Several districts inundated after incessant downpour - Millennium Post

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PUBLISHED FROM DELHI & KOLKATA VOL. 3, ISSUE 201 | Tuesday, 25 July 2017 | Kolkata | Pages 16 | Rs 3.00

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OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Several rivers in various districts of Bengal are flowing above the danger level leading to heavy inun-dation in some parts of the state due to a cyclonic circulation for the past three days.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said the situation in some districts is grim but not out of control due to excessive rain over the past 72 hours. Many parts are submerged due to heavy rain but it is not yet a flood-like situation, she said at Nabanna.

“There is no flood-like situation. Some parts of Labhpur in Birbhum, Arambagh in Hooghly, Ghatal in West Midnapore are submerged. I did a

monitoring meeting today (Monday). We are carefully observing the devel-opments and relief to affected areas has been sent including tents and blan-kets,” Banerjee added.

“They have released water and it has led to this situation,” the Chief Minister said without naming any organisation at the Kolkata airport before leaving for Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Pres-ident. There is water in certain low lying areas of Purulia, West Mid-napore, Hooghly and Birbhum dis-tricts, Banerjee added.

State Irrigation minister Rajib Banerjee held a meeting with the Dis-trict Magistrates of the concerning districts through a video conference

and issued necessary instructions. The minister also asked the senior engi-neers to take adequate steps to com-bat the situation. It has been learnt that the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has released 18,000 cusecs on Monday while Galodi has released 61,000 cusecs leading to this crisis-like situation.

“We have written letters to the DVC and Galodi urging them to restrict the release of water,” Rajib Banerjee said.

It may be mentioned that the state Irrigation department has been carry-ing out various projects to construct the embankments of the rivers in var-ious low lying areas of the districts.

The Regional Meteorological Office in Alipore has, however, pre-

dicted that heavy monsoon rains will continue in the city and other South Bengal districts till Tuesday afternoon following which the situation might improve.

It may be mentioned that around 17 villages in Birbhum are submerged. The condition is improving gradu-ally as the water level in Mayurakshi receded by a small margin. The traf-fic movement on National Highway 60 became normal on Monday after remaining suspended for a few hours.

Around 20 villages in West Mid-napore went under water after the embankments of the Silabati river were breached. Other areas like Chan-drakona and Keshpur also remained submerged.

Several districts inundated after incessant downpour

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MAMATA SAYS SITUATION UNDER CONTROL

MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: The apex consumer com-mission has asked a real estate firm to refund over Rs 49 lakh to a home buyer for a delay in handing over possession of a property saying a buyer cannot be expected to wait indefinitely.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has asked Unitech Ltd to refund Rs 49,96,220 along with a cost of Rs 10,000 to south Delhi resident Sarwan Kumar after not-ing that the firm is not in a position to offer the possession.

The commission also held the firm guilty of deficient service and unfair trade practice as even after receiving more than 100 per cent of the consideration amount, the firm failed to deliver possession.

“It cannot be disputed that the oppo-site party (firm) has failed to deliver pos-session of the apartment even eight years

after the expiry of stipulated date.“Thus, in our view, this is a case of

the opposite party not being in a posi-tion to offer possession of the apartment as the allottee cannot be expected to wait

for possession of the apartment for an indefinite period,” a bench headed by the commission’s presiding member Ajit Bharihoke said.

According to the complaint filed by

Kumar, he had booked an apartment on the 15th floor of a group housing devel-opment project Unitech Horizon at Alis-tonia Estate in Greater Noida for which he had paid Rs 49,96,220.

The complaint alleged that the firm failed to adhere to the timeline for deliv-ery and could not give the possession even after eight years of the stipulated date.

While holding the firm guilty, the commission said,

“In absence of any explanation for the failure to comply with the stipulation of handing over possession, we have no hesitation in concluding that the oppo-site party has committed deficiency in service as also has indulged in unfair trade practice.”

The firm, however, failed to file the reply and the commission considered the allegations against it as correct.

Apex consumer panel asks Unitech to refund nearly `50L to Delhi home buyer

REALTOR PULLED UP FOR DELAYED POSSESSION

SPEAKER REBUKES MPs FOR ‘GRAVE DISORDER’

Six Congress MPs suspended from Lok Sabha for five days

MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: Six Congress members were on Monday sus-pended from the Lok Sabha for five days by Speaker Sumi-tra Mahajan for causing “grave disorder” by storming the Well, tearing papers and throwing them towards the Chair during their protests over the lynch-ing issue.

Ordering their suspension amid noisy protests by Congress members and counter-slogans of “shame, shame” from the BJP benches, the Speaker said the conduct of Gaurav Gogoi, K Suresh, Adhir Rajan Chowd-hury, Ranjeet Ranjan, Sushmita Dev and M K Raghavan was “highly unbecoming” and had undermined the Chair’s dignity.

Members of the Congress and some other opposition par-ties were in the Well raising slo-gans against the government and protesting lynching inci-dents in the name of cow pro-tection almost since the House assembled in the morning and took up the Question Hour.

However, after some time, only the Congress members remained in the Well and the ruckus continued during the

Zero Hour in the afternoon, forcing an adjournment till 2.00 pm.

She pronounced her order as soon as the House reassembled at 2.00 pm and again adjourned it till 2.30 PM due to the noisy protests by Congress members that followed. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was present in the House at that time.

When the House again met at 2.30 pm, Congress members were joined by the Left in pro-testing the suspension, prompt-ing Deputy Speaker M Thambi Durai to adjourn the House for the day.

Earlier, Mahajan said she was constrained to name these members due to their behav-iour which was in “abuse” of the rules.

Govt to go ahead with electoral bonds even without consensusMPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: The government on Mon-day said it will go ahead with electoral bonds even if con-sensus eludes on the issue as political par-ties have not come up yet with any sugges-tion on the proposal.

The system of cash donation has to change and people despite knowing the “truth” are “reluctant” to offer their sug-gestions on the electoral bonds, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

“Therefore, if suggestions don’t come and consensus eludes us, then the govern-ment of the day can’t run away from its responsibility. It will have to announce its decision which will then become the law of the land,” he said in his address at the Income Tax Day event here.

In a major move aimed at promot-ing transparency in political funding,

Jaitley had in this year’s Budget speech announced capping of anonymous cash donations to political parties at Rs 2,000 and introduced the concept of electoral bonds.

“I think in the changing India today, there is going to be a

large section of opinion which is going to support this,” he said.

Jaitley has already asked political par-ties to offer a better suggestion on the pro-posed electoral bond mechanism, but he had not received any suggestion till last week.

He had said that for last 70 years India’s democracy has been funded by invisible money and elected representatives, gov-ernments, political parties, Parliament and even the Election Commission have com-pletely failed in checking it and the elec-toral bonds would help to deal with it.

NIA arrests 7, including Geelani’s son-in-law

MPOST BUREAU

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: Seven people including Altaf Ahmed Shah, the son-in-law of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, were arrested on Monday by the NIA in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activ-ities in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, was in the custody of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, who had put him in preventive detention immediately after the festival of Eid earlier this month.

Besides him, Geelani’s close aides Tehreek-e-Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar and Peer Saifullah were arrested by the National Investiga-tion Agency (NIA) from the Valley, officials engaged in the operation said.

The NIA also arrested Shahid-ul-Islam, spokesman of the moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, they said.

The others arrested are Mehra-juddin Kalwal and Nayeem Khan (of the Hurriyat’s Geelani faction) and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias ‘Bitta Karate’, they said.

The houses of those arrested had been raided by NIA sleuths last month.

Shah is perceived as an influential force in the Tehrek- e-Hurriyat.

Hafeez Saeed, the Pakistan-based

chief of the Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.

The raids were part of the NIA’s efforts at clamping down on separat-ist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the Valley.

The NIA had recovered account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and let-terheads of banned terror groups, including of the LeT and HM, from the raids.

The NIA investigation also seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who masterminded the throwing of stones at security forces, burnt down schools and dam-aged government establishments.

We must free our public discourse from all forms of violence, physical as well as verbal

PRANAB MUKHERJEE

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Two suspected Maoists were detained on Monday morning from near the residence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Kalighat.

Sundari Singh Sardar and Sujata Singura claimed that they had come to surrender themselves as they wanted to return to mainstream. Despite their claims, suspicion was raised as firearms were recovered from them.

On Monday morning, security personnel outside the residence of the Chief Minister found a man and a woman loitering suspiciously. They kept a watch on their movement and at the same time informed the Kalighat police station as the CM’s residence comes under its jurisdiction.

Cops visited the spot and then took them to the police station. Both of them claimed to be residents of Baghmundi in Purulia.

Senior officers from Kalighat police station con-tacted the city police’s Special Task Force (STF). Offi-cers from STF went to Kalighat police station and interrogated the duo.

Sources said they claimed to be involved in Mao-ist activities for the past several years. The police are, however, verifying their claims. After listening to them, the police feel that their main task was to pass on important information to their counterparts in Purulia.

A police officer said they could have contacted the local police or senior cops in the district if they were so keen to surrender. “It has to be verified properly as to why they were loitering near the CM’s residence and they thought it was the best place to surrender,” said a senior police officer.

It may be mentioned that the Maoists have lost their foothold in Bengal following the death of Kish-enji and overall development by the Mamata Baner-jee government in Jangalmahal areas. More than 300 Maoists including many top leaders had surrendered to return to the mainstream.

Two suspected Maoists held near Mamata’s home

PROBE INTO KASHMIR TERROR FUNDING

SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Baner-jee will attend the oath-taking cere-mony of the Pres-ident-elect Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday at the Central Hall of Parliament.

Banerjee flew down to the national capi-tal on Monday evening and her presence assumes political significance as she has hit out at the Centre on numerous occasions, especially on GST and the recent instances of cow vigilantism.

Her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) also backed the Opposition Presidential nominee Meira Kumar. Banerjee was prompt enough to congratulate Kovind after the result came out on July, 20.

The former Parliamentarian is also likely to meet other senior opposition party leaders and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the ongoing Darjeeling unrest during her three-day visit to New Delhi. The Bengal chief minister is expected to fly back to Kolkata on Thursday.

Apart from Banerjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will also attend the ceremony.

Mamata arrives in Delhi, to attend

Kovind oath-taking

ARTISTES PLAY A ROLE TO MAINTAIN COMMUNAL PEACE & HARMONY: CM PG3

‘FILM INDUSTRY HAS TAUGHT MELOT OF PATIENCE’ PG16

ARYABHATTA BRAIN U R RAO PASSES AWAY PG7

MITHALI NAMED CAPTAIN OF ICC WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TEAM PG14

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26 dead, 57 injured in Lahore

suicide blastLAHORE: At least 26 peo-ple, including policemen, were killed and 57 others injured on Monday when a suspected suicide bomber targeted police personnel deployed near residence-cum-office of Pakistan's Punjab province Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore.

"Police and Lahore Development Authority offi-cials were busy in removing encroachments outside the Arfa Karim Tower, located near the CM's Model Town residence when a powerful blast took place," a senior official said.

Lahore police chief Capt (R) Amin Wains confirmed that it was a suicide blast and the "target was police". Detailed report on P10

OUR CORRESPONDENT

GHAZIABAD: Noida businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his servant Surinder Koli were sentenced to death by a special CBI court here today in the Nithari serial killings case for murdering 20-year-old domestic help Pinki Sarkar in 2006.

Special judge Pawan Kumar Tiwari, who had convicted the duo on Saturday,

handed down the sentence after which Pandher, who was out on bail, was taken into judicial custody. Special senior pub-lic prosecutor Jai Prakash Sharma said the court termed it as a rarest of the rare cases after being satisfied that there was no scope left for their reform or rehabilitation.

The judge found both of them guilty of kidnapping, raping, murder and having hatched a criminal conspiracy.

The case related to the disappearance of Sarkar on October 5, 2006, when she was returning home from work along the road outside the D-5 residence of Pand-her in NOIDA.

The CBI had said that Koli allegedly abducted her, raped her and later killed her. After the murder, he beheaded the vic-tim and threw her head and garments in a drain behind Pandher’s house, it had said.

Nithari killings: Pandher, Koli get death penalty

Syed Ali Shah Geelani

CITY

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT ULTADANGA 4

NATION

RJD LEADERS LASH OUT AT NITISH 6

EDIT

DISTRESSED SMALL FARMERS 8

INTERNATIONAL

KABUL CAR BOMB ATTACK KILLS 35 10

BUSINESS

JULY-SEPT BIZ CONFIDENCE SLIDES 12

SPORT

PRANNOY BEATS KASHYAP 15

MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017mp town2

DAYINDAYOUT What's on Around Town

JOURNEY TO PORTUGAL'My Journey to Portugal – Prelude' is a water colour on paper minia-ture paintings series by Goa based artist Deviprasad C Rao based on his trip to Portugal. The exhibition is a curtain raiser to proposed ex-hibition in Portugal with full body of canvas and water colour paint-ings, drawings, sketches, essays, alternative photographs which is planned to be unveiled in 2019. The paintings depicts few selected historical, central and northern Portugal cities he visited.WHEN: July 19 – 26 WHERE: Art Gallery, IIC Annexe TIMING: 11 am – 7 pmRAKSHA BANDHAN As the festive season dawns, The Ashok gets all decked up to cel-ebrate the season and take care of your special needs. The Cake Shop at The Ashok launches special handcrafted gift hampers for the beloved brothers and sisters. The connoisseur Hamper has nut rich fruit cake, nut/moulded chocolates, Brownies, cookies, yummy cheese straws and mouth watering Jujubes. For the sibling who are in love with dry cakes, a customised Dry Cake Gourmet with fruit and chocolate cakes is a must buy! WHEN: Till Au-gust 15 WHERE: The Ashoka Hotel

ISLAND WORLDSSpecially re-produced on silk fab-ric to create a new visual and aes-thetic experience, this exhibition is a story, in images, of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and a world of mystery and charm we know so little about. Island Worlds brings together Pankaj Sekhsaria's 20 years of work and photography in the Islands. The exhibition travels to Delhi after successful shows in 2016 in Pune, Chennai and Goa.WHEN: July 22 – August 1WHERE: Kamaldevi Complex, IICTIMING: 11 am – 7 pm

TIFFIN LUNCHRelive the unique aspect of India's culture and bring back the memo-ries from home as Singh Sahib Restaurant at Eros Hotel, Nehru Place presents home-made Tiffin Lunch lovingly prepared by their chefs. A complete nutritious and healthy meal features delicacies like Dhaba Meat Curry or paneer.WHEN: Ongoing WHERE: Singh Sahib, Eros Hotel TIMING: 12 pm – 2:45 pm

SHREYA DAS

Even though a great deal of effort is being done to sustain the rich Indian heritage and culture; much more remains to be done. And while Indian

handlooms are being celebrated and adopted the world over, the weavers in our country are in a pitiable state. The reasons are plenty – meagre income, middlemen cornering all prof-its and not enough takers in the market. With the next generation bidding adieu to weaving as a livelihood option – beautiful, hand woven sarees are going to be relics of the past.

Despite the fact that India has a long heri-tage of handloom weaving that is distinctly unique and largest in the world, it is only recently that the government started paying attention to the myriad hand-woven 'Made In India' fabrics. Several government and private entities are coming up with their own versions of hand-woven or handloom fabrics giving it a modern makeover to make it appealing to the present generation. Some are into manufac-turing and selling these fabrics to newer mar-ket while others adopt innovative strategies to promote the ethnicity and the many facets of culturally rich India.

One such platform – devised by DLF Place Saket – is 'Weaves of India.' The month-long festival, which will go on until August 15, will showcase traditional fabrics from across the nation.

As you enter the mall, in the western court of the mall, you will get to see a unique instal-lation, decorated by various accessories used

in fabric-making. Spools of thread, measuring tapes, a button tower, are all exaggerated to create an ethnic ambience. Turn towards the eastern court and you will find a quirky point with turbaned rural balloons and colourful thread designs.

Beautiful and creative installations will take you to the main place where weavers from several states have set up stalls to display their products – from lavish looking carpets and

rugs from Uttar Pradesh, camel leather bags from Rajasthan, Banarasi sarees weaved with zari and colourful resham, Assam silk scarves and sarees, to Punjabi suits and salwars – you will be left awe-struck with the authenticity and variety on offer. The plus point of this festival for many vendors is that they get a free space to sell their products.

A vendor at the Punjab stall, who has come from Dilli Haat to sell phulkari work, loves the

environment at the mall. He says, "I hope such festivals are held more often. The customers here don't bargain, which is very refreshing, and we are being provided with all the facili-ties to make things easier."

Talking about the sale of camel leather bags, a vendor from Rajasthan stall exclaimed, "This is my first time of displaying my products in a mall. We are getting customers who understand the craft and there is a great demand. Because the event is promoting handicrafts, it is exciting to see people to come and see the collection."

As the mall in Saket is trying to promote ethnic wear and the various fabrics of India – the premium brands in the clothing industry have also participated. While Ritu Kumar is offering three brands under one roof for its cus-tomers in DLF Saket, Anita Dongre – with the motive of promoting cottage industries – offers the best of Banaras silk, mal fabric, Khadi and hand-woven designer pieces. The good news is that these designer brands come at a price tag that is reasonable.

From installations, knowledge sharing zones to exhibition and sale kiosks, giveaways, souvenirs as well as regional entertainment, the mall promises myriad ways of reconnect-ing with our rich legacy and diversity through Indian weaves and ethnic wear.

With Teej and Raksha Bandhan falling in the month of July and August respectively, DLF mall of India will be adorned with stalls and installations, drawing inspiration from these festivals. And days before Independence Day, the mall will be organising several functions and stalls to keep the fervour alive.

Weaving MagicIn a first ever handloom exhibition,

DLF Place Saket is celebrating ethnic Indian fashion by bringing together the

heritage of all states under one roof

Although clothing and heels play a crucial role in adding a few inches to your height,

jewellery is just as important. If chosen correctly, it can make a short woman look taller and slimmer while the wrong choices can make you look even more petite, say experts.

Create an illusion that you're not the shortest girl in the room, even when you're wearing flats by choosing the right jewellery.4Choose long and narrow

danglers to create an illusion of an elongated neck. Long ear-rings will not only add those extra inches to your height but will also impart a generous dose of glamour to your looks.4Always add those state-

ment pieces that will impart a fairly 'longer' look to the entire ensemble. Just make sure you do not add a necklace, ring, ear-

rings, and bangles all at once. If you are wearing a neck piece, go lighter on the ears and so on.4Light-weight and delicate

looking pair of earrings in varied geometric shapes like triangles, squares and rectangle can offer a noticeable style statement to short people wherever they go.4Choosing a right ring is

also very important for women with petite frame. Opt for rings with slender, narrow-width bands to lengthen the appear-ance of your fingers. The cut of the gemstone should also be kept in mind. Oval, pear and marquise cut stones give an impression of elongated fingers.4Chokers are the hottest

trend of the season but one should not go with the flow, rather one should make a wise purchase decision. Since chok-

ers accentuate the strongest fea-tures, therefore girls with short height should avoid wearing heavy chokers and bib necklaces as they can compress their over-all look. Instead they can opt for a multi-layered necklace or a sleek long chain with bold pen-dants that suits them the best.4Bracelets or cuffs are one

of the most versatile ornaments and can be worn with differ-ent outfits to become a signa-ture piece for any occasion. Bold handcuffs can look dis-proportionate to your height; therefore girls with short height can adorn their wrist by opt-ing for sleek and stylish tennis bracelets. IANS

Look few inches taller with RIGHT JEWELLERY

So what if you are short? You can still rock any look. Just keep a check on your accessories

DRIVING CARS MAY be send-ing your brain into reverse, warn scientists – including one of Indian origin – who have found that reg-ularly spending over two hours a day behind the wheel reduces intelligence.

Researchers found that brain power fell faster in middle-aged people who drove long distances every day.

They suggest that people who want to protect their brains against the ravages of ageing should min-

imise their time on the road and find activities that are more men-tally stimulating, such as socialising.

"We know that regularly driving for more than two to three hours a day is bad for your heart," said Kis-han Bakrania, from the Leicester University in the UK.

"This research suggests it is bad for your brain, too, perhaps because your mind is less active in those hours," said Bakrania.

Researchers studied lifestyles of more than 500,000 Britons aged

37-73 over five years, during which they took intelligence and mem-ory tests.

"Cognitive decline is measurable over five years because it can happen fast in middle-aged and older peo-ple. This is associated with lifestyle factors such as smoking and bad diet – and now with time spent driving," Bakrania said.

Researchers found that the 93,000 people who drove for more than two to three hours a day typ-ically had lower brainpower, 'The Times' reported.

Over the following five years, their brainpower kept declining faster than for people who did little or no driving.

"Driving causes stress and fatigue, with studies showing the links between them and cognitive decline," Bakrania said. PTI

Driving for over 2 hours daily may lower your IQ OUR CORRESPONDENT

WITH SUMMERS in full swing, Delhi's music and dance lovers can expect it to reach its peak, as the Capital gets ready for 'Take the stage' – a live concert showcasing unmatched talent of dance, music and singing – led by Musical Dreams (an artistic development academy) on July 26 at Kamani Auditorium from 7:30 pm onwards. This year, there will be 18 perfor-mances in the form of solo, group, and couple, that include contemporary, jazz, Bollywood, hip-hop, kathak, and much more.

The music and dance extravaganza will commence with a shadow dance choreo-graphed by musical dreams followed by many more performances in the aforesaid genre.

Talking about the concert, Meeta Nagpal, organizer said, "Take the stage is a platform for all artists of all age groups and genres. We have created this stage for artists to showcase talent, creativity and teamwork. The dance and music festival has a combined vision of fulfill-ing the emotional and professional aspect of all artists. We create an environment of 'freedom of creation' where each artist designs and pres-ents their creativity under our guidance, giving them an emotional and artistic confidence. The performances result in generating professional work for the performing artistes as their work is exposed to varied live and virtual audience. 'Take the stage' has been a continuous endeav-our of Musical Dreams which has been instru-mental in creating the stars of tomorrow."

Musical Dreams works towards introduc-ing various forms of performing arts through regular classes and workshops to make students and people presentable as an artist for various platforms as well as to spread fun and happi-ness around.

'Take the stage' is in its sixth year and has been gaining popularity amongst the masses. The academy, through their vast array of per-formances by professional and budding artists attracts people from all age groups, thus, invit-ing a lot of appreciation.

Platform to showcase talent

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mp city 3MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

Portion of old building collapses

after rain, no injuries reported

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: A portion of an old building in Muraripukur in North Kolkata collapsed on Monday morning.

Officials of Kolkata Munic-ipal Corporation (KMC) went to the spot and the conser-vancy workers began remov-ing the rubbles. No one has been injured. The nearly cen-tury-old building has not been repaired for decades.

Senior KMC officials said that a portion of the build-ing collapsed as it had not been looked after prop-erly for decades and when it rained heavily, the affected portion could not bear it and collapsed.

Senior civic officials said old structures that had not been maintained for years were a major concern for the KMC and all the borough executive engineers had been asked to keep an eye on them.

There are over 2,000 structures where KMC had given notices asking their inmates to vacate after declar-ing them as condemned. But the inmates refuse to vacate them risking their lives. Most of these build-ings are situated in North and South Kolkata, namely in Boroughs I,II,II and IV, VII, VIII and IX.

It may be mentioned that KMC has set up a commit-tee under the joint municipal commissioner to identify old and dangerous buildings.

The KMC will give notices on the owners requesting them to carry out repair works within a stipu-lated time. If the owners fail to respond, KMC will hand them over to builders who will pull them down to make room for new ones after mak-ing proper rehabilitation of the owners and tenants.

The committee has started functioning from July 1.

Artistes play a role to maintain communal peace & harmony: CM

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Artistes are ambassadors for the growth of civilization and help to cement communal peace and harmony, Chief Minister Mamata Baner-jee said on Monday.

She was addressing a gath-ering to show respect to Uttam Kumar, Bengal’s greatest mati-nee idol at Nazrul Mancha on Monday afternoon. He died on July 24, 1980, over three and a half decades ago.

“Without artistes, life would have been as barren and dry as a desert. You make our lives happy and meaningful. Artistes take a civilization forward and play a major role in cement-ing communal peace and har-mony,” Banerjee said.

She said the state govern-ment will bring another one lakh folk artistes under the monthly stipend scheme tak-ing the total number to 1.82 lakh before the Pujas. The artistes get not only a stipend, the state government also orga-nises regular programmes for them to make them economi-cally stronger.

It may be recalled that after

the change of guard in 2011, the Information and Cultural Affairs department prepared a list of folk artistes and started giving a monthly stipend to them. They are also given instruments from time to time. This has helped many of them

who had joined some other vocation to pursue the tradi-tional art and music forms.

She said that the state gov-ernment will make a tele film city and a sum of Rs 135 crore has been allotted for the pur-pose. Tender to find a suitable

firm to assign the job has been floated. There will be an archive and a digital library containing films made by the great direc-tors like Satyajit Roy, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha along with works of present day directors. There will be a section on the

films acted by Uttam Kumar. It may be recalled that cop-

ies of many of the black and white films acted by the leg-endary actor in the 1950s and 1960s have been destroyed. It may be recalled that the indifference of the Left Front

to preserve Uttam Kumar’s films was mainly due to the former Chief Minister Bud-dhadeb Bhattcharjee’s indiffer-ence. In absence of Jyoti Basu, who was then touring abroad when the actor died on July 24, 1980, the state government did not place a floral wreath on the mortal remains of Uttam Kumar following Bhattacha-rjee’s instructions.

Banerjee said work to set up the film city is on. The state government will construct a nine-storeyed building above the cinema centenary hall. There will be an archive, a recording room and a library.

Vivek Kumar, principal sec-retary, Information and Cul-tural Affairs department sang a famous song from Rajkumari: “e ki holo ki je holo kano holo.”

Uttam Kumar had acted in the film along with Tanuja and the playback songs were sung by Kishore Kumar. Indranil Sen, Minister of State for Infor-mation and Cultural Affairs, Rupankar, Sriradha Bandyo-padhyay and Gautam Ghosh sang songs from popular films in which Uttam Kumar had acted.

Water accumulates in city streets after

rain but recedes fast

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Vast areas in the city were inundated following heavy to very heavy rain since Saturday evening.

However, water started receding from the streets since late afternoon when the inten-sity of rain dropped.

Traffic movements in the areas where most of the streets were under water was slow. Policemen were seen clearing traffic congestion braving the accumulated water.

As it rained heavily in the morning during the peak office hours in North and Central Kolkata, office and school-goers were greatly inconvenienced.

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who monitored the opera-tion to clear the accumulated water from city streets assured the people that the situation is fully under control and said: “KMC will not allow the resi-dents to face the situation like the great Mumbai deluge some years ago.” Chatterjee visited the Hooghly river bank to over-see the steps taken by KMC to combat waterlogging.

Chatterjee said as it had rained very heavily in some areas, roads had been waterlogged.

“The underground pipes have a stipulated capacity and if it rains more, there will be waterlogging but the duration of waterlogging will be less than previous years,” he said.

Because of the timely inter-vention of the KMC, water had receded in most of the areas.

However, there was waterlog-ging in some low lying areas and portable pumps had been deployed to clear the roads.

Traffic between Park Cir-cus and Eastern Metropolitan Bypass was affected because of waterlogging on both the flanks between Tiljala and Science city. There was waterlogging on Mahatma Gandhi Road, parts of College Street near Thantha-nia Kalibari, Raja Rammohan Sarani, Keshab Sen Street and stretches on Chittaranjan Ave-nue in North Kolkata. Govinda Khatik Road and Kulin Khatik Road and its adjoining areas in East Kolkata was waterlogged. Waterlogging also affected the adjoining areas of Ultadanga and Patipukur underpass.

