon-

ically from the organizers” end, citing someunforeseen problems, a brief while ago. The pro-gramme with Oxford Union today stands can-celled.”

“I sincerely hope that the Hon'ble ChiefMinister will understand and might honour uswith her esteemed presence at the earliest pos-sible convenience to you. With your permission,I will pass your details onto my successor, towhom I hand over this Friday,” an e-mail apol-ogy said.

Founded in 1823, the Oxford Union hashosted top world leaders as speakers, includingUS presidents Richard Nixon and RonaldRegan, British Prime Ministers WinstonChurchill and Margaret Thatcher, physicistAlbert Einstein and spiritual leader the DalaiLama. Banerjee was expected to speak on a hostof issues like her Government’s popular schemeslike Kanyashree, Sabuj Saathi, Swasthya Saathi,Krishak Bandhu, Duarey Bangla etc that hadearned worldwide acclaim and awards for theState Government in the past few years.

Incidentally in a similar development in2018 drawing criticism from the opposition par-ties including the TMC when Banerjee’s pre-scheduled programme to mark SwamiVivekananda's birth anniversary at Chicago, herscheduled visit to China and her address at StStephen's collegein New Delhi werecancelled. PNS

Kolkata: Senior Bengal Minister Firhad Hakimbecame the second human volunteer to take partin the third phase of corona vaccine trial that wasorganized at the National Institute of Cholera andEnteric Diseases or Niced in Kolkata. He was pre-ceded in the trial by one Biplab Jash.

Hakim reported no complaint saying “I am fineand there is no complication,” adding he was readyto sacrifice his life for the cause of humanity.

“Even if I have to give my life I am ready todo so but let there be a vaccine for the teeming mil-lions,” he said. He will be observed by the doctorsfor coming one year.

Meanwhile, Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar on Wednesday once again raised theissue of rampant corruption in the use of pandemicfund by the State Government and demandedprobe into it.

“I am aware that Rs 2000 crore pandemic pur-chase has suffered a fraud and needs to be inves-tigated,” adding when this was brought to the noticeof Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee she constituteda committee.

However he said the committee itself was notbeyond question. “But I wanted to know about whowere the investigators and who were investigated,”I also want to know the fate of the investigationby the investigators who perpetrated the scam,” hesaid. There was no immediate response from theState Government. PNS

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The picture of the black rivercontaining the polluted

water from the manufacturingunit and the city is going tochange now. According to thepreparations for the proposedMagh Mela in Prayagraj fromJanuary month, purifying thewater of the Kali nadi is alsoincluded in the plan. The pol-lution control board (PCB) hasstarted monitoring the riverwater.

Even though the dirty waterof a manufacturing unit of thedistrict does not flow into theKali River, but due to the sew-erage of the unit of Aligarh,Bulandshahr, its water is pollut-ed. In January, in Prayagraj, alarge number of devotees willreach to take bath in Magh Mela.After Kannauj, the black river

flows into the Ganges. From thegovernment level, the PCB hasgot directives to somehow cleanthe stream of black river whichfalls in the Ganges. PCB has nowstarted monitoring the water ofthe Kali nadi.

Recently, thousands of fishwere found dead in the blackriver. When the PCB examinedthe water, they found that theamount of dissolved oxygenhas been reduced from a mini-mum of 5 to 2 while the amountof biological oxygen demand hasincreased from a minimum of 2to a maximum of 12.

Ram Gopal, area Officer,Pollution Control Board saidthat we have started monitoringthe water of black river and arelooking at the possibilities ofhow to purify the water and howto balance the amount of oxygenin it.

Aligarh: Investors have lostcrores of rupees due to the dis-missal of Karvy Stock BrokingCompany Limited (KBCL)licence.

In November 2019, marketregulator SEBI had stoppedthe transaction after Karvywas charged with pledgingover Rs 2,300 crore worth ofshares of 95,000 customers tolenders for 600 crore rupees.Karvy is now blacklisted. Karvytransferred a large number ofinvestors' shares to anothercompany.

Even then, shares and cashof crores of rupees from thou-sands of investors could not bereturned. On 23 November, theNational Stock Exchange (NSE)SEBI has cancelled the license.Investors are making claims inthe Investor Protection Fund through the NationalSecurities Depository Limited(NSDL). PNS

Bareilly (UP): A prominent Islamicshrine here in Bareilly has issued areligious decree banning religiousconversion by force or allurement,endorsing the Uttar Pradesh's recentordinance aimed at curbing inter-faith marriages as an alleged ploy forconversion.

Bareilly's Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat,one of the most revered shrines forthe Barelvi sect of Sunni Muslims,issued the ‘fatwa' terming theforcible and fraudulent conversionas against the tenet of Islam.

In his decree, issued on Tuesdayevening, the president of Markaz-e-Darul Ifta of Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat,Mufti Musibur Rahman Rajvi, saidin the light of Quran and ‘Shariat',religious conversion by force orallurement is illegal.

Markaz-e-Darul Ifta presidentissued the decree in response tosome posers by Rashtriya SunniUlema Council president MaulanaInterzar Ahamad Kadri on the issueof interfaith marriages and entail-ing conversion.

Kadri had asked if a Muslimman can religiously convert a non-Muslim girl after marrying her byfraud.

The Rashtriya Sunni UlemaCouncil president had also asked ifthere exists in “Shariat” (Islamiclaws) any phenomena of “lovejihad”, a derogatory coinage refer-ring to the alleged campaign ofMuslims forcing Hindu girls toconvert in the guise of love.

On the question about “lovejihad”, the fatwa said Islam has no

place for any such thing. “It is a social evil that extends

from Western civilization. Love is anEnglish word and jihad an Arabic.It is not related to each other. In theeyes of the Shariat, love jihad has nostatus,” the fatwa said.

The Darul Ifta ulema has alsosupported the ordinance brought bythe Uttar Pradesh governmentrecently against wrongful conver-sion. This fatwa has also beentrending on social media.

The Uttar Pradesh ordinance,aimed at curbing forcible or fraud-ulent religious conversions includ-ing those in the garb of marriage,had got the assent of state GovernorAnandiben Patel. It provides for ajail term up to 10 years for any vio-lations. PTI

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New Delhi: The BorderSecurity Force (BSF) celebratedits 56th Raising Day on Tuesday.Union Minister of State forHome Affairs, Nityanand Raisaid on the occasion,”The bravepersonnel of the BSF are pro-tecting the borders of the coun-try with full vigour, despitetough terrain and adverse con-ditions. Saluting the supremesacrifice and indomitable gal-lantry of BSF Jawans in the lineof duty,”

Referring to the BSF’sArtillery Wing which is cele-brating its Golden Jubilee year,the Minister of State said he isconfident that the ArtilleryWing will achieve new heightsby carrying forward its glorioushistory. Lauding the womencontingent participating in theparade Rai said that it is reas-suring to see the increasingparticipation of women powerin the security of the country.

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It brought no fresh honourupon the Union Governmentthat agitating farmers from

Punjab were left to shiver on thestreets of Delhi the night gurud-waras had been illuminated forGuru Nanak Dev Jayanti. Even asthe farmers’ agitation had been rag-ing in Punjab since September, theGovernment had been complacentabout it till it knocked the doors ofDelhi. At that time, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had not blinkedtwice before accepting the resigna-tion of Harsimrat Kaur from theCabinet. Her party, ShiromaniAkali Dal (SAD), one of the old-est constituents of the NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA), quitthe ruling coalition a week later.

Whatever the parting of waysmight mean for the SAD, it couldhave serious consequences forpeace in the frontier State. TheBJP’s diminished clout in Punjabcontrasts with its firm grip at theCentre. Also, expanding footprintsacross India might actually drivethe Sikh-majority state into an iso-lationist mindset. The BJP-SADpartnership, according to the lateArun Jaitley, was as much a socialalliance as it was political. Theircoming together in the mid-1990swas an apt postscript to the end ofthe insurgency in Punjab.Moreover, the SAD’s support basewas among rural Jat Sikh agricul-turists while the urban Hindumiddle-class made up the BJP’sconstituency. So the breakup mighttrigger polarisation, with nefariouselements waiting in the wings torevive militancy in the state. Thiswill be the last thing the BJPwants in a State where Hindus arein a minority.

The Modi Government has noSikh face, barring Hardeep SinghPuri, who is a diplomat, rather thana politician by grooming, and helost the Amritsar seat in the 2019Lok Sabha election. The council ofministers is lacking even the orna-mental presence of S.S. Ahluwalia,BJP MP from West Bengal, thoughhe never represented Sikh votes.The saffron party had earlier lostNavjyot Singh Sidhu to theCongress.

The Government might havethe best interest of farmers in itsheart while enacting the new agri-cultural laws but reforms in theagricultural marketing sector werelong overdue to make farmingremunerative. While there was nobar on selling agriculture produce

in the open market, outside theMSP regime, or on items notprocured by the Government,even before the new laws wereenacted, there was no commer-cial and legal architecture for it.Sadly, the Government felt thatconsensus-building was redun-dant. The laws, enacted duringthe Monsoon Session, had orig-inally been rushed through theOrdinance route on June 5. It isunclear whether there were evenminimal consultations with theState Governments (agriculturebeing a State subject under theSeventh Schedule of theConstitution), farmers’ associa-tions and other stakeholders.Even the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh(BKS), a front organisation of theRSS, is unhappy with the way theGovernment dealt with the issue.Mohini Mohan Mishra, the BKSAll India Secretary, recentlystated that nearly 25,000 farm-ers had sent a proposal to thePrime Minister.

There’s no doubt that thelaws have been made for thetraders and would eventuallybenefit them. This is akin towhat Rabindranath Tagore,speaking of the British rulewedded to the idea of progress,observed: “They are not unwill-ing to do a favour but don’t wishto come close. They wouldrather feel relieved if they canhastily beat retreat after doingthe favour…they don’t do mercy,they do a favour, they do not lovebut protect; do not respect buttry to act fairly; they do not irri-gate the land, though neverungenerous in sowing abundantquantity of seeds” (Raja-Praja,P.4-5). His remarks appeartelling today. The Government’scavalier attitude that “we knowwhat’s good for you” vis-à-vis the

farmers has clearly run intoproblems. Even if the VigyanBhawan talks break the ice, theGovernment would have final-ly realised that to act in haste andrepent in leisure is not a goodpolicy.

