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THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE AHOT BOWL OF ADMEDABAD,LATECITY COMFORT 10JANUARY,2021 In times suchasthese,what 16PAGES,`5.00 makes certain kinds of food more appealing than others? DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM PAGES 13, 14, 15 JanuaryDATE DECIDED AFTER16PMisMEETINGVaccinationDayOne, 3crorehealthstaffarefirstinline Then over-50 and under-50 with co-morbidities; names to be taken from voter lists

KAUNAINSHERIFFM Relativeswith their newborns afterthe fire at BhandaraDistrict General Hospital. PTI NEWDELHI,JANUARY9

THE UNION Health Ministryan- nouncedSaturdaythat the na- Mothers on floors above, 10 tionwide vaccination of priority groups will begin January16to securethem againstCovid-19, babies killed in hospital fire whichhas so farinfected more than 1crore people and killed nearly 1.5lakh. 7rescued; dead between the ages of 3days and 2months This announcement came af- terPrime MinisterNarendra Modi held ameeting to review VIVEKDESHPANDE the status of preparedness for Trucks enter the Serum InstituteofIndia premises in Pune on Saturdaymorning. PavanKhengre BHANDARA(MAHARASHTRA), thevaccination. “Afterthe de- JANUARY9 tailedreview, it wasdecidedthat in viewofthe forthcoming festi- IT WASthe firstchild fortribal vals including Lohri, Makar Power to Rail, Defence Covaxin volunteer dies couple Geeta,20, and Sankranti, Pongal, Magh Bihu, Vishwanath Behere, 22, of the Covid-19vaccination will to Education —all gears in Bhopal, firm says no Bhojapur villageadjacent to startfromJanuary16, 2021,”the Bhandaracity near Nagpur,born Ministrysaid. ayear-and-a-half aftertheir In the initial phase, priority move for the rollout link to vaccine, placebo marriage. Weighing only830 gm will be giventoanestimated 3 at birth, on November 10,their crorehealthcareworkers and daughter nevermade it home, or frontline workers. PRABHARAGHAVAN, IRAMSIDDIQUE got aname. She wasamong the Charredremains of SNCU equipment afterthe fire. PTI This rollout datecomes less PRANAVMUKUL& SUNDAY BHOPAL,JANUARY9 10 infants, aged between three than aweek afterthe drug regu- ANILSASI STORY days and twomonths, killedina lator granted accelerated ap- NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 A45-YEAR-OLD daily-wage fire at the BhandraDistrict Neonatal unit cleared proval fortwo vaccines — PAGE 8 worker,who participated in the General Hospital's SickNeonatal Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield AS MANY as 20 Ministries, from Phase 3trial forBharat Biotech- CareUnit (SNCU) around 1.30 and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech PowertoRailways,Defence and ICMR’s Covaxin in Bhopal at the am on Saturday. The sevenre- without fire audit, appeal and the ICMR, the latter vaccine Labour to Civil Aviation and over People’s Medical Collegeand maining newborns in the unit, in acontrolled“clinical trial twodozen state-leveldepart- Hospital, diedDecember 21,nine all girls, were rescued. mode” giventhat itsefficacy data ments, from police to education: days afterhegot the firstjab, ac- Tears pouring, Geeta,who for equipment pending is pending. an unprecedented official ma- cording to hospital records. lastsaw her daughter on Friday Healthcareworkers and chineryisbeing cranked up for The postmortemreportof evening, sat among relativestoo frontline workers will be fol- the Centre’s Covid-19vaccine Deepak Marawi, afather of dazedtospeak,ortorespond to TABASSUM Latest lowedbythose above 50 years of distribution effort. three, suspected “poisoning” as a effortstoconsole her. BARNAGARWALA hospital ageand those under-50 with co- As Prime MinisterNarendra Needle in cause. Bharat Biotech,inastate- Marawi, 45, wasfather of Vishwanath, who had justone MUMBAI,JANUARY9 E ● fire morbidities —these number Modi meets Chief Ministers ment, said that the “serious ad- three and adailywager. glimpse of his daughter,atbirth, EXPLAINED around 27 crore, the Health Mondaytodiscuss the rollout, the haystack verse reaction” had been “thor- Iram Siddique sawher forthe second time ly- ARS1.52 CRORE proposal to in- Ministrysaid. this pan-government mobilisa- oughlyinvestigated”and was ing dead in the hospital, on rush- stall anew fire safetysystemat THE BHANDARA hospital Morethan 79 lakh potential tion is comparable to the prepa- found “notrelated to vaccine or ing thereat4amfollowing acall, the BhandaraDistrict General fire is the latestinaseries vaccine recipientshavealready ration ahead of ageneral election. to conduct vaccination sessions placebo”. Astate government time of enrolment, “had fulfilled with “twoburn marks”. Hospital, where10babies died of suchincidents, includ- been registeredonthe flagship The Union PowerMinistry at itshospitals, dispensaries and panel, too, ruledout any“lapses.” all the inclusion and exclusion Breaking down, Vishwanath, in ablaze early Saturdaymorn- ing at Covid centres in Co-WIN IT platform, whichwill has been instructedto coordinate other premises, will do “vaccine Bharat Biotech said it could- criteria” and wasreportedtobe who worksasalabourer,says ing, has been pending with the Gujarat. Afterevery such provide real-time information of with statediscomstoensureun- branding” on railway tickets n’t confirm if Marawireceived healthyinall the “sitefollowup theywereexpecting her to re- stategovernment forseven incident, thereare prom- vaccine stocks and will trackin- interruptedelectricity supplyat while the Labour Ministrywill the vaccine or the placebo since calls postseven days of dosing.” turn home in around aweek. months. Meanwhile, setupin ises of action. Families dividual recipients. vaccine storagepointsand ses- conduct vaccination sessions it wasadouble-blind study.It “Thereare severalfactors that “She wasborn underweight at a 2015,the SickNeonatal Care who losttheir newborns CONTINUEDONPAGE2 sion sites. The Railways,whichis CONTINUEDONPAGE2 addedthat the volunteer,atthe CONTINUEDONPAGE2 private hospital, and had to be Unit (SNCU) wherethe babies will hope that this time, it rushedstraight to the District diedhad had onlyone mockfire will go pastlip-service. Hospital. She had been gaining drill, backin2016-17, as per a weight and was1.3 kg now. She district official. wasset fordischarge on attain- Bhandaradistrict authorities DRIVERS, GUARDS ing 1.5kg.” Vishwanath adds that were also yettoget afireaudit PITCH IN FOR RESCUE Chinese soldier crosses SC hearing tomorrow: Punjab theyhad even arguedwith the done at the hospital, despitea PAGE 10 LAC south of Pangong ready to challenge farm laws CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 WORLD Gujarat records its first Tso, in Army custody tionedinListII(StateList) of the KANCHANVASDEV& Constitution of India and fall un- tigated.Further details are ANANTHAKRISHNANG der the exclusive domain of the confirmed case of avian KRISHNKAUSHIK awaited,” the Armysaid. CHANDIGARH,NEWDELHI, stategovernment,the NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 South Pangong Tsoisone of JANUARY9 Government of India had en- the areas whereonlyafew hun- acted the three farm laws under flu, nine more birds dead ACHINESE soldier,who had dred metres separatetroops of WITH TALKSbetween the provisions related to agriculture crossedthe Line of Actual the twocountries. Centreand farmer unions op- marketing mentionedinListIII Control south of Pangong Tsoin In Augustlastyear,Indian posedtothe newagriculture (Concurrent List). EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE eastern Ladakh, wasappre- troops surprisedthe Chinese by laws failing to makeany head- Being acentral legislation, INDONESIA JET WITH RAJKOT,JANUARY9 hendedbythe Indian Armyin occupying dominating heights way, and the Supreme Court Adharna at Reliance Mall in the stategovernment,hesaid, 62 GOES MISSING ON the early hours of Friday. on the south bank of Pangong scheduledtohear Mondaya Ludhiana. GurmeetSingh had limited options under DOMESTIC FLIGHT GUJARATRECORDED itsfirst In astatement Saturday, the Tso, and in the largerChushul clutchofpetitions related to the Article 254(2) of the confirmedcases of birdflu as Armysaid the “PLAsoldier had sub-sector. matter,the Punjab government Constitution and it had exercised MUTED, ISOLATED, samples of afew of the 55 birds transgressedacross the LACand Indian troops positioned said Saturdayithad finalisedpe- Amarinder Singh said state that with the Punjab assembly TRUMP FACES that were found dead at Kharo wastaken intocustody by Indian themselvesonGurung Hill, titions to challengethe newly AdvocateGeneral Atul Nanda passing Bills to amend the cen- IMPEACHMENT dam in Junagadh district earlier troops” deployedinthe area. Magar Hill, Mukhpari, Rechin La enacted laws. had already prepared and fi- tral laws.Asper the lawofthe PAGE 12 this month tested positive forthe “Troops from either side are and Rezang La. Theynow have Also Saturday, the nalisedpetitions to challengethe land, anyBill passedbythe state infection, government officials deployedalong the LACsince direct viewofChina’s Moldo Consortium of Indian Farmers three central Acts. assembly, he said, aremandato- said Saturday. Aworkersprays disinfectants friction eruptedlastyear due to Garrison, and the strategic Associations (CIFA) approached “Since these Acts impact the rilyrequired to be sent to the While therehas been no re- at agovernment-run poultry unprecedented mobilisation and Spanggur Gap, whichcan be the Supreme Court, seeking to be livesand futureofour farmers, Governor who, afterstudying it, EXPRESS NETWORK portofinfection in poultrybirds, farm at Makarba. File forwardconcentration by usedtolaunchoffensives—as heardagainstthe challengeto all decisions will be takencare- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 so far, surveillance has been in- Chinese troops. The PLAsoldier the Chinese did in 1962. the newlaws. It said “farm re- fullyand judiciouslyatanoppor- PARAGETSBAIL, tensifiedacross the state, officials is being dealt with as per laid Indian troops also readjusted forms arebeneficial to enable in- tune time,” the Chief Minister COURTSAYSUAPA said. Carcasses of five egretsand tively,theyadded. down procedures, and the cir- their positions on the north bank creasedincome to farmers and said in astatement. ANOTHER FARMER CASENOTMADEOUT four crowswerealso recovered This is the firstreportedout- cumstances under whichhehad of the Pangong lake, occupying growth of agriculture”. He said although matters re- KILLS HIMSELF PAGES 7 from Junagadh city and Lohej vil- break of the avian flu in Gujarat crossedthe LACare being inves- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Punjab Chief Minister lated to agricultureare men- PAGE 7 lageinJunagadh district, respec- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ‘Unmatched leader, will be remembered for shaping modern Gujarat’

PAGE1 ageof93, bringing an end to a Deputy Chief MinisterNitin Nath Kovind also paid tributes to press his grief. “Madhavsinh son of the Congress ANCHOR glorious erafor aparty that could Patelsaid the Council of Solanki. In acondolence letter to Solanki wasaformidable leader, ParliamentaryParty,inacondo- notcome backtopowerinthe Ministers, presidedoverby the veteranCongress leader’s playing akey role in Gujarat pol- lence letter to Bharatsinh said, statesince the nineties. Rupani, observed two-minute son Bharatsinh Solanki, the pres- itics fordecades. He will be re- “Gujarat has lostatowering Sources close to the family silence and passedacondolence ident said, “Madhavsinh Solanki membered forhis richservice to leader,who symbolisedagolden EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE said Solanki diedinhis sleep at resolution as amarkofrespect. wasnot onlyapolitical stalwart society... Beyond politics, erainthe state. Madhavsinh AHMEDABAD,VADODARA, his residence. “He (Solanki) has been credited in his ownright but also an ex- Madhavsinh Solanki enjoyed Solanki playedakey role in JANUARY9 Gujarat Chief MinisterVijay with contributions in the field of ceptional administrator.Inhis reading and waspassionate Gujarat’s progress and develop- Rupani declared aone-daystate education and journalism. The demise the nation has lostanun- about culture. WheneverI ment, and during his long tenure THE GRAND old man of Gujarat mourning Saturdayand can- mid-daymeal scheme that has matchedleader.Hewill be long would meethim or speak to him, as Chief Minister, one of his Congress and itslongestserving celledall his official events, in- been replicated throughout the remembered forhis role in shap- we would discuss booksand he manyachievementswas to fos- chief minister, who went on to cluding apublic meeting in countrywas startedduring his ing modern Gujarat forits inim- would tell me about anew book tersocial harmonyand unitethe become the Union external Mahisagar district. The lastrites tenure, as wasthe reservation for itable warmth, charm and love he recentlyread. Iwill always different communities of affairs minister, Madhavsinh of the departedleader will be MADHAVSINH SOLANKI the sociallyand economically forliterature.” cherish the interactions we had,” Gujarat. His giftfor bringing peo- Solanki breathedhis last held with full statehonours, the 1927-2021 backwardsections,” Patelsaid. Prime MinisterNarendra the PM tweeted. ple together,for establishing a SaturdayinGandhinagar at the CM said. On Saturday, President Ram Modi also took to Twitter to ex- Sonia Gandhi, the chairper- CONTINUEDONPAGE4 Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021

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All gears move derweight that had ledtothe Bawankule of the BJP said the lapwings that were found dead hospitalisation, said Yogita. “He families of the children had on January3toNIHSAD. “One of across itsEmployee's State wasnot able to breastfeed. So complainedtothe authorities those twolapwing carcasses Insurance networkofhospitals the PrimaryHealth Centreasked about the fluctuation in electric Jan 16 is Vaccination Day One across have also tested positive forbird and staff. us to bring him to the District supplyinthe unit “but nobody flu,” Dr SN Vaghasiya, the deputy The Defence Ministrywill Hospital. In less than 24 hours, took it seriously”. director of AH department in help coordinatesupplyininac- he wasdead,” she cried. Prime MinisterNarendra nation, 3crore health staff first in line Junagadh, said. cessible and security-sensitive Yogita, staying on the sec- Modi and Congress leader Rahul He addednofurther bird areas and tapintoits ex-service- ond-floor ward of the four- Gandhi were among those who According to operational Covid vaccination needs to be and, people’s participation (Jan nance mechanism has been deaths have been reportedat men networkfor mobilisation. storey hospital, came to know offeredtheir condolences. guidelines giventothe states, registeredonCo-WIN and a Bhagidari). put in place forthe back-end: Kharodam since January4. “The Civil Aviation Ministry about the fire at the SNCU,onthe WITHINPUTSFROM the prioritization of groups will mechanism has been created Adistrict will be takenasa the BlockTask Forcewill check “However, four crowsdiedat has had severaldiscussions with firstfloor,around 2am, when TABASSUMBARNAGARWALA depend on the “disease inci- to markout different priority basic unit —and the District all proposedsites and the Lohej villageinMangrol taluka stakeholders including airlines, she noticedthe smoke. “But we dence and prevailing pan- groups. The Centrehas said Magistratewill plan sessions District Task Forcewill checka and five egretswerealso found ground handling companies... came to knowabout the death Neonatal unit demic situation.” Timing for that the latestelectoral rolls to coverall priority groups lo- sample of the sites to ensure dead at the Gujarat Pollution Main requirement is tempera- of our child onlyaround 9am,” December 2020 order by the rollout in these three pri- will be usedtoidentify popu- cated within the district. The that required space, infrastruc- Control Boardoffice near tureregulation,” said an official. she said. MaharashtraNational Health ority groups will be guidedby lation aged 50 years or more. DM, helpedbythe District ture, including security. Cheetahkhana Chowk in The MinistryofInformation Vandana Mohan Sidam's Mission Director NRamaswamy vaccine availability and won’t At the meeting, the Prime Immunization Officer,will link On logistics, according to Junagadh city.Wehavesent and Technology has been asked daughter had been aweek old, to all districtstoconduct such be “necessarilysequential,” the Ministerwas apprisedofthe sessions sites, vaccinators, su- the guidelines, the vaccine will samples of these birds to Bhopal to use itsvillage-levelCommon brought to the SNCU being only auditsingovernment hospitals. guidelines said. three phases of dryruns across pervisors and beneficiaries and be sent to everysession siteon fortesting,” Dr Vaghasiyaadded. Service Centres forvaccine reg- 1.25 kg at birth. “Theysaid Ican Sources at the hospital and in On geographic prioritiza- the country. decide the dateand time for the dayofthe vaccination The deputy director added istrationsand getmobile service take her home aftershe attains the district administration told tion, the Centrehas told states The Prime Ministerhas re- the vaccination session. along with one additional vac- thereisacolonyofegretsontrees providers to send messages, 1.75 kg.” LikeYogita, Vandana The SundayExpress that it theycan phase the roll-out in iterated that the Covid-19vac- “Selection of session site cine carrier with icepacks. near the GPCB office. In Lohej vil- caller tunes on vaccination and wasstaying on the premises, to lackedacomprehensive fire sys- areas whereCovid-19“infec- cination drive will be executed will be at the discretion of the Along with the vaccine, likein lage, too, the birds were roosting messageontelephone bills. breast-feedher daughter. tem, and while the SNCU section tion prevalence is high”. So on three keyprinciples: utilis- DC/DM, who would ensure an election, eachsession site on abanyantree. In parallel, states aregearing She realisedsomething was did have an extinguisher,no Kerala and Maharashtrawill ing experience of elections that eachsession is plannedfor will be providedwith three Dr Ashok Kumbhani, aveteri- up. Severalstate government wrong when she noticedasmell training on itsuse had been mostprobablyget largerstocks (booth strategy); the experi- 100beneficiaries per day,”the hardcopies of the registered naryofficer of Mangrol taluka, units, including the PWD, of burningwires along with the giventostaffers in the lasttwo as compared to others. ence from the Universal Centrehas told the states. beneficiarylistdue forvacci- said thereare acouple of banyan Education and the police, have smoke. Her forehead tired with years. Everyeligible person for Immunisation Program (UIP), Also, amulti-levelgover- nation at that site. trees near Vadvala hotelatLohej been assignedspecific tasks. apiece of cloth, the 28-year-old, The NABH (National villageand the hotelowner had Common SOPs whichinclude unwell and admitted to aPHC, Accreditation Boardfor contacted forest officers after individual checklists have been demandedthat those responsi- Hospitals &Healthcare Covaxin volunteer dies in Bhopal finding three crowsdead. “A for- issued, sources said. ble be punished. Her husband Providers) fire safetyguidelines estteam later found three car- StatePWDs will supportthe Mohan, adailywageworkerin mandateahospital to have afire can cause an adverse event Speaking to The Indian mittee to look intoany lapses headedtothe hospital with casses and sevenother crows identification of session sites Kalyan, is on his waybackhome. extinguisher,hose reel, wetriser, during aclinical trial, including Express, Dean of People's in the trials has also turnedin them without informing us,” that seemedaffected and and ensurelogistics and drink- “The fire brokeout around automatic or manual fire alarm the patient’s underlying dis- Hospital AKDixit said that, as an all-clear report. said his son Suraj.His family brought them to us. One of the ing water; police departments 1.30 am. At that time, therewere system if it has morethan two ease, other pre-existing condi- per trial rules, Marawi’s death The committee, ledby said that afterhis health dete- sevencrows later died. We have arebeing ropedintoprovide se- twonurses and ahelper in the floors. The four-storeyBhandara tions or anyother unrelated wasreportedtothe Arun Kumar Shrivastav,head riorated,theyurged him to go handedthe remaining six crows curity to vaccine consignments children's ward.Theyimmedi- hospital onlyhad one fire extin- occurrence likeanaccident,” Institutional Ethics Committee, of pharmacology department to the hospital but he refused. backtoforestdepartment after and help in siteand crowdman- atelyraisedanalarm. Beforethe guisher per floor,and no alarm the statement said. Central Drug Controls at Gandhi Medical College, It wasonlyonDecember 21 providing them treatment. We agement. fire brigade arrived, staffers tried system, sprinkler or hose reel. Lastweek,Covaxin re- Standards Organisations and said: “The protocols laid when he became critical that have also sanitisedthe place The Education departments to rescue the children and man- However, the SNCU section did ceivedemergency use ap- DataSafetyMonitoring Board. down by Bharat Biotech and he wasrushedtothe hospital wheretheywerefound dead. arebeing tappedfor deploy- aged to save seven,” Bhandara have an exit door as per fire proval by the regulators, along The trials at the hospital guidelines of ICMR were duly wherehedied. Thereisnopoultryfarm in aone- ment at session sites, including Collector Sandeep Kadam told norms, and this aidedinrescu- with Oxford’s Covishield, al- continue as therewas no link followed. The documentsof On Saturday, when The km radius of the spotand, there- forspreading awareness The SundayExpress, adding that ing the babies on Saturday. though in acontrolled“clinical found between the death and the deceasedvolunteer Indian Express visited People's fore,thereisnofear of the infec- through school teachers and rescue effortswerehampered In May2020, the Bhandara trial” mode. Efficacy datafrom the proposedvaccine, he said. (Deepak Marawi) were stud- Hospital, over twodozen peo- tion spreading to poultrybirds as shiksha mitra, alongside educat- by explosions inside the ward. district authorities had sent the itsPhase 3trial is pending. “Marawiwas givenfollow- iedand no lapses have come ple were being administered of now,”hesaid. ing parentsonwhy children are District Civil Surgeon proposal to the stategovern- Marawi, one of the 1750 up calls forseven days during to light.” the second dose of Covaxin. On Saturday, Dushyant notbeing vaccinated in the ini- Pramod Khandateclaimedthe ment forafiresystematthe hos- volunteers in Bhopal, wasde- whichhedid notcomplain of Hospital authorities said None wasaware of Marawi’s Vasavada, the chief conservator tial phase. fire extinguishers were in place pital, with extinguishers, sprin- clared dead when he was anycomplications afterthe that all participantsreceived death. of forestsofJunagadh wildlife The Panchayati Rajappara- and functioning. “The staffused klers, hose reel, and fire alarm. brought to Gandhi Medical firstdose wasadministeredto counselling and had given One of the volunteers was circle that covers Junagadh, Gir tus will ensureregistration of them, but therewas toomuch The proposal wasapproved by Collegeand Hospital him. All procedures were ap- their consent. An audio-video Pappu Manishkar,55, aballoon Somnath, Porbandar,Amreli and health careworkers, identifica- smoke.” Crediting fire personnel Deputy Director,Health, Nagpur, (Hamidia) by his 24-year-old propriatelyfollowed,” said consent of those above 60 seller,who said he wasun- Bhavnagar districts, said no mass tion and planning forthe vacci- and staffwith helping rescue the and forwardedtoDrSadhana son Suraj who said his father Dixit. years wasrecorded. awarethat the trial wasfor a mortality wasreportedfromthe nation siteand in organising ses- babies, Khandatesaid the seven Tayade, Director,Directorateof had boutsof“incessant vomit- The reportfromthe four- Marawi’s relativessaid that Covid vaccine. wetlands in the protected areas. sions. who had been rescued, apart Health Services (DHS). Tayade ing and frothing.” member ethics committee, he had told onlyhis youngest “Weweretold it is likevac- However, zoos across the state “Therehas been stockpiling from patientsinthe ICU ward, did notrespond to calls or text The post-mortemstated whichincludes aretired judge, son that he had participated in cines giventochildren and have shut their aviaries indefi- by companies (that have re- dialysis wing and the labour messages over the delayinap- that Marawidiedof“cardiac is expected within amonth of adrug trial while the rest of since manywerecoming, even nitelyfromSaturday, following ceivedemergency use approval), ward were shiftedsafelytoother proval of the proposal. respiratoryfailureasaresult of the incident and another re- them were unaware and his Icame in. We were givenRs an order issuedbythe director of and theyhavebeen in constant wards. Dr Nitin Ambadekar,in- suspected poisoning.” The vis- portwill take intoaccount the wifelearnedabout it onlyafter 750 whichisway morethan state AH department. dialogue with the government,” However, afull-scale attempt charge of district hospitals, DHS, cerahas been sent to the re- visceraanalysis. his death. the Rs 200Imakeevery day,” “Wehaveissuedthe order as said the official. “Four-fivedays could be made to rescue the in- told The SundayExpress, “After gional forensic laboratoryfor Meanwhile, the stategov- “My father got to knowof said Manishkar,aresident of aprecautionarymeasuretopre- aremorethan enough (for the fantstill the fire brigade arrived technical corrections, it will be tests. ernment’s six-member com- the trial from his friends and Shankar Nagar. vent the birdflu jumping to hu- vaccines to be shippedto and brokethe glass on the win- approved.Wehavesent it back mans. In India, therehaven’t states).” dows of the first-floor unit by with certain corrections." been reports of the birdflu jump- putting aladder from outside. By StateHealth MinisterRajesh eight posts forSNCUdoctors, five the laid down procedureand grownat10per cent while the and samples of these birds were ing to humans but suchcases Hospital fire thetime, they entered the unit, it Tope said he didn't knowabout arevacant. would take remedial legal action farming sector had remained sent to the National Instituteof have been reportedfromHong authorities to letthem take her washalf-an-hour from the start this proposal, but would getit Asenior district-levelofficial afterexhausting other options. stagnant at 2per cent. “It is be- High Security Animal Diseases Kong. So far, Kerala and Haryana home. “But anurse said we of the fire.“Our hospital staffers approved now. He also sought to said the problem had become He slammedthe AAP and cause of denialofaccess to mod- (NIHSAD) in Bhopal, Madhya arethe onlytwo states in India would be doing it at our own also sufferedinhalation injury blame the previous BJP govern- moreacuteinthe Covid-19pan- other Opposition leaders, and ern technologies, lackofinvest- Pradesh, fortests. where birdflu cases have been risk.” and chestdiscomfort. The entire ment, saying it had inaugurated demic. "Weadded300isolation asked them to desistfrom“lies”. ment and restricted markets,” “Some samples of Red-wat- detected in poultrybirds,” Dr While media wasbarred ward wasengulfed in smoke,” the SNCU without afireaudit. bedstothe hospital but could “Unlikeyou, Idon’t consider the the CIFAsaid, adding that late tledlapwings have been found Thakar said. from entering the hospital, pic- said adoctor from the Civil “The civil surgeon wrotetothe notappoint enough staff." present crises being facedbyour farmer leader Sharad Joshi and positive foravian flu and our of- The Rajkot Municipal tures emerging from inside Surgeon’s office. National InstituteofFireSafety Ramaswamysaid, “I have di- farmers an opportunity to fur- the “National Commission on ficers have undertakenanexer- Corporation (RMC) on Friday showedthe soot-coveredwalls Chief MinisterUddhav Engineering in Nagpur twice for rected stateofficials to submit a ther anypolitical agenda. It con- Farmers (M SSwaminathan cise to sanitise the Kharodam said the aviaryatRajkot and charredfurnitureofthe Thackeray said theywereprob- afireaudit. But the institutedid report. Icannotcomment on cerns the futureand livesofour Committee report) recom- coast,” Kunvarji Bavaliya, state Zoological Park will remain SNCU.Health MinisterRajesh ing whether afireaudit of the notconduct it. The previous gov- whether therewas shortage of farmers and Iamfullycommit- mendedfor reforms including MinisterofAnimal Husbandry closedtovisitors from Saturday Tope, who visited the hospital, SNCU had been carriedout. ernment should nothavestarted nurses or lackofequipment tedtosafeguardthem,” he said. removing restrictions on move- told The Indian Express. “The onwardsbut other sections of said that ashort-circuit wasthe Calling the deaths “heart- the SNCU without complying maintenance.” He said his government’s ment, storage, processing ex- birds in whichthe infection has the parkwill remain open. In probable cause of the fire and wrenching”, he said the guilty with fire norms,” he said. stand on the Centre’s farm laws ports”and to “also modify ten- been confirmedare all scheduled Vadodara, the municipal corpo- that three babies had diedof shall notbespared.Healso or- Adistrict-levelofficial, re- Chinese soldier had been consistent while the ancy laws and allowcontract birds. Therehas been no report ration-run Sayajibaug zoo too burns and sevenofasphyxiation. dered afireaudit of hospitals questing anonymity,said the features to dominateChinese po- AAP and SADhad been “doing farming”. of this infection in poultrybirds, closedits aviarysection to visi- Eight of the dead were girls. across the stateand announced hospital's wiring system also sitions on the ridgeline connect- flip flops” over it. The CIFAsaid “farmers pro- so far. Nonetheless, we have in- tors from Saturday. On Thursday, The parentsare all labourers Rs 5lakh to families of the de- neededrepairs, and theyhad ing Finger 3and Finger 4. This He said AAP’s “double face ducing 321Million Tons of fruits structed our officers in districts the zoo had collectedfaecal sam- or farmers from nearbyvillages. ceasedinfants. written regarding this to the scramble forheightsledto warn- and itscollusion with the BJP to and vegetables (2019), 26 MT to intensify vigilance activities,” ples of 15 birds and sent them for One of the deceasedwas athree- The committee setupto Public WorksDepartment. “The ing shots being firedbythe two weaken the farmers’ agitation pulses, 33 MT oil seeds, 9MT he added. testing to the Animal Diseases day-old boyfound abandonedat probethe fire includes officials requestremains pending,” the sides. had been further exposedwith cotton millets,6.42 MT spices” Seventeen samples of the Investigation Office (ADIO) as Lakhni town in the district. of power, health, engineering official said. This is the second time since Arvind Kejriwal meeklynotify- and 282 lakh tonsugar “aresuf- birds, whichwerefound dead at partofprecautionarymeasures. All the babies who diedwere and maintenance departments. Being anew construction, the startofthe militarystandoff ing one of the farm laws in Delhi fering due to inability to getprof- Kharodam, were sent to NIH- As aprecautionarymeasure, in the “out-born”section, where HeadedbyDrSadhana Tayade, the SNCU's wiring and fixtures, lastMay that aChinese soldier rather than following Punjab’s itable returns”. SAD, Dr Falguni Thakar,the di- Shyamal Tikadar,the principal the babies born at other places Director of the Directorateof however, were in good condition has been apprehendedonthe example of bringing in legisla- “Wehavenoprocurement rector of stateanimal husbandry chief conservator of forests but referred to the government Health Services, it has been told -- one of the requirementsof Indian side of the LACineastern tions in the assemblytonegate facility.Major problems arehuge (AH) department, said. “The con- (PCCF) and chief wildlifewarden hospital arekept. The rescued to submit areportinthree days. National Health Mission. Dr Ladakh. the impact of the blackfarm wastagedue to lackofstorage, firmation reportreachedDelhi of Gujarat, had issuedanorder to babies were all from the “in- MaharashtraHome Minister Archana Patil, DHS Director of PLACorporal Wang Ya Long laws”. processing and exports.Quality and my office yesterday,”she keep birdsanctuaries of Nal born” section holding the chil- Anil Deshmukh said the cause of FamilyPlanning,said this was wasapprehendedinthe Meanwhile, the Consortium also is lowdue to lackofexten- said. Sarovar and Thol in Ahmedabad, dren born at the District thefirewould be investigated by whyitwas unclear howthe fire Demchok sector on October 19 of Indian Farmers Associations sion services. Productivity is very Besides Junagadh, Dr Thakar KhijaydiyainJamnagar,and Hospital. experts from the National Fire hadspreadsoquicklyinthe unit. afterhehad strayed across the (CIFAapproachedthe Supreme lowdue (to) non-adoption of said, mass mortality of sched- Porbandar in Porbandar district, Asenior doctor at the hospi- Service Collegeand the VINT in The lastmaintenance audit LAC. The Army, whichreceiveda Court, seeking to be heardinthe technologies and rain-depend- uledbirds, especiallycrows,have Wild Ass Sanctuaryin talsaid that while twonurses, a Nagpur.Hesaid theywerelook- of the SNCU wasconducted on requestfromthe PLAonhis challengetothe farm laws. ent farming,” the CIFAsaid. been reportedfromVadodara, Surendranagar,Vadhvana wet- medical officer and ahelper ing at whether therehad been a September 2, 2020, by aprivate whereabouts, returnedhim two In aletteraddressedtoChief Valsad, VyarainTapi district and land in Vadodaradistrict, and were in the ward,theymay not short-circuit or the air-condi- companycalledFaber Sindoori days later. Justice of India SABobde and Gujarat avian flu Motera near Ahmedabad. Chhari Dhand Conservation have noticedthe fire at firstbe- tioner had malfunctioned. Management Services. This au- The twocountries have Justices ASBopanna and V since 2017 when the disease was “Samples of these birds have also ReserveinKutchclosedto cause “theirviewmay have been Ministerfor Relief and dit does notcover fire safety. around 50,000troops eachinthe Ramasubramanian –this is the confirmedinsome parts of been sent to the Bhopal institute tourists until further orders, but blockedbyglass partitions”. Rehabilitation VijayWadettiwar Patil said theyhad asked forthe area, along with additionalair de- benchhearing the challengeto Ahmedabad. fortests and resultsare awaited. later withdrew it. The four-storeyhospital has admitted that aproposal forfire audit reporttoassess if there fence assets,artilleryand tanks. the laws and petitions against On January2,state animal But the good partisthat the birds “Wehad issuedthe orders to 482beds, with over 300more safetyequipment forthe hospi- were anyproblems in equip- With no headway in talksondis- protests by farmers -- CIFAchief husbandryand forest depart- whichhavediedsofar arecrows keep these sanctuaries closedas addedlastyear forCovid treat- talhad been pending since May ment. engagement, troops remain de- advisor PChengal Reddy sought mentshad found at least53birds as chances of the infection aprecautionarymeasureinview ment. While itsbuilding was lastyear and said theywill find Againstthe stategovern- ployedoneither side, battling ex- directions to the Government of —46Red-wattledlapwings, spreading from crowstoother of the birdflu outbreak.However, constructedin1981, the SNCU out what happenedtoit. ment norms of three nurses per treme winter conditions. India “tohold consultations with three ruffs,three northern shov- birds areminimal. Poultrybirds we have withdrawnthis order af- wasarelatively newconstruc- However, he pointed out, the 16 bedsinanSNCU, the other farmer associations in elers, and one comb duck—dead seem to be unaffected so farbut terinstructions from the govern- tion, inaugurated in 2015. SNCU wasinaugurated in 2016 Bhandarahospital had two Punjab CM other parts of the countrybefore on the shoreofKharodam at we have askedour officers to sur- ment. The government is of the YogitaVikrsh Ghulse and by the then BJP government nurses on duty Saturdaynight has to grant consent forforward- changing anyprovisions of the BantvavillageinManavadar veypoultrybirds, take their sam- viewthat panic should notbecre- husband Vikesh, both dailywa- without requisitefiresafety attending to the 17 children in ing them to the President forap- Acts”. taluka. Ruffsand northern shov- ples and keep testing,” she said. ated.Therefore, these sanctuar- gers, losttheir son, born on clearance. the 36-bed ward.The hospital proval. Welcoming the newlaws, elers aremigratoryspecies. Aday The AH department officers ies areopen to visitors,” he said. January6.While he was1.75 kg Former Maharashtraenergy has 35 posts fornurses, of which Amarinder Singh said the the CIFAsaid ever since liberali- later,carcasses of twomoreRed- in Junagadh had also sent car- —WITHINPUTFROM at birth, it wasn't his being un- ministerChandrashekar 28 positions arefilled. Of the stategovernment wasfollowing sation, service and industryhad wattledlapwings were found casses of the twoRed-wattled ENS VADODARA

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THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021 3 GUJARAT

BILL WAS PASSED BY STATE ASSEMBLY IN SEPTEMBER, 2020 President gives assent to industrial disputes Bill

ani as per the vision of the Prime government’s permission. mainlyaimedatreducing the EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Minister,”VipulMittra,additional So far, if workers were laid off, complianceburdenonindustries AHMEDABAD,JANUARY9 chief secretary, Labour and acompanyrequired to paythem whichwill help the stateattract Employment department, said. compensationamountingto15 newindustries and investments PRESIDENT RAM Nath Kovind on As per the Industrial Disputes days’salaryfor everyyear of to createmoreemployment op- January1has givenhis assent to Act, 1947,establishmentshaving service. The 2020 amendment portunities. “The Covid-19pan- The Industrial Disputes (Gujarat 100ormoreworkers were re- Actstatesthat workers will be demicsituationhasadverselyim- Amendment)Bill,2020,anofficial quiredto seekpriorpermissionof paid an amount equivalent to the pacted industries and thereby releaseissuedbythestategovern- the stategovernment before ef- averagepay of the lastthree economic growth. The govern- ment stated.The Gujarat Asse- fecting layoff,retrenchment, or months’ salaryascompensation. ment is trying to playthe role of a mblyhad passedthe Bill, which closure. Under The Industrial Earlier,workers were required to facilitator to put growth backon makesiteasierforindustrialunits Disputes (Gujarat Amendment) be giventhree-month notice or track...However, we areensuring to layoff or retrenchworkers, on Act,2020,thenumberof workers wagesfor the notice period be- that interests of workers arealso September 22 lastyear. have been increasedto300, fore retrenchment. Under the protected,” he added. “Labour laws’reforms have therebyallowing firms employ- newamendment, theycan be Mittraaddedthat the state been done in line with Ease of ing fewerthan 300workers to ef- retrenchedafter being issued wasconfident that these meas- Doing Business on the instruc- fect layoff,retrenchment, or clo- three-month notice. ureswillmakeiteasierto dobusi- tions of Chief MinisterVijay Rup- surewithout seeking the Mittrasaidtheexemptionsare ness in Gujarat.