The worst-hit places were the vast areas under wards 125 and 126 in Behala. There was knee-deep water in Silpara and its neighbourhood, Sar-suna, Sakuntala Park, Oxytown and Shibrampur. Stretches on James Long Sarani were under water too. There was water-logging in Taratala and its neighbourhood.

Sovan Chatterjee said work for a comprehensive plan worth Rs 300 crore to clear the accumulated water from Behala is on. He said all the pumps that clear accumu-lated water in the city are func-tioning. As the underground drains had been cleaned and strengthened, the water car-rying capacity of the under-ground pipes have gone up and that has resulted in clearing of accumulated water from the streets faster.

Now, audio messages in AC busesOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: In a bid to popularise the use of smart cards to pay fare in state-run buses, there will be a massive campaign through the newly-launched audio communica-tion system under “Surodhara” project in air-conditioned buses of the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC).

Suvendu Adhikari, the state Transport minister, launched the “Surodhara” proj-ect on Monday. Alapan Bandyopadhyay, Principal Secretary of the state Transport department, was also present in the event.

Under the project, there will announce-ments in air-conditioned buses alerting people about the next stop. At the same time, pleasant music maintaining the tra-dition of Bengal and facts about different projects of the state government includ-ing Kanyashree will be played in the air-conditioned buses under the project. The responsibility to implement the project and to continue its functioning was given to a private company through open bidding process. The company will also be playing

advertisements of private companies and will be giving Rs 60 lakh to WBTC every year. Initially, the audio-communication system will be made available in 323 buses and it will be played from 6 am to 11 pm. Later, it will be introduced in more number of buses. Adhikari said: “This is the first time ever in the country’s history when such an initiative has been taken up. Chief Minis-ter Mamata Banerjee has named the proj-ect through which campaigns on different government projects like Kanyashree will also take place.”

“There will also be announcements in

the air-conditioned buses to popularise the use of smart cards,” he said.

It may be recalled that the state Trans-port department had introduced smart cards so that commuters can travel in state-run buses using it and they do not need to buy tickets every day. The initiative was taken up keeping in mind the convenience of commuters and secondly to check “leak-age” in revue collection.

The Transport minister further said that the Chief Minister had launched a statewide “Save Drive Safe Life” campaign on July 8, 2016. It will also be played in the buses and at the same time another slogan - “Slow Drive Save Life” - the Chief Minister had coined during East Midnapore’s adminis-trative review meeting will also be played.

Alapan Bandyopadhyay, Principal Sec-retary of the department, said that such initiatives will make journey in public trans-ports like buses more attractive and it is a part of the transformation in the transport arrangement as it will encourage people to use public transports and to depend less on private vehicles.

CBI pleads court to issue non-bailable warrants

against Gurung, 21 others

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday pleaded before the Chief Judge of the City Sessions Court to issue a non-bailable warrant against the chief of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) Bimal Gurung and 21 others in connection with the Madan Tamang murder case.

Arun Bhagat, CBI’s coun-sel, submitted before the court that framing of charges would not be possible without all the accused in this connection present in the court.

Following the Calcutta high court’s direction, the CBI had sent notice to all the accused including Gurung to be pres-ent in the City Sessions Court on Monday. A team com-prising four members of CBI along with the help of the local police had served notices to the accused. Notices were pasted outside whom the CBI officers didn’t get in their houses.

The Calcutta high court had ordered that the framing of charges in this connection has to be complete by August 17 in the City Sessions Court.

There were total 54 accused in connection with the mur-der of All India Gorkha League leader Madan Tamang. He was murdered in broad daylight in Darjeeling in May 2010.

Four of the 54 accused had died and two are still abscond-ing. The CBI had served notices to 48 of the remaining accused and 26 of them were present in the City Sessions Court on Monday. But the rest 22 includ-ing Gurung and his wife Asha Gurung didn’t turn up at the court on Monday.

The hearing in this connec-tion will be held again on Tues-day. According to the political experts, the move has landed the GJM leaders in a fresh trou-ble. However, the GJM leaders are now waiting for the hear-ing scheduled to be held in this connection on Tuesday.

Bikram’s judicial custody extendedOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Judicial custody of actor Bikram Chatterjee has been extended till July 28 after being produced before the Ali-pore court on Monday.

Bikram was arrested from near Acropolis Mall on Rashbe-hari Avenue Connector in con-nection with the death of model Sonika Chauhan on July 7. He was remanded to the custody of police for the initial four days after his arrest and then he was sent to judicial custody till July 24. The defence counsel didn’t plead for Bikram’s bail before the court on Monday. The reason being they had already pleaded for bail before the Alipore Ses-sions Court on July 17 and the

hearing in this connection is on July 26. The city police had taken Bikram to the spots after getting him in their custody. The investigation had also revealed that Bikram had taken alcohol before driving his car. This had

come after the actor had claimed in a press conference that he was not at all in an inebriated state while driving. He had later changed his version saying that he was in his senses despite tak-ing alcohol.

Bankura cops reach out to school kids to propagate Safe Drive, Save Life

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Considering that creat-ing awareness among students yield the best result, policemen from dif-ferent police stations in Bankura visited schools in the district to create awareness on “Safe Drive, Save Life” and to avoid spreading of rumours.

Both the Kolkata Police and the state police had taken the initia-tive to reach out to students with messages to check road accidents. The decision to spread the messages through school-goers were taken as the police consider that it is eas-ier to reach more and more people through children.

Citing an example, a police offi-cer said: “During the Road Safety Week, we had found that people start following traffic rules once it is being told to them by a school-goer and they might never forget the message that they have received from a child.”

Moreover, a school-goer can narrate the same after going back home what they will pick up dur-ing such campaigns in schools. So at a time, one school-goer can spread the messages on road safety to at least four to five members of

his or his/her family. At the same time, messages get spread further when they go to attend their tuition classes or discuss the same with their friends in the locality.

The Bankura Police have taken up the opportunity to reach out to as many as students as possible. They have created awareness on road safety and urged them not to allow anyone of their family mem-bers to violate traffic norms.

It may be mentioned that rumours had led to violence in

Basirhat sub-division and its adja-cent areas. Subsequently, the police had initiated a campaign to avoid spreading of rumours mainly which is taking place through social networking sites. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also criticised attempts to create violence in the state by spreading rumours.

So the police had also found creating awareness among school-goers to check spreading of rumours was working wonders.

Soon, auditorium after Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: An auditorium to be named after Bengal’s one of the greatest theatre person-ality Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay is coming up in Dum Dum Nagerbazar.

The air-conditioned audi-torium “Ajitesh Mancha” with a seating capacity of 545 will be opened on August 8. This is the first time when an audito-rium in the state will be named after him. The auditorium will meet the long-standing demand of people of northern suburbs particularly Dum Dum, Nager-bazar, Kalindi and Lake Town. After coming to power, the state government had renovated all the auditoria in the city where cultural programmes includ-ing theatre shows are regularly held. There are ones after the names of great theatre person-alities in the city that include Girish Chandra Ghose, father of Bengali stage, Khirod Prasad Vidyabinod and Ahindra Chow-dhury and Sisir Bhaduri.

Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay (1933-1983) was one of the fin-est Bengali actors and director since Independence. He had

received the Sangeet Natak Academy award in 1976 only after the age of 42. Before join-ing Nandikar, he was associated with IPTA. While with Nandi-kar, he along with Rudraprasad Sengupta, Asit Bandyopadhyay and Keya Chakraborty staged some of the finest plays that include Teen Poyeshar Pala, Antigone and Manjari Amer Manjari.

He had acted in several Ben-gali feature films that include Haate Bazare, Chuti, Kuheli, Ganadebata and Aj kal Porshur Golpo.

In 1977, Ajitesh left Nandi-kar and formed his own the-atre group Nandimukh through which he had produced many immortal plays.

L-R: Bickram Ghosh, Arindam Sil, Arup Biswas, Prosenjit Chatterjee look on while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee presents an award to actress Sudeshna Ray at Nazrul Mancha on Monday PIC/MPOST

Minister Suvedu Adhikari while launching the audio communication system in buses

TEACHERS’ BODY GIVES MEMORANDUM TO DM TO REGULARISE INTERNETDARJEELING: The Sanyukta Shikshak Sangh, a teachers’ association presented a memorandum to the DM, Darjeeling on Monday requesting for the regularisation of Internet services in Dar-jeeling and Kalimpong. It has been more than a month that the government has halted Internet services. “Students have to register online for Madhyamik, HS, ICSE, ISC and other boards. With-out Internet, they will not be able to do so. Their future will be jeopardised. We have requested the District Magistrate to regularise services. She has assured us that she will communicate the mat-ter to the higher authorities,” stated Amit Thapa, am member of the association. Meanwhile, Hill boarding schools have decided to start coach-ing classes for students appearing for ICSE and ISC examinations in 2018. For the boarders, the coaching classes will be held in Siliguri. MPOST

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) interrogated former BJP MLA from South Basirhat Assembly constituency Shamik Bhattacharya on Monday in connection with alleged corruption in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

Bhattacharya was summoned in this connec-tion following the arrest of one Ranjit Pal.

On Monday, Bhattacharya was present at the CID headquarters at Bhawani Bhavan for around three hours. Sources said that his statement has been video recorded. Though Bhattacharya refused to talk about anything related to the interrogation as the probe in this connection is going on, sources in CID said that he brushed aside all allegations of his involvement in the corruption. It is learnt that he told the CID officers that he would have informed the police and senior leaders of his party if he would have come to know about it earlier.

Local people from Sabujpalli in Basirhat had lodged a complaint with the police alleging that money was being taken from them after assuring help to get benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Though senior BJP leaders have brushed aside the allegations of distribution of forms for the scheme from the party’s office at Basirhat, CID officers claimed that they have received documents showing that those were being distributed from the party’s office itself. The CID officers had claimed that something between Rs 500 to Rs 1000 was allegedly taken from each of the applicants and name of another person, Bikash Singh, has also cropped up in this connection.

CID quizzes Shamik, video records statement

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee inspects work undertaken by KMC PIC/MPOST

MADAN TAMANG MURDER CASE

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Derek voices concerns over differential NEET papersOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Expressing concern over the question paper fiasco in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) this year, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien on Monday sought explanation from the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) minister as to why the Bengali medium students deserving a place in medical studies have been deprived. He was speaking at Rajya Sabha.

Millennium Post had first reported showing how Bengali medium students from the state failed to find a place in the merit list only because the question paper set for the Bengali medium candi-dates was harder than that of the English and Hindi medium papers. It had also highlighted how the number of Bengali medium students securing an admis-sion in the state medical colleges across the state has drastically gone down due to an “irresponsible act” by the Centre.

As a result of this, none of the top rankers in the Higher Secondary exami-nation this year managed to get a med-ical seat in the prestigious Calcutta Medical College and Hospital which was exclusively reported on the Mil-lennium Post on July 21. NEET is a national level single medical entrance examination done for the first time in 2013 but formally introduced across the country from this year.

Members of the AIADMK expressed the same opinion as O’Brien did in the

Rajya Sabha on Monday and voiced their protest against the difference in the standards of question papers given to students here in Bengal. The same inci-dent reportedly occurred in Tamil Nadu and some other states as well.

The Trinamool Congress MP cat-egorically questioned in the Upper House of Parliament that what would

happen to those deserving candidates from Bengal who were deprived only because they were not judged on the equal grounds.

Derek O’Brien attracted the atten-tion of Parliament and also the Central government by saying: “The English question paper for the NEET used to be translated into regional languages

till 2013. But this year, the NEET ques-tion papers in Bengali or Tamil were entirely different.”

“Around 40,000 of the 56,000 stu-dents who wrote the exam in Bengali or Tamil had disastrous results. NEET is not a West Bengal issue but it’s a fed-eral issue,” O’Brien mentioned.

Statistics say that every year around 70 percent of the HS top rankers secure a medical seat in any of the state-run or private medical colleges in the state but this year, only around seven percent of such students secured a place in medi-cal colleges. When the state government had come to know about the issue, it wrote to the Centre seeking some steps in this regard but no action was taken.

Incidentally, it may be mentioned here that the Union HRD minister, Prakash Javadekar while touring Kol-kata on Saturday told the reporters that to avoid such incidents, the question papers in vernacular languages will be a translation of a single question paper in English from the next year.

‘Audi charged me Rs 6.22L to repair my car, then revised it to Rs 2.77L’ OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Who doesn’t like a joy ride in an Audi? Anybody would be quite overwhelmed with this very idea. But what might sound quite bizarre is the fact that this German lux-ury auto giant, considered to be the epitome of engineering precision and prowess, is turn-ing heads around in a negative manner.

Ramesh Kumar Arya, director, Arya Projects Limited had bought an Audi A4 2.O TDI bearing registration num-ber WB 02 AE 6061 in Decem-ber 2013 from Mohan Motors distributors private limited, an authorised dealer for Audi cars in Kolkata.

In December 2016, the car developed a problem after it travelled only 24,331 km in three years. The engine of

the car suddenly packed up abruptly and the vehicle had to be towed away. Arya said the matter was brought to the notice of Audi India as he wanted to know the exact rea-son behind the mechanical snag. Audi, however, failed to provide any reply to this, he claimed.

Meanwhile, Mohan Motors sent him an estimate for repair which amounted to Rs 6,22,476.38. After the owner

of the vehicle protested to this as it had done only 24,331 km, the estimated cost was brought down to Rs 2,77,998 without citing any reason.

“How can such a well-known company make such an inflated estimate and cite no reason as to why it was brought down by nearly Rs 4 lakh,” Arya wondered. He added that the car was sparingly used and proper maintenance was done whenever required by the authorised dealer.

Several complaints have been received against the car manufacturer and particu-larly against the after sales ser-vice wing. In a recent incident, well-known industrialist Sanjay Budhia had a narrow escape when his Audi hit the divided on Maa flyover. The same vehi-cle had developed similar prob-lem on NH6 a few months ago.

Bhuniya resigns as MLA over RS

nominationOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Trinamool Con-gress legislator Dr Manas Bhuniya on Monday resigned from his MLA ship.

Dr Bhuniya has been nomi-nated to Rajya Sabha by Trin-amool Congress. The election will be held on August 8.

Dr Bhuniya had fought in the 2016 Assembly election as a Congress candidate from Sabang. Though initially he had opposed the alliance with CPI(M), later he accepted it and contested and won the election.

Though a veteran Con-gress leader, a tug of war started between Abdul Mannan and Manas Bhuniya over the post of Leader of Opposition. Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay nomi-nated his name which Congress legislators could not accept and the matter was finally settled by Congress high command. Dr Bhuniya was the state Irri-gation and Waterways minis-ter when Trinamool Congress formed its government in 2011. Trinamool and Congress had fought the elections together. Shocked by the attitude of some Congress leaders, Dr Bhuniya joined Trinamool Congress and had attended many meeting and rallies. Mamata Banerjee has nominated Dr Bhuniya for Rajya Sabha. After tendering his resignation, Dr Bhuniya said, as a “faithful party worker” he would highlight the issues raised by the party in the Upper House.

Fire breaks out at Ultadanga

printing factoryOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: A fire broke out at a printing factory at Ultadanga late on Sunday night. No casu-alties or injuries have been, however, reported in the inci-dent as the factory remained closed when it caught fire.

The incident, however, cre-ated panic among the local residents as the area is densely populated. Local people on Guru Das Dutta Road near 14 number bus stand area of Ultadanga spotted smoke bil-lowing out of the factory that was closed at the time of the incident.

The local residents ini-tially tried to enter the fac-tory to extinguish the fire but failed to do so as it was locked from outside. Following this, the locals informed the mat-ter to the fire brigade. Eight fire tenders were pressed into action to douse the flame. The fire personnel reached the spot and entered the factory by breaking open the front door of the factory.

They spotted the source of the fire and doused the flame within two hours. The local people said that the fire soon spread to other parts of the factory. The factory was com-pletely gutted in the fire.

As the area is situated in a congested area, locals started panicking. The residents of a nearby slum started fleeing from the spot. Tension spread among the local slum-dwellers many of whom deserted their houses as the fire soon spread in the area. Police and fire bri-gade are investigating how the factory that remained closed caught fire. A forensic team will visit the spot to collect samples.

According to the prelim-inary investigation, the fire department suspects that there was no adequate firefighting mechanism in the factory. The fire department officials also suspect that inflammable materials were stored inside the factory that aggravated the sit-uation. Police and fire brigade have started a detailed probe. The owners of the factory are being interrogated.

Two arrested for killing woman whose husband promised ̀ 1 lakh for the murder

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Police have arrested the two main accused who were involved in the mur-der of a housewife in Katwa whose husband had engaged the contarct killers to carry out the crime.

The victim’s husband was earlier arrested by the police. During the interrogation, the accused, Ujjal Bhaskar Ghosh, a teacher by profession, admitted to the crime. Police on Monday morning arrested the accused — Azad Seikh and Jakir Hos-sain from an area in Katwa sit-uated close to the Bhagirathi river by tracking their mobile location. Police had prior information that the accused might try to sneak into Ban-gladesh while being at large. The investigating officer came to know that the two accused were roaming at Nadia’s Tehatta

area on Sunday.Police personnel were

deployed at areas beside the river surrounding at Katwa as they had specific information that the duo would take a boat. The accused also admitted that they had a plan to flee to the

neighbouring country after being in a hideout in Nadia since the crime had taken place.

Police said that the accused are dreaded criminals and sev-eral cases have been pending against them in different police stations. The victim’s husband

engaged Azad for executing the crime for which he had prom-ised to give him Rs 1 lakh.

The accused, a history teacher of a Higher Second-ary school in Katwa, had been planning the execution of his wife for the past three years. He finally appointed the contract killers. The crime had taken place inside his house at Katwa stadium para area on the night of 18 July.

Police are conducting raids to nab the two others who were involved in the murder of Mahua Ghosh who was throt-tled to death. The victim’s hus-band was present in the house when the incident took place. After committing the crime, the accused dumped the body of the woman in a nearby bush. Some of the local residents the next morning found the body lying in the bush a few metres away from the house.

IIT KGP gets Texas Instrument runners up honour for work on sleep disorder

KOLKATA: A team from IIT Kharagpur got the first run-ners’ up honour for its work on sleep disorder at the Texas Instruments India Innova-tion Challenge Design Con-test 2016.

The IIT KGP team got the runners up honour for their innovative work on tracking sleep disorder, a press release said on Monday.

“It seems all the more excit-ing to know that we competed among the best minds in the country and we were chosen by eminent jury members as the winning idea,” one of IITKGP team members Laxmi Kant Tiwari said on Monday.

“We are confident that we will be able to work on this innovation further with the assistance and guidance from Texas Instruments, IIM-B and our mentors. We are thrilled to start our new journey as entre-preneurs,” he added.

The second runner up is from Dream Institute of Tech-nology, West Bengal for their innovative solution on safety ensuring wearable.

Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Technology College, Coim-batore bagged the Chairman s Award for the best innovative product for the Texas Instru-ments India Innovation Chal-lenge Design Contest 2016 announced at the grand finale held at IIM-B. In the 10-month long challenge, the participants saw an intense mentoring pro-gramme from IIMB and TI.

The 2016 TI challenge con-test saw participation from 11,000 engineering students across 624 colleges in India, in collaboration with Indian Insti-tute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) and Department of Sci-ence and Technology (DST)

Close on the heels of the result for 2016 contest, Texas Instruments India Innova-tion Challenge Design Con-test (IICDC) 2017 is now open for registration. AGENCIES

Sukharanjan Sengupta given Lifetime achievement awardOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Veteran jour-nalist Sukharanjan Sengupta was given the prestigious Life-time achievement award by Dr Sashi Panja, Minister of State for Women and Child Devel-opment and social welfare along with actress Rituparna Sengupta and Indrajit Roy at a function held in the city on Sunday.

A prominent name in the field of political journalism, Sengupta is known for his passion for honest journalism, which earned him reverence in the journalism fraternity. His autobiography Ranga Pother Ranga Dhulae has become immensely popular among readers.

The previous six editions witnessed the prestigious Life-time Achievement Award being presented to media stalwarts such as Late Moti Nandi (1st edition), Durgadas Chatterjee (2nd edition), Nihal Singh (3rd edition), Amitava Chowdhury (4th edition), Kishore Bhimani (5th edition) and Uday Baner-jee (6th Edition).

The judge’s panel for this year included well known jour-nalists like Abhijit Dasgupta, retired station director of Doordarshan (Indian National Television), Tulsi Dutta, Sub-rata Nag Choudhury among others.

The Journalism Awards Committee has been organis-ing this event for seven year and the working members

of the committee this year included Subrata Patranobis, Chittaranjan Biswas and Buro-shiva Dasgupta.

“The Journalism Awards

have been instituted as an ode to the profession of journal-ism. Journalists play an imper-ative role in our democratic society as they provide us with

information, enabling us to know of what is going around us. Aatreyee Nirman is hon-oured to be associated with such a unique event to honour the hard work and devotion of journalists and the noble profession that needs to be applauded and commended”, said Indrajit Roy, Director, Aatreyee Nirman.

The title sponsor for Jour-nalism Awards 2017 was Aatreyee Nirman Private Limited while the Humanity partner was Argobbhawva -Humanity Development with support from Fort Group, Siti Events, Bangla Buzz, SOS, JD Outdoor and Pernod-Ricard. IIMC and Candid School of Communication were the knowledge partners.

Father-son duo held for killing doctorOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Malda police on Monday arrested a father-son duo who had killed a quack doctor from Kaliachak after accus-ing him of carrying out wrong treat-ment that eventually led to the death of a housewife.

Nijamuddin Seikh, a resident of Mosimpur village under Kaliachak police station and his son Babar Ali stormed into the chamber of the victim, Obaidullah Seikh (28), a quack doctor from the area on Saturday night and stabbed him with a chopper. To ensure death, one of the accused shot at him on the chest. Some of the patients who were waiting at the chamber did not dare to raise a voice as the accused were carrying arms.

The father-son duo fled from the spot immediately after the incident. After hearing the gunshot, the local residents rushed to the spot and took the victim to the Malda Medical College and Hos-pital where the doctors pronounced him brought dead.

Following the incident, the local resi-dents on Sunday ransacked the house of

the accused and set it on fire. Police said that the accused committed the crime a day after Tajmira died at a hospital fol-lowing a prolonged suffering. The accused had been absconding since the crime had take place. On specific information, police raided a relative’s house of the accused in the same district and arrested them from there. It has been learnt that the duo has already admitted to their guilt.

In the police interrogation, the accused claimed that they killed the quack as he was responsible for the death of the woman. Police also came to know

in the interrogation that Tajmira had been undergoing treatment under the victim for the past few months. It has also been learnt that the victim a few months ago told the patient’s husband to take her to the Malda Medical College and Hospital as she developed some seri-ous complications. But despite repeated requests, the patient was not taken to the hospital.

When she was finally admitted to the hospital on Friday, there was hardly any chance for the doctors to revive the patient.

The local residents initially tried to enter the factory to extinguish the fire but failed to do so as it was locked from outside

The English question paper for the NEET used to be translated into regional languages till 2013. But this year, the NEET question papers in Bengali or Tamil were entirely different

PROBLEM OF FRAUDULENT REPAIR BILL

MoS Dr Sashi Panja and actress Rituparna Sengupta present the award to veteran journalist Sukharanjan Sengupta

INDIANS ABDUCTED IN MOSULSUNANDA PUSHKAR MURDER CASE

5MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

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OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday expressed concern over failure of the police to file a charge sheet in the Sunanda Pushkar case even after three-and-a-half years.

The oral observation by a bench of Justices G S Sistani and Chander Shekhar came as it sought response of the Delhi Police and Subramanian Swamy on a plea moved by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s stepson Shiv Menon seeking his impleadment in the BJP leader’s petition for a court-monitored, CBI-led SIT probe into the death of Pushkar.

Menon has also ques-tioned Swamy’s locus in seek-ing such a probe, alleging that he was doing it only for publicity.

The bench asked Delhi Police to make its stand clear by August 1 and refused to pass any restraining order against Swamy.

“We thought the son (Menon) would be more keen to know who is the person who killed his mother. Here is an opportunity to say why the charge sheet was not filed in the matter for three-and-a-half years. It is a matter of con-cern,” the bench sad.

During the brief hearing, the court put questions to Menon’s counsel that how was

he affected, as being the son he should not object to the court-monitored probe in the mat-ter. Responding to the query, Menon’s counsel submitted that he has no issue if the court orders probe but Swamy is only doing this for publicity. Menon’s plea also said that the investigating agency should be directed not to supply Swamy the copy of the status report with regard to the ongoing probe into Pushkar’s death.

The bench said it is not going to pass any restraining order and Menon’s petition questioning the locus standi of Swamy will be decided after the parties are heard.

Senior advocate Vikas

Pahwa had moved the court on behalf of Menon in a pend-ing petition filed by Swamy seeking probe in the death of Pushkar, who was found dead under mysterious circum-stances in a suite of a five-star hotel in south Delhi here on the night of January 17, 2014.

Pahwa also sought restrain on Swamy posting the status report and documents related to the case on social media.

However, the bench said, “In the last three-and-a-half years there has been no restrain on this. We are not getting into it.”

“Why did you not get restrain order from the court concerned,” the bench asked.

It said it has not yet enter-tained the allegations raised by Swamy in his petition against the probe agency.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police standing counsel Rahul Mehra submitted that he has not yet filed the status report in the matter as they are in process of consultation with the police officials on this issue.

Menon’s counsel, however, urged the bench that the sta-tus report be filed only in the court and should be given to only the party concerned in the matter, on which the bench replied it cannot con-duct the investigation and monitor it.

Swamy along with advo-

cate Ishkaran Singh Bhandari in their plea has alleged that “inordinate delay” has been caused in the investigation “which is a blot on the justice system”.

They have also claimed that many of the evidence in the case have been destroyed and alleged that Tharoor was influencing investigation in the matter.

The plea, which was filed on July six, sought setting up of a multi-disciplinary Spe-cial Investigation Team (SIT) of the Intelligence Bureau, the Enforcement Directorate, RAW and the Delhi Police, which should be headed by the CBI, to probe the case.

HC concerned over delay in filing of chargesheet

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by a woman claiming to be the biologi-cal daughter of Sanjay Gan-dhi, seeking a stay on Madhur Bhandarkar’s upcoming film “Indu Sarkar”.

A division bench of justices Anoop Mohta and Anuja Prab-hudessai said petitioner Priya Paul has not made out any case for the court to interfere and stay release of the movie after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) already granted certificate to the movie.

“The filmmaker has sub-mitted a disclaimer that will be shown before the movie saying all characters and inci-dents of the movie are fictitious and bears no resemblance to any living or dead person. The censor board has also already granted certificate to the movie after initially asking the film-maker to cut some scenes,” Jus-tice Mohta said. The court also noted that no acknowledged descendant of Sanjay Gandhi has raised objection to the film.

“There is no dispute that the descendants of Sanjay Gandhi have not opposed the movie.

The petitioner’s claim of proba-ble relation with Sanjay Gandhi is itself questionable,” Justice Mohta said. Senior counsel Birendra Saraf, appearing for Bhandarkar, argued that the petitioner has no locus standi (not an affected party) to file such a petition, challenging the release of a movie.

