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Paving the way for the “estab-lishment of all the three

tiers of grassroots-level democ-racy in Jammu & Kashmir likein other parts of the country forthe first time sinceIndependence”, the UnionCabinet on Wednesdayapproved the adoption of theJammu & Kashmir PanchayatiRaj Act, 1989.

“The three-tier system wasnot there in Kashmir before.They did not have the oppor-tunity to elect their local rep-resentatives. This step redeemsthe promise made by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi inKashmir, and the HomeMinister in Parliament. Thiswill help the people of J&K toelect their representatives at thevillage, block and district lev-els,” Information andBroadcasting Minister PrakashJavadekar said.

“Now, there will be earlyelections, and the power tomanage local bodies will go tothe people,” he said, adding thatthe J&K administration isworking on the adaptation ofother laws following the abro-gation of Article 370 and divi-sion of the State into twoUnion Territories by givingLadakh a separate UT status.

There is a lot of homeworkto be done, but the principlehas been established, Javadekarasserted even as several UnionMinisters took to Twitter to hailthe Cabinet decision.

Terming the UnionCabinet’s approval a watershedmoment in the history of J&K,Lieutenant Governor ManojSinha said the Government ofIndia has fully applied the73rd ConstitutionalAmendment 1992 to the UT ofJ&K which was pending for thelast 28 years. With this, all threetiers of Panchayati RajInstitutions shall be formed forthe first time in the history ofJammu & Kashmir, he said.

The Jammu & Kashmiradministration had onSaturday amended the Jammu& Kashmir Panchayati Raj Actto provide for setting upDistrict Development Councils(DDCs). Under the newarrangement, the DDCs are setto become a new unit of gov-ernance in the UT, therebycompleting the implementationof the three tier system.

The landmark decision isexpected to ensure liberal fund-

ing of Central Governmentschemes aimed at improvingthe living conditions of the

masses and also strengthenthe rural infrastructure in theremote and hilly areas.

Ahead of the abrogation ofArticle 370, the existing DistrictDevelopment Boards wereabolished to pave way for theestablishment of two tiers ofPanchayati Raj Institutions.The decision was necessitatedbecause the existing guidelinesof the DDBs had no provisionfor any transfer of funds orresponsibility to BlockDevelopment Councils (BDC)or to the Halqa Panchayats asthese tiers of local Governmenthad not been in existence in theState earlier.

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With a view to encouragespending, generate

demand in the economy andbring cheer to more than 30lakh non-gazetted employeesduring the festival season, theCentre on Wednesday decidedto give them �3,737 crore asbonus for 2020-21.

Following the UnionCabinet’s nod to the proposal,Information & BroadcastingMinister Prakash Javadekarsaid the bonus will be given ina single installment, through

Direct Benefit Transfer.The bonus ahead of

Vijayadashami and Diwali willencourage the middle-class togo out and spend and thus addto the demand in the economy,he said.

“Payment of bonus to non-gazetted employees for theirperformance in the precedingyear is usually made beforeDurga Puja/Dussehra season.The Government is announc-ing the Productivity LinkedBonus (PLB) and ad hoc bonusfor its non-gazetted employeesto be disbursed immediately,” a

press release said.The PLB for the year 2019-

2020, having financial impli-cations of �2,791 crore, willbenefit 16.97 lakh non-gazettedemployees of commercialestablishments like Railways,Posts, Defence, EPFO, ESIC,among others.

Non-PLB or ad hoc bonus,which is given to non-gazettedCentral Government employ-ees, will benefit 13.70 lakhstaff. It will cost the exchequer�946 crore. A total of 30.67 lakhemployees would be benefitedfrom the bonus.

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As the situation remainstense at the Line of Actual

Control (LAC), DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh is like-ly to visit Sikkim on the occa-sion of Dussehra to show sol-idarity with the troopsdeployed on the border facingChina there. He may also inau-gurate a number of road pro-jects and strategic bridges toadd muscle to the logisticalback-up to the frontlinedeployments throughout theyear.

The proposed visit onOctober 23-24 comes daysafter Rajnath dedicated 44permanent bridges, mostly inborder areas, to improve sup-ply lines to the forward deploy-ments besides local population.Four of the strategically bridgesare in Sikkim.

The Defence Minister isalso likely to do “shastra puja”at one of the units in Sikkim.The puja is a part of a ritualmarking Dussehra celebra-tions. Rajnath had performeda similar ritual in France lastyear while receiving the firstRafale fighter aircraft, sourcessaid here on Wednesday.

He may also review thecurrent security situation in theeastern sector of the LAC fol-lowing the ongoing five monthlong stand-off with China.Both the sides have ramped uptheir troop strength besidesdeploying heavy weapons allalong the 4,000-km long LACstretching from Ladakh in the

west to Arunachal Pradeshand Sikkim in the east.

Inaugurating the strategi-cally important bridges inseven States, including eightpermanent bridges in Ladakh,

to the nation, Rajnath had, onOctober 12, said after Pakistan,China is also creating a disputeat the border with India as if itwas part of a “mission.”

India is not only facing thesituations along the frontiersresolutely, but it is also bring-ing in major development,including in border areas. “Youare well aware of the conditionscreated along our northernand eastern borders. First it wasPakistan, and now also byChina, as if a border dispute isbeing created under a mission.We have a border of about7,000 km with these countrieswhere the tension continues,”the Minister said.


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The Chinese soldier appre-hended by the Indian

Army in Eastern Ladakh washanded over to the People’sLiberation Army (PLA) late onTuesday. Identified asCorporal Wang Ya, the soldierwas released following properprotocol after his thoroughinterrogation by the Indianagencies. The goodwill gesturecomes ahead of the proposedeighth round of CorpsCommander-level talks laterthis week.

The Chinese soldier, anarmourer in the PLA, wascaught by the Army in theDemchok sector of EasternLadakh on Monday after he“strayed” across the LAC,where both the Armies arelocked in a stand-off for thelast five months.

Giving details of theChinese soldier’s release,sources said, Wang Ya washanded over to the Chinesemilitary on Tuesday night atChushul-Moldo border meet-ing point in eastern Ladakh.


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From a decision on enabling10 lakh jobs in their very

first Cabinet meeting if elect-ed to power to building agrand “Sita Maiya” (GoddessSita) temple in Sitamarhi likeAyodhya’s Ram Mandir, frompromoting dairy on the patternof Denmark to �1,500 month-ly to unemployed youth, thereare promises galore by thepolitical parties in their man-ifestos or vision documents tolure the voters as the cam-paigning for the Bihar pollsgain full momentum.

Bihar Assembly elections

will be held in three phases —on October 28, November 3and November 7 — and count-ing of votes will be held onNovember 10.

Despite being a part of thegrand alliance, led by the RJD,the Congress on Wednesdaycame out with its own mani-festo and referred it as “badlavpatr” (letter of change). And,having decided to go it alone,Lok Janshakti Party chiefChirag Paswan unveiled thevision document of his partyseeking to invoke the Biharipride through his slogan,“Bihar first, Bihari first”.


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The Centre has asked StateGovernments to avoid

declaring any wild animal as“vermin” (harmful tocrops/farm animals), whichleads to their subsequentculling. Instead, the UnionEnvironment Ministry’swildlife panel National Boardfor Wildlife (NBWL) recentlysaid that the States/UTs shouldinvolve Panchayati RajInstitutions and locals moreactively in dealing with situa-tions arising out of human-wildlife conflict

Incidentally, NBWL’s advi-sory comes after a petitionfiled in the Supreme Court byactor and Biju Janata Dal (BJD)Lok Sabha MP AnubhavMohanty in July this year, seek-ing its intervention against the

brutal killing of wild animals,declared as “vermin”, in differ-ent States.

Some States were evenusing “bomb baits” and “poisonbaits” that invariably lead toindiscriminate hunting of non-target animals such as ele-phants, leopards, tigers andjackals, Mohanty alleged in hispetition. In fact, in June itself,the Ministry had approved theHimachal PradeshGovernment’s proposal, fourthin a row since 2016, to declarerhesus macaque monkeys as“vermin”, allowing them to bekilled for preventing cropdepredation, conflict withhumans, and loss of property.

Rhesus macaques, classi-fied as being of “least concern”in the IUCN Red List, weredeclared “vermin”. Authoritiesare allowed to cull animals if

they are declared vermin.In the past also, the Centre

has been giving nod to suchproposals moved by variousState Governments which havebeen deploying inhumanmethods like snares, wire traps,explosives, bomb baits andpoison baits to kill the animalsin conflict or destroying crops.

Bihar, Himachal Pradeshand Kerala had even financial-ly incentivised killing ofNeelgai, Rhesus Macaque andWild Boar, respectively, whenthey were declared “vermin”.

However, to ensure that itis not caught on the wrong footin the Supreme Court, theChairman, StandingCommittee of the NBWL, ina recent meeting stated that the States/UTs should avoid forwarding proposals for


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New Delhi: Furthering itscommitment to help andempower the people of J&K,PM Narendra Modi-led UnionCabinet has approved theextension of MarketIntervention Scheme for pro-curement of 12 lakh metrictonnes apples.

“This will enhance theincome of apples growers byproviding an effective market-ing platform,” tweeted UnionHome Minister Amit Shah.

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Reiterating his government’spolicy of zero tolerance

towards crime, criminals andcorruption, Chief Minister YogiAdityanath on Wednesday saidthat 125 criminals had beenkilled and 2,607 injured inencounters from March 20,2017 to October 5, 2020.

Addressing the PoliceCommemoration Day Paradeat the Police Lines here onWednesday, the chief ministersaid, “Our government has apolicy of zero tolerance towardscrime, criminals and also cor-ruption. As a result, 125 crim-inals were killed and 2,607injured in encounters fromMarch 20, 2017 to October 5,2020 in various districts.”

He also paid tributes to thenine police personnel of UPPolice, including the eightkilled in Bikru village ofKanpur.

“I pay my homage to thosenine police personnel of UPPolice who lost their lives in theline of duty during 2019-20.Their sacrifice inspires every-

one,” Yogi Adityanath said,adding that his governmentwas always behind the familiesof the martyrs and had tried tohelp them to come out of thetrauma.

The chief minister saidthat his government gave Rs 26crore to the families of 122martyrs this year. In this regard,he said that instead of Rs 50lakh given to the families ofmartyred police personnel, hisgovernment gave Rs 1 crore tothe families of those martyredin Kanpur.

Yogi Adityanath said thatvarious medals had beenreleased on January 26 andAugust 15 to boost the moraleof the policemen.

Meanwhile, Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath praised thework done by the police force,saying it played an importantrole in dealing with the coro-navirus pandemic.

He said that besides 21police stations and nine policeoutposts, his government hadcreated 3,687 posts for MahilaBattalion.


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NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE

I JUVERIA SIDDIQUI W/o ofAZIMUDDIN.SALAHUDDINSIDDIQUI resident of 485/,Jailors Compound Laker MandiDaliganj, Nirala NagarLucknow UP was previouslyknown as JUVERIA IZHAR isone and same person.

NOTICE

I Devendra Kumar Agarwal S/OLate Triloki Nath Agarwal, R/O26 Cattle Colony, Takrohi,Indira Nagar, Lucknow. Thatmy purchased Plot No. 19 sit-uated at Cattle Colony, Takrohi,Indira Nagar, Lucknow WhichOriginal Possession Letter date22/05/2000 and AllotmentLetter No. 5802 has been lostsomewhere while going fromhome to Takrohi Market onDated 13/08/2020. If anyonefind out pls inform to me.

NOTICE

I Shama Shakeel W/O ZameerAhmed, R/o. 631/015 GayatriNagar, Ismileganj, Lucknow.That my above noted Housechain deed document hasbeen lost somewhere whichwas registered in the Sub-reg-istrar office 3rd, Lucknow inBahi No.-1, Jiled 10071, pages223-236 in Serial No. 6811Dated 06/09/2013. If anyonefind the same pls inform to you.

NOTICE

In my service records mydaughter name is wronglyrecorded as Arpana Yadav. Hercorrect name is Aparna Yadav.In future she would be knownas Aparna Yadav Service No.15138474M Rank BHM (RST)ANIL KUMAR 637 SATA BTYC/O 56 APO PIN CODE -926637.

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In her latest swipe at the Union govern-ment over the recently-enacted Farm

laws, Congress general secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra said that farmers across UPwere forced to sell paddy crops at pricesless than the minimum support price(MSP).

Earlier, the UP Congress announcedto stage demonstrations at district head-quarters on Thursday to protest the YogiAdityanath government’s “apathy”towards buying paddy through purchasecentres.

On Wednesday, Priyanka took toTweeter and accused the Bharatiya Janata

Party government at the Centre of not lis-tening to the farmers and posted a videoof a farmer alleging corruption in cropprocurement at Mohammadi mandi ofLakhimpur Kheri district in UttarPradesh.

“The BJP government is holding a‘Khat Sammelan’ to garner farmers’ sup-port on the Farm Bills, but is not inter-ested in listening to their woes. In almostall places in UP, farmers are forced to sellpaddy at Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,100 per quin-tal, Rs 800 less than the MSP of Rs 1,868per quintal,” she tweeted in Hindi.

In another tweet, the Congress leaderposted, “This is when MSP is guaranteed.Imagine what will happen when MSP

guarantee is done away with.” Priyanka’s reaction comes amid recent

nation-wide protests by opposition par-ties and farmers’ outfits in protest againstthe recently enacted farm laws. The con-tention of the opposition is that the newfarm laws do not guarantee MSP for farmers.

On its part, the BJP said that it wascommitted to continuing with the MSP.Last week, even Prime Minister NarendraModi termed the recent farm laws “a veryimportant step in improving the agricul-ture sector of the country and increasingfarmers’ income” and assured that MSPand government procurement wouldcontinue.

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Chased by simians, a 13-year-old girl fatally fell

from the roof of her house inMuzaffarnagar on Tuesday.

As per reports, the classVIII student had gone to herroof to get dried clothes whenshe was chased by a group ofmonkeys at Nolly village inBhopa police station area onTuesday.

The shocked girl ran tosave herself from the simiansand ended up going over theroof. She was rushed to a near-by hospital where she was pro-nounced dead.

This is not a one off inci-dent in which monkeys haveposed threat to the locals inMuzaffarnagar.

In November last year, afour-month-old baby was killedafter a monkey dropped astone from a building and it hitthe head of the child sitting onthe ground floor inMuzaffarnagar.

Not only Muzaffarnagar,

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Samajwadi Party leader RamGopal Yadav filed his nom-

ination papers for Rajya Sabhapoll accompanied by partychief and nephew AkhileshYadav on Tuesday.

UP SP chief Naresh UttamPatel, leader of oppositionRam Govind Chaudhary andother party legislators werealso present during the processat Rajarshi Purushottam DasTandon Hall of UP LegislativeAssembly. The SP candidatefiled two sets of nominationsbefore the returning officer.

Notification for the bien-nial polls was issued onTuesday and October 27 is thelast date for filing nominations.

Scrutiny of papers will bedone on October 28 whileNovember 2 is the last date ofwithdrawal of nomination.

If required, polling will beheld on November 9 and theresults will be declared thesame day.

After filing papers, Yadavsaid, “The people of the coun-try and state are unhappy. I donot want to say anything thatrattles the ruling party. I thankthe party brass for choosingme as the candidate for RajyaSabha for a fifth consecutivetime.”

With 310 seats in the 403-member Assembly, the rulingBharatiya Janata Party is like-ly to win eight of the 10 seatscomfortably, while the SP with46 MLAs can win one and theopposition parties can winanother seat if they field a jointcandidate. The BJP can winthe 9th seat if it poaches on the19 votes of the Bahujan SamajParty and seven of theCongress and the surplus votesof Samajwadi Party.

There are eight vacanciesin the Assembly and hence itsactual strength is 395.

The winning candidateswill need 34 first preferencevotes.

Except for the SP, no otherparty, including the BJP, hasannounced its candidates so

far. According to the affidavit

on assets filed by Ram GopalYadav along with the nomina-tion paper, the gross total val-ues of his assets are over Rs2.09 crore which includes Rs66 lakh in several accounts invarious banks. He has invest-ed Rs 35 lakh in mutual fundsand has given a loan of over Rs12 lakh to a rice mill and of Rs26.50 lakh to his son AkshayYadav, the former MP fromFirozabad. He has two vehiclesregistered in his name andtheir worth is over Rs 17 lakh.

Ram Gopal Yadav has 610gram gold and jewellery worthRs 30.70 lakh. He also ownsagricultural land and com-mercial and residential build-ings. The present market value

of his immovable assets isover Rs 12.10 crore.

Yadav also owns weaponsworth Rs 1.30 lakh that includean American carbine, aCzechoslovakian-made rifleand a German revolver.

The Rajya Sabha membersfrom UP whose terms end onNovember 25, are Union min-ister and BJP member HardeepSingh Puri, BJP national gen-eral secretary Arun Singh andNeeraj Shekhar. The SP retir-ing members include RamGopal Yadav, Ravi PrakashVerma, Dr Chandrapal SinghYadav and Javed Ali Khan. TheBSP’s members to retire onNovember 25 are Veer Singhand Rajaram while the term ofCongress member PL Puniaalso ends on the same date.

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Ostensibly taking a cue from MunnaBhai, 10 MBBS students used micro-

sized Bluetooth earphones for cheating butran out luck during their final year exam-ination in Agra and were caught onTuesday.

A total of 90 students were writing thepaper of ophthalmology in the 8-11 amshift at Khandari Campus of Dr BRAmbedkar University, Agra on Tuesdayand during a sudden inspection by a fly-ing squad, 10 students of FH MedicalCollege were caught using Bluetoothcommunicators around necks as ‘tabeez’(talisman) and cheating. These devices

had a SIM card installed in them and wereworking as two-way communicationdevices.

The examinees were being providedanswers by their friends from outside thehall.

One of the flying squad membersbecame suspicious upon noticing one ofthe examinees mumbling softly. He latercarried out a body search and found thedevice on the student. Similar devices werefound on nine others.

Later, the examination centre chieffiled a complaint against these students inNew Agra police station.

The MBBS examinees caught cheat-ing were identified as Rahul Yadav,

Nadeem Ali, Mohit Saini, Naved Hasan,Deepak Singh, Kunal Sharma, RahulBabu, Amit Yadav, Mohit Yadav, andHoney Jaswani.

Chief proctor of the university, DrManoj Srivastava, said that an FIR wasfiled against the erring students andSenior Superintendent of Police BablooKumar was requested to not only takeaction but also bust the racket.

He said that the university would betaking action against the students.

Condemning the act of cheating bywould-be doctors, social activist DeepSharma said that if they had not beencaught, they would have passed eventhough they did not deserve it.

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Even as the electricity consumption hasreached the pre-Covid level, the power

distribution companies (discoms) contin-ue to be battered by low revenue recovery,leading to mounting dues of the powergeneration companies.

The fall in revenue realisation is pos-ing a renewed threat to the financial sta-bility of the discoms. The UP PowerCorporation Limited, along with its fivewholly owned subsidiaries, have piled upan additional Rs 14,000 crore as overdueto generation companies during the firsthalf of the current fiscal 2020-21.

As a result, their overdue to gencosrose from Rs 34,000 crore at end of 2019-20 to over Rs 37,000 crore by Septemberend, despite these entities having paid Rs10,500 crore received as soft loan fromPFC-REC under a special liquidity facil-ity under Atmanirbhar package announcedby the Centre in May this year.

The Union Power Ministry has recent-ly increased the size of the liquidity pack-age to Rs 1.2 lakh crore from Rs 90,000crore planned initially. The governmentand PFC-REC have also been rather quickin sanctioning funds under the scheme(Rs`1.1 lakh crore so far). Also, in orderto help the cash-strapped discoms, thePower Ministry has reduced late paymentsurcharges, a move that could potentiallyprovide a relief of about Rs 6,000 croreannually to them. However, even thesesteps appear to be inadequate in reducingthe mounting dues of discoms to powerproducers.

A letter of credit (LC) mechanism hasbeen in force since August 2019 to com-pel discoms to become more disciplinedin meeting their payment obligations. Theoverdues — payment default of 45-60 daysor more — of all state-run discoms in thecountry to power plants increased to 52percent annually to Rs 1.2 lakh crore atAugust end.

According to UPPCL sources, the totaldues to gencos of central sector power pro-ducers are Rs 21,000 crore and the restRs 13,000 crore are of the private sector.Against a loan of Rs 21,000 crore soughtfrom PFC-REC under the Atmanirbharscheme to clear the dues to these two cat-egories of suppliers, half the amount (Rs

10,500 crore) has been received and paidto these entities.

In addition to the pending legacy duesof Rs 13,000 crore to state government-runpower PSUs, UPPCL has piled up anoth-er Rs 15,000 crore of power purchase lia-bilities in the first half of this year.

The UP discoms’ overdues to gencoshave been rising steadily, chiefly becauseof operational inefficiencies, including thediscoms’ inability to reduce AT&C lossesand the gap between the average cost ofsupply (ACS) and the average revenue real-isation (ARR).

While the AT&C losses stood at awhopping 30.30 percent in 2019-20against the UDAY target of 14.86 percent,the ACS-ARR gap stood at 70 paise perunit sold by the UPPCL.

Another major reason for the highlosses is the fact that while the state gov-ernment has increased the supply hours,it has been unable to collect the revenuesefficiently. In 2019-20, only 38.5 percentof 2.09 crore rural consumers paid theirelectricity bills, and since April this year,only 17.73 percent of such consumers havepaid at least once. In urban areas, only 72.5percent of the 72 lakh consumers have paidelectricity bills at least once since April.

Moreover, the UPPCL also faces theproblem of having a large number ofunmetered connections. Of the total con-sumer base of 2.81 crore , about 26 lakhconnections are unmetered. And out ofthese unmetered connections, privatetube wells consumers account for 46 per-cent (11.95 lakh).

“Increase in supply hours for agricul-tural consumers clubbed with low tariffsand poor collection efficiency have result-ed in further widening of the cash gap,” anofficial said, adding that increasing revenuecollection from rural consumers was amonumental challenge and that all effortsat disconnection drives had been renderedineffective due to the illegal restoration bymany consumers.

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The newly-appointed 31,277assistant teachers of govern-

ment primary schools will begiven their first postings byOctober-end to maintainthe prescribed teacher-studentratio.

This will be in conformitywith the provisions of the Freeand Compulsory ChildEducation Rights Rules, 2011.

A circular to this effect wasissued to all the districtmagistrates and director ofbasic education by theadditional chief secretary (basiceducation) on Wednesday, ask-ing them to maintain trans-parency and adhere to therules.

The new assistant teacherswill not be posted in schoolswhere the teacher-student ratiois saturated. Counselling ofthese teachers at district levelwill be conducted from October26 to 28, allotment of schoolswill be done on October 29 and30 while the teachers will haveto join at their allotted schoolsfrom October 31 to November3.

It may be mentioned herethat against the total vacanciesof 69,000 teachers, the stategovernment recently appointed31,277 teachers while appoint-ments for the remaining postsare in the process.

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Hundreds of BharatiyaJanata Party and Vishwa

Hindu Parishad workers cre-ated a ruckus at a police sta-tion in Bareilly on Tuesdayover alleged police inaction insolving a love jihad case.

The protesters chargedthat a Hindu girl was forcedto marry a non-Hindu boy.

As per reports, a bel-ligerent mob of BJP and VHPworkers on Tuesday collect-ed outside the Kila police sta-tion of Bareilly and ransackedits office and damaged furni-ture, demanding immediateaction against the kidnappersof the girl.

Hours later, a video sur-faced on social media inwhich the abducted girl couldbe heard saying that she wasan adult and had left homewith her boyfriend Bilal onher own.

To counter the content ofthe video clip, the protestersclaimed that the girl gavethe statement under pres-sure and demanded the arrestof Bilal and recovery of thegirl.

The protesters laid siegeto the police station for overan hour before the policeresorted to cane-charge todisperse them.

Local BJP MLA ArunKumar and Bithri MLAPappu Bhartaul too reached

the police station. SeniorSuperintendent of Police ofBareilly, Rohit Singh Sajwan,later said that the inspector ofKila police station was sent tothe lines and in-charge ofMaulipur police outpost andtwo constables were suspend-ed.

Sajwan said that an FIRwas registered against fivepersons for ransacking thepolice station and damagingits property.

The district police chiefadded that an FIR was alsoregistered in connection withthe abduction of the girl anda search was underway torecover her.

Meanwhile in Shamli, a16-year-old girl was abduct-ed and raped by her neigh-bour in a village in Kairanapolice station area onTuesday.

The girl was alone at herhouse on Tuesday when theneighbour took her to anisolated place and raped her.She narrated her ordeal to herfamily.

Later a case was regis-tered against the neighbourunder various sections of theIndian Penal Code and theProtection of Children fromSexual Offences (POCSO)Act at Kairana police station.

While the victim was sentfor medical examination, thepolice are searching for theabsconding accused.

��Smart City Limited and National Payment

Corporation of India signed an MoU for ‘OneCity One Card’ on Wednesday. DivisionalCommissioner Ranjan Kumar said LucknowSmart City would launch a unified card throughwhich all payment systems can be used. He saidthis card can be used not only in Lucknow butin the entire country in the form of ‘One NationOne Card’. This card can be used throughmobiles and e-wallet and for various public ser-vices such as parking, electricity bill, house tax,water tax, retail, metro, city bus, e-challan etc.

�� Sameer Rehman, a student of City

Montessori School, Mahanagar Campus, hasbeen selected for admission by the University

of Melbourne, Australia, for pursuing higherstudies there. Sameer has got this opportunityfor higher education due to academic excellenceand diligence.

due to loss of natural habitat,monkey menace has becomeroutine in cities like Agrawhere casualties have beenreported every year.

In November 2018, a 12-day-old boy in Agra was killedafter being snatched from hismother by a monkey and bit-ten. The simian later droppedthe baby on the roof of a near-by house after the locals chasedit.

Recently two persons wereburied alive in Agra after amonkey fight led to the collapseof an old wall.

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Durga Puja celebrations willbegin on Thursday with

‘Pran Pratishthan’ withoutprasad, dhaki players, ostenta-tious pandals and late nightmelas, much in contrast to theprevious years when the citythrobbed with festivity.

While some Durga Pujacommittees will be setting uppandals and allowing generalpublic darshan, others havedecided to hold it in halls.

According to Bengali ClubDurga Puja secretary ArunBanerjee, they will be holdingcelebrations within theirpremises, which is entirely cov-ered. “We will be following gov-ernment’s guidelines and therewill be no bhog. All restrictionswill be followed, includingsanitisation and distribution ofmasks while not more than fivepersons will be allowed in themandap area. Ironically, push-panjali will be without flowersand the puja will be telecastonline,” he said.

He said they were notexpecting people to come fordarshan and if the numbersincreased, they would manageaccordingly. “We will close the

main gate on the road ifrequired, but I think peoplewon’t throng the venue. Wehave put up posters of Covid-19 guidelines. Only membersof our committee, mainlywomen, will come for puja andno senior citizens will beallowed,” he added. The Durgaidol is six-feet tall and a pondhas been made within thepremises for visarjan.

Saurav Bandopadhyay,who always sets up grand pan-dals at Sahara State, said he wasorganising Durga Puja in hisown house. “I am not puttingup a pandal this time becauseit will be very difficult to man-age the crowd. Also, even if oneperson tests positive, the entirepandal will be shut down andpuja will be disrupted. At myhouse, only a limited numberof people will be allowed,” hesaid.

Gautam Mitra fromGomtinagar Durga Puja Samitisaid they were holding the cel-ebrations in the park and putup a pandal for the purpose.“Barricades have been put upfor restricted entry. There areno mela arrangements andthere are no seating arrange-ments except for the members

who will be performing puja,”he said, adding that therewould be no bhog or prasaddistribution. Nihar De fromCantonment Puja Samiti saidthey were setting up a pinkpandal, symbolic of womenempowerment, in a templepremises.

“People coming for dar-shan will be allowed to enterwith a token for darshan andleave dropping it back. Wehave also placed cut-outs of thegoddess killing the coron-avirus,” he added.