AHEAD OF UTTARAYAN

The kitestring rolls reachVadodaramarket ahead of Uttarayan festival. BhupendraRana

N95 MASKS, PPE SUITS PRODUCTION BEST EXAMPLES Technicaltextileasunriseindustry: IraniatSuratinternationalexpo

done it. Formanufacturing PPE EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE suits,therewerezerocompanies, SURAT,JANUARY9 and today,1,100companies are doing business of Rs 7,500crore UNION TEXTILE MinsterSmriti business.” IranionSaturdayinauguratedthe Irani wasaccompaniedby three-daySurat International MinisterofState forWoman and TextileExpo(SITEX),anexhibition Child Development Debasree of textiletechnologyandmachin- Chaudhari, His Excellency Agus ery, at Surat International Prihatin Saptono, Counsulate ExhibitionandConventionCentre General of Republic of Indonesia, in Sarsana. whowastheguestofhonour,and The exhibition is being con- Mumbai Textile Commissioner ducted by the Southern Gujarat Roop Rashi. Chamber of Commerce and Union Textile MinisterSmriti Irani at the textile exhibition in Chaudhari said that BJP will Industry(SGCCI) and Southern Surat, on Saturday. Hanif Malek form agovernment in West Gujarat Chamber Trade and Bengal, her home state, and will Industries Development centre, makeitGujarat. thefirstsuchexhibitionto becon- 50 lakh and he had made it at half “I told them to getHSN “Mein jis kshetraseaarahi hu, ducted since the Covid-19out- the price.” (HarmonizedSystemofPaschim Bengal se, vahan hamme- break.. “Four years ago, Iattended Nomenclature) code. In lastfour sha virodhi log boltehein ke hum Over 110exhibitors from dif- similar programme in Surat years, the industryhas 207HSN paschimBengalkoGujaratbanana ferent parts of the countryhad whereImet former president of codes,andaretradingintechnical nahi denge. Aurhum BJP log bolte bookedtheirstallsinthepillar-less SGCCI HetalPatel. Istill remem- textileswhichincreasedby60per heinhumPaschimBengalmeinBJP domestructureatconventionhall, berthatHetalbhaihadassuredme centwhilenegative tradebalance sarkar jarur banayenge… wheretheexhibitionwillbeheld. of convertingtheindustrytotech- intechnicaltextilehasreducedby Bangaldesh aur Pakistannahi ba- Speakingto theindustrypeo- nicaltextilesandaddedthatitwill 50 percent,” Irani added. nayenge,(Icome from West pleintheplatinumhallatthecon- take time. Technical textile is like She added, “When the coron- Bengal.There,theOppositionsays vention centre, Irani said, “While sunrise industry. The tagofsun- avirus knockedour doors in that theywill notlet West Bengal visiting the exhibition hall, I rise industryisgiven to those in- March,whenallinternationalbor- be likeGujarat. We,BJP,tell them reachedastall and felt proud af- dustrieswhosegestationandturn ders were locked, all the industry that we will definitelyform aBJP terseeing the best example of aroundperiodislong.Theproduc- leaders knewthat we don’t have government and makeitGujarat, MakeinIndia conceptdone by tion of N-95 masksand PPE suits the capacity to makePPE suitsof and will notmakeitBangladesh oneChandrakantPatil.Heshared arethe biggestexamples of that,” worldstandard. Through textile or Paksitan),” she said. detailsof thetextilemachinethat she added. ministry, we have intimated all Duringtheevent,SGCCIpres- he made in justtwo months dur- The ministeraddedthat four the industryplayers and even ident Dinesh Navadia and vice- ing initial days of the Covid-19 yearsagothetextileindustryrep- chambersacrossthecountrythat presidentAshishGujaratisubmit- pandemic. The costofimported resentativeshadtoldhertheywill if youdecide,youcandoit.Now, it teddemands made by the textile machineryofsamemachineisRs compete in the exportmarket. has been proven that youhave industrytoIrani.

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THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021 4 GUJARAT

FORMER BUREAUCRAT 2017 ‘CUSTODIAL TORTURE’ CASE WRITES TO PM,CM ‘Anti-land NHRC sets aside magistrate’s clean chit, grabbing Act could be issues show cause notice to chief secy misused against May29two days afterhewas ar- membersdidnotcomplainof any shownindifferenceandnotcom- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE rested by the Meghaninagar anomaly. Relying on the state- plainedofanything, but the au- landless people’ AHMEDABAD,JANUARY9 police station under the provi- mentsofdoctors and jail officials, topsydoctors,intheirstatements, sionsof theProhibitionAct.Ashok, the magistratecourthad then have affirmedthat therewerein- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE THE NATIONAL Human Rights whohad“takenill”wassentto the concludedthat “thereisnodirect juriesonthebodyof thedeceased AHMEDABAD,JANUARY9 Commission(NHRC)hasissueda Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for or indirect evidence that the de- and the cause of death wasshock showcausenoticeto Gujaratchief treatmentonMay29,2017,where ceasedwasphysicallyormentally and haemorrhagedue to injuries FORMER ADDITIONAL secretary secretaryinasuspected case of he diedthe same day. torturedorill-treatedduringcus- sustainedoverthe body.This is in the Gujarat government KG custodialtortureatAhmedabad’s TheNHRChadthennotedthat tody” and in the absence of any verystrongscientificandbiologi- Vanzarahas written to Prime SabarmatiCentralJailin2017 after thepost-mortem,conductedby a evidence “it is notpermissible to cal forensic evidence whichcan- ACovid-19vaccination dryrun being held at amunicipal primaryschool in Ahmedabad. File MinisterNarendraModi and amagisterialenquirygaveaclean panelof fourdoctors,hadrevealed saythat death of deceasedwas notbeunderminedasfar as the Chief MinisterVijay Rupani stat- chit in the matter. 22 ante-morteminjuries from ‘unnatural’”. cause of death is concerned,” the ing the Gujarat Land Grabbing In ashowcause notice, issued head to toe, while asubsequent During itsproceedings on commission adjudged. (Prohibition) Act2020 does not to statechief secretaryAnilMukim viscerastudy revealedthat the January5this year,the NHRC, Highlighting that Ashok was distinguish between “land on January5,the NHRCsought an death wascaused“due to shock however, pointed out that an in jail forthe twodays before his mafias” and landless and home- explanationwhythevictim’snext andhaemorrhageasaresultof in- analysisof recordsmade“itisclear death in the hospital, the NHRC CM: PreparedforCovid less people and, therefore, should of kin should notbepaid an in- juries sustainedoverthe body”. that the cause of death is shock stated:“…thereisnopoint in ac- be amendedappropriately. terim compensation of Rs 3lakh Amagisterial enquiry, insti- and haemorrhagedue to injuries cepting that his death wasnatu- In the letter dated January8, underprovisionsof theProtection tuted in 2019 and conducted by (22 injuries on all parts of the ral.Thisisaclearcaseof unnatural 2021, KGVanzara, who is the of Human RightsAct, as his rights additional chief metropolitan body) sustainedoverthe body”. death in the judicial custody of vaccinedrivefromJan16 brother of retired IPS officer DG were violated by “delinquent jail magistrateinAhmedabad, how- “Thepersonwasnormalatthe Sabarmati Central Jail and hence Vanzara, has stated that law officials”. The commission has ever,had found that the health timeof entryintothejailanddied the stateisvicariouslyresponsi- whichcame intoforce on soughtaresponseto thenoticeby screeningreportaswellasinquest within twodays (thereafter)... bleforthesame”.Thecommission December 17,2020, could end up February12. reportrevealed“no injury Though the enquirymagistrate directed the Gujarat Director EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE CASETRACKER being misusedagainst On May31, 2017,the waspresent on the person of the has notfound anyevidence on General of Police (DGP) “tosub- AHMEDABAD,JANUARY9 people who arelandless or AhmedabadCentralPrisonsuper- deceased”. record, he has onlybasedhis en- mit adetailedreportinthe mat- Places ConfirmedDeaths Newcases homeless. intendent informedthe NHRC Amagisterial court, in itsre- quiryonthestatementsofthejail teralong with criminal case reg- CHIEF MINISTER VijayRupani Ahmedabad 57,560 2,267129 Under this Act, the accused about the death of an undertrial portdated October 11,2019, also doctors,andjailofficials,whohave isteredalong with action takenin said Saturdaythe stategovern- Amreli 3,895 34 2 face 10-14years of imprison- prisoner,AshokaliasLalit(40),on notedthat the deceased’s family deniedany torture. Familyhas the same”, within four weeks. ment has “made all the prepara- Anand 2,362 17 7 ment and penalty equivalent to tions in Gujarat to startstate- the jantri rate or ready reckoner wide vaccination drive from Aravalli 1,176261 rate of the land in question. LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS January16for doctors, health- Banaskantha 4,666 38 9 Givinginstances of slums in careand frontline workers”. The Bharuch3,991185 Gulbai TekrainAhmedabad and AAP releases second list of candidates, says announcement comes on the Bhavnagar 5,992 70 5 those near Indirabridgein heels of the Centre’s declaration Botad1,039 12 3 Gandhinagar,hesaid both civil on the vaccine rollout across the and criminal cases can be filed Delhi CM to campaign in state ahead of polls country. Chhota Udepur 909 41 againstresidentswho have been Following acore-committee Dahod 3,1357 12 living at these spots forseveral meeting to reviewvaccine logis- Dang 1582 decades. He said therewerean StateAAP presidentGopal tics,the statehealthdepartment Devbhoomi Dwarka 9,808 52 estimated 80 lakh homeless EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Italia said the thirdlistofparty said Gujarat has the capacity to Gandhinagar 8,264105 14 people in Gujarat. “Thousands of SURAT,JANUARY9 candidates will be announcedin storeuptoone croredoses of suchdwellers will come under the coming days.Hewas speak- coronavirus vaccine. ForCovid- Gir Somnath 2,374 22 13 the purviewofthe newlaw,” the AAM AADMI Partynational ing at apress conference in 19,atotal of 17,128 vaccinators Jamnagar 10,289 35 20 letter stated. spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj Surat’s JeewanBharti School. have been trainedwho will be Junagadh 5,072 32 22 “If ahouse owner develops a and party’s Gujarat in-charge On Saturdayevening, the deputedacross 27,934sites in the Kheda 3,0371612 small garden or erectsashedfor Gulab Singh Yadav, both Delhi AAP leaders also held ameet state, theysaid. Atotal of 2,236 Kutch4,124 33 16 his vehicle in an unusedland ad- legislators, announcedthe sec- with Surat city and district party cold-chain pointswill be avail- jacent his home, then also the ond listof693 candidates who workers at Khodal Dham farm in able to storevaccines. Mahisagar 2,000 13 3 owner can be prosecuted under will contestinthe upcoming lo- Surat City’s Sarthana area. In the In the firstphase of the vacci- Mehsana 6,7513817 the lawand can be imprisoned cal body elections across the meeting, severalnewcomers in nation, whichwill include Morbi 3,142207 for10years,” the letter stated. state, in Surat on Saturday. Delhi the Surat unit were welcomed healthcareworkers across gov- Narmada 1,9971 9 He also stated that the gov- Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal is and felicitated by the national ernment and private sectors, Navsari 1,6078 1 ernment needs to bring in more likelytocampaign forparty can- leaders. morethan 4.33lakh beneficiar- clarity in the legislation and if a didates ahead of the polls, likely StateAAP spokesperson ies areexpected to be adminis- Panchmahal 4,1692310 piece of land gets occupiedby to be held in February, party AAP leaders at Khodhal Dham farm in Surat on Saturday. Yogesh Jadwani said, that teredCovid-19vaccine shots.In Patan4,193 51 4 people who either do nothave sources said. Express Kejriwal will visit Surat in the last the second phase of the vaccina- Porbandar 1,080 41 anyland to farm or aplace to Lastweek,AAP national week of Januaryorinthe first tion drive,3.47lakh beneficiaries Rajkot 21,606202 90 stay,then in suchcases, the law spokesperson and party’s Delhi week of February. “He will ad- whichinclude frontline workers Sabarkantha 2,876 13 7 cannotbeenforced. MLAAtishi had releasedthe first tions in Gujarat and this time playedamajor role as the oppo- dress around one lakh people in likethe police and defence per- listof504candidates forthe up- therewill be adirect fight with sition. This time therewill be a Surat. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal sonnel, and officials from the rev- Surat 50,471 971123 coming polls. the BJP.InGujarat, BJP has been direct fight between the AAP and will also visit Rajkot.The dates enue and urban development Surendranagar 3,479 14 2 Leopard killed “AAP candidates will fight on ruling forthe last25years and the BJP,and we will contestelec- have notbeen finalised,” departments, will bevaccinated. Tapi 1,0607 3 all seatsinthe local body elec- the Congress party has not tion strategically,”Bhardwaj said. Jadwani said. Atotal of 1.06 crorepeople Vadodara25,740 248121 in road accident aged above 50 years have been listedfor the thirdphase, while Valsad 1,3788 2 in Gir Somnath another 2.71lakh people below Other states 1483 50 years but with serious comor- bidities have been listedfor Cumulative Total New Cumulative EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE the fourth phase, officials discharge: cases: cases: deaths: RAJKOT,JANUARY9 said. 2,38,965 2,50,527 Dry-run of the vaccine has 675 4,365 AFEMALE leopardwas killedaf- been conductedacross 931vacci- terbeing hit by an unidentified nation sites in 248blocks and 26 19 taking the total tallyofcases Ahmedabad district, as manyas vehicle on Shilaj-Nathej Road zones of the state. to morethan 2.50 lakh. With five 129persons tested positive for near Navabandar in Unataluka On Saturday, Gujarat re- deaths, the fatality due to the coronavirus, while twodiedof of Gir Somnath Fridaynight, for- ported675 newcases of Covid- virus in the staterose to 4,340. In the infection. estofficers said Saturday. Dushyant Vasavada, Chief Conservator of Forestsof FROMPAGEONE Junagadh wildlifecircle said that the leopardess, around three to Unmatched on the recommendations of the ernment. His stint as foreign min- four years of age, waskilledafter Bakshi Commission, the mid-day isterendedabruptlywhen he being hit by aspeeding vehicle. leader meals scheme in government had to step down over acontro- “Wegot the information around and municipal corporation-run versial note that he had handed 10 pm on Fridaythat aleopard rapportwith people from all schools and subsidisededucation over to his Swiss counterpart had been hit by avehicle. The an- walksoflife, wasalso evident forgirls. “The reservation formula Rene Felber allegedly seeking as- imal dieddue to injuries,” during his distinguishedcareer and the mid-daymeal schemes sistance in the investigation in Jayantilal Pandya, rangeforestof- as aUnion Ministeratthe Centre went on to be replicated nation- the Bofors case, forwhichhe ficer of Jasadhar in Gir (east) and as aparliamentarian. ally,”senior Congress leader and facedaCBI probe. wildlifedivision said. Madhavsinhji wasaloyal and former education minister As per the CBI report, Solanki Forest officers also said a dedicated member of the Hasmukh Patelsaid. had sought an appointment with three- to five-year-old lion res- Congress party,whom we greatly Bestknown forforging the Felber during avisit to Davosin cuedfromNagadiyarevenue valuedfor his wisdom and expe- Kshatriya-Harijan-Adivasi- Switzerland between January area three months ago, due to THE NEW ENCLOSURE rience.” Muslim (KHAM) coalition in and February, 1992, forthe some injuries, diedonSaturday Congress leader Rahul Gujarat politics, Solanki ledthe Annual WorldEconomic while being treated at Jasadhar Anew cagefor alioness at Sayajibaug zoo in Vadodara. BhupendraRana Gandhi also condoledthe death party to landslide victories in Conference to discuss the Bofors animal carecentre. of the veteranleader.“He will be 1980, when the party won141 of case. According to senior rememberedforhis contribution the 182seats, and in 1985 when Congress leader Hasmukh Patel, in strengthening the Congress it won149 seats, arecordthat is “He (Solanki) neverspoketoany- ideology and promoting social yettobebroken. The ‘KHAM the- body about that interaction.” Man booked for Another cruise liner reaches Alang justice,” he said. ory’ reorganisedcommunities Considered aconfidant of Aformer journalistwith other than the upper castesand Indulal Yagnik,the leader of the Gujarat Samachar,aleading became awinning formula for MahaGujarat movement that led ‘raping, filming and for dismantling, third in 50 days Gujarati daily, Solanki gave up the the Congress. to the separation of Gujarat from job to launchhis political career Afterlaunching his political the stateofBombayonlinguistic said Anil Jain, owner of Atam the 1990s has 425 cabins for800 in the 1950s at the behestofhis career as alegislator in the lines, Solanki also transcribedthe blackmailing’ woman AVINASHNAIR Manohar Ship Breakers Pvt Ltd passengers who usedtobe father-in-lawlateIshwarsinh Bombaystate assemblyin1957, former’s autobiography. AHMEDABAD,JANUARY9 that bought the vessel. served by acrew of 355. It has Chavda, who wasaCongress leg- Solanki went on to become a Ahmedabad-basedpolitical an- dren to his friend, the accusedin The iconic 55-year-old vessel eight passenger decks,five islator in the Bombaystate as- member of the Gujarat legisla- alystAchyut Yagnik,recalling the EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE thecase. However, afew days af- MARCO POLO, one of oldest has alight-weight displacement lounges and bars, three restau- semblyuntil 1955 and would go tive assemblyfrom1960-68. He account, said, “Indulal would VADODARA,JANUARY9 terthe husband went to jail, the cruise ships of the worldthat (LDT) tonnageof14500and has rants, three main lobbyareas, one on to represent the constituency became the chief ministerof speak and Madhavsinhbhai accusedvisitedthevictim’shouse failedtoremain afloat amid the 11 decks. swimming pool, three jacuzzies of Anand four times in the Lok Gujarat forthe firsttime in 1976, would writeand that’s howthe AVADODARA man wasbooked whileshewasbathingandfilmed Covid-19pandemic,arrivedat the “The ship wassold in adistress and four elevators. Sabha. OriginallyfromAmod and then in 1980, 1985 and 1990, autobiographywas written”. onSaturdayforallegedly rapinga avideo of her.Later,the accused Alang ship-breaking yard in sale. It wasinUKwhen it wassold. Marco Polo is the thirdcruise town of Bharuchincentral aturbulent period in Gujarat that According to Yagnik,Solanki woman, while her husband was returnedwithanaccompliceand Gujarat on Saturdaytobedis- The owners went banktruptdue vessel to reachAlang in the last50 Gujarat, Solanki came to fight all wasnot onlymarkedbyasplit in was“Gujarat’s mostwell-read in jail. The woman, in her com- showedthe victim the video and mantled. This is the thirdluxury to Corona,” said Jain who bought days.The firstsuchvessel to ar- his elections from Anand, where theCongressnationallybut also chief minister”. Solanki owneda plaint, stated that the accused, a demandedsexualfavours,threat- cruise liner to arrive at the yard in the vessel forRs60crore. rive forscrapping was“MV he firstrepresented Bhadran sawthe anti-reservation riots in hugelibraryofbooksofall genres close friend of her husband, al- ening to makethe video public. “ the last50days. The British courthad ordered Karnika” whichcould notrestart constituency and later Borsad. the stateafter the reservation housedthe basement of his legedly filmedavideoof herwhile “The accusedalso threatened Built as “Alexander Pushkin” sale of the cruise ship afterthe operations afterthe Covid-19 Later,Borsad would berepre- wasannouncedfor OBCs in 1981 Gandhinagar bungalow. shewasbathing,blackmailedand to kill the twochildren of the vic- in EastGermanyfor the Baltic cruise and maritime voyages col- lockdown in India. sented by his son Bharatsinh, following whichhewas forcedto Solanki made his lastpublic rapedherethereafter. The ac- tim if she did notcomplywith his StateShipping Company, the 176 lapseddue to the pandemic after The second cruise liner that who also went on to become a resign. He returnedtopowerin appearance three years agoata cused’s accomplice wasalso bo- demands,” the complainant said. meter-long vessel wasthe fore- the companypausedcruise oper- came on January2021was Union minister. Incumbent 1985 with the Congress getting meetingwithCongressleaderson okedinconnectionwiththecase. Thepolicebookedtheaccused mostocean liner that sailedon ations whichwerefocussedon “OceanDream” whichhad Gujarat Pradesh Congress an even largermandate. hisbirthdayonJuly30.Lastyear,a Accordingto thecomplainant, underIPCsections376(rape),354 the trans-atlantic Leningrad- the UK. ceasedoperations due to the Committee chairperson Amit He wasalso amember of the frail Solanki wasseen on video “The exploitation beganafter the (outraging modesty of the Montreal routeand wasthe Marco Polo wasone of the five Covid-19pandemicand wasly- Chavda is the grandson of RajyaSabha from 1988 to 1994, thanking friends and well-wish- husband of the victim wassent woman) and 506(2) (criminal in- fastestand largest of merchant cruise ships whichwereim- ing idle in Hiroshima, Japan. In Ishwarsinh. and again from 1994 to 2000 ers on his birthday, and request- behind bars in August. The hus- timidation)aswellasrelevantsec- vessels in the Sovietfleet. poundedand sold to settle the the coming weeks, afourth Solanki is known forhaving during whichheheld the portfo- ing them to avoid meeting on ac- band of the victim had entrusted tionsof TheScheduledCastesand “This ship wasbuilt wayback debts. cruise liner “Grand introducedreservations forso- lios of ministerofplanning count of the Covid-19pandemic. the responsibility of his family ScheduledTribes (Prevention of in 1965 and it arrivedatthe Alang This cruise ship whichwas Celebration” is expected to ar- ciallyand economicallyback- (1988-89) and external affairs Solanki is survivedbythree comprisinghiswifeandtwochil- Atrocities Act), 1989. anchorageSaturdaymorning,” rechristenedas“Marco Polo” in rive fordismantling. ward sections in Gujarat based (1991) in the Narsimha Raogov- sons and twodaughters. Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021 EXPRESS NETWORK 5

UP latest, bird flu now confirmed in 7states GUJARATWATER SUPPLYAND SEWERAGE BOARD Besides Uttar Pradesh, the diedatapoultryfarm in Dakshina Kannada, bordering PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA other six states wherebirdflu is MurumbavillageinParbhanidis- Kerala, and samples have been Tender Notice No. 08 of 2020-21 NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 confirmedare Kerala, Rajasthan, trictof Maharashtra,asenioroffi- sent fortesting to ascertain the Superintending Engineer,P.H.MechanicalCircle,GWSSB,3rd Floor,Jal Madhya Pradesh, Himachal cialsaid.Theirsampleshave been cause of death.Fivecrows were Bhavan, B/h Town Hall, Ellis Bridge,Ahmedabad380 006 invites e-tender for OVER 1,200birds were Saturday Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat. sent forinvestigation to identify found dead in adrain in probable drilling of tubewells in Mehsana districts from GWSSB registered drilling contractors or registered civil contractorminimum "D" class &above founddeadacrossthecountry, in- In Delhi, three recreational the exact cause of the death, Uttarakhand'sPauriGarhwaldis- in R&B or Irrigation Department, Govt. of Gujarat. Thedetailed tender cluding 900inaMaharashtra parks and the SanjayLakewere ParbhanidistrictcollectorDeepak trict. Samples of the dead birds notice and tender documents amendment (if any) shall be uploaded on the poultryfarm in Maharashtra, as closedafter severalbirds were Mulgikar said. have been sent to same website: www.gwssb.nprocure.com.Last date of online submission the Centreflagged the spread of found dead on their premises in Over 350birds were reported alaboratoryinBhopal fortesting, of tender is on date 03.02.2021 up to 18.00 hrs.Board reserves the right to the avian influenza to Uttar the lastcouple of days,officials dead in Rajasthan, taking the VeterinaryOfficerBMGuptasaid. accept or reject any or all tenders without assigning any reason. Pradesh—the seventh statetore- said. Chief MinisterArvind death count to 2,512,anofficial Adrive to cull over 1.60 lakh Sr. Group No.of Estimated Tender EMD Tender ID portcases. Kejriwal announcedaban on im- said. Of the 356birds reported poultrybirds at five poultryfarms No. Bores Cost Fee (in Rs.) The Centresaid confirmation portoflivebirds in the national dead on Saturday, 257were commencedinHaryana's (Rs.inLacs) (in Rs.) of birdflu in Delhi, Chhattisgarh capital and closureofGhazipur crows, 29 were pigeons, 16 were Panchkula district on Saturday, 1 A 10 28.38 1500.00 28400.00 443069 andMaharashtra,isawaitedasthe poultrymarket,the biggestinthe peacocks and 54 belonged to officials said. 2 D 10 48.79 1500.00 48800.00 443094 samples have been sent fortest- city,for the next 10 days. other species. Gujaratrecordeditsfirstcases 3 E 26 146.06 3600.00 146100.00 443103 ing, it said. As manyas900 hens have Six crowswerefound dead in on Friday. Contact toll free No.1916 for complaintfor rural water supply. No.DDI/MEH/357/20-21 TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE STATeinduSTrieS PromoTion CorPorATion oF TAmiLnAdu LimiTed Classifieds No.19-A,RUKMANI LAKSHMIPATHY ROAD,EGMORE, CHENNAI -600 008 ACTIVECASES:2,24,190 313 CASES: Tender NoiceNo.4/F/F&R/T.No.9,10,11/2020-21 Dated: 07.01.2021 DAYSSINCE 1,04,31,639 DEATHS:1,50,798 EDUCATIONAL SHORTTERM TENDER NOTICE PANDEMIC Forand on behalf of StateIndustriesPromoion Corporaion of Tamil Nadu Limited, sealed tenders BEGAN TESTS: 18,02,53,315 | RECOVERIES: 1,00,56,651 The National Business areinvited forthe aucion sale of the following units takenpossession U/s.29 of State Financial Education Accreditation Corporaions Act 1951, “ASISWHERE IS”basis. Tenderswill be received upto 3.00 p.m. on CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS 27.01.2021 and the same will be opened on the same dayat4.30 p.m. JAN8 Council inviting applica- 18,222 228 19,253 9,16,951 tions for starting official Amount due Minimum (Interest EMD Incre- training/ study centrefor Borrower(s)/ chargedupto Descripion of the property UpsetPrice (Rs. in mental the business studies. Guarantor(s) 31.12.2020) (Rs.inlakhs) lakhs) Amount Mob.7499647774 (Rs. in crores) (Rs.) 1. M/s. Vijay 219.56Land (2.08 acres) &Building at Land –244.63 70.13 25,000/- 0090280260-1 Crates & R.S.No.138/3A &138/3B,Chitoor Building-35.90 Containers Road, Valakkanampudi Village, R.K. ‘‘ IMPORTANT ’’ Pvt. Ltd. PetaiTaluk, Thiruvallur District. STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASES 2.M/s. 213.36Land (3.36 acres), Building & Land–604.80 248.00 25,000/- Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy,itis Medtech MachineryatS.No.132/2a, etc., Building-386.92 ACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK not possible to verify its contents. The Indian Express (P) Products Ltd. Mevalurkuppam VillageRoad, Machinery-0.30 Save Energy for Benefit of Self and Nation Kuthambakkam, Sriperambudur Taluk. Meghalaya155 6 Limited cannot be held responsible for such contents, nor for 3.M/s. Vastra 51.95 Machineryonly at SIPCOT Industrial Machinery-1.73 0.43 5,000/- UTTAR GUJARATVIJ COMPANY LIMITED any loss or damage incurred as aresult of transactions with SilksPvt.Ltd. Complex,Gummidipoondi, M.S.Rods CIN -U40102GJ2003SGC042906 companies, associations or individuals advertising in its (11510 kg) Regd. &Corporate Office newspapers or Publications. We therefore recommend that EMD in the form of DD in favour of SIPCOT Ltd., payable at Chennai (In the tenderer’s Name only) STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLINING Visnagar Road, Mehsana -384001 ACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or Thetender Schedule canbeDownloaded at free of cost from the following website entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise www.tenders.tn.gov.in and www.sipcot.in E&PDept: GEB: http://guj-epd.gov.in West Bengal 8,245 3,371 acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever. DIPR/133 /TENDER/2021 GENERAL MANAGER (F),SIPCOT,Chennai-8. Tender Notice Chhattisgarh9,045 2,299 Uttar Pradesh 11,5352,297 WESTERNRAILWAY-AHMEDABAD DIVISION Invitation for Tender Notice No.1)UGVCL/SP/II/CPP/1050/MS Steel STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES Corrigendum no. 2 Items and 2) UGVCL/SP/II/CPP/1051/MS Beam are put up for on line Tender reference no.: WR-ADI0COMM(6GSK)/1/2020-O/o SR DCM/ADI/WR tendering on www.ugvcl.com & www.ugvcl.nprocure.com. ONJAN8TOTAL dated 24/12/2020; Tender Title: Development of Deshlapar (DSLP) Goods shed as aCommon User facility; Tender opening date: 18.01.2021; Subject: Development Interested Vendors are requested to locate the same from above Kerala 5,1428,01,076 of Deshalpar (DSLP) Goods shed as Common User facility with the provision of new mentioned WebSite. Maharashtra3,693 19,61,975 infrastructures on aPPP model for aperiod of 05 years, ‘Quantum of work’ given in the tender document under the ‘Scope of Work’ may be read as under: Note: -Beintouch with our web site till opening of tender. Karnataka 9709,25,868 Sr.no. Works Quantum (V.M.Shroff), Chief Engineer (P) STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS 1Provision of Rail level Filling of additional land approx 750m x ''UGVCL Customer CareCentre24x7 Toll Free Number: 19121'' ONDEC5TOTAL platform with the illing of 3.5m x2m=5250 cbm, Filling of exiting additional land and illing of P/F 750m x11.50m x0.80m =6900 cbm. Maharashtra7651,138 the existing platform. Delhi 23 3,305 2One labour rest shed with all Labour rest shed 15m x20m =300sqm facilities like drinking water, along with 5water taps, 2Urinal, &2 West Bengal 21 9,902 toilet &bathrooms, lighting toilet/bathroom. DataasonDecember5,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical facilities etc. Researchandstategovernments.Often,thenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays 3Development of Parking area. Adequate parking area to accommodate aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive 30 trucks at atime. 4Provision of proper drainage As per requirement of the layout. along with the platform. 5Provision of Goods oice and The available room of Station Master TMS computer room with oice can be used after refurbishing modular toilet &bathroom plus provision of 01 Table (6ftx3ft),01 and electric connection with computer table, 06 revolving chair,01 all facilities like drinking sofa set, 03 cupboard, 01 locker for cash. water cooler &ROsystem, 02 Air -conditioner,01water cooler,01 suicient modular furniture RO system. along with sofa &cupboards for CGS oice/Booking oice, A/C for both the rooms (TMS +Booking oice /CGS oice). 6Raised water taps on both 5Nos x2=10Nos water blocks. ends of the platform for labourers. 7Drinking water taps Blocks of water taps with adequent no 10 8Suicient no of toilets with Two2toilets required at both end of water and electric connection platform. for labours. 9Traders’ room required with Twoquarters from the exisiting quarters all necessary facilities. can be utilized as trader’s room plus provision of necessary facilities to commensurate with abusiness centre. 10 For the illumination of loading End to end suicient light over the goods /Unloading area number of handling area. High masts required. 11 Maintenance of all the above For entire duration of contract. work mentioned in Sr.1to 7and allied goods shed facilities such as illumination, boundary wall etc. note: 1. Approach road along with lighting arrangement in Non-Railway area for smooth and free access to the terminal is also to be developed at the contractor’s cost. 2. Standardization of above work must be at least as per standards provided in Railway Board’sletter No. 2007/PL/25/I dated 05.06.2007 (Annexure 7). 3. Standardization of electric works must be at least as per standards provided in Railway Board’sletter No. 2004/Elect(G)/109/1/Pt.IIdated 12.06.2008 (Annexure 8) Other terms and condition of the contract remains unchanged. 190

