DAILYFROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/014/2021-23

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2021, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

CADILA’S3-DOSESHOTBASEDONDNAPLATFORM WORLD FirstCovid-19vaccine forchildrenabove12yrs

IN AFGHANISTAN, getsemergencyusenod REPORTS OF TARGETED KILLINGS FUEL FEARS 66%efficacy recorded; needle-free, to be administered BIDEN PLEDGESTO intradermally; second dose at 28 days,third at 56 days AMERICANS: WE WILL GETYOU HOME agegroup. PAGE 11 KAUNAINSHERIFFM On Friday, the Indian drug NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 regulator said in atweet that af- terevaluating the “interim” GUJARAT-BASED Zydus Cadila's phaseIII clinical trials resultsin three-dose Covid-19vaccine was consultation with the subject ex- THE FALL OF on Fridaygranted emergency Low-cost, no pertcommittee, it has approved KABUL TO use authorisation foruse in ZyCoV-D “for restricteduse in adultsand children above 12, cold storage emergency situation in India for TALIBAN making it potentiallythe first 12 years and above”. The vaccine vaccine to be administeredtothe ZYCOV-Disthe world's is to be administeredatdays 0, WHATITMEANS adolescentpopulation in India. firstCovid-19 vaccine 28, and, 56, the regulator said. FOR INDIA With the central drug regu- built on aDNA platform While thevaccine has been ASERIES lator clearing the vaccine, Zydus to be granted emer- approved foruse in the adoles- Defence MinisterRajnath Singh with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at Parliament House on Friday. PTI Cadila's ZyCoV-D is settobe- gency use authorisa- cent population, it's forthe gov- come the firstCovid vaccine can- tion. UnlikemRNAvac- ernment to take acall on THESINSOFEMPIRE didatedevelopedonaplasmid cines, DNA-based whether to roll out the vaccina- By Pratap BhanuMehta P6 DNAplatformtobecommer- vaccinesdonot require tion drive forthis agegroup. Sonia to Opposition: No alternative, ciallyintroducedanywherein ultra-cold storagesys- So far, thereare three vac- THETALIBAN the world. tems and aresaid to be cines that arebeing usedin WARCHEST The vaccine, jointlydevel- morecost-effective. India'simmunisation drive -- By Krishn Kaushik P9 need to come together, plan for 2024 opedinpartnership with the Zydus also claims that SII's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Department of Biotechnology, itstechnology is ideal Covaxin and Russia's Sputnik V. had demonstrated aprimaryef- fortackling Covid-19as Moderna's mRNAvaccineand Says need to riseabove compulsions; Pawar, Uddhav, Mamatabackcall ficacy of 66.66per cent in phase it canbeeasilyadapted the single-dose vaccine devel- 3clinical trials. It wasthe first to deal with mutations opedbyJohnson &Johnson have BUSINESSASUSUAL Congress, Gandhi said all parties “The people arethe leaders. takentothe people in suchaway Covid-19vaccine in India to be in the virus. also receivedEUA,but they are EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE have some “compulsions” but it Letusset up acoregroup and that people believe in it.” tested in the adolescentpopula- notbeing usedinthe vaccination BY UNNY NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 wastime to rise above them. work together,” Banerjee said. Sources said it wasdecided tion -- those in the 12-18-year CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trinamool Congress chief Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that the leaders will nowmeet SPEAKINGFOR the firsttime on and West Bengal Chief Minister toosuggestedthat the parties morefrequentlytoarriveata the needfor Opposition parties Mamata Banerjee said the par- should project an “alternate” vi- consensus on developing a“co- to come together ahead of the ties should notfocus on identi- sion to the BJP,espousing their ordination framework”toiden- 2024Lok Sabha elections, fying a“leader”. idea of India. tifyissues to be raisedjointly. EXPRESS NETWORK Congress president Sonia Gandhi “Forgetwho is the leader,let’s Shiv Sena’s SanjayRaut, who “This is abeginning,” one leader Somnath proof that told topOpposition leaders keep our personal interests attendedthe meeting alongwith told The Indian Express. Fridaythat thereis“simplynoal- aside,” she said.She suggested party chief Uddhav Thackeray, Referring to the assembly BENGALPOST-POLL ternative” before them butto that everyOpposition party,in- said: “Uddhavji said that in view electionsnextyear,CPI general VIOLENCE:CBISEEKS ideology of terror work “cohesively together”. cludingeventhosenotalliedwith of the 2024general elections, the secretaryDRajasaid the parties DETAILSOFCASES At ameeting of 19 