“There is no material, no document, no adjudication to show or prove that she (peti-tioner) is the biological daugh-ter of Sanjay Gandhi. At the most this is a ruse to get this court to prima facie consider her claim that she is his daugh-ter, which she may use it later to prove her lineage,” Saraf argued.

HC rejects plea of Sanjay Gandhi’s ‘daughter’

for stay on Indu Sarkar

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: After a month Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed Island Develop-ment Agency (IDA), Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired its first meeting and emphasised on the need to fur-ther develop India’s maritime economy, along with preserv-ing the natural eco-system and addressing the security con-cerns. The sustainable devel-opment of the islands was also discussed with people’s participation.

IDA was set up on June 1, 2017. While addressing the meeting here on Monday, the CEO of NITI Aayog empha-sized on the identification of islands and made a presen-tation on ‘Concept Devel-opment Plans’ and ‘Detailed Master Plans’ on the principles of sustainability, people’s par-ticipation, eco-system preser-vation and determination of carrying capacity as the guid-

ing principles. Admiral DK Joshi, former

Navy Chief and Vice Chair-man of IDA, also suggested taking up suitable interven-tions for sustainable imple-mentation of planned projects. During the meeting, it was also decided that Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Administrator of Lakshad-weep Islands will be included as members of IDA.

After detailed consulta-tions with key stakeholders, ten islands namely Smith,

Ross, Aves, Long and Lit-tle Andaman in Andaman and Nicobar and Minicoy, Bangaram, Suheli, Cherium and Tinnakara in Lakshad-weep have been identified for holistic development in the first phase.

Other Members of the IDA including Cabinet Sec-retary, Home Secretary, Sec-retary (Environment, Forests and Climate Change), Secre-tary (Tourism) and Secretary (Tribal Welfare) also partici-pated in the meeting.

Develop maritime economy, Rajnath tells IDA’s first meet

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Iraq on Monday said it has no “substantial evi-dence” on whether the 39 Indi-ans abducted in Mosul three years ago have been killed or are still alive but assured India that it is “making the best efforts” to find out.

The issue was raised by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during exten-sive talks with her Iraqi coun-terpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who began a five-day India visit on Monday, nearly two weeks after Mosul was liberated from ISIS by Iraqi forces.

“We don’t know whether they are dead or alive. We are equally concerned. There is no substantial evidence whether

they are alive or not. We are making the best efforts,” the Iraqi foreign minister told reporters about the Indians abducted in Mosul.

In a meeting with the rela-tives of the abducted Indians last week, Swaraj had said they might be languishing in a jail in Badush in northwest of Mosul where fighting was going on.

However, a media report from Badush on Friday said the jail is now an abandoned structure and has been unoccu-pied for weeks. Swaraj is likely to make a detailed statement in Parliament tomorrow about her meeting with her Iraqi counterpart.

In the talks, Swaraj and al-Jaafari decided to take steps to boost cooperation in areas of

education, trade, energy and healthcare, official sources said.

The volume of bilateral trade in 2016-17 was nearly USD 13 billion. Iraq contrib-utes significantly to India’s energy security and is the sec-ond largest supplier of crude oil to India in 2016-17 with a total volume of over 37 MMT.

The Iraqi foreign minister also met Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

India had requested Iraq to locate the 39 missing Indi-ans, mostly from Punjab, after Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul from ISIS. Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh was also sent to Iraq days after the Iraqi prime minister announced victory in the fight to liberate Mosul.

Do not know if they are alive: Iraq foreign minister

During a brief hearing, the court put questions to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s stepson Shiv Menon’s counsel, asking how he was affected, as being the son he should not object to court-monitored probe in the matter

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee on Mon-day advocated freeing pub-lic discourse from violence -- “physical as well as verbal” -- and asserted that the coun-try derived its strength from tolerance.

Stressing the need for “plu-ralism and tolerance” in his last televised address to the nation as the president, he said the capacity for compas-sion and empathy was the “true foundation” of the country’s civilisation.

“But everyday, we see increased violence around us. At the heart of this violence is darkness, fear and mis-trust. We must free our pub-lic discourse from all forms of violence, physical as well as verbal,” Mukherjee, who will demit office tomorrow, said in his address.

He made it clear that only a non-violent society could ensure the participation of all sections of the people, espe-cially the maginalised and the dispossessed, in the democratic process.

“The power of non-violence has to be resurrected to build a compassionate and caring soci-ety,” Mukherjee, 81, said.

The soul of India, he emphasised, resided in “plu-

ralism and tolerance”.“India is not just a geo-

graphical entity. It carries a history of ideas, philosophy, intellect, industrial genius, craft innovation and experience,” the president said.

Plurality had come through the “assimilation of ideas” over the centuries, he said.

“Multiplicity in culture, faith and language is what makes India special. We derive our strength from tol-erance,” he added. Not ruling out divergent stands in public discourse, he said, “We may argue, we may agree or we may not agree. But we cannot deny the essential prevalence of multiplicity of opinion. Oth-erwise, a fundamental charac-ter of our thought process will wither away.”

The president reminded the people of Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy, and said the cre-ation of an inclusive society had to be an article of faith.

Gandhi wanted the people to move forward unitedly in “ever-widening” thought and action, he said, and stressed the need for focusing on the poor.

“Financial inclusion is at the core of an equitable society. We must empower the poorest of the poor and ensure that the fruits of our policies reach the last person in the line,” he said.

Mukherjee, a former lec-turer who has often assumed the role of a teacher during his visits within and outside the country, spoke about edu-cation, which he called the alchemy that could take India to its next golden age.

Referring to the “transfor-mative power” of education, he called for upgrading higher educational institutions to world-class levels. “Our edu-cation system must accept dis-ruption as a norm and prepare our students to manage and build upon the disruptions. Our universities should not be a place for rote- memorising but an assembly of inquisitive minds,” he said.

Institutes of higher learning must promote “creative think-ing, innovation and scientific temper”, he said.

“It calls for the application of logic through discussion, argument and analysis. These qualities have to be cultivated and the autonomy of the mind has to be encouraged,” he said.

Talking about the need for protecting the environment, he said nature had been kind in its bounty but cautioned that “when greed exceeds need, nature lets loose its fury”.

He asked scientists and technologists to work with farmers and workers to revive the health of the soil, arrest the decline in water tables and restore ecological balance.

Mukherjee emphasised the people’s right to lead a happy life which, he said, could be achieved through good gov-ernance, social inclusion and poverty eradication.

‘Free public discourse from violence,’ says Prez Pranab in farewell address to nation

Govt launches SHe-box portal for sexual

harassment complaintsOUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Women and Child Development min-istry on Monday launched an online platform to enable women employees of the cen-tral government to file com-plaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace.

Union minister Maneka Gandhi said the platform will cater to central government employees in the beginning and thereafter, its ambit will be widened to include the private sector as well.

“We are also going to soon conduct a national survey to assess the nature and magni-tude of sexual harassment at the workplace,” the minister of woman and child development said after launching the portal at her office here.

The online complaint man-agement system -- ‘SHe-box’ (sexual harassment electronic box) -- hosted on the website of the Women and Child Devel-opment Ministry, also seeks to ensure “effective implemen-tation” of the Sexual Harass-ment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

Once a complaint is sub-mitted to the ‘SHe-Box’, it will be directly sent to the internal complaints committee (ICC) of

the ministry/department/PSU/autonomous body etc con-cerned, having jurisdiction to inquire into the matter.

The ICC will take action as prescribed under the Act and update the status of the complaint.

The portal is also an effort to provide “speedier rem-edy” to women facing sexual harassment at the workplace, as envisaged under the sexual harassment Act, a senior offi-cial of the ministry said.

The WCD minister also instructed officials to make the portal as “interactive” as possible.

The portal should offer a list of follow-up details so that the employee gets to know the exact status of the complaint, she told officials.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with her Iraqi counterpart, Ibrahim al-Jaafari before a meeting in New Delhi on Monday PTI

Oppn backs TMC, asks Govt not to remove Tagore writings

from school text books

‘Initiatives to clean Ganga will show results next year’

GAUTAM LAHIRI

NEW DELHI: All opposition parties rallied behind TMC against removal of Rabindra-nath Tagore’s writing from the school textbook. TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien briefed opposition party lead-ers to take up this issue inside the house jointly.

As decided earlier, oppo-sition parties has shortlisted four major issues to raise in the house for the remaining part of the monsoon session. O’Brien told that a report has appeared that the government has planned to remove Tago-re’s poem from the school text-books as recommended by RSS affiliated Sikhsa Sanskriti Sang-sthan Nyas.

It is reported that they have sent their recommendation to the National Council Educa-tion Research and Training (NCERT).

On Monday, during the zero hour Derek O’Brien tried

to draw the attention of the Chair and said nobody should be allowed to do politics with Tagore.

Deputy leader of Congress Anand Sharma joined the issue and said Tagore wrote our national anthem. Nobody can remove his poem from the text-books. HRD Minister Prakash Jawdekar was not present in the house when this issue erupted in the house. But later, the min-ister informed media persons at an informal chatting that that was a mere recommendation among many.

The government has not taken any decision so far. But the opposition parties are determined to seek a clarifica-tion from the government on Tuesday and ask it to dissoci-ate itself from the recommen-dation of the RSS Think tank.

In the parliament, TMC, AIADMK and DMK jointly raised the issue of problem faced by the students appeared for the NEET examination.

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Work is under-way to frame a new law for cleansing the Ganga and the various initiatives taken to clean the river will start show-ing results next year, the gov-ernment told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Responding to questions, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati said draft of the new law has been submitted to her ministry and discussions on it are underway. She said clean-ing of the river was a gigantic task and it was not like rivers Thames or Rhine, where people do not take bath.

In Ganga, about 20 lakh people bathe everyday and 60 crore people every year, the minister said, drawing con-trast with the foreign rivers. At the same time, she assured the members of the Upper House that various initiatives taken by the central govern-ment for Ganga river clean-ing will start showing results in

2018 as promised earlier. “Our Ministry proposes to bring a new Ganga Act. Discussions are underway on bringing the new Ganga Act. The Act has been submitted to the Minis-try by a committee headed by Justice Girdhar Malviya and discussions are underway on it. It will be shared with states before,” she said.

“When a road project starts, it takes 2-3 years for getting various clearances and the road is constructed in 1-1.5 years. In 2018, the results for Ganga will start showing. We have made enough preparations in this regard,” she claimed.

Gangotri glacier has retreated by 0.15 sq km from 2007-16: UmaOUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Gangotri gla-cier retreated by 0.15 sq km between 2007 and 2016, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan in a written reply said the melting of Gan-gotri glacier has been studied by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) by taking Survey of India maps of 1962 as the base. He said that the area of Gangotri glacier was esti-mated as 224.42 sq km from the maps of 1962, while from 1990 onwards satellite data was used to monitor the Himalayan glaciers.

PEOPLE SATISFIED OVER REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCES VIA CM WINDOW: KHATTARCHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the people of the state have expressed satisfaction over redressal of their griev-ances through the CM Window initiative, and are now taking greater interest in getting their voice heard through social media. With a view to further encour-age the people to follow the Chief Minister on social media and get their grievances redressed at the earli-est, the office-bearers of the social media cell would visit district secretariats and impart special training to local employees in field. This was disclosed by Addi-tional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Dr. Rakesh Gupta and Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister, Bhupeshwar Dayal in a review meeting of complaints received on CM Window, here on Monday.

GUJARAT CONGRESS CALLS MEETING TODAY TO DISCUSS LOP ISSUE AHMEDABAD: Following sudden exit of Shankersinh Vaghela, Gujarat Congress has called a high-level meeting of its core committee members on Tuesday to discuss Leader of Opposition in the assembly. During meeting, the party would pass a resolution empower-ing Congress high command to decide next LoP, as Monsoon session is expected to be held in October, barely months before assembly polls, expected to be held in December, said Congress MLA Shailesh Par-mar. Till new LoP is decided, senior Congress MLA Mo-hansinh Rathwa, who is already serving as the deputy LoP, has been given charge of LoP, said Parmar.

6MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

mp nation

NATION BRIEFS

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI: The BJP-led Maha-rashtra government on Mon-day tabled supplementary demands of Rs 33,533 crore, its biggest so far, with the lion's share –over Rs 20,000 crore –going for the farm loan waiver scheme announced last month.

Supplementary statement of expenditure for 2017-18 was tabled on the first day of the monsoon session of the state legislature on Monday.

The demand for the Coop-eration Department said that it needed Rs 19,577 crore for the loan waiver scheme.

The Tribal Development Department said it needed Rs 1,000 crore to provide loan waiver for farmers belonging to the Scheduled Tribes.

Thus, the total supple-mentary demand for the loan waiver was over Rs 20,000 crore, while the govern-ment had earlier said that the scheme will cost Rs 34,022 crore.

This led to the opposition asking, in the Assembly, how the government would provide for the shortfall of Rs 14,000 crore.

"What about the remaining Rs 14,000 crore? Had the gov-ernment fooled the farmers

earlier?" asked the state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare.

The Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly, Rad-hakrishna Vikhe-Patil, wanted to know why the government was asking the farmers to fill up forms. "The government has complete information about farmers' loans. Why do the farmers have to fill even a single form?" he asked.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "The govern-ment is ready to discuss loan waiver with the opposition. Opposition leaders should not forget that the government has asked for Rs 20,000 crore which we propose to use for the loan waiver scheme."

OUR CORRESPONDENT

PATNA: Two senior RJD lead-ers on Monday targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accus-ing him of cosying up to the BJP, as the war of words inten-sified between the ruling allies in Bihar, JD(U) and RJD, over graft allegations against Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav.

"Is Nitish Kumar bathed in milk ? He is with BJP in the night and with RJD during day time," RJD Araria MP Moham-mad Taslimuddin said as he defended Tejaswi, who has been named as an accused by CBI in the land-for-hotels case. The JD(U) has demanded that Tejaswi, who is RJD Chief Lalu Prasad's son, come clean on the allegations.

Raghubansh Prasad Singh, RJD vice-president and a known Nitish-baiter, ques-tioned JD(U)'s claim of zero tolerance against graft "when corruption is rampant at the ground level in the state".

"Being the head of the coali-tion, it is Kumar's responsibil-ity to keep the Grand Alliance intact by having dialogue with its senior leaders," he told a news channel on the sidelines of a programme and accused the chief minister of "being in contact" with the BJP.

Taslimuddin too accused

Nitish Kumar, who is the JD(U) president, of being in touch with BJP.

Rein in your leaders: JD(U) to RJD

JD(U) spokesman Sunil Singh came down heavily on Raghubansh Prasad Singh for making "baseless" allegations of nexus with BJP and urged the RJD leadership to stop its leader from making such statements.

It is the responsibility of all three constituents of the Alli-ance, which includes the Con-

gress too, to keep it intact, he said. Nitish Kumar, who met Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Saturday last, is maintaining silence over the matter.

He had no official engage-ments today and left for the national capital in the evening to be present at the swearing-in ceremony of the new president Ram Nath Kovind tomorrow.

Bihar PCC chief and minis-ter Ashok Choudhary refused to make any comment on the issue linked with the coalition.

Won't allow legislature to

function: BJP Stepping up its offencive,

the BJP has said it will not allow two houses of Bihar legislature to function during the mon-soon session starting from July 28 if Tejaswi Yadav does not tender his resignation by then.

On RJD's assertion that it would speak on the accusations at its August 27 rally, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday said, "Since they have no answer to the accu-sations, they(RJD) are saying so.... When a charge has been levelled now, what is the point

of replying to it after a month ?"On senior JD(U) leader

Sharad Yadav's reported state-ment that saving the coali-tion was more important than Tejaswi Yadav's resignation, Sushil Modi, who is BJP leg-islature party leader and also leader of opposition in the state legislative council, said, "If the Grand Alliance makes a com-promise on corruption, it will meet the same fate as UPA II under Manmohan Singh."

RJD minister courts contro-versy with remark on CBI

Senior RJD minister Chan-drasekhar stoked a controversy by reportedly calling the CBI a "dog" as he accused the agency of targeting BJP's political opponents. "During the UPA rule, BJP used to call CBI a parrot... Now under BJP rule, CBI has became a dog," he was quoted to have said by a section of the media.

Leader of opposition in the state assembly and senior BJP leader Prem Kumar termed the minister's statement as "disappointing".

"Comparing a constitu-tional organisation like CBI to a dog shows the mental bank-ruptcy of the RJD minister," he said and demanded that the chief minister sack the minister for makinig such "uncharitable remarks".

RJD leaders lash out at Nitish, accuse him of cosying up to BJP

OUR CORRESPONDENT

AHMEDABAD/JAIPUR: Military was on Monday called out to help in relief and rescue operations in some districts of Gujarat and Rajasthan after copious rains caused floods, leaving thousands of people marooned, officials said.

A woman and her daughter were killed when the jeep they were travelling in was washed away by strong currents over a bridge across a canal in Kherwada police station limits in Udaipur in Raj-asthan where downpour has resulted in inundation in Jalore, Pali and Sirohi districts.

Army and Air Force contingents have been rushed in to assist in relief and res-cue operations. Four MI-17V5 helicop-ters were conducting sorties from bases in Jamnagar, Jodhpur and Phalodi.

Incessant rain has thrown normal life out of gear in several areas in the three districts of otherwise parched Rajasthan, hitting road and rail transport. Two trains were terminated in Jodhpur Railway Divi-sion following waterlogging on Bhiladi-Samdari section.

Torrential rains pounding north Guja-rat have caused flood in Banaskantha and Patan districts, prompting authorities to declare a state-wide "high alert" and call out Army, Air Force and NDRF teams for assistance.

About 2,200 people have been shifted to safer places and 460 maroon people rescued, officials said.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who reviewed the situation with top officials,

said the problem has been compounded by heavy rains in neighbouring Rajasthan which led to surge in water levels of rivers and dams in Gujarat.

Video footages showed even large vehicles like trucks stuck in flood water which entered several homes in the two districts.

Banaskantha and Patan districts are hugely affected due to heavy rains in north Gujarat and Rajasthan. Dantiwada and Sipu dams are overflowing, and due to the release of water from the dams, people living in low-lying areas have been shifted to safer places, he said.

So far, 1,526 people in Banaskantha, about 500 in Patan, and over 200 in Kalol

in Gandhinagar have been shifted.The administration is making arrange-

ments for distributing food packets to those hit, Rupani said.

As many as 462 people have been res-cued in the affected areas and the state has been put on high alert due to the heavy rains, Rupani said.

One column of the Army, roughly about 100 personnel, has been rushed to the flood-hit areas from Dhrangdhara to assist the National Disaster Response Force in evacuating people and reaching relief to them. Three Air Force helicop-ters have been kept ready in Deesa town in Banaskantha to provide help if the situ-ation worsened.

War of words intensifies between JD(U), RJD on graft allegations against Tejaswi

AURANGABAD/NALANDA: A Bihar district magistrate has courted con-troversy by allegedly asking a villager to "sell his wife" if he could not arrange money to build a toilet at home.

District Magistrate Kan-wal Tanuj purportedly made this comment while address-ing a 'Swachchata Mahas-abha' programme at Jamhor block on Friday last.

The DM, however, claimed that it was a "dis-torted version"of his speech.

The programme was organised to create aware-ness for building toilets as part of 'Swachch Bharat Abhiyan'.

In a video which has gone viral on the social media, the DM was heard asking the gathering, whether any-body's family honour was priced lower than Rs 12,000, required for building a toilet?

On this, a villager said, he did not have the requi-site Rs 12,000 for construct-ing a toilet.

On hearing this, the DM allegedly lost his cool and was heard saying, "Then go and sell your wife if you can-

not afford to build a toilet at home."

The man was at the "Swachata Mahasabha" programme for seeking an advance of Rs 12,000, which is provided jointly by the central and state govern-ments, for constructing a toilet. The district magis-trate, however, claimed it was a "distorted version" of his speech.

"It's a distorted version of my speech that is being high-lighted. The entire speech was an appeal to the men about the respect of ladies and not about showing disre-spect," the DM said on Mon-day in a written statement.

Meanwhile, Bihar min-ister for Rural Develop-ment Shrawan Kumar, whose department is asso-ciated with building toilet in every household in the state, has disapproved of such a comment.

"Everybody associated with the task of inspir-ing citizens to build toilets at home should hold their tongue," Shrawan Kumar said over phone from Nalanda district. AGENCIES

LUCKNOW: Opposition members on Monday boy-cotted the proceedings of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly for the third day, accusing the Leader of the House Yogi Adityanath of not taking any initiative to end the deadlock, even as the Speaker termed their stand as "unfortunate".

Instead of participating in the proceedings of the House, members of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress sat in the central hall and ran a parallel "House".

With just four days of the budget session left, Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit expressed displeasure at the opposition's move.

It's "unfortunate", he told media persons out-side the House which was adjourned after condoling the death of BJP MLA Mathura Prasad Pal, who died after prolonged illness.

"I had called the opposi-tion for a meeting of the busi-ness advisory committee that decides agenda of the House. I was expecting them to partici-pate in the proceedings as con-dolence was to be taken up on the death of a legislator.

It's unfortunate," Dixit said."The alternative of House is

the House alone", Dixit empha-sised adding that the opposi-tion members should raise

their voice in the Assembly itself. Asked about the oppo-sition's allegations that the microphone was switched off when Leader of the Opposition Ram Govind Chowdhury was speaking in the House, Dixit said that no such thing had happened.

The opposition has accused the treasury benches of threat-ening them, using unparlia-mentary language and decided to boycott the entire session.

"The government is not serious on the issues being raised by the opposition. No attempt has been made by the Leader of the House (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) to end the deadlock and run the House. To mark our protest, we sat at the central hall and I was made Leader of the House, while Ram Govind Chow-dhury was leader of opposi-tion and Lalji Verma was made Speaker," Congress Legisla-ture Party leader Ajay Kumar Lallu said.

He said that it was unfor-tunate that the chief minister was not present in the House on Monday at the time of the condolence resolution.

"It has been a tradition that Leader of the House reads the resolution but the CM was not present and it was read by Parliamentary Affairs Minis-ter Suresh Kumar Khanna," Lallu said. MPOST

Oppn boycotts UP Assembly, holds parallel 'House'

Maha: Supplementary demand of Rs 20,000 cr for loan waiver

CHENNAI: The rival factions of the ruling AIADMK on Monday approached the Cen-tre over the issue of exempt-ing Tamil Nadu from the National Entrance Cum Eligi-bility Test (NEET) for admis-sions to undergraduate medical courses.

A group of state ministers accompanied by senior party leader and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai called on Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi and took up the issue, over which the opposition parties have been attacking the state government.

Rebel AIADMK leader and former chief minister O Pan-neerselvam met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on the same issue.

The state ministers called on Singh and Jaitley, days after some of their colleagues, including Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, met Modi and some other Union ministers on the NEET issue.

The ministerial delegation had on July 20 submitted a memorandum to Modi, seek-ing presidential nod for two bills passed recently by the state assembly aimed at exempting the state from NEET and pend-

ing with the Centre.The bills would pave the

way for the continuation of undergraduate medical admis-sions on the basis of Class 12 marks, exempting Tamil Nadu from the ambit of NEET.

On Monday, Singh "assured to favourably" look into Tamil Nadu's demand, an official release said. Jaitley told them that he would take up the mat-ter with Health Minister J P Nadda, it added.

The state was represented by a delegation of six minis-ters, including P Thangamani (Electricity), D Jayakumar (Finance) and Law Minister C V Shanmugam.

The meeting was part of the

state government's assurance to exert "pressure" on the Centre on its demand for exempting the state from NEET. The team also met Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan on the issue.

Meanwhile, Panneer-selvam met Modi and took up the demand for exempting the state from the NEET.

Accompanied by senior party leaders, including some MPs of his camp, Panneer-selvam also "apprised the prime minister of the difficul-ties" faced by locals at Kathi-ramangalam (Thanjavur) and Neduvasal (Puthukottai) due to the hydrocarbon projects there, a release from the rival faction said. MPOST

MUMBAI: A 36-year-old biker was killed when she was thrown off her two-wheeler after hitting a pothole on a road near Mumbai and was crushed by a passing truck.

Bandra-resident Jagruti Hogale, a member of the all-women 'Bikerni' motorcycle club, was on a trip with two other bikers to Jawhar in Pal-ghar district yesterday when the incident occurred, a police official said.

The advertising profes-sional tried to overtake a truck on the Jawhar-Dahanu road around 9 am but her bike landed in a pothole, throwing her off. She was then crushed under the wheels of the truck, the official said, quoting an eye witness. Hogale was rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead before admis-sion, Kasa police station's assistant police inspector Jaip-rakash Guthe said.

The biker had earlier driven up to Khardung La in Ladakh, one of the highest motorable roads in the world, the police official said. An accidental death report has been regis-tered and the truck driver has been arrested. AGENCIES

OUR CORRESPONDENT

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Police has arrested 20 persons in connection with the mob lynching of DSP Mohd Ayub Pandith here last month, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Munir Khan said here on Monday.

A militant involved in the killing of the police officer was shot dead in an encoun-ter with security forces on July 12, the IGP said addressing a press conference on the sta-tus of the investigations in the case.

Pandith was lynched out-side Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of the city on June 22.

The IGP said the investi-gation in the case is still on and more arrests are likely to take place.

"So far 20 accused have been arrested and one more, a militant identified as Sajad Ahmad Gilkar, was killed in an encounter with the secu-rity forces in Redbugh area of Budgam on July 12, Khan said.

"The investigation of the case is going on at a fast pace and some more arrests are expected which will lead to the completion of the inves-tigation and the case will be

submitted for judicial deter-mination, he said.

Khan said the police is making vigorous efforts to identify the remaining assail-ants involved in the crime, while recovery of other evi-dences related to the commis-sion of the crime is underway.

"The important pieces of evidence including an iron rod, by which the officer was hit, his identity card, service pistol (in a damaged condi-tion) and his cell phone have been recovered, he said.

The IGP said it was encouraging to note that peo-ple came forward to provide valuable information which led to a substantial headway in the investigations.

"Unlike other cases, there was widespread condemna-tion by cross-section of the society.General public and eyewitnesses voluntarily came forward to render assistance in the investigation and pro-vide valuable information. This led us to the right con-clusion and the right line of investigation, he said.

Khan said in the initial phase, three persons were arrested and questioned which led to subsequent arrests and recovery of the evidence.

Parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan face flood fury

NDRF men rescuing flood-hit people at a village in Morbi district, Gujarat, on Monday

'Sell wife if you cannot arrange money for toilet,' DM tells man

HYDERABAD: The manager of actor Kajal Agarwal was on Monday arrested in con-nection with the drug racket which the Telangana Prohibi-tion and Excise Department claimed to have busted in the city earlier this month.

Puttkar Ronson Joseph was arrested after his house in Manikonda area here was searched and investigators found ganja (cannabis) at his house, an official said.

With this, the number of people arrested in the case has gone up to 19, he said.

Meanwhile, actor Char-mee Kaur, who is among those summoned, today moved the Hyderabad High Court, seek-ing its direction that she be questioned in the presence of women officers and her lawyers.

"I need legal assistance during the enquiry in order to protect my fundamental rights and also to avoid tor-ture, coercion and threat," her petition said, expressing fear that she may be compelled to give "false and self-incriminat-ing" statement, and that offi-cials may collect her blood, hair and nail samples against her will.