The critics of the farmers’agitation, active on social media,

have been quick to dub thefarmers as supporters ofKhalistan. Fake photos werealso circulated on the digitalspace. The question is what dothey propose to do even if theyare Khalistan sympathisers?Would they like to send theArmy to quell them? Can theBJP Government afford to burnits bridges in Punjab? Do theyhave a strong constituency oftheir own or friends to rely uponif the agrarian crisis, god forbid,deepens into a social crisis?

The unsympathetic attitudeof slandering democratic gov-ernments of the past for farm-ers’ woes must stop. When aGovernment tries to de-legit-imise the Opposition or viceversa, forces inimical to democ-racy and peace (like theKhalistanis, for instance) takeover. Punjab has profited fromthe dam-building policies byJawaharlal Nehru, FoodCorporation of India (FCI) pro-curement by Lal Bahadur Shastriand the Green Revolution byIndira Gandhi. The right waythe Modi Government canpackage its agriculture policy isby saying that it wants to take thestory forward through mea-sures long overdue.

Fortunately, the BJP did nothave to fight the Khalistaniinsurgency in the State in the1980s and early 1990s. It wasfought mostly by the CongressGovernment, even though it waspartly responsible for its rise andmomentum. In the 1980s,Khalistanis gained by projectingthe post-Green Revolutionagrarian problems in Punjabalong communal lines. At thattime, the Congress, which wasin as strong a position acrossIndia as the BJP is today, was

projected as a Hindu fascistparty. The Hindus of Punjabbecame the first targets ofKhalistani violence. This issomething that all parties,including the BJP, have avoidedrecalling in public for fear ofopening old wounds. Traces ofKhalistani elements, there is nogainsaying, are still active inPunjab. They are likely to exploitfor their evil agenda any unsym-pathetic attitude of theGovernment towards the farm-ers, the bulk of whom are Sikhs.The farmers of Punjab have sofar rightly avoided communal-ising the current issue unlikethey did so in the 80s. In fact,when their agitation took off inmid-September, it was bothagainst the Centre as well as theState, where the Congress is cur-rently in power. Apart fromrolling back the farm bills, theyalso wanted loan waiver fromthe State Government. However,in the last two months, theCongress has been able to gar-ner the farmers’ sympathies.

In politics, sentiments mat-ter as much as policy. Way backin March, 1783, a Sikh force ledby Baba Baghel Singh and JassaSingh Alhuwalia had attackedMughal Delhi to hoist the trian-gular saffron flag at Red Fort. Atroop of 30,000 Nihang Sikhsencamped at a place nearby,which later came to be knownas Tis Hazari. The farmers ofPunjab have beaten their swordsin ploughshares and spears intopruning hooks. Nothing must bedone to wake up the sleepingdemons of the 1780s or the1980s.

(The writer is an author andindependent researcher based inNew Delhi. Views are personal.)

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������������ ���Sir — The recent trilateralmeeting between India, SriLanka and Maldives led to a his-torical decision on expandingthe scope of intelligence shar-ing to arrest terrorism and beefup cybersecurity. This could seta precedent of self-reliance,security, unity and trust in theworld of South-Asian geo-pol-itics. It will help India gain dom-inance in the sub-continent.With last week’s agreementsbetween India and Bahrain toenhance technology, securityand IT, it can be assumed thatIndia is stepping up efforts todraw neighbouring countriescloser. This way, India can playan important role in ensuringAsian unity and world peace.

Sunil ChilwalHaldwani

������������Sir —Any attempt by any alter-nate science to come at par withWestern medicine will alwaysbe suppressed and theWesterners will continue toensure their dominance in thisfield. Yet their science is just 200years old, much younger thanour age-old Ayurveda. But oursis a more holistic system of

treatment with Sushruta per-forming surgeries well ahead ofour times. So is there logic innot allowing post-graduateAyurveda practitioners fromperforming general surgeries asadvocated by the Centre?

Of course, it is well knownthat Kshar-Sootra has receivedsupport from eminent proctol-ogists as the most effectivetreatment for haemorrhoids

and anal fistula. PrasootiTantra, too, has helped in eas-ing gynaecological problems.But that does not mean that wecan open up general surgeriesto vaids. Given the quality ofinstruction and in the absenceof a regulatory code guiding alltraditional medicine institu-tions, its practitioners may notbe equipped to conduct surg-eries at this point. Even minor

procedures need to be clearedonly after meeting modernstandards of efficacy.

Jai Prakash GuptaAmbala Cantt

�������������������Sir — UK’s approval of thePfizer-BioNTech COVID-19vaccine gives hope that we maysoon be able to fight the pan-demic but there are concerns.

About 100 drug developmentteams worldwide are racing todevelop vaccines to distributethem on a large scale. Amidthis, Pfizer said that its trialsshowed more than 90 per centefficacy. While this is a reasonto cheer, there are also concernsbecause it needs to be stored atsub-zero temperatures — alogistical nightmare for Indiawith few ultra-cold freezersand a huge population. The newtwo-shot vaccine from Pfizerhas to be maintained at minus80°C. Nowhere on the planetdoes the logistical capacity existto distribute vaccines at thistemperature. Although vaccinescould prove to be a game-changer for the pandemic,wealthy nations have alreadybought up more than half thefuture supply. India has beenscrambling to secure 500 mil-lion doses by July from manu-facturers, in addition to devel-oping its own Covaxin. Indiaalso plans to manufacture up to200 million doses of candidatevaccines from AstraZeneca andNovavax next year.

Bhagwan ThadaniMumbai

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It is an unfortunate fact that breathing cleanair, the most basic of human needs for sur-vival, has become a luxury for many around

the globe, and particularly in India, which hous-es 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world.Looking at the severity of the problem of air pol-lution and its consequences on the health of mil-lions of people, animals and plants worldwide,dirty air is now being seen as one of the most seri-ous hazards.

Ever since the issue of deteriorating air qual-ity has been highlighted and documented, therehave been growing concerns over its economicaspects, in terms of investments, technologydevelopment and the cost benefits of handlingair pollution. This relationship between environ-mental degradation and economic needs has beenthe object of constant debate among environmen-tal economists. During the last two decades, thisdebate has raised several questions about attain-ing sustainability by normalising environmen-tal management and economic growth with theparticipation of inhabitants on the same scale.

Peripheral effects or externalities are one ofthe most basic concepts evoked by economistswhile looking at problems of environmental pol-lution. In economics, an externality is an impor-tant cause for market failure that arises when theproduction or consumption activities of anindividual or a firm influence the well-being ofbystanders. For instance, smoking a cigarette ina public place, an open kitchen in a hotel, or usingconventional wood/coal-fired cooking stoves inrural households are considered to create a neg-ative impact on the people in the vicinity.

Air pollution is essentially a negative exter-nality as it imposes costs on people who are exter-nal to the transaction of a polluting product.While sustainability focusses on integratingeconomic activity with environmental protectionand social problems, it is obvious that econom-ic development, which ignores environmentaland social impacts, could generate undesirableconsequences on sustainability trends.

There is a general agreement that we mustprevent pollution of our natural resources like air,water and land. On the contrary, there are con-siderable disputes over how controls should bedesigned and how much control is needed. Fromthe Indian perspective, the pollution control lawsand mechanisms adopted four decades ago in1981 got amended over time. They tended to leantowards detailed regulation of technology, leav-ing polluters little choice in methods to achieveenvironmental goals. However, a rapid econom-ic and social change challenge policy design andimplementation. The need of the hour is to lookfor innovative solutions to avoid pollutionrather than focussing on its control only.Addressing the root cause is the most probablesolution left to us. India needs to strengthen itscapacity, both ideologically and practically,through governmental actions and citizen par-ticipation. This would support economic devel-opment, promote the industrial set-up andresult in employment generation.

Thus, understanding the severity of air pol-lution and its associated impacts, the Governmentof India released its strategic action plan theNational Clean Air Programme (NCAP) inJanuary 2019. It clearly elucidates that the tech-nological drawbacks and limitations in expertiseare considered as a major hindrance in achiev-ing our environmental obligations. Thus, swift

technology transfer mechanisms andeffective capacity-building are the wayforward for any collaboration inaddressing persisting environmentalissues.“An ounce of prevention is wortha pound of cure”, said Sir BenjaminFranklin. The importance of curbing airpollution activities over reduction mea-sures cannot be stressed enough. It isthe most effective and economically-feasible option for the long-term.

Along with environmental benefits,pollution prevention practices coulddirectly improve the nation’s well-being by providing a cleaner environ-ment, which in turn increases produc-tivity and the effective use of resources.Hence, in order to meet both econom-ic growth and environmental protectionsimultaneously, it is necessary to widenthe gap between emissions and eco-nomic output with judicious resourceutilisation.

As cost-effective emission controlhas been in focus for decades in inter-national air pollution regulations, thebalance between market-based policiesfor prevention of air quality deteriora-tion and economics of contaminationreduction is expected to play a signif-icant role in India’s economic road map,which aims to achieve the $5 trillion-mark by 2025. The experiences fromdeveloped nations have to be replicat-ed in terms of India’s existing dismal airquality scenario, which includes tech-nologies and mechanisms with short,medium and long-term effects andgoals.

Emissions from the industrial andconstruction sectors are considered asmajor sources of particulate matter pol-lution in India, while the NOx (nitro-gen oxide) emissions are majorly con-

tributed by the transport and powergeneration sector. Thus pollution pre-vention needs to be initiated from thesesectors as the first step towards cleanair. With thoughts of shifting from coal-based energy to natural gas, the tran-sition could provide a long-term answerto climate change with a significantdecrease in CO2 and other air qualitybenefits. But the cost of technologicaldevelopment along with the implemen-tation and industrial acceptance sce-nario needs to be accounted for.