Besides, Durga Puja willalso be celebrated byRamakrishna Math with socialdistancing and other protocols.Swami Mukhtinathananda saidall the programmes would belive-streamed on their YouTubechannel.

“Elaborate arrangementshave been made in accordancewith the holy traditions ofRamakrishna order, as per thescriptures. In order to avoidcrowding, arrangements havebeen made to broadcast all theprogrammes, including push-panjali,” he said.

Prasad will also be distrib-uted in a restricted manner onOctober 23, 24 and 25.

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Director of BalrampurHospital Dr Rajeev

Lochan said routine surgerieshave increased at the hospitalwith almost 25-30 total oper-ations being performed everyday. “The number of patientscoming to the hospital hasincreased and routine surgerieshave also increased. Thepatients are no longer afraid ofcoming to the hospital. Four-five orthopaedic surgeries and40 dialyses are being doneeveryday. We have opened thedermatology and psychiatryOPDs for a limited number ofpatients,” he said.

The number of patientstesting positive before beingadmitted to the hospital has

also decreased. “Earlier, weused to have 3-4 patients test-ing positive in a day, but nowone patient is detected in 2-3days,” the director said.

All the staff members arebeing tested every two weeksand every staffer has to manda-torily wear masks. “We tested

all the nurses on one day andthen other staffers, followed bysecurity guards. We have nohealth worker infected at themoment. A junior residentwho had some problem inchest but he tested negative. Wekept him at the hospital andgave him anti-viral treatment.Now he is perfectly fine,” hepointed out.

Meanwhile, spokespersonof Ram Manohar LohiaInstitute of Medical Sciences DrShrikesh Singh said they havestarted the services for onlineregistration of patients. “Theycan visit the hospital website toregister for the consultation. Itwill not only help them inavoiding queues but also inredressal of complaints,” hesaid.

�� 02�')<+

The Ministry of EarthSciences has started a lec-

ture series in Hindi for aware-ness in the society and devel-opment of science and society.The first lecture in the serieswas delivered by Dhruv SenSingh of Lucknow University.He said there are other reasonsthan global warming for theretreat of glaciers.

Singh said environmentalanalysis in terms of climatechange is important and pre-requisite for sustainable devel-opment of the society.

“Climate change and glob-al warming is one of the great-

est environmental, social, andeconomical threats to the plan-et, which is evident from wide-spread melting of glaciers andrising sea level. The extremeevents of climate change due toglobal warming have created apanic within the society.Therefore, it is important toevaluate the anthropogenic,natural impact as a causativefactor of climate change,” hesaid. Singh said the pattern ofretreat of the Gangotri Glaciersince 1935 indicates that itmay be decreasing, but the rateof retreat is continuouslydecreasing. “While workingon the Gangotri Glacier for thelast two decades, we have

recorded and published that therate of retreat is decreasing. But,the decreasing rate of retreat iscontrary to the panic created bymany organisations. Further, ifglobal warming is the onlyreason for the rapid rate ofretreat, all the glaciers shouldretreat at the same rate.However, all the glaciers of theHimalaya are retreating at dif-ferent rates and some areadvancing too. It means thereare other reasons than globalwarming for the rapid rate ofthe retreat. Even if the presentrate of retreat continues, it willtake 2500 years for theGangotri glacier to disappear,”he said.

-.�/�� /-" 0��,��$Lucknow (PNS): PK Singh,who is senior principal scientistat National Botanical ResearchInstitute (NBRI) has been select-ed for the prestigious IndianNational Science AcademyFellowship.

Born in Jaunpur, Singh didMSc from Guru Nanak DevUniversity (Amritsar) and PhDfrom NBRI. He joined the insti-tute as a faculty member in 2006.He has made outstanding con-tributions towards identificationof novel molecules andapproaches to control insectpests in field crops. His workprovides a complete model,from discovering new proteinsto genes, making synthetic genesto develop transgenic crop linesand their performance evalua-tion. Transgenic cotton linesexpressing three different novelgenes developed by his groupprovide next-gen insecticidalapproaches for control of insectpests. He has given Tma12 GMcotton to Punjab AgriculturalUniversity (Ludhiana) for thedevelopment of whitefly-toler-ant cotton varieties.

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Two groups of a familyclashed over cremation of

a relative who passed away inMadiaon on Tuesday night.The district administrationofficials and police had tointervene to resolve the issue.

As per reports, Shiv Prasadof Paschim village in the areadied on Tuesday night and hisbrother Om Prakash and oth-ers took the body to theirparental land for last rites. AsShiv Prakash’s step-brotherChandrashekhar came to knowabout that, he and his familymembers reached there andobjected to the cremation ofShiv Prakash’s body. It led to averbal spat and the process ofcremation was stalled for overfour hours. On being informed,

a police team and districtadministration officials reachedthe scene to break the impasse.

Preliminary investigationrevealed that Shiv Prakash’sfather had two wives, Jamunaand Shivrani. Jamuna’s son isChandrashekhar whileShivarani’s sons are ShivPrakash and Om Prakash.

Chandrashekhar suspectedthat Om Prakash’s plan to cre-mate the body of Shiv Prakashwas a ploy to grab the land andit was the reason for dispute.

Meanwhile, a resident ofChinhat, identified asNalinikant Srivastava, accusedhis neighbour and his aides ofthrashing him without anyprovocation. In his complaint,Nalinikant said his neighbourPriyanshu Agrahari, his friendsAbhishek and Atiq and two

unidentified youths stormedhis house around 9:30 pm onTuesday and attacked him,leaving him injured. He alsoaccused them of issuing threatsto them for reporting the mat-ter to the police.

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police arrested a man for secur-ing bank loan by submittingfake documents on Wednesday.The accused was identified asNeeraj Kumar Rai of Chinhat.Reports said Neeraj took aloan of Rs 28 lakh from Bankof Maharashtra for construc-tion of his house but sold theplot to another person. Thefraud was exposed when thebank officials conducted aninspection and a case waslodged in this connection.

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Awoman accused her relativeof selling her daughter to

someone in the name of facili-tating her a job in Maal onWednesday. In her complaint,the woman said a relative fromUnnao had promised her a jobfor her daughter in Chandigarhsome time back. She said shesent her daughter to the houseof her relative four monthsback.

“We were promised that thesalary of my daughter will becredited in my bank’s accountevery month, but we did not geteven a single penny. I have beenunable to talk to my daughterfor quite some time,” she alleged.She said she inquired the samefrom her relative but the latterdid not give any satisfactoryreply. “On October 7, I got a callfrom my daughter who wasnervous and frightened andthe call was disconnected in afew seconds,” she claimed.

Meanwhile, a formeremployee of the accounts sec-

tion of Uttar Pradesh ScheduledCaste Finance and DevelopmentCorporation, Gurmit Singhaccused a BSP leader of dupinghim of Rs 5 lakh in the name offacilitating his son a job. Helodged a case at Chinhat policestation. In his complaint, Singhsaid he was presently workingwith UttarakhandBahuuddeshiya Vitta EvamVikas Nigam in Dehradun. Hesaid he was acquainted withChandradev Gautam who hadcontested from Ramkola con-stituency in Kushinagar on aBSP ticket. Singh said during hisservice period in UP, Gautamwas the general manager ofUttar Pradesh Scheduled CasteFinance and DevelopmentCorporation and thus knewGautam.

“Gautam told me that theformer CM Mayawati was todirectly appoint some job-seek-ers in BHEL in Jagdishpur andtook the money from him forthe facilitating the job. Later,Gautam reneged from hispromise,” he alleged.

�� 02�')<+

Atotal of 2,464 fresh coron-avirus positive cases were

reported across Uttar Pradeshon Wednesday while 3,332COVID-19 patients recovered.With this, the recovery rate inUP also peaked to 92.17 percent. With the fresh cases, theconfirmed positive cases inUP touched the 4.61 lakh-mark. However, 4.25 lakh ofthese COVID-19 patients haverecovered and at present 29,364are undergoing treatment inhospitals or in home isolation.

A total of 6,755 peoplehave died in the state due to thecoronavirus with 41 freshdeaths in the last 24 hours.

Additional Chief Secretary(Health) Amit Mohan Prasadsaid on Wednesday that thenumber of active patients wascoming down and a slump of57 per cent was witnessedsince active cases peaked onSeptember 17.

Prasad said that age-wise,the positivity rate was 13.78 per

cent in 0 to 20 years, 47.57 percent in 21 to 40 years, 29.05 percent in 41 to 60 years and 9.60per cent in people of 60 yearsand above age. In UP, malesinfected with the virus account-ed for 67.9 per cent and females

32.1 per cent. In fatalities, 45 per cent of

the COVID-19 deaths were ofpatients of 60 years and abovewhile the death rate was 4 percent in the 41-60 years agegroup. On Tuesday, a total of

1.47 lakh samples were testedtaking the tally of Covid testsin the state to a record 1.34crore. Prasad said that therewere 13,499 asymptomaticCOVID-19 patients in homeisolation while 2,514 patients

were admitted in private hos-pitals and the rest of thepatients were recovering ingovernment-run Covid hospitals.

Till date, 2.58 lakhCOVID-19 patients have pre-ferred treatment in home iso-lation and 2.44 lakh have recov-ered. Over 4.28 lakh surveil-lance teams have covered 1.44lakh areas of the state and vis-ited 2.75 crore houses to checkthe health of over 13.55 croreresidents.

Meanwhile, 369 personstested positive in the city while281 patients recovered, takingthe recovery figures to 56.313.The death toll in the city hasreached 833. The new patientsincluded 29 from Gomtinagar,28 from Rae Bareli road, 25from Aliganj, 20 fromIndiranagar, 19 each fromTalkatora & Alambagh, 18each from Ashiyana &Chinhat, 17 from Madiaon, 14each from Hazratganj &Chowk, 13 from Vikasnagar,12 each from Jankipuram &Sarojininagar, and 10 fromGudamba. There were 10deaths in the city and thedeceased included two fromLucknow while remainingfrom other districts.

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Surveillance teams involvedin the containment activ-

ities in Lucknow will beputting the data on digitalplatform for effective moni-toring, as directed by senioradministration officials.

An online meeting washeld with all the blockincharges in this regard onOctober 20. The data will begenerated on Google Sheetsby the surveillance teams thatare checking on patients hav-ing ILI, SARI and comor-bidities, apart from seniorcitizens and pregnant womenfor Covid-19 symptoms.

A senior official at the

CMO office said it was a gooddata generating process andall the ANMs had tablets andinternet at their disposal.“They can easily upload thedata which we can see at theheadquarters and even atstate level what activities arebeing done at ground level,”he said.

Meantime, in the non-Covid hospitals where theOPDs have started, Covidhelp desks have been set up sothat patients cane be screenedfor fever and coronavirusinfection. All governmentinstitutions and offices haveCovid help desks for the lasttwo months.

Coronavirus cases from

areas like Gomtinagar,Indiranagar and Alambaghare declining on Wednesday,there was a slight increase inthe number of cases, but itwas bound to happen, thesenior official said. However,the containment activities areon and the results are show-ing,” he said.

A doctor from SGPGIsaid although the number ofcoronavirus cases in the dis-trict had decreased, the num-ber of serious patients hadincreased. “The death rate inthe ICUs has increased due tothe same reason. Most of theserious patients are thosereferred from other hospitals,”he pointed out.

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Lucknow (PNS): The stateunit of Communist Party ofIndia (ML) on Wednesdaytermed the termination of twodoctors of Jawahar Lal NehruHospital at Aligarh MuslimUniversity a revengeful act ofthe Yogi Aditynath govern-ment. He demanded that the

order be revoked. State secre-tary Sudhakar Yadav said theBJP government wanted tohide the truth of Hathras inci-dent and influence the probe.He was reacting to the mediaqueries while leaving for Biharfor the election campaign.Yadav said the government

was punishing those who werenot supporting its ideas andviews. He said Dr Malik and DrObaid had confirmed rape intheir medico-legal opinion ini-tially and later contested the UPgovernment officials’ claim inview of FSL report that the girlwas not raped.

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Lucknow (PNS): In the fast-changing global sugar scenarioamidst Covid-19 pandemic, a new normal has emerged now. Thisrequires immediate attention of research and development agen-cies. The whole gamut of practicing cane farming and process-ing requires to be revisited and reoriented to make the entire cycleof value chain environment-friendly and safe for humans.

These issues were deliberated in detail in the recently-con-cluded 2-day 33rd biennial virtual workshop of All-IndiaCoordinated Research Project on Sugarcane at Indian Instituteof Sugarcane Research. Secretary, DARE, Trilochan Mohapatra,who is also director-general of ICAR, appealed to the sugarcanescientists for revamping research plan to address the emergentissues like use of heavy dose of chemical fertilisers, high waterrequirement of cane crop, decline of popular cane variety dueto outbreak of pests and diseases, increasing cost of cane culti-vation etc.

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To commemorate the PoliceSmriti Diwas, the district

police on Wednesday organiseda programme at the PoliceLines here. The police officerspaid their tributes to the copswho died while dischargingtheir duties. The day isobserved each year on October21 in the memory of thosepolice personnel who died onduty.

The Additional DirectorGeneral (ADG) of Police BrajBhushan and other seniorpolice officers remembered thecops who died on duty andpaid their floral tributes tothem. To lay down the life while discharging the duty is the great example of patriotism,

the ADG said adding, thepolice personnel sacrifice theirlives while discharging theirduties to protect the nation andsociety.

The day is observed to payrespect to such police person-nel; he said and also honouredthe family members of thosecops who died on duty. He alsoread out the memorial bookletand remembered the policepersonnel that had laid downtheir lives when the criminalshad opened fire targeting thepolice team that had gone toarrest history-sheeter VikashDubey at Bikru village.

The SSP Amit Pathak andother police officers also paidtheir tributes.

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Scores of devotees offeredprayer at Skanda Mata tem-

ple (Bageshwari Devi) atJaitpura on the occasion of fifthday of Shardiya Navratra hereon Wednesday, maintainingCOVID-19 guidelines. Besides,rush was seen as usual atfamous Durga Mandir (DurgaKund) where the devotees linedup in queues to offer prayers.Not only this, hundreds ofdevotees through various vehi-cles also rushed to Vindhyachalin Mirzapur district to offerprayer during the auspiciousoccasion Navratri at MaaVindyavasini Devi.

Meanwhile, preparationsare going on in full swing to setup Durga Puja pandals as perthe guidelines and permissionsof the district administration.In the district, as many as 307pandals are being set up apartfrom installation of KalashPuja at 116 places. Some of the

idols and kalash were alreadyinstalled on the first day of theNavratra while some of them,especially of Bangiya Samajwere installed on the occasionPanchmi while the people ofBengali community will start

offering prayer there fromShasthi.

However, majority of idolsand kalash would be installedon the auspicious occasion ofSapthmi where three days pujais celebrated.

In view of instructions ofthe district administration thatno pandals would be set up onthe road sides, many puja sami-tis have shifted their sites thisyear.

In urban areas, maximumnumber of 21 idols are beinginstalled in Bhelupur police sta-tion apart from kalash at 10places and it is being followedby Sigra (19 idols, threeKalash), Lanka (18, 5)Adampur (13, 6) Kotwali (12,6), Cantt. (8, 10), Chowk (8,6),Luxa (7,2), Chetganj (6, 14),Manduadih (6,8), Sarnath (6,8),Dashaswamedh (6,6), Jaitpura(6,5) Shivpur (5,1), Pandeypur(1, 5) and Ramnagar 0,14). Inthe rural areas maximum 31pandals are being installed inRohania area which is also apart of the expansion of the cityapart from kalash at two placesand it is being followed byChoubeypur (25, 0), Cholapur(22, 9), Phoolpur (17,3), Jansa(9, 1) and Lohta (7,0).

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Two students PurnimaTripathi and Archana

Maurya of Ashoka Institute ofTechnology & Management(AITM) brought a laurel for theinstitute by securing places atstate level in the top-5 of annu-al examination (Year-2020) ofDr APJ Abdul Kalam TechnicalUniversity (APJAKTU).

Purnima Tripathi, a thirdyear student of bio-technologygroup and Archana Maurya,final year student of civil-engi-neering group of the institutesecured the second and fifthplace respectively at state levelin the annual examination ofthe university. Besides the sin-cerity and dedication during

studying, the blessing of par-ents and teachers are also nec-

essary to achieve success likethis, both girl students

expressed and gave all creditsof their success to the teachersand high quality teaching sys-tem of the institute.

Chairman of AITM, situat-ed in Pahadia, here AnkitMaurya and Vice-ChairmanAmit Maurya extended theircongratulations to both stu-dents for their achievement andwished for their prosperousfuture.

They also extended theirgratitude to the teachers of theinstitute for this achievementand also motivated the studentsfor the same. The Director ofinstitute Dr Sarika Srivastava,Director-pharmacy Dr BrijeshSingh and others also congrat-ulated both students for thissuccess.

ALLAHABAD (PNS): NewMEMU shed at Kanpur is tar-geted for commissioning byJanuary 2021. Main line electri-cal multiple units (MEMU)provide faster acceleration,shorter braking distance andhigher passenger carryingcapacity as compared to nor-mal passenger trains.

Advanced three phase ACtechnology based MEMUs areenergy efficient, environmentfriendly making it better choicefor short and medium dis-tance travel with multiple stop-pages. Equipped with distrib-uted powering and electrop-neumatic braking systems,these trains take lesser time inattaining certain speed andbraking distance is also short-er as compared to convention-al locomotive hauled passengertrains thus making them suit-able for journeys requiringmultiple stoppages. Further,MEMUs equipped with bothside driving units can com-mence return journey much

faster as compared to conven-tional passenger trains whichrequires reversal of locomotivefor return journey. All newMEMU rakes are equippedwith environment friendly bio-toilets, washbasins, comfortableseats, stainless steel fittings,LED lighting, high capacityfans, mobile charging pointsinside passenger area forimproved journey experience.With combination of one dri-ving motor car and three trail-er coaches these unit of fourcoaches can be coupled up to16 coach length formation tomeet varied traffic require-ment. MEMU rakes are alreadyintroduced on North CentralRailway and approximately 74services were operating prior tolockdown. NCR having nomaintenance facility forMEMUs, all these rakes had tobe based in Ghaziabad MEMUshed under Northern Railwayfor routine and safety relatedmaintenance activities. Due tothis limitation most of the ser-

vices were restricted to nearbylocation from New Delhi anddifficulty was being faced toextend MEMU services in allparts of NCR. Keeping this inview a full-fledged MEMUmaintenance facility at Kanpurwas sanctioned by RailwayBoard in the budget year 2016-17. Kanpur being centrallylocated was most preferredchoice as it would facilitateMEMU services in all parts ofNorth Central Railway as wellas services from NCR toadjoining railways like NR,NER, ECR, and WCR. Thisimportant work for construc-tion of MEMU shed and cre-ation of all maintenance facil-ity was entrusted to Rail VikasNigam Limited for turnkeyexecution. This work underexecution by RVNL valuing�92.71 crore is nearing comple-tion as shed structure, associ-ated service buildings etc. arealready constructed; requiredmachineries for maintenancehave arrived at site and com-

missioning is under process;electronic interlocking work ofKanpur loco cabin providingconnectivity to new MEMUshed is commissioned on19.10.2020 and full-fledgedMEMU maintenance facility atKanpur is expected to be com-missioned by January 2021.

Constructed MEMU shedwith two maintenance lines haspre-engineered building (SteelStructures) with Galvalumesheet and 20 per cent of totalroof area by Polycarbonatesheet of clear profile whichallow natural lights in shed .Turbo-vent are provided overroof sheets for proper ventila-tion. This shed will also havesolar energy generation capa-bility with 75 KWp solar plantinstalled on roofs and 75 KLwater recycling plant is alsoprovided making it environ-ment friendly MEMU shed isequipped with state-of-the-artmachinery and plants, latestfirefighting arrangements andother user facilities.

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The Prayagraj detected atotal of 121 new cases of

coronavirus within the last 24hours on Tuesday. On the otherhand, as many as 138 patientswere discharged from the hos-pital after they beat the dead-ly virus. Similarly, 116 patientsalso completed their home iso-lation in a single day onTuesday increasing the numberof total patients completing15,537 till date. One patientdied due to coronavirus.

Corona infection is notdecreasing in the district whilepeople are becoming careless.That is why the corona infec-tion regained momentum onTuesday. The number ofpatients doubled after about aweek.

District coordinatorMNREGA Ajay Pandey hasalso come under corona's grip.On discovering this onTuesday, his doctors isolatedhim at home and said to takenecessary medicines and followguidelines. Along with this, apatient is from Ramganj. Aninfected is a young man fromUdaipur region. Four people

are in the grip of infection inthe city area. On Tuesday, thenumber of patients suddenlyincreased to 121..

It is clear that people arebecoming careless, so coronainfection is increasing. So far,51 people have lost their livesfrom corona in the Pratapgarhdistrict. It is pleasant that morethan three and a half thousandinfected people are living a nor-mal life after beating corona.

There has been somechange in the duty of person-nel at the Covid help desk builtin Vikas Bhawan. The CDOreported that from October 20to November 16, some changeshave been made at the Covidhelp desk. Under this, KamalNarayan, Senior Assistant ofthe District DevelopmentOfficer and junior assistantPrem Kumar will be there tillNovember 2 till eight in themorning. After this, seniorassistant Rajendra Prasad Singhand junior assistant AwadheshSrivastava have been deputedtill 8 pm.

This disease can be fought,its outbreak can be avoided andthe war against it can also bewon if infected. Just following

the guidelines of COVID-19,there is a need for strong will.Yes, an old woman of Prayagrajhas almost shocked everyoneby presenting this example.The 65-year-old woman, whose80 per cent of lung was inactive.She became infected by thecorona pandemic. It was herstrong will and positive think-ing that she won the battleagainst corona and came out ofthe disease.

While the whole world isfighting a battle againstCOVID-19 disease because ofthis, due to increasing fearand anxiety among people,mental health is also beingaffected very badly. Accordingto the doctors, the biggest riskis to people suffering from oldage and other diseases. Despitethis, many people are alsorecovering from corona. Theirpositive thinking and strongwill is considered to be veryeffective in fighting the corona.Prabhat Kusum Gupta aged 65years is a living example. Hedefeated corona with his pos-itive thinking and strong willeven after suffering from anincurable disease.

Prabhat Kusum Gupta, 65,

hailing from Allapur area of thecity, has been suffering fromlung disease Interstitial LungDisease (ALD) for the last 14years. About 80 per cent of hislungs are inactive. She alsowent to AIIMS in Delhi fortreatment in 2006. After sometime, interstitial lung disease(ILD) was confirmed, she wasdischarged due to lack of treat-ment. Since then she is under-going treatment at home. Nowshe is healthy

Kusum's elder son Nitinsuffered high fever on the nightof August 27. He was imme-diately quarantined at home.He conducted his corona test atthe KP Ground testing Centre.Even after the report camenegative, he remained quaran-tined. On September 1, heagain underwent a corona testat Narayan Swaroop Hospital.On September 2, Nitin's reportwas again negative. The samenight Kusum had a high feverand she immediately quaran-tined. Nitin and Kusum went toSwaroop Rani Nehru Hospitaland got the corona examined.On September 4, both Nitinand Kusum's report came backpositive.

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The Allahabad High Courthas quashed a rape case

after taking on record the ‘set-tlement’ reached between therape accused and the survivorsaying, ‘they have married andare living happily. Therefore, nouseful purpose will be served inprolonging the proceeding’.

Allowing an applicationfiled by Khujan Singh andanother of Hathras district,Justice Manju Rani Chauhanobserved, ‘Considering thefacts and circumstances of thecase and also the submissionsmade by the counsel for theparties, the court is of the con-sidered opinion that no usefulpurpose shall be served byprolonging the proceedings of

this criminal case, as the par-ties have already settled theirdispute.’ During the court pro-ceedings, the couple was pre-sent in the court and submit-ted that they were marriedand had been living happily ashusband and wife. It was fur-ther submitted by them that thefirst information report (FIR)was lodged by the father of thegirl with false and frivolousallegations.

Earlier, Chief JudicialMagistrate, Hathras had onFebruary 14, 2019, rejectedtheir plea to close the case onthe ground that he does nothave jurisdiction to pass ordersin such compromise in non-compoundable offences.Hence, they approached theHigh Court, challenging theorder of CJM dated February

14, 2019.While allowing their appli-

cation filed under section 482(inherent powers of high court)of the Criminal ProcedureCode (CrPC), the court reliedon a judgment given by theSupreme Court in Gian Singhvs state of Punjab (2012) inwhich it was held that compro-mise can be made between theparties even in respect of cer-tain cognizable and non-com-poundable offences. The orderwas passed on October 8.

WOMAN HELD FORDAUGHTER’S MURDER: Awoman was arrested onTuesday night for allegedlykilling her six-year-old daugh-ter in Bheski village, under theHandia police station in trans-Ganga area. The accused, iden-tified as Usha Devi, is a resident

of Bheski. As per details givenby the police, the family wasreeling under extreme eco-nomic crisis, and fearing thebleak future of her six-year-olddaughter and the strugglesahead in grooming her and get-ting her married, the womandecided to end her daughter’slife. SP (trans-Ganga) DhawalJaiswal said that the Usha’shusband Ratnesh Tiwari hadbeen working as a laboureruntil two years ago when hebecame critically injured in anaccident. Since then, he wasn’table to work as much as he didbefore, and Usha started con-tributing to the family’s earn-ings by working as a househelp. The couple had two sonsand a daughter. The family’sincome wasn’t enough to evenmanage two square meals a day.

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The district has crossed the16K-mark as 92 new

COVID-19 patients have beendetected on Wednesday,increasing the total number ofcases to 16,050. The day alsosaw three more deaths, increas-ing the toll to 258. During theday, the follow-up negativereports included 116 patientsand all of them have beenrecovered from home isolation,increasing the number to12,145 as none of the patientsdischarged from the hospitalsand the number remained at2,790. The total number ofpatients who have been recov-ered so far is 14,935, leaving857 active cases. The recoveryrate has improved to 93.05 percent but the mortality rate hasincreased to 1.60 per cent.

Meanwhile, World Iodine

Deficiency Day was observedduring the day to create aware-ness among the peopletowards iodine deficiency dis-order (IDD) which is consid-ered as one of the major nutri-tional disorders worldwide.India is the first country in theworld to launch a public healthprogramme ‘National IodineDeficiency Disorder ControlProgramme’ to prevent iodinedeficiency disorders. DistrictMagistrate (DM) Kaushal RajSharma directed that throughthe ASHA workers and ANMs,IDD related publicity shouldbe done at PHCs and CHCsand asked them to check theamount of iodine in saltthrough salt testing kits apartfrom mobilising the people touse iodised salt.

Chief Medical Officer(CMO) Dr. VB Singh saidthat during the day, people

were made aware by ASHA,Anganwadi workers andANMs. They also checked saltused in various housesthrough testing kits andmobilised the people to useonly iodised salt in view toavoid IDD. He has alsoinformed that in the firstreport of the day, 54 positivepatients were found out of2,941 reports received. Tillthen, the total test reportsreceived were 2,91,156 and theresults of 2,269 are awaited.Out of them, 2,75,144 werenegative while 16,012 werepositive. The total number ofsamples collected was3,07,826. Earlier, a male aged71 from Chittupur (Lanka)succumbed to COVID-19 atApex Hospital. With the addi-tion of eight new red zones,the total number of hotspotshas increased to 2,254 includ-

ing 252 red zones. One greenzone has been converted intored zone again. There are2,002 green zones with 16new ones. Besides, under the‘Mission Shakti’ campaign, theoath-taking programme wasorganised on Tuesday at allprimary and communityhealth centres (PHCs/CHCs)in rural areas of the district.All the health workers pledgedfor safeguarding women andchildren, respecting their dig-nity, better health and nutri-tion, secrecy of identity andproviding an equal environ-ment to them irrespective ofgenders, castes or religions.The objective of this campaignis to make women self-reliantand allow a safe environmentto them by creating publicawareness and giving trainingto the women and children inself-defence.