theCongress, should beinvitedas Opposition should uniteand should focus on 2022 firstand PAGE 10 Opposition parties, including the “fight is againstthe BJP”. Opposition unity should be CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 does not last: PM GUJARAT FREEDOM OF RELIGION (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2021 ‘Temple adivine pillar of modern India, product of centuries of firm resolve’ J&K former HC:Amended section interferes, puts DEAR INDIA, 2047 Deputy CM who consensualvalid parties in jeopardy EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Aletter from... RAJKOT,AUGUST20 slammed govt riage“in great jeopardy.” Noting that the Gujarat EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Whilethe division benchof Freedom Of Religion Act, 2003 CITINGTHE number of times the land transfer AHMEDABAD,AUGUST20 Chief Justice Vikram Nath and wasinitially an Actbrought into Somnath temple wasraided, and Justice Biren Vaishnavhad read forceinApril 2003 wherethe the fact that it had emergedfrom was illegal THE GUJARATHigh Court, while the operative part of the order in then Section 3ofthe Act, hadpro- eachsuchevent, Prime Minister stayingthe operationof eight sec- open courtonThursday, staying hibitedconversion of anyperson NarendraModi said on Friday occupant too tions of the Gujarat Freedom of the operation of sections 3, 4, 4A, from one religion to another reli- that “those destructive forces, The PM inaugurated temple Religion(Amendment)Act,2021 4B, 4C, 5, 6and 6A,the detailed gion by use of forceorallurement and the ideology that establishes projectsonFriday. ARUNSHARMA that introducedmarriageasa order made public on Friday, or by anyfraudulent means, the an empireonthe foundation of JAMMU,AUGUST20 means forforcible religious con- notedthe court’s observations courtorder notesthat the terror”, could notlastlong. version, in itsorder made public that ledittoarriveatits decision. amendedAct underSection3 Suchforces and empires “can the Somnath temple complex. FORMER DEPUTYCHIEF on Friday, observed that the pro- The order states, "Prima-facie nowpresumes marriage itself to become dominant forsome time “This”, he said, “was as true MinisterofJammu and Kashmir Icongratulate you for vision, “interferes with the intri- inter-faithmarriagesbetweentwo be amedium forthe purposes of in agiven era, but can neverbe- when some tyrannicalforces and senior BJPleader Kavinder cacies of marriage" and infringes consenting adultsbyoperationof unlawful conversionifthe mar- come permanent. Theycannot were razing Somnath(temple) as Gupta,who described the trans- voting to keep India a on Article 21 of theConstitution. the provisions of Section 3ofthe riage wasbyway of allurement, keep humanity suppressedfor it is today, whenthe worldisap- ferofstate land underthe con- The benchalso notedthat the 2003 Actinterferes with the intri- forceorbyfraudulentmeans. long,” Modi said while laying vir- prehensive of suchideologies”. troversialRoshni Act(nowan- amendedAct, whichputsthe cacies of marriageincluding the The amendedlaw was tuallythe foundation stone of Indiashould seek “tolearnfrom nulled) to private individuals as free democracy burden of proof on the interfaith rightto thechoiceof anindividual, brought intoeffect on June 15 the Parvati temple in Somnath, history to correct the present and “land jihad” in the run-up to couple, putsthe parties validly therebyinfringing on Article 21 of this year.Two petitions -- one and inaugurating severalproj- createanew future”, Modi said. District Development Council RATAN TATA entering intoaninterfaith mar- the Constitution Of India." CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ectsonthe premises andaround CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 (DDC) elections lastNovember, washimself an illegaloccupant of state land from 2010 till the FIHAD the opportunity of writing to the young Indian Rs 935crmisappropriated in NREGAschemesinlast beginningof2017. I citizens in 2047,the year in whichIndia would attain a According to information 100yearsofindependence, Iwould saythe following: obtainedfromthe Bhalwal To the young Indian citizensof2047, Tehsildar under an RTIapplica- Iwould liketocongratulate youasmembers who have fouryears,show Ministrydata; only Rs 12.5crrecovered tion filedbyAdvocateSheikh votedtokeep India as afreelyvotingdemocracy whichhas Shakeel, Kavinder Gupta along peacefullysettledborderdisputes and through the Management out in 2.65 lakh Gram Panchayats with twoothers —Subash religious controversies. During these ABHISHEKANGAD Information System (MIS) of the (GPs)inthe states andUnion Sharma and ShivRattan Gupta AN EXPRESS years, Iwould hope thatIndia will have RANCHI,AUGUST20 RuralDevelopment Ministry. Territories of the countryatleast —jointlyoccupiedKhasra No. SERIES achievedameaningful position in the Onlyabout Rs 12.5 croreof once over the lastfouryears, 1789 measuring 23 kanaal, 9 global economic arenawithits stable OVER THE lastfour years, Social this amount —1.34% —has been since the databegan to be up- marla (8 kanaal =1acreor economic policies withthe vision of the government in Audit Units(SAU) under Rural recoveredsofar,the datashow. loaded in 2017-18. 