In India, natural gas formed about5.6 per cent of the country’s total ener-gy supply in 2018. The deployment ofa large-scale fuel switch from coal tonatural gas is influenced by various fac-tors viz. switching demand and supplyconstraints, infrastructure, technologyadaptability, high upfront costs and skillcapacity. On the other hand, the recentintroduction of the Faster Adoption andManufacturing of Electric Vehicles(FAME-II) policy, along with BharatStage Emission Standards (BS-VI) ontechnology and fuels, emphasises theGovernment’s efforts in curbing pollu-tants associated with the transportsector.

Moreover, subsidies in the purchasecost of electric vehicles (EVs) wouldincrease cost-effectiveness and accep-tance among people, which would bea huge step for the transport sector.

On the same lines, the PradhanMantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) aimsto provide 100 per cent LiquefiedPetroleum Gas (LPG) access to allhouseholds in India to alleviate the direimpacts of biomass/firewood use forcooking. The need of the hour is theeffective management of the cropresidue, burning of which by farmers

has been a nuisance for some time now.TERI suggests an effective crop residuebusiness model, which emphasises thedecentralised use of biomass at the vil-lage and industry level. It creates aneffective strategy for creating jobsalong with crop stubble management.

The emergence of novel technolo-gies curbing emissions has proven to bean effective tool in stimulating invest-ments in clean energy technology at thesource. Economic models project thatthe introduction of such measures atsource would result in job losses insome sectors (fossil fuel) and job cre-ation in others (renewable energy andso on). In the long-run, such environ-mental policies will favour the econo-my as they will stimulate more efficientuse of resources and result in healthbenefits.

Reducing emissions is a wise, long-term investment that contributes to sev-eral development goals and ultimatelywill yield substantial benefits.Increasing urbanisation and econom-ic development activities along with alack of effective implementation arefuelling air pollution problems.Addressing the issue of a deterioratingair quality requires multi-level partner-ships, incorporating the Government,the private sector, the industry, acade-mia, research institutes, the civil soci-ety and associations with more cohe-sive efforts. The allocation of �460 crorefor pollution-control schemes under theUnion Budget needs to be smartlyinvested with equal emphasis onincreasing public awareness and tech-nology infrastructure.

(Iyer is Fellow, Kamaraju isAssociate Fellow and Emmanuel isResearch Associate, TERI)

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Amid the Coronavirus pandem-ic, the recent Indo-US 2+2Dialogue between US Secretary

of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary ofDefence Mark Esper and their Indiancounterparts, Foreign Minister SJaishankar and Defence MinisterRajnath Singh, has provided a much-needed impetus to a new roadmap indealing with myriad security concernsand challenges posed by the overex-pansionist Chinese mission. Duringthe dialogue, India and the US signedfive agreements, including the BasicExchange and Cooperation Agreement(BECA) that will allow for real-time

sharing of geospatial data. Besides,issues of global cooperation in the eco-nomic arena and public health alongwith the border security apparatus andgeospatial information sharing remaina vital part of the pact.

This would certainly provide ahuge platform for future Indo-US tiesthrough diplomatic endeavours and bethe beginning of a new era of defencedeals. Although it is the third 2+2Dialogue, it holds more importance asthe BECA would enhance the chancesof sharing information with regard toinner-satellite data, military and intel-ligence along with logistics facilities.This is vital as the rising tentacles ofChinese expansionism have raisedserious concerns about the safety of theentire region. In fact, the Quad Group,comprising India, Australia, Japanand the US, recently held a joint navalexercise to counter the threat posed byChina and to ensure security in theIndo-Pacific region.

The BECA would be helpful indeveloping international cooperationfor fighting trans-national terrorism.

According to analysts, it is a welcomedevelopment as it would provide a plat-form for multi-layered security coop-eration that would deal with variousother issues related to terrorism. Rightfrom funding of terrorist activities,policing cooperation, dealing withcyber threats, secrecy through enhanc-ing technological innovations andtightening the border to maritimesecurity information-gathering exer-cise. Cooperation and coordination inaggrandisement of communicationcapabilities and management of secu-rity arrangements to deal with any kindof threat are the main objectives of thepact. The catch here lies in how to gen-erate prudence to anticipate a possiblethreat from religiously-motivatedbands of distraught people.

There would also be chances ofincreased cooperation under theCommunication Compatibility andSecurity Agreement (COMCASA)between the security and defenceestablishments of the two largestdemocracies of the world. However,there has been a paradigm shift in the

foreign policy outlook of nations.Countries have become more pragmat-ic in dealing with others and have start-ed building one-to-one relationships.Therefore, the apprehensions of hav-ing an adverse impact on ties witheither Russia, Iran or China are notgoing to have a place in strategic pol-icy formulation in the present scenario.

Another important area, whichrequires immediate attention andcooperation, is developing a mecha-nism to deal with the chemicalweapons in possession of the newbreed of terrorists. Chemical weaponsare not easily detectable and hence areeasily transportable, as compared toconventional arms. International coop-eration in terms of forming strict lawsand regulations that prevent the acqui-sition of such weapons can provide astrategic management in dealing withterror.

The cooperation between Indiaand the US may also develop a fool-proof mechanism to put an end to theaccessibility of RDX, ErythritolTetranitrate (Penta) and sophisticat-

ed weapons like AK-56 and AK-47assault rifles. Plus, cooperation inpolicing while dealing with the men-ace of drug trafficking will provide astrong mechanism to crack the nexusbetween terrorists and drug dealers inPakistan, Afghanistan, Laos and so on.

However, the main challenge willbe how to frame a strategy to deal withreligiously-motivated terrorists. It iscommendable that the US security andintelligence network could control fur-ther terrorist attacks after September11. India can learn a lesson or two fromthis. Unless we develop a high-levelintelligence network to anticipate suchthreats, the talk of combating strate-gies would only remain a chimera.

During the last two decades, theobnoxious nexus between drug smug-glers and terrorists has posed a seri-ous problem for internal security net-works and compelled various nationsto organise themselves and wage arelentless war against this. But mereimplementation of vigorous drug lawscannot be effective unless the judicialprocedure is modified to ensure speedy

trials. This agreement is an opportu-nity to nip Pakistan’s trouble-makingtactics and the narco-terror it isspreading in the region, as well as curbChina’s expansionist plans.

There is a major transnationaltransition on account of a rapidlychanging value system across theglobe as well as a shift in world-levelpower sharing. Slowly, the old order isgiving way to the new. The recentdevelopments and terror attacks in dif-ferent parts of the globe offer a fewlessons: First, no authority can affordto ignore the popular aspirations of themasses anymore. Change and unrestare inevitable if the demands of peo-ple are not met.

The process of a new threat trans-formation has just begun. Therefore,the present initiative by theGovernments of the US and Indiawould provide a new framework ofsecurity-related information sharingand more chances of confidence build-ing for a better future.

(The writer is a Professor of PoliticalScience)

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Warsaw (Poland): KarolinaMicula had used her bare chestin political protest once before.

When Poland’s right-winggovernment first tried to restrictabortion rights, the actress andsinger delivered an intense per-formance onstage in Wroclawin 2017 that included herspreading paint in the nation-al colors — white and red —onto her breasts and face, end-ing with a fist raised high.

When the authorities triedagain to impose a near-totalban on abortion in October thisyear, Micula, along with afriend, again stripped to herwaist and stood on top of a carat a busy Warsaw intersectionduring a protest, holding aflare high and giving the mid-dle finger.

“A woman’s body is a placeof political battle,” the 32-year-old said from her Warsawapartment in an interview.

“My gesture meant that I

will do with my body whatev-er I want to do with it. If I wantto stand naked in front of peo-ple, I will do it, because it’s mychoice.” AP

Hong Kong: Hong Kong pro-democracy activists JoshuaWong, Agnes Chow and IvanLam were sentenced to jail onWednesday on charges relatedto an unauthorised anti-gov-ernment protest last year at thecity’s police headquarters.

Wong, who pleaded guiltyto organizing and participat-ing in the protest, received 131/2 months behind bars.Chow, who also pleaded guiltyto participating in the protestand inciting others to takepart, received 10 months,while Lam received 7 monthsafter pleading guilty to incite-ment.

The protest took place onJune 21 last year, and sawthousands surround the policeheadquarters as they demon-strated against excessive forceby police against protesters, aswell as a now-withdrawn extra-dition bill that would haveallowed suspects to be extra-dited to mainland China.

The trio were members ofthe now-defunct politicalgroup Demosisto. It is the firsttime that Chow, 23, has beengiven a jail sentence. Wong, 24,and Lam, 26, had previouslybeen jailed over charges relat-ed to their activism.

Their jailing comes asBeijing tightens control overthe semi-autonomous city fol-lowing months of anti-gov-ernment protests last year,which occasionally saw violentclashes between protesters andpolice. AP

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Washington: US President-elect Joe Biden has said that hewon’t immediately lift tariffsplaced by President DonaldTrump on many imports fromChina or break Trump’s initialtrade deal.

Biden says he wants tomaximise his leverage in futuretalks with the United States’geopolitical rival.

Speaking to New YorkTimes columnist ThomasFriedman, Biden said, “I’m notgoing to make any immediatemoves, and the same applies tothe tariffs.” Biden adds inFriedman’s column publishedWednesday: “I’m not going toprejudice my options.”

Under Trump, the U.S.And China engaged in a year-long trade war that has beenlargely frozen since a PhaseOne deal was reached inJanuary. While some industrieshave benefited from Trump’sprotectionist policies, the poli-cies have been largely pannedby the business communityand most experts — and mostof the cost of tariffs has beenborne by American businessesand consumers.

Biden tells Friedman anearly priority after his Januaryswearing-in will be to restorerelationships with allies tostrengthen his negotiating posi-tion with China. AP

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Washington: Ron Klain haschecked all the boxes of a clas-sic Washington striver :Georgetown, Harvard Law,Supreme Court clerk andCapitol Hill staffer, WhiteHouse adviser and, along theway, of course, lobbyist andlawyer.

Now he is preparing toserve as President-elect JoeBiden’s chief of staff, a job oftenreferred to as the nation’s chiefoperating officer.

His gilded resume, deepknowledge of the gears and

levers of power in the capitaland decadeslong associationwith Biden have also donesomething unusual in today’sWashington: drawn praise fromboth sides of the ideologicaldivide.