However, Excise Enforce-ment Director Akun Sab-harwal said no samples are collected without the written consent of an accused person. Women officers are already a part of the probe team, he added. AGENCIES

Hyderabad drug racket: Actor

Kajal Agarwal's manager held

Former Tamil Nadu CM O Panneerselvam and AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members supporting him with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday

Rival AIADMK factions approach Centre over NEET

J&K: 20 held for DSP lynching

Bandra woman killed after motorcycle hits pothole

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis arrives to attend the Monsoon session of the Assembly in Mumbai on Monday

7MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

mp nation

OUR CORRESPONDENT

BEIJING: China said on Mon-day that it will safeguard its security interests at "any cost" as its sovereignty was "indom-itable", amid a standoff with India in the Sikkim sector.

Chinese Defence Minis-try spokesman Wu Qian made this assertion ahead of this week's National Security Advi-sors' (NSA) talks to resolve the standoff.

Maintaining China's hard-line stance on the issue, Wu told a media briefing that the willingness and resolve of China to defend its sovereignty was "indomitable".

"China will safeguard its security interests at any cost.

India should not leave things to luck and not harbour any unrealistic illusions," he said ahead of the 90th anniver-sary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Commenting on the over a month-long military standoff between the troops of the two countries at Doklam area in the Sikkim section, Wu urged India to "correct its mistake".

Stating that the PLA has taken emergency measures in the region and continues to increase focused deployments and drills, he said, "We strongly urge India to take practical steps to correct its mistake, cease provocations, and meet China halfway in jointly safe-guarding the border region's peace and tranquillity."

His comments came as NSA Ajit Doval is set to travel to Beijing this week to attend

the BRICS NSAs meeting scheduled to be held from July 27-28 during which he is expected to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jie-chi. Both Doval and Yang are Special Representatives of the two countries in the bound-ary talks. Chinese officials say while there may not be a for-mal meeting between the two officials, keeping with Bei-jing's public position that no talks will be held without India withdrawing troops, they could

hold discussions on the side-lines to end the deadlock.

Last week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told Rajya Sabha that China intends to unilaterally change the status of the tri-junction with Bhu-tan, which poses a challenge to India's security.

She had said there was a written agreement between India, China and Bhutan in 2012 that the three nations will together decide on the bound-aries at the tri-junction point.

OPPN TRIES TO EMBARRASS NDA'S VICE-PREZ NOMINEE

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday sought to embar-rass NDA vice presidential candidate M Venkaiah Naidu alleging irregularities involv-ing him and his family in land and some other matters and demanded answers especially since he spoke of transparency and probity.

Accusing Naidu of land grab in Andhra Pradesh's Nel-lore district that was reserved for the poor, destitute and landless, Congress leader Jai-ram Ramesh said Naidu was "forced" to return this land after public protests and polit-ical pressure.

In a point-by-point rebuttal of Ramesh's allegations, Naidu, until recently Union Minister for Information and Broadcast-ing and Urban Development, said they are entirely false and politically motivated as the Congress leader has raised the issues which were responded to in the past.

"It is evident that these issues have been referred to a few days before the election to the post of Vice President of India clearly reflecting on the political motives and the mischievous intentions. This is a clear evidence of the sense of hopelessness and political bankruptcy of the Congress Party," Naidu said in a written statement.

Naidu earlier told report-ers thaty he felt "really sorry" that the opposition Congress could stoop down to this level by levelling the allegations just days before the vice- presiden-tial polls.

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar said whatever allegations Ramesh has tried to level are "baseless and unsubstantiated."

Ramesh did not give any proof to back up his allegations beyond giving the sequence of events allegedly involving Naidu and his family members.

At a news conference here, Ramesh also alleged that on June 20, 2017, the Telangana government issued a "secret order" exempting the 'Swarna Bharat Trust' of Naidu's daugh-ter from paying development

charges of more than Rs 2 crore to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority.

The Congress leader alleged further that in July 2014, the Telangana government placed an order of Rs 271 crore with-out inviting tenders for pur-chase of vehicles for the police from two car dealers - Harsha Toyota owned by Naidu's son and Himanshu Motors owned by Telangana chief minister's son.

Ramesh also said that the Supreme Court on April 6, 2011 quashed the allotment of 20 acres of land to "Kushab-hau Thakre Memorial Trust" of which Naidu was chairman.

He said the Supreme Court also passed strictures against the Madhya Pradesh govern-ment in alloting this land in Bhopal on September 25, 2004.

"I think it is incumbent upon Venkaiah Naidu, it is incumbent upon the BJP to provide satisfactory answers, the nation wants to know," he said.

He said Naidu is a senior, experienced and articulate leader and a candidate for the post of vice president for BJP and he should explain to the country and answer the ques-tions raised by the Congress party.

"Naidu has been a great champion of transparency, accountability, integrity and probity in public life, apart

from being a master player with words and a poet of sorts. In the same spirit we are asking these questions," he said.

"Those holding the highest public offices must fully dis-close their 'interests' as also 'special treatment' in the shape of state largesse for themselves and for their kith and kin," he said in his written statement.

Asked if he was alleging corruption by Naidu, Ramesh did not answer and instead demanded answers from Naidu and the BJP.

In his statement, Naidu said the issue of land grab was raised by the local Congress-men as early as in 2002 and even moved the courts and the charges of land grabbing were dismissed.

On exemption from pay-ing development charges by the 'Swarna Bharat Trust', he said when this issue was raised by the media, the Government of Telangana in their rejoinder dated July 23 clarified that it was not the first and the last to be given such a benefit.

The Telangana government in fact gave details of several other organizations given such exemption including those granted such exemption by the Congress Governments in the state.

The government has also clarified that there was nothing in law that prevented it from giving such exemptions.

Cong allegation politically motivated, says Venkaiah

China maintains hardline stance ahead of NSA talks

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ICA/T 2863(3)2017

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Parliament on Monday gave its nod to a bill that seeks to upgrade the law related to maritime claims, arrest and detention of ships and extends jurisdiction of trial to various courts across the country.

The Admiralty (Jurisdic-tion and Settlement of Mar-itime Claims), 2017 seeks to repeal laws such as the Admi-ralty Court Act, 1861, the Colo-nial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890.

The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote.

It had been passed by the Lok Sabha in March this year.

Moving the bill for consid-eration and passage, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Mansukh L Mandaviya said the maritime admiralty laws in India remain old and need to be changed in line with the changes effected globally.

He said the government was attempting to bring clarity in law through the proposed legislation.

Highlighting the impor-tance of maritime trade, the minister said 95 per cent of the overall exports and imports from India are through the maritime route and 33,000 ships come to the country's

shores every year.Mandaviya said the gov-

ernment was also considering developing new ports in West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka.

Investments to the tune of Rs 8 lakh crore are needed in the coming years to generate employment and boost India's shipping industry, the minis-ter said.

The earlier legislations came into force during the colonial era when India had only three major ports Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Therefore, at pres-ent, matters related to admi-ralty can be decided only by the High Courts of Bombay, Cal-cutta and Madras, even though there are 12 major ports and 205 minor ports in India.

However, the minister informed that the bill extends this to the High Courts of Kar-nataka, Gujarat, Orissa, Kerala, Hyderabad and any other High Court notified by the central government.

D Bandopadhyay of Tri-namool Congress, while sup-porting the bill, said it is important to look into envi-ronmental aspects and see that speedy action is taken in case of maritime accidents releas-ing toxins.

Kahkashan Perween of the JD(U) also supported the bill, saying it will strengthen laws related to maritime claims.

RS passes Maritime Admiralty Bill

NDA vice-presidential candidate and former Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu leaving Parliament after attending the Monsoon session proceedings on Monday PTI

BRO to construct tunnels to cut down distance to China border ITANAGAR: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will construct two tunnels through 4170-metre-high Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh, which would cut down the distance to China border through Tawang by 10 km. "The tunnels would cut down at least an hour of travel time between the Army s 4 Corps headquarters at Tezpur and Tawang. Moreover, the tunnels would ensure that NH 13 and especially the 171 km stretch between Bomdila and Tawang, remains accessible in all weather conditions," a BRO release said here on Monday. This is in keeping with India s bid for fast-er access to the Tibet frontier through the tough terrain of the state in the Eastern Himalayas. MPOST

Aryabhatta brain U R Rao passes awayOUR CORRESPONDENT

BENGALURU: Renowned space scientist and former ISRO Chairman U R Rao, who was the brain behind India's first satellite Aryabhata and guided the country's key space programmes, died here on Monday due to age-related ail-ments. The 85-year-old passed away at his residence here.

"Rao breathed his last around 3 am," Indian Space Research Organisation Public Relations Director Deviprasad Karnik said.

Rao is survived by wife, a son and a daughter.

From India's humble space programme Aryabhata in 1975 to its missions to the Moon (Chandrayan-1) and Mars (Mangalyan) and the proposed Aditya solar mission, Rao was involved in all ISRO's key pro-grammes till date in one capac-ity or the other.

He is credited with play-ing a pivotal role in establish-ing satellite technology that saw the launch of a wide array of satellites, including Bhas-kara, APPLE, Rohini, INSAT-1 and INSAT-2 series of multi-

purpose communication and meteorological satellites, IRS-1A, IRS-1B , IRS-1C and 1D remote sensing satellites.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over his death.

"Saddened by demise of renowned scientist, Profes-sor UR Rao. His remarkable contribution to India's space programme will never be for-gotten," he said in a tweet.

Rao began his career as a cosmic ray scientist, under the late Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, widely regarded as the father of India's space programme.

Prof Rao was an extraordinary visionary: K Kasturirangan

OUR CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD: Prof U R Rao played an anchor role in spear-heading India's satellite build-ing capability, and the strides that the country is making on Monday in the space field are thanks largely to his dynamic and visionary leadership, says former ISRO Chairman, K Kasturirangan.

He recalled that it was under Rao's leadership that Rohini and Aryabhata space-craft were developed by Indian Space Research Organisation, whose then Chairman Vikram Sarabhai persuaded him to come back from the US and take responsibility of budding activities in space, particularly satellite.

"Prof Rao played an anchor role in developing India's sat-ellite capability", Kasturiran-gan, who had succeeded him as ISRO Chairman, said.

For building Aryabhata in

the 1970s, Rao had to develop human resources right from the scratch and technologies that ISRO was not familiar with during the times when indus-trial base was also poor.

"Against all these odds, he led a team, built the satellite (Aryabhata) in 36 months, a record", Kasturirangan said of Rao, who died at his Bengal-uru residence today due to age-related ailments.

SC notice to Centre on PIL seeking 10-yr-old rape survivor's abortion

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre and others on a plea seeking its permission to allow a 10-year-old rape survi-vor to terminate her 26-week-old pregnancy.

A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud asked the member secretary of Chandi-garh Legal Services Authority to assist it as an amicus curiae and get the rape survivor exam-ined by a board of doctors on July 26. The bench also said that the medical board will have to examine the aspect whether if they allow the girl to abort the foetus, then what could be the possible risk on her life.

It has asked the member secretary to ensure that the rape survivor and one of her parents are accorded proper transpor-tation facility for her examina-tion at PGI, Chandigarh.

The court has now fixed the matter for hearing on July 28, and said the medical report be filed in a sealed cover before it and asked the counsel for the rape victim to provide her address to the member sec-retary instantly. The PIL was filed after a Chandigarh district court on July 18 refused to let the girl undergo the abortion after it was confirmed that she was 26-weeks-pregnant.

Courts allow medical ter-mination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks under the Medical Ter-mination of Pregnancy Act and can make an exception if the foetus is genetically abnormal.

The petition, filed by advo-cate Alakh Alok Srivastava, has

also sought appropriate guide-lines be framed by the top court to set up a permanent medical board in each district of India for expedient termination of pregnancies in exceptional cases involving child rape sur-vivors under the best possible medical facilities.

"Medical experts have cat-egorically opined that if the 10-year-old rape survivor is forced to give birth through normal delivery or C-section, it may be fatal to the life of the girl as well her child," the peti-tion filed through advocate Kedar Nath Tripathy had said.

The petition had also sought direction to the Cen-tre to amend Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Preg-nancy Act, 1971, so as to per-mit termination of pregnancies of more than 20 weeks, partic-ularly involving child rape sur-vivors after obtaining requisite opinion from a permanently constituted medical board.

24 monuments are untraceable, says Govt in LS

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Twenty-four monuments have disappeared and remained untraceable, the government said on Monday.

Union Culture minister Mahesh Sharma, in reply to a question in Lok Sabha, said that the ruins of Copper Temple in Arunachal Pradesh, Guns of Emperor Sher Shah in Assam's Tinsukia district, Bara Khamba Cemetery in Delhi and the ruins of fort Bamanpukur in West Bengal's Nadia district are among the disappeared monuments.

According to the list of untraceable monuments pre-pared by the ministry, Uttar Pradesh tops with 11 such monuments, followed by two each in Haryana, Delhi, Maha-rashtra and Rajasthan, and one each in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

mp editorial

Bullets flying as gunmen con-front each other in the streets or saloons, cowboys lassoing cattle on sprawling ranches

across a starkly beautiful panorama, wagon-borne pioneers riding across boundless plains with a worried eye out for Red Indians, bounty-hunters, trea-sure hunts, and more -- a small part of American history has extended beyond its time and space to leave a global cul-tural impact. But why has a period of some five decades of the 19th century in a large expanse of United States' (then) empty middle become such a cul-tural phenomenon? How has the typi-cal American genre of the "Western" inspired German, French and British writers, or Italian, East European and Indian film directors, and have admir-ers from Adolf Hitler to Joseph Stalin? And how realistic are the Westerns we read or see?

First, what do Westerns actually entail? Set in the 'Wild West', the mostly uncharted, unsettled and loosely gov-erned areas west of the Mississippi River, Westerns span from around the late 1840s to 1890 when the end of the frontier was officially declared (but may linger on into the new century), have their own specific features, stock char-acters and settings from the cold moun-tains of the north to plains to the desert in the south (most common). The plot may feature a lawman's challenges from outlaws/Red Indians/powerful vested interests, a nomadic mysterious gun-man riding into town or small, iso-lated homestead to rid it of threats, a wronged man's quest to take revenge, fighting off Red Indians or outlaws to protect settlers, building up a ranch from scratch and fending off cattle rus-tlers or larger unscrupulous neighbours or the like.

The characters include the cowboy, the drifter who is likely to be a gun-slinger, quite possibly the "Fastest Gun in the West", and sometimes some-thing-or-the-other kid. Against them

will be outlaws -- bandits, rustlers, or highwaymen, unscrupulous business barons or savage/noble Red Indians. While the law is represented by judges and sheriffs -- good, bad or ineffective -- or US marshals, there will also be bounty hunters, homesteaders, (usually placid) town folk, professional gam-blers, preachers, prostitutes, and sol-diers. The genre in itself is even older than the classic Western era, originating in the early 19th century with Ameri-can author James Fenimore "The Last of the Mohicans" Cooper when the frontier was more eastward. Its com-mon tropes were established by the mid-century cheap but lurid "dime novels" (American versions of the Brit-ish "penny dreadfuls") with fictional exploits of real people like Billy the

Kid, Kit Carson, Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok and so on, and subsequently, the pulp magazines.

Meanwhile, even before American Owen Wister's "The Virginian" (1902), regarded as the first Western novel, or Zane Grey's "Riders of the Purple Sage" (1912), there was already Austrian Carl Anton Postl alias Charles Sealsfield's "Tokeah or the White Rose" (1829), Frenchman Gabriel Ferry's "Le Coureur de Bois" and Irishman Thomas Mayne Reid's "The Rifle Rangers" (both 1850). Without setting a foot in the US, Ger-man author Karl Friedrich May, from the 1870s onwards, created a whole series of novels set in the American Old West, featuring Apache chief Winnetou and his White "blood brother" Old Shatterhand, making the genre popu-

lar in the German-speaking world.In the modern era, Americans like

Clarence Mulford ("Hopalong Cas-sidy" stories), Max Brand (Frederick Schiller Faust) and later Louis L'Amour, were complemented by English authors like J.T. Edson with his Civil War and other Westerns and Terry Harknett alias George G. Gilman. But for those looking for the classic stuff couldn't do better than read the books adapted into acclaimed Western films -- say Wal-ter Van Tilburg Clark's "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1940) in which two drift-ers are drawn into a lynch mob, Roy Chanslor's "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" (1956), which is darker than the Lee Marvin/Jane Fonda film, Stuart Lake's "Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal" (1931), which inspired "My Darling Clemen-tine", Jack Schaefer's "Shane" (1953), Charles Portis' "True Grit" (1968) or Elmore Leonard's revisionist "Hom-bre" (1961).

And how does the actual West com-pare with its cultural depiction? Well, though it was lawless and violent, there were no huge shootouts, the quick draw showdowns were rare, guns were not very precise or rapid-fire, gunfights and violent criminals were common elsewhere too, people carrying guns in most towns could get arrested than shot, and be more likely to die from dis-ease or in an accident than to be killed in a gunfight or by Indians. And while there were white cowboys, most were likely to be black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American. But why is the genre so popular? Has it something to do with its setting of yet untamed wilderness, personal codes of honour and direct justice (in a shooting showdown), some trappings of civilisation but not its social order, and the adventure?

And then, there is always something to be said for that ends with a ride into the sunset. IANS

(The author is Associate Editor with IANS. Views expressed are personal.)

8MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

How long will the country mutely witness thousands of its debt-stricken

small farmers committing sui-cide year after year, irrespective of the political party in power at the Centre or states? With 67 per cent of India’s farm-land held by marginal farm-ers; continuous shrinkage of acreage under their control provides an alarming picture of the future of these poor farmers and India’s agricul-ture. Unfortunately, political parties do not seem to be con-cerned about addressing the real issue of making agricul-ture scientifically sustainable without such political doles as writing-off poor farmers’ bank-debts and certain farm subsidies that indirectly benefit industrial producers of power, fertilisers and pesticides more than their direct users. By its geographical size, India is the world’s most populated coun-try. A continuously non-remu-nerative domestic agriculture can ruin all its other economic advantages. It is another mat-ter that financially-sick farmers across the country may some-day organise themselves to revolt against the government or administration, instead of cheaply ending life by com-mitting suicide. Also, if the cri-sis persists, India may have to eventually live substantially on food imports.

It is high time that both Central and state governments take a serious view of the last agricultural census to address the situation through legal and social measures. The govern-ment’s own official statement puts “the average size of the (farm) holding at 1.15 hectare. And, the size of these holdings has shown a steady declining trend since 1970-71.” Further, the large holdings of 10 hect-ares and above account for less than one per cent of the

country’s farmland. Few will disagree that the small and marginal farmers should have been induced and incentivised by the government to go for cooperative farming instead of playing politics on their plight. Cooperatives are meant to help such marginal farmers benefit from economies of scale.

They could lower their costs of inputs, cultivation, storage, and transport. Such coopera-tives could enable farmers to improve production, service quality and reduce financial risks. Marginal farmers would not have been marginalised to become victims of lenders, private loan-shirks, middle-man and market. They would have also probably kept at bay those political parties and lead-ers who have long been con-verting farmers’ distress and suicides into votes during state and parliamentary elections.

Cooperative farming wit-nessed a grand success in China, the world’s most popu-lous country, and also in highly industrialised nations such as the UK, Germany, France, and

Sweden. Advantages of coop-erative farming are many. They include consolidation of small units of land; liberal use of mechanisation; adequate and timely use of inputs like fer-tilisers and pesticides; techni-cal guidance to improve skills and productivity; secure fair price of products; and build brotherhood among mem-bers to help each other to pull their resources and promote common interests. The coop-erative farming movement is not new to India. It marked tremendous success in Guja-rat, parts of Maharashtra and a few other states contributing substantially to the production of milk and sugar among oth-ers. There is no reason why it should not be an equal success in agriculture.

Despite a rapid growth of India’s services sector since the 1992 economic reform, it is still largely an agricultural economy in terms of direct and indirect jobs that the farm sector creates. Statistically, agriculture contributes about 18 per cent to India’s GDP

through providing employ-ment to nearly two-third of its total population. Rural women play a vital role in agriculture, representing almost 50 per cent of farm labour. Agricul-tural accounts for around 15 per cent of the country’s export earnings. In China, agricul-ture accounts for about 11 per cent of its GDP -- this is over four times larger than India’s. In 2016, India’s GDP was $2.5 trillion. China’s GDP was $11.4 trillion. Some 330 million or over 45 per cent of China’s total labour force live on farming although only about 15 per cent of China’s total land mass is cultivable. Over 75 per cent of China’s total cultivated land grows only food crops. Prop-erly organised under coopera-tives, India’s marginal farms hold the promise of doing bet-ter than China’s. The earlier they are initiated, the better it is for poor marginal farmers and agriculture.

It’s important that the government ensures that groundwater, on which India’s agriculture is substantially

dependent, is not exploited by consumer industries mak-ing soft drinks, bottled water, alcoholic beverages, etc. The latter can use municipal water, drawn mostly from rivers, for a small fee. India’s agriculture is mostly rain-fed. The propor-tion of net irrigated area to net area sown was 45.70 per cent at the beginning of this decade. This means that half the coun-try's farmland relies entirely on rains for their crops. Deep tube-wells are a major source of irrigation. While the total cropped area is estimated at 193.76 million hectares, nine states account for almost 78 per cent of it. They are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajas-than, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and West Bengal.

Incidentally, Maharashtra, Andhra, Telangana, UP, and Karnataka have among the most debt-trapped farmers. Maharashtra has always seen the highest number of farmer suicides every year. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, now championing the cause of poor farmers, may be aware that the state was ruled by the Congress-NCP coalition for 15 consecutive years until BJP came to power in 2014. Of the country’s total net irrigated area of 64.57 million hectares, about 48 per cent is shared by small and marginal hold-ings. Under cooperative farm-ing, the marginal holders can put together their resources and seek help from the gov-ernment and local bodies to improve their access to irriga-tion. Nobody denies that agri-cultural cooperatives can also be subject to corruption and political exploitation. Yet, they seem to be the best option for the country’s debt-ridden, sui-cide-prone marginal farmers. IPA (Views expressed are personal.)

Distressed small farmersEDITORIAL

Cooperatives alone can address small farmers’ woes; strong agricultural reform needed without delay

Over 75 per cent of China’s total cultivated land grows only food crops. Properly organised under cooperatives, India’s marginal farms hold the promise of doing better than China’s. The earlier they are initiated, the better it is for poor marginal farmers and agriculture

Without setting a foot in the US, German author Karl Friedrich May, from the 1870s onwards, created a whole series of novels set in the American Old West, featuring Apache chief Winnetou and his White "blood brother" Old Shatterhand, making the genre popular in the German-speaking world

At a time when Congress was riding high on the ‘anti-incumbency’ factor in Gujarat, the unprecedented resignation of its old horse Shankarsinh Vaghela appears shattering to the poll prospects of the

grand old party. Of course, following the resignation – there is much abuzz in Gujarat. While some political observers say that it was BJP president Amit Shah, who choreographed Vaghela’s exit as he is facing a CBI and an ED case for actions taken as Union Textile Minister when he sold prime land in Mumbai belonging to the National Textiles Corporation (NTC), allegedly at an off the cuff price causing more than Rs. 709 crore losses to the exchequer; several others think that he would be in alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after forming an outfit of his own as a third front. Of course, the departure of Vaghela is a big setback for the Con-gress whose fortunes were reviving in Gujarat due to the dip-ping popularity of the ruling BJP in its bastion. As a result, it would give a boost to the ambitions of BJP, who are looking to win 150 out of the 182 seats in the Assembly polls slated for December this year. It may be noted that with uneasiness in the ranks of Patidars (Patels) – who hitherto were the stron-gest supporters of the BJP till the emergence of Hardik Patel – the BJP was looking a little rickety. Other sections like the OBCs and Dalits were also upset with the BJP in Gujarat. And, those were the factors which fertilised Vaghela’s ambi-tions to be named the Congress’s Chief Ministerial candidate. But, since Congress betted on Bharat Solanki, Vaghela not only allegedly designed cross-voting in favour of BJP nomi-nee Ram Nath Kovind in the Presidential poll a few days ago but also preferred to quit the party on his birthday before he could be sacked. Always an odd ball in the Congress due to his proximity with RSS, Vaghela is said to be a once upon a time close associate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When Keshubhai Patel became the first BJP Chief Minis-ter of Gujarat, he had Modi’s support. But with some eventual ego-clashes, Vaghela broke away from the BJP and formed a new party, the Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP), and succeeded in becoming Chief Minister. After that, when his RJP gov-ernment was tumbled, Vaghela gravitated to the Congress and merged his party. But with his RSS background and his special ire for Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s ‘blue-eyed’ boy Ahmed Patel, he always remained a ‘far-fetched’ name for the Congress. Vaghela has now quit as leader of opposition in the Gujarat Assembly, but he doesn’t appear quitting the Assembly before casting his vote against Ahmed Patel, a four-time Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat who is seeking re-election this fortnight. Though Vaghela has repeatedly claimed that he won’t join the BJP, the ‘dimmer’ prospects of his third front may result in dividing the opposition vote, thus putting the ruling party at an advantage. However, no one can deny the fact that his sudden move to quit the Congress has the poten-tial to alter political equations in the home-turf of Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi, where he is likely to pitch himself as a third alternative ahead of the Assembly polls.

At a time, when the BJP in Gujarat needs a leader with mass connect, especially after Modi and BJP president Amit Shah left the state to regulate the party's national leadership and the Congress facing the similar situation after Vaghela’s exit, no one can turn their back on the political heft of this Kshatriya strongman, who wields a considerable influence in North Gujarat. Perhaps, this is the reason that BJP didn’t go scathing while making a remark on Vaghela’s exit. One of the BJP spokespersons said, “Now when Vaghela has made himself ‘Congress-mukt’ (free), the BJP expects he will sup-port the development agenda of the party.” Nonetheless, with the recent moves by this 77-year-old former Chief Minister of Gujarat, it appears that he would pitch himself as an ‘anti-Congress’ and ‘anti-BJP’ alternative in the Gujarat elections as he feels that the situation is ripe for him to make the last attempt for the coveted Chief Minister’s post, which he held for nearly one year in the 1990s. The forthcoming state elec-tion seems the last chance for this septuagenarian leader to give a shot at power. Perhaps, that’s why he took the risk of quitting Congress after 20 years of association.

Despite a nail-biting defeat in ICC Women’s World Cup final at Lords, the achievements of the ‘women in blue’ are greater than any victory; especially in a country with intemperate displays

of masculinity in politics, public life and most of all in cricket. It is a ‘feel good’ moment for the whole country. Brushing aside all the tall claims that the Indian girls would not be able to move beyond the league matches – they forced the entire lot of otherwise Kohli & Co fans and ‘Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ soap-opera viewers of Indian TV screen world to witness their performance at Lords on Sunday – equipped with hopes and charms. The Indian media usually does not sap their strengths in making the heartaches and breakups of male cricketers as headlines, but for them, their women counterparts competing at the highest international level in the World Cup is not as newsworthy. However, this time the adage of Aamir Khan’s blockbuster ‘Dangal’ i.e. “Mhari chhoriyan chhoron se kam nahin” caught journalists’ atten-tion! When the team reached the finals with Harmanpreet Kaur’s hurricane of hitting against Australia, stories of their glories began to circulate and the fans began to take them out from their anonymity.

Cricket is no longer a sport of the colonial elite. This game has now democratised from metropolitans to tinsel towns and sleepy hamlets. There is the resurgent, confident “new India” with a deep dislike for nepotism, entitlement, and privilege – much on lines of Kangana Ranaut's contro-versial stand. This women’s cricket team represents this “new India” as most of them have made very arduous journeys from small towns and highly patriarchal communities to the international stage only through their abundant talent, the sheer dint of hard work and also the remarkable support of their unconventional families. Right from Deepti Sharma of Saharanpur to Harmanpreet Kaur of Moga and from Ekta Bisht of Almora to Jhulan Goswami of Nadia, all of them belong to places that are not on the cricketing map of India.