4,047 sq m, 1marla =270 sq ft) power. DevelopmentDepartments Although the dataisinthe The CentrereleasedRs at villageGhainkinBhalwal Above all,Iwouldhope that youwould continue to take (RDD) across India have found fi- public domain, accessing it is dif- 55,659.93 croreforMGNREGAin tehsil in Jammu district be- your place as partofanation that will uphold and supporta nancial misappropriationofRs ficult because of frequent “net- 2017-18, and the amount has tween2010and 2016.Khasra government that will stand forcontinuing peaceand eco- 935crore under various schemes work issue”. TheIndian Express since risen everyyear to reachRs number is aplotnumber given nomic stability in the futureyears. of theMahatma Gandhi National accessedthe datafromFY2017- 1,10,355.27 crorein2020-21.Total to apiece of land by therev- THEWRITERISCHAIRMANEMERITUS,TATASONS; RuralEmploymentGuaranteeAct 18 to FY 2020-21 through a expenditureonthe scheme has enue department. CHAIRMAN,TATATRUSTS (MGNREGA), according to data source in the government. Auditswerecarriedout in all gram panchayats. Express file risenfromRs63,649.48crore in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 obtainedbyThe IndianExpress SAUauditshavebeen carried CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

PAGE 1 ANCHOR WFI chief slams pvtbodies, says won’tselect wrestlerstheyback

ernment fordealing directly private bodies likethe Olympic these bodies, Singh said: “Bilkul of them train at their facility in proachedthe federation. This is MIHIRVASAVDA with athletesunder itsflagship Gold Quest(OGQ) and JSW nahi khelne doonga(Won’t al- Vijayanagar,InspireInstitute of my allegationagainstTOPS. They NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 Target OlympicPodium Scheme Sports,who have been support- lowthem to play).”Headded: Sport, wherethe WFI conducted aredirectlyoverseeing issues (TOPS). He has demandedabig- ing Dahiyaand Punia respec- “Even IamgivingRaviRs1lakh itsjunior national championship likewherethe athleteshould go IN WHATcould turn out to be a gersay in the planning forthe tively. per month. From howmany this year. fortraining.” tricky scenario forTokyo Paris Olympics. Singh alleged OGQ andJSW places willyou take money?We Singh said the wrestlers TheIndianExpress,however, Olympics medal-winning India has wonsix medals in had “spoiledthree wrestlers” al- areready to give youeverything. communicated with the govern- has seenmultiple emails sent by wrestlers Ravi Dahiyaand wrestling at four consecutive though he refusedtoname them If theystill want to be involved, ment directlythrough these the wrestlers to thefederation's Bajrang Puniaaswell as other Olympics, starting 2008, includ- and elaborate how. theyshouldshareacopyoftheir agencies andkeptthe federation officialID, in whichdetails of topwrestlers likeVinesh Phogat, ing twoearlier this month in “Wedon’t needOGQ and agreement withthe players and out of the loop regarding their their training programmes have Wrestling Federation of India Tokyo. Dahiya, who competedin JSW. My biggestproblem is they factor in our views... Theycan planning. been explicitlymentioned. (WFI) president BrijBhushan the 57-kgweight class, wonasil- don’t inform me regarding the supportjunior and cadet “Bajrang and Vinesh (Phogat) Asked about it, Singh said the Sharan Singh has warnedplay- vermedal while Punia clinched planning of an athlete andwho wrestlers who actuallyneed aretwo very senior wrestlers. WFI “never” receivedany such ers who areassociated with pri- bronze in the 65-kgcategory. they aresending as awrestler’s support." Their ranking wasfirst-class go- email. vate,not-for-profit companies However, forboththese sparring partner fortraining The OGQ supports 32 ing intothe Olympics. So they In astatement, OGQ said they that theywill notbeconsidered wrestlers, and severalothers,the stintsabroad,” Singh told The wrestlers, including 23 who are thoughtacertain plan wasbetter had arobustjunior program and forselection going ahead. road to Paris could getcompli- Indian Express. in the agegroup 13 to 19 years. fortheir future,theytold TOPS, were notclaimingunduecredit Singh, aBJP MP from UP,also cated afterSingh said he no Asked what willhappen to WFI chief BrijBhushan Sharan Singh is aBJP MP from UP The JSW, too, supports close to a who then told us,” he said. “It has while addingthat Vinesh had came down heavilyonthe gov- longer required the services of the wrestlers associated with dozenwrestlers and almosthalf neverhappened that Vinesh ap- CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021