The 59-year-old father ofthree has a reputation amongDemocrats and, strikingly, evensome Republicans for compe-tence - a notable attribute afteran administration that reward-ed and dismissed people basedon their loyalty to PresidentDonald Trump. AP

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Washington: DisputingPresident Donald Trump’s per-sistent, baseless claims,Attorney General William Barrdeclared the US JusticeDepartment has uncovered noevidence of widespread voterfraud that could change theoutcome of the 2020 election.

Barr’s comments, in aninterview Tuesday with theThe Associated Press, contra-dict the concerted effort byTrump, his boss, to subvert theresults of last month’s votingand block President-elect JoeBiden from taking his place inthe White House.

Barr told the AP that USattorneys and FBI agents havebeen working to follow upspecific complaints and infor-mation they’ve received, but “todate, we have not seen fraud ona scale that could have effect-ed a different outcome in theelection.” AP

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Copenhagen: A Hong Kongpro-democracy activist who isvisiting Denmark urgedEuropean nations onWednesday to allow protestersin Hong Kong “a safe havenfrom the terror” of China’sCommunist Party.

“The situation in HongKong is getting worse by the dayand it is important that theworld knows that Hong Kongis no longer a free city,” Ted Huisaid in an email to TheAssociated Press.

Britain has extended resi-dency rights for up to 3 millionHong Kongers eligible forBritish National Overseas pass-ports, allowing them to live andwork there for five years.

Britain also has followed

the United States, Australiaand Canada in suspendingextradition agreements withHong Kong, a city of 7.5 mil-lion people which became aspecial administrative region ofChina in 1997 after Britainreturned control of the territo-ry to Beijing, which promisedit autonomy over local affairsfor 50 years.

Hui arrived in Denmark onTuesday “to change the Danishgovernment’s stance,” accordingto Thomas Rohden, chairmanof the Danish China CriticalSociety, which organized histrip. A former lawmaker, Huiwas able to get his passport backfrom the government and a visaafter receiving an invitationfrom Danish lawmakers. AP

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Iran’s President HassanRouhani on Wednesday

rejected a bill approved byparliament that would havesuspended UN inspections andboosted uranium enrichment,saying it was “harmful” todiplomatic efforts aimed atrestoring the 2015 nuclear dealand easing US sanctions.

The tug-of-war over thebill, which gained momentumafter the killing of a prominentIranian nuclear scientist lastmonth, reflects the rivalrybetween Rouhani, a relativemoderate, and hard-line law-makers who dominate parlia-ment and favour a more con-frontational approach to theWest.

The bill would have sus-

pended UN inspections andrequired the government toresume enriching uranium to20 per cent if European nationsfail to provide relief from crip-pling U.S. Sanctions on thecountry’s oil and banking sec-tors. That level falls short of thethreshold needed for nuclearweapons but is higher than thatrequired for civilian purposes.

Speaking at a Cabinetmeeting, Rouhani said hisadministration, “does not agreewith that and considers itharmful for the trend of diplo-matic activities.” He implied thelawmakers were positioningthemselves ahead of electionsplanned for June.

He added that “today, weare more powerful in thenuclear field than at any othertime.”

Beijing: China on Wednesdayrejected US accusations it isweakening its enforcement ofUN sanctions against NorthKorea, but said more efforts areneeded toward reaching a polit-ical settlement and greaterattention should be paid to theimpact of the sanctions onordinary North Koreans.

Foreign ministry spokesper-son Hua Chunying wasresponding to comments by theState Department’s deputy envoyfor North Korean affairs, AlexWong, in which he said Chinawas no longer even attemptingto enforce many of the sanctions,including a requirement to expelNorth Korean contract workers.

“The Chinese governmentincreasingly allows its compa-nies to conduct trade withNorth Korea in a broad spec-trum of UN-prohibited goods,”

Wong said at a seminar inWashington on Tuesday.

Chinese and NorthKorean-flagged ships also reg-ularly transport coal, a keyNorth Korean export coveredby sanctions, Wong said.

Hua told reporters at adaily briefing that, as a perma-nent member of the SecurityCouncil and “a responsible bigpower, China has alwaysearnestly implemented SecurityCouncil resolutions and fulfilledits international obligations.”

“Under the current situa-tion, all parties should spendmore time and energy to pro-mote the political settlementprocess of the peninsula issueand pay more attention to thenegative impact of sanctionson the (North Korean) popu-lation and their livelihood,”Hua said. AP

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New York: In a major move,the South Korean parliamenthas passed a bill allowing musicsensation BTS and other musi-cians to postpone their manda-tory military service until theage of 30.

As per the South Koreanlaws, all able-bodied SouthKorean men, aged between 18and 28, are required to serve inthe military for about twoyears, reported New YorkTimes.

Two of the members of thegroup, Jin and Suga, will soonturn 28 and their with thegroup was under threat. PTI

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Islamabad: Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran Khan onWednesday said that his gov-ernment would work on a pri-ority basis to grant the provi-sional provincial status to GilgitBaltistan, according to a mediareport.

His remarks came after hearrived in the disputed regionto attend the oath-taking cer-emony of the 14-member GilgitBaltistan Cabinet.

“What will the new gov-ernment do? First, we willwork on granting the regionprovisional provincial status sothat the prevailing sense ofdeprivation [among the peo-ple] can be eradicated,” Dawnnewspaper quoted Khan assaying. PTI

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Islamabad: A Pakistani courton Wednesday declared NawazSharif a proclaimed offenderafter the former premier failedto appear before it despiterepeated summons served inconnection with two corrup-tion cases.

The two-member benchof the Islamabad High Court(IHC) comprising JusticeAamer Farooq and JusticeMohsin Akhtar Kayani heardthe case about Sharif ’s appealsagainst convictions in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield cases.

The court said that noticeswould also be issued to thesureties of Sharif to show thecause for their failure to pro-duce him as per the orders ofthe court. The court wasinformed by officials of theForeign Office and InteriorMinistry that Sharif was dulyinformed about the summonsof the court both in London,where he was living, and hisresidence in Lahore. PTI

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New Delhi:The Centre is work-ing on major interventions toposition India as a global hubin the manmade fibre andtechnical textiles segments,including setting up five inte-grated mega textiles parks, astate-of-the-art world class test-ing lab and bringing a FocusedProduct Scheme, a top officialsaid on Wednesday.

Emphasising that Indiamust explore the USD 150 bil-lion global manmade fibre(MMF) market, TextilesSecretary Ravi Capoor alsosaid he is in talks with theDepartment of HigherEducation for introduction ofcourses in universities andtechnical institutions like engi-neering colleges for creation ofspecialised manpower in theMMF and technical textilessegments.

Addressing a CII confer-ence virtually, Capoor said anevaluation study led by NitiAayog on the TechnologyUpgradation Fund Scheme(TUFS) of the textiles ministryhas revealed that Rs 13,000crore worth machinery was

being imported by India andthe country has reached

nowhere in terms of tech-nology upgradation except inthe spinning segment.

He said the government isalso willing to offer capitalinvestment subsidy for settingup machine manufacturingplants to textile industry play-ers interested in forging jointventures, provided the foreignpartner agrees to supplymachines to domestic firms ata particular price.

“We want to make India avery strong base for technicaltextiles,” Capoor said, addingthat a Focused Product Schemeoffering production-linkedincentives was “almost ready”and will lay special emphasis onthe MMF and technical textilessegments. He said the ministrywas in a “very advanced stageof encouraging some megatextile parks”, starting withabout five such parks withintegrated facilities and quickturnaround time for minimis-ing transportation losses, eye-ing big ticket investments in thesector. PTI

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The BSE Sensex slipped fromrecord highs to end mar-

ginally lower on Wednesdaywhile the Nifty edged up to afresh closing record amid prof-it-booking in financial stocksand muted global cues.

After touching a low of44,169.97 during the session,the 30-share Sensex pared mostlosses to finish at 44,618.04,down 37.40 points or 0.08 percent.

The broader NSE Niftyedged higher by 4.70 points or0.04 per cent to end at its freshclosing record of 13,113.75.

Banking and finance stocksbore the brunt of profit sellingahead of the RBI policyannouncement this week.Kotak Bank was the top loseramong Sensex stocks, droppingby 3.28 per cent.

HDFC Bank declined by1.86 per cent, HDFC by 1.28per cent and ICICI Bank by0.99 per cent. SBI fell 0.5 percent while Bajaj Finance shed0.72 per cent.

Larsen & Toubro dropped0.16 per cent. On the otherhand, ONGC rose the most by

4.11 per cent, followed byAsian Paints (3.74 per cent) andTitan (3.48 per cent). Autostocks gained after the compa-nies reported sales growth inthe domestic market inNovember, aided by robustofftake amid the festival season.

New Delhi:India’s sugar pro-duction jumped over two foldat 42.9 lakh tonnes duringOctober-November owing toearly start of mills this season,according to industry bodyISMA. Sugar marketing yearruns from October toSeptember. According to thedata, the country’s sugar pro-duction stood at 42.9 lakhtonnes during October-November period of 2020-21marketing year as against 20.72lakh tonnes in the year-agoperiod. The association attrib-uted the rise in production toearly start of sugarcane crush-ing this season. “The produc-tion trend in the current sea-son so far, appears to be moreor less similar to 2018-19 sugarseason when 418 sugar millshad produced 40.69 lac tons ofsugar, as on 30th November,2018, except that the diversionof cane juice and B-molassesthis season to ethanol will bemuch more, resulting in a netreduction of around 20 lakhtons of sugar,” ISMA said. PTI

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The Indian economy is com-ing out of the pandemic-

induced degrowth and GDPgrowth will enter the positiveterritory in the fourth quarterof this fiscal, Niti Aayog ViceChairman Rajiv Kumar said onWednesday.

In an interview to PTI,Kumar also said the Centre’snew agriculture reform laws areaimed at increasing the incomeof farmers and the present agi-tation was a result of misun-derstanding and miscommu-nication which need to beremoved.

“The second quarter GDP

figure (contraction of 7.5 percent) reflects that the economyis coming out of this pandem-ic-induced degrowth phaseand my expectation is that inthe third quarter, we willachieve the same level of eco-nomic activity as the year-agoperiod.