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 6 CALENDAR THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021

YOURWEEKAHEAD BRIDGE SUNDAY CROSSWORD 2303 If it’s your Dealer:West,Vulnerable:None ARIES (Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 -Oct 23) Attimes,itpaystobeanoptimistonbridgetable.Whenyouacertainlayoutfor Getoff to afresh and The rapidly yourcontracttosucceed,justassumeitisthereandplanyourplayaccordingly. QUICKCLUES Birthday businesslikestart. approaching Dlr:North;Vul:N-S;IMPs ACROSS You'll soon be in a alignment between NORTH 1. Negligent (6) position to spread the Sun and the 4. European sea (6) ♠ Q8 the good news and shareyour Moon will trigger anumber of 8. Condition of ariver system when SundayJanuary10 ideas with others -and all welcome improvementsin ❤Q3 WESTNORTH EASTSOUTH overflowing (2,5) Justbecause your ideas arethe best,that’s no welcome domestic your circumstances, ♦AJ8763 Pass Pass 1♣ ♦bl 9. Speech(7) excuse to preach. The secret of success is to improvementsshould be suggesting that you'reheading ♣Q63 Pass 2♦ Pass 3NT 11.Defamatory(10) be discreet. In love,your confidence completedbythe end of the forgreat things. Hopefully, 12.Scandinavian (4) AllPass is growing. week.Bringing somebody else you'll be pleasantlysurprised SOUTH 13.Snowleopard(5) round to your wayofthinking when partners at last ♠ A932 14.Pertinent (8) will requirethe usual hardwork. appreciateall the effort you've 16.Vindictive (8) MondayJanuary11 put in on their behalf. ❤A10764 18.Snappish (5) Your circumstances will showan TAURUS(Apr 21 -May 21) ♦KQ 20. EastEuropean (4) improvement. If youare very braveand face The Moon begins SCORPIO (Oct 24 -Nov 22) ♣K7 21.Aired (10) challenges head on, you'll triumph over the week Mercurywill be 23. Circumstance (7) adversity and give your confidence a sympathetically completing a Westleadsthetenofclubs. TheleadcomestoSouth'sking. Ifdiamonds alignedwith your thoroughly divide there will be nine top tricks, making South's bidding look very good. 24.1920s artstyle (3,4) massive boost. On the king of diamonds both opponents follow but on the queen of 25. Firmlyplaced(6) sign, so youcan afford to be indecisive and diamondsWestshowsout. Ugly! 26. Yarn (6) thoroughlyoptimistic about awkwardseries of planetary Isthereawaytomakethisnowthatthediamondsarenotrunningandgiven TuesdayJanuary12 everyone and everything. You patterns. Please take my advice thatEasthasallofthemissinghighcardpointsforhisopeningbid? DOWN Youwill be able to makethe best of your can use anyfriendly and refuse to rise to TheWestHand:S-J1074H-J952D-5C-1094 1. Of the kidneys (5) important ambitions, mostofwhat you conditions mid-week to make provocation, especiallyfrom TheEastHand:S-K5H-K8D-10942C-AJ852 2. Hair pigment (7) touchwill work out in your favour.You have up foranunfortunatetiff, you employers or from people who Itiseasytomake3NTonceyouseetheplan. Leadthequeenofdiamonds 3. Absolutelyhardofhearing ?(5,4) to face up to apastfailures. justcannotaffordemotional think theyknowyou better andovertakeitwiththeace. PlaythejackofdiamondsandgiveEastthelead 5. AfterinAlsace (5) rifts with things as theyare. than youknowyourself. Be withthefourthdiamond. 6. Gossips or chatters (7) charming as onlyaScorpio can. WednesdayJanuary13 GEMINI (May22-June 21) What is East to do? He is marked with the king of spades and the king of 7. Mumbai's mostfamous beach? 18.Blackand blue Roman figures (5) Chopin? (9) Youcould be one of society's movers and Venus, planetof SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 -Dec 22) heartsandtheaceofclubs. WhicheverofthesesuitsEastleadswillgiveyou (9) 20. Girlinshorttrousers? (4) 17.Nobreeding displayedinpublic anentrytodummy. Eastchoosestheaceofclubsandanotherclub,West shakers over the coming year.Your thoughts, love and affection, is Your chance to deal 10.Adding up or amounting to (9) 21.Ittakes the father and mother of among relatively richpeople (7) followingonallofthese.Itcanneverhurttobegreedy.Canyoumakemore moving on, so you'll with financial 13.Fails to observeordecides to amind to produce it !(5-5) 19.Amedium fortransportation dreams and actions could still have an effect thanninetricksnow? soon be passing questions maynot ignore(9) 23. Getanumber round the vessel (7) waybeyond your immediatecircle. from one personal cycle to come until the very Poor East. Play the rest of the diamonds. You can see that East has a 15.Male head of afamily(9) during the day(7) 21.Bar salvo or everyother word of another.IfIwere you, I'd make end of the week.Inthe doubleton king in both majors. If he comes down to asingleton king you 17.Old Frenchdance (7) 24.Vital loose thread on jumper? congratulation! (5) ThursdayJanuary14 canplaythatsuitfortwotricks. Ifhekeepsbothofhisdoubletonkings(he surethat all family meantime, howabout making 19.Wrapwith bandages (7) (3,4) 22. The boywho has the French hastodiscardsomeclubstodothis)youcanplaytheaceofonemajorand It's afine time to put in alittle extraeffort. relationships were on firm personal relationships the key 21.Irritated (5) 25. Uncouth person maygoalot right on railways (5) puthiminwithhiskingandhewillhavetoleadawayfromhisotherking. Youmight be working quitehardatthe ground, and that no to atrulysatisfying and 22. Spanish warrior hero(2,3) astray (6) moment. Even those of younot officiallyat misunderstandings remain. contented week? Be sureto Dealer:South,Vulnerable:NorthSouth 26. Hunting even buckledrailway Solutionsto2302 work will be undertaking serious Your feelings have changed, keep familydifferences CRYPTIC CLUES (6) QuickCluesAcross:6Drama,7Scramble, but partners' expectations will in proportion. NORTH WEST ACROSS responsibilities. You'll gain great pleasure 10Brought,11Helotry,12Raiment,13 from maturebehaviour and sober activities. remain the same. ♠ J42 ♠ K65 1. Theydisturb and setanumber up DOWN Awesome,14Springfield,19Tariffs,21 CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) in arms (6) 1. Sailor Bill isolates topcounters ❤AQ10 ❤963 Leafage,23Mocking,25Abscess,26 CANCER (June 22 -July23) I'm notgoing to 4. Surge underneath, theysay (6) (5) Warhorse,27Rides. FridayJanuary15 ♦K7653 ♦QJ9 You'rebuilding up pretend that life 8. Baby's father firstsupported 2. News organization takespains to Down:1Calories,2Haggle,3Asitstands, From today, remember that partners, to aseries of isn't tiring at the ♣64 ♣Q752 nihilistic artmovement (7) acquirebrave types (7) 4Arch,5Blotto,6Debars,8Maltese,9 colleagues, lovedones will put up afight. planetary clashes moment, because it 9. Vulcanisedrubber with one bit 3. Ahot music composition for Lyres,13Affiliated,15Raffish,16Dead ends,17Stomp,18Beasts,20Racial,22 Youmay notacceptthat youhavehad it all and confrontations. is. On the other hand, thereisa WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH shapedtoapoint (7) Hair? (9) Assure,24Gore. your ownway recently, but this is how In plain languagethis means great deal that youcan do to 1NT 11.Overbearing attitude of one 5. Resting in agarden plot(2,3) CrypticCluesAcross:6Booze,7 that personally, professionally help yourself and transform surrendering ?(10) 6. Battle in Vietnam sustainedglow others see it. It's good foryou to face pass 3NT Pass Pass Drabbled,10Roedeer,11Neutral,12 and emotionallyyou'reabout emotionallychallenging 12.The name afterthat (4) (4,3) Fondant,13Dallies,14Dragonflies,19 achallenge. Pass to embarkonawhole new situations intoopportunities 13.Sounds likeGerman smells 7. Sawand reportedinthe court? Quietus,21Enfolds,23Aunties,25 voyageofdiscovery and forgreat happiness. Don't let The opponents bid 1NT -P-3NT and you make an uninformed lead of the companion, the old Dutchpainter (9) Equator,26Athletic,27Herod. SaturdayJanuary16 anyone hold youback. twoofclubs. ThisdoesnotworkoutatallwellasSouthtopsEast'seightwith Down:1Governed,2Seneca,3 adventure. Sit back, relax thejack. Southhaseightpointsinclubs.Notyourbestleadever. (5) 10.Their labours occasionallybring Justtolook ahead foramoment, there'll be Adorations,4Dawn,5HenryI,6Bereft,8 and enjoyit. AQUARIUS (Jan 21-Feb 19) South now goes after diamonds, leading to the king and back to his ace. 14.Jean apes newfashion from them some reward(3-3,3) times in the coming when your confidence Bouilli,9Blush,13Difference,15Anthill, As the Sun and the Eastplaysthetwoofdiamondsanddiscardsthefourofhearts. Thisplaytells abroad (8) 13.The drilling outside is annoying 16Salutary,17Squat,18Astrid,20Ignite, LEO (July24-Aug 23) you that South has four diamonds to the ace. The information you have will be high. Listencarefullytoothers' Moon perform their 16.The weapon with athreat of (9) 22Fought,24Sett. The major planetin tellsyouthathehaseightpointsinclubsandfourindiamonds,twelvethat opinions,but don’t feel youhavetotake celestial motions, maximum disaster(4-4) 15.Sole piano composition-by your chartisstill youknowabout. SouthgivesyouyourdiamondtrickandEastdiscardsthe them seriously. Do what is best foryou. it's time to sit up fiveofhearts. Whatdoyouknowatthispoint? Mercury, whichjust and makeyour physical well- happens to be the being the number one priority. ruler of illusions and Don't getfanatical, but do confidence tricks.Joking aside, JUMBLED WORDS clean up your dietand see that DifficultyLevel5s thereisnosituation youcan't Instructions you'regetting all the correct getout of with some deft and appropriateexercise. And, Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, footwork and perhaps by also, of course getrid of

therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget 4347 everydigitfrom1to9 pulling the wool over lingering resentments. theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe somebody's eyes. Lord,grantthatImightnotsomuchseektobe___asto__.-FrancisofAssisi(5,.,4) PISCES (Feb 20 -Mar 20) nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO (Aug 24 -Sep 23) eachoftheninehorizontal Wednesdayand

4348 Remember that, if rowsandineachofthe Thursdaylook best LPEEO EORTDL youwant to getonin forfamilyfun and nineboxes. the worldatlarge, home entertaining, SUDOKU it's your personal whichmay not, Iguess, be relationships that count. This totallyconvenient. However, BWYLO FIIYVV DifficultyLevel won't be the case next week,so by the weekend, when you exploit your undoubted charms should have moresparetime,

SUDOKU 1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; while youstill have time. You'll your stars will be superb for 3s=Medium;4s=Hard; be entering an intriguing and 5s=VeryHard;6s= cultural pursuits, passionate

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Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board

Tender Notice No.8of 2020-21 E-Tender ID No. 38851 Online Tender through E-Tendering are invited for the following works by Executive Engineer,P.H.W.Dn., Godhra -389 001, M: 9978406943. (1) Name of Works: (A) Designing etc. for Providing, Supplying, Lowering, Laying and Jointing PVC/G.I. Rising/Gravity Pipeline from village level U/G Sump to Faliya, Designing and Constructing of RCC ESR /HGLR/Under Ground Sump at Faliya BANARAS LOCOMOTIVE WORKS, VARANASI-221004 Level, Construction of well, Mini Scheme,Pump House and Supply,Installation, Testing &Commissioning of Pumping Machineries at Existing U/G Sump etc. under Bid No. E-70/2020-21 E-TENDERS Dated: 04.01.2021 Faliya Connectivity of Panam Regional Water Supply Scheme.EVC Rs.1630.10 Lacs E-Tenders are invited for &onbehalf of the president of India for the supply of following (Total-1 work) (2) Eligibility: Registration of contractors in appropriate class in Revenue Department, items. Only E-offer will be accepted for which vendors must have class III Digital Government Department &Require qualification criteria as per Tender Documents Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar Signature and registration on IREPS. The details of tenders are in the following (3) Last Date of online submission of Tender Document: 25/01/2021 (upto 18.00 (The Right to Fair Compensation and TransparencyinLand Acquisition, sequence S.No., Tender No.(Due Date), Description and Quantity. (1) 05205412 Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013) (22.01.2021), Stako film cutting torch, 8Nos. (2) 07200184(29/01/2021), 29170552 Hrs.) Any further changes in tender will be seen online only.For detail tender doc- Safety Flooring Sheet, 604 Litre. (3) 08201061A, Advertise Tender (01/02/2021), uments,terms &conditions etc. please visit web: www.gwssb.nprocure.com Notification (u/s 10A) Dowel (Refer Dowel Chart DRG. No. 9335323 Alt., Ab &Part No. 16010073) As per Thewater supply board is requested to contact toll free helpline No.''1916'' over District: Kheda Date: 24/12/2020 DRG. No. 8283431 Alt-D as per specn. purchase specification No. MISC: 503 Rev - No. AM-2020-769-M-LK-12-2017-1804-GH R1, 145 Nos. (P.L. No. 19280051). (4) 08201071A, Advertise Tender (01/02/2021), drinking water problem in the rural areas. INF/GODHRA/704/2021 Steel Cap Piston (CR 11.75:1) Generally confirming to BLWDRG. No. SKE-1245 Whereas it appears to the Government of Gujarat, that the land specified in (Except Gudgeen Pin Hieght and Crown profile) for use on 3100,3300,3600 HP BLW the SCHEDULE annexedhereto,islikely to be needed forpublic purpose make engine and specn. no. D89195 &asper Drg. No. SKE-1245 Alt-g as per specn: D40715 with 2nos.retaining rings( each piston to BLWDRG No. TPE-13-0031 part no. viz. forthe purpose of construction of the infrastructure project of ''Mumbai- 15345129 as per DRG., Qty- 7Nos. (P.L. No. 10142733). (5) Reverse Auction Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project'' 06201754 (28/01/2021), Complete Panel -A, Panel -C (without drive display unit) and (1) Nowtherefore in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) Panel -D along with all equipments, hardwares and wiring/cabling and compliance with push pull operation, as per spec. no. CLW/ES/3/0239/A, 0240, 0241 and 0453 and of section (2) of ''The Right to fair Compensation and Transparency in CLWletter no. C-D& D/T/47 dated 08.08.2019 to P.L. No. 29178204, 555 Numbers. Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of Note: For Complete details of EMD and downloading of tender documents and Hindi 2013) (herein after referred to as ''The Act'') and the Rules made there- Version also available at website www.blw.indianrailways.gov.in and www.ireps.gov.in. Corrigendum Notice Date: 04.01.2021 Corrigendum in due under,itisherebynotified that the Government of Gujarat intends to date details as following S. No. (1) Bid No. 62 Tender No.: 03202480, PL No. acquire the said land forthe public purpose of the infrastructure proj- 29420064, Description-Bull Gear 107 teeth Modified Due Date -15.01.2021 (2) Bid ect specified above. No. E-65 Tender No.: 03202482, Details of Corrigendum -1.Tender (due to open on 04.01.2021) has been postponed and due to open on 18.01.2021. (2) Nowwhereas aproposal is made foracquisition of the above men- P.R.O./BLW/S-77 PCMM tioned scheduled land forthe proposed project of ''Mumbai- /banaraslocowork “Website:- www.blw.indianrailways.gov.in” Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project'' the bare minimum area of land to be acquired, as per SCHEDULE forthe project is H. 0-20-96 sq. mt. and is situated within the boundarylimit of VILLAGE: DAVDA, Taluka: Nadiad, Dist. Kheda. (3) Nowwhereas it appears to the State Government, that it is expedient to exempt in public interest such area of H. 0-20-96 Sq. mt. of land to be acquired, forthe above stated infrastructure project, from the appli- cation of the provisions of chapter II and III of the Act. (4) Nowtherefore,inexercise of the powers conferred by section 10(A) of The [inserted by section 3ofThe RFCTLARR (Gujarat Amendment) Act, 2016] (Gujarat Act No.12of2016) The Government of Gujarat, hereby exempt in public interest, the area of H. 0-20-96 Sq. mt. of land comprised in belowmentioned SCHEDULE to be acquired forthe infrastructure proj- ect of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project, from the application of the provision of chapter II and III of The Act. SCHEDULE Village :DAVDA Taluka: NADIAD Dist: KHEDA Sr. SurveyNo./ Area (Ha. Are. No. BlockNo. Sq. Mtr.) 1 551 0-11-30 2 552 0-09-66 Total: 0-20-96 By Order and in the name of the Governor of Gujarat Sd/- (H.J.Rathod) Under SecrearytoGovernment INFO/NAD/498/2021

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021 7 EXPRESS NETWORK Trustinpolitical,socialleadership Twitter’s Trump ban: BJP slams it, ofIndian-originpeoplegrowing:PM Congress says world. Notonlywill youbein- “Involvingthediasporainthat Palaniswami and EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE creasingthe volumeof Indianex- endeavour is natural,” Jaishankar Kovind points Panneerselvamafter the NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 ports,but youwill also be taking saidasthey“have always beenen- to Atmanirbhar welcome signal AIADMK meeting in our richdiversity to the world. thusiastic contributors to nation- Chennai on Saturday. PTI UNDERLININGTHE strength of Whatismostimportantisthat,as building”, “can bring to bear re- thecountry’sdiversityandtheim- partofthe Atmanirbhar Bharat sources,technology,bestpractices Bharat goal Tech firms newoligarchs: BJP IT cell head portance of the Indian diaspora campaign,youwillbeinstrumen- andinnovations”as“highachiev- abroad, Prime MinisterNarendra talinreaching affordable and ers”and“helpingivingthisambi- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE AIADMK Modi said Saturdaysaid that “if qualitysolutionsto thepoorestof tious exercise atrulyglobal foot- NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 KARISHMAMEHROTRA there’s anyplace in the world the world,” he said. print”. NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 councilbacks wheredemocracy is moststrong, On the Covid vaccine, he said Hesaida“boldschemeof pro- PRESIDENT RAM Nath Kovind vibrant and alive,itisIndia”. India is “ready to protect human- duction-linked incentivesin13 Saturdayinvoked Mahatma IN AN unprecedented move, Palaniswamias Across the world, he said, there’s ity with notone but twocorona keysectors offers the potential of Gandhi's call forself-reliance as Twitter bannedUSPresident agrowing trustinthe “social and PM Modi at inauguration of vaccines made in India”. He said, transforming manufacturing in he emphasisedthe role of the di- DonaldTrumpfromtheplatform CM candidate politicalleadership”of Indian-ori- Pravasi BharatiyaDivas, via “As the pharmacy of the world, the country” and “it would have asporainfulfilling the aims of on Friday, stating that twoofhis gin people. video conference, in Delhi. PTI India has deliveredessential direct consequences foremploy- Atmanirbhar Bharat. tweets were “highlylikelytoen- Modi made these remarks in medicines to everyneedy per- ment and inclusiveness”. Delivering the valedictory courageand inspirepeople to forTNpolls his inaugural address to the 16th son in the worldinthe past, and Engagementwiththeworldis speechatthe Pravasi Bhartiya replicatethe criminal actsthat Trumptriedtocircumvent Pravasi BharatiyaDivas conven- wordsand affection forIndia’’. He is still doing it. Today, the world fundamental to our beliefsand Divas, he said it wasonthis day took place at the U.S. Capitol on the ban by tweeting on the tion, three days afteramob sup- said Santokhi wasa“shining ex- is notonlywaiting forIndia's traditions, he said, adding that in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, Jan. 6, 2021.” @POTUS handle. Reuters/File PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA porting US President Donald ample” of the trustreposedin vaccine, but it is also keeping a during the pandemic, “wenot “the greatestPravasi Bhartiya”, Twitter stated that Trump's CHENNAI,JANUARY9 Trump’s repeated attemptsto people of Indian-origin. watchonhow India runs the onlybrought backour ownpeo- returnedtothe country. tweets --oneabouthisvotershav- overturn the outcome of the US He said at atime when India world's largest vaccination pro- plehome,butthoseof neighbours "The Pravasi BhartiyaDivas is ing a“giant voice” in the future panies without accountability...” THE AIADMK on Saturdayen- elections stormedthe Capitol. US wasmovingto becomeatmanirb- gramme.” as well” and as “wenow look at also an occasion to recall andanotherstatinghewillnotat- Praveen Chakravarty,who dorsedTamil Nadu Chief Vice President-elect Kamala har (self-reliant), the Indian dias- In his address to the conven- the supplyofvaccines” India will Gandhiji’s ideals forindividual tendtheinauguration--“mustbe heads Congress’s dataanalytics, MinisterKPalaniswami as itsCM Harris is of Indian origin –her porahad an important role in tion, External Affairs MinisterS “live up fully” to itsinternational and collective life. Gandhiji’s em- read in the contextofbroader toldTheIndianExpress:“Thereisa candidatefor this year’s motherwasfromIndiaandherfa- strengthening the identity of Jaishankar calledfor greater par- responsibilities. phasis on Indianness, non-vio- eventsinthe country”, including saying‘nopointinlockingthesta- Assemblypolls,wherethe party ther from Jamaica. BrandIndia.Heurgedthemto use ticipation of the diasporain Speaking at the session, lence, ethics, simplicity and sus- the recent incident of amob ble afterthe horses have bolted.’ I will take on arch rivalDMK in a Hailing the significant contri- Make-in-Indiaproductsmoreand building aself-reliant India. The MinisterofState forExternal tainable development, remain storming the US Capitol on thinksocialmedia,broadlyspeak- tough electoral battle. bution of the Indian diaspora, more, saying it will increase trust experience of the pandemic, he AffairsVMuraleedharansaidthat our guiding principles," said the January6asPresident-elect Joe ing, has allowedthis to go on for AIADMK’s topdecision-mak- Modi praisedSuriname in these products. “It can be any- said, has drivenhome the need with itspopulation of 1.3billion, President. Biden’selectionvictorywasbeing fartoo long. Iwelcome the deci- ing body also authorisedO President Chandrikapersad thing, from teatotextile to ther- formoretrusted, resilient, reli- and one of the largest diasporain ThePresident also congratu- certifiedbyCongress. sion notsomuchfor what it does Panneerselvamand ‘Chan’ Santokhi, the chief guest apy. Iamhappytosee the atten- able and redundant supply theworld,Indiacanplayaneffec- lated the Pravasi Bhartiya Trumpattempted to circum- to President Trumpbut what it Palaniswami —the topleaders at the function, forhis “warm tion khadi is getting across the chains. tive role in the post-Covid space. Samman awardees. vent the ban by tweeting on the does as asignal that youcannot —todevise the party’s strategy @POTUShandlethatTwitter“has abuse and put an entiresociety at forthe polls and endorsedthe gone further and further in ban- risk in the guise of free speech.” appointment of asteering com- Cong to mark Jose KMani ning free speech”, but the com- Askedhowsocialmediacom- mittee, whichislikelytoplaya Fourth suicide at Singhu border panyremovedhis posts almost panies have acted in India, keyrole in important matters. immediately. Chakravorty said: ‘Veryirrespon- The Assemblyelections in farmers’ rights resigns as The decision brought adiver- sibly. But Twitter doesn’t matter Tamil Nadu arelikelytobeheld as farmer consumes poison gence of opinions in India, where here. What do youdoabout in April-May. day on Jan 15 RS member politicalpartiesallegepartisande- WhatsApp? It is being usedwith The party’s general council, Amrinder notveryfertile. About 2-3 years cision-making by the social me- the guise of free speechand the besides the Executive,met at a NewDelhi: The Congress on AMILBHATNAGAR& Singh hailed ago, he startedliving in the town Kochi: Kerala Congress(M) leader dia giant. guiseof anonymity.It’sevenmore marriagehall hereunder the Saturdaydecidedtolaunchyet RAAKHIJAGGA from area of FatehgarhSahib, while his Jose KMani has resignedasa Amit Malviya, BJP IT cell head, dangerous than Twitter in India.’ leadership of AIADMK another campaign againstthe NEWDELHI,LUDHIANA, Punjab’s widowedmother Nachhtar Kaur member of RajyaSabha, won tweeted:“DeplatformingDonald BJP MP and IT Parliamentary Coordinator Panneerselvamand BJP government demanding re- JANUARY9 Fatehgarh wasliving in the villagehome. As with the supportofOpposition Trump,asittingUSpresident,sets committee member Nishikant joint coordinator Palaniswami. peal of the three farm laws. Sahib he hardlyhad anyfarm income, UDF,amid strong indications adangerousprecedent.Ithasless Dubey said:“Theymustthinkthat In one of the 16 resolutions The party has decidedtoob- A39-YEAR-OLD farmer commit- he startedworking as aconduc- that he would fight the coming to do with his views and moreto the fight in society will fixthis. adoptedatthe meeting, the serve‘Kisan Adhikar Diwas’ tedsuicide at Singhu border on torwith aprivate bus company. Assemblypolls as acandidateof dowithintoleranceforadiffering Theymusthavedone this think- party members authorisedthe (Farmers'' RightsDay)onJanuary Saturday —the fourth person to said BaljeetSingh, convenor of I’m notaware of what he wasdo- the CPI(M)-ledLDF. point. Ironically, those who claim ing that. But society cannotbe twoleaders to devise AIADMK’s 15,the daygovernment andthe take his ownlifeatprotests the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha’s ing thesedays." Mani said to champion free speechare cel- seen by onlyone side.” electoral strategy,evenasiteyes farmer unions will meetfor the againstthe newfarm laws.The IT Cell. Amrinder is survivedbyhis on Saturday ebrating. Big tech firms arenow Aman Taneja, asenior lawyer ahat trickofvictories, afterse- next round of talks. The Congress man, Amrinder Singh, allegedly According to farmers, the man mother,wifeand twoteenage that he sub- the newoligarchs.” focusedonintermediaryliability curing backtobackwins in 2011 willtake outprotests andlaysiege consumedpoison at the protest consumedsulphas tablets back- kids —aboy and agirl. His father mitted the res- BJPMPfromKarnatakaTejasvi at tech legal firm Ikegai, said that and 2016 under the lateJ to RajBhawans in statecapitals. and wasrushedtoanearbyhos- stage, around 4.30 pm. Amrinder wasinthe Armyand diedinthe ignation to Surya calleditathreat to democ- Twitter has been the company Jayalalithaa. Thedecisionwastakenatameet- pital, wherehediedduring treat- then walked to the front of the late80s in aroad accident. His un- RajyaSabha racy.Tagging the Ministryof mostwilling to take these posi- “This general council autho- ing AICC general secretaryKC ment. His body will be handed stageand collapsed. Panic soon cle DarbaraSingh will go to Chairman M Electronics &IT's handle, Surya tions, demonstrating that plat- rises OPanneerselvamand Venugopal had with general secre- over to the family, whichhails spread among protesters and a Sonipat with the sarpanchtocol- Venkaiah posted,“Thismustbewakeupcall forms arebeginning to realise the Edapadi KPalaniswami to devise tariesandinchargesofstates. from Machrai Kalan in Punjab's mobile ambulance wassum- lect Amrinder’s body on Sunday. Kerala Naidu on forall who don’t yetunderstand powertheyhavetoamplifyvoices. winning strategies to ensurea Congresscommunicationde- FatehgarhSahib. moned. Protesters cleared the Jagmohan Singh Patiala, gen- Congress(M) Friday. threat to our democracies by un- “As farasits meaning forIndia, grand win in the 2021polls, cre- partment head Randeep "He consumedpoison near wayand he wastaken to Frank eral secretaryofBKU Dakaunda, leader Talking to regulated big tech companies. If with this debatehereabout what ateanAIADMK-ledvictoryal- Surjewalasaid.“TheModigovern- the main stage. It happened InstituteofMedical Sciences in said, “Weare shocked. We repeat- reporters in theycan do this to POTUS, they to do about platforms gaining liance and decide seat-sharing ment is answerable to the people when the stagewas being Sonipat. edly appeal to people to continue Palakkad, candothisto anyone.SoonerIndia morepowerinIndia, the lesson is with alliance parties,” the mem- fortaking decisions and notthe wrappedupfor the day. He col- Protesters said Amrinder had the struggle instead of commit- Mani, son of lateKerala Congress reviews intermediaries regula- that platforms needtobemore bers resolved. Supreme Court. The responsibil- lapsed in front of other farmers. been at Singhu forafew days. ting suicide.” stalwartand former ministerK tions, better forour democracy.... consistent and transparent with The party has earnedthe ity of making and repealing the We immediatelytook him to a The villagesarpanch, Jeet The suicide comes in the wake MMani, said he quit the seat "for Freedom of Expression (FoE) is howtheymakedecisions,”hesaid. public’s praise for“good gover- laws wrests with Parliament and hospital, wherehepassedaway. Singh, said, “He had about an acre of three cases of suicide and one upholding morality in political sacrosanct. It cannotbecurtailed FULLREPORTON nance,” it added. notthe court.” ENS The death occurredat7.20 pm," of land in the villageand that too attempt since the proteststarted. life”. PTI whimsicallybypvt big tech com- www.indianexpress.com Aright-thinking legislator will never Farm laws will set farmers free, too late for be party to disrupting House: Venkaiah Bengal to implement PM-KISAN: Nadda tors can maketothe function- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ing of the legislatures, whichis NarendraModi... The farm laws NEW DELHI, JANUARY 9 the needofthe hour” and any ATRIMITRA will makefarmers free. These legislator “has the option of ei- KATWA(EASTBURDWAN), laws will enable farmers to set THE GOVERNMENT “has been ther supporting the govern- JANUARY9 the price of their produce and taking aseries of reforms to un- ment or opposing it”. He stated choose buyers,” Nadda said. leash the growth potential that in fact, “informedopposi- BJP PRESIDENT JPNadda on Accusing Banerjee of “de- Jagdeep Dhankhar since onlyarobusteconomic tion to the government’s pro- Saturdaysaid the newfarm laws priving” over 70 lakh farmers of growth can help in meeting the posals” does a“certain good but “would setthe farmers of the the statethe benefitsofthe PM- aspirations of the people” and opposing forthe sakeofdoing it countryfree” as theywould be KISAN scheme, Nadda said, “The Bengal Governor legislators “across the country does harm”. able to decide their buyers and MamataBanerjee government have an important responsibil- MVenkaiah Naidu at the He mentionedthat “law the prices of their produce. agreedtoimplement the PM meets Shah, ity of seriouslyreflecting in re- Goa Legislators Dayevent. makers can makeadifference Launching the BJP’s ‘Krishak Kisan Samman Nidhi aftersuch spective legislatures on the to enhance the functioning of Suraksha Abhiyan’ and ‘Ek along time as she has realised shares security challenging situation that the legislatures, and therebytheir Mutho Chal’ campaigns at avil- that the TMC is fast losing countryisfacing and mounting nario of disrupting the pro- legitimacy” through the 6C’s of lageinEastBurdwan district, ground in Bengal. But, letmesay concerns in state anational effort to come out of ceedings of the House” and connecting with people, con- Nadda mockedChief Minister it clearly that it is already toolate it at the earliest,” Vice President would “mostcertainlylikethe duct, character,commitment, MamataBanerjee foragreeing forthe TMC government.” ahead of polls MVenkaiah Naidu said on House to discuss, debateand capacity and communication. to implement the PM-KISAN BJP president JPNadda at avillageinWestBengal’s East He also targeted Banerjee Saturday. decide everyissue so that “Anylegislatureisasgood as scheme, saying it was“toolate”. Burdwan district on Saturday. PTI over allegations of corruption in PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA Speaking at the occasions of he/she can makemeaningful itsmembers,” he said, and added “It is unfortunatethat there Cyclone Amphan relief, alleging NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 Goa Legislators DayatPanjim, contribution, being equipped that “legitimacy of both of them arepeople who aremisleading that TMC leaders siphonedoff Naidu said that a“right-think- to do so”. areinter-dependent as eachof the farmers (on farm laws). campaign from January24in stand the actual benefitsof moneyand food grains sent by WESTBENGALGovernor ing legislator… will neverbea Naidu assertedthat it was them draw sustenance from the Therefore, we have decidedto 40,000 Gram Sabhas in West farmer’s policies and schemes the Centrefor the cyclone-hit Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed party to the distressing sce- “the difference that able legisla- other”. launchweeklong ‘Krishak Bhoj’ Bengal to makethem under- launchedbyPrime Minister people. concerns about the security sce- nario in the stateinlight of the upcoming Assemblyelections and raisedquestions over the Para gets bail, court says UAPA case not made out, ‘not awhisper on him’ stateadministration's role in maintaining lawand order after case”. It also questionedthe prosecution witness. them during initial investiga- Singh, who had been arrested meeting Union Home Minister ARUN SHARMA very basis of Para's arrest,on Considered instrumental in Para wasarrestedby tions.” on January11, 2020, afterhe Amit Shah here on Saturday. JAMMU, JANUARY 9 the “so-calleddisclosurestate- revivalofthe PDP in South the NIA on November Referring to the alleged wasfound travelling with The governor's interaction ment”ofmilitant Syed Naveed Kashmir,Parawas arrested by statement by Naveed saying Naveed.Itisprobablybecause with Shah comes days afterhis Nearly one-and-a-half month Mushtaq Shah alias Naveed the NIA on November 25, three 25, three days afterhe Para gave financial supportto the agency found the said evi- meeting with West Bengal Chief afterhis arrest by the NIA on Baba, noting that its“legal days afterhehad filednomina- had filednomination the Hizbul Mujahideen forter- dence insufficient to implicate MinisterMamataBanerjee at the chargesofalleged terror links, value” was“seriouslyhit by tion papers from Pulwama for papers from Pulwama roractivities, the judgesaid, him, the judgeobserved.Para RajBhavaninKolkata. PDP youth wing leader Waheed Section 25 of the Evidence Act”, the maiden District even if he gave the money, “the wasnot even namedamong Dhankhar,who had been at Ur Rehman Para wasSaturday whichsays that suchconfes- Development Council elections forthe maiden District purchase of AK-47rifles out of those accusednot loggerheads with the TMC gov- granted bail by Special Judge sional statement can onlybe in J&K. He had wonwhile in Development Council Rs 10 lakh financedbyParawas chargesheetedbut being inves- ernment since taking charge as Sunit Gupta,holding that “of- recordedunder Section 164 custody.Sources in the NIA said notthe decision of the present tigated,hesaid. the Bengal governor,alleged on fences, particularly falling un- CrPC by aMagistrate, and said theywill challengethe bail or- PDP youth wing leader was elections in J&K applicant, but it wasthe deci- “Therefore, serious doubt Saturdaythat the statehas been der Unlawful Activities Act that notevenone protected der in the High Court. arrested on Nov25 sion of accusedNaveed has arisen on the action taken “plaguedwith rampant violence”. (UAPA), arenot prima facie witness had namedhim. JudgeGupta noted, “The partofthe investigating agency Mushtaq... Therefore, we can- by the investigating agency “The law-and-order situation made out againstthe appli- The Special Judgeordered original chargesheetwas filed clearly postulates the fact that notlink the present applicant with respect to the present ap- and the security environment in cant/accused”. Para's release on furnishing a on July6,2020, wherein of the accusedNaveed theywerenot intending to ar- with the commission of offence plicant/accused,’’ the judgesaid, West Bengal is under threat... Highlighting various loop- suretyand personal bail bond Naveed Mushtaq and other Mushtaq allegedly implicating ray the present applicant as ac- of supporting the terroristor- adding that “nothing substan- The position of the director gen- holes in the NIA case against of Rs 1lakh each, with the di- three accusedwere the present applicant... wasal- cusedinthe present case... Ise- ganization.” tial has been made out” against eral of police in Bengal is an open Para,the judgesaid neither the rection that he notleave chargesheeted, but therewas ready available with the inves- riouslydoubt... whether during The courtalso notedthat him “evenfromthe statement secret.That's whyIsay we have original nor the supplementary Jammu and Kashmir without notevenawhisper about the tigating agency’’. the course of further investiga- the NIA had earlier notthought of one protected witness” 'political police'. EverydayIam chargesheethas a“reference of written permission during his involvement of present appli- Noting the NIA's “deep tion, the investigating agency it fittoact againstParadespite recordedafter his arrest. hearing news of bomb blasts or the present applicant”, and that bail period and surrender his cant/accusedWaheedParain slumber” in arresting Para only could have arrested Waheed claiming to have the call detail Para wasrepresented by bombs being found,” he claimed he is even referred to as “sus- passport. Para wasalso specif- the commission of offences, de- in November,the order added, Para on the basis of the old ev- records of his conversations Senior AdvocatePNRaina, ac- in apress briefing aftermeeting pected accusedinthe said icallytold nottoapproachany spitethe fact that the statement “This kind of inaction on the idence whichwas collected by with former DySP Davinder companiedbyAlok Bambroo. Shah in Delhi. Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021 8 SUNDAY STORY