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Asection of candidates seek-ing admissions in Bachelor

of Fine Arts (BFA) course inBanaras Hindu University(BHU) staged a protest at theCentral Office for the secondconsecutive day here onWednesday. They also staged asimilar protest there a day ago.Carrying their paintings, thecandidates, along with theirguardians, while protestingalleged that irregularities weredone in the admission anddemanded that the ongoingcounselling should be stoppedtill the matter is not probed.

According to them, manystudents who got 120-130marks out of 150 in their writ-ten entrance test were given justaround 100 marks out of 720 inthe practical examination inview to give admissions tosome others. On Tuesdayevening, Chief Proctor Prof OPRai reached there to pacify theagitating candidates andassured the latter that the coun-seling will not be started till thematter is not resolved. The can-didates were demanding re-evaluation of their practicalexam answer sheets.

Meanwhile, academicactivities have increased on

the university campus as thecounselling in various under-graduate courses has also start-ed during the day though thesame of some post-graduate(PG) courses have alreadystarted for the last couple ofdays. The counselling for somecategories was held in somecourses while in all categoriesin others. The same for admis-sion for BA (Hons) Arts regu-lar seats on the Main Campusbegan at Arts Faculty apartfrom BSc Ag/ BSc Ag at RajivGandhi South Campus atInstitute of AgriculturalSciences, LLB (Hons) at Facultyof Law, BSc (Hons) Maths

Group at Institute of Science.The counselling for some

PG courses including MBA-Risk & Insurance; MBA-Financial Management; MBA–Foreign Trade was held atFaculty of Commerce; MA(Hindi), MA (Telugu) at ArtsFaculty; Master of PersonnelManagement and IndustrialRelations at Faculty of SocialSciences; MA/ M.Sc-Geography at Institute ofScience; BEd –Languages(Hindi/ English/Sanskrit) atFaculty of Education and MSc(Ag) / M. Tech in DairyTechnology at Faculty ofAgriculture.

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In response to PM NarendraModi’s Jan Andolan Abhiyan

for Covid-19 appropriatebehaviour the campaign wasalso launched in DLW. Its aimwas to motivate the DLW offi-cials and personnel for takingproper care for preventingCovid-19 such as wearingmasks, maintaining social dis-tancing and ensuring handhygiene. The slogan of thiscampaign is ‘Jab tak dawainahi tab tak dhilahi nahi’ (Nocallousness till medicine isfound). In this sequence theDepartment of Safety depart-ment, DLW, Varanasi, on

Wednesday under the JanAndolan against the Covid-19made the people aware by dis-

tributing sanitisers, masks andpamphlets at Poorvi Bazar,DLW, other shops besides peo-ple on the road. On the occa-sion the Department of Safetyunder the leadership of thedeputy chief safety officer

encouraged them to wearmasks regularly. Pamplets toowere distributed on the occa-sion to be pasted in front of theshops. Meanwhile theDepartment of Safety, DLW,Varanasi, on Tuesday launchedan awareness programme forthe prevention of Covid-19 inBlock Division. Under it the offi-cers concerned with the BlockDivision in the area under theirpurview while ensuring thecompliance of proper behaviourfor prevention of Covid-19 andmaintaining social distancingmade the supervisors andemployees aware. A large num-ber of officers and employeesjoined it.

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Four accused were arrestedby Crime Branch and

Chauri Chaura police onTuesday morning in connec-tion with the murder of aproperty dealer whose bodywas recovered from a paddyfield on Monday. He waskilled as a tiles trader did notwant to not repay �15 lakh.Giving details in this connec-tion SP (North) Arvind KumarPandey said that the body of

the property dealer, Indrasan,a resident of Sanjhai villageunder the Chiluatal police sta-tion, was found lying in thepaddy field near Belwa Babuvillage on the Gorakhpur-Kushinagar fourlane on

Monday. When the policestarted investigating the matterthey with the help of surveil-lance arrested Ramesh aliasRoshan, a resident of VelwaRaipur village under Gulrihapolice station, Sankesh Kumarand Rafiq, residents ofMahmudabad village under thePipraich police station, andPraveen Kumar, a resident ofNawapar village under thePiparich police station. Theywere produced in the courtfrom where they were sent to jail.

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District Magistrate SushilKumar Patel has appealed

to farmers to sell their paddyonly at procurement centres setup by the government insteadof traders to get a reasonableprice for their produce. Such anappeal was made by the officerduring the inspection of thegovernment-run paddy pur-chase centres on Tuesday. TheDM directed the officials con-cerned to ensure availability ofsanitiser, potable water, suffi-cient bags, weighing machine,moisture measuring machine,proper place for farmers to sitand cash at the purchase cen-tres. He was apprised by theofficials that Tuesday andFriday were reserved for smallfarmers at which he directedthem to publicise it in thelarger interest of the farmers.During the inspection of pro-curement centre set up atMandi Samiti by UP Agro andFood department the DMmade it clear that the purchasewas to be done only from the

registered farmers and regis-tration process was still on. Heappealed to farmers to feelfree to call at the phone num-bers 05442- 256357 and 05442-253201 for any problem with-out any meditation and availthe facility provided by the gov-ernment to them. The staff

deployed at the centre weredirected to open the centrespositively at 9.00 am and if anyone was found truant duringthe duty hours will face themusic without fail. The DMappealed to farmers to avail thefacility available at 62 centres inthe district. The DM inspect-ed the centres set up at FCIcampus at Patharahiya, MandiSamiti, Gaipura and Chilh.

NABBED: Under the driveto control the crime Jamalpurpolice arrested one kidnapperand recovered the kidnappedgirl on Tuesday. According tothe police, a man had onOctober 14 lodged an FIR thathis daughter had been kid-napped by someone. The policenabbed the accused Akhilesh,son of Atma Giri, a resident ofKakarahi village underJamalpur police station alongwith the kidnapped girl fromDhebra Chauraha. After com-pleting the legal formalitiesthe police sent the accused tojail. Meanwhile a case of fraudwas registered against five per-sons at City Kotwali. As per thereports, Sri Prakash, a residentof Tarkapur locality under CityKotwali police station, hadlodged a complaint with the IGpolice that in place of hismother another woman did anagreement for sale of his prop-erty in the connivance withsome persons. On the directionof the IG the police registeredan FIR and the investigation inthe matter was on.

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The railway administrationkeeping the convenience of

passengers in mind in view of thefestivals will run 04084/04083Delhi-Katihar-Delhi weekly pujaspecial from October 23 toNovember 28. All coaches in thistrain will be of reserved catego-ry and passengers will have tofollow the Covid-19 norms,CPRO PK Singh said.

DELHI-KATIHAR PUJA SPL:The 04084 Delhi-Katihar week-ly puja special from October 23to November 27 every Fridayleave Delhi at 23.00 hrs,Ghaziabad at 23:07 hrs, thesecond day Moradabad at 02.03hrs, Bareilly at 03.23 hrs, Sitapurat 06.35 hrs, Gorakhpur at 11.35hrs from It will leave Chhapra at14.35 hrs, Hajipur at 15.45 hrs,Barauni at 17.45 hrs, Begusaraiat 18.05 hrs, Khagadia at 19.12hrs, Naugachia at 20.22 hrs andreach Katihar at 22.00 hrs.During the return journey the04083 Katihar-Delhi weekly pujaspecial from October 24 toNovember 28 every Saturday willleave Katihar at 23:50 hrs,Naugachia at 00.42 hrs,

Khagadia at 01.52 hrs,Begusarai at 02.27 hrs, Barauniat 02.55 hrs, Hajipur at 05.15hrs, Chhapra at 06.50 hrs,Gorakhpur at 09.45 hrs, Sitapurat 14.55 hrs, Bareilly at 17.57hrs, Moradabad at 19.43 hrsand Ghaziabad at 22.02 hrs andreach Delhi at 22:50 hrs. A totalof 20 coaches, including twocoaches of generator-cum-lug-gage van, five of general secondclass, seven of sleeper class, fourof AC third and two of AC sec-ond will be attached.

GKP-LOKMANYA TILAKTERMINUS PUJA SPL: The02165/02166 Gorakhpur-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gorakhpur superfast biweeeklypuja special will be run fromOctober 22 to December 1. The02165 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gorakhpur biweekly superfastpuja special from October 22 toNovember 30 every Thursday andMonday will leave LokmanyaTilak Terminus at 05.23 hours,Thane at 05.40 hours, Kalyanat 06.08 hours, Igatpuri at08.05 hrs, Nashik Road at 08.45hrs, Manmad at 09.40 hrs,Jalgaon at 11.20 hrs, Bhusavalat 11.50 hrs, Itarsi at 17.10 hrs,

Jabalpur at 20.50 hrs, Katni at22.10 hrs, on the second daySatna at 00.10 am, Prayagraj Jnat 04.15 hrs, Janghai at 05.19 hrs,Bhadohi at 05.48 hrs, Varanasiat 07.05 hrs, Mau at 08.32 hrs,Deoria Sadar at 10.17 hrs andreach Gorakhpur at 11.25 hrs.During the return journey the02166 Gorakhpur-LokmanyaTilak Terminus biweekly super-fast puja special will fromOctober 23 to December 1every Friday and Tuesday leaveGorakhpur at 15.45 hrs, DeoriaSadar at 16.32 hrs, Mau at 18.00hrs, Varanasi at 20.20 hrs,Bhadohi at 21.00 hrs, Janghai to21.28 hrs, Prayagraj Junction at23.30 hrs, the second day Satnaat 02.10 hrs, Katni at 03.30 hrs,Jabalpur at 05.10 hrs, Itarsi at 09.10hrs, Bhusaval at 13.45 hours,Jalgaon at 14.15 hours, Manmad at16.00 hours, Nasik Road at 17.00hours, Igatpuri at 18.30 hours,Kalyan at 20.30 hrs, Thane at 20:54hrs and Lokmanya Tilak Terminusat 21:30 hrs. A total of 22 coaches,including two coaches of SLRD,four of general second class, 11 ofsleeper class, four of AC third andone of AC second will beattached in this special train.

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For the promotion of Hindithe North Eastern Railway

(NER) Rajbhasha departmentwill organise the Regional RailHindi Essay, Debate and HindiNoting and DraftingCompetition Year-2020 for therailway personnel of the entireNER at Rajbhasha departmentheadquarters, Gorakhpur, whilefollowing the Covid-19 normsand maintaining physical dis-tancing. The essay competitionwill be held on November 5 andHindi noting and drafting anddebate competition onNovember 10. In these compe-titions the contestants whowill secure the first three placesin the order of merit will begiven �2,000, �1,600 and�1,200 cash prize respective-ly, CPRO PK Singh said. Besidesthe next three contestants inorder of merit will be given anincentive prize of �800 each.

BOY FOUND : TheRailway Protection Force

(RPF), NER, makes constantefforts to protect passengersand provide them better travelfacilities. In the same sequencethe RPF post, Mau, found a 11-year-old boy in an unclaimedcondition during patrolling atMau railway station and washanded over to the ChildWelfare Committee, Mau,CPRO PK Singh said. Besidesone person was caught withthree e-tickets by RPF out-post, Rudrapur City, staff froma shop in Kichha. After takingaction under the Railway Act acase was registered in this con-nection. Besides two personswere caught with seven e-tickets by RPF Lalkuan fromKichha. After taking actionagainst them under theRailway Act a case was regis-tered against them.Meanwhile an earlier reportsaid that the RPF post,Gorakhpur, found a 15-year-old boy in unclaimed condi-tion during patrolling atGorakhpur railway station.

He was handed over to theChild Line, Gorakhpur. TheRPF post, Gonda, found threeboys, aged 14, 13 and 12 yearsrespectively, in an unclaimedcondition during patrolling atGonda railway station. Theywere handed over to the ChildLine, Gonda, The RPF post,Gonda found two boys, agednine and 13 years respective-ly, in unclaimed condition atGonda railway station onOctober 17. They were hand-ed over to the Child Line,Gonda. Besides one personwas caught with two e-ticketsfrom a shop jointly by RPFpost, Gorakhpur Cantonmentand Crime Intelligence Branch(CIB), Gorakhpur region. Aftertaking action under the RailwayAct a case was registered in thisregard. Moreover two personswere caught with 58 e-ticketsfrom a shop by RPF post,Ghazipur City. After takingaction against them under theRailway Act, a case was regis-tered in this regard.

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Kanpur Nagar reported 40more coronavirus positive

cases on Wednesday evening.Chief Medical Officer Dr

Anil K Mishra said that 40more people had tested positivefor coronavirus infectionbetween Tuesday evening andWednesday evening taking thetally of confirmed cases to27,390 cases. He said twoCOVID-19 deaths in the citywas reported till Wednesdayevening keeping the death tollto 720. The CMO said withone COVID-19 patients wasdischarged from hospital and atpresent 1212 active cases wereundergoing treatment. DrMishra said 4152 sampleswere sent for testing in the city.

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Indian Bank zonal head KLMenon, while inaugurating

the festival bonanza offer onthe occasion of Navratri at theBara Chauraha zonal officehere on Wednesday, said thebank had decided to extend thebest festival offer during thisfestival period.

He said festival bonanzawas in fact an effort of the bankto ensure that people wereable to purchase house, cars,during festival and fulfil theirdreams and also take MSMEloans not only to improve theirfinancial position but also con-tribute towards the growth ofthe nation’s economy.

He said the bank hadalways been the forerunner inextending best schemes to itscustomers and this offer wasone in the same direction.

He said the bank felt thatfestival was a time for womento do purchasing for the houseand the family and thus ithad extended retail loan towomen on card rate of 0-.15per cent and for house 0-.10 percent.

He said apart from this, thebank had also decided to pro-vide a special rebate for its cus-tomers on the processing fee ofthe loans between 50-75 percent.

He later distributed Houseloans amounting to � 5.6 crore,

vehicle loans amounting to � 2crore and MSME loans to thetune of �7.80 crore. He hand-ed the loans to the beneficia-ries.

The bank also receivedfresh proposals for houseloans to the tune of �7.9 crore,

vehicle loans amounting to �1.63 crore and MSME loans tothe tune of �3.5 crore.

Prominent among thosepresent on the occasion wereBBK Vinay, RMPC Head,Saurabh Jain and several oth-ers.

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Additional Chief Secretary(Medical Education)

Rajneesh Dube on Wednesdaydirected the medical authoritiesnot to disturb or dismantle theCovid hospitals and insteadfocus on what improvementscould be made in these Level-3 health care facilities.

Addressing the district andmedical officials of GSVMMedical College throughvideo-conferencing, Dr Dubesaid medical experts hadexpressed apprehension thatafter Diwali there could be asecond wave of COVID-19infection and thus laxity couldnot be tolerated at any cost.

He said if there was a sec-ond peak of the novel coron-avirus infection in the city, the

district administration shouldbe prepared for it in advance.He asked the officials toincrease the ICU beds to 5,000on top priority.

The additional chief secre-tary said the coronavirus hadweakened but it had notretreated completely and thusthere should be no move torevert back to normal hospitalcatering to the non-Covid OPDpatients.

He said non-Covid facili-ties needed to be furtherstrengthened but it did notmean that the Covid hospitalshould be converted to non-Covid hospitals.

Dr Dube asked the author-ities to set up OPD Help Desksfor the poor people coming tothe city hospitals from sur-rounding districts.

He said in case there was aneed for a non-Covid hospital,it should be set up in a differ-ent building.

He said all the Covid hos-pitals and isolation centresshould be under strict surveil-lance as seen at the SanjayGandhi Post-graduate Instituteof Medical Sciences inLucknow.

Meanwhile, Chief MedicalOfficer Dr Anil Mishra said aspecial awareness campaignwould be carried out till midNovember in the entire city.

He said in schools, colleges,hospitals, markets, malls,offices and other public places,people would be made aware ofthe fact that though the coro-navirus had weakened, but itwas still stalking the corridorsand unless one remained very

careful and alter, it could strikeback with same, or even more,intensity.

Dr Mishra said social dis-tancing had to be maintainedvery strictly. He said washinghands with soap frequentlyand wearing face mask wasvery essential at this criticaljuncture.

The CMO said each personmust spread awareness amongthe masses, especially the lowerstrata, that social distancingwas the best way to fight thenovel coronavirus and it hademerged as the most potentvaccine against the deadly virusin the current times.

He said the drive wasmandatory in every govern-ment department, especiallymedical and educational insti-tutions.

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Kanpur DivisionalCommissioner Raj

Shekhar on Wednesday felici-tated the Anganwadi, ASHAand other health workers fortheir contribution in contain-ing the spread of novel coron-avirus in the city.

He said due to the com-bined efforts of these coronawarriors and doctors andhealth staff, there was a markeddecline in the spread of thecoronavirus and also COVID-19 deaths.

The divisional commis-sioner said there was no doubtthat women not only cared forones health but also came for-ward in the times of crisis tofight the COVID-19 disease.

He said though there wasa decline in the number ofcoronavirus positive cases, itwas not the end yet and tostress this point, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andChief Minister Yogi Adityanathhad given the slogan ‘Do gajdoori, mask zaroori’ and if thiswas followed in the rightearnest, we could emerge win-ners in the fight against thedreaded COVID-19 disease.

Shekhar said in pandemicsand epidemics, there werealways a large number ofdeaths but all that the govern-ment could do was to keepthe loss of lives as low as pos-sible.

He said on account ofsocial distancing and con-stantly wearing mask, the peo-ple and the corona warriorshad successfully been able tolower the COVID-19 death

rate in Kanpur Nagar and con-tain the spread of the virus.

He said the ‘Do gaj doori,mask zaroori’ slogan should befollowed in letter and spirit bythe people to keep themselvesand their near ones safe. Headvised people to refrain fromgoing to crowded places.

Shekhar praised thewomen for their effort in thiscampaign and said it was anexample of women empower-

ment as they were doing animportant role in standingwith the government to fightthis disease.

He later distributed gifts tothe women who had reachedto participate in the felicitationfunction.

Prominent among thosepresent included DIGParminder Singh, SPs, ADMsand officials of the KanpurDevelopment Authority.

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KANPUR (PNS): An elderlywoman was axed to death byher son in greed of property inRamganj locality underAkbarpur police station ofKanpur Dehat on Wednesdaymorning. As per reports,Nasiran (80) lived with hisson Masoom, his wife Sannoand their two children. OnWednesday morning, the pro-fusely-bleeding body ofNasiran was found lying on acot in the house. She wasrepeatedly hit by a sharp-edgedweapon. During interrogation,Masoom initially feigned igno-rance about the incident, say-ing he was sleeping with fam-ily members inside the house.On being grilled, he confessedhis crime and disclosed that hisbrother, Mushtaq, was living inBara (Akbarpur) and had askedhis mother to transfer thehouse in his name severaltimes. Thinking that the elim-ination of his mother would gethim the ownership of thehouse, he killed her.Superintendent of PoliceKeshav Chaudhary saidMasoom was a liquor addictand was being interrogated

��Two youths were killed

when a truck hit their motor-cycle and crushed them asthey fell on the ground infront of a school near Raha vil-lage turn on Moosanagar roadunder Ghatampur police sta-tion at around 11 am onWednesday. The deceased wereidentified as Anil Verma (28)and his nephew Gaurav aliasParas (25) of Etawah. The crit-ically injures youths wererushed to the communityhealth centre by the police butthe doctors pronounced themdead. The truck driver escapedwith the vehicle after the acci-dent. Anil was employed in aCooperative Bank in Etawahand was going to Fatehpuralong with his nephew.

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Traffic movement onKanpur-Sagar highwayremained disrupted for overtwo hours when a truck ladenwith wooden planks goingtowards Hamirpur suddenlyoverturned near the sugar millturn under Ghatampur policestation on Wednesday morn-ing. Three persons, includingthe truck driver, were serious-ly injured in the mishap. As thewooden planks lay scattered onthe street, traffic movementremained disrupted for overtwo hours. It could be restoredonly after the wooden plankswere removed from the road.Truck driver Mohd Naem (32)of Sitapur along with cleanersMeraz (28) of Pakaria inLucknow and Hasan ofRampur going towardsHamirpur. Around 7:30 am,Naem suddenly lost controlover the wheel and the truckoverturned on the highway inPatara under Ghatampur policestation. The truck driver andthe two cleaners sustainedinjuries. They were rescuedand sent to Patara communityhealth centre. Naem and Merazwere referred for LLR Hospitalin Kanpur Nagar in view oftheir serious condition.

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The Barra police busted agang selling fake cement offamous brands and arrestedthree persons on Wednesday.On a tip-off, the police raidedthe godowns in Barra-7 andWorld Bank Colony and recov-ered huge quantity of fakecement, empty bags of famouscement brands, strainer andweighing machine.

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*67�*�� ,��$��KANPUR (PNS) : Director,MSME Development Institute,Kanpur, LBS Yadav, whileaddressing a webinar held inassociation with MahilaManch, said in the times ofCOVID-19 when lakhs of peo-ple were affected economical-ly, a platform was needed toprovide emancipation tothe women who were the worsthit.

He said women hadimmense talent but in theadverse situation it was difficult

for them to hunt for a platformso that they could eke outtheir livelihood. He said theMSME Ministry had manyinitiatives meant exclusivelyfor talented women.

He said gender equalitybecoming more and more vital,the MSME Ministry had decid-ed to empower women andmore than 1.38 lakh projectshad been set up by the womenentrepreneurs under PrimeMinister’s EmploymentGeneration Programme

(PMEGP) since its inception. He said in the present

times there was need to givefurther momentum to thisscheme for the uplift of thewomen.

He said it was true thatonly 13.76 percent of the totalentrepreneurs in India werewomen which was close tomerely eight million asopposed to male entrepreneurswho just crossed a whopping60 million mark, these finan-cial schemes launched at the

state and Central level could doa great deal in boosting womenentrepreneurship.

Yadav said it was quiteunfortunate that most of thetalented women entrepreneurshad little idea about theschemes and there were a fewwomen who stepped out oftheir homes and chose to makethe most out of these schemesand become economicallyindependent. He said therewas one Mudra Rozgar Yojanaand a few more.

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For the first time in modern times, an inter-nationally respected cardiologist who is

also a leading medical researcher has demand-ed that astrology, the age-old Indian system ofknowledge, be accorded the status of modernscience and initiate further research into it torefine the ‘accuracy of the predictability’.

Writing the editorial of the October 2020issue of the Journal of the Science of HealingOutcomes, a modern scientific journal that pub-lishes only peer-reviewed scientific papers, DrB M Hegde, former vice-chancellor of ManipalUniversity, who was honoured with PadmaBhushan by the Manmohan Singh-led UPAGovernment in 2010,has put forward studies ofmore than five decades.

“The idea that stars, or a constellation ofthem, have some influence on human birth andlife can never be scientifically refuted. There areareas where astrology needs further research tounravel some of the mysteries that plague theuncertainties of astrological predictions,” ProfHegde, who has fellowships from four RoyalColleges of Physicians, writes.

Dr Hegde says astrology is being criticisedby outsiders because we have to assume manythings in astrology. “Even in Mathematics, the

king of sciences, the numbers are only assump-tions. Rahu and Ketu might not be seenthrough the Hubble’s telescope but they areassumptions for calculations like North andSouth Poles which are not marked on theground,” he said.

The editorial says that predicting the futurein any system is impossible as of now with thelimited knowledge of this universe which fol-lows non-linear laws.

“Weather forecast goes wrong on a dailybasis in its short-term predictions. Therefore,future predictions in astrology also could gowrong. However, there are areas for furtherresearch to refine its accuracy of predictability.We have to have a scientific approach to see howwe could fill the loopholes, if any, in that sci-ence.

That is scientific progress. In addition to sellany idea to the world, we must use a languagethat is universally understood. For the timebeing, that language is the language of hard west-ern sciences. Let us try to sell astrology to theworld using the language of science,” Prof Hegde opined. It may be remembered that emi-nent Ayurvedic physician Dr P R Krishnakumarwho succumbed to Covid-19 recently, was a pro-ponent of holistic treatment and undertook diag-nosis based on the birth stars of the patients.

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After months of intensespeculation about his

impending exit from a partywhere he had virtually beenconsigned to dog house for thepast four years, its formerMinister and senior leaderEknath Khadse resigned fromprimary membership of theBJP on Wednesday, two daysof ahead of his joining the Sharad Pawar-led ruling NCP.

Announcing his resigna-tion, Khadse – who played akey role along with lateGopinath Munde in buildingthe Maharashtra party unitafter the formation of BJP in1980 –said : “I have nothingagainst the BJP or its centralleadership. If I am quitting theBJP, it is because of (formerchief minister and senior partyleader) Devendra Fadnavis.He indulged in low-level pol-itics against me for the pastfour years. He defamed me bymaking all kinds of allegations,

including charge of molesta-tion, against him”.

Welcoming Khadse’s res-ignation from the BJP’s pri-mary membership, seniorminister and State NCP pres-ident Jayant Patil said: “Today,Khadse called me and told methat he had quit the BJP.Hence, we welcome him to theNCP. He will join our party at2 pm on Friday”.

Maharashtra ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray,who heads the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance’s MahaVikas Aghadi (MVA) govern-ment in the state, welcomedKhadse's impending entry tothe MVA fold. “Khadse doesnot mince words. He is afighter. I welcome him into theMVA”.

Reacting to Khadse’s res-ignation, Fadnavis said: “It isunfortunate that Nathabahu(as Khadse is known in thestate political circles) has cho-sen to resign from the BJP.While leaving the BJP, he hasmade me a villain. At this

stage, I do not want to talkabout his comments. I will talkabout it at a proper time. I didnot foist any false cases againsthim, which you will realisewhen you go into the details ofthe cases against him”.

Earlier, addressing a newsconference in his home townof Muktainagar in Jalgaon dis-trict after resigning from theBJP, Khadse said: “I have nogrouse against the BJP. It wasFadnavis who harassed me alot when I was in the BJP. Tothat extent, at the behest ofFadnavis, a molestation chargecame to be foisted against meduring our government. I amquitting the BJP because of themental harassment I faced atthe hands of Fadnavis for fouryears”.

“I worked with seniorleaders like late PramodMahajan, late GopinathMunde and PandurangFundkar. I do not deny that theBJP gave several party postsand ministerial positions. I

have not criticised any nation-al BJP leader. There is not anMLA or MP with me now.Even my daughter-in-law andMP Rakshna Khadse will notquit the BJP. Hence, I amcapable of taking my decision,”Khadse said.

Expressing the manner inwhich he was forced to resignas a senior minister in the thenDevendra Fadnavis govern-ment in 2016, Khadse said: “At a time when the other par-ties like the NCP, Congress andeven Shiv Sena, which was rul-ing the state with the BJP, didnot demand my resignation,my party sought and obtainedmy resignation”.

Khadse -- who was denieda BJP ticket to contest the 2019State Assembly polls from hishome constituency ofMuktainagar in Jalgaon districtof north Maharashtra andwhose daughter Rohini wasdefeated in the Assembly polls--- had for the past four yearsmade no secret of his frustra-tions within the BJP.

In May this year, Khadseand another unhappy partyleader and late GopinathMunde’s daughter PankajaMunde were denied partytickets to contest theMaharashtra Legislat iveCouncil polls

Khadse has been in theisolation within the BJP eversince June 4, 2016, when heresigned from his post as theState Revenue Minister overirregularities in the purchase ofa plot of land at Bhosari inPune district. Later in May2018, Maharashtra’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) hadreportedly given a clean chit toKhadse in the alleged Puneland scam case.

In the run-up to theAssembly polls, there was con-siderable speculation that hemight take a stand against theBJP. There was a likelihood ofhis phone having been tappedduring this period. However,Khadse did not work againstthe BJP during the StateAssembly elections.

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In a significant development in the much-dis-cussed Palghar lynching case, the

Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department(CID) on Wednesday named 208 more asaccused and arrested 50 of them in connectionwith the killing of two Sadhus and their dri-ver by an irate mob near Kasa town inMaharashtra’s Palghar district.