“And the fourth quarterwill show a small but positivegrowth over the previous yearbecause the government has...Ushered in many structuralreforms and some more are inthe pipeline,” he said.

Stating that all thosereforms will provide a verystrong foundation for acceler-ating the economic growth in

the fiscal year 2021-22 andbeyond, Kumar said,”we havenow shrugged off the negativeimpact of the pandemic and aremoving towards a sustainedhigh growth trajectory in thecoming years”.

About India’s growthfigure in the current fiscalyear, he said it will be betterthan negative 9 or 10 per cent,as has been forecast by many,including the RBI.

Kumar noted that theCOVID-19 pandemic had anunprecedented negative impacton economic activities but thiswas completely in the nature ofa natural disaster and not relat-ed to the regular economic

cycle.“Therefore, it is quite

irrelevant to talk about theeconomy being in a technicalrecession,” he emphasised.

On better than expectedmanufacturing growth of 0.6per cent in the second quarterof 2020-21, Kumar said this hascome as a pleasant surprise.

“But there is a base effectbut nonetheless, it is alsoendorsed by the higher collec-tion of GST in the last threemonths,” he said, adding thatthe manufacturing sector willcontinue to do well in thethird quarter because of the fes-tival demand and the pent-updemand.

India’s economy recoveredfaster than expected in theSeptember quarter as a pick-upin manufacturing helped GDPclock a lower contraction of 7.5per cent and held out hopes for

further improvement on betterconsumer demand.

The Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) had shrunk bya massive 23.9 per cent in thefirst quarter of the current fis-cal as the COVID-19 lockdownpummelled economic activity.

The second straight quar-ter of contraction pushed Indiainto a technical recession forthe first time.

The Reserve Bank of Indiahas projected the Indian econ-omy to contract 9.5 per cent inthe current fiscal while theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) and World Bank esti-mates contraction at 10.3 percent and 9.6 per cent, respec-

tively. Replying to a question onprotests by farmers, mainlyfrom Punjab and Haryana,against the Centre’s agriculturereform laws, Kumar said thereis a need to recognise that thenew farm laws have been wellreceived all over the country.

“The three farm laws wereclearly intended to improvefarmers’ ability to increase theirincome and they give greaterfreedom and liberty to sell,where they like and to whomthey like. “... The present agi-tation is most likely a result ofmiscommunication and somemisunderstanding which needto be removed,” he opined.

Asked whether the gov-

ernment is still confident ofdoubling farm income by 2022,Kumar said, “all efforts of thegovernment are in that direc-tion and we will see how far wewill be to achieve this target”.

Talks between the Centreand agitating farmer unionsremained inconclusive onTuesday. The two sides willnow meet again on Thursdaywhile support from more quar-ters poured in for thousands offarmers camping at Delhi bor-ders.The farmer unions reject-ed the government’s offer to setup a committee to look into theissues raised by them and saidthey will intensify their stiruntil their demands are met.

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The country’s exportsdeclined by 17.84 per cent

during April-November thisfiscal while imports contract-ed by 33.56 per cent in thesame period, CommerceSecretary Anup Wadhawansaid on Wednesday.

He said that the tradedeficit has come down.

“In 2020-21, April toNovember, there has been adecline of 17.84 per cent in ourexports...If we exclude gemsand jewellery and petroleum,then the declline is lower....Inthe sectors where economicactivity is more meaningful interms of value addition, therethe decline is much lower,” hesaid at the Board of Trademeeting.

The secretary said thatexport sectors which did wellduring the eight months peri-od include pharma, which grewby 15 per cent, rice (39 percent), and iron ore (62 percent).

Speaking at the occasion,Commerce and IndustryMinister Piyush Goyal saidthat going forward, there is

every possibility to achieveexport target of a trillion-dol-lar by 2025.

“The country is rebound-ing in a very rapid recoveryphase. Industry has becomemore resilient, internationalglobal supply chains are look-ing up to India to provide ananchor for transparent andmore open economies toengage with,” he said.

Different arms of the gov-ernment have been working toidentify and support specificsectors where India has advan-tages, he said.

“We have identified 24industry sectors, which webelieve, can add Rs 20 lakhcrore of annual productionmanufacturing in India...Iwould like to appeal to thestates to supplement the effortsof the central government,” headded.

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Anticipating surge indemand for syringes amid

Covid-19 vaccines showingpromising results, India’sbiggest manufacturer ofsyringes, Hindustan Syringesand Medical Devices (HMD),is all set to achieve 1000 millionproduction capacity per annumby end of second quarter nextyear, up from current capacityof 700 million of the specialized0.5 ml AD Syringes.

“We plan to allocate 50 percent of the total 0.5 ML ADSyringes produced for theGovernment and 50 per centfor export to UNICEF as wehave got a global responsibili-ty too,” said Rajiv Nath,Managing Director of theHMD.

He also said that his com-pany has recently shipped over100 million pieces of KOJAKAuto Disable syringes to Covaxstockpile facility as the Covid-19 vaccines are showingpromising results across theglobe.

The Covax facility workingfor global equitable access toCOVID-19 vaccines hasordered 140 million KOJAKAD Syringes from HMD to besupplied between August andDecember 2020.

“The HMD has shippedout more than 100 millionpieces of 0.5 ml auto disable(AD) syringes for intramuscu-lar injections to Covax facilityand will soon send the next 40million Syringes by December”he added.The WHO andUNICEF have recommended

that auto-disable syringes beused for administering vac-cines— particularly in massimmunization programs.

However, Nath felt thateven as the local company likehis is globally competitive, “welose out to cheap subsidizedChinese imports and therequirement to match L1 (low-est) price of Chinese importsbecomes non-remunerativeand discourages investments.

“Currently, over 50 percent of the AD Syringes used inimmunization come in fromChina. We urge the govern-ment to increase import dutyon syringes from 7.5 per centto 15 per cent to enable expan-sion of supply base and prof-itable growth of quality certi-fied production of all compo-nents and products in India.”

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Honey sold by several majorbrands in India has been

found adulterated with sugarsyrup, the environment watch-dog CSE claimed Wednesday.

Centre for Science andEnvironment (CSE) foodresearchers selected 13 top aswell as smaller brands ofprocessed and raw honey beingsold in India to check theirpurity.

It was found that 77 percent of the samples were adul-terated with the addition ofsugar syrup. Out of the 22 sam-ples checked, only five passedall the tests.

“Honey samples from lead-ing brands such as Dabur,Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu,Hitkari and Apis Himalaya, allfailed the NMR (NuclearMagnetic Resonance) test,” thestudy said.

Responding to the claim,Emami (Zandu) spokespersonsaid, “Emami as a responsibleorganisation ensures that itsZandu pure honey conformsand adheres to all the protocolsand quality norms/standardslaid down by the Governmentof India and its authorised

entities such as FSSAI.”Dabur too refuted the

claim, saying the recent reportsseem “motivated and aimed atmaligning our brand”.

“We assure our consumersthat Dabur honey is 100 percent pure. It is 100 per centindigenous, collected natural-ly from Indian sources andpacked with no added sugar orother adulterants. We alsoassure our consumers thatDabur does not import anyhoney/syrup from China andour honey is sourced entirelyfrom Indian beekeepers,” itsaid in a statement.

It added that Dabur iscomplying with all 22 parame-ters mandated by the FoodSafety and Standards Authorityof India for testing honey.

“In addition, Dabur honeyis also tested for the presenceof antibiotics, as mandated byFSSAI. Further, Dabur is theonly company in India to havean NMR testing equipment inour own laboratory, and thesame is used to regularly testour honey being sold in theIndian market. This is to ensurethat Dabur Honey is 100 percent pure without any adulter-ation,” it said.

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The rupee pared its initialgains to close 13 paise

lower at 73.81 against the USdollar on Wednesday, track-ing recovery in dollar indexand emergence of selling indomestic equities. At theinterbank forex market, thedomestic unit witnessed ahighly volatile trading ses-sion. It opened at 73.45,pared the gains and finallyclosed at 73.81 against thegreenback, registering adecline of 13 paise over itsprevious close of 73.68.

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Right from all the danc-ing, drama, laughter,fun to madness andemotions, it is thattime of the year again.

The wedding season is officiallyhere and the very first thing thatcomes to our mind is what to giveto the newly married couple.Weddings are a once in a lifeevent, hence, everyone wants tomake it memorable and special intheir own little ways. Giftingforms an integral part of any cer-emony. However, while choosingthe best for the couple, we alsoneed to keep in mind that theproduct should be useful andclassy at the same time. So tomake things a bit simpler, here area few wedding gift ideas to choosefrom.

Gift the convenience of nutri-tious and delicious meals at thetouch of a button. WonderchefNutri-Pot is a tech-driven appli-ance, a combination of seven inone gadget. It prevents over-cooking of food protecting all theprecious vitamins and minerals.It is programmed with an embed-ded microprocessor that monitorspressure, temperature, time andadjusts the heating intensity. It’shard-anodized inner pot ensuresyears of hassle-free use, fastercooking and even heat distribu-tion.

The collection, Afsaneh, byTanvi Gauri weaves the tales ofthe most valiant women intostunning designer clothes. Anarray of carefully crafted ensem-bles with every thread strungtogether to narrate the story ofbeauty and courage, this collec-tion can be the perfect gift toshow one’s love and adoration.Ranging from wedding to festivewear, it celebrates femininity withwhimsical details and a soft butvibrant colour palette embellishedby hand.

Another great choice can beto opt for glam gowns with ornatemetallic embroideries, rich festivehues and luxe fabrics by thebrand W. Often chosen for itsdramatic ultra-feminine appeal,the floor length gowns are theperfect escapes into a transcen-dental world of all things exotic.