THEJOURNEY

1996: Bharat Biotech setup 1999: Firstvaccine, for Needle in the haystack Hepatitis B, rolls out

2006: Rabies vaccine is out When theIndian government looked forapartner to produce an indigenous coronavirus vaccine,Bharat Biotech wasthe 2007: Influenza vaccine is developed natural contender.FromRotavirus to Hepatitis Bvaccinesand nowCovaxin, AMITABH SINHA on howasmall Hyderabad firm,

2015: Rotavac, the rotavirus dreaming big andrisking large, has emergedasone of India’s biggestbiotech success stories vaccine is launchedbyPrime MinisterNarendraModi HE YEAR was1999. Officials inthebiotechnologysector,fromsmallincu- INTERVIEW 2018: Typhoid vaccine gets and scientists at the bators testing outnew ideas to giant multi- DR KRISHNAELLA, WHO approval Departmentof Biotechnology nationalslikeNovartis, Bayerand Merck. Founder&CMD, (DBT) were alittle unsure But otherspointtothe role of twoIAS of- Bharat Biotech 2020: Work begins on T about what to do next. They ficers of that time —Sheila Bhide and BP Covid-19 vaccine had invitedoffers from Indianfirms to be- Acharya.Aimingto recreateanenvironment ‘Want to combat come partners in the developmentofavac- similarto SiliconValleyintheUS,thetwoare cine forrotavirus. And the onlycompanyto said to have givenshapetoGenome Valley challenging diseases, have shown interestwas an inexperienced with the backing of their political bosses. THECOVID19VACCINES three-year-oldupstartfromHyderabadwith BharatBiotech wasone of the firstcom- deliver solutions’ little trackrecordtoboastof. paniesto move intoGenomeValley. “Itisim- Besides, Covaxin whichhas The lackofenthusiasm wasnot entirely pressive... the physical infrastructurethat Howdid youget intothe vaccine justbeen granted unexpected.Earlier that year,the onlyexist- Bharat Biotechhas built.Abiotechnology business? emergency use ingvaccineforrotavirus,oneproducedbyan companyisnot easy to run.You needsensi- WhenIbeganconceptualisingaHepatitis authorisation, Bharat Americancompany, hadto bewithdrawnaf- tive,sophisticatedtechnology,advancedlab- vaccine, Iwas workingonyeastmolecular Biotech is developing three tersomerecipients reported araretypeof oratories, and manufacturing units, none of biology in the US...Duringthat period, there other candidates forCovid- bowelobstruction.Thevaccinehadbeenin- it comes cheap. Andthere is alot of risk as wasasubstantial demand formedicine in 19 vaccine: troduced in themarket thepreviousyear. well. Vaccines areanuncertain business. To India.So,Iset upalabinHyderabadwiththe Rotavirusesarethemostcommoncause itscredit,BharatBiotech hasbuiltworld-class medicalequipmentIhadbroughtbackwith ■ Asingle-dose intranasal of diarrhoeaininfantsworldwide.According facilities,”says asenior scientistwith agov- me from the US and startedproducing the vaccine with Washington to WHO,theywereresponsiblefordeathsof PrimeMinister Modi speakstoscientists during his visittoBharat Biotech’s ernmentlaboratory. Hepatitis Bsurface protein. University School of about 215,000 children belowfiveyears of Hyderabad facility lastyear;(below) Krishna Ellawith histeam. ANI/Bharat Biotech As the companybegan to diversify its Bharat Biotech wasstarted with Rs 12.5 Medicine in St Louis agein2013, amajority of them in India. product portfolio, it producedvaccines for crore. Within three years, we were able to Working at AIIMS in the mid-1980s, Dr rabies,polio,Japaneseencephalitis,H1N1in- launchour firstHepatitisvaccine. We went ■ Another one with Thomas MKBhan, apaediatrician and researcher residentialareaof JubileeHillsinHyderabad —the reverse engineering that had helped fluenza, and also worked on amalaria vac- onto supplyseveralmilliondosesforthena- Jefferson University in who later became the Secretaryofthe DBT, that housedlaboratories of Bharat Biotech. so manyotherIndianpharmaceutical com- cinewhichdidnotbecomesuccessful.Today, tionalimmunisationprogrammeatRs10 per whichaninactivatedrabies had succeededinisolating an Indian strain “Krishna Ella himself sawthe truckoff. panies to produce genericdrugs. the companyhas abasket of morethan15 dose.Thiswasamilestoneaswe becamethe virus is beingusedasthe of rotavirus that could be used to develop a Therewas jubilation, understandably. We InanIndiathatwasstilltakingitsfirststep vaccines in the market. firstcompanyinthe worldtoproduce ace- vector vaccine. Another strain wasisolatedbyProf were asmall team then,”says aformer em- towardscreatingthe right environmentfor Afterthe rotavirus vaccine, the biggest sium-free Hepatitis Bvaccine at an afford- CDurga Rao, working independently at the ployeewho asked nottobenamed. private enterprise, the indigenousdevelop- successcame in the form of atyphoid vac- ableprice whenthe vaccine wassoldbya ■ Acandidatenamed Indian InstituteofScience in Bengaluru. The Ella, who grew up in areasonably well- ment of avaccine by anew companywas a cine, whichwas commercialised twoyears multinational at Rs 1,400per dose. CoroFlu being developedin governmentwasverykeento have anafford- offfarmer’s familyinaTamil Nadu village, big deal,and forseveral years afterthat, till it ago. Basedonaninnovative technology,itis collaboration with able rotavirus vaccine, and waswilling to studiedagricultureincollegeandworkedat waseventually bought over by Sanofiin the firstand onlytyphoid vaccine in the Youtook alot of risk with rotavirus University of Wisconsin- handhold private firms in developing this. achemical and pharmaceutical multina- 2009, Shantha Biotechnics wasthe poster worldthatcanprovidelong-termimmunity vaccine. Howsurewereyou of success? Madison, and vaccine Aftermuchdeliberation, the DBTdid ac- tional before receiving afellowship to study child of India’s biotechnology sector,regu- againstthedisease.Thisvaccineisapproved Rotavacwas aresult of aunique social companies FluGen ceptthe volunteering companyasthe part- in the US. He worked on the molecular biol- larly featuringeveningovernmentliterature by WHO as well forglobaluse. partnershipthatbroughttogethertheexpe- nerinthiseffortandbeganworkingonavac- ogy of yeast, and obtainedaPhD from the as one of the success stories from India. In a Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech has alsofor- rience and expertise of Indian and interna- cine that would go on to become one of the University of way, Shantha ayedintotheanimalvaccinemarket,andset tional researchers as well as public and pri- biggestsuccess stories of India’s young Wisconsin-Madison. “Itwas really abold step for Biotechnics also up aseparatecompany, BioVet,which oper- vate sectors...Thatvaccinedemonstratedthat biotechnologysector.ForBharatBiotech,the He had begun are- showedthe wayfor ates out of Bengaluru. It produces vaccines anIndiancompanywascapableof conduct- Hyderabad companythat had shown search career in the US Krishna Ella to come companieslike Bharat forthe foot and mouthdisease, one of the ing high-quality research in advancedsci- couragetoparticipate in this uncertain ven- before,according to a forwardatthat time (in Biotech,though they mostcommonailmentsindomesticanimals. ences...Again,itcostonlyonedollarperdose. ture,theriskhadpaidoff.Thevaccine,called storyhehas shared would be close com- ItisequippedwithaBSL-3(biosafetylevel3) Rotavac,waslicensedonlyin2014,aftera15- multiple times in pub- 1999). After that vaccine (in petitors. production unit, and BSL-3 animal facility, What wasthe biggestdifficulty you year-longdevelopmentprocess,andthefirst lic, he waspersuaded the US)was withdrawn, Ella returned to a incorporatingthehighestlevelcontainment facedduring that time? shots were givenin2015. But it wasdevel- by hismotherto return Hyderabad thatwas features. Then thereisanother sistercom- Frankly, we receivedalot of supportfrom opedwith acommitment that it would be to India with an assur- everyone thought thatthe going through apolit- pany, CenturyBiologicals, that does food government and other institutions, and this Opening pricednot morethan one dollar adose. Two ancethat till she was rotavirus field wasdead... ical transition.N packaging. It has one of the biggestirradia- project(rotavirus)wouldnothaveadvanced otherrotavirusvaccinesthathadbeencom- alive,hewould never Therewas alot of Chandrababu Naidu tors in the countrytosanitise food packets. without theirhelp.Wehad setupaninno- newdoors mercialisedinternationally inthemeantime, have to starve! had justmanaged to Yetanothercompanyisengagedincarry- vative manufacturingprocesswhichhaden- by pharmagiantsGSK andMerck in 2006, But around the handholding through the grab powerafter re- ing out pre-clinical toxicologystudies and abledthereductionofmanufacturingcosts... costabout US $200per dose. same time that Ella re- volting againsthis fa- testing of vaccinesand drugs on animals. When it waslaunchedin2015, therotavirus IN MANYways,Bharat “It wasreallyabold step forKrishna Ella turnedfromUS, an process... But it wasstill a ther-in-law, the im- Thedevelopmentof Covaxin,particularly vaccinewasoneof thefirstsuccessfulexam- Biotech andits contem- (thepromoterofBharatBiotech)tocomefor- Indian HepatitisBvac- big achievement” mensely popular NT thehaste aroundit,hasdrawnBharatBiotech ple of 'MakeinIndia' initiative. poraries reflect the ward at that time. Afterthat vaccine (in the cine came intothe Rama Rao, and was intoarowEllahascontestedasunwarranted. changing and rising US) waswithdrawn, everyone thought that market,developedby selling the promise of If animpossibledeadlineof August15,2020, Which is abigger success forthe Indiathat startedto the rotavirusfieldwas dead... Of course, another Hyderabad-basedcompany, makingHyderabadthenewtechnologycap- foranindigenous vaccinewas the govern- company, rotavirus or typhoidvaccine? take anew coursefrom Bharat Biotechreceivedalotofsupport... ShanthaBiotechnics,whosestoryisnot very italof thecountry. Hebuiltalot of infrastruc- ment’s firstannouncement, the regulatory Botharesignificantscientificdiscoveries. the mid-1990s. They therewas alot of handholdingthrough the differentfromthatof BharatBiotech.LikeElla, turetoinviteglobal multinationals, and was approval to Covaxin without efficacy data BoththesevaccinesreinforcedIndia’sleader- startedout with low- process. Agood partofthe research hap- ShanthaBiotechnics founder KVaraprasad very encouraging to people wanting to start from Phase 3trials —thoughto beusedonly ship in developing aworld-class vaccine... hanging fruits,making penedintheUSaswellwiththesupportand Reddy wasborn in an agriculturalfamily, businesses in Hyderabad. in “clinical trial mode” —has brought the Typhoid fever wasaneglected tropicaldis- generic versions of ex- involvementofUSinstitutions.Butitwasstill studiedscience and engineering, worked in ItwasagainstthisbackgroundthatBharat companythat has largely worked in the ease.The success of our vaccine is atrue re- isting vaccines, and abigachievement.Thatkindof researchand aprivate company, went abroad forhigher Biotech wasset upin1996,withthefirstgoal backgroundunwanted attention. flectionof BharatBiotech’sabilityto develop slowlygainedconfi- development, and clinical research,had studies, and returnedtoset up asuccessful of producinganindigenous Hepatitis Bvac- The coronavirusvaccine is mostlikelyto novelvaccines and sustain long-term prod- dencetoproduce neverbeen done in India before,” says companyofhis own. He even has asimilar cine that wasevencheaperthan Shanvac-B. be manufactured at itsunit in Hyderabad, uctdevelopmentagainstinfectiousdiseases. world-class products. GagandeepKang,virologistandProfessorof storyofattending aconference where he is “ThiswasahugemilestoneasBharatbe- whichtoo is BSL-3 certified. The company “These companies were Microbiology at Christian Medical College, supposedtohaveheardsnideremarksabout came the firstcompanyinthe worldtopro- alsorecentlyboughtamanufacturingfacility What is next? innovative,but notre- Vellore, who wasone of the lead investiga- Indiaunableto developavaccineonitsown. duce acesium-free Hepatitis Bvaccine at an near Mumbai, whichwas letgobyanother We have severalvaccine programmes ally inventive,” is how tors of the clinicaltrials forthat vaccine. Shantha Biotechnics wasstartedin 1993 affordable price when amultinational was company. Anew manufacturing facility is underway, including the four Covid-19 vac- one scientistdescribed Rotavacwas notthe firstvaccine to be and is generallyacknowledgedasthe first selling that vaccine forRs1,400 per dose,” comingupinBhubaneswar to catertovol- cine developmentinitiatives. Furthermore, thesecompanies. made by Bharat Biotech.Shortlyafter that Indian biotechnology companywithareal Ellatold The SundayExpress in an interview. umes.Eventhe facilityinBengaluru can be we will continue our pursuit of identifying “Inventiveness requires partnership with the DBT wasinked,the R&D base. By 1996, it had delivereda TheTeluguDesamPartyadministration, converted quicklyfor humanvaccines. public health problems and work towards agood ecosystem that companywas able to shipout the firstbatch Hepatitis Bvaccine,Shanvac-B, helpedinno receptive to newideas,also welcomedElla Aretiredscientist fromaprominentgov- developingsafeandaffordablesolutions.We Indiastill lacks.Soitisto of vaccines it had ever developed—for smallmeasurebyIndia’s lenient patent reg- with open arms. Manybelieveitwas Ella ernmentlaboratory, who hasoccasionally want to target someofthe mostchallenging the credit of these com- Hepatitis B. It wasthe lastweek of 1999, be- ulations of the time whichonlyallowed who gave theidea of Genome ValleytoCM advisedElla, said he sees these facilities as diseases and deliversolutions to combat panies fordoing what tween Christmas and NewYear,that atruck process patentand notproductpatent.That Naidu. Atechnology park, it nowhouses national assets.“Even in private conversa- them. Our research laboratories have pro- theydid,”hesaid. loaded with HepatitisBvaccine vialsdrove meant that acompanycould manufacture morethan 100firms, research centres and tions, he is fond of saying thatheisdoingall ducedanimpressivesuccession of innova- outof arentedthree-storeyedbuildinginthe thesameproductby usingadifferentprocess manufacturingunits,mostofthemworking this forthe country,” he said. tive vaccinesand bio-therapeutics.

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 9 OPINION THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021

Across Fifth THEAISLE COLUMN Pandemic,vaccineandcontroversy TAVLEENSINGH Twitter@tavleen_singh