In1983, India played the cricket World Cup finals at Lord’s as the underdogs. In 2017, India played the cricket World Cup finals again at Lords – again as small fries. But, our girls made the way to showcase their talent on the ground – once owned and allowed for only ‘male’ English gentlemen. But, did our girls get proper support from their own Cricket Control Board. Even after the merger of Women’s Cricket Association of India (WICA) with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2006, the ‘prosperous’ BCCI con-sidered women’s cricket insignificant and proved to be a vir-tual ‘miser’ in making investments as well as planning and scheduling to nurture women’s cricket. Surprisingly, salaries and remunerations of Kohlis are at least 1,000 times higher than Mithalis. Let us hope after this feat at Lords, our girls would no longer remain the poor versions of their male counterparts.

‘Vaghela impact’ in Gujarat

Our girls, the real heroes

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Aiming for a Congress-mukt Bharat would have made more sense had it been a little more than a shallow political tactic. This country does not need any Congress, or BJP, or just any party for that matter. The most imperative thing this country needs is welfare and development. If only the energy was directed towards making India better in more substantial ways instead of engaging in avoidable elimination practices, things would have been favourably different. .

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9mp in focusMILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

Last week Antarctica shed a trillion-ton ice-berg from the Larsen C ice shelf that had been

tethered precariously at the edge for years. The chunk of ice is approximately four times the height of Qutab Minar and has an area that is one-and-a-half-times that of Goa, making it the largest iceberg ever seen in recorded history. The reason behind the disintegration is still unclear. Scientists are divided over the role that humans have played in causing the event, if at all. Some claim that formation of icebergs has been happening since centuries and has little to do with global warming. Nev-ertheless, even if this is consid-ered to be a natural event, the erosion has followed two previ-ous collapses of smaller magni-tude in 1995 and 2002, and any move towards global warming will only hasten such events. In such a scenario, the dreaded march of climate change will result in rising sea levels and have potentially disruptive and disastrous consequences around the globe.

As per the Inter-gov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the average rate of ice loss from Antarctica has increased from 30 billion tonnes a year between 1992 and 2001 to 147 billion tonnes a year between 2002 and 2011. As a result, sea-level rise, which was linear in the 20th century, is expected to be exponential in this century. The matter should be of serious concern to India as the country possesses a 7,500-km-long coastline which is home to huge coastal communities. The land in the Sundarbans is already reced-ing and numerous people have lost their homes multiple times due to rapid erosion. Farmers are being forced to migrate in the thousands. The situation will be unmanageable when it extends to the entire coastline.

In the light of these con-

cerns, US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the “unfair” Paris agreement seems reckless and utterly destructive. Historically, the US has added disproportionately to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases and is still the biggest per capita emitter of carbon diox-ide -- more than twice the rate of China and 10 times that of India in 2013. Moreover, the idea of looking at country-wise emissions underestimates the contributions made by coun-tries like the US to global warming. Most of the discus-sions on environment fail to mention “consumption”, which is the singular economic driver of climate change. Per capita consumption level of countries reflects a more accurate picture of a country’s contribution to global emissions since merely measuring emissions assumes away trade implications. When

a country imports goods from the rest of the world for con-sumption, the emissions made in production and transpor-tation of those goods should be added to the overall emis-sions of that country and not the manufacturing one. The opposite needs to be done for exports.

Since the US had a trade deficit of $502 billion in 2016 and China had a trade sur-plus of $486 billion, the emis-sions for the former are clearly understated, and those for the latter are overstated. The Global Footprint Network estimated that if the entire earth con-sumed as much as an average US citizen, four Earths would be needed to sustain them. The same estimation for China came out to be 1.1 Earths and almost half an Earth for India. Therefore, the US owes it to the world to stick to the Paris

commitments and take a lead on it by helping the developing world adopt green technology.

Nevertheless, averages are somewhat misleading. When consumption levels at different income groups are disaggre-gated for Indians, the top five per cent amounting to about 60 million consume as much as an average European, and their rate of consumption is docu-mented to be growing at an alarming rate. Moreover, they set the aspirational bar for most Indians, which has a cascading effect of increasing consump-tion across all income levels. Therefore, since consumption is the foundation of all green-house gas emissions, focusing on curbing unnecessary con-sumption becomes a greater goal than attempting to limit emissions. Lower consumption implies lower emissions and not the other way around. For

instance, skipping your next flight for a meeting and hosting a video conference instead will reduce emissions at a faster rate than fuel-efficient planes. This is not to argue that the goal of reducing emissions is not noble in itself but only to point out that encouraging efficiency in consumption might be more effective.

Moreover, the mere use of technology cannot make consumption efficient. Jevons Paradox dictates that even though technological prog-ress increases the efficiency with which we use resources, we tend to use more of it. So, for instance, if electric cars reduce emissions, we’ll tend to drive longer distances sim-ply because we save more on fuel consumption. This implies that only a conscious shift in attitudes, behaviour, and habits can save us from our-selves. The steady collapse of the Antarctic ice shelf is a jar-ring reminder of the urgency required in building a sustain-able lifestyle for ourselves and the need to wrestle with our multiple vested interests. The US, more than any other coun-try, requires adopting radical lifestyle changes and decou-pling human well-being from economic growth and con-sumption. However, the upper-income strata in the developing countries are equally liable. In fact, their activities put the world at higher risk since their consumption engenders more consumption at other income levels on a scale that the planet can simply not afford. Deal-ing with needless consumption is, thus, the crux of the chal-lenge in the fight against cli-mate change. IANS

(Amit Kapoor is Chair, Institute for Competitiveness,

India. With inputs from Chirag Yadav, Researcher,

Institute for Competitiveness. The views expressed

are strictly personal.)

With almost no prosecution of perpetrators, it is difficult to know who are attacking the environmental defenders or who all are orchestrating these attacks. There is one root cause of violence against defenders that stands out above all others: denying communities the right to make informed decisions about the use of their land and resources

The Global Footprint Network estimated that if the entire earth consumed as much as an average US citizen, then four Earths would be needed to sustain them. The same estimation for China came out to be 1.1 Earths and almost half an Earth for India. Focusing on curbing unnecessary consumption is a greater goal than attempting to limit emissions

2016: The deadliest yearIndia has emerged the fourth deadliest country in the world for land and

environmental rights activists, informs Subhojit Goswami

Capturing Climate Change

When it comes to killings of environmental rights activ-ists, every year is setting a new record. And 2016 was no dif-

ferent. According to a report by Global Wit-ness, a UK-based watchdog, at least 200 land and environmental activists were killed in 2016–almost 10 per cent more than 2015, which was previously the deadliest year. In fact, 2015’s total death toll was about 60 per cent higher than that of 2014. What’s worry-ing is not just the increasing number of mur-ders, but also how this trend is spreading its tentacles to more countries. In 2016, killings were reported across 24 countries as com-pared to 16 countries in 2015. Latin America accounted for about 60 per cent of killings. With 49 reported murders, Brazil was the worst country in terms of attacks on environ-mental activists. Most of these murders were perpetrated by loggers and landowners in the Amazon. Colombia witnessed murders of 37 land and environmental defenders in 2016—the worst year on record. It was a 40 per cent rise in killings over a year. Paramilitaries are suspected perpetrators in 22 murders. KILLINGS OF LAND & ENVIRONMEN-TAL DEFENDERS IN 2016

With 11 murders, Nicaragua remains one of the deadliest countries for environmen-tal defenders; as does Honduras. In 2016, it reported 14 murders. It has the highest num-ber of murders per capita. In 2015 report, Global Witness had pointed out “systematic assault on remote and indigenous communi-ties (in Honduras) by a collusion of state and corporate actors”. With the number of mur-ders increasing from eight to 14, it is safe to assume that this challenge was far from being tackled. Hydro-dams and agribusiness were the sectors most linked to murders in this country known for its rich natural resources.

Asia is the second-most vulnerable con-tinent. Out of the 24 countries covered in this report, 10 are in Asia. At least 61 activ-ists were murdered in 2016—an 18 per cent increase from 2015. The Philippines contin-ues to be the deadliest place in the continent to defend the environment. The country saw 28 killings, mostly linked to protests over mining operations. Bangladesh, which did not report any killing in 2015, saw a spurt in violence last year with seven murders. SITUATION IS RAPIDLY WORSENING FOR LAND DEFENDERS IN INDIA

India has become the fourth deadliest country in the world, with 16 murders. Kill-ings tripled in 2016 with most of the murders suspected to have been committed by police while shooting protestors. “It is a sign of ris-ing state repression and the criminalisation of civil society,” observes the report. There have

been reports of indigenous people of Chhat-tisgarh being brutally repressed for oppos-ing large-scale coal mining in their lands. It is attributed to present the government’s policy of stifling any opposition to ‘develop-ment policies’. The report goes on to highlight the fact that nearly half of the environmental defenders in India were killed while engag-ing in public protests and demonstrations.

DEFENDING NATIONAL PARKS IN AFRICA IS NOW RISKIER THAN EVER

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which saw the highest number of defenders (10) killed in Africa, is not a safe place for park rangers. Nine out of 10 people killed in 2016 were park rangers. In DRC, national parks are home to armed poachers and criminal gangs. Exploration by extrac-tive companies has increased the risks for

Rangers, who already face threat from the poachers. Threats of violence often force park rangers to switch jobs.

According to the Global Witness Report, half of DRC’s murdered park rangers in 2016 worked at Virunga National Park—a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to some of the last remaining mountain goril-las in the world. These violent murders are a disturbing trend documented in other parts of Africa: South Africa, Cameroon, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

According to the report, most murders were linked to mining and oil sector. Con-flicts over the control of land and natural resources due to mining operations killed 33 environmental defenders in 2016. Log-ging emerged as the second-most danger-ous sector for the land defenders. The sector witnessed more than 50 per cent increase in

killings as compared to 2015. Murders asso-ciated with logging increased from 15 to 23. The agribusiness sector-related violence also led to an equal number of killings.

WHO ARE THE PERPETRATORS?With almost no prosecution of perpe-

trators, it is difficult to know who are attack-ing the environmental defenders or who all are orchestrating these attacks. However, the report identified potential paramilitary involvement in 35 cases, mostly in Colom-bia and the Philippines. The police and land-owners were suspected to be involved in 33 and 26 killings respectively. Poachers were accused of murdering 13 people, predomi-nantly in Africa. The military, loggers, and business representatives are also suspected.

“There is one root cause of violence against defenders that stands out above all

others: denying communities the right to make informed decisions about the use of their land and resources,” the report observes. According to the authors of the report, “Civil society needs to act together to support these land defenders in their campaigns, afford them greater protection and promote an alternate, more sustainable vision of devel-opment—one that doesn’t cost us the Earth”.

As a scramble for land by powerful con-glomerates continues, sometimes with tacit support from governments, the activists at the frontline of the struggle for the land and environment are pushed to the margins and their voices are silenced. The above findings call for institutional reforms globally, to pro-tect those who are keeping up the fight. DOWN TO EARTH

(The views expressed are strictly personal.)

Unprecedented changes in consumption marks the way forward

Michelle Campos holds a picture of her father who was killed in the Mindanao region of the Philippines, as were Campos’ grandfather and schoolteacher. They had all spoken out against mining in the region

Climate change is now a glaring reality despite increasing awareness (Representational Image)

AMIT KAPOOR

mp world10MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata |Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

26 killed, 57 injured in blast near CM residence in LahoreLAHORE: At least 26 peo-ple, including policemen, were killed and 57 others injured on Monday when a suspected sui-cide bomber targeted police personnel deployed near resi-dence-cum-office of Pakistan’s Punjab province Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore.

“Police and Lahore Devel-opment Authority officials were busy in removing encroach-ments outside the Arfa Karim Tower, located near the CM’s Model Town residence, when a powerful blast took place,” Res-cue 1122 Deeba Shahnaz said.

Lahore police chief Capt (R) Amin Wains confirmed that it was a suicide blast and the “target was police”.

The chief minister, who is also the brother of Prime Min-ister Nawaz Sharif, was in a meeting at his Model Tow n office when the blast took place.

The Punjab government confirmed that 26 people were killed and and 57 others injured in the blast. One Sub- Inspec-tor, 1 ASI and 6 Constables were among dead, it added.

Rescue teams shifted the injured to hospital. Emer-gency was declared in city hos-

pitals. “The condition of several injures is stated to be critical” Shahnaz said.

“29 injured persons are being treated at Lahore Gen-eral Hospital, 9 in Jinnah and 18 in Ittefaq hospital,” the offi-

cial Twitter account of the Gov-ernment of Punjab tweeted.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Citing police sources, the Geo News reported that a sui-cide attacker targeted police

personnel deployed at the site. The area has been cordoned off by a heavy contingent of secu-rity forces and the section of the road has been sealed.

“We are collecting evi-dence and this could be a sui-

cide bombing. The death toll includes police and civilians,” DIG Operations Haider Ashraf was quoted as saying.

Prime Minister Sharif strongly condemned the blast and directed officials to provide best possible medical treatment for the injured.

“No words can express the grief which grips my heart right now. Blast destroyed many families, but terrorists can never destroy our resolve,” Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said. “Our blood was spilt on the street but I swear to my Allah that the blood of our innocent martyrs will write end of these cowardly assas-sins!,” he tweeted.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said terrorism can not be ruled out as the motive behind the explosion. He added that security forces are conducting their investigations.

Lahore, the cultural capi-tal of Pakistan, has witnessed several terror attacks in recent years. In April, six persons were killed and 15 others injured when a suicide bomber tar-geted a population census team in Lahore’s Bedian Road. AGENCIES

San Antonio truck deaths: Driver arrested, 10 confirmed

dead in trafficking horror

SAN ANTONIO: The death toll in a suspected human smuggling case is San Anto-nio has risen to 10, as officials confirm two men died in the hospital after being rescued from the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer.

The man believed to be the driver of the truck, which car-ried up to 100 suspected ille-gal immigrants in Texas, is expected to be charged in rela-tion to the deaths.

Sixty-year-old Florida native James Matthew Brad-ley Jr was identified by the US Attorney’s office as the driver, and was arrested in connection with the incident. Federal pros-ecutors say he will be charged on Monday, however according to Reuters, the local US Attor-ney’s Office would not confirm whether Bradley was the truck driver who was arrested.

Thirty people were found, with at least 20 in critical con-dition in a trailer parked at a Walmart store in San Antonio, where temperatures outside the vehicle reached 100 degrees and temperatures inside were thought to have been as high as 140 degrees.

It is believed that as many as 100 people were pressed together in the trailer, and four of the survivors were thought to be between the ages of 10 and 17, according to The Wash-ington Post. Some of the peo-ple allegedly smuggled into the country had fled to the wooded area surrounding Walmart, police say.

Many were suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion, and their skin was very hot to the touch, rescuers said. Their

hearts were racing, and some will have suffered irrevers-ible brain damage. The trailer lacked any air conditioning and did not have a water supply.

“All were victims of ruthless human smugglers indifferent to the well-being of their fragile cargo,” said US Attorney Rich-ard Durbin Jr.

“These people were helpless in the hands of their transport-ers. Imagine their suffering, trapped in a stifling trailer,” he added.

Authorities had been called after a dazed individual emerged from the truck and asked a Walmart employee for water. The employee called the police and informed them of the interaction. San Antonio Chief William McManus said in a press conference: “We’re looking at a human trafficking crime here.”

Footage from the parking area showed a number of vehi-cles picking up people who had been in the trailer and survived the trip.

Describing it as a “hor-rific tragedy,” the Chief added: “[The discovery] is not an iso-lated incident. This happens quite frequently…fortunately there are people who survived, abut this happens all the time.”

Officials from Mexico and Guatemala confirmed people from those countries were found in the trailer, and San Antonio’s consul gen-eral is working closely with local and federal authorities to identify the nationalities of the victims.

Two people in hospital have been identified by the Guate-malan government. AGENCIES

Myanmar floods kill two, displace tens of

thousands YANGON: Flooding across large parts of Myanmar has dis-placed more than 100,000 peo-ple, causing two deaths, while dramatic riverbank erosion has washed away a Buddhist pagoda, officials, residents and state media said on Monday.

Water levels have risen steadily since unrelenting monsoon rain began to lash the heart of the Southeast Asian country in early July, driving some people to higher land or seek shelter in Buddhist monasteries, a disaster relief official said. “The situation is under control, but what hap-pens now will depend on the weather,” Ko Ko Naing, direc-tor general of the ministry of social welfare, relief and reset-tlement, told Reuters. “We are prepared to support the flood-hit areas because flooding hap-pens every year.”

The govt has provided food and other assistance to a total of 116,817 displaced people by Monday, as well as longer-term shelter for those outside settle-ments where flood waters are not expected to subside imme-diately. One man drowned in the floods in the Sagaing region and another was swept away while crossing a stream. AGENCIES

35 dead in Kabul car bomb attack claimed by TalibanKABUL: The Taliban has claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Kabul that left at least 35 people dead, as it ratchets up an offensive across Afghanistan. The bomb hit a bus ferrying employees of the ministry of mines. The blast occurred at around 6:40 am local time (10:10 pm ET) on Mon-day, when a Toyota Corolla exploded in the city’s west, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish told CNN.

It is the latest in a string of attacks in recent days by the Taliban, which said it had cap-tured two districts in north-ern and central Afghanistan at the weekend. In a statement

released by Taliban spokes-man Zabiullah Mujahid, the group said the Kabul bomb’s target was a bus carrying Afghan intelligence staff, but Danish said that all the vic-tims were civilians, including some employees of the Minis-try of Mining and Petroleum. Women and children were among the dozens injured, Danish said. Saleem Rasooli, head of Kabul hospitals, put the death toll at 29 and said at least 40 others were injured in the blast.

A witness told CNN he saw injured people in the streets and others yelling in the bomb-ing’s aftermath. “In the morn-ing I was sleeping when I heard a loud boom, which woken me

up,” said 33-year-old Safiullah, who gave only his first name.

He looked out of a window in his home and saw plumes of smoke rising from the site as people ran in a panic.

Family members and friends searched for loved ones in the commotion that followed. One shopkeeper, who appeared to be in a state of shock and said he had for-gotten his own name, was look-ing for a friend.

His clothes were covered in blood as he answered calls from the missing friend’s family.“I lost my friend, and I am search-ing the dead bodies,” he said. “I went to three hospitals, but he wasn’t there. What should I tell his family?”

Afghanistan’s Chief Exec-utive Abdullah Abdullah and President Ashraf Ghani both condemned the attack.

“I strongly condemn the terrorist attack on civil ser-vants in Kabul today (Mon-day), ” Abdullah said in a tweet.

“Our security institutes will hold perpetrators accountable.”

Ghani’s office said in state-ment: “The enemy of Afghan-istan can’t face our forces in battle field so they target inno-cent civilians.”The uptick in violence comes as US President Donald Trump mulls sending more troops to Afghanistan, amid no signs that the Taliban is weakening. There are about 8,400 US troops in the country at the moment. AGENCIES

‘I just want to go home: German teen who joined IS speaks of regrets’BERLIN: A 16-year-old Ger-man girl who was caught fighting for ISIS in Mosul has revealed she is desper-ate to leave Iraq and return to her family.

Linda Wenzel was 15 when she vanished from the small German town of Pulsnitz in July last year to fight for the ter-ror group after being groomed online by a Chechen Jihadist she is reported to have later married. Last week she was pulled alive, wounded, dazed and dirty, from the rubble of a house in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Her father has spoken for the first time of his joy at learn-ing his daughter was alive in

Iraq while Linda has told reporters she regrets having joined the terror group.

Speaking in her prison cell in Baghdad, Linda said: ‘I just want to get away from here. I want to get away from the war, from the many weapons, from the noise.I just want to go home to my family.’

German broadcasters NDR and WDR and newspa-per Sueddeutsche Zeitung said they had spoken to Wenzel at a military complex in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad where she said she was ‘doing well’.

She is said to have suffered a gunshot wound to her left thigh and told reporters she

wants to be extradited to Ger-many where she would cooper-ate with authorities.

Her construction worker

father Reiner, 52, said he was painting lines on a busy auto-bahn near his home in Dresden last week when he got the news that his daughter was alive.

‘I collapsed when I learned that Linda lives,’ he told Ger-many’s BILD newspaper. ‘I heard on the radio that they had found her alive in Mosul.

‘My colleagues came over to me. I had to leaver and go and sit at a service station where I cried. ‘That is my little one,’ he said, holding up the photo of a confused and dazed Linda taken by one of the Iraqi troops who rescued her.

‘I recognised her from a lit-tle scar across one eye that she

got as a child from a garden swing. I have never seen my little one look so serious and so sad.’ Living apart from Lin-da’s mother Katharina, 48, he remembers her calling him on the night of July 3 last year ask-ing if he knew where she was.

Linda had told her and her stepfather that she was travel-ing to spend the weekend with as friend. But she had actually purchased a ticket for Istan-bul using her mum’a money and from there was smug-gled into Syria. On Sunday, it was revealed that the teen-ager had a baby with her when she was found in Mosul last week. AGENCIES

At least 8 dead after suicide bombers hit

camps in NigeriaMAIDUGURI: At least eight people are dead after female suicide bombers attacked two displaced persons camps in northeastern Nigeria’s main city, a civilian self- defense group said on Monday.

It was the first major attack on a displaced persons camp in Maiduguri, the birthplace of the Boko Haram extremist insurgency. The attack started late last night and left another 15 people wounded, spokes-man Bello Danbatta with the Civilian-JTF group told The Associated Press. The Nigeria-based extremist group Boko Haram often targets the city with suicide bombers and increasingly has been using female ones. Nigeria’s govern-ment late last year declared the group “crushed” but dozens of such attacks have been carried out this year.

The latest bombings occurred a few days after Nige-ria’s army chief of staff issued a 40-day deadline for troops to flush out Boko Haram’s leader and finish off the group. Dan-batta said one bomber sneaked into the Dalori camp and det-onated, and two other attack-ers exploded near the camp’s perimeter. AGENCIES

18-year-old woman arrested in deadly crash that was livestreamed on InstagramMERCED: An 18-year-old woman has been arrested in California on suspi-cion of causing a deadly crash that she recorded live on Instagram. Obdulia Sanchez was booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of DUI and vehicular manslaughter after Friday’s crash that killed her 14-year-old sister and badly injured another 14-year-old girl. The California Highway Patrol says Sanchez was driving the car when it veered onto the right shoulder of a road about 120 miles (190 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. AGENCIES

Turkey puts on trial 17 reporters from anti-Erdogan daily

ISTANBUL: Seventeen direc-tors and journalists from one of Turkey’s most respected opposition newspapers go on trial today after spending over eight months behind bars in a case which has raised new alarm over press free-doms under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.The suspects were detained from Octo-ber last year under the state of emergency implemented after the July 15, 2016 failed coup blamed on the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

The opposition fears the emergency has been used to go after anyone who dares defy Erdogan and if convicted, the defendants face varying terms of up to 43 years in jail.The trial is seen as a test for press freedoms under Erdo-gan in Turkey, which ranks 155th on the latest Reporters Without Borders (RSF) world press freedom index, below Belarus and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the P24 press freedom group, there are 166 journalists behind bars in Turkey, most of whom were arrested under the state of emergency. Erdogan, how-

ever, insisted in an interview earlier this month there were just “two real journalists” behind bars in Turkey.

Cumhuriyet (Republic), which was set up in 1924 and is Turkey’s oldest main-stream national title, has been a thorn in the side of Erdogan in recent years.

It is one of the few genu-ine opposition voices in the press, which is dominated by strongly pro-government media and bigger mainstream dailies that are increasingly wary of challenging the authorities.A total of 17 staff of the newspaper - includ-ing writers, cartoonists and executives - will go on trial at the imposing palace of justice in Istanbul.Those appearing in court include some of the best known names in Turk-ish journalism including the columnist Kadri Gursel, the paper’s editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and the respected cartoonist Musa Kart.

Also being tried in the case is the investigative jour-nalist Ahmet Sik who in 2011 wrote an explosive book “The Imam’s Army” exposing the Gulen’s movement. AGENCIES

Two Jordanians killed and an Israeli wounded at Amman embassy

AMMAN: Two Jordanians were killed and an Israeli seri-ously wounded in a shooting at the Jewish state’s embassy in Amman, a security source said.

“The first Jordanian, 17-year-old Mohammed Jawawdeh, succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The sec-ond, Bashar Hamarneh, a doc-tor who was in the residential quarter of the embassy at the time of the incident... died of his injuries after midnight in hospital,” the security source said on Sunday. The injured Israeli is “deputy director of security at the Israeli embassy

and is still receiving treatment in hospital,” the source added.

Police earlier said one per-son had died and two were injured in the incident in the residential Rabiyeh neighbour-hood of Amman. They said in a

statement they were “informed late evening (yesterday) of a shooting at a residential build-ing inside the compound of the Israeli embassy”. Police deployed to the scene and sur-rounded the area, the statement

said, adding that the two Jorda-nians had gone into the build-ing to carry out “carpentry work”. An investigation into the shooting was still underway, the police said. The security source told AFP the casualties were the result of an unspeci-fied “incident”.

Jordanian security forces deployed in the streets around the embassy. Israel and Jor-dan are bound by a 1994 peace treaty, but tensions have been high in recent days after Israel put in place secu-rity measures at a holy site in east Jerusalem. AGENCIES

At least 5 injured in chainsaw attack in Swiss townSCHAFFHAUSEN: At least five people have been injured, two seriously, after a man attacked people with a chain-saw in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen.

Police said the perpetrator has been identified but remains at large after the attack, which prompted them to seal off the centre of the town on the Ger-man border.

A shop owner told Swiss newspaper Blick a man with a chainsaw was walking the streets and police later con-firmed the report. Police said the attack is not being treated

as an act of terrorism.They described him as

being about 6ft 2in, bald and with an unkempt appearance.

Police not name him but

issued old photos of the suspect wearing a green T-shirt and black jeans, standing among trees. He is believed to be driv-ing a Volkswagen vehicle with Swiss plates from the canton of Graubuenden.

In a statement, police warned “the suspect is dan-gerous,” but said it was unclear whether he still had the chain-saw. The building where the attack took place is home to a bookshop and insurance and lawyers’ offices. It wasn’t immediately clear who or what the man’s target was. A health insurance company that has an

office in the building where the attack took place said two of its employees had to be taken to a hospital, Blick reported.

“We can confirm that a man with a chainsaw came into the agency and seriously wounded two of our employees,” said Christina Wettstein, a spokes-woman for insurer CSS.

“They are undergoing oper-ations at the moment and we don’t know how they are.”

The company doesn’t know yet whether the other three wounded people were customers or passers-by, she added. AGENCIES

An Afghan security official inspecting the scene of the suicide bombing

Linda Wenzel

Police released picture of the suspect, who remains at large

Pakistani rescue workers prepare to remove a body from the site of a deadly bombing in the eastern city of Lahore in Pakistan on Monday. Pakistani officials said that the suicide motorcycle bombing killed over 26 people and wounded more than 50 others at a vegetable market in the neighborhood of Kot Lakhpat on Lahore’s outskirts AP/PTI

mp world 11MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata |Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

Charlie Gard: Parents end legal fight to take sick baby to US for experimental treatment

WASHINGTON: Charlie Gard’s parents have ended their legal fight to take their critically ill son to the US for treatment.