Taneira presents Tasvi, a col-lection of sarees, inspired by thecultural and design elements ofthe three goddesses — Durga,Laxmi and Saraswati. Boasting ofa diverse range of pure and hand-crafted silks from Chanderi,Maheshwari to Banaras andKanchipuram, the collectionbrings alive the spirit of auspi-ciousness and festivity withvibrant tones, rich embroidery,intricately carved motifs and tra-ditional craft techniques of theage-old weaves. It features ensem-bles highlighting unique charac-teristics inspired from each of thegoddesses. A part of the collectionis designed in darker hues withmotifs like hibiscus, trident,moon, stars, rudraksh, bel leavesand lemon, symbolising thedivine shakti and fierceness ofgoddess Durga. Representingwealth and prosperity, the range

inspired by goddess Lakshmi isdesigned in bright colourful tonesand carved in rich motifs like thepink lotus, pomegranate, parrot,kalash, banana tree, elephant,coins and kosa tree. Inspired bygoddess Saraswati are the pastel

tones with motifs of white lotus,pearls, swan, peacock, champa,veena, scripts and kadamb tree,symbolising light, knowledge andtruth.

From planning a wedding,arranging bachelor parties to

giving invitation cards a newlook, why go helter-skelter search-ing for solutions when you canmake everything happen right atyour home. Get everything cus-tomised from Vistaprint as peryour choice, along with a hassle-

free delivery at your doorstep, allwithout compromising on socialdistancing protocols. You cangift a photo album, a treasure fora lifetime. Whether it’s your bestfriend’s wedding or favouritecousin’s, it is the best way to col-lect and preserve all those fun andhappy memories beyondInstagram. One can choose fromdifferent sizes, including small,medium and large; portrait orlandscape orientations; get thempersonalised as per your needs.

Adding to the wedding fer-vor, Mia by Tanishq, presents anexclusive ethno-contemporarycollection, Lyana, to celebratethe light within you. The offeringis for the modern Indian woman,who is rooted in the traditionalvalues and believes in celebratingthe life her own way. The collec-tion brings together traditionaldesigns weaved with glamour ofgold in ultra-modern silhouettes.

It has a range of 14 Karat light-weight pure gold and dia-

mond jewellery designsin earrings, pendants,

bracelets as well as rings.The collection is

inspired by the rich her-itage of Indian classics but

is infused with the Japaneseminimalism philosophy.Gifting gold has always been

a good idea. This time, try optingfor delicately crafted solid goldwatches. Nebula by Titan offersAshvi, especially for the weddingseason. The collection featuresthree finely crafted timepieceswith bracelets adorned with hemi-spherical pearls and princess cutdiamonds. It showcases a trio ofvery intricate bracelet designsdone on timepieces — a braceletwith free floating pearls wrappedin a gold composition, an elegantwired bracelet set with 30 princesscut diamonds and a graceful rosegold bracelet adorned with stonesforming a splendid gradient fromdeep pink to white. These time-pieces can be a perfect addition tothe wedding ensemble, hence,making it a great gift.

SKINN, a range of fragrancesfrom the house of Titan, presentsEscapade, a refreshing new rangeof perfumes for men. The collec-tion is crafted by the finest mas-ter perfumers from France andbrings together various elementsof nature in a bottle of perfume.As the name suggests, it is allabout the joy of exploring theunknown and it represents theattitude of a carefree wanderer.

Her work speaks of the socialand natural landscapes that

surround our physical and imag-inative selves while evoking anintrinsic emotive charm.Presented by DhoomimalGallery and curated by Dr SeemaBawa, artist Harshdeep Kaur’ssolo exhibition titled EngagingWith The Ultimate offers a var-ied mix of canvases showcasinglandscapes and figurative works.

The series that sets her workapart is based on Sikh men and

women, embedded as it is in herown lived experience. She paintsher observation of the lives of theSikh people, their festivals andrituals. Her works revealvignettes of Sikh heritage found-ed in its distinctive socio-cultur-al and visual identity, manifest-ing a lived faith pictorially.

“Sikh people and their ritu-als inspire me to create a newdimension in art. The khalsaswearing kesari turbans, engagedin meditation, working in the

fields or as horse riding soldiers,skilled in warfare, have left a last-ing impression on my art,”explains Harshdeep.

There are also two contem-plative works, Prasad and Prayerthat represent their communitar-ian and egalitarian world throughritual practice of service andmeditative silence revealedthrough the word, shabd andnama; both leading towards real-isation of the ultimate reality.

Another trait marker of theSikhs is their appearance, espe-cially the turban. The dumala ordomala is a turban wound withlesser number of folds, worn bydevout members of both genders.Her paintings, both big as well asthe small format, depict thesedumala wearers. A slightlywhimsical work shows a womanwearing dumala, donning west-ern wear and sporting darkglasses, a mark of the diaspora’sstruggle to adapt to the changingmilieu.

Her landscapes explore silentspaces marked by the absence ofhumans, where it is the trees,birds, lakes and waters that sug-gest a narrative of peace. Thenthere are the short poesies paint-ed into a bunch of flowers inbloom or a pair of trees convers-ing in shadows of dusk, in reflec-tions of forms in still waters.

The natural world has beenmagnified in her landscapepaintings. The play and theexperimentation with mono-chromatic tonalities of ink is seenin her forms, creating lots ofdepth both in figures and land-scapes.

(The exhibition is on tillDecember 8 at Arpana Art

Gallery, 11 am to 7 pm.)

There were a lot of speculations aroundhow the Oscars would be held amid the

COVID-19 pandemic, and it is now con-firmed the award gala will not go virtual.

“The Oscars in-person telecast will hap-pen,” a representative from the Academysaid. However, the Academy of Motion Artsand Sciences has decided to push the annu-al telecast to April 25, 2021, owing to thepandemic.

Several sources have shared that bypushing the awards ceremony back, theAcademy hopes for cinema halls to regainnormalcy, allowing for more film to com-pete in the annual celebration.

Now, the Academy is focussing onensuring that the event is held in the tra-ditional manner. However, it is to be seenhow they put a plan in place to hold the cer-emony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, the Malayalam film,Jallikattu, has been selected as the officialIndian entry in the Best InternationalFeature Film category at the forthcoming93rd Academy Awards.

The 2021 Oscars are scheduled to takeplace on April 25. The shortlist for nextyear’s Academy Awards will be unveiled onFebruary 9, and nominations will beannounced on March 15. ?&:��

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Arjun Munda, Minister of TribalAffairs launched the first virtu-

al Aadi Mahotsav — a celebration ofthe spirit of tribal culture, crafts andcommerce to showcase the rich anddiverse culture, crafts of MadhyaPradesh on Tribes India website. Thefirst edition will be from December1-10, 2020.

“I am really happy to be a part ofthe inauguration of the event project-ing Madhya Pradesh. It is a nation-al tribal festival and a joint initiativeof Ministry of Tribal Affairs,Government of India & TribalCooperative Marketing DevelopmentFederation of India (TRIFED). Thefestival showcases traditional art,handicrafts and cultural heritage ofthe country. The ultimate objectiveof TRIFED is socio-economic devel-opment of tribal people by way ofmarketing development of the trib-al products. Under the leadership ofPravir Krishna, MD, TRIFED hasreally been doing a good job towardsthe upliftment of the tribal commu-nity in the country.”

The virtual launch took place inthe presence of Meena Singh,Minister for Tribal Welfare, Govt. ofMadhya Pradesh, Ramesh ChandMeena, Chairman, TRIFED, NavaljitKapoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry ofTribal Affairs and Pravir Krishna,Managing Director, TRIFED. NanuBhasin, ADG, Press InformationBureau, senior officials of the min-istry, TRIFED and members of themedia fraternity also attended theevent.

The event was moderated byTRIFED’s goodwill ambassador,Abhinav Chaturvedi. The highlightsincluded a virtual tour of the artisans’work place and glimpses of the trib-al dance and music from MadhyaPradesh. It was also announced thatthe next focus state from December11 would be Gujarat, followingwhich the spotlight would shift toBengal from the December 21 thisyear.

In his welcome address, PravirKrishna spoke about the entire con-cept of the event and how it will help

in popularising tribal culture tonational and international audi-ences. With the onboarding of morethan 3500 tribal artisans on to theTribes India Marketplace, this eventoffers the tribals a new avenue forpopularising their culture and artsand will go a long way in helpingtheir economic situation and makethem self-reliant.

Ramesh Chand Meena,Chairman, TRIFED congratulatedthe team for providing a viablealternative to the artisans. Mundaalso expressed his happiness thatdespite such challenging circum-stances, efforts are being carried outto mitigate the adverse conditions oftribal populations. Extolling thevirtues of the simple, sustainablelifestyle of these people, Mundaexpressed his concern at the disad-vantaged economic state of this sec-tion and was happy that withTRIFED’s initiatives, the middlemenhave been eliminated.

Tribes India e-market place is anoteworthy initiative that showcas-

es the produce and handicrafts oftribal enterprises from across thecountry and helps them markettheir produce/ products directly. Itis a major leap towards the digitisa-tion of tribal commerce. Five lakhtribal producers/ artisans from acrossthe country are connected via thisplatform to national and global mar-kets.

Tribes constitute over eight percent of our population. But even thenthey are among the disadvantagedsections of the society. An attitudethat pervades among the main-stream is the erroneous belief thatthey have to be taught and helped.

However, if we sit and ponderover it, the truth is otherwise — thetribals have a lot to teach urbanIndia. Characterised by natural sim-plicity, their creations have a time-less appeal and authenticity. Thewide range of handicrafts whichinclude hand-woven cotton, silkfabrics, wool, metal craft, terracot-ta, bead-work, all need to be pre-served and promoted.

Lalit Kala Akademi NationalAcademy of Arts, an

autonomous organisation ofMinistry of Culture, Govt. of Indiaheld its general council meeting atIndia International Centre onNovember 26. Meeting started byreading the Preamble to theConstitution of India on the occa-sion of 71st Constitution Day ofIndia.

In the meeting the selectionprocess of several governing mem-bers was undertaken. During theprocess the members were selectedunder the supervision of the electionofficer Dr Ram Samujh, IRS (Retd).

Dr Nand Lal Thakur, GC mem-ber from Himachal Pradesh, wasunanimously elected as vice chair-man of the Academy.