THE PANDEMIC seems to be on itsway pliedfor Emergency Use Approval (EUA) wasfor distribution-cum-Phase III clini- couple of days and promised to cooper- out, but notyet gone. The vaccine seems to theDrugs ControllerGeneral of India caltrials and the results—especially the ateand work together.That is theway to be on itsway in, but has notyet (DCGI), but did notappear to present its resultsonefficacy —willdetermine its frontlinecompanies, especiallyinre- reachedhouseholds. The one thing that case to theExpert Committeedespite further distribution and use. It is true that searchand development, should con- Thenew has remainedunmovedthroughout is three opportunities. My hunchisPfizer reputedscientists,virologists, microbiol- duct their affairs, with aright mixofpub- PCHIDAMBARAM controversy! is notkeen on marketing and distribut- ogists anddoctors have questionedthe lic good and private profit. As Iwritethis on January9,the num- ing itsvaccine in Indiabecause it hasas- speed(or haste)ingranting approval Indian Website:pchidambaram.in bers areagrim reminder of the havoc sumedthat, in India, itscostwill beunaf- even whenPhase III clinicaltrialsare un- Twitter@Pchidambaram_IN wrought by Covid-19. The number of in- fordable and the conditions of storagewill derway. Desperatesituations mayrequire REAL TEST BEGINS fections is 1,04,31,639(second place after notbemet.Since Pfizer’svaccine has desperateremedies.India’srequirement NOW WHATHAPPENED on Capitol Hill last the United States); the number of deaths been approvedby manycountries/regu- of vaccines (byvolume) is so hugethat week had aprofound effect across the is 1,50,798(thirdafter the US and Brazil); latorsand thedemand is highworldwide, neither the SII’s Covishield nor imports The real test begins now. Howwill the world. Leaders of other democratic coun- and the number of active cases is Pfizer mayhaveplacedIndia lowinits or- canmeetthe demand foraquicknation- government vaccinate thebulk of the 138 tries watchedinhorrorasdid political 2,24,190. With apopulation of 138crore, der of priority. wide roll-out. It is wise to encourageapo- crorepopulation?Hereare afew thoughts: commentators and even those with no in- we can count ourselveslucky but cer- The second is Oxford-AstraZeneca’s, tential candidate(alifesaver)tocomplete ■ Theremustbeanorder of priority terest in politics. Personally, Ifound my- tainlynot ashining example of pandemic that is being manufactured under ali- the testing process quicklyand also to and no breaches of that order should be self really impressedwithhow America’s controland management. cence by theSerumInstituteofIndia (SII). keep ready avaccineasaback-up for permitted under anycircumstances. judges, electionofficials and itsmedia Thereare six approved vaccinesinthe We can be proudthatanIndian research- emergency use. My personal viewisthat ■ The vaccine mustbeadministered have stood up againstDonald Trump’s world. We knowlittle about the Russian cum-manufacturing companyhas qual- we shouldbecharitable to theDCGIand free of costingovernment hospitals and bullying and his lies. It wasthis that and Chinese vaccines although theyare ifiedtotest, manufactureand distribute thegovernment. vaccination centres.Levying acharge will causedmetotweet that ‘America may We should collectively hope being distributed and administeredex- avaccine under the name Covishield. Thereisnoevidence that Covaxin is encouragepeople to cut cornersand, look reallybad at the moment but let’s re- that Covaxin will complete tensively in therespective countries. As The thirdisModerna’s. It has notyet harmful.The trials,sofar,havequalified consequently, lead to corruption. memberthat itsdemocracy justpassed farasIknow, no otheracknowledged, appliedinIndia forapproval. the vaccine on immunogenicity and ■ When suppliesimprove,private itshardesttestand won. Would we be Phase III clinical trials by the long-standing regulator has approved for safety. No adverse reports on efficacy hospitals should be brought intothe roll- able to saythe same in India about ourin- end of Januaryand the use the Russian or Chinesevaccine. NEEDLESS have been received. We should collec- out. If theywish to buy the vaccine and stitutions if put through suchatest?’. results will be evaluated by tively hope that Covaxin will complete charge theircustomers, the government In the ‘newIndia’ that the Prime March. Thereafter,wecan CONTROVERSY Phase III clinical trials by the end of should fixthe price and letthose who can Minister boasts of havingcreated,this FOUR VACCINES, Januaryand the resultswill be evaluated afford to pay, payfor the vaccination. tweetwas seenasanti-national and it accelerate the roll-out with GREAT OPPORTUNITY The fourth is Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. by March.Thereafter, we can accelerate ■ Justaswehaveallowedexportof causedthe BJP trollarmytoorder me to twovaccines —wemay also While the companymay have drawnon the roll-outwith twovaccines —wemay India-madevaccines, we should also al- ‘leave India’.Iamroutinelyattackedon export reasonable quantities That leavesfour. The firstisPfizer’s, the work andknowledge of foreign re- also exportreasonable quantities to de- lowimportofapproved vaccines. social media, but this is the firsttime that to developing countries — approvedby the US FDAwhich, in the sci- searchersand scientists,Covaxin is a100 veloping countries —and acquireaplace Protectionism is adiscredited theoryin Ihavebeen told that Ihavenoright to live entific worldand among the medical pro- per cent Indian product. It is aproud mo- among nations that were able to re- worldtrade and has certainlynoplace in India. It would notmatter if the vicious, and acquire aplace among fession, is the gold standard. The vaccine’s ment forIndia. The vaccine’s approval search,find, manufacture, distributeand when the worldisfacing apandemic. venomous tweets that filledmytimeline nations that were able to immunogenicity,safetyand efficacy have wasmired in an unnecessarycontro- use avaccine in 12 months. ■ We must be prepared to face un- came from ordinarytwitterers. It matters research, find,manufacture, been proven in the mandatorythree versy.The DCGI andthe government’s Therewas, Isuspect,atingeofbusi- known consequences. We must keep because theycame from people whose distribute and use avaccine phases of the trials.The drawbackisthe spokespersons (especially Dr VKPauland ness between the SII and Bharat Biotech. faith in our scientists andresearchers to handles proclaim their pride in being fol- conditions of storage(-70degrees C) and Dr BalramBhargava)should have,atthe Happily, both Mr Adar Poonawalla and find solutions. Ultimately, science will lowedbyNarendraModi.This has in- in 12 months costinIndia (undetermined). Pfizer ap- outset,made it clear that Covaxin’s EUA Mr Krishna Ella buried thehatchetina triumph. spired me to draw foryou aportrait of the ‘newIndian’ who constitutes the base of today’s BJP,whichisasheavilystamped in Modi’s imageasthe Republican Party came to be stampedinthe imageof Donald Trump. Chandrabhagabai, my history Shantiniketan: Making The mostdistinctive featureofthe ‘newIndian’ is that he believesthat criti- HEADLINE cism of the Modi government amountsto grandma and guide AMITAVACHAKRABORTY an attackonIndia. Theymakethis clear of auniversitytown everytime theytweet their supportofthe man theyconsider ‘the best prime minis- subordinatetoaslightlyeducated,higher terIndia has ever had’. Theyhope he con- authority.Myaai’s storyisemblematic of tinues to rule long after2024and that he the livesofthe elderly Dalit generation. IT WASin1863 that Maharshi Debendra- then appointsYogi Adityanath as his suc- Dalitality Our familyisunsureofthe year of nath Thakur,the father of Rabindranath cessor.Inthe eyes of manyModi support- Chandrabhagabai’s birth, letalone dateor Tagore,purchased20bighas of land at ers,Yogi is already moreofaleader than SURAJYENGDE month.The closestguess is 1940, if as- Bhubandanga in Bengal’sBirbhumprovin- he is because he is a‘stronger’ Hindu.This Twitter@Surajyengde sessedthrough herchildren’sages.Shewas ce.Overthenextfewyears,hebuilttherean leads me to thesecond defining featureof born to afamilyoflandless labourers, ashram calledShantiniketan (the abode of these newIndians. Hanumante. She wasdisciplinedintothe peace), whereanyone, irrespective of caste TheyhateMuslims, Islam and caste codes early on.“We were taught not and creed, couldmeditateabout the form- Pakistan. So, theyare delighted that Yogi THISYEARstartedwithgrief forme.Having to touchthe food and waterpotsofthe less supreme god, acentral tenetofthe has brought his ‘love jihad’ lawand that justbid farewell to what wasthe mostdif- higher castes”, grandma reminisced. “We Brahmo Samajideology that he followed. this has inspired other BJPchief ministers ficult year forall, Iwantedtolook at 2021 were nevergivenwaterwithrespect.They In 1901,Tagorewould setuponthis to followhis lead. Theygloat everytime withoptimism. However, it lastedonlya would pour the waterfromtop.”Grandma land the Shantiniketan Brahmacharya that aMuslim is dragged offtoapolicesta- shortwhile. My grandmother worked as achild labourer in the fields of Ashram, with five students. These included tion in Uttar Pradesh formarrying aHindu Chandrabhagabai, the common thread of Maratha landowners.Her familywould hiseldestson Rathindranath Thakur and woman. Theydonot see this lawasde- ourfamily, passedaway onJanuary4at9.15 make25paise per dayduring the harvest KhitimohanSen,the maternal grandfather priving women of their right to choose pm in Nanded. She wassuffering from season. She neverwent to school. of NobellaureateAmartyaSen, who now whomtheyloveand marry because they asthmafor the pastquartercentury, bat- Chandrabhagabai wasolder than her finds himself in adisputeoverownership think of women as property.ABajrang Dal tling exhaustion and difficulty breathing. twobrothersand younger than her sister, of land there. activistclarifiedthis bluntlylastweek The dayshe leftus, she suffered alot. and likemanysisters she virtuallybrought In the years that followed, the ashram when he told areporterthat ‘rescued’ Mybrotherandunclewhoseturnitwas her brothersup. Along with her husband, area would grow manifold, with 1921 see- Hindu women aremarriedoff immedi- thatnight to attend to her sent me aphoto the handsome mill worker comrade who ingthe setting up of Visva-Bharati, forthe atelyto‘one of our men’. of grandmafromthe ICU ward.She wasly- toiledinthe UsmanShahi MillinNanded, studyofdifferent cultures,onitspremises. Aviewofthe area around Shantiniketan in the 1930s. Courtesy:RabindraBhavana Rage againstMuslims is so important ing on atorn,nylon government hospital she livedonthe peripheries of semi-urban Shantiniketan would graduallybecome a to the newIndians thatjusticeand the rule bed with no sheets.The sightbroke me. I lifeinaghettoofDalitlabourers.Thecouple university town,drawing illustrious alumni of lawdonot matter.AMuslim man sell- wasimmediately drawnintodepression. had amakeshiftroom without adoor. from IndiraGandhi to Maharani Gayatri Barnali Ghoshdastidar,who wasborn be held. While the official reason was ing shoes on aBulandshahr pavement Beforegoing to hospital, she hugged Chandrabhagabai had three boys and Devi, and getthe formal stampofacentral and educated in Shantiniketan and is rela- Covid-19, in the heatedpolitical battlefield wasarrestedlastweek because he sold my mother and wailed, and asked her to worked odd jobs to raise her family. She university in 1951. tedtotheSinhafamilyofBirbhumthatow- of West Bengal ahead of the Assemblyelec- shoes with ‘Thakur’ written on their soles. take care of us —her grandchildren. My worked in farms, in ashoefactory, as cook “Tagorewantedscholars and promi- nedthe land whichTagore’sfather bought, tion, settobeabitter contestbetween the This hurtthe ‘religious sentiments’ of the dad passedawaysix years ago; my in ahostelfor Dalit students. She did it for nentpeopletoreside in Shantiniketan to says,“Duringmy childhood,therewereonly ruling Trinamooland the BJP,boththat and Bajrang Dalactivistwho had him arrested. grandma wascrestfallen to see her eldest her children. Povertywas an inheritance spread his ideology.The process of giving fewboundarywalls.For Gurudev (Tagore), the land roware seen to be motivated. New Indians areverythin-skinnedand son —‘baba’ as she fondlyaddressedhim forher but aai nevercompromisedon houses or leasing out land wasstarted by education wastobeimpartedinharmony On December 24,Visva-Bharati wrote areeasilyhurt. Theyare alsoconspiracy —pass away in front of her eyes. wearing aclean sari (lugda). Her beauty him through the Shantiniketan Ashramic with nature.” Ghoshdastidarisaprofessor to theWestBengal government alleging theoristswho see international plots to Aweek ago, my sistertold me that aai’s wasunsurmountable. Yet, sheremaineda Trust. However, it wasinformal in nature. at NarasinhaDutt College in Howrah. that 77 plots of land on the Shantiniketan defame Hindus around everycorner. health wasserious. Iimmediatelymade a victim of toxic patriarchy in whichevery Theformal leasing of land wasstarted by As Tagore’s fame spread, with his writ- premises overthe years had beenwrongly When it comes to conspiracy theories, videocallto her.Herfacewasswollenbutat Indian girlismarriedinto. Visva-Bharati in 1948 andcontinueduntil ings winning him the NobelPrize forLite- recordedinthe name of private parties. theycompete with Trump’s supporters. leastshe couldstare intothe screen and Chandrabhagabai came from acom- the 1960s,” says DhrubajyotiNandi, an raturein1913,Shantiniketan drew scholars One of the parties namedwas Amartya If Trump’s supporters blame Antifafor communicate with my cousin’s help. Aai munityofgreatpeopleyetthelowest-class author basedinShantiniketan. and prominent personalities from across Sen, acritic of the BJP government whose having conspired to ‘steal’ the election had losther abilitytohearafew yearsago. outcastes,whodaredto dreambiggerthan In TowardsTagore,acollectionofessays, the world,whocameboth to teachand ex- familyhome Pratichi continuestobe from Trump, Modi’ssupporters areas Chandrabhagabai’s children calledher their immediatereach, time and life. For Abhijit Sen, aprofessor at Visva-Bharati perience the ashramlife. “He turnedShan- located on the university campus. Sen has convincedthat ‘Leftists,libtards, and aai and the tradition continued with her Dalits,ourancestorsareourgods.Itisupon University,says the poet wantedto provide tiniketan intoacosmopolitan university said the long-term lease of the land is Lootyens’ arebehind everyattempt to crit- grandchildren. Her ears grew accustomed their livesthatwebuild on further. Aai has an alternative to the colonial styleofedu- town. Renownedscholars visited Visva- “nowherenear itsexpiry”. Chief Minister iciseModi’sgovernmentand his policies. to the melodyofthree boys addressing joinedthe pantheon of our ancestors to cation through the ashram.“While he Bharati regularly.Hewould oftenlease land MamataBanerjee has accusedthe BJP of In their book everyone who disagrees her as aai and laternine grandchildren guide us and act as an example of faith, tol- (Rabindranath) had notentirelyshedhis to theminShantiniketansothat theycould “levellingbaseless allegations”, and writ- with them is anti-national. In their enthu- adding chorus to that tune. Aai livedasat- erance, integrity,and tightlove. regard forthe ‘Great English’..., he wasalso help him develop the ashram,” says Moni- tentoSen in solidarity, underlininghis fam- siasm to paintprotesting farmers with the isfactorylife. She wasaboutfour feet tall To thosewholosttheirlovedonesinthe caught up by the waveofnationalist/anti- sha Bannerjee, an alumna of Visva-Bharati. ily’s “deep bond with Shantiniketan”. same ‘anti-national’ brush usedtopaint and whenwehugged her,wehad to bend recent past, Imourn with you. Our losses colonialistideology,” Sen writes. Tagore alsomade the celebration of the Professor Ghoshdastidarsees the row protesters againstthe Citizenship to allowher enoughspace to expandher areirreplaceable, but we should always Tagore’slove fornatureshapedthe way annual Poush Mela,startedby his fatherin as aproduct of the political tussleinthe (Amendment) Act(CAA), theywent too arms likeagiant eagle and take us intoher. think about the good momentswehad teachingwas doneatthe ashram-school, 1894,atradition. The fair is held overthree state. “Gurudev always visualised Visva- far. So, theywerecurbed andmade to Once in, youfelt the safest. withthe departedsouls. Afterall, what re- as he himself underlinedinanessay My days in December,concluding with Christo Bharati to be afamily. What we arewit- changetheirtune. Ialwayswondered howshe felt when mainsismemory.Weshouldacknowledge School publishedin1913. “I believe that Utsab (celebration of Christ) on December nessing in Shantiniketan is an uglyfight ‘New Indians’ existnot justonsocial she sawus, her grandchildren, who had the fundamentaltruth of life —death. We children should be surroundedwiththe 26. Says sculptorand painterAsis Ghosh, between ideologies. This is notaproblem media but in real life. Theycan nowbe grownintolargersize beings. Seeing me at should learn to embrace death that guides things of nature,whichhavetheir own who has worked in Shantiniketan for of land encroachment. And if land owner- found in the drawing rooms of Lutyens anoticeable height, she begantoaddress the Buddha’s enlightenment. educational value... But what happens in nearly four decades, “The Mela wasanas- shipis theprincipal issue,theMaharshidid Delhi, in think tanksofrepute, on univer- me as “saheb”. Earlier,she calledme My grandma wasborn an untouchable school is, that everyday,atthe same hour, similationground forcultures.Bauls, Sufis, notacquiretheamount of landthatthein- sity campuses and in foreign cities. During “balla”. She would also address me with but she diedaBuddhist. the same book is brought and poured out Santhals, all came together.Thishelped stitution ownedeveninits early days (the the protests againstthe newcitizenship honorifics suchas“tumhi”or“aap”in forhim,” he wrote. Classes at Visva-Bharati tribal artisans getthe opportunity to pro- land deals mostlybeing informal). Would law, IhappenedtobeinNew York in ataxi Hindi. This came to her naturallyassome- SurajYengde, author of Caste Matters, continue to be held in the open on the mote their products.” youthen call Debendranath Thakur and drivenbyaGujarati who had livedinthe one who had growntogenuflect or act as curates thefortnightly ‘Dalitality’ column campus, in line with that spirit. Lastmonth, the Poush Mela couldnot Rabindranath Thakur to court?” United States formorethan 20 years. When he discoveredthat Iwas an Indian from India, he launchedintoatirade against‘these JNU types’ who areprotest- ing againstthe man he sawasthe ‘saviour of India’. Theyshould be shot, he said at On the the end of his tirade, theyshould be shot Leaving room forthe important things because it is the onlyway that India LOOSE will progress. This point is made oftenthese days by LEHERKALA possible that outofthis chaos will emerge ing arrayofcuisines. Notonlyisthe sight of belongingwithaspiration,andtrytofillthe sitions is as radical an idea nowasitwas Modi’s moreviolent supporters. They [email protected] averydifferent, even abetterworld? so muchfood aestheticallydispleasing, of- void by copying our peers. It took amyste- then.There is reasontohopethat ayear of makeitclear that thereisnoroomin Astheweddingindustryreelsfromthis ten, the aromas of Chinese, Italian and riousvirustothinkaboutalltheseperceived livingintentionally—withamask,maintain- Indiafor people who do notsharetheir disastrousyear,I’mreluctantto criticisethat Indian spices collide, creating asensory needs: really, must fashion changeevery ingdistance—hasbecomeahabitthatmay point of view. Dissent of anykind is for LAST YEAR,pre-Covid,Iattendedawedding statisticallytinynumberof Indianswhofeel overload forguests.Surely, there aremore season?So, it would be areal pityifthe ex- transcend Covid, and spill over intoother them exactlythe same as sedition and so extravagantlygrand that Inever ended compelledtoinviteathousand people and imaginative(and subtle)waystoshowoff. perienceof2020,of terrorandenforcedfru- aspects of life. theysee it everywhere. In performances up meeting the host. Lost between tonnes organise the CirqueduSoleilfor entertain- It’struethatmoreandmore,identityis- gality,has no lasting impact. At the beginning of thelockdown, a by Muslim comedians, in Bollywood of importedflowers and aglitteringsea of ment. The pressure to live thedream must n’t definedbywhat one is, but by whatone Through the ages, the wisest souls to friendcomplainedbitterly aboutcancelling films,inthe media and in ‘liberal’ humanity,Icommentedonher Instagram be intense when you’rethe Richie Rich spends or owns. The Covid year has made have inhabited earth have propagated a his son’s meticulouslyplannedwedding. Westernnewspapers who theybelieve postlaterto markmypresence.Itseemsal- amongyourcontemporaries.Besides,what people question these absurdities we nor- simplelifeasaroutetocontentment.Great Afterdecadesof handingoutenvelopes,he existfor the specific purpose of defam- mostincredibleto thinkthatwasamere12 good is their wealth doing forthe rest of us malisedtrying to fitintoasocietalideal. sages likeRamanaMaharishi and Jiddu felt cheated he wouldn’t be collecting any. ing Hindus and India. If yourun intoone months agowhensuperfluities and blithe if it’ssitting unusedinbanks or tiedupin Otherwise, ourlives go by in afog of auto- Krishnamurti, cladpermanentlyinwhite But he soundedelated whenIcalled to say of these ‘newIndians’, remember that it wastage,not to mention ahumungous trustfunds? Farbettertheyspend lavishly, mated behaviour and all the little stresses cotton, were practitioners of minimalism congratulations,afterhis10-guest celebra- is useless getting intoany sortofdiscus- guestlist, were entirelyacceptable. If one and have some of it trickle down to the that pile up in the business of existence. before thetermexisted.Theyknewthatthe tion recently. Human beings adapt, that’s sionwith them.Itwilltakeyou nowhere. mustlook forthe proverbial silverliningin weaver toiling in obscurity in Benaras, or Actually, ourreal problems run much things we ownend up owningusinstead. whytheycanlive likeBedouinsinthedesert This is because the other thing that de- thecoronacloud,it’sthatthepandemichas the sunar in Surat. What is offensive,how- deeper than inflation and recession. Likea “Mygreatestskillhas been to want but lit- and Eskimos in the Arctic Circle. It’s been a fines them is certainty of suchanextreme madeastrongcaseforscalingdown.Social ever,isthe stupidity on displaybythe 1per lackofmeaningful connectionsand loneli- tle,”observedHenryDavidThoreauin1855, weirdyearalright,yet,somehave madethe kind that thereisnot the smallestchink isolation has brought difficult questionsto cent whichhas unfortunatelyinfluenced ness,oravaguesenseof dissatisfactionthat in the earliestcritique of consumption cul- wonderful discovery that alifestripped through whichthe smallestdoubt can the fore that in good times, we so easily therest of India.Theyset thebarandnowno despitehavingeverything,lifehasn’tturned ture, Walden.Itspeaks volumes about hu- downto bareessentialsisultimatelyfreeing. find itsway.Havethese newIndians avoid: howdowereallywant to live?Isit wedding is complete without abewilder- out as we wished. We replace adesirefor manity that150 years later,limiting acqui- Thewriter is director,HutkayFilms made India better? Youjudge.

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021 10 EXPRESS NETWORK

BRIEFLY BHANDARA HOSPITAL FIRE Pregnant, teen

ANDHRA PRADESH Panchayatpolls Securityguards,ambulancedrivers, rape victim dies of tobeheldfrom septicemia: UP cops February5 hospitalstaffhelpedrescue7babies Bareillydistrict hospital, Subodh Hyderabad: Panchayat EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Sharma, said, “It wasacase of polls in Andhra Pradesh LUCKNOW,JANUARY9 septicemia.Her kidney, liver, willbeheld in four phases were waiting outside the door. guard Iand went up, Isaw the fire lungs and other parts of the body —February 5, 9, 13 and 17 TABASSUM Theyrusheddownwith the ba- in the ward.IrealisedIcan't go A17-YEAR-OLD mentallychal- were found to be affected. —the stateelection com- BARNAGARWALA bies.Othersalsopickedbabiesand alone…soIrushedbacktocallfor lenged girl, who wasseven- During treatment, the woman mission said on Saturday MUMBAI,JANUARY9 handedthemover,”saidDahekar. help.WhenIreturnedtotheward, monthpregnant afterbeing al- and her babydied.” amid objections of the HesaidFireBrigadeofficialsput the entirewardwas filledwith legedly rapedbyher neighbour, The police officersaid the stategovernment over TWOSECURITYguards, ahospi- up aladder till the firstfloor,broke smoke,” he said. died of septicemia at ahospital girl’s pregnancy wasaresult of the conduct of the elec- talhelper and twoambulance the glass window, andfew fire of- Repade said the Fire Brigade in Bareillydistrict on Friday. “sexual assault”. tions due to theCovid-19 drivers rushedintorescue the ficials rushedtothe SNCU section, wasabletoreachwithin 15 min- The post-mortemreport According to police, in pandemic. Chief sevennewborns trappedinthe wherethesmokewasthethickest, utes and break the windows on stated septicemia to be the cause December lastyear,the girl’s fa- SecretaryAdityanath Das fire at the BhandaraCivil Hospital to douse the fire and checkifany thefirstfloor.“Oncethewindows of death. ther took her to the hospital after had already metstate in the early hours of Saturday, af- newborn wasleftbehind. Afew were broken,ithelpedthesmoke Her viscerahas been pre- she started vomiting frequently. election commissioner N terFireBrigade officials broke Gaurav Repade,Rajkumar Kishanji Dahekar people accompaniedthe security comeout,andvisibilityimproved served forfurther examinations, The doctors confirmedher Ramesh Kumar and glass windows of the Sick personnelandhelper intothesec- to some extent. So, we went said apolice officer. pregnancy. The girlthen told her asked theelection au- Newborn CareUnit (SNCU). Only tionwheresevenbabieslayintheir throughthewindowandthenvia The girlfell unconscious on father that the accusedallegedly thoritytopostpone the sevenofthe 17 babies survived. Kishanji Dahekar (37) wasat firstfloorand smashedthe win- cots.Asenior doctor fromthe hos- abackdoorintotheward,”hesays. Thursday, following whichshe sexuallyabusedher in the field, elections by 2-3 months. District Civil Surgeon Dr home when he receivedacall dows.Afewofusvolunteered to pital said staffwereable to direct “Wetriedhardtoenter the wastaken to anearbyhealth theysaid, adding that her However, Kumar rejected PramodKhandatesaidtherescue about the fire.“Ilivecloseby. I go inside,” said Dahekar. theFireBrigadetowardswherethe sectionwhere10babieswere kept centre. Doctors then referred her mother is also mentallychal- the government’s appeal. of sevenchildrenwasajointeffort thought an ambulance might be Twohospital security guards babies’ cots were located. separately. But it wasimpossible to ahospital in the district. lenged. In March lastyear,Kumar by hospital staffand Fire Brigade. required to transportpatients, so and twoambulancedrivers,in- Dahekar later sawthatsome forustobreathe. Mostofthe ba- “The girlwas notinagood Police said that on December had postponedlocal body “All sevenbabies arestable. For Irushed there,”said Dahekar. cluding Dahekar,and ahospital babieshadsustainedburninjuries bies...diedbecauseof suffocation,” condition and wasunconscious 4, the girl’s father got an FIR elections in the statecit- now, we have kept them in asep- When he reachedthe hospi- helperwentuptheladderanden- in the other section.“Twobabies Repade said. whenshe wasbrought to the lodged againstthe accused on ing Covid-19protocol arateward,”hesaid. tal, he sawpeople, includingsev- teredthe ward throughthe win- sufferedbad burn injuries. But Whileambulance driver hospital. As her conditionkept chargesofrapeand under causing arow with the Khandateadded, “Someba- eral staffers,rushing out. Thick dows.Theyfound sevenchildren therewas nothing we could do, Dahekar said therewas only one deteriorating, we referred her to Protection of Children from stategovernment. ENS bies in the outborn section were blacksmokebillowedout of the incotsinonesection,wherethere theyhad diedbythen,” he said. nurseandhelperintheward,dis- the district hospital,” said Dr Alka Sexual Offences Act. takenoutby thenursesbefore the firstfloor.“There wasnoway we waslesssmoke. SecurityguardGauravRepade trict authorities have said there Sharma, Chief Medical Theaccusedwas arrested af- UTTAR PRADESH Fire Brigadecame,buttheyallsuc- could go inside the ward at that “Ipickedthreebabiesfromthe saidhewasnearthehospitalgate were twonurses, ahelper and a Superintendent, the district tertwo days. cumbed to injurieslater." point. When the Fire Brigade ar- cotwithallmachinesbeeping,and when he receivedthe alert, at doctorpostedinSNCUatthetime women hospital. On January3,police filedthe Triplemurderon Ambulance driverRajkumar rived, theyput up aladder till the handedthem to thenurses who around 1.40 am. “When another of the incident. Additional director and chargesheet againstthe accused highway,teams Superintendent-in-chief, who is currentlylodged in jail. formedtoprobe Man held for ‘tearing’ Lucknow: Bodies of atruck Juvenile Board clears boy driver, hishelper and one Gutka Sahib, dumping morepersonwererecov- of rape charge, says he ered from the Lucknow- Gorakhpur highway un- pages outside home der Chhawani police he did this act. He tore thepages was less than 7years old station area of Basti dis- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE and threw them outside his trict on Saturdaymorn- LUDHIANA,JANUARY9 house. Though he also had ami- The boy’s father worksasa ing. While the body of the norspat with his parentsfollow- MANISHSAHU labourer. helperwas foundnear a POLICE ARRESTED aman foral- ing whichhis sisterintervened LUCKNOW,JANUARY9 WhileIPC Section 82 states roadside eateryonthe legedly tearing the pages of holy and took the parentswith her,he that nothing is an offence which highway,the othertwo text Gutka Sahib and dumping says the fight with parentswas- THE Juvenile Justice Board(JJB) is done by achild under seven bodieswerefound inside them outside his home in Marr n’t anyreason forprovocation. of Aligarhhas ordered the dis- years of age, and section 83 deals atruckparkedaround2 Colony of LudhianaSaturday. He usedtofight with his parents charge of aminorboy booked on with the act of achildabove km from that spot,police Police said that the man, and wifeoften. The reason for rape charge lastOctober last sevenand under 12 of immature said. Police suspect that identifiedasBalwinder Singh whyhecommitted this act is still year,saying thathis agewas be- understanding. one of them wasstran- (36), wasa‘drugaddict’ and used unclear,” the SHO said. lowseven years. “The CMO in itsreport stated gledtodeath, while the to ‘quarrelwith his familyoften’. The accused is astreetven- The boywas booked foral- that the boy's agewas six years other twowerekilled us- The torn pages found outside dor and sells clothes on ahand- legedly raping asix-year-old girl. and11months. Considering the ing asharp-edged hishome were handedoverto cart. The SHO said that the Gutka “Afterthe casewas lodged, age, the Boarddisposedofthe weapon. Severalpolice the nearbygurdwaraand an FIR Sahib waspresent inside the we movedthe JJ Boardand ob- case,” the lawyer said, adding teams have been formed wasregisteredagainsthim. homeofthe accusedand he did tainedinterim bail of the boy. that police had notfileda in thedistrict to solve the Inspector Pavittar Singh, notsteal it from anygurdwara. We then movedanapplication chargesheetinthe case. case. “The reasonbehind SHO of Daba policestation, said “He is aSikh but notturbaned,” BSF HANDS OVER 6PAK YOUTHS before theBoardpraying to ac- According to the local SHO, the killing is yettobe thatinformation wasreceived the SHO said. quit the boyonthe ground that an FIR againstthe boywas identifiedasthe accused around 8amonSaturdaythat An FIR under Section 295A BSF personnel with PakistanRangers before handing over six Pakistani youths, who had is belowseven years of age... In lodged on October 12 by the leftthe truck, money and pages of the holytextwere (deliberateand maliciousacts, “inadvertentlycrossedover” to theIndian side from along the international border in the application,sections 82 girl’sfather.Inhis complaint, mobile phones,” found torn outside the house of intendedtooutrage religious Punjab, in Attari on Saturday. Aprotestwas lodged with the Pakistan Rangers over the and 83 of the IPC stating that he had alleged that his daugh- Superintendent of Police the accused. feelings of anyclass by insulting incident,the border guarding forcesaid. The six youths, in the agegroup of 14-25 years and boyhas immatureunderstand- terwas playing outside the (Basti) HemrajMeena “During interrogation, he re- itsreligion or religious beliefs) of residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwaprovince, were nabbed by aBSF patrol from near the Pul ing were referred.Since the house and when she entered said. ENS vealedthathewas under the in- the IPC wasregistered at Daba Moran border postinAmritsar around 5pmonFriday. PTI boyhas no educational certifi- herneighbour’s house to re- fluence of drugsand liquor when police station. catetoprove his ageand is il- trieve her ball, the boycaught literate, so we requestedthe her and sexuallyassaulted boardtodirect the Chief her. ‘FAKE’ DEGREE PROBE IN BIHAR Medical Officer (CMO) of The boywas booked forrape Badaun rape-murder Aligarhtodetermine his age and under Protection of Children and submit itsreport,” said the from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case: two cops booked For 53,000 Bihar contract teachers, boy’slawyer. Actbasedonthe complaint. for dereliction of duty ‘last chance’ to prove degrees real One moredies Devagudis in “Duringourenquirywefound EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE that therewereomissionsonpart in Bulandshahr all Narayanpur NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 of thepolicemen.Therewas delay But with the High Court’s will be their lastchance to prove vide details to the court. Even in filing of the FIR. When it comes SANTOSHSINGH deadline, January12, approach- theirdegreesorelsetheycanlose though education degrees of spurious liquor panchayats: TWOBADAUNpolice personnel to crimesinvolvingwomen, there PATNA,JANUARY9 ing, aVIB source said,“As there their jobs,” said the official. over 1.10 lakh teachersare not have been booked foralleged arecertain duties that needtobe has been little headway in get- Till lastmonth, the Education scrutinised, theycontinue to dereliction of duty in the case of carried... therewas time elapsed THE BIHAR government will soon ting degreesofall the teachers Department had failedtoprovide serveand gettheir salaries. Let case, toll six CM Baghel a50-year-old woman's gangrape before all the formalities could ask 53,000 teachers to provethe despitecombinedefforts of the details on the degrees of 1,10,410 us see if thesefolders canbesub- and murder.The woman wasal- take place,” said Badaun (Rural) authenticity of their education bureauand the Education teachers of atotal of 3,52,818 mitted to the HC by January12.” AMITSHARMA GARGIVERMA legedly gang rapedbythree SP Siddhartha Verma. degrees againstwhichtheyse- Department, we have nowde- teachersappointed on contract On August26, 2019,adivi- MEERUT,JANUARY9 RAIPUR,JANUARY9 men, including apriest, in a The woman’s familyhad al- cured contractjobs between cidedtoput the onus on teach- basis in the firstphase of teach- sion benchofJustices Shivaji Badaun temple, and later suc- leged that therewas adelayof 2007 and 2015,accordingtogov- erstoprove their degrees.” ers’ appointmentafter 2007. Pandeyand Partha Sarthyhad WITH THE death of a45-year- ON HIS firstvisittoNarayanpur cumbed to her injuries. nearly 18 hoursbefore theFIRwas ernment sources. Earlier,district education of- Senior CounselDinuKumar said, “Letvigilance file adetailed old man Saturday, the toll in the districtasthe ChhattisgarhChief The FIR wasfiledagainstthe filed.Accordingto police,initially, The degrees of morethan ficers had been asked to collect told TheSundayExpress,“The HC counter affidavit, bring on record Bulandshahr spurious liquor Minister, Bhupesh Baghel on concernedpolice station’s SHO no written complaint had been 1.10 lakh teachers have been un- degree folders of the teachers in in itsorder on January31this what perioditwould take to episode has gone up to six. The Saturdayannounced Rs 9lakh and postin-charge forallegedly givenbythefamily. Thefamilyhad der scrutinyofthe Vigilance question. year has quotedthe figures of conclude the investigation and police, meanwhile, arrested two eachfor construction and devel- notperforming duties following alsoallegedthat the timely inter- Investigation Bureau(VIB) since An education department of- pendency of teachers’folders. identify the teacherswho are peopleonSaturdaymorningand opment of devagudis —sacred the crime. Theywereearlier sus- ventionof policecouldhave saved 2014 afteraPatna High Court ficialsaidmorethan53,000teach- We wonder whythe Education still continuingonthe basis of conducted large-scale raids groves in tribal villages—in all pendedoverthe allegation. the woman’s life. direction. ers will soon be issuednotices. “It Departmentisnot able to pro- fake certificates.” across the district to trackdown 104grampanchayats in the dis- the illicit liquor,branded‘Miss trict, besides inaugurating devel- India’. opment projectsworth over PM TO HEAD 85-MEMBERCOMMITTEE The police said that of around Rs 84 crore. adozenpeople who were taken ScheduledTribes makeup Amid BJP-TMC contest over Bengali icons, Centre ill afterconsuming the liquor, formorethan 70 per cent of the five arestatedtobecritical. district’s population. Baghel’s The deceasedperson, visit comes in the wake of Bhagwat, wasaresident of protests by tribals in the forms panel to plan Netaji anniversary celebrations Jeetgarhi village. He wasreferred Maoist-affected districtover tothe Meerut medical college on demands to stop mining activ- Fridayeveningafter his condi- ity and shut down policecamps musician ARRahman, cricketer Murmu and Jyotirmay Singh projecttheNehru-Gandhifamily. disappearance be made public. TheSunday Express,“TheMinistry tion deteriorated.“He showed near areas wheremining is tak- DIVYAA&LIZMATHEW Sourav Ganguly, and Medanta Mahato. With an overwhelming ItisnowinacontestwiththeTMC The Centrehad announced of Culturehas plannedseveral ac- signs of improvement Friday ing place. NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 chairman Ravi Kasliwal. presenceof BJPleaders,italsohas to appropriatethe legacies of theconstitutionof thispanelmore tivities to mark this momentous night but startedvomiting again Addressing agathering on Raghvendra Singh, Secretary RajyaSabha members Swapan Bengali icons ahead of the than twoweeksago,initially occasion.EvenasKolkatawillbea sinceearly Saturdaymorning.He Saturday, Baghel said the gov- THE CENTREonSaturday an- (Culture), is the convenorofthe Dasgupta and Rajeev Assemblypolls in the state, with plannedtobeheadedbyUnion startingpoint on January 23,the diedlater.The body has been ernment is devoted to conserv- nouncedahigh-levelcommittee, panel. Chief Ministers Naveen Chandrasekhar.Suvendu the BJP-ledCentre and TMC-led Home MinisterAmit Shah. But year-longcelebrationswillspread handedovertoapolice team ing and promotingtribal cus- headedbyPrimeMinister Patnaik (Odisha), Neiphui Rio Adhikari, who resignedasTMC West Bengalgovernment vying sourcessaythedelayinitsforma- across the entirecountry.” from Bulandshahr,” said toms and traditions. “All 104 NarendraModi, to plan andde- (Nagaland), Biren Singh MLAtojointhe BJP,isalsoin- with eachother to mark Netaji’s tion happenedasthe BJPleader- Patelhas already chaired a Akhilesh Mohan, Meerut's Chief gram panchayats in the district cide on activities to commemo- (Manipur), Zoramthanga ( cluded. anniversaryinagrand way. ship has been busy tackling the meetingwithseniorofficialsfrom Medical Officer. will have well developedde- rate the 125th birth anniversary Mizoram), Biplab Kumar Deb WhiletherulingTMCinBengal Detailing the TMC govern- farmerprotestsand planning the theministry, besidesfamilymem- The main accusedinthis vagudis. Work of Rs 9lakh each celebrations of Netaji Subhas (Tripura) and Conrad Sangma is represented by Sudip ment’s plans, MamataBanerjee rollout of the Covid-19vaccine. bersof Boseandasectionof histo- case, Kuldeep, wasarrestedin would begin soon,” he said. Chandra Bose,startingJanuary23. (Meghalaya) arealsoincluded. Bandhyopadhyay, apartfromChief hadannouncedsettingupofana- As per the Ministry’s state- rians and Armyveterans. As per Delhi on Fridaynight. “Wear- The Chief Ministeralso an- The 85-member committee, With the BJP preparing fora Minister MamataBanerjee, tional university in Bose’s name, ment, the committee willlend the deliberations,the Bose mu- rested tenpersons so far... On in- nounced100 ghotuls, or com- whichhas as manyas10central tough battle in theupcoming Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad Hindmemorial,abody like guidanceto thecommemoration seumatRed Fort,inaugurated by terrogation, theyrevealedthat munity areas foryoungtribals, ministers, sevenchiefministers Assemblyelections in West AzadandAdhirRanjanChowdhury thestate planningcommissionto activities in Delhi, Kolkataand PM ModionNetaji’s 122nd birth 16 sacks full of liquor pouches would be built in the district. andseveralparliamentarians,also Bengal, the committee assumes areincludedinthe panel. honourNetajiand books on his other placesassociated with anniversary, willbeexpandedand were brought intothe district. “People from across the country includes distinguishedcitizens, political significance too. It fea- Ever since it startedefforts to life.BanerjeealsosaidthatJanuary NetajiandAzadHindFauj,inIndia adedicatedmuseum will come We have seizedeight of these and abroad come to visit the historians,authors, experts,fam- tures severalBJP leadersfrom makeinroads in West Bengal, 23willbecelebratedwithagrand and abroad. It is likelytomeet upinKolkata.Acalendarofimpor- bags so far...” Sikandarabad ghotul so we want to make 100 ilymembers of Netaji Subhas Bengal, including those in the wherepolitics wasonce domi- paradeinKolkataand the soon. tant dates associatedwithNetaji Deputy SP NamritaSrivastava of them at least... Even ifthe gho- ChandraBose, as well as eminent Centre,suchasBabulSupriyoand natedbythe Leftand Congress, Independence Dayparade in the Keento notmissthebusahead willbedrawn up and embassies told The SundayExpress over the tul structures arebuiltdiffer- persons associatedwithAzad DebasreeChoudhury,BJP state and later by theTMC, the BJP has citywillbededicatedto Netaji.The of theAssemblyelections, the willbeinvolvedintakingthecom- phone. ently,theyshould be decorated Hind Fauj (INA), according to a chief DilipGhosh,andMPsRoopa been trying to appropriateBose CM said she has written to the MinistryofCultureisfinalising its memoration beyond Indian The Bulandshahrpolice as per custom,” he said. He also statement issuedbythe Ministry Ganguly,RajuBista,SunilMondol, andhislegacy.Thepartycriticises Centre, demanding that January ownschedule of activities.Union shores.OnJanuary23,agrandex- Saturdayannouncedarewardof announcedwideningdevelop- of Culture. It also features actors Jagannath Sarkar,JayantaKumar the Congressfor sidelining lead- 23 be declaredanational holiday CultureMinisterPrahlad Patel— hibitiononNetaji will be held at Rs 5,000 forinformation on mental work in the district head- Kajoland MithunChakrabarty, Roy, Saumitra Khan, Khagen erslikeBoseandBRAmbedkarto and all records relating to Bose’s alsopartofthecentralpanel—told Victoria Memorial,Kolkata. thesebags. quarters. Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021 Crude Wa tch OIL LOGS WEEKLYGAIN ON SAUDI CUT NewYork: Oilprices hit their highest level in nearlyayear Friday, gaining 8per cent on the week,supported by Saudi Arabia’spledge to 11 ECONOMY cut output. Brent crude settled at $55.99 abarrel, climbing $1.61,or 3per cent,onthe dayand 8.1per cent on the week. REUTERS 90 DAYS TO ARRIVE AT AGREEMENT, 30 MORE DAYS FOR NCLT APPROVAL What are H-1B visasand Eyeingfasterresolution,govtmay new wage-based rules?