Connie Yates and Chris Gard said “it is no longer in Charlie’s best interests” to receive experimen-tal nucleoside therapy after it was shown he had suffered irreversible muscular damage.

Barrister Grant Artrong told a High Court judge the couple were “extremely distressed” by the results of the new medical tests on the 11-month-old, who has a rare genetic disease. He said a “window of opportunity has been lost” to help Charlie, as the damage meant “the treatment can no longer be a success”. The decision concludes a bitter five-month legal fight from Yates and Gard, whose appeal to treat their son was previously

rejected by the European Court of Human Rights. Doctors at Lon-don’s Great Ormond Street Hospi-tal maintained that it was kinder for the baby’s life support to be switched off.

The case has caused an inter-national furore, with both Donald Trump and Pope Francis offering to help baby Charlie, and judge Nich-

olas Francis was due to make a rul-ing in a fresh hearing of the case this week after examining clai of new evidence.

Charlie, who was born on 4 August 2016, inherited the faulty RRM2B gene, which affects the cells responsible for energy produc-tion and respiration, leaving him unable to move or breathe without a ventilator.

In a statement, Yates and Gard the last year had been “the best, the worst and ultimately life changing months of our lives” but “all our efforts have been for him”.

“We are truly devastated to say that following the most recent I scan of Charlie‘s muscles,” they said. “As Charlie‘s devoted and loving parents we have decided that it’s no longer in Charlie‘s best interests to pursue treatment and we will let

our son go and be with the angels.” Yates and Gard said they were

aware the case had caused con-troversy, but now wish to treasure their remaining time with Charlie and asked for all protests to stop. Justice Francis said no one could begin to understand the parents’ agony but they now had to “face reality” that it is in their son’s best interests to die. “Many opinions have been expressed based on feel-ings rather than facts,” he said in his judgement.

The judge paid tribute to Gard and Yates “for the love and care which they have at all times given to their wonderful boy Charlie”. “There are few, if any, stronger bonds known to humankind than the love that a parent has for his or her child; to lose a child, particu-larly at such a tender age”. AGENCIES

I did not collude: Trump’s son-in-law Kushner on RussiaWASHINGTON: Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and senior advisor of Presi-dent Donald Trump, on Monday ring the 2016 election, saying he had no “improper” contacts with the Russian officials.

Giving a detailed explanation, Kush-ner in an 11-page statement said he hopes that that he has been able to dem-onstrate the entirety of his “limited contacts with Russian representatives during the campaign and transition”.

Kushner’s statement came hours before his meeting with the Senate Intel-ligence Committee staff.

“It has been my practice not to appear in the media or leak informa-tion in my own defence. I have tried to focus on the important work at hand and serve this President and this coun-try to the best of my abilities,” Kushner said. “I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who col-luded, with any foreign government. I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector,” Kushner said.

Kushner said that the record and documents he provided to the commit-tee shows that he had perhaps four con-tacts with Russian representatives out of thousands during the campaign and transition, none of which were impact-ful in any way to the election or particu-

larly memorable.The president’s son-in-law said over

the last six months, he made every effort to provide the FBI with whatever information was needed to investigate his background. Kushner said in the week before the inauguration, amid the scramble of finalising the unwinding of his involvement from his company, moving his family to Washington, com-pleting the paper work to divest assets and resign from his outside positions and complete his security and finan-cial disclosure forms, people at his New York office were helping him find the information and organise it, review it

and put it into the electronic form.“They sent an email to my assistant

in Washington, communicating that the changes to one particular section were complete; my assistant interpreted that message as meaning that the entire form was completed. At that point, the form was a rough draft and still had many omissions including not listing any for-eign government contacts and even omitted the address of my father-in-law.

Because of this miscommunica-tion, my assistant submitted the draft on January 18, 2017,” he explained. That evening, Kushner said, when his team realised the form had been submitted

prematurely, they informed the tran-sition team that they needed to make changes and additions to the form

The very next day, January 19, 2017, they submitted supplemental informa-tion to the transition, which confirmed receipt and said they would immedi-ately transmit it to the FBI.

“The supplement disclosed that I had “numerous contacts with for-eign officials” and that we were going through my records to provide an accurate and complete list. I provided a list of those contacts in the nor-mal course, before my background investigation interview and prior to any inquiries or media reports about my form,” he said.

“It has been reported that my sub-mission omitted only contacts with Rus-sians. That is not the case,” Kushner said.

“In the accidental early submission of the form, all foreign contacts were omitted. The supplemental informa-tion later disclosed over one hundred contacts from more than twenty coun-tries that might be responsive to the questions on the form. These included meetings with individuals such as Jor-dan’s King Abdullah II, Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, Mexico’s Sec-retary of Foreign Affairs Luis Videga-ray Caso and many more. All of these had been left off before,” said the top presidential aide. AGENCIES

For Trump and Putin, sanctions are a setback

both sought to avoid WASHINGTON: Through-out 2016, both Donald J Trump and President Vladi-mir V Putin complained that American-led sanctions against Russia were the biggest irritant in the plummeting relations between the two superpowers.

And the current inves-tigations, which have cast a shadow over Trump’s first six months in office, have focused on whether a series of contacts between Trump’s inner circle and Russians were partly about constructing deals to get those penalties lifted.

Now it is clear that those sanctions not only are staying in place, but are about to be modestly expanded — exactly the outcome the two presidents sought to avoid.

How that happened is a story of two global leaders overplaying their hands.

Putin is beginning to pay a price for what John O. Bren-nan, the former C.I.A. director, described last week as the Rus-sian president’s fateful decision last summer to try to use sto-len computer data to support Trump’s candidacy. For his part, Trump ignited the move-ment in Congress by repeatedly casting doubt on that intelli-gence finding, then fueled it by

confirming revelation after rev-elation about previously denied contacts between his inner cir-cle and a parade of Russians.

If approved by Congress this week, Trump has little choice, his aides acknowledge, but to sign the toughened sanc-tions legislation that he desper-ately wanted to see defeated.

Just days ago, Secretary of State Rex W Tillerson and other top officials were lob-bying fiercely to preserve Trump’s right to waive Russia sanctions with a stroke of the pen — just as President Barack Obama was able to do when, in negotiations with Iran, he dangled the relaxation of sanc-tions to coax Tehran to agree to sharp, decade-long limits on its nuclear activity.

As one of Trump’s aides pointed out last week, there is a long history of granting pres-idents that negotiating lever-age when dealing with foreign adversaries.

But by constantly casting doubt on intelligence that the Kremlin was behind an effort to manipulate last year’s pres-idential election, Trump so unnerved members of his own party that even they saw a need to curb his ability to lift those sanctions unilaterally. AGENCIES

Europe concerned at impact of US

energy sanctions on Russia

BRUSSELS: European Union officials are “activating all diplo-matic channels” to press home their concerns that looming US energy sanctions against Rus-sia could affect Europe’s energy supplies, a spokesman said on Monday.

US lawmakers are sched-uled to consider the sanctions package as early as Tuesday, and the bill could be sent to President Donald Trump before Congress breaks for the August recess.

The measures are aimed at punishing Moscow for med-dling in the presidential elec-tion and its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria.

EU member states Ger-many and Austria have criticized the penalties, say-ing they could affect Euro-pean businesses involved in piping in Russian natural gas.

In a joint statement last month, Austria’s Chancellor Christian Kern and Germa-ny’s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel cited a section of the sanctions bill that calls for the United States to continue to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Rus-sian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea.

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schi-nas said Monday that the EU’s executive arm is “fol-lowing this process with some concern regarding the European Union’s energy independence and our energy security interests.” AGENCIES

Trump asks why ‘beleaguered’ Sessions isn’t investigating ClintonWASHINGTON: President Trump turned up the pressure on his own attorney general on Monday, calling him “belea-guered” in a tweet questioning why the Justice Department is not investigating Hillary Clinton.

Trump’s comments are remarkable because if the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, is beleaguered of late it is largely because of Trump himself.

In an interview last week with The New York Times, Trump said he never would have nominated Sessions if he knew he intended to recuse

himself from the investigation into Russian meddling and the Trump campaign. Those

comments raised speculation that Sessions would quit, but he did not. Instead, Sessions said he would stay on as attor-ney general “as long as that is appropriate.”

Sessions has made it a priority to address violence, gangs and drugs — carrying out Trump’s inaugural pledge to end “American carnage.” But his tense relationship with Trump has overshadowed his agenda at the Justice Depart-ment. Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump’s candidacy and was an archi-tect of his populist message on

immigration and trade. In his tweet, Trump returned to cam-paign rhetoric, suggesting his Democratic opponent should be the subject of an investiga-tion into murky ties to Russia, not him. On Saturday, Trump tweeted that “so many people” were asking why Sessions and the special counsel were not looking into Clinton and her deleted emails.

After winning the election, Trump declared that the Justice Department should not pursue investigations of Clinton. But some of his outside advisers have called for him to push for

such an inquiry. Clinton also faced investigations into her family’s foundation and her use of a private email server.

During the campaign, Trump’s supporters were most animated by chants of “Lock her up!” Those chants have continued at rallies Trump has held as president. In a subsequent tweet on Monday morning, Trump described the Russian investigations an “excuse” by Democrats for los-ing the election. Trump then shifted to tweeting about Sen-ate Republicans’ ongoing effort to repeal Obamacare. AGENCIES

Trump envoy heads to Israel for holy site crisis talksJERUSALEM: A top aide to US President Donald Trump was due in Israel on Monday in a bid to ease tensions over new security measures at a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site after a week-end of deadly violence.Jason Greenblatt’s visit comes after more than a week of tensions over the Haram al-Sharif mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and central to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Israel installed metal detectors at entrances to the site, which includes Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, fol-lowing an attack on July 14. AGENCIES

Hospitals overwhelmed as Lanka dengue toll nears 300COLOMBO: Sri Lanka announced on Monday it was intensifying its war on den-gue fever, with schools to shut across the island to help curb the unprecedented outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus that has claimed nearly 300 lives.

The Red Cross also announced it was scaling up its emergency response to the country’s worst-ever outbreak of the disease as the number of dengue cases topped 100,000.

That figure is nearly double the previous year, with doctors warning hospitals were beyond

capacity as medics struggled to treat a new strain of the disease.

The education ministry said schools would shut from Friday for four days as tens of thou-sands of volunteers join gov-ernment officials and soldiers

in targeting mosquito breed-ing grounds.

“Instructions have gone out to all schools today to coordi-nate with local authorities and look for any mosquito breeding areas in their immediate neigh-bourhood,” a ministry offi-cial said. Troops have already been spreading out across the island to help local councils drain pools of stagnant water to ensure mosquito larvae have nowhere to flourish.

Official figures show 290 people have died so far this year from dengue fever, nearly four

times the fatalities recorded in all of 2016. The number of cases has soared to above 105,000, a sharp jump from the 55,150 recorded last year. About half those cases were reported from the island’s west, including the capital Colombo.

“One reason for the dra-matic rise in cases is that the virus currently spreading has evolved and people lack the immunity to fight off the new strain,” Dr Novil Wije-sekara, head of health at the Sri Lanka Red Cross, said in a statement. AGENCIES

Blocked from entering Parl for

impeachment vote: Maldives oppositionMALE: Soldiers and police in the Maldives roughed up oppo-sition lawmakers and sprayed pepper on Monday, preventing them from entering parliament to take part in an impeachment vote against the speaker, two opposition leaders said.

The opposition is trying to unseat Speaker Abdulla Mas-eeh Mohamed, an ally of Pres-ident Abdulla Yameen, for blocking its requests to sum-mon government officials accused of corruption.

The soldiers and police sur-rounded the parliament build-ing and stopped 30 opposition legislators from entering the premises, opposition MP Has-san Latheef told Reuters by tele-phone from Male.

“We were dragged, pepper sprayed, and teargassed by the police and brutally stopped from entering the parliament,” Latheef said.

He blamed Yameen for ordering the closure, saying he was sure of losing the vote. Government officials were not immediately available for comment.

The Indian Ocean island nation has been mired in polit-ical unrest since Mohamed Nasheed, its first democrati-cally elected president, was ousted in 2012. AGENCIES

Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Donald Trump tweets frustration with Republicans,

healthcare BillWASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has expressed his frustration with Republi-cans, saying they “do very little to protect their President.” In one of several tweets issued on Sunday, Trump said the lack of support happens even with “some that were carried over the line on my back.”

Trump’s tweet wasn’t clear about why he was upset. It came as Republicans in the Senate struggled to come together on a Bill to overhaul President Barack Obama’s health care law.

On that topic, another tweet from the president was more specific: “If Republicans don’t Repeal and Replace the disas-trous ObamaCare, the reper-cussions will be far greater than any of them understand!”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was mak-ing a last-gasp effort to resusci-tate the legislation after Trump insisted that senators not leave town for their August recess without passing a health bill. Trump has had a complicated relationship with the Republi-can Party, but GOP lawmakers have continued to be gener-ally supportive of the presi-dent, even as his approval ratings slip. AGENCIES

Japan’s Abe denies abusing influence in favouritism scandal

TOKYO: Grilled by opposition lawmakers as approval ratings for his Cabinet sink, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today repeated his denials that he misused his influence to help a friend in a growing favouritism scandal.

The questioning outside parliament’s ordinary session, a rare occurrence, underscores the ruling Liberal Democrat party’s eagerness to regain pub-lic trust. Abe is expected to reshuffle his Cabinet next week, after seeing public approval sink following various scan-dals and his party’s railroading of unpopular legislation.

Monday’s questioning was over allegations that Abe inter-vened to help a friend, Kotaro Kake, gain approval to open a veterinary school in western Japan. During the session in the lower house of parliament, Abe said he only sought reforms for

the sector in a special economic zone and did not directly get involved in the decision on Kake’s application.

“I only instructed to speed up efforts for the deregulation reforms. I have never issued instructions on specific cases,” Abe said. “The approval is a result of the process that was appropriate and open.”

The school scandal erupted after a whistle-blower and former top edu-cation ministry bureaucrat, Kihei Maekawa, came forward to say that Abe’s office had had significant influence over the school’s approval and distorted the decision.

Scores of ministry docu-ments showed the alleged pressure for an early approval of Kake’s application came from the “top levels” of the Prime Minister’s Office, said Maekawa. AGENCIES

Kremlin warns against ‘harmful’ new US sanctions on Russia

MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Monday warned that new US sanctions on Rus-sia would hit the interests of both sides as Congress gears up to approved fresh puni-tive measures.

“We consider such a continuation of the rhetoric of sanctions counter-produc-tive and harmful to the interests of both countries,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

In mid-June, the US Senate over-whelmingly passed tough sanctions, but the text stalled in the House of Represen-tatives, until agreement was reached on Saturday. The House is now set to vote on Tuesday on a bill that targets Russia— for its alleged meddling in the 2016 presiden-tial election and its annexation of Crimea

from Ukraine in 2014— as well as Iran and North Korea, for its ballistic missile tests.

Initially, US President Donald Trump resisted the legislation, which would pre-vent him from unilaterally easing penalties against Moscow in the future -- effectively placing him under Congress’s watch.

But he seems to be left with little option but to sign off on the move as a political firestorm swirls over potential collusion between his campaign and Russia.

Peskov said the Kremlin is still wait-ing and watching to see if Trump will approve the measures, after White House communications director Anthony Scar-amucci said the US leader was weighing his decision.

Before Trump definitively takes a decision it is too early to talk about any potential counter measure from Moscow, Peskov said. Ties between Moscow and Washington have slumped to their low-est since the Cold War as the US slapped sanctions on Moscow over it meddling in Ukraine. AGENCIES

Poland’s Prez vetoes 2 proposed laws limiting courts’ independence

WARSAW: Following tumultuous protests, and warnings from the European Union, Poland’s president vetoed two proposed laws on Monday that would have given the right-wing governing party direct control of the judiciary.

Poles denouncing the laws as a retreat from democratic norms had taken to the streets by the tens of thousands, and the European Union, which Poland joined in 2004, had warned Warsaw that adopting the laws — which the bloc’s officials called a threat to judi-cial independence and the rule of law — could result in legal sanctions.

Nonetheless, the decision by the president, Andrzej Duda, was unexpected. He was elected in May 2015 as the handpicked candidate of the right-wing Law and Justice Party, which won parliamentary elections later that year, and until now has been a steadfast ally of the government, though there have been rumors of a rift between Duda and the party’s leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. AGENCIES

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington AP/PTI

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mp business12MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

COIMBATORE: A plan of action will be worked out in consultation with stakeholders in health care and education sec-tors to develop greater exchange and partnership opportunities between India and East Africa.

A delegation from local chapter of CII from healthcare and education sectors have met the representatives of the Inter-national Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva, two days ago to explore the avenues for possible collab-oration for expanding into and developing the two sectors in East Africa.

ITC, through its Supporting Indian Trade and Investment for East Africa (SITA) project, is working towards promoting Indian investment in key sectors in five East African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and the Republic of Tanzania. PTI

NEW DELHI: Coins of Rs 1, 2 and 10 are not being accepted by shopkeepers and even by banks in several parts of the country, a Janta Dal (United) member said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U) said the people, espe-cially the poor, were facing lot of difficulty due to non-accept-ability of these coins.

"Some banks too are not tak-ing those coins", even though they are issuing them, he said.

In an apparent dig at the government's November 8, 2016 decision to scrap old Rs 500/1000 notes, the JD(U) member said the coins should be taken back in the "second phase of demonetisation".

In his Zero Hour mention, KTS Tulsi (nominated) said the IT sector in the country was on the verge of slashing jobs to the tune of 37 lakh.

He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not raise the H1B visa issue during his meet-ing with US President.

CPI(M) member C P Nara-yanan raised the issue of the government's move to priva-tise Air India on plea that the state-owned carrier was mak-ing losses.

He said the losses to the Air India were because of misman-agement and the previous gov-ernment's decision to merge Air India and Indian Airlines in 2007.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma demanded a discussion in the House on the government's move to privatise Air India.

Jharna Das Baidya (CPI-M) raised the issue increasing number of rape incidents in the National Capital Region.

"What is happening to the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao slo-gan," she said, as she referred to the alleged rape of a national level Kabaddi player and that of a 10-year-old girl by her mater-nal uncle.

In his Zero Hour men-tion, nominated member Swa-pan Dasgupta raised the issue of "steady influx" Rohingya migrants in the country.

He said it is "curious" why there are so many Rohingya migrants in Jammu and Ladakh and added that as per media reports, there were about 40,000 Rohingya refugees in the country.

The presence of so many Rohingyas in the country was "suspicious", he said expressed

concern that they were "flaunt-ing" to have voter indentity cards as well as Aadhaar card.

Digvijaya Singh (Cong) sought to raise the issue of the government planning to close the gates of Sardar Sarovar Dam on July 31, which he said would inundate tribal lands of some 16,000 families.

Gujarat, he said, was using only 20 per cent of the dam water and yet it wanted to close the gates. Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi will on August 12 perform Narmada Arti along with several sadhus, he added.

As Kurien said the notice has not been admitted, Singh

said the tribals in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat will drown in Narmada waters due to the govenment's decision.

Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U) said Gujarat police was forcibly taking signatures of inhabitants for vacating the catchment area.

D Raja (CPI) said the 1979 Narmada Tribunal award has not yet been fully implement for rehabilitation of those affected by the dam projects.

Thousands of tribal people will be displaced by the July 31 closing of the water gates, he said adding the government is forcing the tribals to evict from the land. Kurien asked the

members to give a call attention notice instead of 267 notice.

Earlier when the House met for the day, Naresh Agarwal (SP) raised the issue of reducing sit-tings of Parliament.

He said Article 85 provides that there cannot a gap of more than six months between two sessions of Parliament. It how-ever is silent on the duration of the sessions.

The Parliament used to sit for 200 days previously which got reduced to 150 days and under present government it has come down to 90 days.

Kurien said when Article 85 is silent on the duration of sitting, he too should remain silent. "There is no violation of Article 85," he said, adding it was up to the government to decide on the duration of the sittings.

Ram Nath Thakur (JD-U) raised the issue of shortage of medicines in hosptial post implementation of GST.

Congress member Rajani Patil highlighted that private hospital were forcing pregnant women to go for unncessary tests. She expressed concern over the high rate of c-sec-tion deliveries in the private hospitals. PTI

BHUBANESWAR: National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) on Monday said its Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) App has crossed 16 million downloads and 4 mil-lion active customer base and a new updated version would be launched soon.

BHIM App is a common platform across the nation for making simple, easy and quick payments.

"Transactions via BHIM App is witnessing growth with each passing month since its launch on December 30, 2016.

Download numbers breaching 16 million mark is a remarkable achievement towards digital transactions and creating a less-cash soci-ety," A P Hota, MD and CEO of NPCI, said on Monday.

Currently, the 1.3 version of the app is available on Google Play Store and Apple Store and soon a new update (Version 1.4) of the app will be launched, he said.

BHIM referral scheme is also operational now, where the existing BHIM user (referrer) needs to encourage the new BHIM user (referee) to down-load the BHIM App and enter the referrer's mobile number as the referral code.

For both referrer and the referee to get their incentive, the referee has to make min-imum 3 unique transactions totalling minimum value of Rs 50. On successful comple-tion of the process, the refer-rer would get Rs 10 and the referee who does the payment

would get Rs 25, NCPI said in a release.

About BHIM/Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a smart mobile phone based app that allows simple, easy and quick payment transac-tions using UPI. One can eas-ily make direct bank to bank payments instantly and collect money using Mobile number or payment address.

It is a unique payment solu-tion which empowers an indi-vidual with immediate send and collect request. It uses an email like Virtual Payment Address (VPA)/ Mobile Num-ber@upi /Account number and IFSC Code/Aadhaar Num-ber as payment identifier for sending or collecting money instantly.

NPCI is an umbrella organ-isation for all retail payments system in India. It was set up with the guidance and support of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks' Asso-ciation (IBA). PTI

NEW DELHI: A bill to autho-rise the RBI to direct banking companies to resolve the prob-lem of stressed assets was on Monday introduced in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, seeks to amend the Banking Regula-tion Act, 1949 and replace the Banking Regulation (Amend-ment) Ordinance, 2017, which was promulgated in May this year.

The measure allows the RBI to initiate insolvency resolu-tion process on specific stressed assets.

The RBI would also be empowered to issue other direc-tions for resolution, appoint or approve for appointment, authorities or committees to advise the banking companies for stressed asset resolution.

Jaitley introduced the Bill amid protests in the House by opposition members protest-ing over the alleged incidents of lynching by cow vigilantes in different parts of the country.

Just before the bill was intro-duced, Trinamool Congress member Sougata Ray said he

was opposed to the banking regulation ordinance and said it was a "desperate step by a des-perate government".

Non-performing assets of banks have risen to over Rs 9 lakh crore and now RBI is being given power to refer the cases to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board, he said.

"It is the same RBI which had not been able to count notes (since demonetisation). Giv-ing such powers to RBI will detract it from macro-economic to micro-economic issues and render the bank management useless," Roy said

He demanded that the bill be referred to the Parliamentary

Standing Committee.When Speaker Sumitra

Mahajan asked Jaitley if he has to say anything on Roy's remarks, the Finance Minister said the issues does not relate to the introduction and would be dealt with when the bill comes up for a discussion.

Moving on fast-track, the RBI had in June identified 12 large loan defaulters who account for 25 per cent of the total bad loans in the banking sector. Action under the Insol-vency and Bankruptcy Code has already begun in certain cases, including Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel and Bhushan Power & Steel. PTI

NEW DELHI: Markets regu-lator Sebi has notified stricter participatory notes (P-Notes) norms stipulating a fee of $1,000 that will be levied on each instrument to check any misuse for channelising black money.

The new measures, which follow a slew of other steps taken by Sebi in the recent past, come at a time when the value of for-eign investments through par-ticipatory notes or offshore derivative instruments (ODIs) has surged to a seven- month high of about Rs 1.81 lakh crore at May-end.

While such investments used to account for more than half of overall foreign portfolio investments at one point, their share has now fallen to just a little over 6 per cent. Still, con-cerns remain that P-Notes are misused by some to channelise black money from abroad into the country through the stock

markets.The regulator will levy a

"regulatory fee" of $1,000 on each ODI subscriber, to be col-lected and deposited by the issu-ing foreign portfolio investor (FPI) once every three years, starting from April 1, 2017.

"An FPI shall collect the regulatory fee of $1,000 or any other amount, as may be speci-fied by the board from time to time, from every subscriber of offshore derivative instrument issued by it and deposit the same with the board by way of elec-tronic transfer," Sebi said in a notification dated July 20.

The regulatory fee would be deposited once every three years. "(It has been) provided that for the block of three years beginning April 1, 2017, an FPI shall collect and deposit the reg-ulatory fee within two months from the date of notification," the Securities and Exchange Board of India noted. PTI

NEW DELHI: Business con-fidence for the July-September quarter declined 13 per cent over the last year as compa-nies are seeing some "teething issues" on their road to compli-ance with the new GST regime, says a report.

The Dun and Bradstreet Composite Business Optimism Index stood at 72.1 during July-September of 2017, down 13.3 per cent from the same period last year.

"Given the scale of the changes, our respondents are factoring into their scores teething issues in the short run, learning the intricacies of the new tax regime, adjust-ing to the input tax credit and logistics of the GST system," said Manish Sinha, Manag-ing Director India, Dun and Bradstreet.

While bigger companies are largely ready for the tran-sition, the same cannot be said for SMEs.

"These issues during the survey period could have played a role in dampen-ing business confidence. Fur-ther, concerns related to future demand conditions and weak new investment demand could have also operated as binding constraints on business senti-ment," Sinha added.

Four out of the six opti-mism indices have registered a decline over the year-ago period. The score on volume of sales, net profits, new orders and selling prices has declined compared to July-September 2016.

He further noted that short-term issues surrounding GST implementation should fade over the course of the year and production processes would get aligned with the new frame-work that would help in reviv-ing business confidence since benefits from the GST regime boost the economy's growth and rating prospects.

"Going forward, the prog-

ress of monsoon will also be critical in shaping business sen-timent and influencing the pace of rural demand," he added.

The index measures the pulse of the business commu-nity and is arrived at on the basis of a quarterly survey of business expectations.

For calculating the compos-ite Business Optimism Index (BOI), each of the six param-eters – net sales, net profit, selling prices, new orders, inventories and employee lev-els – is assigned a weight. The parameter weights are then applied to these ratios and the results aggregated to arrive at the index. PTI

FM places Bill to replace bank regulation ordinance in LS

Sebi notifies rules to levy fee on participatory notes

July-Sept biz confidence slides 13% on GST ‘teething issues’

`1, 2, 10 coins not being accepted in many shops,even banks: MPNPCI's BHIM App crosses 16 million download mark

NEW DELHI: The Delhi state consumer panel has directed the State Bank of India to refund Rs 1.29 lakh to a cus-tomer for not taking effective steps to block her stolen ATM card in 2006.

The state commission also imposed a cost of Rs one lakh on the bank for filing a "frivo-lous" appeal before it.

The commission, while dis-missing the appeal filed by the SBI against the district forum order asking it to return the money, said that the bank "failed to take effective steps for blocking of the stolen ATM card" which was a clear case of "deficiency in service".

"It was the bank who failed to take effective steps for block-ing of the ATM card. It is thus a clear case of deficiency in ser-vice. The incident took place in March 2006 and the complain-

ant has not received a single penny in a span of 11 years," the judicial member of the state commission N P Kaushik said.

It said that instead of mak-ing the payment to the com-plainant, the bank rather filed a "false and frivolous appeal".

"The same is dismissed with costs of Rs 1,00,000," the com-mission said.