With Wednesday’s development, thenumber of persons named in the Palgharlynching case has gone up to 366, including11 juveniles. Of the 208 freshly namedaccused, the State CID arrested 50 personson Wednesday.

In all, the bail pleas of 62 accused, includ-ing 50 of those arrested on Wednesday, will beproduced before Special Sessions Judge P. P.Jadhav at Thane Sessions Court.

Of the 366 accused in the case, 28 adultsand 9 juveniles were released on a default bailas the CID charge sheet did not specify theirexact involvement in the crime owing to lackof evidence.

On July 16, this year, the state CID filed acomprehensive charge-sheets against theaccused before a Dahanu court in connectionwith the April 16, 2020 Palghar lynching inci-dent.

In its charge sheet – running into 4955pages -- filed before the court of Judicial

Magistrate First Class (JMFC) at Dahanu inPalghar district, the CID sleuths named 126accused in connection with the incident thattook place on the night of April 16.

The investigation team, led by DeputySuperintendent of Police (CID) Vijay Pawar,filed the two charge-sheets after examining 808suspects and 118 witnesses to collect strong evi-dence against the accused.

It may be recalled that on the night of April16, three persons were lynched by a 200-strongmob of villagers near Kasa town inMaharashtra’s Palghar district on suspicion thatthey were thieves.

The villagers first hurled stones at the van,prompting the driver to stop the vehicle. Later,they pulled three persons out of the vehicle andbeat them to death in Gadhchinchale villageon Dabhadi-Khanwel road, with sticks androds.

The deceased ---identified as ChikneMaharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), SushilgiriMaharaj (35) and driver Nilesh Telgade (30)were travelling to Surat. Of them one was thediver, while two are residents of Kandivli innorth Mumbai. The place where the incidenttook place is approximately 120 km fromMumbai.

In their charge-sheet, the investigators havesaid that the incident had taken place amidrumours that child-lifters were roaming in thearea during the lockdown.

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Kolkata: The Calcutta HighCourt on Wednesday made aslight adjustment in its earli-er order banning visitors’entry in Bengal’s Durga Pujapandals.

Hearing a review petitionthe Division Bench of JusticesSanjib Banerjee and ArijitBanerjee increased the num-ber of club members whowould be allowed inside thepandals from 25 to 60 in caseof bigger Pujas and 10 to 15 insmaller Pujas. Besides, theDhakis or the drum playerswould be allowed to enter thepandals.

Apart from this the Courtpreferred to retain the olderorder banning popular entryinside the Puja pandals.

Delivering an order onMonday the Court said that

the Puja pandals should betreated as containment zonesand directed the State admin-istration to mark 5 metre areaaround small pandals and the10 metre area around biggerpandals as the limit till whichthe general people would beallowed to go.

Even the entry of the clubmembers was restricted insidethe pandals even as the Courtsaid that not more than 25members would be allowedinside. The Court directedthe administration to collectthe names of 25 persons eachfrom the respective DurgaPuja committees beyond whono one would be allowed toenter the Puja premises. Thesenames and numbers of suchpersons have to be fixed andcannot change every day, the

court said.The Court’s decision

came against a Public InterestLitigation filed by AdvocateSabyasachi Chatterjee andwill be applicable to about37,000 Durga Puja pandals,big and small all across theState. Out of these there areabout 3,500 Puja pandals inKolkata alone.

Subsequently review peti-tions were filed by big clubslike Chetla Agrani, SuruchiSangha, Naktala UdayanSangha, Hindusthan Club --- patronized by StateMinisters and seniorTrinamool Congress leaderslike Firhad Hakim, ArupBiswas, Partho Chatterjeeand ChandrimaBhattacharya.

Apart from them ForumFor Durgotsav Committeean umbrella body of about400 Puja organizers too fileda reviewed petition. PNS

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Three years after parting ways with Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee, “fugitive” Gorkha

Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung onWednesday suddenly resurfaced in Kolkata toannounce his break-up with the NDA and remar-riage with the Trinamool Congress.

Gurung’s move comes as a major blow to theBJP’s aspirations in North Bengal region onwhich it was counting heavily for the next year’sAssembly elections.

Gurung who had emerged as a strong critic ofthe Chief Minister post September 2017 when heled his party into a bloody clash with the Stateadministration leading to weeks-long bandh in theHills came down heavily on the BJP leadershipincluding Prime Minister Narendra Modi andHome Minister Amit Shah for their alleged “fail-ure to keep their commitments.”

Gurung said “in the past so many years wehave experienced that be it the Prime Minister orthe Home Minister, no one honours his commit-ments … on the contrary Mamata Banerjee hasalways kept her promise and never gone backed

on her words.“This is the reason why we have decided to quit

the NDA from today andjoin hands with the TMC … We will want to

see Mamata Banerjee the Chief Minister for thethird time… We will work with all our energy andmight to ensure that TMC does well from all theseats in North Bengal.” The founder of GorkhaJanmukti Morcha Gurung chose a militant pathpost 2017 challenging the Chief Minister for notgiving a separate Gorkhaland state. He wasengaged in a violent clash --- leading to afew deathsin the region.

Subsequently booked under several chargesincluding sedition he was declared an absconderwith the State police hot in his pursuit.

Gurung remained underground for three yearsduring which he joined the BJP-led NationalDemocratic Alliance after breaking ties withTMC in September 2017.

In the meantime a second GJM leader BenoyTamang parted ways with Gurung to form his ownGJM(Tamang) and joined hands with the ChiefMinister. He was subsequently appointed theAdministrator of Gorkhaland Territorial Authority.

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Once bitten twice shy, the ShivSena-led MVA Government

– invoking the powers vestedunder section 6 of the DelhiSpecial Police Establishment Act– on Wednesday evening with-drew general "consent” grantedto the CBI to investigate the casesrelating to Maharashtra, in anapparent to effort to prevent thecentral investigating agency fromtaking TRP ratings fraud case.

In an order issued late onWednesday evening, theMaharashtra Home departmentsaid that “in exercise of the pow-ers conferred under section 6 ofthe Delhi Special PoliceEstablishment Act, 1946, theGovernment of Maharashtrahereby withdraws the consentaccorded to the members of theDelhi Special PoliceEstablishment vide governmentorder, Home department dated22nd February 1989, as also byanother instruments issued bythe Government of Maharashtra,from time to time to exercise thepowers and jurisdiction underthe said Act in the state ofMaharashtra”.

Following the withdrawalof “consent”, the CBI will nowapproach the Maha govt for per-mission for investigation on acase by case basis. However, theorder issued by the state gov-ernment will have no bearing onthe cases already being investi-gated by the CBI.

Sources said that theMaharashtra government, whichhad earlier expressed seriousreservations about the centralagencies taking over the cases likethe Bhim-Koregaon case and theSushant Singh Rajput death case,did not want to the CBI to takeover the TRP ratings case fol-

lowing the precedent of theSushant Singh Rajput case.

In the SSR case, an FIR wasfirst registered with the Patnapolice. Following the recom-mendation of the Bihar govern-ment, the CBI registered a case.Later on the Supreme Courttransferred the investigations inthe SSR case from the Mumbaipolice to the CBI.

Even in the TRP rating case,Lucknow's Hazratganj police reg-istered an FIR based on a com-plaint from one Kamal Sharma,who claims to run a media andadvertising business calledGolden Rabbit Communications.On Tuesday, the Centre trans-ferred the UP case to the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI),which promptly registered anFIR.

Even in the Palghar lynchingcase, the Opposition BJP leadershave been demanding that thecase be transferred to the CBI.However, as it happened in theSSR case, the Maharashtra gov-ernment does not want thePalghar lynching case to betransferred to the CBI.

Maharashtra is not the firststate to have invoked section6(Consent of State Governmentto exercise powers and jurisdic-tion) of the Delhi Special PoliceEstablishment act to withdraw“general consent” to the CBI.

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh,Chattisgarh and West Bengalhad invoked this section whichreads: “Nothing contained insection 5 shall be deemed toenable any member of the DelhiSpecial Police Establishment toexercise powers and jurisdic-tion in any area in [a State, notbeing a Union territory or railwayarea], without the consent of theGovernment of that State."

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Thiruvananthapuram: In yet another day of high numbers ofdaily coronavirus cases, Kerala on Wednesday reported 8,369more infections as its test positivity rate continued to hover above13 per cent. “The day saw 6,839 recoveries while active casesclimbed up to 93,425. As many as 2,67,082 patients have beencured so far. With 26 more Covid fatalities, the state's death tollnow is 1,232,” Health Minister KK Shailaja said in a statementhere.

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Divisions within the PunjabCongress came to the fore

yet again on Wednesday withparty MP Pratap Singh Bajwawriting to President RamnathKovind requesting him to ordera high-level probe into the cir-cumstances that led to theremoval of security cover ofShaurya Chakra awardeeBalwinder Singh and his sub-sequent killing by terroristson October 16.

“I wish to bring your kindattention to the heinous assas-sination of comradeBalwinder Singh Bhikhiwindon October 16, 2020. Beingnational hero and awardedmedals of valour by thePresident of India, the safetyand security of the family of

Comrade Balwinder SinghBhikhiwind should have beena priority of the Governmentof India,” he stated in his let-ter.

“It is imperative thatresponsible including police-men who prepared inputs thatled to his security cover beingwithdrawn should be investi-gated through a high-levelprobe,” Bajwa in his letter,dated October 20, 2020, said.

Bajwa pointed out therewere 16 attempts to kill Singh’sfamily in 1990-91 and theirfamily was the only one inIndia with four ShauryaChakra awardees.

Party’s Punjab inchargeHarish Rawat said Bajwa hasevery right to write to thePresident but he should’vewritten first to the PunjabChief Minister as law andorder is a state subject.

But Bajwa and PunjabChief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh have been atloggerheads for quite sometime now. Bajwa along withanother Rajya Sabha MP SSDhullo had even skipped

Rahul Gandhi’s tractor rally inprotest against the farm bills.

Bajwa has been constant-ly expressing his resentmentagainst the CM blaming himfor his autocratic style offunctioning. He even allegedthat the CM is shieldingsmugglers and drug traffick-er after 121 people died afterconsuming spurious liquor inAugust this year.

Balwinder Singh Sandhu,who fought against terrorismin Punjab, was shot dead bytwo unknown assailants inTarn Taran district. His wifesaid there are 42 registeredFIRs of attacks on their fam-ily and countless other attackshave taken place which is noton record.

“Withdrawal of securitywas wrong. Government,administration and intelli-gence agencies are responsiblefor this. We sought securityagain, but to no avail. Thosewho treat security cover as astatus symbol have been pro-vided with it. We actuallyneeded it but weren’t provid-ed,” she rued.

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Taking a serious view oflaxity by parties and can-

didates in observing crowddiscipline, the ElectionCommission on Wednesdayissued advisory to politicalparties, asking them to followits instructions related toCOVID-19 during polls. Hugecrowds at rallies without adher-ing to the norms of social dis-tancing and wearing of masksare being seen in the ongoingcampaigning for the BiharAssembly elections.

The poll body reiterated itsOctober 9 instructions askingpolitical parties and candi-dates to maintain crowd disci-pline and advised them todemonstrate utmost vigil andcare during electioneering. Theadvisory has been issued twodays ahead of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s first rally inBihar on Friday, which willattract crowds in huge num-bers.

The EC also said it expect-ed the chief electoral officersand district machinery con-cerned to invoke appropriatepenal provisions against thecandidates as well as organis-ers for violating Covid safetyprotocols. The advisory stated:“The commission has taken aserious view of laxity on part of

the parties and candidates, onthe ground, in terms of main-taining crowd discipline andhereby reiterates and furtheradvises them to demonstrateutmost vigil and care duringelectioneering”.

“Chief Electoral Officersand the District Machinerywould be expected by theCommission to invoke appro-priate and relevant penal pro-visions against the candidatesconcerned as well as the orga-nizers responsible for such vio-lations. Separate instructionsfor strict compliance of guide-lines are being issued to ChiefElectoral Officers and StateGovernments of poll goingstates,” the advisory read.

“Instances of such publicmeetings have come to noticeof the Commission, wherelarge numbers of crowds haveassembled in utter violation ofsocial distancing and thepolitical leaders/campaignersare addressing the gatheringwithout wearing masks incomplete disregard of theguidelines/instructions issuedby Election Commission. Bydoing so, the political partiesand candidates are not onlyflouting the guidelines of theCommission with impunity,but exposing themselves aswell as the public attendingthe rallies/meetings to thedanger of infection during thepandemic,” the poll panel’s

advisory read.The poll panel recalled its

earlier advisory issued onOctober 9 in which it hadstated: “As representatives ofpublic, this onerous respon-sibility rests with the politicalparties to ensure that they notonly cooperate with the dis-trict machineries in followingthe due norms of publichealth safety as prescribed,but also instill a sense of dis-cipline for civic behaviour intheir cadre while doingground management duringcampaign times. It is request-ed that you may like to issueadvisory to all your field rep-resentatives to demonstrateutmost vigil and care to abideby all the extant instructionsin large interest of publichealth and avoid any penalaction for breaching the pro-visions.”

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In the backdrop of the Indianand Chinese armies locked in

a stand-off at the Line of ActualControl(LAC)in Ladakh, ArmyChief General M M Naravaneon Wednesday reviewed thecurrent security scenario andstressed the need for faster inte-gration and modernisation ofthe armed forces.

Interacting with the offi-cers at the prestigious Collegeof Defence Management(CDM) and Bison Division atSecunderabad, he also focusedon the geo-strategic implica-tions on capability develop-ment and force utilisation ofthe Indian Army in pursuit ofnational interests.

During his address to thestudent officers and faculty ofthe CDM, Naravane spoke ona number of issues concerningintegration, theaterisation andmodernisation of the armedforces in general and the IndianArmy in particular, the Armysaid here.

On the government’s deci-sion to appoint the Chief ofDefence Staff (CDS) and createthe Department of MilitaryAffairs (DMA), the Army chiefsaid it was “a momentous one”and that the services needed to“demonstrate great wisdomand statesmanship in enablingthe CDS, a long standingdemand of the Armed Forces”.

He added that the next log-ical step in the process ofdefence reforms was the “for-mation of Integrated TheatreCommands to synergise thecapabilities and combat poten-tial of the three services dur-ing war and peace.” However,he advised that this process willbe “deliberate, thoughtful andwell considered” and itsfruition will take a “number ofyears.”

Naravane explained to theofficers that there was a needfor everyone to work in a spir-it of togetherness and trustwith the national securityinterests being paramount. Headded a note of caution andsaid that there might be arequirement for “mid coursecorrections.”

He was optimistic aboutthe future of integration of thearmed forces, which Naravanesaid was “an inevitability” as itwould lead to “tri-servicessynergy” and optimisation ofresources.

He commended the CDMfor the excellent work relatedto grooming of tech-adept,management savvy and strate-gically nimble higher leader-ship. At the Bison Division, theArmy chief was briefed byMajor General Alok Joshi,General Officer Commanding,Bison Division on securityand operational preparednessof the formation.

Later, the Army chief vis-ited the SimulatorDevelopment Division (SDD),Secunderabad and the TATABoeing Aerospace Limited(TBAL) at Hyderabad, a jointventure facility of Boeing andTata Advanced Systems estab-lished for co-production ofApache Helicopters-64. TheCOAS appreciated the “Makein India” initiatives and rein-vigorated efforts towards indi-genisation and being“Atmanirbhar” on niche tech-nologies.

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The Government is under-taking a comprehensive

modernisation programme toprepare the police and para-military forces of the countryto tackle newer challenges ofterrorism, cyber crime andborder security, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah said whilehailing the services of policepersonnel during the pandem-ic.

Shah said a joint column ofpolice and Central ArmedPolice Forces jawans and offi-cers at the National PoliceMemorial in Chanakyapuri onWednesday on the occasion ofthe police commemorationday.

The day is observed to payhomage to 10 policemen (of theCRPF) killed in an ambush byChinese troops in 1959 inLadakh’s Hot Spring area.

“The work of police is wit-nessing new challenges andnew dimensions in the areas ofterrorism, fake currency, nar-cotics control, cyber crime,arms smuggling, human traf-ficking. It is a challenge to pre-pare the police forces for thenew dimensions that haveemerged in the last 2-3decades.”

“We have prepared a com-prehensive modernisation pro-gramme for the police and I amhopeful that in the coming daysthe Modi government will pre-pare them to meet these chal-lenges,” Shah said.

He said the Government isbringing in technology to makethe country’s borders “impreg-nable” and preparations in thisregard are being done in detail.The technology and prompt-ness of our troops will gohand-in-hand and we will beable to better secure our bor-ders, he said.

Shah also said that thegovernment was “going to domany things” so that the defi-ciency in availability of police

personnel per one lakh popu-lation is addressed.

He said a total of 35,398police and CAPF personnelhave laid down their lives in theline of duty till now with 264making the supreme sacrificeover the last year.

Shah also rememberedthe 343 personnel who werekilled due to COVID-19 andsaid these personnel contin-ued on duty to help people,donate blood and plasma. Aceremonial guard of honourby a joint squad of the CAPFs

was presented during theevent that was attended byMinister of State for Home GKishan Reddy, Union homesecretar y Ajay Bhal la ,Director of the IntelligenceBureau Arvind Kumar andchiefs of various CAPFs.

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The Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP), tasked to

secure the frontier with China,has appointed a high-level offi-cer to head the newly-createdGuwahati-based eastern com-mand that oversees deploy-ment of border battalions inthat region. This marks theoperationalisation of the east-ern command.

The paramilitary has post-ed Additional Director GeneralAmrit Mohan Prasad. Prasadwill now be based in Guwahatito head the Command whichoversees the battalionsdeployed along the Line ofActual Control (LAC) withChina in States like ArunachalPradesh, Sikkim and Assamwith frontiers at Itanagar(Northeast) and Lucknow(east) and sector offices atLikabali, Tezpur, Dibrugarhand Gangtok among others.

The Command also super-vises the Force’s battalionsdeployed for anti-Naxal oper-ations in Chhattisgarh.

Some officers, sub-officersand administrative staff wereearlier posted by the force tooperationalise the command.However, the posting of the topofficer was delayed due toadministrative reasons.

The Force specialised inmountain-warfare had earlierposted an officer (in theInspector General-rank) in

June to head its western com-mand located in Chandigarhthat has control over battalionsdeployed along the LAC inLadakh, Uttarakhand andHimachal Pradesh.

The two ADG-rank head-ed commands were sanctionedby the Union Government inOctober last year for betteroperational functioning of theabout 35-38 battalions of the

force deployed at the LAC,starting from Ladakh toArunachal Pradesh along theeastern front.

The new commands areexpected to streamline opera-tions, intelligence, deploymentand administrative movementsof the personnel to the borderregions and also boost syner-gy with the Army that securesthe LAC.

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Ahigh level team of officialsthat includes Research

and Analysis Wing ChiefSamant Kumar Goel and aJoint Secretary of the Ministryof External Affairs amongothers visited Kathmandu onWednesday. The team whichalso comprises officials of thedefence forces met top lead-ers of Nepal including PrimeMinister KP Sharma Oli andPushpa Kamal Dahal who iscommonly known asPrachanda among others. Theteam travelled on a specialIAF flight No IFC 4620 and is

expected to return byThursday morning. Themoves comes ahead of theplanned visit of Army ChiefMM Naravane early nextmonth to Kathmandu. Thedeliberations by the Indianteam in Nepal are beingdirectly supervised byNational Security Advisor AjitDoval.

The visit assumes signif-icance as it marks a thaw inthe strained relation betweenthe two countries after Nepalincluded Indian territoriesunder Lipulekh, Kalapani andLimpiyadhura in its map ear-lier this year.

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Air pollution is fast killinginfants, with a global study

finding that last year in India,outdoor and household partic-ulate matter pollution claimedmore than 1,16,000 toddlers intheir very first month of life.

Touted as the first-evercomprehensive analysis of airpollution’s global impact onnewborns, the annual State ofGlobal Air 2020 report pub-lished by the Health EffectsInstitute (HEI), however foundprogress in reducing householdair pollution exposures but lev-els stagnant for outdoor PM2.5.

The report, State of GlobalAir 2020, said more than halfof these deaths were associat-ed with outdoor PM2.5 andothers were linked to use ofsolid fuels such as charcoal,wood, and animal dung forcooking.

Overall long-term expo-sure to outdoor and householdair pollution contributed to

over 1.67 million annual deathsfrom stroke, heart attack, dia-betes, lung cancer, chroniclung diseases, and neonataldiseases in India in 2019.

For the youngest infants,most deaths were related tocomplications from low birthweight and preterm birth.

Overall, air pollution isnow the largest risk factor fordeath among all health risks,according to the report. TheHEI is an independent,research institute funded joint-ly by the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency, industry,foundations, and development

banks.The report

highlights theongoing challengeof high outdoorair pollution inSouth Asian coun-tries like India,B a n g l a d e s h ,Pakistan andNepal which fea-ture among the

top 10 countries with the high-est PM2.5 exposures in 2019;all of these countries experi-enced increases in outdoorPM2.5 levels between 2010and 2019.

Use of solid fuels for cook-ing, however, presents a patternof moderate success. Since2010, more than 50 millionfewer people have beenexposed to household air pol-lution. The Pradhan MantriUjjwala Yojana Household LPGprogram and other schemeshave helped to dramaticallyexpand access to clean energy,especially for rural households.

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The Ministry of ConsumerAffairs on Wednesday

relaxed import norms tillDecember 15 to facilitate theearly shipment of onion toboost the domestic supply andcheck the retail prices of the keykitchen staple, sold in cities likeChennai at �73 per kg.

Indian High Commissionshave been instructed in the rel-evant countries to contact thetraders to push for greateronion imports to the country.The ministry has also decidedto offload more onion from itsbuffer stock in the open mar-ket to contain price rise.

An estimated Kharif cropof 37 lakh tonne is likely to startarriving in the Mandis that willgive reprieve to the risingprices, it said. According to theministry, a sharp spike in onionprices in the past 10 days by Rs11.56/kg has taken the all-India retail price of the com-modity to Rs 51.95/kg, whichwas 12.13 per cent higher thanthe last year’s price of Rs

46.33/kg.The retail price of onion

has shown a marked increasefrom August-end 2020, thoughthe price level was below thatof last year till October 18, itsaid.

To facilitate import ofonion, the ministry said, “Thegovernment has on October 21relaxed the conditions for fumi-gation and additional declara-

tion on PhytosanitaryCertificate (PSC) under thePlant Quarantine Order (PQ),2003 for import up toDecember 15, 2020”.

Consignments of importedonions, which arrive at Indianports without fumigation andendorsement to that effect onthe PSC, would be fumigated inIndia by the importer throughan accredited treatment

provider.In order to moderate

prices, the ministry said thatonion from the buffer stock isbeing released in a calibratedmanner from the second half ofSeptember 2020 to major man-dis, retail suppliers such asSafal, Kendriya Bhandar, andNCCF as well as state govern-ments. “More will be done inthe coming days,” it added.

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Cost-effective COVIRAP,Covid-19 diagnostic

machine developed by theIndian Institute of TechnologyKharagpur (IIT Kharagpur)which can give results in anhour has got go-ahead fromIndian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) for its effi-cacy.

This new testing technol-ogy has been designed toensure that Covid-19 test iseasy to conduct, affordableand to produce results with-in an hour. This new testingmethod, said a statementfrom IIT Kharagpur, imple-ments a highly reliable andaccurate molecular diagnos-tic procedure that can beconducted in an ultra-low-cost portable device unit andcosts only around Rs 500 per

test.

The has been developedby a team of researchers ledby Prof Suman Chakraborty,Professor, Department ofMechanical Engineering, IITKharagpur, and Dr ArindamMondal, Assistant Professor,School of Bio-Science, IITKharagpur

Talking about this test,

Professor VK Tewari,Director, IIT Kharagpur, said,“This is indeed one of thegreatest contributions in thehistory of medical science,particularly in the area ofvirology, and is well set toreplace PCR-based tests to alarge extent.”

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The Election Commission(EC) has set up a two-

member committee to examinethe issues concerning expen-diture limit for a candidate inview of increase in number ofelectors and rise in cost infla-tion index and other factors.The Committee has been askedto submit its report within 120days of its constitution.According to the poll body, for-mer Indian Revenue Service(IRS) officer and DirectorGeneral (Investigation) HarishKumar and Secretary General

and DG (expenditure) UmeshSinha will be member of thecommittee.

“Expenditure limit for acandidate was last revised in2014 while in respect ofAndhra Pradesh and Telanganait was revised on October 10,

2018. In last six yearsthe limit was notincreased despite anincrease in electoratefrom 834 million to910 million in 2019to 921 million now.Further, CostInflation Index dur-ing this period has

increased from 220 to 280 in2019 to 301 now,” the EC said.The Centre has recentlyenhanced the existing expen-diture limit by 10 percent. Thisincrease of 10 percent will beapplicable with immediateeffect in ongoing elections.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday

spoke to South Korean pres-ident Moon Jae-in, as thetwo leaders reviewed impor-tant global developments,including the progress incombating the COVID-19pandemic.

The two leaders alsoreviewed the ongoing diver-sification of internationalvalue chains, the need to pre-ser ve a transparent, development-oriented andrules-based global tradingorder, and the important roleof the World TradeOrganisat ion, a PrimeMinister’s Office (PMO) state-ment said.

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The Indian economy hasbeen stress-tested manytimes before but neverbeen dented as savagelyas this time around. But

2020 will be remembered as theyear that eroded a decade’s worthof progress, the annus horribilis thatbought humanity to its knees.Governments and businesses acrossthe world are undergoing rapidrecalibrations in order to adjust tothe world of extreme volatility,uncertainty, complexity and ambi-guity (VUCA). So, when the ChiefEconomist of the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) states that“the world economy is not comingback to 2019 levels until 2022”, it isa comforting statement of fact thateconomic contraction is a univer-sal phenomenon and not a stand-alone, India-centric affliction.

So, how is the Governmentcatalysing towards a sustainablegrowth momentum? The task hasnot been easy for a country withlimited financial resources to securelives and livelihoods of 130 crorepeople, who account for 18 per centof the world’s population. Given theconstraints, the Narendra Modi-ledGovernment has pursued a path ofre-booting and rebuilding the econ-omy by wresting four pillars paral-lelly. First, by addressing interimand short-term solutions for sus-taining livelihoods. Second, byidentifying and spending on post-COVID sectors of growth that willlead to sustainable and a long-termrecovery. Third, by using its man-date to push ahead with powerfulreform agenda, passing in quicksuccession long-pending reforms inlabour, agriculture and education.India is poised for a stronger andmore robust comeback as com-pared to partial or cyclicalrebounds. Fourth, in order tomaintain a steady growth momen-tum, the Government has pursuedbalancing social sector spendingwith infrastructure spending. TheCentre recognises the importanceof infrastructure as the foremostengine of growth and the need toscale up outlays to at least eight percent of Gross Domestic Product(GDP) on “next-generation infra-structure,” for which an allocationof �111 trillion investment has beenset aside from 2020 to 25.

Can the Government do moreby way of welfarist measures, giventhe anticipated shortfalls in rev-enue? The World Bank, usually theparagon of caution, has this time

around advised emergingnations like India to set aside fis-cal prudence and take on furtherdebt, as “you first worry aboutfighting the war, then you figureout how to pay for it.”

Interim solutions lie in firstaddressing livelihood issues byfurther extending the timelinesof direct income support for therural poor, as also offering urbanmigrants a similar package. TheCentre has spent around two percent of GDP on welfaristschemes like direct cash trans-fers for income support, freegrains for the rural poor,increased spendings onMahatma Gandhi NationalRural Employment GuaranteeAct (MNREGA) and so on. Asthe crisis is far from over and theduration of the pandemic isuncertain, it is doubtful theGovernment will prematurelywithdraw welfarist spending.