AASHISHARYAN CHANGESINH-1BVISAREGIMEOVERLAST1YEAR amendIBCtobringinpre-packs NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 APRIL 2020: US President employment with the THE US administration has once Donald Trumpsigns same employer the government has suspended has recommended that allpre- Benches to deal withpre-packsto againamended the H-1B visa executive order KARUNJITSINGH initiationoffresh cases forany NON-ADHERENCE packagreementsinwhichoper- ensurethatsuchcasesare notde- norms by changing the rules to suspending approvals for OCTOBER 2020: NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 defaultsoccurring post-March ationalcreditors areset to receive layeddue to theheavy case load give priority to higher wagesand immigrant and non- Department of Homeland 24.The government, in June, is- TOTIMELINES less than afull recovery be open of NCLTs. Chandakalsonotedthat skills forselection of deserving immigrant workers visas, Security (DHS) publishes THE GOVERNMENT is likelyto suedanOrdinance preventing to aswiss challenge, under which the inclusion of swiss challenge candidates.Theoldlotterysystem including H-1B for60days interim final rule signaling ■ Non-adherence of amend the Insolvency and initiation of insolvency proceed- anyeligible third partywould be waslikelyaimedatpreventingfu- of work visa selection will notbe lotterysystemfor selection prescribedtimelines BankruptcyCode (IBC)tointro- ings againstcompanies forde- permitted to offeranimproved turelitigation from operational followednow. JUNE 2020: The Trump of H-1B work visas would under the IBC is akey duce pre-packs as aresolution faultsinthe six-month period bid. The initialbidder would, in creditors, who receive marginal administration extends be phasedout criticism that the mechanism, according to agov- starting March25underthe IBC suchcases, have theoption to recoveries under theinsolvency What areH-1B wokvisas? the 60 daysuspensiontill government is seeking ernment officialaware of the and, subsequently, extendedthe matchthe improved bid to get resolution process. In1952,aftertheUSstartedex- the end of 2020 DECEMBER 31,2020: The to address through the developments. suspension till March24, 2021. approval forthe pre-packaged Neeraj Dubey,partner at law panding itspresenceinthe sci- Trumpadministration inclusion of pre-packs Apre-packisanagreement Non-adherence of prescribed agreement. firm Singh and Associates, said ence,technology,engineeringand AUGUST5,2020: US again extends the under IBC, with 1,442of foradistressedcompany’s debt timelines under the IBC is akey In cases whereoperational the pre-packprocess would be mathematicsdisciplines,itfeltthe President Trumpsigns suspension on immigrant atotal 1,942ongoing resolution between secured criticism thatthe government is creditors areset to receive 100 morestreamlinedwith lowerin- needtohirequality workers who another executive order and non-immigrant work insolvency proceedings creditorsand investorsinstead seeking to addressthrough the per cent recovery,however, the volvement from the NCLT,but couldhelpthecountryachieve in- barring federal agencies visas till March 2021 having passedthe of apublicbidding process, as inclusion of pre-packsunder the decision on whether to open the notedthat“parties needtofocus novation in these areas at reason- from hiring H-1B visa 270-daymark. under the CorporateInsolvency IBC, with 1,442ofatotal1,942 on- agreement to aswisschallenge on good corporategovernance able costs.This needtohirework- holders JANUARY8,2021: The Resolution Process (CIRP) going insolvency proceedings willbelefttothe CoC, which and nottry to circumvent anyof erspavedway fortheintroduction DHS releasesfinal rules, of the IBC. having passedthe 270-daymark. would comprise financial credi- the processes definedunder pre- of the H-1 work visa system. AUGUST15, 2020: US says wagestobegiven The CorporateAffairs “The government mayseek afurther 30 days forapproval by tors as in the case of the CIRP. packregulations” as this would This work visa system was changes stance, allows priority from now, Ministry, last year,formedacom- to introduce pre-packsunder the the NCLT. “The inclusion of pre-packs bring increasedscrutinyfrom further subdividedintoH-1B, H- some of the H-1B work lotterysystemofwork mittee ledbyMSSahoo, chair- IBC in the next session of Expertsnotedthatthe should certainlyhelp in expedit- NCLTsand defeat the purpose of 2B,L1, O1,and E1 visas, depend- visa holders to return to visaselection to be personofthe Insolvency and Parliament,” said the official. The process is relatively opaque, ing the insolvency resolution, pre-packs. ing on the qualificationrequired the US forcontinued phasedout Bankruptcy BoardofIndia, to mechanism that will needtobe compared to the CIRP -under whichhassignificantlyexceeded Dubey also notedthat pre- and the area forwhichworkers lookintoincluding pre-packs as initiatedafter approval by the whichany eligible party is per- prescribed timelines in many packs mayassume greaterim- were sought. Of these, the H-1B aresolution mechanism under NationalCompanyLaw Tribunal mitted to place abid that is con- cases under the CIRP,” said Rajiv portanceifthe government de- visa remains the mostpopular other work visas? take into account anyrequire- the IBC. Pre-packsmayalso offer (NCLT) will allow 90 days for sideredbyaCommittee of Chandak,partner at Deloitte cides to extend the suspension of due to therelatively better wage Currently, everyyear the US mentssuchaswages, skills or an alternativefor creditors to ini- creditors to arrive at an agree- Creditors (CoC). India, addingthe government insolvency initiation beyond chance it offers. administration issues 85,000 H- needs of the employer. tiateinsolvency proceedings as ment with apotential bidder and The Sahoo committee report should consider creating specific March. Thearrivalofinternetandlow- 1Bwork permits.Of these,65,000 costcomputersinhomesanduni- areforpeoplewithspecialtyoccu- What is the newwage-based versities of developing nations pations,whiletherestarereserved H-1B work visa regime? BRIEFLY suchasIndia, China, and Pakistan forforeign workers who have The newwage-basedwork ‘FY22: Rising mobility to help FACTORS 6,207km sawalarge number of students earnedaMaster’s or ahigher uni- visa regime will nowgivepriority KYConlyfor Increasedmovementofboth ExecutionduringApril- graduatingindisciplinesrelatedto versity degree in the US. inselectionof visasto applications toll collection grow up to 15%’ passengerandcommercial November(8M),4percent computerscience,technology,en- Each employerwho seeksto of those employers wherethe buyingjewellery vehicles higherthan5,958kmin gineeringandmathe- employaworkeron “profferedwageequals or ex- matics(STEM).Lackof H-1Bvisamustfillout ceeds” the prevailinglevel in that Toll collections arelikely to grow 14-15per cent in year-agoperiod above`2lakh FY22PROJECTION jobs in their home aregistrationformon area of employment. The prof- 2021-22, rating agency Icrasaid, maintaining stable Thetrafficisexpectedtoincrease countries,ontheother behalfofthe em- feredwageisthethewage thatthe NewDelhi: The Revenue outlook forthe domestic road sector by5percentandtollrates(WPI arrestedmajorslippagesinthe hand, meant that the ployeewho they employerintendstopay the ben- Department has clarified linked)by3-4percentresultingin creditprofileoftollroadassets STEMgraduateswere wish to employ.The eficiary. This will be done forboth thatKYC is mandatoryonly anoverallincreaseintoll willing to work in the form contains all the the 65,000 regular visas and the forpurchase of gold, silver collectionsby14-15percentona Theriseintollmop- US at relatively low details of the em- 20,000 advanceddegree exemp- jewelleryorprecious stones lowbaseinFY2021(giventhe 13%upinSeptember- costs,whichprovedto ployee, suchasthe tion visas. This regime willalso above Rs2lakh.Thenotifica- impactoftollsuspensioninfirst Novemberonanaverage,implying beawin-winsituationforboththe natureofworktheywillundertake take intoaccount the skill setthat tionissuedunderPMLActon 20daysofApril2020) growthof8-9percentintrafficin employer and the employee, intheUS,thewage beingofferedto therespective workerbringsto the December 28 is arequire- termsofpassengercarunits therebymaking the H-1B work them, the levelofeducation of countryandcrosscheckitwhether ment of FATF to specify car- Executionperdayto (PCUs);one-thirdofthisgrowthis visas the mostpopular. these workers and so on. suchskill setisavailable at the ryingout KYCwhen there 13%27.7km/dayin8M contributedbythepassenger TheH-1Bwork visasystemhas Since the number of applica- samecostamongtheUSworkers. are‘cashtransactions’above FY2021from24.4km/dayin8M vehiclecategoryandtheremaining since undergone manychanges tionsforH-1Bvisasfiledeachyear According to theUSCIS, since Rs 10 lakh and anyjewellery FY2020,whileadjustingforthe fromcommercialvehicles and revisions to allowordisallow exceededthe 65,000 cap in the it is notpossible to individually purchase belowRs2lakh first20daysofAprilwhereinno certaincategoriesofskilledwork- specialtyoccupationsand20,000 judgethe skill setofall the appli- does notrequirePAN or constructionactivitywasallowed Few stateannuityprojectswith ers in the US, depending on the forthehighereducationcategory, cants to the H-1B work visa AadhaarasamandatoryKYC weakercounterpartycreditprofile economicsituationof thecountry. the US Citizenshipand regime, salariesare the best indi- document,sourcessaid.ENS Strongliquidity buffersand sufferedduetoelongationin Of late, however, it hasalsobeen Immigration Services then em- cators of the same as employers quickrecoveryintraffichave annuitypaymentcycle oftenbeen criticisedfor sending ployedarandomlotteryselection wouldpayhighwagesonlytothe low-costworkers to the US at the of theeligibleapplicantstofillthe mostdeservingcandidates. This, Indiausheringin expense of domestic workers. 65,000 vacancies, and then theUSCISsaid,wouldalsonotun- Relief measures like shift from milestone-based billing to monthly billing and release of retention money/performance Source: rapidstructural movedonthefillthenext20,000. dercutthejobsthatcouldbedone security in proportion to the work already executed among others, which has immensely supported the road contractors Icra/PTI What wasthe lotterysystem This lotterysystemwas com- by US workers who would other- reforms:Goyal forselection of H-1B and pletelyrandomised and did not wise be unemployed. NewDelhi: Indiaisstrength- ening theentireecosystem Fueldemandtouches ‘Aatmanirbhar to achieve PrimeMinister Chidambaram airs GoAir sacks pilot NarendraModi’s dream of must not be becoming a$5trillion econ- 11-month high, but stays omyby2025 through rapid concerns over structural reforms, Comm- taken as India’s for derogatory erce MinisterPiyush Goyal below pre-Covid levels said on Saturday. move towards TOTALDEMAND cronycapitalism ENSECONOMICBUREAU isolating itself’ tweets about PM D-MartQ3 NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 “Todaywehavecrony profitup16.4% 18.60MT PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA capitalism...Aslongas INDIA’STOTALfueldemandhitan NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 youhavecronycapitalism PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA ENSECONOMICBUREAU The senior pilothas at`447crore 11-month high in December,but thosewhoarenotyour NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 NEWDELHI,JANUARY9 deletedthe tweetand still remained2per cent below ■The totaldemand forfuel EXPRESSINGCONCERN of crony NewDelhi: Avenue pre-Covid levels. productsinDecember was capitalism, Congress leader and cronieswillhesitateto INDIA’SSELF-RELIANCEcampaign LOW-COST AIRLINE GoAir lockedhis account. Supermarts Ltd, which Thetotaldemandforfuelprod- 18.60 million tonnes, down former FinanceMinisterP startbusiness” mustnot by anystretch of imagi- Saturday said that it has termi- He also tweeted owns and operates retail uctsinDecember was18.60 mil- from 18.95 million tonnes in Chidambaram on Saturdaysaid nation be takenasamove “to- nated the services of asenior pi- an apology chain D-Mart, on Saturday liontonnes,downfrom18.95mil- the year-agoperiod, but up 4 thegovernmentneedsto create an PCHIDAMBARAM wardsisolating itself”, but to be a lotwho made derogatoryre- reportedanincreaseof 16.39 liontonnesintheyear-agoperiod, per cent, compared to atmospherewhere everybody is FORMER FINANCE MINISTER partofthe global value chain, it marks on his Twitter account. per cent in itsconsolidated but up 4per cent, compared to November,according to data treatedequallyandensurethatnot mustimprove standards,skilllev- The pilot who originallytweeted, personal views,” he posted. netprofitatRs446.95crore November,accordingtodatare- releasedbythe petroleum just five but 500business houses equalopportunity,hesaidwhile els, consistency and service levels “PM is an idiot. Youcan call me AGoAir spokesperson, con- forthe December quarter. leasedbythe Petroleum Planning planning and analysis cell. areexpanding. addressing the 25th Wharton to consumers, Hero Enterprise same in return. It’sok. Idon’t firming the sacking of the pilot, and Analysis Cell. “Todaywehavecrony capital- India Economic Forum. “It’s not Chairman Sunil Kant Munjal said. matter.Bcoz Iamnot PM. ButPM said:“GoAir haszerotolerance Fuel demand fell sharplyin ism. That cannotbedenied. Ican enough to have five business Speakingatthe 25th Wharton is an idiot. Period” on Thursday, policy and it is mandatoryfor all Bitcoinon March afterthe government im- per cent at 2.47million tonnes in give examplesof cronycapitalism, houses expanding,weneed500 India Economic Forum, he said has deletedthe tweetand locked GoAir employees to complywith record spree, posedanationwide lockdown to December,while demand for youknowitaswellasIdo...Aslong businesshousesto expandandwe India has to become asignificant his Twitter account. the company’s employment curb the spread of Covid-19. The diesel remained2.7 per cent be- asyouhavecrony capitalismthose neednew businesses and entre- exporterifithas to become akey Later on Thursday, he also rules, regulations and policies, in- crosses$41K recovery of demand forfuels has lowpre-Covidlevelsat7.18 mil- whoarenot yourcronieswillhes- preneurs likeInfosys, Wiproand playeringlobal trade. He said, tweetedanapology.“Iapologise cluding socialmedia behaviour. also been hit by periodic lock- lion tonnes in the same period. itatetostart business, said the guy who startedFlipkart. We “One is forIndia to become bet- formytweetsabout PM, other of- The airline does notassociateit- Tokyo/London: Bitcoinjum- downs in various states which Petrol demandhas consistently Chidambaram. neednew but the newpeople are teratwhat it doesisabsolutelyes- fensive tweets whichmay have self with personal views ex- pedmorethan5percenton have setupcontainment zones postedgrowth since September The government has to create afraid that unless theyplaythe sentialbut Aatmanirbhar must hurtsentimentsofanyoneassoci- pressedbyany individual or an Fridaytofresh recordhighs and maintainedlocalisedlock- while diesel demandhas only aclimatewhere everybodymust game whichthe government notbyany stretchofimagination ated.IconveythatGoAir is notas- employee. GoAir has terminated of $41,530. REUTERS downsto curbthespreadof Covid. postedgrowth of 7.4per cent believe that he or she would be wantsthem to play, they will be betakenasIndia’s move towards sociated with anyofmytweets the services of the captain with Demand forpetrolwas up 9.3 growth in October. treated equally and will have an squeezedout,” he said. isolating itself”. directlyorindirectlyastheywere immediateeffect”. Airbus keeps top spot AUTOMAKERS ARE FACING SHORTAGE AS DEMAND HAS BEEN BOUNCING BACKAMID MANUFACTURING DELAYS in Covid-hit jet market Chip shortage forces Ford, Toyota, Nissan, FCA to cut production amidBoeing’s troubles sumer demand has been bounc- itsBrampton, Ontario plant that hopes to have theplant operating REUTERS ing back from thecoronavirus STRUGGLINGTOCATCHUP builds the Chrysler 300, Dodge again the following week. TOKYO/DETROIT,JANUARY9 pandemic, causing manufactur- Chargerand DodgeChallenger Nissan said it plannedtore- REUTERS ing delays. ■ Major auto chip suppliers manufacturing capacity has cars.The Mexican plant had been duce production of the Note,ahy- PARIS,JANUARY9 FORD MOTOR Co, Toyota Motor Majorautochip suppliers suchasNXP Semiconductor been stretchedthin globally due to restartproductionnext brid electriccar,atits Oppama Corp,FiatChrysler Automobiles such as NXP Semiconductorsaid said auto production as laptops flyoff shelvesfor week,but nowbothplantswill be Plant in Kanagawaprefecture, EUROPE’SAIRBUS posted and Nissan MotorCoLtd said auto production rebounded reboundedfasterthan working from home, and shut through the end of the Japan but did notgivedetails of stronger-than-expecteddeliveries on Fridaytheywould cut vehi- faster than expectedfromthe expected from the PCs and gaming consoles month, FCAsaid. the scale of the output cut. of 566jetsin2020, remaining the cle production this month due pandemic, leaving them strug- pandemic, leaving them sell heavily, leading chip Toyota willcut production of Germany’sVolkswagensaid world’s largest planemaker as a to ashortage of semiconduc- glingtocatchup. struggling to catchup. firms suchasNvidia Corp to itsTundra full-size pickuptruck last month it facedashortagein year of pandemic-induced up- tors, becoming the latestau- Meantime, chip manufactur- ■ Meantime, chip warn of supplyconstraints. at itsSan Antonio, Texas, plant, the supplyofsemiconductors heavalforairtravelcoincidedwith An Airbus A380 outside the tomakers hit by achip crunch ing capacity has been stretched butspokesman Scott Vazin did and would adjustproduction at agrounding crisis at US rival factoryofStelia Aerospace, an as demand rebounds from the thin globallyaslaptops flyoff notimmediatelyknowhow facilities in China, NorthAmerica Boeing. Deliveries fell by 34 per armofAirbus,inFrance. File coronavirus crisis. shelvesfor working from home, International Corp, that country’s Escape and Lincoln Corsair SUVs, manyunitswouldbelost. “We’ll and Europe. Honda has also be- cent from arecordpostedayear Honda MotorCoalso said and PCsand gamingconsolessell largest contract chipmaker,has pulling aheadascheduledweek- throttlebackproduction,”he gun “seeingsome impact in the earlier,when travel demand was Fridayits output in Japan could be heavily, leading chipfirmssuchas sent chip firms around the world offfromlater in the year. said, adding no other US vehicles parts supply,”aspokesman said. riding high on the increasing mo- 566aircraftin2020,exceedinges- affected by ashortage of semi- Nvidia Corp to warn of supply scrambling to find newpartners. Fiat Chrysler said it will delay were affected. General Motors Co and BMW bility of consumers in fast-grow- timates earlier in the year when conductors. Automakers and constraints. And amovebyUS Ford said it would idle its the restart of productionatits Ford declinedtoidentify the AG saidtheyhavenot been af- ing marketsacross Asia. thecoronaviruscrisisledtoalock- electronic makers arefacing a regulators to blacklistChina’s Louisville, Kentucky,assembly Toluca, Mexico plant, whereit chip supplier and spokeswoman fectedyetbut aremonitoring the Airbus said it had delivered down of major travel markets. global shortage of chips as con- Semiconductor Manufacturing plant, whichbuilds the Ford builds the Jeep Compass, and idle Kelli Felker said the company situation closely. Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021 12 THE WORLD

TOPOFTHE Pak anti-terror court WORLD Trump,mutedandisolated,faces tells police to arrest threatofimpeachmentnextweek Azhar by January 18

THENEWYORKTIMES Google suspends MZULQERNAIN WASHINGTON,JANUARY9 Parlerapp from LAHORE,JANUARY9 JeM chief Masood Sabrina Singh AS SATURDAY dawnedona Play Store; UN DESIGNATED globalterror- Azhar WhiteHouse in turmoil, with istMasood Azhar,chief of the PresidentDonald Trumpunable Apple gives bannedJaish-e-Mohammad UNITED STATES to communicateonTwitter and (JeM), should be arrested by controlof theJeM,Mumbaiterror Indian-American other platforms, momentum for 24-hr warning January18inconnectionwith a attackmastermind Hafiz Saeed's impeaching him asecond time terror financing case, an anti-ter- Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and namedDyPress wasrapidly growing among rorism courtinPakistanhas Falahai Insaniat Foundation(FIF) rank-and-file Democratsand REUTERS asked the Punjab Police, acourt properties including seminaries Secretaryin some Republicans. LONDON,JANUARY9 official said on Saturday. and mosques across the country. WhiteHouse House Speaker Nancy Pelosi The Anti-Terrorism Court The JeM had claimedrespon- on Fridaythreatenedtoimpeach ALPHABET INC’SGoogle on (ATC)Gujranwala issued an ar- sibility forthe Pulwama terror Washington: Indian- Mr.Trumpunless he resigned Fridaysuspendedthe Parler so- rest warrant againstAzharinthe attackinwhich40CRPFsoldiers American Sabrina Singh “immediately”for inciting the cial networking service from its terror financing case instituted were killed. would serveasDeputy mob attackonthe Capitol this app store, citing posts inciting vi- by theCTD in the previous hear- In May2019, theUnited Press Secretarytothe Vice week,and Senator Lisa olence and demanding “robust” ing on Thursday. Nations designated Azhar as a President in the White Murkowski of Alaska became content moderation from the “ATC Gujranwala judge "global terrorist" afterChina House, according to an an- the firstRepublican senator to app favoredbymanysupporters Natasha Naseem Supraduring liftedits hold on aproposal to nouncement made by the followher lead. of US President Donald Trump. the casehearing on Fridaydi- blacklistthe Pakistan-basedJeM Biden-Harris Transition. “I want him out,” Ms. Donald TrumpatarallyinWashington on January6.AP Apple Inc on Fridaygavethe rected the CTD to arrest JeM chief chief, adecade afterNew Delhi Singh wasPress Secretary Murkowski told The Anchorage service 24 hours to submit ade- Masood Azhar by January18and approachedthe worldbodyfor to VicePresident-elect Daily News.“He has caused tailedmoderation plan, pointing present him in the court. In case thefirsttime on the issue. Kamala Harris on the enough damage.” ment forviolence” has effectively in inciting the violence. to participantsusingthe service of failure(to arrest him), the Azhar is afugitive released Biden-Harris campaign. The House is next scheduled ED scuttledhis favoritemethod of Mr.Biden on Fridaypressed to coordinate Wednesday’s siege courtmay begin proceedings to by India in exchangeofpassen- Priortoher role on the Spinning to be in session on Monday, towardsa communicating with the public, aheadwithhisagenda,promising of the US Capitol building. declarehim aproclaimedof- gers of the hijackedIndian

campaign,she served as PLAIN meaning that articles of impeach- E chaoticend even as he retains his authority an accelerated responsetoanar- The actions by thetwo fender,” acourtofficial said. Airlines plane IC-814in1999. senior spokespersonfor ● ment cannotbeintroduceduntil EX as commander in chief. Facebook rayofchallenges. On Friday, the Silicon Valleycompanies mean Azhar is facing chargesofter- Afterhis release, Azhar formed MikeBloomberg's presi- then. The timing foranimpeach- and other digital platforms have economywas said to have lost that the networkseen as ahaven rorfinancing and selling jihadi the JeM and scriptedmanyter- dential campaign and ment wouldbetightbecauseMr. DEMOCRATS AGREE it’s limited his access. 140,000jobsinDecemberandof- forpeople expelledfromTwitter literature. rorattacks in India. NationalPressSecretaryfor Trumpwould have fewerthan 10 logisticallypossible to In one of his lastTwitter posts ficialsacrosstheUSreportedmore could become unavailable for FollowingthePalwamaterror Paris-basedglobal terror financ- CoryBooker's presidential days leftinhis term. vote on articles of im- before being banned, Mr.Trump than300,000 newcoronavirus newdownloads on the world’s attackinFebruary2019,Pakistan's ing watchdog Financial ActionTask campaign. She previously Yetthe Constitution allows peachment, but are said he would notattend the in- cases in aday forthe firsttime. main mobile phone app stores Punjab policehad launcheda Force(FATF)isinstrumentalinpush- servedasdeputy commu- House lawmakers to introduce weighing howtojustify auguration. He would be the first In asharp break with the within aday.Itwould still be crackdown on terrorism financ- ingPakistantotakemeasuresagainst nications director forthe chargesand proceeddirectlytoa bypassing the usual delib- incumbent in 150yearstoskip Trumpadministration,Mr. Biden available in mobile browsers. ing and arrested six militantsof terrorists roaming freelyinPakistan Democratic National debateand floor vote in amatter erative process of collect- his successor’sswearing-in. intends to release nearly all avail- Right-leaning social media the JeMinGujranwala,some 130 and usingitsterritorytocarryoutat- Committee, spokesperson of days,triggeringaSenatetrial ing documents, witnesses At ameeting of the able doses of coronavirus vac- users in the US have flockedto kms from Lahore. Azhar is facing tacksinIndiaandelsewhere. forAmerican Bridge's that could take placeevenafter and the president’s de- Republican National Committee cines soon afterheisinaugurated, Parler,messaging app Telegram the trial in this case. The FATF placedPakistanon TrumpWar Room and Mr.Trumpleavesoffice. If he fense. Others worry in Florida on Friday, thechaosof rather than hold backmillions of and hands-offsocial siteGab, cit- Following international pres- the Grey ListinJune 2018 and RegionalCommunications were convicted,the Senatecould Trump’s base would rally the pastweek wasamereafter- vials to guarantee second doses ing the moreaggressive policing sureafter the Pulwama attack, asked Islamabad to implement Director on Hillary votetobar him from holding of- moreforcefullyaround thought. Whilethe R.N.C. chair, willbeavailable.Hehas vowedto of political commentsonmain- the Pakistangovernment ar- aplan of action to curb money Clinton's2016 presidential fice again. him if Democratspush Ronna McDaniel, condemned get“at least100 million Covid stream platforms suchasTwitter rested over 100members of the laundering and terror financing campaign. PTI Already,Twitter’smoveto forwardwith impeaching the attackonthe Capitol, neither vaccineshots intothearmsof the Inc and Facebook Inc. Twitter per- bannedmilitant outfitsinclud- by the end of 2019 but the dead- permanentlysuspend Mr.Trump him again. she nor anyotherspeaker pub- Americanpeople” during his first manentlysuspendedPresident ing Azhar’s son and brother. line wasextendedlater on due “due to therisk of further incite- liclyhinted at Mr.Trump’s role 100days in office. Trump’s account on Friday. The governmentalso took to Covid-19pandemic. PTI PAKISTAN Slaincoalminers buriedafter Indonesian plane crashes protest Quetta: Pakistani mourn- into sea, 62 feared dead ers buriedonSaturday thebodies of 11 slain coalminers thathad been REUTERS put on ahighway in the JAKARTA,JANUARY9 city of Quettafor sixdays in an anti-government ASRIWIJAYA Air plane crashed Kim Jong Un protest. The miners, from intothe sea on Saturdayminutes the minority Shi’ite aftertaking offfromIndonesia’s Hazarasect, were killed capital Jakarta on adomestic NKorea’s Kim lastSundaybyIslamic flight with 62 people on board, Statemilitantsintheir and their fate wasnot known. calls US ‘our shared residential room, The Boeing 737-500, en route afterwhichmourners re- to Pontianak in West Kalimantan, biggest enemy’ fusedtoburythem to de- disappeared from radar screens mandbetterprotection aftertaking offjustafter 2.30p.m. in challenge to from sectarian (0730GMT) -- 30 minutes after attacks. REUTERS STORM FILOMENA HITS SPAIN,4KILLED the scheduledtime because of Joe Biden heavy rain. UNITED KINGDOM HeavysnowfallinMadrid on Saturday. Apersistent blizzardblanketed large parts of Spain Indonesian Transport (Above)Distraught family with 50-year recordlevels of snow,killing at leastfour people and leaving thousands MinisterBudi Karya told anews members of apassengeron SEOUL Queenand trapped in carsorintrain stations and airports.Reuters conference that 62 peoplehad Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182; REUTERS,JANUARY9 husbandget been aboardFlight SJ 182, includ- (left) Aradar imageshowing ing 12 crew.The detik.com web- thepath of Flight 182before NORTH KOREAN leader Kim Covidvaccine sitequotedhim as saying the it droppedoff radar. Jong Un called formoread- London: The Queen and plane crashednearLaki Island, Reuters/Flightradar24.comvia AP vancednuclear weapons and the DukeofEdinburgh Pakistan court remands 56 to police some 20 km from the airport. said the United States is “our have receivedCovid-19 All those on boardwere biggestenemy,”state media said vaccinations, Buckingham Indonesian, Indonesia’s transport killingall 189people aboardthe Airporthad asked thepilotwhy on Saturday, presenting astark Palace said on Saturday. A custody for vandalisation of temple safetycommittee said. Lion Air flight.ABoeing spokes- the plane washeading north- challenge to President-electJoe royalsource said the vac- Indonesia’sNavypinpointed woman said, “Weare awareof west instead of on itsexpected Biden justdays before he takes cinations were adminis- cluding Maulvi Sharif who is said Fridaythat Faizullah, who was the siteofthe missing aircraftand media reportsfromJakarta,and flight path justseconds before it office. teredonSaturdaybya PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA to have incitedthecrowd, to judi- identified as the main accused, shipshad been sentthere, aNavy areclosely monitoringthe situa- disappeared. Washington’shostile policies household doctor at PESHAWAR,JANUARY9 cial custody. wasarrestedfromKarak district. official said. Authorities did not tion. We areworkingtogather Therewerenoimmediate would notchange regardless of Windsor Castle. The The temple in Terrivillagein He is said to have instigated and saywhethertheybelievedthere moreinformation”. clues on what mayhavecaused who occupiesthe WhiteHouse source addedthe Queen AN ANTI-TERRORISM courtin Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’sKarak facilitated the mob forattacking were survivors. Reliabletrackingservice the sudden descent and safety but dropping those policies decidedtolet it be known PakistanonSaturdaysent the district wasattackedlastweek by the temple. Sriwijaya Air’s chief executive, Flightradar24said the Boeing jet expertsstress mostair accidents would be key to NorthKorea-US she had the vaccination to main accused, along with 55 oth- the mob aftermembers of the The attackonthe temple by Jefferson Irwin Jauwena, told a took offat2:36 p.m. local time arecausedbyacocktail of factors relations, Kim said, according to prevent further specula- ers, arrestedin the vandalisation Hindu community receivedper- members of radical Jamiat news conference that the plane (0736GMT) and climbedto reach that can take months to establish. statenews agency KCNA. tion. The Queen, 94,and of aHindu temple by amob led mission from local authorities to Ulema-e-Islamparty (Fazal ur had been in good condition be- 10,900feetwithinfour minutes. Indonesia’s KNKTsafety “Our foreign political activi- Prince Philip, 99, are by membersofaradical Islamist renovate itsdecades-old build- Rehman group) drew strong con- fore the flight. It then beganasteep descent and agency wasexpectedto launchan ties should be focusedand redi- amongaround 1.5million party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ing. The mob had demolishedthe demnation from human rights The nearly 27-year-old stoppedtransmitting data21 immediateinvestigation. The US rected on subduing the US, our peopleinthe UK to have province, to police custody for newlyconstructed work along- activistsand the minority Hindu Boeing 737-500was much older seconds later. National SafetyTransportation biggestenemyand main obsta- had at least onedose of a nine days. side the old structure. community leaders. thanBoeing’sproblem-plagued Atransport ministryspokes- Boardwill automaticallybepart cletoour innovateddevelop- Covid vaccine so far. PTI The courtalsoremandedan- Khyber Pakhtunkhwapolice Policehavefiledcomplaint 737MAX model, oneofwhich woman said air trafficcontrol at of the probe, sincethe plane was ment,” Kim said at arareparty other56accusedinthe case,in- chief Sanaullah Abbasi said on against350 people in the case. crashedoff Jakartainlate2018, Soekarno-HattaInternational designedand built in the US. congress in Pyongyang. “Nomatter who is in power in the US, the true natureofthe US and itsfundamental policies Aweek into full Brexit, the pain for UK businesses has arrived towardsNorth Koreanever change,” Kim said, vowing to ex- pand ties with “anti-imperialist, changes everyday.For many Brexit team at EY,the consulting atic,” Ms. Jones said. “So for erbating delays. independentforces.” ESHENELSON businesses, this is what Brexit and accounting firm. Forthe first goods,it’s all about the speed So far, thereare fewimmedi- NorthKorea would not“mis- LONDON,JANUARY9 has quicklybecome: alogistical, time since 1993, British busi- and accuracy with whichpeople atetangible benefitsofBrexit for use” itsnuclear weapons, Kim regulatoryand administrative nesses needtodeal withcus- arepreparing the rightpaper- businesses —beyond thefact said but the countryisexpand- BRITAIN STARTED 2021inanew burden forwhichtheywereun- toms checks,additional food work.” thatending years of stormyde- ing itsnuclear arsenal, including relationship with itsbiggest prepared.Itwill onlyadd to the safetyforms, and myriad other ManyU.K. businesses—at bateand uncertainty maybe “preemptive”and “retaliatory” tradepartner,and it hasimmedi- malaiseinBritain, wherethe paperwork to trade with the least150,000,according to data counted as abenefit. strikecapabilities and warheads atelybrought alitanyof coronavirus pandemicisraging European Union. from Britain’s taxagency —have It will be hardtorealizeany of varying sizes. He calledfor de- headaches and lostbusiness. —lastweek one in 50 people in On Friday, DFDS, aDanish lo- nevertradedbeyond the substantialshort-termgainsfrom veloping equipment including Within aweek,implications England had the virus, and the gisticscompanythat runs ferries European Union,and so have no Britain’snew trading arrange- hypersonic weapons, solid-fuel of theBrexit trade deal with the countryisunder itsthirdna- from of DovertoFrance,said a experience dealing with the cus- ment with the European Union, ICBMs, spysatellites, and drones. European Union arebeing felt by tional lockdown. And analysts “high volume” of truckswere be- toms systems. especiallysince the pandemic NorthKorea is preparing for businesses up and down the saythe economyisheading fora ing refusedordelayedfor not Some businesses anticipated continues to take atoll on the the test and production of various countryasfood deliveries arede- double-dip recession. having the correct paperwork. cross-border problems with economy. Lastyear,the British newweapons, includinga“multi- layedfor nothaving the right cus- Some businesses had put DPD, the parcel delivery Europe, and filledwarehouses economyexperienceditsdeepest warhead rocket”and “supersonic toms paperwork,logisticscom- aside effortstoplan forBrexit last Police officers on horseback patrol London. Reuters company, said it pausedservice with stockpiledgoods —auto recessioninmorethan300years, gliding flight warheads fornew panies haltthe shipment of year in favoroftrying to keep to the European Union afterup parts and pharmaceuticals, for and the lockdowns continue as type ballistic rockets,” while re- goods,and retailers discovertheir their companies afloat during to 20 percent of parcels it han- example—before the end of the vaccines areslowlyrolledout. search on anuclear submarine is supplychains might beobsolete. thepandemic. But even those of the1,246-pagepact wasn’t cir- weren’t publisheduntil dledhad incorrect or incomplete Brexit transition period. That has “A lotofthe disruption that nearly complete,hesaid. Afterdecades inside the that triedtopreparefacedafun- culated until December 26. December31, the daybeforethe data, andsowould need to be re- kept cross-border shipmentsata Brexit bringsisgoingtobehidden Therewas no immediate European Union’s customs damental obstacle: an agree- Other documents, providing newrules took effect. turnedtothe sender. fraction of theirnormallevel so by thepandemic,” said Anand comment from the US State union and single market, ment on the trade deal with the full details of howBritain’s bor- “Nowonder people are “Thethingswhichare prov- far. Over the next fewweeks, as Menon, aprofessor of European Department. Aspokesman for Britain’sbusinesses have un- European Union wasn’t reached der would work,withillustrative struggling,” said SallyJones, who ing problematic arethe things thosestockpiles run down, busi- politics and foreign affairs at the Biden campaign declinedto earthednew challenges and untilDecember24, andthe text examples and flowcharts, leads the trade strategy and that we expected to be problem- ness activity will pickup, exac- King’s CollegeLondon. NYT comment. Ahmedabad JANUARY 10, 2021 | WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM | PAGE 13 THE SUNDAY EXPRESSMAGAZINE

POINT OF VIEW SPOTLIGHT Rise in Love Deadly Deception MississippiMasala and whyprejudice As afilm on acasethat shockedKeralaand a can’thold love back killer who wasnever caught is announced, eye former investigatorsrecount amurder most foul

AHOT BOWL OF COMFORT In times of unusual stress, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we often seek solace in food that is familiar and nourishing.What is it that makes certain kinds of food more appealing than others in times of unease?