According to the complaint filed by Okhla resident Rahi-munnisa Shahana, on March 13, 2006 her bag containing a new ATM card and an envelop having the pin number were stolen before she could even use it. The bag also contained Rs 5,000 among other things.

She went to her SBI branch in Nizamuddin on the same day and met an officer and the branch manager and made a request to block the card, it said. She alleged that when she

went to the branch after a fort-night and enquired about her credit balance, she learnt that the entire amount Rs 1,29,060 had been withdrawn through ATM during March 13 to March 21.

The plea claims that she made a complaint in writing on March 30, 2006 and filed a complaint with the police as well. The bank had claimed in the district forum that the com-plainant herself was negligent in carrying the ATM card and the envelope containing the PIN code.

It also denied her visit to the bank on March 13, and said that she never met any of its officers on the day the theft took place.

However, the district forum had rejected the claims of the bank and asked the bank to return the money. PTI

Consumer panel slaps ̀ 1 lakh fine on SBI for ‘frivolous’ appeal

NEW DELHI: Foreign direct investment (FDI) grew by 23 per cent to $10.02 billion during April-May this fiscal, Parliament was informed on Monday.

In 2016-17, the foreign fund inflows aggregated at $60.08 billion, Commerce and Indus-try Minister Nirmala Sithara-man said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

She said that to promote FDI, the government has put in place an investor-friendly policy.

"Except for a small nega-tive list, most sectors are open for 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route," she added.

The minister also said that after abolition of the for-eign investment promotion board, the work of monitor-ing of the compliance of condi-tions, including the past cases approved by erstwhile FIPB has been assigned to the concerned administrative ministries.

In a separate reply, Sithara-man informed that India has received $182.4 million FDI in food products during April- May period of this fiscal.

In food processing indus-tries, foreign players have invested $187.9 million dur-ing the period.

As per the FDI policy, FDI up to 100 per cent, under the automatic route, is allowed in food processing industries.

Further, 100 per cent FDI under government route for retail trading, includ-ing through e-commerce, is permitted in respect of food products manufactured and/or produced in India. PTI

FDI up 23% to $10 billion during April-May: Nirmala

India Inc overseas investments plunge 46% to $1.12 billion MUMBAI: Direct investments by Indian firms abroad plunged by 46 per cent to $1.12 billion in June this year, according to the RBI data. They had invested $2.07 billion in their overseas ven-tures in June last year. In previous month, May 2017, the investment figure stood at $1.26 billion. The investments made last month were a mix of issuance of guarantees ($370.11 million), loans (178.80 million) and equity ($568.34 million). The prominent investors overseas in June included Indian Oil, investing a combined $284.28 million in a joint venture and fully owned subsidiary in Mayanmar and Singapore respectively. ONGC Videsh Ltd invested $118.68 million in a host of joint ventures and fully owned units in various locations. Motherson Sumi System pumped in $89.30 million in a joint venture in the UK. PTI

NEW DELHI: Fertiliser major IFFCO on Monday said it has signed an agreement with Sik-kim government to explore business opportunities in organic food market with an initial investment of Rs 200 crore.

The foray into the organic food market and food process-ing is a part of the co-operative IFFCO's strategy to diversify its business.

Apart from fertiliser, IFFCO is into general insur-ance, agro-chemicals, rural

telecom, rural retail and farm forestry.

Indian Farmers Fertil-iser Cooperative (IFFCO) announced signing of mem-orandum of understand-ing (MoU) with the Sikkim government.

"Basis the MoU, a joint ven-ture - 'Sikkim IFFCO Organ-ics Ltd' (Sikkim-IFFCO) will be established to explore busi-ness opportunities in organic value chain," IFFCO said in a statement.

IFFCO will hold majority

stake of 51 per cent equity in the JV while the Sikkim gov-ernment will hold 49 per cent.

"The initial investment for the project will be around Rs 200 crore, which will be increased to Rs 500 crore in phases," the co-operative said.

IFFCO also announced acquisition of 50 per cent stake in Aquagri Processing Pvt Ltd, which is into seaweed culti-vation and processing, for Rs 11 crore through its wholly-owned subsidiary IFFCO eBa-zar Ltd. PTI

MUMBAI: A rise in core income helped HDFC Bank report a 20.2 per cent jump in June quarter net at Rs 3,894 crore, but the rash of farm loan waivers led to a dip in repay-ments leading to its highest NPA ratio in years.

The higher bad loans had the bank making higher provisions which almost doubled, which led it miss the street estimate on the bottomline. The city-head-quartered bank's total provi-sions almost doubled to Rs 1,558 crore from Rs 866 crore a year

ago. Higher provision includes Rs 121 crore set aside for its exposure to potentially stress-ful sectors even if it is standard.

The second largest private sector lender reported a 20.4 per cent rise in net interest income at Rs 9,370.7 crore, which along with a 20 per cent growth in advances helped net interest margin to widen to an above tar-get 4.4 per cent. Other income grew 25.3 per cent to Rs 3,516.7 crore, helped largely by a 30 per cent growth in fees and commis-sions, the largest component. PTI

NEW DELHI: Indiabulls Real Estate on Monday reported 29 per cent increase in consoli-dated net profit at Rs 152.56 crore for the quarter ended June and plans to raise up to Rs 7,500 crore through issue of debentures on private place-ment basis.

The net profit stood at Rs 118.16 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Income from operations rose to Rs 1,096.84 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal from Rs 894.32 crore in the corre-sponding period of the previ-ous year. The board authorised the company to issue non-con-vertible debentures (NCDs) up to Rs 7,500 crore on pri-vate placement basis in one or more tranches, from time to time, the Mumbai- based developer said. PTI

IFFCO, Sikkim govt to set up organic food JV, invest ̀ 200 cr

Indiabulls Real Estate profit rises 29% in April-June

India, east Africa to collaborate in healthcare, edu

HDFC Bank quarterly profit grows 20.2% to ̀ 3,894 crore

mp business 13MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

CORPORATE KALEIDOSCOPE

India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (ITDC) hospitality major under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Carrier Air India to upgrade the skills and knowledge base of Airlines senior executive & cabin crew in Hospitality and Service Industry. The MoU was signed in the presence of Ashwani Lohani, Chairman and Managing Director, Air India and Sudha Chandra, Principal AIHTM and General Manager, HRD ITDC at Air India Head Quarters, New Delhi. Other senior officials from ITDC and Air India were also present during valedictory function. Distribution of certificates was done by C&MDs of both the organisations

V Mohan, ED (Shipping), Kaushik Bora, ED (PJ-PS), S N Pandey, ED (Optimisation), Debasish Roy, ED (Finance), and RC Upadhyay, CGM (A&W), leading the walkathon organised by Refineries Headquarters of Indian Oil Corporation Limited at Noida during the Swachh Bharat Pakhwada

Creating an entirely new segment with the launch of the all new V90 Cross Country, Volvo Cars has introduced an exciting product for adventurous car buyers in India. Globally, this segment was created by Volvo Cars 20 years back and has become an integral part of the growing product portfolio

NEW DELHI: Finance Min-ister Arun Jaitley will head a 3-member ministerial panel to oversee and expedite the sale of government stake in oil refiner HPCL to explorer ONGC, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will remain a public sector unit with a sep-arate board and brand iden-tity post Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) acquiring gov-ernment's entire 51.11 per cent stake, which at current prices is valued at about Rs 28,800 crore.

Post-merger all refining units of ONGC will be accu-mulated under HPCL, mak-ing it India's third largest oil refiner after Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Reliance Industries, Pradhan said.

Making a suo motu state-ment in the Lok Sabha, he said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had on July 19 given 'in-principle' approval for strategic sale of the government's existing 51.11 per cent stake in HPCL to ONGC along with the transfer of man-agement control.

"For overseeing this trans-action, CCEA approved setting up of an alternative mecha-nism, headed by Finance Min-ister, which will help in taking

quick decision with regard to the timing, price, terms and conditions and other related issues," he said.

Pradhan and Road Trans-port and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will be part of the ministerial panel.

Stating that the merger will be completed within the cur-rent fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, Pradhan said valua-tions and other modalities of the state will be strictly driven by the market regulator SEBI rules.

Valuation and transaction advisers will be appointed soon, he said.

"The proposed acquisition in the oil sector, will create a vertically integrated public sector oil major having pres-ence across the entire value chain. This will give ONGC an enhanced capacity to bear higher risks, take higher invest-ment decisions and to neutral-ise the impact of global crude oil price volatility," he said.

The acquisition of HPCL by ONGC will result in significant synergies in terms of optimi-sation of logistics costs, R&D activities, economies of scale of purchase of crude oil and opti-misation in refinery operations.

After the acquisition by

ONGC, HPCL will continue to be a central government public sector enterprise. "It can still maintain its cultural unique-ness and brand identity, distinct from ONGC," Pradhan said.

Talking to reporters outside Parliament House, he said the modalities of bringing refin-ing units of MRPL and HPCL under one umbrella would be decided by their respective boards.

"HPCL currently has 24.8 million tonnes per annum of refining capacity. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) - a subsidiary of ONGC, has 15.1 million tonnes.

After this deal, the entire refin-ing capacity of ONGC Group will come under HPCL.

"So, HPCL will have 40 mil-lion tonnes of refining capacity and will be third largest in the country after IOC which has 69.2 million tonnes capacity and Reliance Industries which has 62 million tonnes," he said.

Pradhan said MRPL will merge with HPCL but did not indicate timelines. "HPCL already has 16.96 per cent in MRPL.

So there already is synergy there," he said. ONGC owns 71.63 per cent of MRPL, a com-pany it had acquired from AV

Birla Group in March 2013.HPCL plans to set up a

9 million tonne unit in Raj-asthan as well as expand its Vishakhapatnam refinery in Andhra Pradesh. This will take the company to 50 million tonnes-plus category, he said.

For ONGC, the deal will bring to it assurance of market as well as greater capability to bid for not just oil and gas fields but also refinery and down-stream projects abroad, he said.

"Previously, the issue was about supply security but the world over market security is being sought," he said, adding that HPCL controls one-fourth of fuel retailing market in India.

HPCL as a brand with a sep-arate board and its own identity will continue, he said.

HPCL was incorporated in 1974 after the takeover and merger of erstwhile Esso Stan-dard and Lube India Limited by the Esso (Acquisition of Under-takings in India) Act 1974. Cal-tex Oil Refining (India) Ltd. (CORIL) was taken over by the Government of India in 1976 and merged with HPCL in 1978 by the CORIL-HPCL Amal-gamation Order, 1978. Kosan Gas Company was merged with HPCL in 1979 by the Kosan-gas Company Acquisition Act, 1979. PTI

NEW DELHI: India's trade deficit with China is a matter of concern and the government is working for greater access of Indian goods and services into the Chinese market, Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

"Trade deficit with China is a matter of concern. We are discussing the issue with China for greater access for Indian products and services in the Chinese market," Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during Question Hour.

Sitharaman said even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raised the issue with the Chi-nese authorities at the highest level and the government was working to reduce the trade deficit with China.

The minister said China tops the list of 25 countries with which India has trade deficit in last three years.

The other countries with which India has trade defi-cit include Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and South Korea.

Among the countries with which India has favour-

able trade balance include the United States, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, United Kingdom besides others.

Sitharaman said the gov-ernment has taken a number of steps to overcome the trade deficit which include New For-eign Trade Policy (2015-20), Merchandise Exports From India Scheme, the Services Exports from India Scheme, Niryat Bandhu Scheme etc.

She said India has exported merchandise and services worth $230.36 billion between December 2016 and May 2017 to various countries.

Of the total exports, in May alone, India has exported mer-chandise and services valued $37.44 billion, which is 4.40 per cent more than the previ-ous month (April), she said. PTI

MUMBAI: The Uttarakhand government has roped in Air-ports Authority of India (AAI) to develop civil aviation infra-structure in the state.

The two entities have signed an initial pact in this regard, under which the national air-ports operator will also assist state's civil aviation authorities in obtaining necessary clear-ances for airport operations besides assessing commercial potential of various aerodromes in the hilly state, an official release said on Monday.

"Uttarakhand is deter-mined to fulfil the long-pending requirement of operational air-ports within the state. These air-ports would also be part of the Regional Connectivity Scheme and will boost tourism and air connectivity for the local pub-lic," said Uttrakhand Chief Sec-retary S Ramaswamy.

The scope of the Memoran-dum of Understanding (MoU) is to identify relevant factors influencing the development of civil aviation infrastructure

in Uttarakhand, assessing com-mercial potential of various air-ports in the state, identifying technical considerations for airport operations, evaluating site-related technical and engi-neering parameters for develop-ment of projects, according to the release.

The scope of collaboration also includes making estimate of the capital outlay for the future

projects and development of master plan for existing and future civil aviation infrastruc-ture in the state, it said.

AAI will also assist Uttarkha-nad Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) in obtain-ing necessary clearances for air-port operations starting with the upgraded airport at Pithor-agarh and later at Chiniyalisaur, it added. PTI

NEW DELHI: The Commerce Ministry is planning to impose anti-dumping duty on import of truck and bus radial tyres with a view to guard domestic rub-ber players from cheap imports from China, Parliament was informed on Monday.

"As per information received from Rubber Board, Minis-try of Commerce & Industry, imposition of anti-dumping duty on import of truck and bus radial tyres is under pro-cess with Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties(DGAD)," MoS for MSME Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said in in Lok Sabha.

He was replying to a query whether cheap imports from China were hurting domestic rubber MSME sector. Chaud-hary further said as per the information available from the board, rubber products includ-ing tyres enter India from China

at a reduced duty, 8.6 per cent, under Asia Pacific Trade Agree-ment as compared to the basic duty of 10 per cent, causing surge in import from the neigh-bouring country.

Major rubber products imported from China are under HS Code 4011 (new pneumatic tyres) and HS Code 4016 (other articles of vulcanised rubber). Most of the products under HS 4016 are products manufactured by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

However, the minister informed that as per Direc-torate General of Safeguards (CBEC) "no study or investi-gation has been carried out to assess the impact of cheap prod-ucts of rubber on India's MSME sector". Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports. PTI

NEW DELHI: Bharti Infratel Limited on Monday announced its audited Consolidated Pro-forma results for the first quar-ter ended June 30, 2017.

The Consolidated rev-enues for the quarter, at Rs. 3,524 Crore grew by 10% over the corresponding period last year. Consolidated EBITDA improved to Rs. 1,575 Crore up 12% Y-o-Y, representing an operating margin of 44.7%. Consolidated profit before tax at Rs. 1,095 Crore up 10% Y-o-Y. The Operating Free Cash Flow grew by 4% Y-o-Y to Rs. 992 Crore for the quarter.

The final dividend of Rs 4 per equity share for the year ended March 2017 has been approved by the shareholders in the annual general meeting dated July 22,2017. Bharti Infra-tel is India’s leading provider of tower and related infrastruc-ture and it deploys, owns and manages telecom towers and communication structures, for various mobile operators. MPOST

NEW DELHI: GMR Aviation Academy and Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU) on Monday inked a preliminary pact for offering a post graduate diploma pro-gramme. They signed a MoU for offering a one-year joint post graduate diploma in 'avi-ation/ airport operations'. "The objective of the MoU is to facil-itate and promote professional aviation studies and provide in-depth knowledge of the func-tioning of an airport in particu-

lar and the aviation subsets in general," GMR group said in a release on Monday.

There will also be on-the-job training as part of the course. "It is estimated that the aviation industry in India will require close to 1 million skilled per-sonnel over the next 10-15 years which will pose a great chal-lenge if adequate number of people are not trained in this highly specialised and complex area," GMR Airports' whole time director P S Nair said. PTI

HOUSTON: Petrochemical giant LyondellBasell is plan-ning to build the world's larg-est propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol plant in the Hous-ton area, the company's Indian-American CEO has said.

The Houston petrochemi-cal company has made the final investment decision for what would be its single-largest capi-tal investment ever.

The $2.4 billion project near the ship channel will be the largest factory of its kind in the world and is expected to create up to 2,500 jobs at the peak of construction and about 160 permanent jobs once the plant is operational.

"This world-scale project is a key part of our organic growth strategy which is designed to meet rising global demand for both urethanes and cleaner-

burning oxyfuels while creat-ing real, long-term value for our shareholders," said Bhavesh (Bob) V Patel, the company's Indian-American CEO.

"Our investment in this plant combines the best of both worlds: our leading PO/TBA process technology with prox-imity to low-cost feedstocks,

which gives LyondellBasell a competitive advantage in the global marketplace for these products," Patel said in a state-ment. The project whose con-struction is expected to begin during the second half of 2018 and wrap up by the middle of 2021 is part of the company's $5 billion investing in the US

Gulf Coast.The final investment deci-

sion comes less than two years after the company picked the Houston area as the location for the proposed plant.

Earlier this year, the com-pany began the construction of a $700 million polyethylene plant at its manufacturing com-plex in La Porte.

"We are pleased that Lyon-dellBasell continues to view the Houston area as important to their global operations, creat-ing jobs and opportunities for Houstonians," said Bob Har-vey, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership.

"This new project further advances Houston's position as a global hub of petrochemi-cal manufacturing, leveraging Houston's strategic access to the Americas and top markets

around the world," Harvey said.The Netherlands-based

LyondellBasell has its oper-ational headquarters in Houston.

The main plant is expected to produce about 1 billion pounds of propylene oxide (PO) and 2.2 billion pounds of tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) each year.

PO is used to make bed-ding, furniture, carpeting, coatings, building materi-als and adhesives. TBA, after being converted into two ether-based oxyfuels, will help gaso-line burn cleaner. The PO and derivative products will be sold to domestic and global custom-ers, while the oxyfuels mainly will go to Latin America and Asia, with a portion remaining in the US to be used in tires and lubricants. PTI

NEW DELHI: A total of 29 mineral blocks with a com-bined estimated resources of Rs 1.56 lakh crore have been auctioned so far, the govern-ment said on Monday.

"As on date, 29 mineral blocks with an estimated total value of resources of Rs 1,56,746 crore have been auctioned in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharash-tra, Odisha and Rajasthan," Mines Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. Till March 31, a total of 21 mineral blocks have been auctioned. The estimated total value of resources of these mines is Rs 93,190 core, he said. PTI

FM Jaitley to head panel on Govt stake sale in refiner HPCL to explorer ONGC

Trade deficit with China worrying: Sitharaman Anti-dumping duty on China truck, bus radial tyres likely

U'khand ropes in AAI to develop state civil aviation infrastructure

GMR Aviation Academy, RGNAU to offer 1-year joint PG diploma

LyondellBasell to brew world's largest alcohol plant in USA29 mineral blocks auctioned till

now: Piyush Goyal

Bharti Infratel rings in 10%

Q1 profit growth

Oil & Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd will become India’s 3rd largest oil refiner after state-owned ONGC acquires Govt’s entire 51.11% stake

NEW DELHI: The Competi-tion Commission on Monday approved the merger of Voda-fone India and Idea Cellular, said lawyers who worked on the deal, which will create the coun-try’s largest telecom operator.

Shardul Amarchand Man-galdas and Co said the regulator has “unconditionally” approved merger of the telecommunica-tions businesses of Vodafone India and its wholly-owned sub-sidiary Vodafone Mobile Ser-vices, with Idea Cellular.

“The $23 billion transac-tion is the largest transaction by value in the history of Indian M&A,” it said in a statement.

Shardul Amarchand Man-galdas and Co advised Voda-fone India and Vodafone Mobile Services on the deal.

According to the statement, the regulator carried out a com-prehensive review of the trans-action and concluded that there was no appreciable adverse effect on competition from the proposed merger.

“The CCI approval, within Phase 1, is a very welcome devel-opment for both the Indian M&A landscape and the tele-com sector, and will serve to fuel more investment in capac-ity and coverage across a bat-tling telecom sector in India,” Shweta Shroff Chopra, Partner at Shardul Amarchand Man-

galdas, said. Phase 1 refers to the deal being approved within 30 working days as provided by the Competition Act. Law firm Trilegal, which advised Idea Cellular on the competition law aspects, said the deal with Vodafone India has received CCI approval.

“The proposed merger involved a merger of two of the biggest telecom companies in India and will create the largest telecom player in India, creating significant efficiencies and syn-ergies,” Trilegal said in a sepa-rate statement. Getting approval within Phase I implies that the deal would not be subject to detailed scrutiny. Transactions where there are prima facie con-cerns that they would adversely impact competition are taken into Phase II for an in-depth scrutiny. Mergers and acquisi-tions beyond a certain threshold require approval of the Com-petition Commission of India (CCI), which keeps a tab on unfair business practices across sectors. PTI

Competition watchdog approves Vodafone

India-Idea Cellular merger

AAI GM (Business Development) Anil Gupta and Uttarakhand Chief Secretary S Ramaswamy exchanging documents after signing an MoU for the development of the state’s aviation sector

The $23-billion transaction is largest deal by value in Indian M&A history

mp sport14MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata |Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

COACH ANCELOTTI SAYS VIDAL WILL STAY AT BAYERNSINGAPORE: Bayern Munich head coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted on Monday that veteran midfielder Arturo Vidal is to stay at the record German football champions. Much speculation surround-ed the future of the 30-year-old Chile midfielder as reports linked him to possible moves to Manchester United or Inter Milan, but Ancelotti ruled all those reports out, reports Efe.

SURENDER NADA NAMED HARYANA STEELERS CAPTAIN FOR PKL

SONEPAT (HARYANA): Haryana Steelers on Monday named local boy Surender Nada as the franchise’s cap-tain for their maiden Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season, starting July 28. Surender’s compatriot Wazir Singh was named his deputy, according to a statement from the franchise.

CZECH PLISKOVA STAYS ON TOP OF WTA SINGLES RANKINGSMADRID: Czech player Karolina Pliskova, with 6.855 points, continued to lead the WTA singles rankings released on Mon-day. Garbiñe Muguruza climbed to the fourth spot with 4,990 points and Elina Svitolina jumped to the fifth with 4.935 points. Additionally, second-placed Simona Halep was followed by Angelique Kerber, after she lost her top ranking position.

TRIBUTES FOR WOMEN PLAYERS

NEW DELHI: Tributes poured in for Indian women’s cricket team despite their loss in the ICC World Cup. “Our women cricketers gave their best today. They have shown remarkable tenacity & skill through the World Cup. Proud of the team! @BC-CIWomen,” Modi tweeted.Former cricketers, led by Sachin Tendulkar, also hailed the team. AGENCIES

Galle stadium brings good memories: AshwinGALLE: Ahead of playing his 50th Test cricket match here, Indian star off-spin-ner Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday recalled his 10-wickets haul against Sri Lanka in 2015 at Galle International Stadium here and said the venue brings good memories.

“I did really well last time in 2015. It is like a dream come true. It was some sort of moment of satisfaction for me because I was on the way back into the Test side. Then I got a six-for on the first day,” Ashwin told reporters.

“Then I went on to get a 10-for on the third day. It brings back a lot of good memories coming out here on the same venue,” he added.

India will encounter Sri Lanka in the

first of the three Test matches here from July 26. It will be the 50th Test match of Ashwin’s career.

The 30-year-old said former Sri Lankan opener Kumar Sangakkara and South African batsman AB de Villiers are amongst his favourite Test wickets.

“I think getting Kumar Sangakkara at Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium (Colombo), Ab de villiers in Nagpur... I think it was quite a helpful wicket, but the set-up was very good. I can’t really think of top of my mind, probably Shaun Marsh in Sydney in the second innings, David Warner in Bengaluru,” Ashwin said, naming some of his favou-rite victims.

“I have done reasonably good as a

cricketer, I would say,” he added. Ashwin also hailed recently

appointed India team coach Ravi Shas-

tri and said he creates a positive influ-ence in the dressing room.

“We are well past that moment. The decision has been made and the deci-sion is definitely something on which I cannot comment on. Ravi (Shastri) bhai has been fabulous person in the dressing room,” Ashwin said. “Last time, he was here in Galle and we lost the Test and he really picked all of us from that low point on our careers, and he is someone who can have a positive influence in the dressing room. We are looking forward to working together,” he added.

India were victorious in the last Test series against Sri Lanka held in 2015 registering a 2-1 win over their sub-continent rivals. AGENCIES

SC bars N Srinivasan, Niranjan Shah from attending BCCI SGM

NEW DELHI: Disqualified BCCI administrators N Srini-vasan and Niranjan Shah were on Monday restrained from attending the cricket board’s special general body meet-ing on July 26 by the Supreme Court which directed that only office bearers of state cricket associations can take part in it.

The Apex Court’s order assumes importance as for the last few months, both Sriniva-san and Shah were participating in the Board’s meeting as the nominees of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) and Saurashtra Cricket Associ-ation despite being disqualified.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra also indicated that it was willing to deliberate upon afresh the issues like membership of asso-ciations, number of selectors and number of votes.

The Bench, also compris-ing justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, asked BCCI and state associations concerned to deliberate on implementation of Justice R M Lodha committee recommen-dations, which were accepted by the Apex Court, “as far as practicable” in the July 26 SGM.

“The SGM shall be held at the time and date fixed. The meeting shall be attended only by the office bearers of the asso-ciations, not by nominees or representatives.

“All concerned shall imple-ment the recommendations of the Justice Lodha Committee report as far as practicable, bar-

ring the issues which have been raised pertaining to member-ship, number of members of the selection committee, concept of associate membership, etc,” the Bench said.

“The purpose is to imple-ment the report as far as prac-ticable and, thereafter, it shall be debated as to how the scheme of things can be considered so that the cricket, the ‘gen-tleman’s game’, remains nearly perfect. Be it noted, the issue with regard to disqualification or qualification of the represen-tative is kept open,” the Apex Court said.

The Bench has fixed the matter for hearing on August 18 when it will consider two issues — implementation of Lodha committee report as far as prac-ticable by the BCCI and state associations and the two names which are to be chosen to fill up the vacancies that has arisen in the Apex-Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) headed by former CAG Vinod Rai.

During the hearing, the bench observed that once Lodha panel recommendations have been accepted by the top court, it was “obligatory” for all the associations to implement it. “You hold the meeting. Act on the Lodha committee’s rec-ommendations as to which will be implemented and which will not be implemented. You send only your office bearers. Do not send N Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah. We do not want to make it adverserial,” it said. AGENCIES

Mithali named captain of ICC Women’s World Cup team

LONDON: India skipper Mithali Raj was on Monday chosen as the captain of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 team by the International Cricket Council.

The 34-year-old Indian was selected as captain after she led India to the final of the just-concluded ICC Women’s World Cup. India lost to England by nine runs in one of the most thrilling finals at the Lord’s. Mithali led by example, scoring 409 runs during the 30- day tournament.

She was at her best in a virtual quarter-final against New Zealand in Derby when she scored 109 to steer her side into the semifinals with a 186-run victory. Her other notable scores in the tournament were 71 against England in the tournament opener in Derby, 46 against the West Indies in Taunton, 53 against Sri Lanka in Derby and 69 against Australia in Bristol. Besides Mithali, Harman-preet Kaur and Deepti Sharma were the other two Indians included in the ICC’s team. The side includes four players from England — player of the tournament Tamsin Beaumont, player of the final Anya Shrubsole, wick-etkeeper Sarah Taylor and left-arm spinner Alex Hartley — three from South Africa that included opener

Laura Wolvaardt and bowlers Mari-zanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk, and Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry.

England’s Natalie Sciver, who scored 369 runs and took seven wick-ets, was chosen as the 12th player.