Dr Uttam Pacharne, Chairman,

Lalit Kala Akademi said, “I thankgeneral council members for thesmooth functioning of the meetingand passing resolutions unanimous-ly. It is an ample proof of the cultur-al unity of the Indian artistic com-munity as well as their faith in thepolicies of government to promoteart and culture. The council meet-ing was held after a gap of nine longyears. It was the first time that themembers showed unanimity inalmost all the decisions, includingthe formation of committee. TheAkademi is grateful to Culture min-ister Prahlad Singh Patel for his lead-ership and his vision and dedicationin the field of art and culture.”

The following members wereselected as members of the execu-tive board. Suman Majumdar(Tripura), Dr. Richa Kamboj

(Uttarakhand), Kishore Kumar Das(Assam), Dr Sunil KumarViswarkarma (Uttar Pradesh), C.S.Krishna Setty (Karnataka), AnkushKumar Dewangan (Chhattisgarh),Gita Hudson (Tamil Nadu),Nirupama Tank (Gujarat), MarutiBaburao Shilke (Maharashtra). Themembers elected as finance commit-tee members are — Setty (fromExecutive Board), Majumdar (fromGeneral Council), Dr SonaliSarnobat, Karnataka (from GeneralCouncil).

In the meeting the memberspassed a resolution for enhancingthe term of general council membersand chairman from three to fiveyears similar to other academiesunder Ministry of Culture.

Pacharne made severalannouncements to serve the artistscommunity in the meeting. Theseinclude the proposals for opening ofnew regional centres at Pune(Maharashtra), Hubli (Karnataka),Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Agartala(Tripura). He also announcedorganisation of 75 major pro-grammes to commemorate 75thindependent anniversary of Indianext year and increasing the awardsand scholarship amounts after thedue administrative process. Thechairman sought the cooperation ofall members for organising XIITriennale-India that would be takenup shortly.

Braving the ongoing blitz ofCoronavirus pandemic across the

globe, the mass communication andjournalism students of VivekanandaInstitute of Professional Studies(VIPS), New Delhi have created a his-torical feat by organising the biggestannual media festival on the digitalplatform.

Themed at digital literacy, mediaand pandemic, the three-day eventwill be hosted from December 3 toDecember 5 with a total of 22 com-petitive and non competitive events.Over 300 students are organising andparticipating remotely, to create amuch awaited, unprecedented andgrand experience with Spandan 2020.

It will start with the flagship eventof ‘Media Panchayat’ on the topic of‘Information to misinformation: 25Years of Indian Television NewsIndustry’. The event will witness theparticipation of industry veterans likeSidharth Mishra, Anant Vijay, SumitPande, Satish K Singh and ProfCharu Lata Singh. The second in theline is a workshop on ‘Pathkatha: PlotWriting’ by writer Anu SinghChoudhary.

The major highlights of the fes-tival include the cultural events, san-skriti — A fusion of Indian culture,dance, fashion and music, and grandmusical finale. All activities are curat-ed for the online medium, produced

and recorded over a month followingall COVID precautions and safetymeasures.

Other events include ‘Out ofReach’: A Mental Health Workshop,with the objective of raising awarenessabout mental illnesses and the impor-tance of reaching out for help.

Among the international col-laboration and events, the festivalbrings a live concert with SouthernTime Band and NADIA HIGH fromCanada for the event ‘Talks andTunes’ on December 4, promotingAIDS awareness. An event manage-ment masterclass with Prof DavidHind, President, Asia Pacific Instituteof Event Management will be con-ducted on December 5, for the stu-dents making this year’s festival aglobal event.

It also includes webinars withFilmmaker Jalal Jeelani,Cinematographer Aditi Sharma,Screenwriter Anu Singh Choudhary,RJ Errol Gonsalves, National Awardwinning artist Manisha Jha, andContent Creators Aman Dhattarwal,Vipasha Malhotra, Yashvi Bagga,The Bajis and more. Numerous com-petitive events in the fields of radio,video editing, logo designing, photog-raphy and advertising have also beenincorporated to instill the competitiveand creative spirit. This year it’s theXVIth edition of the festival.

Chhattisgarh, popularly known asthe rice bowl of India, alsoexhibits a rich and unique amal-

gam of rituals, culture, traditions, fes-tivities, folk art and food. The state’sfood has always been a source of keep-ing the rich traditions and flavours ofthe state alive. But with the changingtimes, it has got harder to prepare thetraditional regional delicacies at homeand save the local Chhattisgarhi cui-sine from losing its identity and pop-ularity. Hence, the state governmenthas decided to start the ‘Gadh Kalewa’in all the districts.

Well, Gadh Kalewa has the soul ofChhattisgarh. As a local open eatery ina tribal setting and ambience, whereone can rediscover the long-forgottendelicacies and traditions ofChhatisgarh, it will be a restaurant withan artistic ambience with rural art formpaintings on the wall, bamboo seatersto sit and clay birds on top of the tiledroofs. Here you get to sense theflavours of more than three dozen vari-eties of traditional cuisines, alongwith a range of Devbhog Products.

The traditional Chhattisgarhi dish-es will be served to the people of thestate and visitors in these centres

soon. Gadh Kalewa is being widely pro-moted under the leadership of ChiefMinister Bhupesh Baghel to preservethe folk art and culture of the state.

To highlight the ambience ofGadh Kaleva, the Handicrafts

Development Board has launched anentirely new series of bamboo craftfurniture to add life to the centres.Chhattisgarhi catering and cuisinesales centre is regulating in thestate’s capital Raipur within the

premises of Mahant GhasidasMemorial Museum. The state alsoobserves distinct and rare traditionsof the local cuisine, which transformsaccording to ethnicities, weatherand festivities.

The cuisine of the forest-basedtribal society is based on natural for-est produce, which has led to an inter-esting variety of local delicacies. There’sa huge variety amid the simple and fes-tive range of Chhattisgarhi cuisine.These dishes can be roasted, steamed,de-fried or can be prepared in theabsence of all the three techniques too.

At Gadh Kalewa, mouthwateringdishes like Chausela, Hathhfodwa,Farra, Peedhiya, Muthhiya, Deharuri,Papchi Puran Laddu, Kari Laddu,Angakar Roti, Chanur Roti, PatalChutney, Bafori, Babra, Gulgula,Cheela, Airesa, Patar Roti, KhupriRoti, Buffauri and many other appetis-ing dishes will be served. The centrewill be started by 2021. The localwomen self-help groups will also betrained and prepared for service andsheds will be provided for smooth reg-ulation of these centres. The poor fam-ilies can avail self-employment for theirlivelihood.

The Chhattisgarhi CulturalProgramme and cuisine stall wereinstalled in Ahmedabad, Gujarat fromJanuary 6 to 14, 2019 under theGovernment of India scheme, ‘EkBharat, Shreshtha Bharat.’

RK Singh, Minister (IC) for Power andNew & Renewable Energy, launched

the Green Charcoal Hackathon beingorganised by NVVN (NTPC VidyutVyapar Nigam), a wholly-owned sub-sidiary company of NTPC.

Singh said, “The Hackathon displaysthe spirit of innovation, which pervadesNTPC. Any organisation has to have thisspirit of innovation to grow and prosperor otherwise, it would fade away. TheNTPC management encourages allyoung engineers to present innovationand new ideas.”

He added, “This (Hackathon) is alsoinnovation in the pursuit of reducing ourcarbon footprint. From that point of view,

all competitors in the Hackathon shouldkeep in mind that the process of convert-ing this (agro residue) to charcoal shouldnot lead to emissions. Another keything is the commercial model, which willdepend on the cost of both the machineand charcoal production. I am sure wewill come out with a machine, which iseconomical. I am happy to see the ori-entation of NTPC towards reducingcarbon foot print.”

To fast-track the technology devel-opment, NVVN, in partnership withEESL organises technology, the challengehas been aptly named as ‘Green CharcoalHackathon.’ The purpose of the event isto leverage the innovative Indian mindto bridge the technology gap with theprime objective to clean the air by elim-inating farm fire, producing renewableenergy out of the agro residue, to promotelocal entrepreneurship, and to increasethe income of the farmers.

The hackathon was inaugurated inthe presence of Ashish Upadhyay,Additional Secretary of Power; GurdeepSingh, CMD NTPC Ltd and other seniorofficials from Power Ministry, NTPC Ltdand EESL Ltd.

To encourage the participants, therewas a provision for cash prizes worth upto �24 lakh in three categories for pro-duction of torrefied biomass pellets —100 kg per day; 1,000 kg per day; 10tonnes per day.

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Curtis Jones sent a depletedLiverpool through to the

Champions League last 16 onTuesday, while Zinedine Zidanedismissed suggestions he mightwalk away from Real Madridafter another defeat by ShakhtarDonetsk left their Europeanhopes in the balance.

Liverpool were without ahost of key players for the visitof Ajax to Anfield in Group D,with 22-year-old IrishmanCaoimhin Kelleher starting ingoal in the absence of Alisson.

Teenager Jones scored theonly goal just before the hour,tucking the ball in after Ajax‘keeper Andre Onana thoughthe could afford to let a NecoWilliams cross sail over hishead.

The result was vital for thePremier League champions aftertheir home loss to Atalanta aweek ago, and it allowed themto secure a spot in the knockoutphase.

They will go through asgroup winners after Atalantahad to come from behind todraw 1-1 at home toMidtjylland.

Atalanta are a point clear insecond from Ajax, with thesides meeting in Amsterdam intheir last game next week.

Two-time former Europeanchampions Porto also sealed alast-16 spot after drawing 0-0 at

home to Manchester City, whowere already through and arenow guaranteed to top Group C.

Porto would have qualifiedregardless, because Olympiakoslost 2-1 to Marseille in France,with Dimitri Payet scoring twopenalties in the second half toturn the game around afterMohamed Mady Camara firedthe Greeks in front.

The result endsMarseille’s ChampionsLeague record run of 13straight defeats andmeans they could yet pipOlympiakos to thirdplace and the consolation of aEuropa League berth.

LUKAKU DOUBLEReal Madrid could yet be

consigned to a similar fate afterthey went down 2-0 to Shakhtarin Kiev, their second defeat thisseason by the Ukrainians.