Pooja Pillai from October 6to20and releasedin December,88per cent of 555Indian adults surveyed saidthat theysnackedmoredur- ULIA CARMEN Desa has justmade ing the pandemic than in 2019,with comfort soup forlunch. The soup is made of being the No.1driver. About81per cent said winter vegetables like bathua that buying and eatingsnacks brought back J(Chenopodiumalbum), spinach, radish good memories, while 95 per cent sawsnack and carrots; there’s some cheese in it, time as atime forconnecting with others, ei- as well as coconut milk,coriander ther by making asnacktogether (55 per cent) rootsand apinchofMadras curry powder. or eating asnacktocelebrateaspecial occa- Desa willserve it forlunch to her family, sion(54 per cent). “The interesting thing was along with some garlic bread. “IfIhad added howsnack time became aritual forcomfort,” chicken, it would have been better,but it’s says Anil Viswanathan,seniordirector,mar- quitegood even without it. It’ssimple, warm keting (chocolates),MondelezIndia,“People and comforting,” Desa says. would setaside time forit, as abreak from At TRES,the modern European restaurant work,sothat theycan sit with the familyand in Delhi’s tony Lodhi Colony, whereshe is chef eat. This wasalso the case forthose who and co-owner,the food is alot morefinessed: would snackbythemselves: theywould find sweetpotatowith caramelisedyogurt;grilled comfortineating during their break.” smoked paprika garlic tigerprawns with po- But, perhaps, the mostinteresting thing tato leekfoam. Whileshe needstotaste about comfortfood is that it’saconcept that’s everything that is made in her professional recognisedwidelyenough that one never kitchen, besides eating at competitors’ restau- needs to explain what it is, and yet, it man- rants, Desa assures that at the end of the day ages to encompass astunning variety of all she wantsissome hotrice and fish curry. foods —fromsoups, stews andhearty meat “That’s the Goan in me,” she says. dishes, to chips, cookies and cakes.Evenas Desa isn’t alone in looking at the familiar we seem to instinctively understand whya and comfortable to tide over stress.Overthe frienddescribes chocolate ice cream as her last10months, as pandemic-relatedanxi- “comfortfood”, we might ourselvesfind suc- eties grippedusall, manyofussought sol- cour in something as completely different as ace in food. As we trackedthe R-number of rice and mutton curry.Itcomes down to in- the coronavirus, grappled with news of pay dividual andcultural context. “Everysociety cutsand layoffs, we longedfor the simple has itsequivalentofchickensoup forthe dals and khichdis of our mothersand grand- soul,” says food historian Pushpesh Pant. “For mothers. When it became clear that we PHOTOS:GETTYIMAGES me ‘comfortfood’ means asimple, no frills might notbeabletomeetour families fora wholesome meal that notonlynourishes the while,wesought to fill our houses with the by American psychologists JoyceACorsica SOULCURRY of food routine ledthem to abandon anypre- chilli-garlic chutneywhen he wasyounger body but also revivesthe spiritsevoking nos- aroma of fresh rotis and breads, reminders and Bonnie JSpring,atwo-week study they The most interesting vious inclination to control their diets. and poorer.Yearslater,evenafter he wasvery talgiaofhappytimes spent with family.” of what it meant to have afull stomachand conducted “supports theexistence of acar- Similarly,aCanadianstudy,led by neurosci- well-off, it washis comfortmeal,” she says. While comfortfood is supposedtopro- thing about comfort ahappyheart. We Googledrecipes forno- bohydrate-craving syndrome in whichcar- entist Melissa JChee, on the “pandemicbak- That it’snot justthe food by itself which vide apersonal anchor in achaotic world, as churn ice creams and pressure-cooker cakes bohydrateself-administration improves food is that it’s a ing” phenomenon revealedthat one of the elevatesmood is backedbyresearch.Ina abroad conceptitisconstantlyshifting and to satiateour sugar cravings and lull us mildlydysphoric mood”.A1997study by concept that’s preferredstrategies forcoping with reduced 2005 article, ‘Comfort Foods: An Exploratory changing. Pant points to the exampleofaone- through anxiety-fillednights. The recipes we American psychologistLarry Christensen recognised widely hours and being laidoff wastoeat. Journeyintothe Social and Emotional dish meal likejaula/chhansia (rice cooked looked up online are, in fact,agood indicator had put it morebluntly: “…it is apparent that enough that one Mostresearch thatlinksmoodto foodap- SignificanceofFood’, publishedinthe jour- with curdsorbuttermilkwithjustapinchof of what wasonour minds in 2020: accord- carbohydrateconsumption is relevant forin- never needs to proaches the subject from the perspective of nal Food and Foodways,medical sociologist turmeric and salt), whichwas traditionally ing to Google’s “Year in Search 2020”, nine of dividuals experiencing symptoms of emo- explain what it is, obesity or cardiovascularhealth.But this is just Julie L. Locher wroteabout asurvey which prepared in the hills of Uttarakhand forthe the top10searches for tional distress, particularly one wayofunderstanding comforteating. As had ledher and her colleagues to establish infirm or convalescent. “I don’t think comfort recipes lastyear wasfor symptoms indicative of de- and yet, it manages Sangeeta Khanna,foodconsultantandauthor four categories of comfortfood basedonthe foods can remain static. With changing carb-heavy and deeplysat- pression, and that the indi- to encompass a of Pakodas: The Snackfor All Seasons (2019, emotional and social needs theyfulfilled: lifestyles, convenience cooking and —more isfying food,suchassour- viduals with depressive stunning variety Westland) pointsout, “Foodisnot the only nostalgic foods, whichare identified with a important than anything else —the breaking dough bread, naan and the symptoms showaprefer- of foods component of ‘comfort food’.It’s also about particular time and place in one’s history;in- up of joint families, fewinthe younger gener- Greek pastry, ekmek. ence forsweet simple car- the particular time and place or situationthat dulgence foods, whichare definedinterms ation have memories of consuming food pre- In their satiety value, bohydrates.” This happens youassociatethat food with.” In Khanna’s of howexpensive they areorhow richin paredforthem to cheer them up. Aspirational their familiar textures and because carbohydrates in- case, roastedbabypotatoes and peas remind calories; convenience foods, whichgiveef- foods likesoupsfromsachets,momos, two- flavours and theirunfailing crease the availability of the her of her childhood with her grandmother fortless gratification by howconveniently minutenoodles etc. have pushedtraditional ability to calm our hearts amino acid tryptophan, who, during winter,would roastthese foods available theyare;and physical comfort comfort foods off-stage,” he says,overemail. and minds, these arewhat whichcreates niacin (vita- on a bhursi,asmallearthen heater,and would foods, whichoffer comfortthrough their It has been pointed out that our present we would broadlycall min B3). Niacin is essential hand them out to the children who gathered physical attributes or howtheyphysicallyaf- worldissuchthat we nowresorttocomfort “comfortfood”. The term itself, according to forthe creation of the neurotransmitter sero- around her to listentostories. fect the consumer. eating morethan ever in the past. In her es- Michael Owen Jonesand Lucy MLong in tonin, whichbesides helping to regulate It’s notjustahappy Of these four,the cate- sayoncomfort food forthe Encyclopedia of Comfort Food: Meanings and Memories (2017, sleep and digestion, is also anatural mood childhood thatgilds certain gory that is mostrelevant Food andCulture (2003, Charles Scribner’s University of Mississippi Press), mayhavefirst stabiliser.Inanutshell, carbohydrates do help memoriesand makes us forunderstanding what Sons), Locher wrote,“Conditions of post- appearedinprintonNovember 6, 1966,in in improving mood. reachfor the food associ- drovecomforteating in modernsocieties present individuals with the Des Moines Register.Thereissome dispute Not surprisingly, then,emotional distress ated with them. “I know 2020 is the firstone. stressors that areoften beyond their control. about this history,but the origin of the term —ashas been widelyexperiencedduring the people who areself-made Locher’s studyshowedthat At thesame time, societies have become con- is undeniablyAmerican, as the OxfordEnglish COVID-19pandemic —isanaturaltrigger for andforwhom comfortfood nostalgic foods were sumer-oriented,and individuals have be- Dictionarystatedwhen it addedadefinition manypeople to seek solace in food. This is recalls the simple meals strongly associated with come moredefinedbythe objectstheycon- in 1997:“food that comforts or affordssolace; what studiesconducted lastyear revealed:a that theywould eat during memories of being cared sume…eating comfortfood maybeameans hence, anyfood(frequently with high sugar lotmorepeople resorted to “emotional eat- their struggling days,” says for, sharing food with sig- of maintainingcontrol over the self when all or carbohydratecontent) that is associated ing” to cope with the stress of losingajob, Khanna. Here, the comfort nificant othersduringspe- else seems out of control.” The bad news is withchildhood or home cooking”. worrying over lovedones or the boredom of derivedfromahard-earned cial occasions or preparing that, at present, with news of freshlock- But does comfortfood, indeed, comfort? staying coopedupindoors. Astudy by agroup meal is thrownintosharp relief by the des- the food with others. This is borne out by the downs and mutant coronavirus strains, it Research has revealedthe physiological and of Italianresearchers, ledbyclinical nutrition- peration of hunger —and the memorybe- results of aconsumer trends study (TheState doesn’t seem likethings will be undercontrol psychological effectsofconsuming carb- istLaura Di Renzo, said that 86 per cent of the comes asource of future comfort. “When Iwas of Snacking Report)bythe global snacksman- anytime soon. The good news?Wecan al- and/or sugar-heavy food, oftendescribed as people theysurveyed had reported that iso- about 16 years old, Iheardaboutaneighbour’s ufacturer Mondelez International in India in ways eat some freshlybaked bread to com- “comfortfood”. According to a2008paper lation, lackofstimuli, boredomand change father who could onlyaffordtoeat rice with 2020.According to this study,conducted fort ourselves. Ahmedabad EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

14 POINT OF VIEW JANUARY 10, 2021

EYE SPY Postcardsfrom the Past EVERY FORTNIGHT, WE PICK, YOU WATCH Rise in Love From achaotic medley to aunified system, the post office was important for intelligence gathering and services of mail and money

Ambala to theGovernorofthe North- Western Provinces(NWP)toreplicatethe English system of aunified postoffice. The expansion of therailway networkalso made the task easier. The strategic importance of the postof- fice wasmade apparent in 1857.The British armyinIndia wasthen deficient in twokey areas, intelligence and transport.But the postmasters were able to provide informa- tion on the spread of the revolt, especially wheretherewerenotelegraph lines. Ahighly organised horsetransport and bullocktrains, Mississippi Masala and why partofthe postalnetwork,aidedthe armyin troop movementsand evacuation of the prejudice can’t hold love back woundedand the refugees,including the successful transport of ladies and children of Shubhra Gupta LucknowtoCalcutta, afterthe siegewas bro- kenbySir Colin Campbell. The VCPO wassoimportant forthe NE OF the manypleasures of running intoa viceroys that themilitarysecretaryin1920 film one has watched, and liked,manyyears ruledthat onlythe best officials with at least agoisdiscovering howithas travelled: I’m 10 yearsof service bepostedthere. The Record Opleasedtoreport that MiraNair’s 1991 Book in itsearly days attests the importance of Mississippi Masala,whichIcaught at the recent IView the Viceroy’s mail. An order of 1910 directed Festival, has legs. Watching it todaycompels youtorevisit the “TownInspector of Post Offices to convey the past, and to realise howpertinent it is even today. the foreignmails of the Viceroy to the VCPO Afamilyofthird-generation Indians in Kampala, by hiredrickshaw(kept ready beforehandfor Uganda, relocates to the US in the early ’70s. Jayand thatpurpose)and to conveyhis outward mails Kinnu, playedbyRoshan Seth and Sharmila Tagore,fetch under receipt to theOverseer on the Kalka up in Mississippi, atownmanyoftheir compatriots have Shimla Train.” Multiple entries recording the made home. On arecce, Nair had discoveredthat manyof inspector’sreceiptofthe “Viceroy’s Secret the motels in the region were run by the Asians who had Bags” appear in the Order Book.The impor- fledIdi Amin’s Uganda, and her film shines alight on the tance of efficient delivery of mails within the bigotry and racism rampant at the time. Viceroy’s CampisattestedinBabu WC One of the mosttelling elementsondisplay is the com- Chakravarty’s requestfor efficient postmen in plexdissemination of racism,and howitisexperienced. viewofthe irregularities committed by the Jay’s discomfortwith his straitenedcircumstances is temporarypostmen attachedfromthe local shown in his constant yearning to return to his comfort- postofficewhen he wasontour. able, prosperous lifeasalawyer in Kampala. His best The telegraph, proven indispensable in friend, whom he grew up with as achild, is Black. But his 1857,continued to gain importance. A1909 daughter Mina (SaritaChoudhury, vital,glowing)gravitat- order gave preference in promotion to offi- ingromanticallytowards Demetrius (Denzel Washington), cials trainedtooperatethe telegraph. The aBlackman born in the US, is notacceptable, neither to VCPO had atelephone and the RecordBook him,nor to the extendedIndian community. notesanexchangeabout whether the police Finally, it allcomesdowntothe colourofyour skin. The Jagannath Srinivasan It is in this Order Book thatthosefourgen- could use it free of cost. African-American Demetrius who,alongwithhis father, tlemen appear,assub-postmasters and The postofficedid notrenounce itsperi- runsamodestcarpet-cleaning operation, is looked down clerks of the VCPO. Since this wasatouring patetic natureevenonshifting with the uponbythe Indian community.The self-same bunch, in its VEN THE mostavidstudentsof postoffice, theytravelledwith all the para- Viceroy to Delhi. In 1935,for example, it wasin hypocritical turn,issnarky aboutMina’sdarkcomplexion: history maynot have heardof phernaliabetween Calcutta, Shimla and CalcuttainJanuary,Delhi in Marchand Shimla whichgood “desi boy” (and said boy’smother),willlook Munshi Abdulla Khan, Babu WC Delhi, cateringtothe communication needs in May. Finallyitsettledinthe Viceroy’s Estate, upon Mina withfavour? The local Whites are, of course,on Chakravarty,LAmarnath and of the Viceroys. Theycame in forpraise from and services beyond the mail and moneyor- topofthe totempole, then and now. EMathra Das. To allowthese gen- the inspecting officers forthe “good order” ders started appearing. The Deputy It’s notjustthe conservative desi community which tlemen to shimmer through the mists of of the postoffice. An entryfrom1932 records, PostmasterGeneral, PanjabandNWP,in1937 closes ranksagainst“outsiders”. Ranjit Chowdhryand time, one muststepbacktothe Viceregal “Thisoffice openedin1904, hashad agood educatedthestaffonlifeinsurance andasked Mohan Agashe playfamiliar types: the former coming Lodge, Shimla, in 1904. career, free from anyfraud them to ensureavailability of “Bijoya” down heavy on those whom he employs,whether they On July24, 2014,the and with but fewirregular- telegram forms. As Indians startedopening arekin or not, and the latter astreet-smartfellowwho then President Pranab ities.” In 1927,the inspect- savings bank accounts,thereare referencesto sweet-talkshis pals out of trouble. And Nair herself comes Mukherjee inaugurated a ing officer states, “I have no translating addresses from the “vernacular”. on in adelightful cameo in whichshe is shown gossiping, newpostoffice in the doubt that Babu In 1947,itwas rechristenedthe Governor and called, in the credits, “Gossip 1”. President’s Estate,and Woomacharan Chakravati General’s CampPO, and soon reflected new Kinnu is pleasedwhen asuitable desi boywantsto tweeted: “The Rashtrapati Sub Postmaster, takesa PHOTOSCOURTESY:RASHTRAPATIBHAVAN realities. An inspection reportmentions dateMina, but what can youdowhen your daughter BhawanPostOffice started keen interestinhis work, YOU’VEGOT tance of the postoffice forthe Viceroy.Until Mohammad Alam,sub-postmaster, who wantstobehave likeAmericans? Kinnu, likesomanycon- as the Viceroys CampPost and appears to be the cor- MAIL 1854, postalservice wasachaotic medley, optedfor Pakistanand wasrelievedon fusedimmigrants, forgetsthat her daughter,toall intents Office in Shimla on Living History rect man in the correct with varying rules and postage ratesindiffer- August9.Evenduring the chaos of Partition, (From top) The and purposes, is American. Then thereisDemetrius’s 10.6.1904 and has histori- place, as he has an abun- ent provinces. Regular mails were available it continuedtoprovide“exemplary” services, family, discomfited by Mina’s “differentness”. The only cal records.” This state- An Indian Express dance of common sense Rashtrapati Bhavan between afew important centres, and the and the privatesecretarytothe Governor wayout is out:the twotaking off, leaving behind their ment wasaccompanied collaboration with the and intelligence.” In his re- Post Office in 1979, district collectors were responsible fortheir Generalexpressedpleasure on theneatness baggageofcorrugated identities, provide the film an up- by aphotograph of anote RashtrapatiBhavan ply, thesub-postmaster and now local post-offices, with asenior militaryoffi- of the office. Afterabrief appearance as the beat end. But also leave us wondering about howthe pair by the Postmaster,Shimla, writes, “I feel thankful to cer being postmasterfor cantonments. The President’s CampPO, in 1950 it became the fared, down the road. in the Order Book of the note that,atyour firstvisit postalreforms in Britain, withthe introduc- RashtrapatiBhavanPostOffice, and ceased Look around, in today’s India, and see the unspeakable Viceroys CampPostOffice(VCPO). It noted of my office, youhavebeen able to carry a tion of the “PennyPost” (uniform postage annualpilgrimages to Shimla. The RBPO is difficulties young people of different faiths areexperienc- thatthe office wasingood order, and that happyimpression with you, and Iamglad to across the country), hadn’t been replicated nowaserviceprovider forthe head of state ing in getting together.Isrunning away the onlyanswer? the firsttwo letters receivedand stamped mention that my co-partner,Babu Mathra in India. LordBentinckmade initial attempts, of democratic India, and the residentsofthe And howfar canyou run? Nair is hoping to re-release the were forLady Ampthill, wifeofLord Das, can be aco-sharer in the credit that you but it wasLordDalhousie who in 1854,es- President’s Estate. film this year,and it cannotcome at abettertime. Ampthill, GovernorofMadras and acting maygivefor this office working.” tablishedthe ImperialPostalDepartment Viceroy,and Major Strachey,Comptroller of ApartfromChakravarty’s work ethics, under aDirector General. In the midstofthe JagannathSrinivasanisOfficeronSpecialDuty theHousehold. what these records also reveal is the impor- Anglo-Sikh Warin1848, he had writtenfrom inthePresident’sSecretariat

tion comes cloakedinblueliberal garb. It will needtoliberatethe US from the shackles of AYear of Possibilities policies of the pastand createanew world order,adisruptive wayofthinking, where geopolitics is turnedupside down and lifeis No matter how invulnerable we may feel, as individuals or nations, reassessedasanequitablejourneyfor all. Ihad my aha moment with the stroke.For we all need periodic reality checks 2021 to be ayeartrulydifferent from 2019 or years past, and for2020 to be ayear which LATE ONE night in 2007,acall from Jean-Luc therestoftheworldasbelowpar,wasbrought isn’taltogether wasted,the US —and we — Naret, publisher of the esteemed TheMichelin to itsknees and broken into pieces whichwill musthaveasimilar aha moment. We must Guide NewYork City,changedthe fate of my SLICEOFLIFE take decades to put backtogether.The patri- acknowledgeour vulnerability and depend- restaurant and my professional lifeasachef archal,invinciblenationtalkingdownto other enceonone another.Wecannotallowthe and restaurateur.Mychef-partner,Hemant countries,witha“my wayorthehighway”ap- worldtoremaininthe status quowherea Mathur,and Ihad already been the recipi- proachtodiplomacy,using moneyand mili- fewwealthynationsorindividualsdictate entsofwonderfullykind, generous and tarymighttobuyallies,wasexposedasunder- the majority.Wemustdemand thatthe me- laudatoryreviews across newspapers,mag- prepared andworse. Anation investing in its dia go back to sharing news andfacts, not azines, journals and websites. The who’s who owndemise,wherethe1percentisbusyfind- commentaryand opinions that support the of the food worldand beyond had either ing ways to save moneyontaxes as the poor lobbyists andcorporations paying forits ex- dinedatDeviorhad it on their must-visit list. go without access to food,clothing, roof over istence. Iyearn to see an American newspa- But with thefirstMichelin star giventoan their heads, healthcare andeducation. per admit the poverty, abuse, rape, pillage Indian restaurant in NorthAmerica came Returning to my belovedmotherland af- and plunder in and by the US instead of carv- morerecognition and celebrityhood, more ter27years in NewYork,Isee what ails India. ing self-serving headlines out of similarinci- influence and notoriety. Theworld seesit, too. If we didn’t recognise dents in the developing nations. Ifoundmyself even moreengaged in our follies, the Western media would rub Let’s begin 2021with apledgetothink be- speakingand teaching and mosthappilyso. them in ourfaces. Iamgrateful theworld re- yond ourselves. To see our life as aconnec- While my business partners enjoyedthe mindsusofour challenges, of howbrokenwe tion to our familialunit, our familyasalink teeming crowds pouring in to savour ourcui- are. We needreminders. All of us do. Certainly to alargercommunity,our community as a sine, Iwas outsharing my knowledge and in- Iwas terrifiedbythe sight of migrant labour- pieceofthe clearly definedyetforever grow- spiring —atleast, IhopedIwas —and return- ers walking formiles on the highways in the ingand evolvingpuzzle that is ourcountry, a ing home with justenough time to create scorchingsummerheat, but Iunderstood small but interconnectedand interdependent newmenu items and freshen up the old, SuvirSaran they were headedhome, to rural hamlets,to part of theworld of nations. These nations, while being aspouse, dog- and cat-daddy, bewithfamily.Inthe US, the richwereescap- howeverdifferent theirmake-up, areall to- and keeping all entertained. Some months, I Suvir Saran is achef,author,educator ing the cities forthe Hamptons, leaving the gether affecting the lifeofthe planetEarth. would find myselfonthe road for20days, at and world traveller poor and middle class behind in the eyeofthe When we understand this, that moment, the restaurant foraweek,and at home for storm, with no infrastructuretoservethem, thatday,will be ouraha moment when we onlyanight or two. Ifelt as invincible and beworthmyrunning raggedand burning the and worse, no familial help either. Thenu- realise what it reallymeans to live in aglobal powerfulasthe US army. It wasarush that candle at both ends.But life had other plans. clear-family construct hadstolen that possi- SUVIRSARAN village, no matter wherewehouse our bod- wasintoxicating.Itwas ahigh that feditself It all endedwith me suffering concussions bility decades ago. With people of colour in WE ARE Brownsuffering? HowmanymoreBlack ies, what flag we salute, what languagewe and kept me happilyremovedfromthe re- owing to falls, and amini-stroke in 2018.Poor theUSdyingofCOVID-19atthree times the THE WORLD deaths will it take forAmerica to make speak and whichdialect of that we favour,or alities of life,fromgrasping the wear and tear health served me the ultimateultimatum— rate of Whitepeople, the virushas shown amendstohow it polices itsstreets?Who will what God(s) we mayormay notworship. The that my body and soul were enduring. to changemywaysorlose my life. howthe American narrative has failed itself For2021 to be expose the systemic failurethat brought newyear will be ahappyone if our human Adecade of feeling invulnerable and scal- The year 2020 has shownhow none of us, andall that it stands for. different and 2020 to Donald Trumptopowerwith asubstantial collective canrise above our comforting isms ing manysummitswas athrill that camewith no matter our colour,race, gender,class, na- The pandemic demands from us to ques- not be awasted year, mandateand understandhowpeoplehe most of sameness and reachout to those others we afeeling of being wanted,respected,admired tionality or celebrity status areimmune to a tion Big Daddy and whether it ought to,at we must acknowledge despises became his votebank? Social media nevernoticed before,inour owncommuni- andloved.Inever paused to worry aboutmy ruthless pandemic. Nowherehas the pan- least, spend some time in self-examination. our dependence on and the pandemic have exposedtherot.With ties, states and nations, and across the world. body.Ofcourse, the travels brought lucrative demicshownitsmightmore mercilessly than The American mediaisatthe epicentreofthe one another America broken, the worldhas lostaleader. In seeing faces, lives, lovesand souls in others, success whichkeptour farm in upstate New in the US. The mostpowerfulnation in the tragedythat has become the American story. Manyare looking to the Joe Biden- we will finallyconnect with our fellowbeings, York all natural and organic and aplace for world, the richestand mostdangerously Is thereanyone tackling howtoend theper- Kamala Harris tickettoreviveAmerica. But it and in thatcommunionfind thecurewhich familyand friends to retreat.Ithoughtthatto armed,whosecitizenshave forcenturiesseen versity of the spectator sportthat is Blackand willnot be enoughthatthe newadministra- might keep us safefromfuturepandemics.

Ahmedabad EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

JANUARY 10, 2021 SPOTLIGHT 15 DOWN IN Deadly Deception JUNGLELAND Nearly four decades ago, aquick-fix murder and its daredevil perpetrator stunned Kerala. With anew film cominguponthe criminal mastermind who was never apprehended, RanjitLal former police officers recount amurder most foul Ranjit Lal is an author, environmentalistand Vishnu Varma birdwatcher

NAFOGGYmorning,around 4 am on January22, 1984,aman burstintothe Mavelikkarapo- lice station in Kerala’s The Small OAlappuzha,startling the head constable on duty. AblackAmbassador with the licence plateKL-Q-7831 wasgoing up in flamesinapaddyfieldwithanalmost-charred bodyinthedrivingseat,heblurtedout.Afterfil- and Mighty ing an FIR whenofficers rushedtothe spot, a crowdhadalreadygathered.Therewerewhis- persthatthecarmighthaveveeredoff theroad Fear not just the big and the fierce. and ontothe field, catching fire in the process. Murali Vrindavanam, then a20-year-old Sometimes, the smaller the local political worker,says, “When the blaze waspartiallyput out, we sawthat therewas a creatures, the deadlier they are person inside who seemedtobetiedtothe seat. Some locals, on their wayhome after IGHT FROM our childhoodweare told big ani- watching aplay, recalledseeing some people mals aredangerous. At the topofthe most- driving away from the spot.” feared listare the carnivores—lions, tigers, It wasafter the team of then deputy super- Rleopards, hyenas and bears on land, and croco- intendent of police(DSP) PM Haridasreached diles and sharks in the water. Thegrowlsand snarls of the the spotaround 5.30 am that tinyclues bigcarnivoresare warning enough, nottomention their pointed to the incident being morethan a fearsomefour-inch canines with whichthey’ll crunch mereaccident. Officers found amatchbox, a your bonesand muscles.The submarine attackers rear pair of footwear,arubber glovewith astrand up in aheart-stoppingmoment of sheer violence, or slink of hair in it andsomefootprintsinthe mud. up from beneath to chompyou cleaninhalf. Therewas also awhiffofpetrolinthe air.The Generations have been brought up on suchhorror post-mortem confirmedthe police’s suspi- stories as well as stirring tales of bravehunters setting cions—the personhadbeenkilledbeforebe- forthtorid us of these scourges. Peopleinvillages and ing placedinthe driver’s seat. Therewereno small towns around whichtheseman-eating predators tracesof charcoalor ash inhis respiratorytract hunted,lived in athrall of fear,locking themselvesin- and the presenceofliquor and ethylalcohol doors at dusk —though, sometimes, even this wasnot in the digestive tract addedtothe mystery. enough. And then, with an unerring shot, the hunter took By then, word had spread that thede- down the menaceand celebrationswereinorder and the ceasedwasSukumaraKurup, a30-something beastwas paradedthrough the villagetoassureevery- native of nearbyCheriyanad, who had arrived one that it wasindeed dead.These days,with our new from the Gulf recently. Though the face had love forlynching, oftenthe entiremale populationofthe been charredbeyond recognition, aclose rel- village will hystericallyhuntdownthe predator,and beat ative,BhaskaraPillai, testifieditwas him, it to apulp. We’vehunted down more than 90 per cent of basedonthe heightandbuildof thebodyand tigers, so the chances of youmeeting one and becoming the fact that Kurup hadn’t returnedhome af- lunch while on awalk in the jungle areminuscule. terhedrove to Ambalapuzha, anearbytown, Old jungle hands might tell youthat morethanthe the previous dayinthat car. carnivores, thebig vegans needtobefeared.Inmost While the remains were handedoverto Indian forests, wild elephantsare considered to be the Kurup’sfamilyonthe condition that it be mostdangerous: silentassmoke, intelligent and merci- buriedandnotcremated,unknownto thepo- less. Worse, gangs will nothesitatetoinvade villages lice,Kurupwasalive andinhidinginAluva,115 and laywaste —snarfing up food grain, sugarcane and km away.The body in thecar wasthat of vegetables —and guzzling down the homemade moon- Alappuzha-native Chacko,afilmrepresenta- shine at the local bar.Other notorious vegans include tive whobecamethevictimof adiabolicalget- rhinos and wildbuffalo, who arefamouslyshort-tem- rich-quickplotbyKurup,Pillaiandtwoothers. pered and likelytocharge on sight. Out in Africa, the It’s been 37 years since that Januarymorn- hippo is considered themostdangerous, killing more ing when DSP Haridas had arrivedatthe site peoplethanthe big cats. Even the portlywild boar can of the burning car.Hehad no clue then that provetobeanunpredictable foe, ready to lacerateyou he would be drawnintoamurder case that would define his career and go on to become one of the mostsensational cases in the crim- inal history of Kerala.