Mithali, Taylor and Shrub-sole have been picked in the Team of the Tournament for the second

time in their careers. Mithali and Taylor were selected in the Team of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009, which England won in Sydney in 2009, while Shrubsole was named in the Team of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013, which Australia won in India in January/February 2013. AGENCIES

England Women’s World Cup triumph a ‘watershed moment’

LONDON: Anya Shrubsole believes England’s dramatic Women’s World Cup triumph will prove to be a “watershed moment” for the sport.

Shrubsole was the star of the show at a sold-out Lord’s on Sunday as she tore through India’s lower order to secure a nine-run win. The swing bowler took six for 46, includ-ing five in 19 balls, to snatch an extraordinary victory from the jaws of what appeared an inevitable defeat. The world-wide television audience was rumoured to be around 100 million and Shrubsole says it felt like a milestone occasion for the women’s game in the country. “I think it’s a water-shed moment for women’s cricket,” said Shrubsole. “The final was a really fitting trib-ute to the whole tournament, which has been brilliant from start to finish.

“We obviously set out to win, but we also want to inspire women and girls to play cricket and hopefully our win, and the way we have played, has done that.” Her heroics came just two days after father Ian posted a snap of his then nine-year-old daughter gazing across the Lord’s outfield on Twitter, along with the caption: “What a place!

I’d like to play here … for Eng-land … in a World Cup final.” She said: “I remember the day, I remember watching him in that game — I don’t remember saying that but I guess it just shows that dreams can come true.” England looked out of it with India, chasing a mod-est 229, cruising along at 191 for three but Shrubsole snared Poonam Raut for 86, and the chaos began. She added: “Once we got [Raut] out it just gave us a little bit of hope, a little chance with the new batters coming in under a huge amount of pressure.” When Alex Hartley accounted for Sushma Verma for a duck and Shrubsole removed Veda Krishnamurthy and Jhulan Goswami in succes-sive balls, England had a lifeline and suddenly Lord’s was host-ing a thriller. AGENCIES

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it is willing to reconsider contentious recommendations of the Justice R M Lodha panel which included the policy of ‘one state-one vote’ rendering regular BCCI members like Railways and Services as asso-ciate ones without voting rights.

A Bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said that argu-ments raised by Railways, Association of Indian Univer-sities and Services about their voting rights have “impressed” the court.

“One state-one vote may not be a good idea in this country. There are Railways, Services, universities, Maharashtra, Baroda. Their arguments have impressed upon us to some extent. We may consider the issue in future debates. How, many vote they can have, we will debate,” a bench also com-prising justices A M Khan-wilkar and D Y Chandrachud said. The Apex Court also indi-cated that it may re-consider the issue of restricting the national selection panel of cricketers to three members only from five members panel, earlier.

“We may also debate on number of members in selec-tion board. Earlier, there were not so many matches played like it is played today. One, who has played number of one day matches may not have played as many test matches or vice versa. That depends on player to player,” the Apex Court said. AGENCIES

May reconsider Lodha panel idea on one state-one

vote, says SC

KL Rahul ruled out of first Test with viral fever

This is right time to invest in women’s cricket, says Jhulan

GALLE: India opener K L Rahul was on Monday ruled out of the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka owing to viral fever.

The BCCI, in a release, said Rahul is on his way to recovery and has been kept out of the series opener as a precaution-ary measure.

“The BCCI medical team confirms that opening bats-man K L Rahul is presently down with viral fever. There are no major health concerns and he is making rapid prog-ress, much to the satisfaction of the medical team,” said the BCCI in the statement.

“As a precautionary mea-sure, K L Rahul is advised fur-ther rest and hence will not be available for selection for the first Test match against Sri Lanka, which starts on July 26

at Galle,” it added.Rahul scored a fine half

century in the one-off tour match in Colombo, his first competitive game in close to three months after an injury lay-off. He is now down with fever and did not travel with the team from Colombo on Sunday. He also missed Mon-day’s practise session here, rul-ing himself out of the game beginning on Wednesday.

In his absence, Shi-khar Dhawan and Abhinav

Mukund are likely to open for India. The team’s other regu-lar opener, Murali Vijay, too pulled out of the series at the last minute saying he had not fully recovered from a wrist injury. After making a solid 54 against Sri Lanka Board Pres-ident’s XI in Moratuwa last week, Rahul had said that he was nervous about his fitness.

“You know that you are physically fit and you have done everything that you can, worked really hard, you are feeling stronger, you are feel-ing fitter,” Rahul told bcci.tv.

“But the mind always tells you what if it hap-pens again, what if you have to go through the same grind for three months, what if your shoulder is not ready, what if you (have) come back early?” AGENCIES

KOLKATA: A day after India women’s cricket team agonis-ingly lost to hosts England in the World Cup final at Lord’s, veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami said the time is right to take the game forward, observing the “real journey” for the eves starts now.

“This is the right time to invest in women’s cricket. I hope to see a new dawn from here on for women’s cricket. Wom-en’s cricket is on the right track right now and the journey ahead begins from here,” Jhulan was quoted as saying by ANM news from London on Monday.

India rode on Jhulan’s 3/23 to restrict England to 228/7 but after Punam Raut (86), semi-final’s star Harmanpreet Kaur

(51) and Veda Krishnamurthy (35) helped India come within touching distance of the tar-get, the Mithali Raj-led side lost wickets in a hurry and inexpli-cably lost by nine runs.

England’s Anya Shrubsole returned best figures of 6/46.

“I don’t want to talk about the match,” said Jhulan, who may have played her final World Cup.

“It’s a good feeling that we are being appreciated by all. But if we would have won the final, it would have been the per-fect icing on the cake.

“We are hurt at the way we lost in the final. Next time, we will try and do better,” the 34-year-old Bengal pace-woman said. AGENCIES

Anya Shrubsole

We’ve set the platform for coming generations, says Mithali RajTHE champion’s crown eluded her team for a second time but Indian skipper Mithali Raj believes future is bright for women’s cricket in the country and a platform has been set for the coming generations. India seemed on course for a maiden World Cup trophy but suffered a batting collapse, losing seven wickets for 28 runs to slip from 191 for 3 to 219 all out in 48.4 overs in a chase of 229 in the final against England at Lord’s. But despite the heartbreak, the skipper said future seems good for India. “These girls have really set the platform for the upcoming generations in India. They’ve opened up the channels for women’s cricket and they should be really proud of themselves. I have seen the changes the girls have made,” Raj said. The 34-year-old Raj admitted her team failed to hold its nerve but said she was proud of the way it fought in the tournament. “Everybody was very nervous and I think that resulted in our defeat. It’s about experience and about how composed we are in the situation. The girls weren’t experienced enough to do that, but the way they have fought through the tournament is heart-warming,” said Raj. “The India women’s team has a bright future, we have very talented girls — it’s just a matter of calculations, keeping your cool in the middle.” AGENCIES

mp sport 15MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata |Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

BERNARDESCHI ARRIVES FOR JUVENTUS MEDICAL

New Juventus player Federico Bernardeschi arrives at a centre to undergo medical examinations in Turin, northern Italy, on Monday. Juventus is signing prized winger Federico Bernardeschi from Fiorentina. Bernardeschi did not report for preseason training, with gastroenteritis the reason given, and is set to sign a deal with the Serie A champions, who tweeted footage of him in Turin. Earlier, Fiorentina coach Stefano Pioli had told reporters: “He’s made up his mind. I’ve only spoken to him once on the telephone and I can’t waste my energy thinking about what could have been. We just have to think about the future” AP/PTI

Prannoy beats Kashyap to lift US Open badminton title

ANAHEIM (CALIFOR-NIA): HS Prannoy notched up a thrilling three-game win over Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap in an all-Indian final to clinch the $120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold here.

Prannoy, who lost a fair amount of his time to nagging injuries in his career, dished out a gritty performance to defeat Kashyap 21-15 20-22 21-12 in the summit clash which lasted an hour and five minutes.

“It was a good match, pretty intense match, a high quality match by both me and Kashyap. I think after losing the second game narrowly, I was calm and patient enough and it worked for me,” Prannoy said.

“In second game, Kashyap was playing better than the first game. He was putting a lot of pressure on net and he was also finishing the lifts that I was pro-ducing, that made the whole difference.

“But in the third game, I changed my strategy a bit and I had a good lead. So yeah, over-all happy with the tournament.

Now I am looking for-ward to New Zealand Open,” he added.

The duo, who had a 1-1 head-to-head record hav-ing played each other at the 2014 German Open last time, engaged in fast-paced rallies

and Prannoy more often sealed the rallies with his powerful smashes.

In the first game, Kashyap moved to a 7-1 lead before entering the interval with a sizzling smash on the fore-hand of Prannoy, who slowly

reduced the gap to 9-12 and then turned the tables with five straight points.

Kashyap clawed back to level par at 15-15 but Pran-noy looked unstoppable as he reeled off six straight points to grab the first game with

another cross-court smash.The second game had some

intense moments as the duo fought fiercely for each points. The rallies were more aggres-sive with each having their share of moments.

Kashyap lead 14-9 at one stage but Prannoy drew parity at 15-15. Kashyap continued to exert pressure on his younger colleague and had a 20-18 lead.

Prannoy grabbed two points before Kashyap roared back into contest with another superb smash.

In the decider, Prannoy changed his strategy. His deft touch in the lifts and better net strokes earned him points as he zoomed to a 13-7 lead.

The 24-year-old continued to move ahead and eventually seal the issue when Kashyap misjudged a shuttle at the baseline.

Ever since bursting on to the scene with a silver medal at the 2010 Youth Olympics, Prannoy has been often left on the sidelines due to inju-ries, affecting his training and thereby his progress. AGENCIES

Confed Cup dope tests all negative: FIFALAUSANNE: All of the near 1,000 samples involving play-ers at the Confederations Cup were negative, FIFA announced on Monday.

FIFA said a total of 379 tests and 854 player samples were collected in what it called the largest anti-doping programme in Confed Cup history.

“All participating players were tested... in unannounced controls and, additionally, two players per team were tested by FIFA anti-doping officers after each of the competi-tion’s 16 matches,” a statement announced.

Most of the controls were sent to be tested at the World Anti-Doping Agency-accred-ited laboratory in Lausanne.

With one year to go before the World Cup Germany won the Confed Cup with a 1-0 defeat of South American champions Chile in the July 2

final. During the World Cup warm-up fresh allegations surfaced of doping in Rus-sian football. Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, the author of WADA’s explosive report into Russian doping, told Ger-man broadcaster ARD he has new evidence suggesting that positive tests taken from Rus-sian players were swopped with clean samples.

McLaren said WADA had seized 155 samples from 2018 World Cup hosts Russia for re-testing.

A British media report claimed FIFA is investigat-ing if Russia’s 2014 World Cup squad were part of a state-run doping scheme, but no players from the finals three years ago in Brazil returned a positive test. AGENCIES

Aditi registers her best LPGA finish

SYLVANIA: India’s Aditi Ashok collected her first Top-10 on the LPGA Tour as she finished a fine tied-8th at the Marathon Classic. 19-year-old Aditi, playing her rookie sea-son, bettered her previous best of T-25 achieved at NW Arkan-sas Championships last month.

Aditi, who began the third day at T-3 and was in conten-tion for her maiden LPGA title was unable to find as many fairways as she did on the first three days. Finding only 50 per cent of the fairways, she also needed 30 putts, the most for her during the entire week.

After rounds of 65-68-68 she finished the week with an even par 71 and a total of 12-under 272. Her Tied-eighth place fetched her a cheque of US $ 33,745 her biggest earn-ing on LPGA this season. Aditi birdied third and ninth holes and bogeyed the first and 12th.

The two-time winner on Ladies European Tour with successes at Hero Women’s Indian Open and Qatar Ladies,

Aditi is now 69th on the LPGA rankings and No. 93 in the world.

In-Kyung Kim, who was two strokes behind 18-year-old Nelly Korda entering the round, birdied six of the first nine holes and finished with an 8-under 63 for a four-stroke victory over Lexi Thompson.

In-Kyung Kim won her sec-ond title of the season, as she added the Marathon Classic to the ShopRite LPGA Classic. She fired an 8-under-par 63, the best round of the day and tied best for the week. Kim took a four-shot victory. Kim was bogey-free Sunday, and went out in 6-under-par 28.

Lexi Thompson fired a 5-under-par 66 and finished runner-up. It was her fifth sec-ond-place finish in 2017 to along with her one win at the Kingsmill Championship pre-sented by JTBC.

The 36-hole leader Gerina Piller finished tied for third along with Peiyun Chien at 15-under. MPOST

Delhi Dynamos bolster squad, add

15 new playersNEW DELHI: Delhi Dynamos have reinforced their squad for the Indian Super League Sea-son 4 with a mixture of both youth and experience in the recently held draft.

The side added 15 new players to their ranks with the most notable ones being defender Pritam Kotal, goal-keeper Albino Gomes and for-ward Romeo Fernandes.

Having decided to not retain any players from the pre-vious season, Aizawl custodian Albino Gomes was Dynamos’s first choice in the draft. The 23-year old played a key part in the northeastern side’s historic triumph in the recently con-cluded season of the I-League.

Joining Albino in the back line, will be the promising 23-year old defender Pritam Kotal. The wingback spent the initial seasons of the ISL with FC Pune City, before moving to Atletico de Kolkata where he was a vital cog in the side’s Championship winning team.

Kotal has also represented Mohun Bagan in the I-League and has been one of the main-stays in the Indian national football team. Up front, the GMS owned Delhi franchisee have added the pacy and skill-ful winger Romeo Fernandes. The 25-year old has spent the last three ISL seasons with FC Goa and his impressive perfor-mances saw him earn a loan deal with Brazilian side Atletico Paranaense.

Joining Romeo up front will be Seityasen Singh who was previously plying his trade with NorthEast United. The 25-year old made six appearances for the Highlanders last season and found the back of the net on two occasions. Winner of the 2015 edition of the ISL, Sena Ralte will also be represent-ing the Dynamos this season, alongside the experienced Pra-tik Chowdhury and Munmun Lugun who rejoins the team after a gap of three years. AGENCIES

Tomic says he has no love for the gameSYDNEY: Australian star Ber-nard Tomic admits he is play-ing tennis just for the money and says he has no love for a game that has earned him millions.

In a frank Australian televi-sion interview, the 24-year- old told his fans to stay at home rather than paying to watch him play if they were opposed to his polarising on-court antics.

“Don’t come,” Tomic said late Sunday. “Just watch on TV, you don’t have to pay anything.”

Tomic, who was slugged with a US 15,000 fine after he

claimed he was “bored” during his lacklustre first round defeat at Wimbledon last month, said he oscillates between full com-mitment and apathy on court.

“Throughout my career

I’ve given 100 percent. I’ve given also 30 percent. But if you balance it out, I think all my career’s been around 50 percent,” Tomic, who has slid down the rankings to 73 from a career-high 17, said in the interview.

“I haven’t really tried, and (still) achieved all this.

So it’s just amazing what I’ve done.” Asked to provide advice to aspiring tennis play-ers he was blunt. “Don’t play tennis. Do something you love and enjoy, because it’s a grind, and it’s a tough, tough, tough life. My position, I’m trapped.

I have to do it,” he said.“Tennis chose me. It’s some-

thing I never fell in love with. You know, I like it.” Tomic also stood by his inflammatory comments after being contro-versially eliminated at Wimble-don by German Mischa Zverev.

“I don’t regret what I said. That’s why I said it — to piss a few people off,” he said.

“I didn’t come from a rich family. We had no money.

“And now living in all these lavish houses and prop-erty around the world, it’s my choice. It’s something that I’ve worked for.” AGENCIES

We have taken huge strides in last 2 yrs: ConstantineDOHA: Stephen Constantine has been the craftsman behind India’s rise in the last couple of years and the chief coach pre-fers to stick to his philosophy of “giving the boys exposure” as much as possible in interna-tional football.

“The whole objective of mine before coming to Doha was to give as many players international exposure as pos-sible. If I’m not wrong, we’ve rotated the squad and not less than 18-19 players played in this tournament.”

On being asked how does he rate the boys’ performance against some of the Asian heavyweights, he didn’t hesitate to mention that he’s “extremely

proud” of their performance.“We have been successful

what we wanted to achieve. We gradually improved from one game to another. It was extremely pleasing to get a win in this match (against Turk-menistan),” Constantine said.

The frustration of losing the first two games got reflected in his words after registering the thumping victory over Turkmenistan.

Constantine stated: “As they say, we, finally, won a game in this tournament. If we evaluate, we were unlucky to lose the first one, extremely unlucky in the next game against Qatar. The boys have worked very hard and we deserved this victory.”

He thanked the support stuff and All India Football Federation for their support to achieve this win, “I’m extremely

happy for the players, stuff and All India Football Federation.”

On being asked about the recent resurgence of India’s

football, he stated he’s “very happy with the things at the moment”.

“We have made very big steps in the last 2 years. India are on the verge of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup.

Nonetheless, India need to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup regularly and may be for the World Cup too in the future.

“We need to be regular in AFC Asian Cup, U23 AFC Championship and other age-group tournaments as well. A lot of work to do now onward. As of now, we are enjoying this moment and we’ll be looking forward to the next win.” AGENCIES

Spanish football chief set to be

suspended following arrest

MADRID: Angel Maria Vil-lar is likely to be suspended from his post as president of the Spanish Football Feder-ation (RFEF) on Tuesday as the Spanish Administrative Sports Tribunal (TAD) meets to decide his future.

Villar, who has been helm-ing the governing body of Spanish football since 1988, was last Friday refused bail and sent to jail pending trial along with his son Gorka after being arrested for a series of corrup-tion charges on July 18, reports Xinhua news agency.

The 67-year-old, who was only re-elected for an eighth successive term in office in May, has so far not offered his resignation from his post.

But TAD president Enrique Arnaldo explained that Villar could not be suspended with-out the approval of his organ-isation, although that looks to be a formality.

“We can’t agree to sus-pend him, without a file being opened; although we have looked at the findings of the judge investigating the case and as well as the legal issues, we believe there is enough to consider an infrac-tion has been committed,” explained Arnaldo in the Spanish press. AGENCIES

England sink Spain, close in on quarter-finalsBREDA (NETHERLANDS): Fran Kirby and Jodie Taylor handed England a 2-0 win over Spain in a game marred by heavy rain, to make it back-to-back victories at the wom-en’s Euro tournament.

Earlier in the day, Carolina Mendes and substitute Ana Leite gave Portugal a 2-1 win over Scotland in a clash of Euro newcomers in Rotterdam.

England are all but into the quarter-finals and sit at the Group D summit, having thrashed Scotland 6-0 in their opener.

The second knock-out

round spot is likely to go to Spain or Portugal, with the former the favourites as they take on bottom team Scotland in their final group game on Thursday. The Scots appear destined for an early exit, and will have to beat Spain by two goals to have any chance of progressing. Chelsea striker Kirby picked up a pass from Ellie White in the second min-ute and stormed into the box, beating Spain keeper Sandra Panos with a low shot to score her seventh international goal.

Taylor scored her fourth goal in two games five minutes

from the end, after a pass from Jordan Nobbs found her inside the box. A frantic opening period saw England skipper Steph Houghton slam the ball over and Spain’s Alexia Putel-las send a weak shot straight at keeper Karen Bardsley.

It came to an end with a tor-rential downpour that damp-ened the pitch and slowed things down considerably with Spain on the front foot.

The second half was very much in the same vein as the rain returned — Spain domi-nated the game, pushing for an equaliser, but they never really

came close as the soaked pitch hampered their play.

In Rotterdam, Mendes scored against the run of play on 27 minutes after a cross from Diana Silva which Scot-land defender Vaila Barsley comically failed to clear.

Scottish substitute Erin Cuthbert put Scotland level in the 68th minute with a clinical finish after being put through by Caroline Weir. But Scotland’s joy was short-lived as four minutes later, Leite sprinted down the middle and beat goalkeeper Gemma Fay with a low strike. AGENCIES

mp Entertainment16 MILLENNIUM POST | Kolkata | Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

NEW DELHI: Actor Taapsee Pannu, who has impressed many with her strong willed and fearless woman characters in films like Pink and Naam Shabana, says the film industry has changed her a lot as a person as she can “kind of” take a lot of “non-sense”

“I think it (film industry) has changed me quite a bit,” Tapsee said when asked how she has transformed as an individual over the years after entering the industy.

“From being extremely impulsive, short tempered or the person who used to be over planned in a way that I never used to believe in taking risks...now, I have totally changed. I used to say no before even trying anything, but now I have at least started to believe in ‘never say never’ and that anything can happen in

life,” she said.“I have started being more

experimental so, I have changed quite a bit, especially in terms of patience. I think this industry has taught me lot of patience as I used to be extremely short tempered.”

“But now, I can kind of take a lot of non-sense,” added the actor at the launch of American performance and lifestyle footwear brand Skechers’ 90th store at Ambience Mall in Gurugram.

Taapsee, who made her acting debut with a south Indian film, has made a name in Bollywood with movies like Baby, Pink and Naam Shabana. After becoming a part of these hard-hitting films, the actor is now set to add some glamour quotient to her filmography with David Dhawan’s directorial Judwaa 2.

She says the film, a remake of Salman Khan’s 1997 released Judwaa, is going to add a lot to her career.

“People will see me in a totally different look and they are going to realise that I can probably pull off something which is as different as this (‘Judwaa 2’) compared to what I have done before.

“My Hindi audience hasn’t really seen the glamorous side of me so, probably for me, it will be exciting to see the reaction of the audience after they see me in this film,” she said.

But it’s not a forced step to show the world that she can do different kinds of films.

“It’s not just to show everyone that I can do different stuff, but also for myself because as an actor you can get drained out if you keep on doing same kind of stuff. I really want to switch gears and try different things, genres and roles so that I can refresh as an actor and keep exploring different sides of my personality also,” said Taapsee.So are we going to see her doing more such films after Judwaa 2, an action comedy?

She said: “I am going back to do some really serious hard-hitting genre which I am lately associated with. So I will go back to that because that has given me the image I have today. I would like to continue with that. I want to do something really substantial and hard-hitting,” said the actor. It’s not just films, the actor is also getting a lot of brand endorsements. She feels that just like her films, she chooses brand deals as well if it echoes with her sentiments. IANS

MUMBAI: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has congratu-lated actor and DJ Shilpi Sharma for the remix of the song ‘Radha’ from the forth-coming film Jab Harry Met Sejal.

He also applauded her on the launch of her single ‘Salaam-E-Ishq’.

SRK took to Twitter and Facebook to congratulate Sharma.

“You absolutely loved ‘Radha’! Now enjoy the Official ‘Radha’ Remix by DJ Shilpi Sharma! Out Now http://bit.ly/RadhaDJShilpi. Shah Rukh Khan Red Chil-lies Entertainment,” a tweet on the official page of Sony music read.

Sharma has reprised the 1978 song ‘Salaam- E-Ishq’, keeping the arrangement peppy, not messing with the infectious intro and intro-ducing her own little jam section to the song.

“I am humbled to see the support from SRK and over-joyed to see how industry leaders from Bollywoood and Television are show-casing their warmth and support to the remixed ver-

sion of ‘Radha’ and ‘Salaam-E- Ishq’,” Sharma said in a statement.

The DJ says this was the fourth time she was work-ing with Shah Rukh, but the song ‘Radha’ from the Imtiaz Ali directorial is very spe-cial to her. “Collaborating with Pritam-Da has always been an enriching experi-ence, testing my creativity and driving me to push my own boundaries. I owe a lot to Karim Morani and family for always believing in me,” she added. IANS

NEW DELHI: Shahid Kapoor has not signed any movie after Padmavati, which is currently being filmed, and the actor says he isn’t worried about not being seen on screen.

“I have not signed anything after ‘Padmavati’ and it isn’t a thing to worry about. You should only worry when you are not doing a good film,” Shahid said.

“It’s ok to wait and do good movies. I want to be asso-ciated with films that have good content and are enter-taining at the same time,” he says.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama Padmavati also features Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.

“I am not supposed to talk much about the film. All I can say is it’s an amazing cast and it is going to be a spectacular visual experience. I am having an amazing time on it. Wait for it, it’s coming in November.”

Bhansali seems to be impressed with Shahid and appar-ently he has cast him in his next Tuesdays and Fridays, a light- hearted romantic comedy.

“I read about it. But I haven’t signed anything after ‘Padmavati’. So wait for an (official) announcement.”

Shahid’s last film was Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Ran-goon” that did not do well at the box office. The actor says he is disheartened with the response to the film but at the same time is hopeful to bounce

back with his frequent collaborator Bhardwaj.“When a film doesn’t do the kind of business

or get the appreciation it should get, it’s heartbreak-ing. I was fortunate that people liked me in ‘Rangoon’...

Regardless of anything people have liked my work in his films.

“I was happy I got recognised. But I am sure when we work together again we will do something great,” he says.

Set against the backdrop of World War II, the film also starred Kangana Ranaut and Saif Ali Khan in the lead.

“Rangoon as a film had many energies and many people. I can’t take ownership of the film. I am happy my part was appreciated but I am sad for the film not doing well.” PTI

It’s ok to wait AND DO GOOD movies: Shahid

After doing a lot of hard-hitting films, Tapsee feels that she has changed from being an impulsive person to a patient one

SRK congratulates DJ SHILPI FOR

‘Radha’ remix

When Cruz turned MAKEUP ARTIST for Salma Hayek

LONDON: Penolope Cruz has much more to her side than being an amazing performer. The actor is so good with makeup and styling that she can get anyone red carpet ready, including good friend Salma Hayek.

The 43-year-old Oscar-winning actor enjoys pampering women, so much so that she says she could make it a second career, reported

Contactmusic.“I like my career, but I love getting peo-

ple ready for something because it’s a part of me. I can cut anyone’s hair

no problem. I can do a blow-dry, I can put in roll-

ers, I can wax somebody’s legs. I could have another job.

“The power had gone at Salma’s house and her make-up artist couldn’t come, so she called me and said, ‘You have to get me ready for this

premiere’, and I lit some candles and did her hair and make-up

too. No one noticed that it wasn’t done

by a profes-sional, so I

was very proud of that,” Cruz says.

The Zoolan-der 2 star says she learned a

lot about both beauty

and act-ing by hanging

out in the salon her mother ran when she was younger. PTI

LOS ANGELES: Grammy Award winning DJ David Guetta wants his music to be “timeless” and appeal to all generations.

“I’m trying to do something timeless. People always want to listen to something new, but at the same time emotions are always the same. There’s not a new emo-tion that is going to come out, because we are human beings,” Guetta told Financial Times news-paper, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Guetta says he wanted to become a DJ since he was 12-years-old which he feels was “crazy” as there were no famous DJs around then.

“It’s so crazy because there was no famous DJ at the time. There was no glamour, there was no money, there was nothing like that.

I was just obsessed with music and I was very into the technical aspect of creating it. I don’t even understand it myself because my family were not musicians or anything...

“My mum thought that every-thing I was doing was very stu-pid. She was a communist so she felt like all this superficial life and chasing materialistic dreams were a waste of my time,” he added. IANS

Guetta wants to make ‘timeless’ music

LOS ANGELES: Inception actor Ellen Page has been getting death threats on her Instagram.

According to TMZ, the Los Angeles Police Department has launched an investigation into the matter.

The perpetrator sent several messages, including one calling her a “lying worthless Canadian” who “needs to die in my hands.” 

Another message read, “I find Ellen and kidnap her and kill her throat and let everyone see it on my Instagram.” 

Detectives got a search war-rant last month so they could trace the IP address of the IG name but so far, there have been no arrests in the case. PTI

Ellen Page getting death

threats

‘Film industry hastaught melot of patience’