By lowering interest rates,providing credit guarantees forMSMEs, allowing for loanmoratoriums and one-timerestructuring of loans, theGovernment has deployed asizeable fiscal package of aroundseven per cent of GDP towardsincreasing liquidity. This is muchrequired to address the supplyside needs of the industry,though funding has not ade-quately percolated down toSMEs, who are most severelyimpacted by the downturn.

While globally, Central Bankshave continued with massivedoses of Quantitative Easing(QE), there is room for more in

emerging markets like India asthe effect of rate cuts and liquid-ity keeps waning due to the weaktransmission. However, the pol-icy of easing credit flows is notinsulated from the downsiderisks of defaults that couldimpact the health of the alreadyfragile banking sector. Becauseit is a given that the impact onthe financial sector isn’t usuallyimmediately visible, so the trueimpact of defaults on loans willreflect only in the followingquarters.

The phenomenon of“revenge” or “rebound” spend-ing during the festival months isat best a temporary surge. As weenter the festive season, there isalready an average uptick by 34per cent to 40 per cent in sector-specific surges in the majorpropellers of growth like retail,consumer durables, automo-biles and residential housing.However, socio-economic vari-ables have contributed to wors-ening VUCA levels in the ser-vices sector, which contributes54 per cent to the GDP but hasseen irrecoverable demand-destruction.

Travel, tourism, shopping,hospitality, aviation, entertain-ment, leisure and fashion comeunder the discretionary-spendservice sector, which is expect-ed to see an improvement dur-ing the festive months. Viewedthrough the lens of behaviour-al science, the phenomenon of“revenge buying, or spending onindulgences” happens after aprolonged period of suppression

on lifestyle pleasures that createsthe much needed “feel-goodfactor.” Levels of discretionaryspending are a vital marker ofeconomic health, as people onlyspend on lifestyle expenses oncethey have disposable funds leftafter paying for taxes, housing,savings and other essentialneeds.

To gauge the downward orupward trends in these sectors,predictive insights can be gainedfrom the data of the GoogleCommunity Mobility Reportthat uses anonymised data pro-vided by Google Maps. Theglobal Google Mobility Indextrends show that travel andmobility levels had fallen to44.7 per cent in April and risento 82 per cent by mid-September. Here again, mobili-ty and commuting will vary withthe spread or decrease in region-al COVID-loads.

The aviation and hospitalityindustries have been among the26 most stressed sectors andrecovery is not expected before18 to 24 months. The tourismindustry contributes nine percent to the GDP, generates sub-stantial revenues and accountedfor 87 million jobs in 2019.

The festival season is expect-ed to give a big boost to theseclosely aligned sectors and willhopefully fuel the wheels of theeconomy till the end of 2020.Optimism thereafter rests on theadvent of the vaccine by early2021. However, with the onset ofwinter and the negligence ofmaintaining distancing proto-

cols at festive gatherings, thereis a risk of further waves of viraloutbreaks. This in turn willdeepen the negative impact onfuture earnings and impact con-sumer spending in the followingquarter of 2020 to 21.

Ultimately, the volume ofconsumer spending is not beingdictated by need-based buying,but by what I term as the “Indexof Fear-Intensity.” The quantumof “Fear-Intensity” in consumerswanes and rises in response tothe local COVID-load, intermit-tent lockdowns and the visibil-ity of each individual’s anticipat-ed earnings over the next sixmonths, which are now dictat-ing behavioural patterns of con-sumers.

Which sectors can ride theeconomy towards sustainablerecovery? There is empiricalevidence that increased spend-ing in infrastructure duringdownturns has never failed tohave trickle-down effects inrebooting the economy and cre-ating millions of jobs. As mostemerging nations are con-strained for resources, the IndianGovernment would be lookingto tap into concessionary financefacilities being extended byinternational developmentfinance institutions. The WorldBank, Asian Development Bankand IMF are fast-tracking gen-erous assistance to membercountries facing a COVID-crunch, with global interestrates being at historic lows.

Assessing sectoral bouncebacks in recovery for the July toSeptember quarter, it has beenlargely driven by agriculture,while IT, healthcare, fintech,educational technology, tele-com and e-commerce sectorswill remain the prime engines ofpost-COVID growth, as theycome under the category of thenew “Touchless and HomebodyEconomy.”

Stock markets, long seen as aproxy for the real economy, arenow being driven by ultra-laxmonetary policies in the devel-oped world. But stock marketbuoyancy in no way mirrors theactual economic pain at groundlevels, even as the Sensex con-solidates around the 40,000mark.

However, unlike measuringthe stock market performanceon a quarterly basis, corporatesand the Government will haveto get past the obsessive compul-sion to look at monthly out-comes, and instead adopt amedium-to-long-term approachfor a sustainable recovery, whileremaining resilient enough tocalibrate policies to the VUCAfactors.

(The writer is author, colum-nist and Chairperson of theNational Committee for FinancialInclusion at the Niti Aayog)

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�� Sir — As a big strategic move,India has invited Australia to theannual Malabar naval exercisesafter a gap of 13 years. Thisproves the Quadrilateral SecurityDialogue (Quad) — whichincludes the US and Japan as theother two members — as beingsomething more than a meretalking shop. This will be theQuad’s first full military-levelengagement and a step closer forthe eventual formalisation ofthe grouping. New Delhi, over-coming its previous hesitation toinvite Canberra, changed tackafter China’s growing belligerenceand the ongoing border standoffin eastern Ladakh. With Chinaflexing its muscle across theregion, the need for a counterbal-ancing strategic-security plat-form was sorely felt. Beijing, thathad compared the grouping tosea foam in 2018, now sees thismove as a serious concern.

The Quad, through regularnaval coordination, can nowactualise the idea of a free andopen Indo-Pacific region. Aneffective navy with advancedoperational logistics gives Indiathe ability to exploit China’sMalacca dilemma and disruptenergy supplies to the latter,

should it launch another 1962style attack. Additionally, Indiaand the US are expected to signthe last of four military commu-nication foundational agree-ments — the Basis Exchange andCooperation Agreement — forgeospatial cooperation. This willgive us more eyes to monitor andreact quickly to Chinese moves.

N Sadhasiva ReddyBengaluru

�� Sir — Campaigning for theAssembly elections in 243 con-stituencies of Bihar is heating up.And at one such rally, RashtriyaJanata Dal (RJD) leader TejashwiYadav promised 10 lakhGovernment jobs if he comes topower. In response, the ChiefMinister and Janata Dal (United)leader Nitish Kumar asked Yadav

from where does he plan to getthe money for the salaries? Thisisn’t the first time. Rather thecampaigning period is usuallyfull of such tall promises that areforgotten once the polling is over.However, it is an absolute factthat the State needs comprehen-sive changes in numerous sec-tors: Employment, economy,education, healthcare, stringentmeasures to save flood-affected

areas and so on. The presentCM, in spite of being in alliancewith the BJP, which is in powerat the Centre, has failed to dealwith these issues and things haveonly changed for the worse.There needs to be a completeoverhaul of the Governmentand people are aware of it.However, with so many playersin the ring, only time will tellwho comes out on the top.

N Kalam Maharashtra

�� Sir — Beijing is enraged as Indiaconsiders formal trade negotia-tions with Taiwan. China’s terri-torial and economic imperialismhas forced its neighbours tolook for alternatives and a way tocounter the dragon.

So, even though New Delhihas been reluctant to seek tradetalks with Taiwan earlier, such astep would reduce our depen-dence on China for suppliesand further the goal of seekinggreater investments in technol-ogy.

KV SeetharamaiahHassan

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The Indian retail industry is a high-ly competitive, $800 billion mar-ket with a Compound Annual

Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12 per cent.Out of that, the share of online retail is$32.7 billion with a CAGR of 31 percent. Smartphone penetration, brandconsciousness, demographics and pol-icy support are the factors transform-ing and pushing this industry towardsomnichannel retailing.

Omnichannel retailing is a fully-integrated approach to commerce, pro-viding shoppers a unified experienceacross all channels or touchpoints,including online and offline. It offersconsistent merchandise and seamlessinteraction between online and offlinechannels, thus combining the benefits

of both. However, the pandemic andsubsequent national and local lock-downs have greatly impacted bothsupply and demand. The supply sidewas hit by administrative restrictionsand limited resources while demand,too, remained subdued due to job-loss-es, salary cuts and restrictive spending.In such a situation, an agile response isneeded for swift operations, customersatisfaction and surviving in the post-Corona era.

Evolving consumer behaviour:Though retail has undergone many sig-nificant disruptions in the past, perhapsnone has shifted consumer behaviouras rapidly as this contagion has. Thechanges are happening due to factorslike challenges in personal situations,preferences towards local products, pre-cautionary measures against the virusand rising digital awareness — a by-product of promotion of contactlesstransaction.

Even in the unlock stage, con-sumers are hesitating to visit stores andwhile exercising social distancing mea-sures, many uninitiated customers aremoving towards online retailing. Forexample, many senior citizens are opt-ing for online grocery shopping as a

precautionary measure. Use of serviceslike contactless digital payments, socialcommerce and virtual consultationare also seeing a rise.

Many of these behavioural changeswill continue even after the pandemicis over. McKinsey and Company citedthis as “consumer behaviour shift.” Forexample, people will get used to thecomfort of home delivery, ease of dig-ital payments, varieties offered byonline markets and so on. Retailersneed to draw insights from thesechanges and rebuild the consumer con-fidence as the new normal continues.

Financial skills: Revenue is sharplydropping for many categories. Eventhough store profit has gone down,retailers need to pay rents, salaries andso on. Hence, at this point it is neces-sary for them to optimise cost and cur-tail the offerings to profitable items. Inthe long-term, as demand picks up, itwould be prudent to invest inomnichannel fulfillment as means tofinancial resilience.

Accept the new normal: Social dis-tancing, safety and hygiene proce-dures will be here for a while. The bestway to go forward is to accept the newnormal and the complexity it will

bring to decision-making. Consumer connect: Now more

than ever, it is must for retailers to con-nect and communicate. Consumers willdefinitely like to know what a businessis doing to ensure their safety, for deliv-ery as well as in stores. Despite the pan-demic, customers will need timelydeliveries of their order. So, in case ofitem shortages or delayed fulfillment,it is necessary to explain the cause andconvey the commitment.

Extra activity: First and foremost,retailers need to adapt to safety regu-lations, sanitisation procedures and reg-ulatory directives at the country, Stateand municipal level in various phasesof the unlocking. They need moredynamic inventory and logistics plan-ning to meet the fluctuations both indemand and supply, plus a connect withemployees regarding their health andfinancial well-being. This will preventattrition and business continuity.

Infrastructure: The Indian onlineretail infrastructure is in an intermedi-ate stage. The pandemic just exposedthe flaws and inefficiency which werealready there. Retailers should reviewthe location of warehouses, deliverycentres and their distributors to com-

pute the risk of supply chain disrup-tions. The partnership with local gro-cery stores will help retailers to ensuretimely contactless last mile deliveryeven during a crisis. Retailers also needto re-imagine in-store experience, con-sidering customers’ safety and efficientoperation with reduced staff whilecomplying with social distancingnorms.

Technology skills: Technologyallows retailers to have relevant infor-mation and visibility throughout thesupply chains, resulting in timely com-munication with all the stakeholders.Businesses will need secured, informa-tive and intuitive shopping apps, whichcan balance for the lack of store visits.Also, Artificial Intelligence will contin-ue to make a big impact in this sectorto predict real-time consumer demand,optimise inventory and manage back-orders, thus ensuring operational agili-ty.

Also, Smart Mirrors andAugmented Reality can help build astore-like environment in the virtualworld, ensuring safety. This way, retail-ers and associated stakeholders need toramp up technological skills and infra-structure as they enter a post-pandem-

ic era. As of today, India is among thetop countries with the highest numberof COVID cases and there is no end tothe contagion in sight. Even the coun-tries, where the outbreak seemed to bein control initially, are experiencing asecond wave. This has caused supplyand demand disruption and jolted themarket ecosystem.

Hence, it is certain that retailers,that are an integral part of the demand-driven economy, need to be financial-ly prudent, fast in their response to thenew dynamics and ready to collaboratethrough the value chain to thrive dur-ing this crisis and subsequent periods.As with many sectors, it is likely thatretail will see a regime shift and con-solidation. Smaller and financially-struggling businesses might face diffi-culty in surviving this crisis. At the sametime, retailers with a unique valueproposition will come out stronger. Thisoutbreak serves as a reminder forretailers to be more proactive in plan-ning and resilient in their response to unprecedented disruptions in future.

(The writers are Senior ResearchScholars at the Indian Institute ofScience, Bengaluru.)

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One issue which has captured the imagina-tion of India and occupied most of thespace in the country’s electronic and print

news media in recent times, especially some tele-vision channels, is the untimely death by suicideof actor Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR). The youngman, who was originally from Bihar, was founddead in his home in Bandra, Mumbai on June 14,where he had hung himself.

Going by the set procedures in such cases andgiven that this was a high-profile one involvinga celebrity’s death, the Mumbai Police went aboutits work diligently. It recorded the statements of56 people, including the immediate familymembers, relatives, live-in partner, friends andstaff of the deceased actor. At that point of theinvestigation, none of them alleged any foul play.Their statements, too, did not suggest a cognis-able offence. Consequently, the Mumbai Policeregistered the matter as an accidental death andproceeded in terms of Section 174 of the Codeof Criminal Procedure (CrPC). However, afterabout 40 days, on July 25, a First InformationReport (FIR) was registered at the Rajiv Nagarpolice station in Patna, Bihar, at the instance ofthe actor’s father, KK Singh, levelling allegationsof breach of trust, misappropriation of proper-ty of his deceased son and abetment to suicideagainst his live-in partner Rhea Chakraborty andher family members.

A police team from Patna went to Mumbaito carry out the investigation. However, theMumbai Police raised the issue of jurisdiction andthere was a lot of acrimony over the issue. Finally,on the recommendation of the BiharGovernment, the Central Government directedthe Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to carryout the probe in the matter. Meanwhile RheaChakraborty approached the Supreme Courtunder Section 406 of the CrPC for the transferof the FIR from the jurisdiction of the AdditionalChief Judicial Magistrate III, Patna Sadar, to theAdditional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate,Bandra, Mumbai.

Now, the settled legal position is that the FIRhas to be registered at the police station, whichhas jurisdiction over the area where the offenceor any part of it is alleged to have been commit-ted. Prima facie the Patna Police had no jurisdic-tion to register an FIR in the matter. Even if thecomplaint filed with the Bihar Police disclosedcommission of some cognisable offence, theestablished procedure would be to register a “zeroFIR” and transfer it to the police station empow-ered to do so. The Section which becomes rele-vant in this matter is Section 181(4) of the CrPC.It reads, “Any offence of criminal misappropri-ation or of criminal breach of trust may beinquired into or tried by a court within whoselocal jurisdiction the offence was committed. Orany part of the property, which is the subject ofthe offence, was received or retained, or wasrequired to be returned or accounted for, by theaccused person.”

The Supreme Court, in its judgment, upheldthe validity of registering the FIR in Patna, main-ly on the ground that the allegations also relat-ed to criminal breach of trust and misappropri-ation of money, which were to be eventuallyaccounted for in Patna (where the complainantresides) and that could prima facie indicate the

lawful jurisdiction of the Patna Police. The apex court heavily relied upon

the words “accounted for” in theSection to uphold the validity of theFIR. It did cite a few judgments to sub-stantiate its reasoning. Though it is notpossible to discuss every single judg-ment here, it can safely be said that innone of the cited judgments, the words“accounted for” have been used orapplied by the courts. They did notimply that only because the accusedwould eventually be accountable to legalheirs of the deceased, the FIR could belodged wherever the legal heirs of thedeceased reside, even though no partof the offence has ever taken place with-in the jurisdiction of that police station.

For argument’s sake, let us take ahypothetical case of a businessman,who commits suicide in Mumbai dueto alleged financial wrongdoing on thepart of his business associate or agentor even a creditor. Now, let us say thatone son of the deceased businessmanresides in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh andanother in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Byvirtue of this judgment, the police forcesof these two places would have the juris-diction to register an FIR and investi-gate the matter only because the moneywas eventually to be accounted for tothe satisfaction of the legal heirs in thesetwo cities. Thus, they would have theoption to choose the place/State whichbest suited their interests. An FIR setscriminal law into motion and, therefore,a probe by the police will follow. Apolice team from Lucknow orAhmedabad, as the case may be, willhave to travel all the way to Mumbai for

the investigation, collecting evidenceand recording the statements of wit-nesses. Will any meaningful probe bepossible in this manner? Will it not cre-ate a situation of political slugfests andinter-State wrangling with regard toinvestigations by the police force of oneState into a crime committed within theterritorial jurisdiction of another State?Will every such case then be assignedto the CBI or some other Centralagency?

Another aspect which needs to benoticed is that as per Supreme CourtRules notified on May 11, a single judgeis competent to hear certain bail mat-ters and transfer applications. The rel-evant apex court rule reads, “Providedthat the following categories of mattersmay be heard and disposed of finallyby a judge sitting singly nominated bythe Chief Justice: Special leave petitionsarising out of grant, dismissal or rejec-tion of Bail Application or AnticipatoryBail Application in the matters filedagainst the order passed under Section437, Section 438 or Section 439 of theCrPC 1973 (two of 1974) involving theoffences punishable with sentence upto seven years imprisonment; applica-tions for transfer of cases under Section406 of the CrPC 1973 (two of 1974);application of an urgent nature fortransfer of cases under Section 25 of theCrPC 1908 (five of 1908).”

Now Rhea Chakraborty filed a peti-tion under Section 406 of the CrPC fortransfer of investigation in the FIR reg-istered at Patna, Bihar to Mumbai,which was dismissed by the single judgeon the ground that Section 406 of the

CrPC does not grant the apex court anysuch power. Once the petition fortransfer itself had been declined, therewas no occasion to further decide thejurisdiction of the Patna Police to reg-ister an FIR, as it was neither a conse-quential matter, nor was the decision oftransfer petition dependent on theadjudication of validity of the FIR. Onthe perusal of the Rules reproducedabove, there was no occasion for thesingle judge to adjudicate upon theseissues. In effect, the judgment says thatin cases where a person commits sui-cide or is murdered and there are alle-gations of breach of trust or misappro-priation of property, then the FIR canbe registered by the legal heirs of thedeceased at any police station in India,wherever they reside. The investigationthen will have to be carried out by theofficer in-charge of that police station,though no part of the offence has evertaken place within its jurisdiction.

The judgment in the RheaChakraborty case has virtually laiddown a new jurisprudence with regardto police jurisdictions. It has blurredlines and has serious implications onthe criminal justice system so far as theinitiation of criminal proceedings isconcerned. This will only result in con-fusion and is susceptible to misuse bycomplainants. The court has given anopen-ended and wide interpretation tothe words “accounted for” in Section181(4) of the CrPC. This is bound togive birth to myriad and complicatedissues in the near future.

(The writer is an advocate in thePunjab and Haryana High Court)

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Script Open High Low LTPRELIANCE 2171.1 2191 2098.75 2123.25HDFCBANK 1231 1250.5 1222.2 1247.05BAJFINANCE 3279 3295 3101.6 3233.25INFY 1142 1153.9 1135 1148.3SBIN 204.95 207.35 198.95 203.85INDUSINDBK 632 647.8 600 628.3VEDL 101.35 104.35 99.8 101.25TATAMOTORS 131.25 133 128.25 130.25ICICIBANK 416 428.25 410.4 420.35IDEA 8.73 8.9 8.48 8.63FEDERALBNK 56.85 58.75 55.75 56.95HCLTECH 883.4 891.95 859.5 870.7TATASTEEL 395.5 407.8 394.6 403.9TCS 2739 2749.6 2663.1 2675.45MINDTREE 1430 1467 1337.45 1356BRITANNIA 3565.15 3582.4 3374.8 3393.05AXISBANK 497 507 486.75 501.5HDFC 2035 2066.6 2005.2 2048.1LT 925.9 931 909 924.65GODREJPROP 938 1058 934.45 1041.05JUSTDIAL 620 632.5 552.15 564.85BPCL 358.1 362.25 345 349.55NTPC 82 83.8 80.7 82.3BEML 619.95 629 606.35 615.45ULTRACEMCO 4545 4656.9 4439.5 4629.6ZEEL 185.9 189.05 176.1 180.55SRTRANSFIN 665 682.9 647.6 665.8HINDUNILVR 2180.3 2195.95 2136 2163.4KOTAKBANK 1370.3 1399.6 1358.75 1393.85BHARTIARTL 405.9 420.5 404 419.05MARUTI 6910 6945 6763.75 6864.9DRREDDY 5088 5097.2 4910.35 5046.9BANKBARODA 42.3 43.3 41.7 42.6IOC 75.15 76.7 75.15 76.05ESCORTS 1204.55 1246.5 1171 1198.4ASIANPAINT 2137 2142.65 2081.1 2114.35DMART 2140.55 2167.4 2060.05 2078.55BANDHANBNK 321.55 326.9 311.3 316DLF 168 174.1 165.05 172.15ITC 168.3 168.8 166.6 167.65GAIL 86.5 88.25 85.75 87.65WIPRO 349.6 350.15 339.1 343.5RBLBANK 180.9 186 175.8 180.45JSWSTEEL 319.3 324.3 314.8 322.85CIPLA 782.8 782.8 756.7 767.55PVR 1213 1230.95 1184.7 1208SANOFI 8596.2 8596.2 8330 8355.15LAURUSLABS 339.2 341.5 326.15 333.7TECHM 850.5 857.4 834.5 845.3JINDALSTEL 202.1 209.9 201.55 208.8DIVISLAB 3090.2 3123 3015 3076.05LTI 3010 3139 2984.35 3094.7HEROMOTOCO 3247.65 3277.7 3132 3180.65SUNPHARMA 488 491.9 481.5 489.7AMBER 2482 2539.85 2200.9 2244.65ACC 1591.95 1624.95 1582 1620.85NHPC 20.35 20.5 19.95 20.2APOLLOTYRE 132.25 143.15 132.25 141HINDZINC 231.25 235.8 226.55 233.05HINDPETRO 173.95 179.7 173.95 177.65ONGC 67.95 68.55 67 67.85COLPAL 1473.7 1479.3 1407 1425.35IDBI 38.1 38.8 36.8 37.6MCX 1790 1874 1750 1764.6POWERGRID 157.85 166 157.4 163.7TATACONSUM 478.2 482.5 459 465.2M&M 608 611.05 592.2 600.4LUPIN 1019.95 1019.95 988 1001.85HINDALCO 181.3 187.5 181.2 186EICHERMOT 2225 2225 2144.6 2181.1NESTLEIND 16230 16300 15955.5 16015.7BAJAJFINSV 5970 6010 5738.15 5905.9ABFRL 145.15 153.65 144.3 150.9OBEROIRLTY 467.35 498.95 445 471.4BATAINDIA 1365 1380 1346.4 1360.4PEL 1329.9 1344 1299 1316.75DABUR 530 532.5 508 515.8MOTHERSUMI 110.35 111.85 105.95 107.2MRF 60150 61600 60048 61010.15COALINDIA 113.85 116.95 113.85 115.1AUROPHARMA 803.45 808.6 792 805.3AMBUJACEM 252.9 254.3 246.25 253.4IDFCFIRSTB 31.5 32.1 30.75 31.25DEEPAKNI 712 724.9 705.4 720.5TITAN 1240 1256 1229.6 1244.95BAJAJ-AUTO 3035 3040.05 2993.5 3016.35ADANIGREEN 686 712.7 676.6 692.25UPL 460 463.2 446.75 453.95M&MFIN 132 134.5 127.9 131.85SBICARD 903.9 908.65 878.6 894.75APOLLOHOSP 2234 2234 2138.15 2147.95BOSCHLTD 11970 12067.95 11665.5 11755.9ABCAPITAL 62.05 69 62.05 67.95ASHOKLEY 76 76.6 74.8 75.45MANAPPURAM 166 167.55 162.65 167.05MGL 836 836 812.8 821.7DIXON 9582 9682.65 9268.45 9361.15CADILAHC 429.9 432.25 418.8 426.05SBILIFE 799.95 804.3 780.9 785.45ADANIENT 322.9 324.35 306 311.75MARICO 365 368.95 359.1 360.45GODREJCP 691.1 701.4 680.4 686.45TATAELXSI 1519 1550 1510 1543.95MUTHOOTFIN 1224 1237.9 1187.85 1211.9SOBHA 271.75 317 265 302.95FRETAIL 73.8 75.5 73.15 74.65AUBANK 788.5 808.85 750.95 771.3LICHSGFIN 294.3 301.85 292.5 299.05

UBL 969.85 986 957 961.7INFRATEL 190.35 193.5 188.4 192.5BERGEPAINT 625 625 600.55 605.4TVSMOTOR 447 457.5 442.7 446GRANULES 397 403.4 381.85 385.5HDFCLIFE 577 577.4 556.35 563PNB 27.35 27.8 27 27.2ADANIPORTS 353.35 360.05 349.7 355.35PIIND 2156 2199.95 2141 2184.8BHEL 28.6 29.1 28.05 28.5BIOCON 441 445.35 432.45 439.8BRIGADE 173 188.1 168.45 181.9SAIL 34.5 35.9 34.5 35.4BLISSGVS 175.25 175.25 173.2 174.55SUNTV 427.15 434.85 418.95 426.5L&TFH 63.7 64.5 61.85 63.1VOLTAS 699 711 695.7 706.35TATAMTRDVR 56 56.6 54.65 55.6IGL 375 383 375 380.55GMM 3620.1 3645 3550 3588.5GLENMARK 480 493.6 479.35 489.7IBULHSGFIN 153 154.05 149.6 151.6INDIGO 1374.1 1391.2 1348.5 1365.8CHOLAFIN 240 248 238 242.55BALKRISIND 1399.35 1437 1368.6 1388.25PIDILITIND 1535.35 1540 1484.2 1491

CANBK 89 90.5 87.7 88.8BHARATFORG 466 467.85 452.15 457.5THYROCARE 1081.95 1109 1067.8 1096.95LALPATHLAB 2061.35 2213.2 2061.35 2188.4NCC 33.15 34.35 33.15 33.8AMARAJABAT 735 740.2 725.25 733.65PHILIPCARB 140 145.7 138.45 143.1SRF 4451 4550 4391.65 4438.4NAUKRI 3474.1 3535.85 3441 3481.8TATACOMM 955 965.35 913 925.8JKCEMENT 1884 1973.55 1849.35 1940.7CANFINHOME 472.85 484.35 458 469ADANIGAS 192 195.45 189.1 192.9REPCOHOME 193.8 204.8 189 191.55DELTACORP 114.5 114.95 109.3 112.6FCONSUMER 6.91 7.22 6.9 7.2HAVELLS 710.5 722.5 700.45 711.8POLYCAB 804.5 834.4 804.5 826.6SIEMENS 1295.05 1304.8 1281.1 1288.05TRIDENT 8 8.16 7.83 7.97IDFC 30 31.45 29.65 30.25HAL 727.95 727.95 693.45 698.5TATAPOWER 55.1 55.3 53.25 54CESC 577.45 587.45 567.35 571.35STAR 752.45 756 723 729.6PRSMJOHNSN 73.85 73.85 70.4 71.5GRASIM 781 794 772 792.1RAYMOND 278.6 285.7 275.1 279.95COROMANDEL 690 720 690 713.9IBREALEST 48.35 51.7 47.8 50.65ICICIPRULI 422 424.3 405.1 412.2HEXAWARE 468.9 470.1 468.65 469.7COFORGE 2597.65 2618.8 2482.5 2513.4VENKYS 1459.1 1527 1451 1493.7EQUITAS 49.9 50.25 48 48.5CGCL 241.95 241.95 237 240.35CEATLTD 1036.1 1077.95 1024 1058.4BEL 90 92.75 89.25 92.35AARTIIND 980 991.65 974.8 985WELSPUNIND 68.45 71.9 68.45 71.9PNBHOUSING 369.5 380 363 369.8HDFCAMC 2357.4 2357.4 2318.55 2336.95APLLTD 983.95 1002.5 973.8 997.05PAGEIND 20637.15 20900 20114.05 20176.15ENGINERSIN 64 66.1 64 65.3ADVENZYMES 330 339.7 322.9 331.2JUBLFOOD 2304.9 2304.9 2234.3 2263.45IEX 200 200.05 192.5 194.2NATIONALUM 31.15 31.55 30.1 30.45CONCOR 384.85 393.5 383.3 391.8AVANTI 493.05 506.5 490.6 497.2MFSL 584.4 592.9 571 574.3CYIENT 407 411.4 393.45 408.2LTTS 1754.55 1754.55 1682.55 1698.25OFSS 3287.7 3300.35 3210 3239.4HAWKINCOOK 5000 5096.4 4986.15 5011.65FSL 70.9 73.4 70.35 73.05NOCIL 142.4 143.5 138.9 140.15PRESTIGE 260.95 262.5 247.55 252.5STRTECH 150.5 153.6 148.6 151.75PETRONET 223 226.5 223 224.7KANSAINER 485 511.9 483.65 507.9APLAPOLLO 2770.95 2953 2770.95 2932.75ENDURANCE 1082 1085.5 1047.2 1063.65ASTRAZEN 4325 4361.85 4186.35 4295.1