■ ■ ■ ILLUSTRATION:SUVAJITDEY SukumaraKurup wasn’t the name he was givenatbirth.Itwas GopalakrishnaKurup. reachedanhour late, Iwould have missed Born intoamiddle-class, upper-caste house- him,” says the retired officer over phone. hold in Cheriyanad, Kurup wasdrawn to ad- Onquestioning,itdidn’ttake longforShahu venturefromanearly age. Aftercompleting to spill the beans, making his testimonythe his pre-degree course (the equivalent of to- bedrock of the policecase. To find the identity day’s higher-secondaryeducation),hejoined of the deceased, the police sent out messages theIndian Air Forceasanairman. But afterhe to nearbypolice stations formissing-person WIKIMEDIACOMMONS failedtoreturn to his unit following apro- complaints. Promptly,inAlappuzha, acom- TINY TORMENTORS longed leave,hewas brandeda“deserter”. plaintby Chacko’sbrotherstoodout.Basedon Poison dart frogs It wasatthis juncturethat Kurup’s hisphysical resemblance to Kurup, it became crookedness firstmanifestitself. He bribed a apparent that it wasChacko’s body in the car. head constable in the special branchofthe po- With Kurup untraceable, the police fileda with itstusks. It’s telling that these guysdon’t even eat lice to forgeareportstating that Gopalakrishna chargesheetarraigning Pillai and Ponnappan you, justmash youintothe dirtand leave with atri- Kurup had diedand sent it to the IAF to clear as the firstand second accusedinthe case on umphant toss of their heads. his name.Healso took on anew name — chargesofmurder,conspiracy and destruc- Then thereisthe almostuniversally-hated (and - SukumaraPillai —when he appliedforapass- VYSAKHVENUGOPAL VISHNUVARMA tion of evidence, among others. Shahu was feared)kingdom of reptiles. All snakes as well as lizards porttomove to theGulf. Pillai and Kurup are but to him, it seemed justright. IN COLD film representative returning home afteras- madeapoliceapprover. PillaiandPonnappan —fromthe giant Komodo dragon to the smilingwall sub-castesofthe Nair community in Kerala. BLOOD sessing ticket collectionsat thetheatre. As the were found guilty by the sessions courtand gecko—are considered to be venomous. Besides,we Kurupdisplayedthe same intrepid behav- ■ ■ ■ car spedtowards Alappuzha, Pillaimade the sentencedtolifeinprison.The wivesofKurup have seen what crocodiles and alligators can do. The An artist’s impression iour in love.Hemet Sarasamma, the daugh- firstmove—he offeredChacko aglass of and Pillai were acquitted forlackofevidence. psychedelic arrow-poison frogs of Central and South terofthe woman who workedas ahelp at his Aman kills another with astrong resem- of Kurup; debris of the brandylacedwithether.ButChacko declined. Whereluckaidedthe police in catching America can take down 20 men by meretouch, and so, residence, at arelative’s home in Mumbai, blance to him, putshim in the driver’s seat of engineofthe car in When he said no to yetanother offerofadrink, Shahu, it betrayedthem on multiple occasions the native Indians tippedtheirhunting arrows with the when he wasstill in the IAF.Sarasamma was his car and sets it on fire to makeitappear like which Chackowas it wasacue forPonnappantoswerveout of when it came to Kurup. Policeaccounts said poison. In the seas and oceans,strangemonstrous-look- studyingnursinginthe city.When his parents an accidenttoclaimhis lifeinsurance —the burnt stillremainsat the highway intoaside road. Chacko was Kurup had travelledtoMavelikkaraand ing fish and beautifulmollusksare loadedwith venom. got wind of it, theywerefurious.But Kurup moreKurup thought about it, the moreplau- the Mavelikkara forced to consume the alcohol; the ether in it Cheriyanadat leasttwiceafterChacko’s mur- Touchthemand you’ll writhe in agony. Getstinged by wasadamant. Shortlyafter he leftthe IAF and sible the storyseemed.He investedin alifein- police station knockedhim out almostimmediately. der.The closestthe police came to trapping the lacy jellyfish trailing yardsofsilken strands and you prepared to move to AbuDhabi, he married surance policy worthRs8lakh but he needed According to thechargesheet, it wasPillai him wasinAluva. “Wegot alead from one of arenearly done for. Sarasamma in asecret ceremonyatatemple. help to carry out his plan. One night, after compound; PM and Shahu who strangledChacko to death. Kurup’s relativesthat he wasinalodgenear Abovewater,birds aretaught to be feared,too.Eagles The next chapterofhis lifeinAbu Dhabias drinks, he pitchedthe idea to Shahu. All they Haridas, who was in The group then headedtoSarasamma’sna- the railway station. But when we reached, he carry babies and small children away;owlspluckyour an operator with the AbuDhabi Marine had to do wasmakeitseem likeanaccident, chargeofthe probe, at tive place wheretheyscorched Chacko’s face had already leftbythe Malabar Express. If we eyes out or castspells on youand crowsmob youmerci- Operating Companywaslargely peaceful. The claim insuranceand splitthe money.Once his residence in and replacedhis clothes, ring andwatchwith had gottenthe information afew hours earlier, lesslyifyou take potshots at them.Then, thereisthe jobbroughtin asteadyincomeand Kurup,an Shahu, who had his ownfinancial problems, Kollam Kurup’s. Later,the twocars proceededtothe we would have caughthim,”says the then mind-boggling diversity of insectsand arachnids: expe- extrovert, quicklygathered aband of close agreed, Kurup ropedinPillai and his driver paddy field at Thannimukkam, wherethey Kayamkulam-circle inspector Jayaprakash, rienced jungle handsare moreafraidofthesethan of big friends around him. Suku,ashewas fondly Ponnappan. Things movedquicklyafter that. placedChacko in the driving seat, pushedthe who retired as the superintendent of police. game. The smaller the creatures getthe deadlier theybe- called, spentlavishlyonparties; he alsohelped Pillai bought asecond-hand Ambassador car on to thepaddy field and setitonfire. Over the next decade, the hunt forKurup come. Mosquitoes,rat fleas, flies en masse create havoc his friends out in crises. One suchfriend was and Kurup and Shahu, on leave from work,ar- became something of aprestigeissuefor the amongus. Spidershaveaccounted formoreofusthan all Shahu, anative of Chavakkad in Thrissur dis- rivedinThiruvananthapuraminthefirstweek ■ ■ ■ Keralapolice,movingbeyondthestatetocities the big carnivoresput together. But we can still see and trict, who workedasanofficeboy in Kurup’s of January. “Kurup’s initial idea wastoget an likeGwalior,BhopalandItarsi,to theAndaman hear them —and zap, if necessary, or simplyswat. firm. He would go on to play asignificant role unclaimeddead body.Pillai had arelative Haridas,81,stillremembersthecasevividly, and Nicobar islands and overseas to Bhutan There’s amultitude of lifeforms —mortalenemies, in his future. On vacations to Kerala, Kurup working at the Alappuzha Medical College, so especiallythe observations he’d made in the and the Gulf nations. Suchwas thefixation manyofthem —whichwecan neithersee nor hear nor broughtsuitcases fullofgoodiesforhis friends he felt it wouldn’t be difficult to source one. aftermathof theaccidentthatarousedhissus- withcatchinghimthatofficerslikeJayaprakash smell, but justfeel the terrible effectsof, once theyat- and family. During his stay,hewould insiston Or else, abody could be scavenged from a picion that it wasn’t Kurup who had died. “I even spent their ownmoneytochase elusive tack us. Microbes, bacteriaand viruses—the smallest picking up their liquor tab. He also bought a cemetery.But when these didn’t work out, could gauge that therewas no real grief in the leads.“If Kuruphadbeencaughtthen,thecase and mostdiverse —are themostdangerous. plotofland in Ambalapuzha to build ahouse Kurup casuallysuggestedmurder.Justlike house. Theyhad even prepared chickencurry wouldn’t have generated so muchpublicity, Seen through microscopes, they’renoless frighten- and purchasedanAmbassador car. that,everyone got on board,” says DSP Haridas. forlunchonthe dayofthe accident. In those norwould he have been seen as an enigma,” ing than asnarling tiger,astheyruthlesslyget to work The result of suchopulence wasshoddy On the night of January21, Kurup, Pillai, days,chickenwascookedonspecialoccasions. says Devasia. In 1984 itself,the casefound re- invadingand destroying our cells and devastatingour financialmanagement. Despitethe combined Shahu and Ponnappan assembledatthe It wascertainlynot on the menu when there flection in the film NH 47,inwhichTGRavi health. We mayhavedevelopedweapons of mass de- salaries of Kurup and his wife—anurse in a Kalpakavadi hotelatKaruvattaonNational wasadeath in the family,”herecalls. playedKurup. ActorDulquer Salmaan will struction againstmanyofthem, but theydevelop im- private hospital —touching Rs 60,000 a Highway 47 fordinnerand drinks.Afterwards, Another strong indicatorwas theburn soonbeseeninafilmtitledKurup,inwhichhe munities as fast as we up the ante. Manyare evillyin- month, their savings were negligible. It was theytrooped intotwo cars —Kurup in the markson Pillai’s forehead and hand, incurred plays acharacterbasedonKurup.Chacko’sson genious: the terrible rabies virus knows it has doomed around this time that Kurup begantohear newly-purchasedKL-Q-7831 and the others in when he had setthe car on fire.When ques- hasfiledalegalnoticeagainstitstatingthathis itshostand so leavesthe party as soon as it can —byde- strong rumours of companies in the Gulf, in- acar with the license plateKL-Y-5959 —and tioned, Pillai firstsaidhegot burntwhilelight- father’s murderer notbeglorified. liberatelycausingits hosttogoberserkand bitesome- cluding his own, planning to shedtheir exist- went huntingfor avictim.The four drove ing afire; in amatter of minutes, he said he What became of Kurup then? At aRanchi one, so it can be transferredthrough saliva to anew host ing workforcetohirenew workers at lower along the highway till Oachira, adistance of got it while carrying hotwater.When his tes- hospital once, aMalayali nurse who claimed —and continue the good work there. Others take over wages. With his house under construction and about 25 km, without anyluck.Turning back, timoniesgot contradictory, thepoliceknew to have treatedthe fugitive Kurup, told the po- the brains of their hosts to ensuretheyget the best facili- hisfriendsencouraginghim to startabusiness as theyapproachedHari movie theatrenear theywereonthe right track. lice that he wasunlikelytolivelong as he suf- ties forthe propagation of their species. in Kerala, moneywas crucial. Haripad,theysaw aman by theside of the It wasthe then Mavelikkaracircle inspec- feredfromaseriousillness. If heis alive today, Since small size matters more, if youreallywant to What’sthe quickest waytoget rich? The road, his hand outstretchedfor alift. “Areyou torKJDevasia who apprehendedShahu late hewould be74 yearsold,his namestillonthe be deadly, be small, invisible, odourless and silent and answer presenteditself in astoryin an English going towardsAlappuzha?” the stranger in the night.“When Iknockedathishome, he “long-pending”listofcriminal cases in Kerala. come up trumps. detective magazine Kurup read one night. To asked.“Come on in,” said Ponnappan. wasabout to leave to catchabus to Kochi, from anyone else, it mayhavebeen unthinkable, The man identifiedhimself as Chacko,a whereheplannedtoescape to theGulf. Had I WithinputsbyDeborahThambi

Ahmedabad THESUNDAYEXPRESS,JANUARY10,2021 KARLOVIC OLDESTTOWIN IN 25 YEARS IvoKarlovic became the oldest player to win an ATPTour match in aquarter-century, beating No.7-seeded Pablo Andujar 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the first round of the Delray BeachOpen. Karlovic,41, is 16 the oldest to win on the top men's tour since JimmyConnorsat SPORT AP age 42 in 1995. Bumrah, Siraj allege racial abuse by crowd, BCCI lodges complaint

matchreferee David Boon about twooftheir Injured Jadeja out of 4th Test The visitors' firstjolt came when Pant sus- If that wasnot enough, the Australian fast PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA players Jasprit Bumrah and MohammedSiraj DepletedIndia's injurywoes worsened It is learnt that along discussion tainedanelbowinjuryafter being hit by a bowlers inflicted further pain on the Indians SYDNEY,JANUARY9 being abusedbyadrunk spectator," aCricket on Saturdaywith senior all-rounder washeld between the senior PatCummins delivery.Reservewicketkeeper with Jadeja suffering anasty blowtohis left Boardsaid. RavindraJadeja sustaining aleftthumb dis- players of the visiting Wriddhiman Saha replacedPant as per are- thumb. He is unlikelytobowlinthe THE BCCI on Saturdaylodged aformal com- Incidentally, the Monkeygate episode location and fracturewhichislikelytorule cent amendment in the ICC playing condi- Australian second innings afterbeing taken plaint with ICC matchreferee David Boon af- also took place during the SydneyTestwhen him out of the final Test in Brisbane, starting contingent, including captain tions. "Rishabh Pant washit on the leftelbow forscans to ascertain the damagetohis bowl- terIndian team players, Jasprit Bumrah and Andrew Symonds claimedHarbhajan Singh January15. However, thereissome good AjinkyaRahane, the umpires while batting in the second session on ing hand. Jadeja's 28-run knockallowedIndia MohammedSiraj,wereallegedly racially calledhim amonkey multiple times. But the news forIndia as wicketkeeper-batsman and security officers at the end Saturday. He has been takenfor scans," the to limit Australia's first-innings lead to less abusedbyadrunk spectator hereduring the Indian off-spinner wascleared afterahear- Rishabh Pant's elbowinjuryisnot serious BCCIhad earlierstatedinarelease. than 100but towardsthe end, ashortball thirdday of thirdTestagainstAustralia. ing on the matter. and he will probablybeavailable when India of the day's play Pant, who looked good during his 36 off from Mitchell Starchit him on the gloves and According to BCCI sources, Siraj wasal- It is learnt that along discussion washeld bat to save the Test match. Both players un- 67 balls on the thirdday of the match, was he neededimmediatemedical attention. legedly referred to as a"monkey"byadrunk between the senior players of the visiting derwent scans afterbeing hit by shortballs hit while trying to pull ashortball from Jadeja wasinpain and once the team was spectator in one of stands at the Sydney contingent, including captain Ajinkya from Australian pacers on thirdday of the asenior BCCI source told PTI on Saturday. "In Cummins. He wasinpain immediatelyand backonthe field forthe second innings, his Cricket Ground, reliving the infamous Rahane, the umpires and security officers at Test match. anycase,hewillbeoutof actionforatleasttwo afteron-field treatment that includedstrap- leftthumb looked pretty swollen and the Monkeygate episode of the Indian team's the end of the day's play. The abuses were di- "RavindraJadeja has sufferedadislocation to threeweekswhichruleshimoutof thefinal ping abandage, he wasbackinaction but lost physio appliedtaping on it. He threw afew tour of Australia in 2007-08. rected at the Indian duo while theywere and fractureonhis leftthumb. It will be very Test.Pant will be able to bat as his injuryisn't the flowdue to hindered movement as Josh balls but then it wasdecidedthat it won't be "BCCI lodged aformal complaint with ICC fielding during the Australian second innings. difficult forhim to wear those gloves and bat," that serious." Hazlewood had him caught behind. possible forhim to continue. With series on line, how Pat comes the collapse India ran themselves out Cummins, showing afriendlydemeanour,putsthe skids under India as hosts take charge at SCG

SANDIPG SCORECARD JANUARY9 AUSTRALIA VS INDIA AN HOUR before tea, aslow-burning Test be- SYDNEY CRICKET GROUND gantogather fire.The contest–whose control Toss: Australia, chose to bat wasconstantlyexchanging hands until then AUSTRALIA (1STINNINGS) 338 —took adecisive swing in the hosts’favour,as India lostwicketsinaheap and the INDIA (1STINNINGS) 244(O/N: 96/2) Australians piledonruns at abrisk clip. From CPujaracPainebCummins 50(176b,5x4) arosy 195/4, India were dismissedfor a ARahanebCummins 22(70b,1x4,1x6) gloomy244all out, and to adeficit of 94runs. HViharirunout(Hazlewood) 4(38b) Australia added103 morewith the loss of just RPantcWarnerbHazlewood 36(67b,4x4) Jasprit Bumrah wasthe thirdIndian batsman to getrun out on Saturday. AP their openers. Their lead of 197has already RJadejanotout 28(37b,5x4) acquiredamatch-defining proposition, what RAshwinrunout(Cummins/Labuschagne) 10 with the strip progressively deteriorating. (15b,2x4) quicksingles. Therewas even awarning sign The precipitant of India’s collapse wasPat NSainicWadebStarc 3(13b) SRIRAMVEERA justtwo overs before the mishap. Jadeja had Cummins,whodisarmsbatsmenfirstwithhis JBumrahrunout(Labuschagne) 0(2b) JANUARY9 pushedaPatCumminsdeliveryto coverpoint smileandthendevastatesthemwithhislethal MSirajcPainebCummins 6(10b,1x4) andwantedasingle,evenrunningashortdis- craft, abowler who fumes with pace but also ■ Extras (nb2,w5,lb2) 9 HOWDOES one describethe urge that leads tance.Ashwinsenthimback.Thatshouldhave shows adivine mastery of seam movement ■FoW:3-117(Rahane,54.4ov),4-142(Vihari, to run-outsexactlyatthe moment when the been areminder of the stateofaffairs. It was and aggressive lines. Pace, bounce, subtlety of 67.2ov),5-195(Pant,87.4ov),6-195(Pujara, game is waiting to be seized? Cheteshwar an unevencombo: Jadeja, one of the quickest movement, asharp, strong and flexible mind 88.2ov),7-206(Ashwin,92.2ov),8-210(Saini, Pujarahad dramatically cricketers in the worldand Ashwin one of the areall his virtues, but the mostglowing of all 94.5ov),9-216(Bumrah,96.3ov),10-244 shiftedgears at the fall of slowest.Oneextraeagerto stealarun,theother mustbehiscapacityto produceawicket when (Siraj,100.4ov) AjinkyaRahane’s wicket happytorelinquisharun.Onewholikesto run, batsmen areontop. His ability to notgiveup, ■Bowling:MStarc19-7-61-1,JHazlewood21- and India were on the as- the other has resignedlong agoabout his even when conditions areharsh. 10-43-2,PCummins21.4-10-29-4,NLyon31-8- E cendancy when Hanuma body’sbetrayal.“If Icould,Iwouldhave pulled ● Likewhen he devoured Shubman Gill on 87-0,MLabuschagne3-0-11-0,CGreen5-2-11-0 EXPLAINED Vihari ranhimself out. The my soul out and killedthis body,” he told the second day, with the young Indian matchand series were on Cricbuzz about his injuries lastyear. opener seemingly in utter control. And like AUSTRALIA (2STINNINGS) 103/2 thelineonthelastspecialistbattingpairinthe In Jadeja’s mind, it wasn’t even probably when he consumedCheteshwar Pujara, who DWarnerlbwAshwin 13(29b,1x4) middle when RAshwin wasrun out, limited toorisky asingle. He had placedittothe right looked weddedtothe crease foralifetime. WPucovskicsub(Saha)bSiraj 10(16b,2x4) by hisbodywhichinhibitshistrustinthepart- of Cummins at mid-off. He setoff without a Cummins wasarmedwith the second new MLabuschagnebatting 47(69b,6x4) ner’s call. Alastchance at amini-miracle was doubt;Ashwincertainlyhadself-doubtsifnot ball, but Pujarahad seldom looked frazzledin SSmithbatting 29(63b,3x4) stubbedoutwhenJaspritBumrahwasn’tquick about his partner’s call. He turnedtohavea what washis slowest half-century. His 176 ■ Extras (nb3,lb1) 4 enoughto satiateJadeja’sthirsttoretainstrike. glance at Cumminsbeginning to move to his balls of defiance and denial, and eachpa- ■ FoW:1-16(Pucovski,5.5ov),2-35(Warner, right and setoff.Without that delaytriggered tientlyeked-out run, wastaking the sap out 9.2ov) Vihari’s brain fade by the doubt, he would have been home. of the oppositionplayers’ legs and painstak- ■Bowling:JBumrah8-1-26-0,MSiraj8-2-20-1, Notlong afterRahane had leftIndia in abit Without that doubt, though, he wouldn’t be ingly laying the foundation of asolid first-in- NSaini7-1-28-0,RAshwin6-0-28-1 of abotherat116 for3,Pujarareached16from Ashwin. It’s amessy catch-22 situation. nings total. From ageneration demanding PatCummins took four Indian wicketstoturn the matchinAustralia’s favour. AP Day4: LiveonSonySportsNetwork,5am 100balls and decidedtoupthe tempobefore Ashwin should have trustedJadeja’s call and instant gratification, his dourness might in- the secondnew ball wastaken. He picked11 ranbut then therewas in the episode in the vitecensure, but this wasamasterbatsman runs offaNathan Lyon over,with acouple of previous over whichmusthavereiterated to sticking to his strengths and doing his best In Cummins, Pujarahad found his bat(plusapartoftheglove),alreadylevelwith dominance. It wasnot aquickenough surface fours, and also droveJosh Hazlewood to the himthathecan’tbetrustedblindly. For, hadhe to put his team in asecureposition. true bêtenoire. Their encounters his chest. Pujaratook the bottom hand offthe to extract frightening bounce at heightened boundarywhen Vihari’s brain fade happened. runthatsingle,hewouldn’thave madeitathis Morethan anyother side, Australia know handle, but it wastoo latetoprevent contact. pace. It certainlywas notapitchwherein two He wasonfour,that washis 38th ball, the last pace. So, this time too, he threw aglance side- the Pujaraeffect. Twoyears ago, his immov- this series read: 129balls, 19 runs, The fort breached, India imploded. batsmen would end up nursing sorethumb 13 had justfetched justone run —and per- ways to watchthe ball. ability costthem the series. Streaksofrest- 4wickets. Cummins has clear As Cummins wheeledawayincelebra- and elbow. But the slowness of the surface haps, he wantedto rotatestrikeovertoPujara CouldJadejahave shownbetterawareness lessness were creeping in, with even the one-upmanship over India’s tion, Pujaralooked down suspiciouslyatthe made short-pitchedbowling all the moredif- who had taken16fromhis last19balls. of Ashwin’shandicap?Withthatball,heprob- chatty Marnus Labuschagne lostfor energy surface once more. But the real culprit was ficult to handle, because batsmen had afrac- Perhaps, he wastrickedintothinking he had ablyfelt therewas no needtoastrustwould and sound. The sun-beaten strip seemedto defensive rock.“The best ball I the man whose fast,explosive delivery in the tion moretime to think than theywould have momentum as he had gone down the track have takenAshwin home. And in the process, distil everyball of itsvenom. have facedthis series,” Pujara fourth-stumpchannel had found the edge. on aquickersurface. This wasenough to in- forthe drive.Hesaw asingle in the run-barren Ashwin, who had startedoff with acouple of And then Cummins boundedin, with un- In Cummins, Pujarahad found his true bête fuse dilemma and confusion. desert; it proved to be amirage. Hazlewood fours, fell and India were deflated at 206for 7. flagging energy and unwavering smile. would later say noire. Their encounters this series read: 129 It wasnot justshort-pitchedbowling, but intervenedquickly, moving to his right at mid- Realising that the good-length ball wasnot balls, 19 runs, 4wickets. Cummins has clear thefearof short-pitchedbowlingthatspooked off, swooped, cupped, and flung the ball im- Final blow quiteseaming —heanywayisnot an expan- Growing up in the Sydneysuburb of Penrith, one-upmanship over India’s defensive rock. India’s batsmen, especiallythe lowerorder. mediatelyevenashefell. It wasVihari who Whenthenextrunoutcame,to leave them sive moverofthe ball —heresortedtoshort- parentsofrival batsmen usedtorequesthim “The best ball Ihavefacedthis series,” Pujara MohammedSiraj kneltonthegroundevenbe- had to dusthimself offthe arena. 216for 9, therewas no shockorgrimace, just pitchedbowling. Straightaway,hehurried to bowl slowerwhen their kids were batting. would later say. fore Mitchell Starc’s shortball had landed. TherewasastunningshotfromSpidercam: laughter at the tragi-comic stateofaffairs. This Rishabh Pant intoapull stroke,and the wick- Cumminswould agree, but in the heat of the The Aussie pacemen shuffledthe lengths, all the Australians maniacallyrushing past time the errorwas the start, notinthe middle etkeeper-batsman wasbeaten forpace and moment,hewould forget to keep his word. Out-thinking Rahane changedtrajectories and sustainedthe hostil- Vihari,whowasdragginghimself off,aforlorn whentheyturnedforthesecond.Jadejahadto struckflush on the unprotected leftelbow. “I didn’t mean to but everyyear Iwould ac- In the morning, Cummins had out- ity.Pujaracrawlednotbecause he wasaverse figurewhoperhapsfearedhewasblowinghis wait to see if the short-leg fielder had stopped He grimacedinpain, and could nottakeup tuallyhavebatsmen on the ground rolling in thought India’s heroinMelbourne, Ajinkya to runs, but because Cummins and Co. hardly career away.Not sureofthat, yet, as the man- it or notbeforehestarted to run. The ball had his duties behind the stumps when pain,” he once told cricketaustralia.com.au. Rahane, with an equallyshrewdpiece of giftedhim afreebie. Rahane perishedman- agement has trustinhim and moreimpor- beendeflectedby MarnusLabuschagne.Jadeja Australia’s second innings came about. Therewas another match, wherein the bails bowling. Rahane wassoftenedupwith a ufacturing astrokeand some of the kamikaze tantlythereisasecondinningsstillleftforhim waited,and so did Bumrah who wasn’t sure Rattled, Pant washalf the man he wasbefore had to be retrievedfromthe fence afterhe spateofshortballs at his body before he was runningbetween the wicketscould beattrib- to prove, but he certainlyhad put the game in what Jadeja wasgoing to do. Suddenly, as the getting struckand eventuallysurrendered bowled abatsman with rawpace. caught unawareswith aback-of-a-length uted to the choking of run-scoring outlets. jeopardy forIndia. ballleftLabuschagne’sshadow, Jadejastartedto sheepishlytoJosh Hazlewood. Speed, to him, is an instinct. He combines ball that jagged backsharplyintohim. Indian bowlers should have takenlessons steamahead.At thatpoint,Bumrahmusthave It wasPujara’s turn next. He wasrapped it with smarts.Cummins knewheneeded Rahane shapedupfor adab through the va- from Cummins and friends. Theycould not The Ashwin run out knowntheintentwasnot onlyasinglebuttwo, viciouslyonthe upper arm, the bat shivering something moretodeceive Pujara. So he cant slip cordon but wasoblivious to seam on Saturdayevening, as Labuschagne and Thishurtmoreintheoryasthiswasn’tasur- and he triedhis best to dash across and turn in his hand at the impact of the hit. Cummins, changedto amoreshort-of-lengthplan,coax- movement. The ball crampedhim forroom SteveSmith tuckedintosome insipid bowl- prise.Vihari’srunoutwasnot preventable.This backblind. But the delayatthe start, forced by afterall, is no stranger to breaking bones. In inghimto comeforwardgraduallyanddefend and took the bottom edge ontothe stumps. ing. In short, India needaCummins, he of an wasbad.Ashwinknows heisn’tagoodrunner. the deflection, and as he waited forJadeja to Adelaide, he had shattered Mohammed on the front foot.Then he pushedinthe effort The short-ball strategy directlyfetched ever-smiling visage, twinkling eyes and un- Jadejashouldknow. Theworldknows forsure. make the move meant he wasalways going to Shami’s arm; during the 2019 WorldCup, he ball,thatpitchedshortoflength,butexploded Australia justthe wicket of No.9Navdeep relenting hostility,the man who setthe slow- Certainly, the Australians did as theyhad re- be behind the eight ball, as theysay.And from brokeShaun Marsh’s arm in the nets. likeahand grenade intothe shoulder of the Saini, but it wascentral to their third-day burning dayonfire. peatedly targetedAshwinonthefield,running then on, so wasIndia. BRIEFLY Mushtaq Ali T20 begins with strict Covid protocols Elavenil,Hridaywin EastBengalbeatBFC, Tendulkar Jr 10mairrifletrials extendunbeatenrun SHAMIKCHAKRABARTY& Because of the pandemic, the BCCI has al- DEVENDRAPANDEY lowedthe teams to have 22-member squads. Hooda pulls out after NewDelhi: Worldnumber one Elavenil Margao:MattiSteinmann'sfirst-half strike KOLKATA/MUMBAI,JANUARY9 This has augured well forSachin Tendulkar’s Valarivanand HridayHazarika emerged proved to be the difference as SC East son Arjun, aleft-arm seamer by occupation. tiff with Pandya winnersinthewomen'sandmen's10mair Bengal edgedpastBengaluru FC 1-0 to COVID-19HAD threatenedtomakethe 2020- Although Mumbai have stars likeSuryakumar rifle national selection trials. Elavenil fin- recordtheir second win of the HeroIndian 21 Indian domestic cricket season null and Yadav, ShivamDube, DhawalKulkarni, BARODA VICE-CAPTAIN Deepak ishedwith 251.7, twopointsahead of sec- Super League, at the FatordaStadium. The void. Eventually, the BCCI, in consultation Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan, Arjun is Hooda pulledhimself out of the Syed ond-placedAyonika Paulwhile Hazarika Kolkataside is nowunbeaten in their last with stateassociations,decidedtoset the ball expected to be the cynosureofall eyes. The Mushtaq Ali Trophyafter allegedly beatAishwaryPratapSinghTomar,aTokyo five games while BFC’s miserycontinued rolling. The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tourna- Mumbai selection committee includedhim falling out with team captain Krunal 2020 quotaholder,253.2 to 251.5. with their fourth consecutive defeat. ment, to beplayedfromJanuary10-31, serves Arjun Tendulkar has been includedin in the squad afterthe Indian boardallowed Pandyaduring atraining session on as acurtain-raiser.There’s no certainty about the 22-member Mumbai squad. File the squad strength expansion from 20 to 22. Saturday. The twoallegedly had an ar- the Ranji Trophyand/or the VijayHazare gument at the nets on the eveofthe MohdSportingedge Pliskovalosesto Trophy. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, too, Return of Bhuvi tournament afterwhichHooda left pastdebutantsSudeva qualifierinAbuDhabi would be different this time –players and as their respective venues forgroup league. Bhuvneshwar Kumar,who hasn’t played the bio-bubble. In his email to Baroda coaching staffinbio-bubbles across seven Eight PlateGroup teams will playinChennai. international cricket formorethan ayear,suf- Cricket Association, accessedbyThe Kolkata:Ali Faisal's second-half strike AbuDhabi:ThirdseedKarolina Pliskova cities, under strict Covid protocols. Afterthe teams assembledattheir respective feredathigh muscle injurysufferedduring SundayExpress, Hooda even accused helpednewly-promotedMohammedan waseliminated in straight sets by aqual- venuesonJanuary2,threeroundsof Covidtests theIPL.Heisnow ready foracomebackfor Pandyaof“threatening” him. Sporting beat debutantsSudeva Delhi FC ifier.Third-seededPliskova wasbeaten 6- Five rounds of Covid tests have been conducted.The group phase ends Uttar Pradesh in the SyedMushtaq Ali Trophy. “...Hestoppedmypracticeshowing 1-0asthe I-League season got underway 2, 6-4 by Russian Anastasia Gasanova, BCCI secretaryJay Shah’s communiqué to on January19followedbytwo morerounds of It is learnt that Kumar,doing his rehab at the his Dada Giri. He (Pandya) is trying to hereonSaturday. Faisal's 58th-minute who wasranked 292nd in her firsttour allaffiliatedunitsstipulatedfive roundsof Covid Covid testsbeforethe knockoutsare playedin National Cricket AcademyinBangalore, has pull me down all the time in the field. goal proved to be the difference between main draw. testsduringthetournament.To startwith,Elite Ahmedabad from January26. OnlyIPL talent informedthe Uttar Pradesh Cricket Heisthreateningme‘howyouwillplay the twosides. AGENCIES GroupA,B,C,DandEhavesixteamseachwith scouts,selectorsandstagingassociationmem- Association about playing afew matches dur- forBaroda,Iwillseeyou’,”Hoodawrote. Bangalore,Kolkata,Baroda,IndoreandMumbai bers have been allowedatmatchvenues. ing the latter half of the tournament.

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