Substitutes Dentinho andManor Solomon scored second-half goals in Kiev as Shakhtarstunned the 13-time Europeanchampions again, having won

3-2 in Madrid in October.Shakhtar had lost their last

two Group B matches againstBorussia Moenchengladbachby an aggregate score of 10-0,but now move above Real intosecond place with one gameremaining.

Gladbach are top by apoint, while Shakhtar have

the upper hand onReal thanks to theirsuperior head-to-head record.

However,the damagewas limited

for Real after InterMilan won 3-2 awayto Gladbach to keeptheir own hopes alive.

Matteo Darmian put Interahead and Romelu Lukakuscored twice for AntonioConte’s side. Alassane Pleanetted a brace for Gladbachbut was denied a hat-trick,and a late equaliser,because of an offside.

It means Inter are bot-tom of the group but could

still qualify, while Real willdefinitely qualify as long as theywin at home to Gladbach.

Madrid have made it outof their group in every yearsince 1997 and so failure toqualify would be seen as a dis-aster, but Zidane is not con-

sidering stepping down. “I am not going to

resign, not at all. We arealways going to have

difficult moments,and we are on a

bad run, but weneed to keepgoing,” said theFrenchman.

Real’s cityrivals Atletico

Madrid will alsostill have it all to do in

their final group game afterbeing held to a 1-1 draw athome by a weakened BayernMunich.

Salzburg can snatch a last-16 place if they beat Atleticoat home next week, after theAustrians won 3-1 away toLokomotiv Moscow.

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Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrahfound his mojo and the Indianteam its winning ways in a

morale-lifting 13-run triumph overAustralia in the third and final ODIon Wednesday, salvaging some of thelost pride in a 1-2 series defeat.

An in-form Hardik Pandyablasted 92 not out off 76 balls andRavindra Jadeja’s useful 66 off 50took India to a healthy 302 for 5 in50 overs after an inept show in thefirst 30 overs.

It was at least 30 runs short of apar-score on a good batting track buta rejigged bowling attack managedto restrict the home team to 289 allout in 49.3 overs.

Shardul Thakur (3/51) anddebutant Thangarasu Natarajan(2/70 in 10 overs) did their bit butit was Bumrah’s (2/43 in 9.3 overs)controlled effort with some swingupfront and the dismissal of amarauding Glenn Maxwell in thenick of time which ultimately turnedthe match in India’s favour.

Bumrah did the most importantthing by bowling one in the block-hole that had the dangerous Maxwell(59 off 38 balls) having his own lit-tle “brain fade” moment trying tofree his arms exposing the stumps.

The ‘Big Show’ was in a moodto punish the bowlers and all heneeded was to see off Bumrah andattack the others as he was doing.

The cushion provided by his“senior” helped Natarajan to startbowling his yorkers under pressureand Thakur also chipped in withnecessary wickets.

The inconsequential matchbecame something of consequencefor Virat Kohli and his men as theygear up for the next white-ballseries — three T20 Internationals inless than 48 hours.

DIFFERENT ATTACKIndia’s bowling attack had a

different look and it did perform waybetter compared to the first twogames.

Natarajan was very steady in hisfirst spell and got his maiden wick-et when Marnus Labuschagne (7), inan unfamiliar role as opener, draggeda wide delivery back onto thestumps.

Thakur, replacing a restedMohammed Shami, was also luckywhen Steve Smith (7) tried to tick-le one down on the ‘fifth leg stump’to be caught by KL Rahul behind thestumps.

Moises Henriques (22) and skip-per Aaron Finch (75) looked goodduring their 51-run stand for thethird wicket before the former failed

to keep a pull-shot down off Thakur’sbowling.

However, what was more heart-ening was Kuldeep Yadav’s (1/57 in10 overs) restrained bowling in themiddle overs with the last overpunishment by Maxwell being moreof an aberration.

The flight was back and so wasthe dip in the air that used to create

confusion in the minds of batsmen.Debutant Cameron Green (21)

played an uppish slog sweep offKuldeep which was snapped inchesoff the ground by Jadeja.

Jadeja (1/62 in 10 overs), whohad a field day, topped up a solid bat-ting show with the prized wicket ofthe rival captain Finch as ShikharDhawan managed to make an easycatch look difficult at long-on.

Maxwell and the calm AlexCarey (38 off 42 balls) looked likedoing an encore of their victoriouseffort against England at OldTrafford last September.

But just when they settled down,Carey went for non-existent singleonly to be sent back by Maxwell asAustralia were reduced to 210 for 6.

Earlier, an in-form Pandya andthe effective Jadeja helped Indiamake an impressive recovery afterthe team struggled during the first30 overs with only skipper Kohli’sfighting half century being thebright spot.

Coming together in the 32ndover, Pandya and Jadeja stitched 150runs for the unbroken sixth wicketto change the complexion of thegame, which would make no differ-ence to the final score-line asAustralia have already sealed it withback-to-back wins in Sydney.

It looked like India would bare-ly reach 250 but Pandya and Jadejamade it a different story.

The duo took some time to set-tle down before opening the flood-gates of boundaries. They scored 53runs from the 46th to 48th over. Inall, 76 runs came from the last fiveovers.

Pandya’s innings had seven foursand one six while Jadeja was at hisbest, hitting five boundaries andthree sixes.

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India captain Virat Kohli onWednesday became the fastest

cricketer to score 12,000 ODI runs,breaking a record held by leg-endary compatriot SachinTendulkar.

Kohli reached the milestoneduring the third match againstAustralia.

Kohli, who needed 23 runs for

the landmark coming into thematch, touched the figure in his242nd innings when he took a sin-gle off Sean Abbott in the 13th overof India’s essay.

In comparison, it tookTendulkar 300 innings to get there.

The 32-year-old Indian captainwas playing in his 251st ODI andaverages close to 60 in the format

with 43 hundreds and 60 half cen-turies. He made his debut in 2008.

Tendulkar scored 18426 runsfrom 463 ODIs between 1989 and2012 at an average of 44.83 with thehelp of 49 hun-dreds and 96half cen-

turies.

�����AThe third T20 International between Indiaand Australia is set to be played in front of a capac-ity crowd with the New South Wales Governmentlifting restrictions on stadiums from December7. In a world scarred by the Covid-19 pandemic,the ODI series between Australia and India sawthe return of spectators with restrictions. However,NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announcedthat stadiums can move to 100 per cent capacityfrom December 7. “From Monday, life will be verydifferent in NSW,” Berejiklian was quoted as say-ing by The Australian. This development meansthe third and final T20, slated to be played onTuesday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which waslimited to 50 per cent of total capacity earlier, cannow have a full house. PTI

�.-�� A Australia on Wednesdayjumped to the top of the ICC WorldCup Super ODI League points tablefollowing their 2-1 series victory overIndia, who are placed sixth.

With the series win, Australiamoved to 40 points, overtakingEngland who are now placed second.

On the other hand, India loggedtheir first points of the tournamentby winning the third and final ODI

and are placed sixth with ninepoints.

Australia had defeated England2-1 in their previous series of the 13-team championship, which wasintroduced this year to bring contextto ODI cricket and also to decide theseven direct qualifiers for the ICCMen’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

India, though assured of a berthas hosts. PTI

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Former Australia captain Ian Chappellmay call it “blatantly unfair” but Glenn

Maxwell sees nothing wrong in employ-ing the switch-hit, describing it as a “dif-ferent part” of cricket’s evolution over theyears.

A switch hit involves a batsman

changing the order of his hands (fromleft-handed to right handed grip or vice-versa) after the bowler has already start-ed on his run-up.

“...It is within the laws of the game.Batting has evolved in such a way, thatit has got better and better over the years,which is why we see these massive scoresare getting chased down and the scoresare going up,” Maxwell said when askedabout Chappell’s comments.

Maxwell urged the bowlers to comeup with a plan to combat the switch hit.

“And I suppose it is up-to thebowlers to try and combat that,” he said.

“I suppose the skills of bowlers havebeen tested everyday with bowlers hav-ing to come up with different change-ups,different ways to stop batters,” Maxwellsaid at the post-match press conference.

He said as the batsmen have evolved,similarly bowlers should also try andinnovate.

“...We see guys come up with knuck-le-balls and wide yorker fields and dif-ferent tactics. And the tactics of ODIcricket have definitely evolved, so I justsee it (switch hit) as a different part of theevolution of the game…,” he added.

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Dawid Malan and Jos Buttlerlaunched a savage assault on

South Africa’s bowlers asEngland completed a seriesclean sweep with a nine-wicketwin in the third and final T20Iat Newlands in Cape Town onTuesday.

Man of the series Malan fin-ished on 99 not out, whileButtler was unbeaten on 67.

They shared a world recordT20 international second wick-et partnership of 167 off 90 ballsto make South Africa’s 191 forthree look insignificant. Englandwon with 14 balls to spare.

Rassie van der Dussen (74not out) and Faf du Plessis (52not out) set up South Africa’sbiggest total of the series in anunbeaten partnership of 127off 66 balls for the fourth wick-et.

But the left-handed Malanwas quickly into his stride whenhe joined Buttler after the dis-

missal of Jason Roy. By the end,South Africa looked a demor-alised team.

Malan hit 11 fours and fivesixes in his 47-ball innings.Buttler faced one ball fewer andhit three fours and five sixes.

England were always well upwith the required rate but putthemselves in total command inthe 10th and 11th overs whenthey hit 21 and 19 runs off Lutho

Sipamla and Tabraiz Shamsirespectively.

Playing his first match ofany type since the last SouthAfrican season, Sipmala wasthrashed for 45 runs off 2.4overs.

Left-arm wrist spinnerShamsi conceded 57 runs offfour overs, two days after takingthree for 19 in the second matchin Paarl.

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South Africa pacer KagisoRabada has been ruled out

of the upcoming three-matchODI series against Englanddue to an injury.

Rabada has sustained aright adductor strain, one thatalso kept him out of the dead-rubber final T20I at Newlands.

In a statement, CricketSouth Africa said that the 25-year-old will require threeweeks to heal.

“The player will bereleased from the squad andbio-secure environmenttomorrow to begin recovery,rehabilitation and prepara-tion for the Betway Test seriesagainst Sri Lanka beginningon December 26,” the CSArelease stated.

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