DHANUKA 704.3 729.6 700.55 721.5TV18BRDCST 27.85 28.55 27.5 27.95DCBBANK 80.75 82.5 79.6 80.65KAJARIACER 580.15 584.25 566.55 570.8CHENNPETRO 64.25 70.3 64.25 67.8TATAMETALI 578 591 565 578.5PERSISTENT 1235.8 1244.65 1177.5 1205.9UNIONBANK 23.65 24.6 23.65 24.35NMDC 83.95 85.6 83.6 85.25INOXLEISUR 271.7 271.7 262.8 265.55TATACHEM 321.1 323 317.9 321.25MPHASIS 1328.95 1341 1290.7 1302.5BOMDYEING 62.3 63.75 62 63.3MIDHANI 181.9 182.7 173.65 178.75JAICORPLTD 85.35 88.9 85.1 86.95BLUEDART 3098.95 3136.35 3001 3101.55VIPIND 290 291 271 275.2TATACOFFEE 105.9 107.25 101.5 102.1NBCC 23.45 23.5 22.8 23.05RECLTD 97.3 99.8 97.25 99.35IRCTC 1339 1343.75 1328.35 1331.2SYNGENE 558.9 566.6 550 552.25VINATIORGA 1281.95 1302.5 1231.5 1246.55SWANENERGY 140.55 141.15 137.05 138.65JUBILANT 707.5 719.55 695 706.2BANKINDIA 40.25 41 39.8 40.2JSLHISAR 98.4 101.9 96.7 98.55PFC 87.5 89.05 87 88.4JKLAKSHMI 286.4 286.4 266.25 278.2EXIDEIND 159.5 160 156.1 157.4CUMMINSIND 467.95 475.65 462.65 464.6JSL 58.55 60 56.8 59.3KEC 330 332.35 312.15 314.3BBTC 1210 1218.75 1166.25 1187.65ALKYLAMINE 3107 3110 3050 3084.25HEG 715 731 708.5 715.3CENTURYTEX 322 325.2 315.2 319.4BAYERCROP 5490.05 5506 5330 5394.5SPICEJET 48.1 49.05 47.95 48.55INDHOTEL 99 100.9 98.25 100.45QUESS 413.65 421 413.25 414.3SHREECEM 21395.95 21395.95 20701.25 21124.1BSOFT 198 198 185.1 194.85MEGH 74.1 74.5 70.7 72.1EIDPARRY 270 284.9 270 283HFCL 16.7 17.25 16.55 16.65EDELWEISS 57.9 59.7 56.2 57.55SONATSOFTW 353 353 336.1 344.4SOUTHBANK 6.77 6.85 6.67 6.73GMRINFRA 23.4 23.9 23.4 23.65KPITTECH 115.9 115.9 110.2 111.65ICICIGI 1245 1256 1237.3 1240.1BIRLACORPN 641.85 643.5 620.55 635.65SUZLON 2.93 2.96 2.9 2.94ECLERX 717.1 728.35 711.15 715.85SUNTECK 279.4 288.4 270.15 283.7BAJAJHLDNG 2400 2400 2310.65 2347.55CROMPTON 294.7 294.95 282.15 284.35JKTYRE 58.55 61.8 58.55 60.6HSCL 50.3 50.5 49.15 49.8TORNTPOWER 303.35 308.45 301.7 306SUMICHEM 282.75 282.75 275 276.3TRENT 651.5 654.85 632.4 635.35INDIACEM 122.9 122.9 118.45 120.9PFIZER 4966 5045.05 4966 5013.05ABB 899 903.45 883.25 901.2RAIN 98.9 99.6 96.05 97.55CUB 149.8 151.65 146.35 147.6CENTRALBK 10.95 11.11 10.72 10.77FINEORG 2780.4 2780.4 2679.3 2699.9AJANTPHARM 1580 1610 1574.7 1604.25NATCOPHARM 925 936.35 917.1 929.1PARAGMILK 112.7 112.9 108.1 109.3NAM-INDIA 273.5 279 269 274HIMATSEIDE 126 128 120.1 121.95PCJEWELLER 13.39 14.5 13.3 14.08CCL 252.05 256 243 244.1INDIANB 59.75 60.7 59.7 60.3CAPPL 516.5 542 515.8 522.8GUJGAS 288.5 291.15 286.15 286.8SOMANYCERA 226 231.6 216 229.2GRAPHITE 187 193.95 185.2 187.65GNFC 201 202.9 193.55 198.2JAMNAAUTO 42.9 43.25 41.35 41.95BALRAMCHIN 163.55 164.2 157.2 158.15DISHTV 12.76 12.77 12.34 12.4NAVINFLUOR 2064 2080 2036.65 2056.75TVSSRICHAK 1490 1531 1421 1519.25DEEPAKFERT 142.6 145.7 140.3 142.15RVNL 19.35 19.35 18.75 18.8GLAXO 1547 1547 1507.85 1514.55ISEC 438.1 441.85 415 425.65ADANIPOWER 35.45 35.7 34.85 35.15HONAUT 29834.55 30399 29723 29804.45SHOPERSTOP 179.9 180.8 176 177.5SCI 52 54.1 52 53.25DCAL 160.1 163 157.05 157.7JINDALSAW 62.25 63.95 62.05 63.2RALLIS 267 267 261.7 263.2RAMCOCEM 786.55 796.6 772.5 793.25ADANITRANS 290.25 298.3 287.85 294.4CREDITACC 636 652.3 632 634.6BDL 297 297 290.6 292.35BAJAJCON 192.3 193.5 185.9 187.95CHAMBLFERT 165 166.85 164.35 166.2IFBIND 730 737.95 717 726.8KTKBANK 43.75 43.8 43.2 43.7CARERATING 318.8 319 306.8 310FORCEMOT 1022.65 1060 1020 1032.95

REDINGTON 126.05 129.25 123.8 126.25INDIAMART 4900 4979.95 4890 4946.65TORNTPHARM 2721.25 2729 2683.5 2703.4OIL 89.05 89.3 87.55 87.8KNRCON 247 260.95 245 257.8LINDEINDIA 807.85 828.9 800 821JSWENERGY 62.65 65 62.45 63.6CRISIL 1874.8 1874.8 1821.3 1834.05HINDCOPPER 36.35 37.15 34.6 35.2KEI 324.9 324.9 320.25 321.1GSFC 65.45 65.85 63 63.9CASTROLIND 112.35 112.8 111.6 112.05ATUL 5961 5990 5833 5915.85ASHOKA 61.4 63.15 61.35 62.3GODREJIND 371.3 393 371.3 387.1WOCKPHARMA 298.25 299.55 290.6 295.55JBCHEPHARM 1070 1070 1003.1 1022.1RADICO 433.5 442 421.25 436.5IPCALAB 2075 2081 2056 2075.4KALPATPOWR* 233.5 239.9 233.5 239.05LEMONTREE 27.6 27.85 27 27.35CSBBANK 235 235 225.8 229.25BAJAJELEC 514 524.2 510.8 513.15PTC 46.6 46.9 46.2 46.4CERA 2579.45 2730 2507 2640.5GSPL 185.8 191.65 185.6 189.5ITI 122.9 124.3 121.15 121.5TIINDIA 565 585 554.3 576.35FORTIS 125.85 127.8 125.7 126.75SWSOLAR 211.25 218.95 208.55 212.75EIHOTEL 76.5 77 75.55 76.3COCHINSHIP 320 329.7 318.3 326.85MAHINDCIE 139.65 140.15 133.5 137.3CHOLAHLDNG 383 383 371 377.05DALBHARAT 825.2 825.6 801 814.2HEIDELBERG 187 190.2 187 189.5FDC 352 354 344 346.6INTELLECT 241.55 247.9 233.25 237.4GODREJAGRO 531.1 536.5 525.95 530.65CENTURYPLY 175 182.7 175 180.35NH 338 338 328 334.3DBL 332.85 337.5 328.35 334.6AFFLE 2724.9 2748 2682.9 2721.15PGHL 5125.35 5154.85 5076 5088.05EMAMILTD 363.5 364.4 358.25 361.75IRCON 78.7 80 77.55 78ASTRAL 1159.75 1159.75 1145.1 1151.2INFIBEAM 87.45 87.5 83.6 84.5BASF 1412.25 1421.3 1390.5 1408.3SKFINDIA 1477.8 1495 1469 1493.1PNCINFRA 169 173.35 165.9 169.45VARROC 308 312.5 305 307.2MAHABANK 11.65 11.7 11.42 11.63AEGISLOG 209.85 213.55 201.3 204.95SUDARSCHEM 472 477.15 470 470.8ALKEM 2679.4 2679.4 2637.05 2651.75MAHLOG 334.9 353.8 330.1 337.75ERIS 491.05 497.95 487.5 491.75EPL 264 264 258.5 259.05VGUARD 165.8 165.8 163.65 164.6ABBOTINDIA 15900 16000 15729.35 15887.6MRPL 27.2 27.5 26.5 27VAIBHAVGBL 1950 1952.2 1900 1900.4JKPAPER* 89 90.3 88.5 88.7SUPREMEIND 1416.45 1437 1407.5 1424.9AKZOINDIA 2069 2140.2 2014 2032.25WHIRLPOOL 2061.85 2061.85 2030 2042.8GARFIBRES 1940 2000 1940 1991.2LAXMIMACH 3931.3 3972.25 3862.2 3904.65SHRIRAMCIT 776 807.4 775 799.6GESHIP 223.85 225 215.8 219.1SPARC 169.95 170.8 167.25 169.253MINDIA 19001.45 19097.9 18820 18969.4ZENSARTECH 192.35 192.35 186.15 188.25DCMSHRIRAM 339.8 347.7 322.95 333.4UJJIVAN 210 214.6 206.4 211.4VBL 675.8 680.35 668 670.7WABAG 189.9 191 185.55 187.75DBCORP 79.95 79.95 74.45 75.15RCF 45.45 45.85 44.25 44.75HUDCO 31.3 32.25 31 31.85NESCO 526.75 532 517.3 518.85ORIENTELEC 197 197.5 191.1 192.45GILLETTE 5313.7 5326.6 5283 5304.9ARVINDFASN 127 127.5 124.4 125.2POWERINDIA 943.95 962 929 930.3ZYDUSWELL 1775.05 1835.25 1775.05 1800.5SYMPHONY 842.6 857 837.05 847WABCOINDIA 4975 5050 4975 5030.75JCHAC 2310.6 2311.15 2269 2299.8WELCORP 113.5 113.75 109.6 110.9METROPOLIS 1855 1896.3 1855 1887.35RAJESHEXPO 475 475 446 449.6FINOLEXIND 504.85 509.9 494 501.2GUJALKALI 316.35 316.35 310 310.3GALAXYSURF 1660 1709 1625.6 1642.35INDOCO 250.1 254.85 248.4 253.05BLUESTARCO 630 633 608.05 618.1SFL 1291.6 1299.3 1250 1260.35SCHAEFFLER 3568.7 3627.15 3560 3604.85NLCINDIA 50 50.2 49.6 49.65MINDACORP 68.55 70.2 68.45 68.85MOTILALOFS 575.55 579.85 571.05 572.6PGHH 10149.95 10175 10075.8 10156.25BALMLAWRIE 106.6 106.6 102.1 102.95UJJIVANSFB 32.05 32.9 31.85 31.9MINDAIND 339.3 339.3 320.1 321.2VMART 1920 1960.1 1904 1917.4RELAXO 661.4 674.75 661.4 665.85

IFCI 5.99 5.99 5.74 5.83IIFL 80.25 80.25 77.95 78.85J&KBANK 14.74 14.81 14.3 14.58SUNDRMFAST 417.15 418.5 402.85 405.75SUPRAJIT 189 191 185.3 187.9GRSE 194.2 196 192 193.15SJVN 21.75 21.8 21.4 21.65KRBL 272.85 272.85 259 262.8AAVAS 1491 1520 1470.35 1489.75UCOBANK 12.45 12.69 12.36 12.6JTEKTINDIA 76.4 77.45 74.8 76.45NIACL 103.45 105.75 102.65 103.25SIS 360 361.3 348 348.65MOIL 133.35 134.65 132.45 133.7TTKPRESTIG 5580 5644.05 5360.6 5464.5KPRMILL 664 665 646.25 656.25RITES 241 242.25 238.95 239.85CARBORUNIV 245.8 254.05 237.5 240.7TAKE 43.45 43.5 42.45 42.8GEPIL 382 392 380.15 383.45MAHSCOOTER 2866.15 2880.15 2820 2847.3LUXIND 1419.55 1425 1365 1375.25JAGRAN 36.3 37.2 35.1 35.7TASTYBIT 10425.05 10425.05 10260.05 10342IRB 111.35 112.95 108.55 111.3HATHWAY 30 30.8 29.5 29.85HERITGFOOD 304.7 310.5 296.75 297.9GODFRYPHLP 864.3 865.35 855.5 860.25GICRE 123.45 124.05 121.3 121.95VSTIND 3451.65 3479.85 3410 3414.5IOB 9.38 9.41 9.22 9.24LAOPALA 211 212.5 208 209.2ORIENTCEM 58.9 59.45 57.8 59.25IIFLWAM 916.35 944.5 894.55 907.85THERMAX 739 743 736 739.95MAHSEAMLES 222.45 223 219.7 220.6MASFIN 832.95 846.75 819.35 833.75GHCL 152.7 153.9 148.75 151.3SPANDANA 565 571 550 556.5SHK 86.25 87.4 84.6 86.55ASTERDM 138 138.6 136.1 137.8SOLARINDS 1049.9 1049.9 1014.45 1017.05ESABINDIA 1330 1360 1317.25 1337.25TIMETECHNO 39 39 37.75 38.05GRINDWELL 551.9 552.25 543 545.75FLUOROCHEM 506.05 515 502 512.3GMDCLTD 43.25 44.45 43.25 43.65ITDC 225 232.5 223.9 225.4FINCABLES 273.8 274.35 271.05 271.85JYOTHYLAB 143.05 143.05 140.25 141.55RATNAMANI 1274.7 1293.45 1272.5 1284.25GREAVESCOT 73 73.5 72.25 72.45AIAENG 1740 1750 1695 1704.3MAHLIFE 241.95 258.15 241.95 256GPPL 93 93.45 89 90.8TATAINVEST 851.3 856.35 843.95 851.2MMTC 16.5 16.75 16.2 16.3ALLCARGO 118.2 119.25 117.45 118.3PHOENIXLTD 571.45 571.45 559.5 567.65WESTLIFE 373.8 377 371.8 373.9TNPL 103.7 104.8 102.4 102.95NBVENTURES 52.1 53.55 52.1 52.9SCHNEIDER 75.65 75.75 71.15 72.6NAVNETEDUL 81.6 81.75 80.5 80.55UFLEX 318 323 315 318.3KSB 468.45 468.45 461.3 464.25SHANKARA 335.95 337.7 326.7 330.55JMFINANCIL 77.45 78.35 77.25 78TEAMLEASE 2267.1 2273.55 2248.35 2262.25ORIENTREF 188.05 189.85 185.95 186.95VRLLOG 154.55 155.45 153.15 154STARCEMENT 82.9 83.8 81.8 83.2TVTODAY 197.35 201.35 197.35 200.9TIMKEN 1071.8 1076.55 1049 1055.45TCNSBRANDS 381.15 384.95 373.05 378.45GDL 93.2 93.45 91.35 91.35TCIEXP 775 796.65 775 789.6OMAXE 67 68 66.55 67.45GET&D 88.45 88.85 86.45 87.15INDOSTAR 287.7 288.5 286 288MHRIL 168.95 169.9 166.85 168.85NILKAMAL 1310.3 1310.3 1307.7 1307.7GULFOILLUB 637.55 637.55 629.7 631.8VTL 750.35 753.85 745.65 753.85

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 11,958.55 12,018.65 11,775.75 11,937.65 40.85POWERGRID 157.6 166.15 157.25 164.3 7.1BHARTIARTL 405.7 420.2 403.55 419.5 14.5TATASTEEL 396.3 408 394.35 403.7 11.3HINDALCO 181.1 187.5 181 185.75 4.95GAIL 85.8 88.25 85.75 87.85 2.15NTPC 81.45 83.8 80.65 82.65 2BPCL 360.5 363.05 345.1 350.5 7.15GRASIM 780 794.45 771.55 793 15.8ULTRACEMCO 4,545.35 4,658.00 4,440.00 4,631.95 87.6AXISBANK 496.9 507.5 486.6 503.15 9.2HDFCBANK 1,230.60 1,251.00 1,221.70 1,245.25 21.3KOTAKBANK 1,375.00 1,400.00 1,358.65 1,392.25 23.45COALINDIA 113.65 116.9 113.55 115.4 1.75HDFC 2,030.00 2,067.45 2,005.35 2,045.80 30.5IOC 75.75 76.75 75.4 76.15 1.1ICICIBANK 416 428.5 410.3 420.45 5.85ADANIPORTS 350.25 360.15 349.55 353.6 4.65JSWSTEEL 320.75 324.3 314.75 322 3.3LT 924.95 931 908.65 926.5 9.2SUNPHARMA 489 492.2 481.5 491.2 4.85ONGC 68 68.6 67 68.05 0.65INFY 1,141.15 1,154.35 1,135.00 1,146.75 9.25TATAMOTORS 131.05 133.1 128.3 130.6 0.95TITAN 1,241.00 1,256.55 1,229.00 1,240.30 6.8CIPLA 771.8 771.8 756.5 768.45 4.15BAJAJ-AUTO 3,030.00 3,039.15 2,992.05 3,020.15 15.95SBIN 204.7 207.3 198.85 204 0.95INDUSINDBK 631 647.8 599.55 627.3 2.05MARUTI 6,904.00 6,947.60 6,764.65 6,860.00 15.4ITC 168.15 168.9 166.6 167.8 0.35M&M 606.9 610.8 592.2 601.5 -0.75BAJFINANCE 3,270.00 3,295.00 3,101.35 3,252.00 -10.15SHREECEM 21,250.00 21,426.95 20,680.15 21,111.05 -73.75DIVISLAB 3,098.00 3,125.00 3,015.00 3,073.90 -11.85HINDUNILVR 2,190.00 2,196.75 2,136.00 2,163.05 -10.05ASIANPAINT 2,130.00 2,143.85 2,081.25 2,107.00 -11.5UPL 459.9 463.5 446.75 453.05 -2.9EICHERMOT 2,212.30 2,222.50 2,143.10 2,178.90 -15.55BAJAJFINSV 5,967.50 6,010.00 5,735.10 5,909.05 -42.8TECHM 851.1 857.2 833.95 843.55 -6.3DRREDDY 5,096.55 5,096.55 4,906.55 5,030.30 -40.85WIPRO 349.6 350.1 339.1 343.3 -3.45RELIANCE 2,168.00 2,192.00 2,097.75 2,122.65 -33.25HCLTECH 881 891.65 860 866 -13.65HDFCLIFE 574.5 577.45 556 561.5 -9.5NESTLEIND 16,240.00 16,314.45 15,942.05 15,976.10 -276.45HEROMOTOCO 3,250.00 3,280.00 3,132.15 3,180.60 -57SBILIFE 801 804 780.8 785.05 -15.7TCS 2,739.00 2,749.00 2,663.05 2,678.00 -61BRITANNIA 3,580.00 3,580.00 3,382.00 3,401.85 -151.3

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 27,537.95 27,632.00 27,100.20 27,370.70 -64.3LTI 2,989.00 3,139.00 2,989.00 3,105.00 140.2HINDZINC 231.75 235.7 227.15 232.8 9.95HINDPETRO 174.05 179.8 174.05 177.65 5.3DLF 168.2 174.2 165.05 172.25 4.8ACC 1,585.35 1,625.60 1,581.05 1,618.20 38.65CONCOR 385.3 393.4 383.05 391.9 8.45PETRONET 222.65 226.75 222.65 225.95 4.4NMDC 83.65 85.65 83.5 85.2 1.55BANKBARODA 42.2 43.3 41.65 42.55 0.7INFRATEL 190 193.7 188.4 192.75 2.7IGL 378 383.35 377 380.6 4.1MCDOWELL-N 516 525.9 514 519.2 5.1PFC 87.6 89.1 86.85 88.4 0.85ABBOTINDIA 15,843.50 16,020.10 15,715.75 15,940.00 143.95ADANIGREEN 690 713.9 678 694.85 6.15PGHH 10,042.30 10,180.00 10,042.30 10,170.05 86.15AMBUJACEM 251.9 254.3 245.95 253.5 2.05AUROPHARMA 803 808.95 792 806 5.7ADANITRANS 291.45 298.4 288 291.6 1.95HAVELLS 710.35 722.95 700.3 711.85 2.7NAUKRI 3,497.00 3,534.00 3,440.00 3,480.00 5.55BIOCON 439.05 443.5 432.5 440 0.2BAJAJHLDNG 2,361.65 2,379.90 2,331.65 2,350.00 0PEL 1,320.00 1,344.65 1,298.30 1,314.25 -3.75HDFCAMC 2,352.80 2,355.00 2,319.20 2,340.25 -7.3UBL 965.1 986.6 955.5 962 -3.1PNB 27.5 27.8 27.05 27.25 -0.1SBICARD 901 908.75 878 895 -3.3TORNTPHARM 2,719.25 2,731.95 2,681.50 2,700.00 -11.65SIEMENS 1,294.15 1,304.90 1,281.35 1,282.00 -5.75INDIGO 1,375.00 1,391.00 1,349.00 1,366.95 -6.4ALKEM 2,670.00 2,678.90 2,637.00 2,652.95 -12.75ICICIGI 1,252.00 1,260.00 1,237.20 1,239.35 -6.45GODREJCP 693.9 701.6 680.1 686.8 -4.1LUPIN 1,012.00 1,014.90 988 1,001.30 -7.4CADILAHC 428.2 432.45 418.1 425 -3.2OFSS 3,281.00 3,308.00 3,212.20 3,227.00 -30.35BANDHANBNK 321.8 326.95 311.5 315.75 -3.4GICRE 124.4 124.4 121.15 122 -1.4BOSCHLTD 11,955.00 12,069.50 11,654.40 11,749.00 -146.5BERGEPAINT 619.05 623 600.4 604.9 -10.3MUTHOOTFIN 1,224.70 1,237.75 1,186.85 1,207.00 -22.35MOTHERSUMI 110.7 111.95 105.9 107.1 -2.05MARICO 369 369.25 359.05 359.8 -7.55PIDILITIND 1,530.10 1,540.90 1,484.10 1,489.95 -34.9DMART 2,143.05 2,170.00 2,061.05 2,092.85 -50.2COLPAL 1,464.00 1,479.90 1,405.60 1,426.00 -35.05ICICIPRULI 423 424.55 405 411.4 -10.15TATACONSUM 479.7 482.3 458.95 464.5 -13.4DABUR 530.4 533 508.1 513.2 -14.85

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The world’s largest tractormanufacturer by volumes

foresees a sustained growth intractor off-take on the back offestive season along withrecently introduced farm bill.

Accordingly, auto majorM&M’s Farm EquipmentSector President Hemant Sikkapredicts the farm bill to usherin higher income for farmers,thereby, allowing greater farmmechanisation levels.

“These reforms are posi-tive, and we await on-groundexecution of various elementsof this bill to better realise itseffectiveness,” he told IANS.

“Higher productivity andbetter farm incomes being aparamount objective of this billwill improve the farmers abil-ity to purchase a better class ofequipment, ensuring optimalutilisation of resources, alongwith better management ofcrop lands,” said Sikka.

According to Sikka, farmmechanisation has seen a sec-ular growth this year. “In cer-tain states, where there was ahuge dependence on migrant

labourers, the Covid-relatedexodus resulted in acute spikein mechanisation,” he said.

“In other states, where thedependence on migrantlabourers were not as much, thedemand for farm machinerywas still there but not as acute.”

For instance, some stategovernments are incentivisingfarmers to go in for greaterfarm mechanisation, so as tomaintain the agriculture sec-tor’s growth rate during theCovid era.

Besides, Sikka noted thatdemand for higher HP tractorscontinues to grow.

“The overall industry hasgrown by around 12 per cent inH1 FY21, whereas the over40HP segment industry haswitnessed much higher growthat 27.4 per cent,” explainedSikka.

“The contribution of over40 HP segment in the industryhas increased from 54.2 percent to 61.7 per cent.”Furthermore, he expects ruralsentiments to remain positiveand translate into robustdemand for tractors as “wemove into the festive period”.

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The Government may fur-ther extend the date for

submission of bids for AirIndia sale date beyond October30 to give investors more timeto make an offer while sweet-ening the deal terms further,finance minister officials privyto the development said.

The submission of initialbid or expression of interest(EoI) may be extended by 45days to two months toDecember. Also, officials saidthat bidders would be given theoption to decide on the quan-tum of debt in Air India booksthat they will like to absorbrather than freezing the debtamount and seeking investorsbids.

As per the Air India EoIfloated by DIPAM in January,of the airline’s total debt of Rs60,074 crore as of March 31,2019, the buyer would berequired to absorb Rs 23,286.5crore, while the rest would betransferred to Air India Assets

Holding Ltd (AIAHL), a specialpurpose vehicle.

With the proposedchanges, buyers will decide onthe level of debt that they willtake and the one taking thelargest debt may be consideredfavourable to be declared win-ner.

Disinvestment secretaryTuhin Kanta Pandey has alsohinted at changes in the currentstructure of Air India transac-tion process in an interactionwith journalists last week.

For the government, AirIndia has now become a testcase on how to get investorinterest in adversarial marketconditions. While the airlinesfinancials are already undersevere pressure, the Covid -19pandemic had further dentedthe prospects of the aviationindustry putting the saleprocess under further prob-lems. The bidding process forthe debt-ridden airline hasbeen postponed four timesearlier and of October 30 dead-line is changed now, it would be

fifth such extension.Sources said that changes

in the structure of the saleprocess to facilitate investorswould go by the principle of let-ting buyers decide the enter-prise value of Air India ratherthan its market cap or usingother valuation methodology.The enterprise valuation deter-mines the value of an entitybased on its market capitalisa-tion and also debt in books andcash balances.

Sources said that changesin the valuation method has beapproved by a CGD (CoreGroup on Disinvestment)headed by the cabinet secretaryat its meeting last week andnow it would be has placedbefore AISAM (Air IndiaSpecific AlternativeMechanism). For Air India, theGovt is finding it tough to getinvestors on board.

A Tata Group led consor-tium was considered favouriteto take over the airline earlierbut its interest in the airlinelately has been subdued.

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Rating agency ICRA onWednesday said it expects

16-18 per cent contraction intwo wheeler volumes in thecurrent fiscal.

“ICRA continues tomaintain its expectation of16-18 per cent year on yearcontraction in two-wheelervolumes in FY2021, amid anevolving COVID-19 situa-tion and economic uncer-tainties,” the rating agencysaid in a statement.

While the overall con-sumption and investmentdemand is expected toremain subdued for anextended period, somegrowth off-shoots are visiblein rural markets, the ratingagency added.

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Consumers can cheer as oilmarketing companies

(OMC) may actually bring

down the retail prices of petroland diesel this festive season.

Oil sector experts said thatwith global oil prices underpressure from slowing demand

in the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic sweeping severalwestern countries, crude pricecould fall in coming days. If thisholds on for a week or so, there

could be positive gains forauto fuel consumers in India byway of a fall in retail price ofpetrol and diesel.

Global crude prices are

holding close to $ 42 a barrelnow. It has been hoveringbetween $ 40-42 a barrel forover a month now. But withlower oil demand and rising

inventory, there is fear a songoil producing companies thatcrude prices may start fallingagain. OMCs in India havebeen holding on to the retail

price of petrol and diesel forclose to a month now. Even onWednesday, the price of twopetrol products remainedunchanged. With this, petrol

prices have now beenunchanged for 29 days at astretch while diesel prices werethe same for the 19 consecutivedays.

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Berlin: A 22-year-old universi-ty student from Hong Kong saysshe has been given refugee sta-tus by Germany after demon-strating against the city’s extra-dition law.

Germany’s Federal Officefor Migration and Refugeeswould neither confirm nor denygranting the protester asylum,citing the country’s strict privacylaws.

However the woman, whoidentified herself only as Elaine

and declined to give other per-sonal details to protect her fam-ily in Hong Kong, showed TheAssociated Press paperworkconfirming her refugee statuswas granted Oct. 14.

She told the AP in a tele-phone interview late Tuesdaythat she fled Hong Kong inNovember while free on bailafter being arrested on allega-tions of rioting and violating thesemi-autonomous Chinese ter-ritory’s law banning masks,

introduced last year as anti-gov-ernment protests becameincreasingly violent.

After arriving in Germany,it took more than nine monthsfor her asylum application to beprocessed, the former ChineseUniversity of Hong Kong stu-dent said. “I’m very grateful tothe government for coveringmy basic needs, includinghealthcare when I had to betreated for mental healthissues,” she said. AP

Bangkok: Thailand’s PrimeMinister on Wednesday plead-ed with his countrymen toresolve their political differ-ences through Parliament, asstudent-led protests seeking tobring his government downcontinued for an eighth straightday.

“The only way to a lasting

solution for all sides that is fairfor those on the streets as wellas for the many millions whochoose not to go on the streetsis to discuss and resolve thesedifferences through the parlia-mentary process,” PrimeMinister Prayuth Chan-ochasaid, according to an English-language text released of a

taped speech broadcastWednesday night.Demonstrations have contin-ued daily in a movement thatcalls for Prayuth to step down,for a more democratic consti-tution and for reforms to themonarchy — a revered institu-tion traditionally treated assacrosanct in Thailand. AP

Kabul: At least 11 women weretrampled to death when a stam-pede broke out Wednesdayamong thousands of Afghanswaiting in a soccer stadium toThailand’s leader urges protest-ers to give up confrontationgetvisas to leave the country, offi-cials said.

Gov. Attaullah Khogyanisaid another 13 people, mostlywomen, were injured at the sta-dium in the eastern Nangarhar

province, where they were try-ing to get visas to enter neigh-bouring Pakistan.

He said most of those whodied were elderly people fromacross Afghanistan.

In a separate incident, atleast 34 Afghan police werekilled in an ambush by Talibanmilitants in northernAfghanistan, according to alocal hospital official.

Rahim Bakhish Danish, the

director of the main hospital inthe Takhar province, confirmedreceiving 34 bodies and saidanother eight security forceswere wounded. An Afghansecurity official said the forceswere in a convoy that wasambushed.

The official, who was notauthorised to brief media on theevent and so spoke on conditionof anonymity, said several policeHumvees were set ablaze. AP

Erie (US): Joe Biden is a “ser-vant” of lobbyists and“Washington vultures” whogot rich by bleeding Americadry, US President DonaldTrump has claimed whileresponding to his Democraticrival’s unprecedented fundrais-ing in September, assertingthat he could be the “king” ofall fundraisers, but does notwant to do it.

Biden raised a whopping$383 million for his electioneffort in September, a record-breaking sum that eclipses theunprecedented fundraisingfrom the previous month.

“He (Biden) is a servant ofthe globalist, lobbyist, wealthydonors and Washington vul-tures who got rich bleedingAmerica dry. You know I saidthe other day… I never thoughtof it because they’re raising a lotof money, (USD) 300 million.I could be the king of allfundraisers.

I would be the greatest thatever lived the president of the

United States,” Trump allegedat an election rally here onTuesday.

Biden holds a massive cashadvantage over Trump in thelast leg of the campaign, TheHill newspaper reported, citinglatest figures from the FederalElection Commission.

Biden has over $177 mil-lion in the bank, comparedwith $63.1 million for the pres-ident.

In September, Biden raised$383 million, while Trumpraised $247.8 million. Themonth before, Biden raised athen-record of $364.5 million,compared with $210 million forthe president, the report said.

“All I have to do - give mea list of the top 100 companies.I’ll call the president of every-one. They will pay me whatev-er I want. I would set everyrecord. The problem is I owethem. Because when they calland have a problem for a lotmore money than we’re talkingabout you know, it’s like hard

to say no. Hey, they were nice.They treated you good,” he said.

“I don’t want to do that. Idon’t want to do that. We don’tneed the money. I don’t’ wantto do that. I don’t want to do it.But when you see them raise$300, 350 million in a monthand a half you know deals arebeing made- just so you under-stand. Deals are being made.Big deals. Look at the deals thathe is making for himself. Dealsare being made,” Trump said.

In 2016, Pennsylvaniavoted to fire this depravedpolitical establishment andelect an outsider as presidentwho is finally putting Americafirst, he said.

“The fact is whether youlike it or not, whether you wantto hear it or not, Joe Biden is acorrupt politician. He is a cor-rupt politician. And smokinggun emails show that the Bidenfamily sold the Vice Presidencyfor a very, very substantialamount of money. More moneythan anybody would believe.He let China plunder our jobswhile his family raked in mil-lions of dollars from China andforeign nations,” he said. PTI

Washington: Former PresidentBarack Obama is returning toPhiladelphia on Wednesdayfor his first in-person 2020campaign event for Joe Biden.

In 2016, the man known asone of the Democratic Party’sstrongest orators deliveredHillary Clinton’s closing argu-ment in the same place — at arally for thousands the nightbefore Election Day onIndependence Mall.

Now, with the coronaviruspandemic upending cam-paigning, Obama will be speak-ing to a much smaller crowd ata drive-in rally, where sup-porters will listen to him overthe radio inside their cars.

The format reflects the chal-lenge Democrats face in ginningup enthusiasm and getting outthe vote in a year when they’veeschewed big rallies in favour ofsmall, socially distanced events,drawing a contrast with Trumpand Republicans on the coron-avirus. AP

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Houston: The politi-cal divide between theHindu supporters ofUS President DonaldTrump and hisDemocratic chal-lenger Joe Biden isgetting deeper withthe presidential elec-tion less than two weeks away.In a sign of the growing polit-ical prominence of Hindus inAmerica, the Trump and Bidencampaigns are wooing this reli-gious minority community likenever before. Hinduism is thefourth largest faith in the US,representing approximately oneper cent of the US populationin 2016.

The Biden campaign inSeptember launched the‘Hindu Americans for Biden’,while the Trump campaign inAugust announced the for-mation of the ‘Hindu Voicesfor Trump’ as part of theirefforts to attract the over twomillion members of the reli-

gious community in the US. A virtual debate held on

Sunday between the AmericanHindu supporters of Trumpand Biden brought the messagehome that there is a clear polit-ical divide among the commu-nity members in the US.

While one group allegedthat Biden “panders toMuslims”, the other accusedTrump of being a “racist”.

The webinar titled ‘2020Presidential Election: A debateon the American Hindu issues’was co-sponsored by the HinduAmerican Foundation, theHindu American PAC, theHinduPACT and theHinduVote. PTI

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Karachi: A serious controver-sy has broken out in Pakistanafter an Inspector General ofPolice (IGP) was allegedlyforced into ordering the arrestof Captain (retd) Safdar Awan,the husband of Maryam NawazSharif, for chanting slogans atthe tomb of the countrysfounder Muhammad AliJinnah in Karachi.

Rumours are spreading likewildfire in the country that IGPMushtaq Mahar was allegedlyabducted from his home byintelligence agency officialsand was forced into orderingthe arrest of Safdar Awan.

The incident has sparkedanger among the police ranksas Sindh Police haveannounced protests whileabout a dozen officers, includ-ing the IGP, have renderedtheir leave requests for amonth.

After the sudden leaverequests from senior policeofficers from across the Sindhprovince, Chief Minister SyedMurad Ali Shah reassured thegovernment’s support to theSindh Police at every stage.

Shah assured the provincialpolice’s top brass that the gov-ernment would not let theforce be demoralised under anycondition.

“Sindh Police should con-tinue their work in an inde-pendent and impartial manner.The government is taking stepsto further strengthen the pro-fessionalism of the police,” theChief Minister said.

Meanwhile, Bilawal BhuttoZardari, the Chairman ofPakistan People’s Party (PPP),has slammed the militaryestablishment and the intelli-gence agencies for humiliatingthe police by forcing them toorder the arrest of Safdar Awan,the son-in-law of exiled formerPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Bilawal Bhutto had earlierdemanded to have the identi-ties of the people who sur-rounded Sindh IGP Mahar’shouse at 4 a.m., shortly beforethe arrest of Safdar Awan.

Pakistan Army chiefGeneral Qamar Javed Bajwaalso took notice of the incidentand ordered an immediateinquiry into the matter. IANS

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��<�� ! <�� ) 4��"��Islamabad: Pakistan may remain on the grey list of the FinancialAction Task Force (FATF) as it has been unable to comply withsix of the 27 points in the global terror financing and money laun-dering watchdog’s action plan, a media report said on Wednesday.

The Paris-based global watchdog will hold its virtual plenarysession from October 21 to 23. It will review Pakistan’s progresson the 27-point action plan.

The FATF had placed Pakistan on the grey list in June 2018and asked Islamabad to implement a plan of action to curb moneylaundering and terror financing by the end of 2019, but the dead-line was extended later on due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The country will succeed in exiting the FATF’s grey list byJune next year,” Tribune reported, quoting diplomatic sources. Thereport said Pakistan is unlikely to exit the FATF grey list, but thecountry has managed to avert being blacklisted. I PTI

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The concept of single lineadministration was introduced inJammu & Kashmir in 1976 with aview to push development projectsand decentralising planning andinvolving the people with the same.

In the coming days, the Jammu& Kashmir Government is expectedto announce the poll schedule to electmembers of the DDCs. As per theamendment, the DDCs of each dis-trict shall have 14 constituencies aftertheir delimitation by the respectivedeputy commissioners.

Political parties like the Congresshave termed it to be “another attemptto further delay the Assembly elec-tions and also deprive the existingBDCs from the rights already vest-ed in them because a majority ofthem have non-BJP affiliations”.

Another challenge that remainsfor the Centre is that of holding thebypolls to over 13,000 vacant panchand sarpanch seats in Jammu &Kashmir. The AdministrativeCouncil, headed by LieutenantGovernor Manoj Sinha, has alreadyapproved the proposal to conduct theby-elections and the notification islikely to be out soon.

In 2018, elections to 39,521sarpanch/panch constituencies in4,483 Halqa Panchayats were con-ducted. Of these, 13,257 positions arecurrently vacant due to resigna-tions, removals, election of sarpanchsas Block Development Council chair-persons, deaths as well as non-avail-ability of candidates at the time ofelection. Among them, 1,089 vacan-cies pertain to the office of sarpanch,whereas 12,168 are panch vacancies.

Elections to the vacancies noti-fied previously were postponed dueto “security concerns” and the onsetof Covid-19.

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As regards the bridges, a major-ity of them are expected to signifi-cantly improve movement of troops

in areas along the border with Chinain Ladakh, Sikkim and ArunachalPradesh sectors.

The Defence Minister had alsolaid the foundation stone forNechiphu Tunnel in ArunachalPradesh. This 450 metre-long tunnelwould ensure all-weather connec-tivity across Nechiphu pass.

The bridges inaugurated by himincluded 10 in Jammu & Kashmir,eight in Ladakh, two in HimachalPradesh, four each in Punjab andSikkim and eight each inUttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

Underlining the significance ofthese projects, Rajnath said con-struction of the bridges will benefitboth the civilian population as wellas the military in the areas.

“Our Armed forces personnel aredeployed in large numbers in areaswhere transport is not availablethroughout the year,” he said, notingimprovement in border infrastruc-ture will significantly help armedforces.

A day after, China had objectedand said, “It does not recognise theLadakh Union Territory illegally setup by India” and opposes infra-structure building in the region. Italso claimed infrastructure devel-opment is the “root cause for tension”between the two countries.

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Incidentally, the CorpsCommanders of both the Armieshave held seven rounds of talks at thismeeting point in the past few monthsto find ways to disengage and bringdown the temperature at the border.The eighth round is likely to be heldlater this week after the seventhround was held on October 12.Both the commanders had agreed tomaintain peace and continue theprocess of dialogue to defuse the sit-uation. However, there was nobreakthrough so far.

The Indian Army had said theChinese soldier had “strayed” acrossthe LAC. It also said the soldier wasprovided medical assistance includ-

ing oxygen, food and warm clothesto protect him from the vagaries ofextreme altitude and climate.

In Beijing, a statement by theChinese Ministry of Defence said,“According to the relevant agreementbetween China and India, theChinese PLA soldier, who wentmissing while helping local herds-men find the lost yak near theChina-India border on Sunday, hasbeen returned to the Chinese bordertroops by the Indian Army early onthe morning of October 21, 2020.

On Monday night, spokespersonfor the Western Theatre Commandof the PLA, senior colonel ZhangShuili, had said, “China hopes thatIndia will hand over soon theChinese soldier who got lost inChina-India border areas on theevening of October 18 when helpinglocal herdsmen retrieve a yak at theirrequest.”

Both Indian and Chinese Armieshave deployed a total of more thanone lakh troops besides heavyweapons along the LAC in easternLadakh including in the Demchoksector following escalation of thefive-month-long military standoffthat began in early May.

India has all along been main-taining that the onus is on China tocarry forward the process of disen-gagement and de-escalation at thefriction points in the mountainousregion.

Following the sixth round of mil-itary level talks, the two sides in ajoint statement had announced aseries of decisions, including not tosend more troops to the frontline,refrain from unilaterally changing thesituation on the ground and avoidtaking any actions that may furthercomplicate matters.

This round was held with a spe-cific agenda of exploring ways toimplement a five-point agreementreached between External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar and hisChinese counterpart Wang Yi at ameeting in Moscow on September 10on the sidelines of a ShanghaiCooperation Organisation (SCO)conclave.

The pact included measures like

quick disengagement of troops,avoiding action that could escalatetensions, adherence to all agreementsand protocols on border manage-ment and steps to restore peace alongthe LAC.

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For their part, NDA partners,Janata Dal (U) and the BJP, havereleased a report card containing thedetails of the work done by the NitishKumar Government in the State inthe last 15 years and the work doneby the Centre under PM Modi.

The NDA report card men-tioned abrogation of Article 370from Jammu & Kashmir, construc-tion of Ram Mandir, and abolition oftriple talaq as the major achieve-ments. The alliance claims to haveconstructed roads connecting everyvillage in Bihar at a cost of Rs78,000 crore; providing every house-hold with an uninterrupted powersupply at a cost of Rs 55,600 croreand providing clean drinking waterand sanitation for everyone incurringRs 47,700 crore. The BJP and theJD(U) are yet to come out with theirmanifesto.

The Congress manifesto said,apart from promising Rs 1500 tounemployed youth every month, itwill, like Punjab, pass a separate farmlaw in Bihar Assembly if voted topower. Carrying forward the idea ofRajiv Gandhi Krishi Nyaya Yojna -a direct cash transfer scheme envis-aged during the Lok Sabha polls 2019for farmers - the party said it will pro-vide Rs 800 as honorary pension forthe elderly and women in the Stateand Rs 1,000 for those above 80 yearsof age .

The Congress’ manifesto promis-es waiver of electricity bills up to 100units, the restoration of 2.42 lakhteacher posts in 18 months and anincrease in irrigation facilities also.

Earlier, Mahagathbandhanalliance in Bihar -- the RashtriyaJanata Dal (RJD), the Congress andthe Left parties -- released its pollmanifesto for the Assembly election

and promised 10 lakh jobs in the firstCabinet meeting if elected to power.

In the 20-point manifesto, theCongress has promised free educa-tion for girls up to masters degree,scooty for girl students scoring 90 percent marks in Class 12th. The partyhas also tried to play a regional cardby promising Maithili language to beincluded in the compulsory subjectschool syllabus. ImportantlyMazdoor Information Center in theState capital has also been promisedto allure migrant labourers, who hadbeen a major sufferer during thelockdown. It has also promised to setup a clinic with a doctor and nursein every panchayat under ‘SmartGram Yojana’.

The LJP’s vision document titled,‘Bihar first Bihari first”, seeks build-ing of a grand ‘Sita Maiya’ temple inSitamarhi to promote spiritualtourism on the lines of Ayodhya inUttar Pradesh. Building a web por-tal where employers and job-seekerscan connect, constituting YuvaCommission, separate toilets forwomen in all the block headquarters,gram panchayat headquarters andmarkets are also among the main pollpromises made in the manifesto --named as Vision Document 2020.The vision document also promisespromoting dairy in Bihar on the pat-tern of Denmark, focusing on ‘equalpay for equal work’ for teachers, ini-tiating a probe into irregularitiescommitted in the ‘Seven Resolves’initiative of Chief Minister NitishKumar. Developing state-of-the-artmedical and engineering institu-tions to prevent the youth from leav-ing the State also finds mention. Thevision document talked about link-ing rivers to end the problem of floodand drought in the State. The docu-ment promised to set up a coachingcity like that in Rajasthan’s Kota, ifvoted to power, so that students fromBihar do not have to migrate to citiesin other States. The party promisesfree rides for women in Governmentbuses.

��<%�?&=��)�0��)�declaration of any wild animal as

vermin. “The States/UTs must uti-lize the provisions contained in theWild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 fordealing with the problematic wildanimals. The States/UTs shouldinvolve Panchayati Raj Institutionsmore actively in dealing with situa-tions arising out of human wildlifeconflict.”

Mohanty was of the view thatsuch killings encourage poachers andthe public to hunt animals.

Various experts have alsoopposed such mass-culling calling itineffective and saying it does notresolve the human-animal conflicts.

According to animal rightsactivist from the People for Animals(PFA), Gauri Maulekhi, “India hadbanned hunting of wild animals in1972. Allowing backdoor methods ofwildlife slaughter through ‘vermin’declaration is against the objectivesof the Act and the Article 48A of theConstitution.”

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Shakti campaign launched by thegovernment during Navratri andsaid that those who tried to tease orstalk women and girls would be dealtwith an iron hand.

Earlier, welcoming the chiefminister at the parade, DirectorGeneral of Police HC Awasthiremembered the bravery of thosepolicemen who

attained martyrdom during thelast one year.

Later, the chief minister hon-oured the widows of all the policemartyrs, including the eight policepersonnel killed in Kanpur.

It may be mentioned here that atotal of 264 police personnel haveattained martyrdom while displayingexemplary courage from September1, 2019 to October 31, 2020. Thisincludes nine policemen from UttarPradesh, including eight police per-sonnel who were ambushed in Bikruvillage in Chaubeypur area of Kanpurwhen they were going to arrestgangster Vikas Dubey and fell to bul-lets fired from rooftops shortly aftermidnight on July 3.

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The air quality index ofDelhi worsened on

Wednesday with the air quali-ty recorded at 268, according tothe Central Pollution Control

Board. The Ministry of EarthSciences’ air quality monitor,SAFAR, stated stubble burn-ing’s share in Delhi’s PM2.5pollution stood at 15 per centon Wednesday.

It is forecast that the airquality will remain in margin-ally very poor category onThursday and in marginallyvery poor to higher end of pooron October 23, it said.

An AQI between zero and50 is considered “good”, 51 and100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200“moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”,301 and 400 “very poor”, and401 and 500 “severe”.

“The SAFAR synergisedstubble burning fire countsaround Haryana, Punjab andneighbouring regions stood at849 for Tuesday,” it said.

The city recorded a 24-hour average air quality index(AQI) of 223 on Tuesday. It was244 on Monday and 254 onSunday. The farm fire countaround Haryana, Punjab andnearby regions across theInternational Border was 1017on Monday, it said.

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It would not be wrong to say that tech-nology has proved to be a game-chang-er, especially in the time of a pandem-

ic. While COVID-19 vaccine continues toremain under development and contain-ing the spread of the Coronavirus hasbecome the most critical aspect in today’sworld, a start-up has announced thelaunch of ‘Keep-U-Safe,’ a first-of-its-kindtechnology, which will aid in achieving sig-nificant reduction of viruses on surfacesof their products.

Surface transmission is known to beone of the biggest reasons for Coronavirusspread around the world. The organisa-tion, SeguraMAX, aims to fight the verycontagion. It believes that this couldbecome a potential game-changer for Indiaand the world, where the Coronaviruscases are rising at an alarming rate. Thegreen plant-based technology has beentested by various international and accred-ited NABL labs with proven results toreduce more than 99 per cent viruses fromvarious surfaces of fabrics, garments andplastics in less than one minute. It has alsoproven to remain effective after multiplewashes.

The technology can become the firstshield of hybrid protective wear to fightinfectious diseases and prevent surfacetransmission of viruses from the infectedto the uninfected, even while pharma com-panies continue their effort to develop andsuitably deploy a vaccine in the comingmonths. The company has developed adiverse range of products treated with bio-organic additives that reduces the presenceof viruses.

Now the question is — how is thistechnology better than UV tech? GauravKhullar, Director, Product Development,explains that first and foremost, thehuman body cannot be exposed to UVtech and it takes longer for UV lights todisinfect a surface. For instance, a wall ora wall-coating cannot be disinfected andtakes longer time. However, this technol-ogy is perhaps the first in the world to useplant-based, natural and non-toxic tech-nology, which doesn’t have any adverseeffects on the human body or the surfacesit has been applied to. “Our technology ismanufactured as coatings, plastic master-batches, plastic films, fabrics and appar-el. After several rigorous testing, exposingour products to several bacteria andviruses, we have been able to successful-ly introduce a technology, which is instantand has the same efficacy on fabrics after60 washes. The virus reduction rateremains 99 per cent within the very firstminute and interpreting this to the num-ber of days, we estimate it could last foras long as up to two years in room con-

ditions as the tests are undergoing,” shareshe.

During the winter season, when peo-ple might face a challenge as far as sani-tisation is concerned, how will this tech-nology and product help? Khullar tells usthat a lot of the viruses are cross trans-mitted. This technology helps in reducingthe cross-virus transmission within oneminute of exposure, making it an instantsmart solution. “If the surfaces are self-sanitised with the use of this tech then thecross-transmission would be reduced by99 per cent. For example, we are doing tri-als with an electrical switch manufactur-er. These electrical switches are turned onand off very regularly. Since sanitiser hasalcohol content in it, it cannot be sprayedon electrical switches. With this tech, theswitches will keep on sanitising themselves.People might face a challenge as far as sani-tisation during winter season is concerned,so we have also introduced virus reduc-tion jackets which can act as a shield evenif you’re exposed to an environment withviruses,” says he.

The products can be used by corpo-rates, government employees, public deal-ing personnel like airport staff, policemenand most importantly health workers, whofrequently come in direct contact withinfected individuals and surfaces. Theproduct range includes cling wraps forsuitcases and food and other purposes,breathable 3pc PPE suit, breathable coats

for doctors, N-95 masks, bed linen, doc-tor seat covers, travel jackets, all-weatherjackets, airline seat covers, face shields,table covers, gloves, uniforms, groceryshopping bags, wrapping papers andmuch more.

“The problem of anti-microbials hasalready been there for a very long time. So,our plant-based technology will not onlylimit the bacteria and viruses that are exist-ing today but will also prohibit any otherpossible viral transmission or bacterialgrowth for which further studies areundergoing. This may very well becomea way of life and our technology will be aproduct feature for every product to havean anti-microbial coating. With the plant-based additive, it becomes non-toxic andsafe. Therefore, it can become a gamechanger by utilising natural plant-basedresources to make the technology work inthe sphere of life. The products are pro-tective wear only and not medical devices,

they do not provide any guarantee againstinfections and are certainly not a cure,”shares Khullar.

The company is presently in talks withMaterial Engineers and Product Managersof various organisations globally, who haveshown keen interest entering into licens-

ing arrangements to deploy this revolu-tionary technology. The introduction ofKeep-U-Safe products will help in allay-ing a lot of fear among frequent travellersand more so the public at large, who arepotentially exposed to a lot of public spacesand high-risk touchpoints.

Only Athens, Cairo andRome can claim to have

been capitals for as long asDelhi, from the time ofMahabharata when the citywas known as Indraprastha totoday’s New Delhi. It is forgood reason that Delhi isknown as the city with ‘sevencapitals and it is the story of themost fascinating one —Tughlaqabad — the massivecitadel and fort built byGhiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, thefounder of the Tughlaq dynastyduring the Delhi Sultanateperiod.

The Fort which was toserve as capital for Tughlaq butaccording to legend, it wascursed by Sufi MysticNizammudin Auliya who said‘Dilli Dur Ast’ (Delhi is still far)because Tughlaq had requisi-tioned every able-bodied manin the capital to work on hismasterpiece. He never enjoyedhis capital as he was killed onbehalf of his son Mohammedbin-Tughlaq while returningfrom a campaign in Bengal.However, Mohammed didensure that his father was atleast buried in a mausoleumoverlooking the fort. The son,worried about the saint’s curse,was to attempt to move thecapital from Delhi to Devagiriover 600 kilometers away andin the process of moving manythousands of people ended updying. The antics of fatherand son are now part of polit-ical discourse in India wherebeing ‘Tughlaqian’ meansbeing a stubborn or obstinateruler with no consideration forhis/her citizens.

This massive fort whichexists on Delhi’s southern bor-

ders is clearly visible on thelanding path when youapproach the airport from theeast. But the Fort is also easi-ly accessible by road, and theramparts of the Fort lie besideMehrauli-Badarpur Roadwhere the limestone and gran-ite work can clearly be seen.The Fort is managed by theArcheological Survey of Indiaand entry is open to all for atoken sum of just �20 forIndian citizens. Inside, one ofthe few remaining large Fortsfrom the pre-Mughal Islamicera in India one can witnesseverything from the royalquarters to even the catacombswhere prisoners were housedand even tortured. However,one has to be careful of the batsand the several hundred mon-keys that now call the Forthome, again one of the Sufi

Saint’s various curses. At night, if you drive down

the Mehrauli-Badarpur road,which is a pleasure to do on the2020 Hyundai Venue Sport,particularly with the U2 CRDiengine that our car is equippedwith. With a 100PS of power,this car has a punchy enginewith a load of power but onethat couples the power withphenomenal mileage, in ourregular city driving in start-stop conditions we got animpressive 16 kilometers perlitre. It might be fashionable tolook down on diesel enginesthese days but the Venuereminds one of the phenome-nal power and economy ofmodern diesel engines andthis one is coupled perfectlywith a lovely six-speed manu-al gearbox that seems to neverrun out of power.

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NTPC Dadri is striving tobecome the cleanest coal

fired plant in the country and iscomplying with all the CPCBguidelines on emissions.

All the emission parametersare being monitored online andtransmitted to Central PollutionControl Board (CPCB) on realtime basis. Flue gas emissionsand particulate matter are wellwithin the CPCB norms withhigh efficiency ESP in service inall the four numbers 210 MW& 2 nos. 490 MW units.

For SOx reduction, DrySorbent Injection (DSI) systemhas been installed in 210 MWunits with technology fromUCC, USA and now all the fourunits are meeting emissionnorms. FGD system is inadvanced stage of implementa-tion in 490 MW units by BHELwith technology fromMitsubishi Power Works, Japan.

All the 210 MW units werealready compliant to NOx emis-sion norms. In 490 MW units,SOFA (Separated Overfire Air)system has been installed and allthe units now comply with thenorms for NOx.

The branch has also pio-neered co-firing of biomasspellets along with coal in theboilers. The pellets are made ofhusk or agro-residue whichwould have been burnt other-

wise in the fields increasing thepollution in NCR region. Morethan 8000 tons of pellets havebeen fired in the boilers of thecompany, which is equivalent toalmost 4000 acres of farm fireavoided.

It has also set new bench-marks in water consumption,going beyond compliances, byimplementing zero liquid dis-charge system and rain waterharvesting system.

Terming the Union Cabinet’sapproval of adaptation of the J&K

Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 as a water-shed moment in the history of Jammu& Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor,Manoj Sinha has expressed his grati-tude to PM Narendra Modi for pavinga way for the establishment of all threetiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions andstrengthening the grassroots democ-racy. It thereby gives further fillip tothe developmental agenda centeredaround people’s welfare.

The Government of India hasfully applied the 73rd ConstitutionalAmendment 1992 to the UT of J&K,which was pending for the last 28years. With this, all three tiers ofPanchayati Raj Institutions shall beformed for the first time in Jammu &Kashmir.

Sinha has observed that a majorand final legal requirement towardsstrengthening the grassroots democ-racy and the bottom-up approachtowards planning and execution hasbeen fulfilled and the historic step shallresult in direct representation of peo-ple in the district level body throughdirect elections to 14 seats in theDistrict Development Council. “Aproper system of checks and balancesthrough membership of directly-elect-ed members, Block DevelopmentCouncil chairpersons and MLAs in theDistrict Development Council ensurethat the most genuine demands andneeds of people are met,” he added.

After the adaptation of the J&KPanchayati Raj Act 1989, every districtwill have a District DevelopmentCouncil practising jurisdiction overthe entire district, excluding munici-pal areas. Every council will have 14directly-elected members, that is 280BDC members in the whole UT. Thecouncils shall also comprise the chair-

persons of all BDCs and members ofthe Legislative Assembly from the dis-trict.

Any person whose name is includ-ed in the electoral of any HalqaPanchayat of the district can nominatehimself as a candidate for election toDistrict Development Council. Afterthis development, every council willhave a chairperson and a vice-chair-person who shall be elected by thedirectly-elected members of BDC.Further, there shall be reservations forSC/ST amongst the directly-electedmembers on the basis of the propor-tion of the population. One-third ofseats under direct election will bereserved for women.

Further, five standing committees— Finance, Development, PublicWorks, Health and Education, andWelfare — will now be constituted inevery District Development Council.The ADDC will be the Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the District DevelopmentCouncil, which will be responsible forthe formulation of development pro-grammes and speedy development andeconomic upliftment of the area of thedistrict under its authority. The DDCwill review the progress and achieve-ments of development plans andschemes in the district. Ensuring ade-quate legal backing to devolution offunctions to the DDC, specific func-tions will be assigned to the council inschedule-III of the Act. It will alsosupervise the functioning of PanchayatHalqas and BDC and will receive andconsolidate their plans at the districtlevel.

Pertinently, the Government ofJ&K has also notified the rules for theconstitution of the DDC and theprocess of delimitation of its con-stituencies has already been set inmotion in all the 20 districts.

The Sixth BRICSParliamentary Forum

will be held under theRussian BRICSChairmanship onOctober 27 via video con-ferencing. This year’stheme is based on ‘GlobalStability, Shared Securityand Innovative Growth:P a r l i a m e n t a r yDimension.’

Chairman of the StateDuma (Lower House) ofthe Russian Federation,

Viacheslav Volodin, whowill chair the forum, said,“Russia will propose todiscuss with the col-leagues, members of theparliaments of the BRICScountries, issues ofstrengthening of the kayinternational institutionssuch as the UN and theWorld HealthOrganisation (WHO).Issues of building a sys-tem of international rela-tions on the principles of

mutual respect andrespect for sovereigntywill be also discussed atthe meeting.”

The forum partici-pants also plan to discussissues of improving thestandards and quality oflife of citizens of theBRICS countries, prepar-ing legislative initiativesto improve the healthcare systems, issues ofsocial protection and eco-nomic recovery during

the COVID-19 pandem-ic, as well as furtherdevelopment of parlia-mentary cooperationwithin the BRICS. Theheads of the BRICS par-liamentary delegations(Russia, Brazil, India,China, South Africa) willaddress the forum partic-ipants.

The outcome state-ment is also planned tobe adopted at the end ofthe meeting.

The Life Insurance Corporation ofIndia has introduced LIC’s New

Jeevan Shanti plan which is a non-linked,non-participating, individual, singlepremium, deferred annuity plan.

The annuity rates are guaranteed atthe inception of the policy and annuitiesare payable post deferment periodthroughout the lifetime of theAnnuitant(s). This plan can be pur-chased offline as well as online now. Thefollowing two annuity options are avail-able under the plan:

Option 1: Deferred annuity forSingle life

After the Deferment Period, theannuity payments, as per the chosenmode, shall be made in arrears for as longas the Annuitant is alive. In case of anunfortunate/untimely death, during orafter Deferment period, death benefitwill be payable to nominee of the annu-itant.

Option 2: Deferred annuity forJoint life

After the Deferment Period, theannuity payments, as per the chosenmode, shall be made in arrears for as longas the Primary Annuitant and/orSecondary Annuitant is alive. On deathof the last survivor, during or after defer-ment period, the death benefit will bepayable to the nominee.

The joint life annuity can be takenbetween any two lineal

descendant/ascendant of a family(Grandparent, Parent, Children,Grandchildren) or spouse or siblings.

The Minimum Purchase Price is�1,50,000 (subject to minimum annuitycriterion). The modes of annuity avail-able are yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, andmonthly. The minimum annuity is�12,000 per annum. There is no ceilingon Maximum Purchase Price. An incen-tive for the purchase price of �5 lakh andabove is available by way of increase inthe annuity rate.

The plan is available for thosebetween 30 to 79 years of age. TheMinimum Deferment Period is one yearand Maximum Deferment Period 12years subject to Maximum Vesting Age(80 years).

The plan can also be purchased forthe benefit of Divyangjan (HandicappedDependant) with a minimum purchaseprice of �50,000.

Loan facility is also available underthis plan. There is a provision forimmediate liquidity in case of direneed as the policy can be surrenderedat any time during the policy term. Forfurther details to purchase the planonline, one can log on to the websitewww.licindia.in.

LIC’s earlier Jeevan Shanti plans havebeen Flagship products of LIC wherein6,11,695 policies have been sold with apremium collection of �38,940.97 crore.

All roads in the metropolis willbe free from the pit by October

31. The construction departmentof Ghaziabad MunicipalCorporation has been mobilised inthis regard. This information wasgiven by Municipal CityCommissioner Mahendra SinghTanwar.

He said that the governmenthas directed us to free all roads byDiwali but the MunicipalCorporation will complete thistarget before Diwali. He told thatthe tenders have also been issuedby the corporation to free the land.Apart f rom this , RoshanGhaziabad campaign has also beenstarted under Mission Nari Shakti

to fix all the lights of the metrop-olis.

Under this campaign, lightswill be fixed immediately and newlights will be installed in areaswhere there are no lights. The citycommissioner informed that theresponsibility of the lightingdepartment of the corporationhas been fixed to speed up thecampaign.

Apart from this, the help ofRWA working in various coloniesis also being sought. He told thatmost of the RWAs have their ownelectricians and the corporationwill take help from them to fix thelights. The corporation will alsopay the RWA electrician in return.

Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS), the national stan-

dards body, celebrated theWorld Standards Day onOctober 14.

The day is celebrated to paytributes to the collaborativeefforts of thousands of expertsworldwide for developingnational and international stan-dards. Themes for celebrationsfor each year are decided by theinternational standardisationbodies namely the ISO, IEC andthe ITU. This year’s theme was,Protecting the planet with stan-dards, for which BIS organiseda number of programmesthroughout India.

The main programme washeld at the headquarters, inau-gurated by Leena Nandan,Secretary, Ministry ofConsumer Affairs. In her inau-gural address, Nandan appre-ciated the efforts of BIS in for-mulation of standards relevantto the businesses. Nandan pre-sented the Solid Waste

Management Quality awards tothe representatives of ResidentWelfare Associations of Noida.While presenting the awards,she complimented BIS forengaging with the communityand taking the benefits of itsvarious activities to the masses.She also felicitated the twoIndian experts who were award-ed the IEC 1906 awards for theirtechnical contribution for fur-thering standardisation in the

field of electrotechnology. Nidhi Khare, Additional

Secretary presented the keynoteaddress and emphasised theneed for adopting a sustainableliving instead of exploiting thelimited resources which couldbe detrimental to the planet.She stressed on making suchstandards which promote envi-ronmental friendliness.

In his welcome address,Pramod Kumar Tiwari,

Director General, BIS high-lighted the recent initiativestaken by the body for strength-ening the standardisationprocess and the importance ofstandards in national economy.He informed that governmentdepartments and industry asso-ciations have created standard-isation cells which would great-ly enhance their effective partic-ipation in making the standardsrelevant to the present day andfuturistic needs. He also pre-sented the online portal devel-oped by BIS for the StandardsDeveloping Organisations(SDOs) which would serve asa collaborating platform forSDOs to formulate standardsand achieve the vision of “OneNation, One Standard”.

During his vote of thanks,NK Kansara, Dy DirectorGeneral (Policy, Research &Training) informed about theprogrammes being held onthe occasion. They includedworkshops with consumer

groups, state governmentdepartments and manufactur-ers, competitions at schoolsand colleges and seminars onthe topics relevant to thetheme.

The inaugural session wasfollowed by two technical ses-sions wherein presentationwere made by experts andeminent personalities namely,Dr SSV Ramakumar, DirectorR&D, IOCL, Vimal Mahendru,Chairman, IEC SystemsCommittee & IECAmbassador, J Roy Chaudhary,Dy Director General, BIS andDr Debajit Palit, TERI.

Second technical session,held in collaboration withIEEE was conducted in hybridi.e., physical & VC mode dur-ing which presentations weremade by experts drawn fromthe fields of greenhouse gases,IT & electronics. During thesession, the two Indianawardees of ISO poster com-petition were also felicitated.

The International Chefs Day 2020was organised and celebrated by

the SRM Institute of HotelManagement (SRM IHM),Kattankulathur. The theme for thisyear’s event is ‘Healthy food for thefuture’ with a special focus on ruralwomen’s empowerment.

“Food is the essence of healthyliving,” said Chief Guest and Chef DrDamodharan, President of SICA, aGuinness World Record holder.

The event was held at the StateInstitute of Rural Development,Tamil Nadu, Maraimalai Nagar. DrT Anuradha MBBS, DistrictDesignated Officer Food SafetyDepartment, Kanchipuram andChengalpattu districts, and ChefBala, consultant chef and food his-torian, Tamil Nadu & Kerala, BrandAmbassador of EatwithIndia werethe guests of honour.

The event was held with all safe-ty protocols and social distancingmeasures in place. Director of SRMIHM, Dr Antony Ashok Kumarwelcomed the gathering. Apart fromInternational Chefs Day, the institutealso celebrated World Food Day2020 and World Tourism Day 2020.

The event was held as a training,demonstration and a speech onheritage and food adulteration forthe empowerment of self-help groupand Rotary Inner Wheel ladies.

Chef Damodharan stressed onthe importance of chefs beinghealthy themselves in the first place.“There is nothing like eating foodcooked by a mother because it is atradition and also a medicine forhealth. There are several ingredientsthat we use in our kitchen that helpus improve our health and well-being,” he said. He also demonstrat-ed how to cook a healthy meal in the

comfort of our homes. “Eat well,exercise properly and enjoy life,” headded.

Dr Anuradha said that even ifthere are a variety of options in themarket because there we get all sortsof products, “we should be able todifferentiate between pure and adul-terated food. But people are increas-ingly moving towards unhealthyfood habits which lead to anunhealthy lifestyle. Eating properfood in the right quantity is essen-tial for a good and healthy life. Ourhealth is in our hands.” She alsodemonstrated on how to find adul-teration in the product/groceriesthat we buy.

Bala further stressed on theimportance of using food as medi-cine. She said that she has been firmbeliever of this and been followingit herself. She explained how parentscan provide tasty food for children

at home without adding artificialcolour or flavouring agent.

“Change has to begin at homeand we can provide a balanced, tastyand healthy diet without using anyartificial colouring or flavouringagents,” said Bala, who also demon-strated making a nutritious andbalanced meal using our own puls-es.

SRM Institute of Science andTechnology Vice Chancellor DrSandeep Sancheti in his address,focussed on the importance of eat-ing healthy food and how it hascome into practice in the last sixmonths. “The COVID-19 pandem-ic has given us an opportunity to goback to our traditional food, whichis known for its several health fac-tors. Hence, food and hotel manage-ment can never be done online. Ouraim must be to remove malnutritionthrough sustainable food,” he said.

Western Railway’s parcelspecial trains are travers-

ing across the country to keepthe supply of essential com-modities moving, even duringthe difficult time of the COVIDpandemic. Inspite of varioushurdles and labour constraintsduring the time of lockdown,Western Railway has crossedthe figure of 600 parcel specialtrains by running total 616 suchtrains during the lockdown.

The revenue generated is�51.51 crore. In continuation tothis, on Tuesday, three parcelspecial trains, including a milkrake left from various stationsof WR. These included twoparcel specials viz Bandra ter-minus to Jammu Tawi andPorbandar to Shalimar. A milkspecial rake also left fromPalanpur to Hind Terminal.

From March 23 to Oct 19,2020, commodities weighingabove 1.53 lakh tonnes havebeen transported by WRthrough its parcel special trains,

which mainly included agricul-tural produce, medicines, fish,milk etc. During this period,106 milk special trains wererun, with a load of more than80,700 tonnes and 100 percent utilisation of the wagons.Similarly, 458 COVID specialparcel trains with a load ofalmost 49,000 tonnes were alsorun to transport various essen-tial commodities. In addition tothis, 52 indented rakes carry-ing more than 23,000 tonneswere also run.

Loss of passenger revenuedue to lockdown

The loss of revenue onaccount of Coronavirus hasbeen approx �3000 crore. Inspiteof this, resulting to cancellationof tickets since March 1 October19, 2020 WR has ensured toreturn refund amount of about�454 crore. Till now, 70.61 lakhpassengers have cancelled theirtickets and have received theirrefund amount accordingly.

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Marcus Rashford once againsank Paris Saint-Germain

after netting the decisive goal ina 2-1 Champions League win inthe French capital on Tuesday,while Barcelona sent a messagewith a thumping 5-1 victory overFerencvaros.

Rashford, who scored thewinning spot-kick when Unitedknocked PSG out in 2019,drilled home a low shot threeminutes from the end whichwon a thrilling Group H contestat a near-empty Parc des Princes.

United had taken the lead inthe 23rd minute when BrunoFernandes slotted home fromthe spot at the second attempt,but Anthony Martial inexplica-bly headed Neymar’s cornerinto his own net 10 minutes afterthe break.

The rest of the match was anend-to-end affair with bothsides opting to go for the winrather than hold on for the draw,and Rashford took the pointsafter twice being denied byKeylor Navas earlier in thematch.

The win sets United upnicely for next week’s homeclash with RB Leipzig, who are

top of the group after beatingIstanbul Basaksehir 2-0 inGermany.

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Ronald Koeman got his firstChampions League campaign asBarcelona coach off to a winningstart with a confident win overFerencvaros that gives themcontrol of Group G, top but levelon three points with Juventus.

Ferencvaros, the firstHungarian team to make thegroup stage in 11 years, startedbrightly and even had the ball inthe net via Tokmac Nguen onlyfor the powerful 12th-minutestrike to be ruled out for offside.

Messi won and convertedthe penalty to give the Catalansa 27th-minute lead and thematch was as good as donewhen Ansu Fati clipped homeFrenkie de Jong’s sumptuouspass just before the break.

Philippe Coutinho lashed

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Royal ChallengersBangalore cruised to afacile eight-wicket win

over Kolkata Knight Riders onWednesday at the SheikhZayed Stadium. MohammedSiraj led the way with figures of2/8 as RCB strangled KKR to84/8 in their 20 overs. Theychased down the target with awhopping 39 balls to spare.

The win takes RCB levelon points with the top-placedDelhi Capitals at 14, from 10matches. They remain secondonly on the basis of their infe-rior net run rate.

RCB openers Aaron Finchand Devdutt Padikkal startedthe farcical chase with an open-ing stand of 46 runs. Theyplayed through the powerplaybefore Finch fell to LockieFerguson. Padikkal thendeparted after a mix-up withnew batsman Gurkeerat MannSingh landed both batsmen atthe same end of the pitch.

Captain Virat Kohli thentook his place with Gurkeerat

and saw the team home with anunbeaten stand of 40 runs.

Earlier, pacer MohammedSiraj and Yuzvendra Chahalwreaked havoc in a stunningdisplay of swing and spin bowl-

ing as KKR could just managea paltry 84 for eight.

Siraj (4-2-8-3) ran throughthe KKR top order to trigger astunning batting collapse andbecame the first bowler in the

history of IPL to bowl twomaiden overs while Chahal(2/15) stymied their revivalhopes.

It is KKR’s second-lowesttotal after their 67 all-outagainst Mumbai Indians in2008.

Playing without Windiesstar players Sunil Narine andAndre Russell, KKR struggledto get going after electing to batand it was all over for themafter skipper Eoin Morgan wasdismissed by WashingtonSundar for 30.

It was a masterstroke fromskipper Virat Kohli to includeSiraj in place of spinnerShahbaz Ahmed keeping inmind a fresh strip.

Siraj began with a doublewicket maiden over in whichhe dismissed opener RahulTripahi (1) and Nitish Rana (0)off successive deliveries.

He followed it up withanother wicket-maiden over,getting rid of Tom Banton(10) in the process. His figuresread an astonishing 2-1-0-3 atthat time.

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The inexperienced youngguns of both Rajasthan

Royals and SunrisersHyderabad would like to puttheir hands up in testing times whenboth teams square off in a must-wingame on Thursday.

Whether it is Priyam Garg, AbdulSamad of Sunrisers or Kartik Tyagi,Riyan Parag of the Royals, the young-sters from both sides will be feeling thepressure of doing something out of thebox in case their illustrious seniors failin that pursuit.

The Sunrisers are currently totter-ing at the second last place in the eight-team table with just six points from ninegame while Royals are a notch aheadwith eight points after their comprehen-sive win over CSK in the previous game.

SRH can’t afford to slip up even onebit since another loss would rule themout of the Play-offs race. The Royalswould hope to continue with the win-ning momentum and hope that theirforeign recruits continue to perform likethey did against CSK.

They got their campaign back ontrack after two heavy defeats and wouldalso have the edge over SRH,which lost to KKR in the SuperOver in their previous game.

Losing Super Over contestsoften push teams back as KXIPfound out after their openingloss to Delhi Capitals. Onemore loss would make itextremely difficult forthe Royals to stay alive.

While JofraArcher continues tobe the backbone ofRoyals’ bowlingattack, the wrist-spinning duo ofShreyas Gopal and RahulTewatia were terrific in themiddle overs against CSKand skipper Smith wouldbe hoping for an encorefrom his bowlers onThursday.

In batting, Jos Buttlerlooked in ominous formagainst CSK, forcing Smith toplay the second fiddle but RRwould need more consistentpartnerships upfront.

“I have been doing ok, not quitescored as many runs as I would’ve likedto and help the team win matches,”Buttler said on the eve of the match.

The opener is happy that Royals asa team has found some momentumgoing their way.

“We have started to play better inthe last few matches. We probablyshould have won the last three but haveonly managed to win one of those, sowe now have four matches remaining,all of which are must-win for us. We willneed to win all our games to give us achance of making the playoffs,” Buttlersaid, while admitting there is a gapbetween top and bottom four.

“There’s obviously a bit of a gapbetween the top 4 and us and we knowthe equation for us, so we move on tothe next game with a hope to do well andhopefully win against the Sunrisers.”

All-rounder Ben Stokes is yet to fireand Robin Uthappa had been theirweakest link so far, which might promptSmith to give a go to someone likePunjab dasher Manan Vohra.

The other aspect that hurt them isSanju Samson’s form which like everyother year has gone from good to badand now worse.

SRH, on the other hand, wouldstill be smarting from the

Super Over loss to KKR.David Warner and Co

would definitely be hurt bythat loss but they need tocome out of that shockquickly and re-strategise ifthey want to keep them-selves afloat in the T20event. The team heavi-ly relies on its battingunit, mainly on the topfour comprising JonnyBairstow, Warner,Manish Pandey andKane Williamson.

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It’s a wake up call, said Delhi Capitalsskipper Shreyas Iyer as he urged his

team’s batsmen, with the exception ofan in-form Shikhar Dhawan, to take“more responsibility” following asurprise IPL loss to Kings XI Punjab.

“This is like a wake-up call for us.Going forward we are going to facetough situations and tougher teams.We have played amazing cricket in thepast but we have to leave that in thepast,” Iyer said at the post-match con-ference.

“We have to come out all gunsblazing, play with freedom and takemore responsibility. We need onematch to qualify and keeping that inmind, we will take one match at atime,” he added.

Against KXIP, Dhawan alonescored 106 while the quintet compris-ing Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Marcus Stoinis,Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyercontributed 54 runs collectively.

“I am really happy for ShikharDhawan for the way he is going. Heis creating an amazing platform for usas batsmen. We should be knowingour roles pretty well,” the DC skippersaid.

However, he feels that his bats-men are in a good frame of mind andthe defeat was a one off setback.

“Other than that, I feel all thebatsmen are in really good frame ofmind and few matches can go wronghere and there as fatigue creeps in.Keeping that aside we need to focuson our strengths,” he said.

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The ever-reliable MohammedShami has bowled with a lot

more “clarity of mind” in the ongo-ing IPL, which has helped himdeliver near-perfect performancesthis season, feels Kings XI Punjabskipper KL Rahul.

Shami, a world-class Testbowler, has been in his elements,taking 16 wickets for KXIP in 10matches so far and played a big rolein the last three games that the teamhas won.

“Look we all know that whatShami can do on a given day. Hehas been doing that for manyyears now. I think this year, thereis a lot more clarity and he has puthis hand up as a senior bowler,”Rahul said on Tuesday after KXIPbeat Delhi Capitals by five wicketsto keep their campaign for Play-offson track.

The KXIP skipper believes

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Sydney and Canberra areemerging as potential venues

to host India’s limited-over seriesagainst Australia during theupcoming tour starting nextmonth.

The Indian team was initial-ly supposed to land in Brisbanebut apparently Queensland statehealth authorities won’t allow thevisitors to train during themandatory 14-day quarantineperiod.

According to a report inESPNCricinfo, Sydney couldemerge as Indian contingent’sport of entry and the city mayallow them to train during theirquarantine.

It is learnt that the SCGcould be hosting four of the sixwhite ball games (three T20Isand three ODIs) while

Canberra’s Manuka Oval host-ing two games.

New South Wales state’ssports minister Stuart Ayresconfirmed that they havereceived a request from CricketAustralia to allow the Indian aswell as the Australian team toundergo its mandatory quaran-tine as well as training.

“Cricket Australia hasapproached the New SouthWales Government about quar-antining the Indian cricket teamand returning Australian crick-eters in Sydney,” Ayres wasquoted as saying by the cricketwebsite.

“That proposal is currentlybeing assessed by NSW author-ities including health and police.Fixtures for the Indian tour willbe determined by CricketAustralia and won't impact ourassessment of the quarantineproposal.”

If CA and the NSW stateGovernment are able to reach anagreement, a revised plan wouldthen be submitted by CricketAustralia to the BCCI forapproval.

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Experiencing one of theirfinest IPL seasons, Royals

Challengers Bangalore’s bat-ting maestro AB de Villierssays his team wants to top thepoints table on its way tothe play-offs of the ongo-ing edition.

After their gameagainst KolkataKnight Riders, theRCB were placedat the secondspot on thepoints table with14 points from tenmatches.

Going into theirlast four group

matches, the RCB recordedseven wins and three defeats.

“There is definitely a men-tal edge that a team takes infinishing at the top, havingbeen the most consistent teamover 14 matches against thebest teams in the IPL.

“So, we will definitelybe focusing on that. We

know that we will have totake it one hurdle at a time

though,” the SouthAfrican said in a videomessage uploaded byhis franchise on its

Twitter handle.The supremely

gifted cricketer hasplayed some fineknocks for RCB this

seasons, a couple of them sin-gle-handedly helping the teamto victory.

“... With it, we can alsosend a message to the otherteams that we are here to fin-ish at the top of the table andto not just qualify for the play-offs. I really think we have theability to do that,” the star bats-man said.

De Villiers has been inominous form and single-handedly won RCB the gameagainst Rajasthan Royals withan unbeaten 55 from 22 ballsin their 178-run chase lastSaturday. He had also smasheda 33-ball 73 in the first-leggame against Kolkata nightRiders.

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that when seniors perform,juniors take inspiration andthat’s what is happeningthanks to Shami’s efforts.

“It is important thatinternationals across teamsput their hands up. Thatmakes the team lot betterand youngsters can feed offthat,” he said.

“You start winning a lotof games and it’s great to seeShami doing really well andtouchwood the ball is com-ing out of his hand as per-fectly as ever. Hopefully hecan get more wickets for theteam and keep bowling theway he is bowling,” Rahuladded.

Glenn Maxwell alsoraised hopes of being back toform with a 24-ball 32,something that augurs wellfor the team, feels the skip-per.

“Well, it’s important forthe team and individual aswell...It’s important that theteam backs its match-win-ners. We know whatMaxwell can do. When hecomes good, he gives a lot ofsolidity to the team. He bal-ances it out and is a greatteam-man,” Rahul said.

KXIP has now beaten alltop three teams — RoyalChallengers Bangalore,Mumbai Indians and DelhiCapitals — in their last threegames.

“It feels really good. Weare at that stage of the tour-nament where we need tobeat every team that weface. It’s important that wetake one game at a time andif we keep trusting our-selves, it doesn’t matter whoyou are playing against,”said Rahul.

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home the third before Ihor Kharatinpulled one back from the penaltyspot after Gerard Pique was sent off

for pulling back Nguen as hecharged towards goal.

Pedri and OusmaneDembele finished the scoringfor the 10-man hosts as they

prepare for the weekend’s Clasicowith Real Madrid.

Juventus looked comfortable intheir 2-0 win at Dynamo Kiev inwhat was the Andrea Pirlo’s first everChampions League match in thedugout, with Alvaro Morata scor-ing twice to take the points for theItalians.

��It was a good night for Italy as

Ciro Immobile got revenge on hisold club Dortmund by scoring inLazio’s 3-1 win over the Bundesligaclub in Rome, their first ChampionsLeague match in 13 years.

Immobile managed just threegoals in 24 Bundesliga games forDortmund in 2014/15, but last sea-

son’s European Golden Shoe win-ner outshone Dortmund’s star for-ward Erling Braut Haaland by net-ting the opening goal for the hostsafter just six minutes.

Lazio went two ahead midwaythrough the first half thanks toMarwin Hitz deflected LuisAlberto’s whipped corner into hisown goal.

Haaland pulled one back witha thumping finish but Immobile laidon an easy finish for Akpa-Akproto hand Lazio a big win.

Simone Inzaghi’s men are levelon three points with Club Bruggein Group F following their dramat-ic 2-1 win at Zenit Saint Petersburgearned thanks to Charles DeKetelaere 93rd minute winner.

Chelsea are still waiting for a£220 million spending spree to payoff they began their campaign withan uninspiring 0-0 Group E drawwith Sevilla at Stamford Bridge.

All four sides in the group areon a single point after Rennes drew1-1 with Krasnodar.

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