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Somnath proof united.Butyoucometo knowthe fought the recent assemblyelec- “perse,arenot prohibited”.Itwas strengthof thecountrywhenyou tionsinalliancewiththeLeft,was the AG’s argument that forcible “Therefore,when Italk of seeinSomnathpilgrimsfromthe Zydus Cadila’s 3-dose vaccinegets nod present -- in Kerala, the Congress conversionbymarriageunderthe 'Bharatjodoandolan'itsessenceis eastwhohave walkedthousands and Leftare adversaries. amendedAct mustberead in notlimitedto linking (India) geo- of kilometres from the east to the drive yet. The DNAvaccine platform vaccine in India, and the 2nd in- The vaccine wasdeveloped The Samajwadi Partytoo conjunctionwiththeelementsof graphicallyorideologically, but it west,or(in the) thousands of Topgovernment sources has, broadly, threeadvantages. digenouslydevelopedone. PM in partnershipwith the skippedthe meeting but itschief force, fraudulentmeans and al- is an oath to link our pasttothe devotees from South India rub- said the Zydus DNACovid-19 First,itisanintradermalvaccine, @NarendraModi Ji's vision of Department of Biotechnology AkhileshYadavwrote expressing lurementto constitute anoffence, buildingof thefuture of India,”he bing the soil of Kashi on their vaccine is likelytoarriveinthe whichisappliedusingthe nee- #AatmanirbharBharat and under the ‘Mission COVID hisinabilityto joinashewastrav- and forthe same, the statement said. heads,” Modi said, adding that market by October.InJuly, Zydus dle-freesystem,resultinginare- MakeinIndia deliversanother Suraksha’and implemented by ellinginthe“interiorof thestate”. of objectsofthe amendedAct The Prime Ministerinaugu- whilethelanguages,clothingand had said that it plans to manu- duction in side-effectssuchas significant accomplishment!,” the Biotechnology Industry Gandhisaidthe75thanniver- mustbereferredto.Thecourtdid ratedthe Samudra Darshan Path food habitsofIndiansmay differ, facture10-12 croredosesannu- pain at the injection site. Mandaviyasaid in atweet. Research AssistanceCouncil. saryofIndia’s Independenceis notfind favour in Trivedi’s argu- (seasidepromenade),the theirspiritualityhasboundthem ally. Second, unlikem-RNAvac- “Weare extremelyhappy “It is amatterofgreat pride “indeedthemostappropriateoc- ment. Somnath Exhibition Gallery together forcenturies. ZyCoV-D, whichuses the cines,which needultra-cold that our effortstoput out asafe, thattodaywehavethe EUAfor casion forustoreaffirm our indi- The amendedsection 3ofthe (whichexhibits ruinsofancient The newfacilities at the ‘plug and play’ technology,has storagesystems, the DNAvac- well-tolerated,and efficacious the world’sfirstDNA COVID-19 vidualandcollectiveresolve”and Actnow reads “Prohibition of Somnath, the temple built by Somnathcomplexwill draw aDNA plasmidvectorthat car- cines can be stored at 2-8 de- vaccine to fight COVID-19has vaccine,ZyCoV-D,byZydus,de- “letmesay forits part, the Indian forcible conversion” as “Noper- queenAhilyabaiHolkarof Indore morevisitors,andwouldhelpthe riesthegeneencodingthespike grees Celsius thatisbestsuited becomearealitywithZyCoV-D. velopedinpartnershipwiththe National Congress will notbe son shall convert or attempt to in 1783), and the redeveloped localeconomy, thePrimeMinister proteinpresentonthesurfaceof forIndia’s coldstorage require- To create theworld’s firstDNA Department of Biotechnology found wanting”. convert,either directlyorother- precinct of the ancient temple in said. He said the Union Tourism SARS-CoV-2, whichcausesthe ment. vaccineatsuchacrucialjuncture andsupportedthroughMission In their joint statement,the wise, anyperson from one reli- the Somnath complex. The new Ministryhad drawnupplansto Covid-19infection. When the Third, the vaccine manufac- anddespiteallthechallenges,is COVID Suraksha,” said Dr Renu parties hit out at the government gion to another by use of forceor Parvati temple willbebuilt at a develop 15 tourist circuits, and DNAplasmidisinjectedintothe turing facility doesnot require atributetothe Indian research Swarup, Secretary, DBT and for“refusingtodiscuss oranswer by allurement or by anyfraudu- costofRs30crore. that tourism could revive local humancell,itentersthenucleus thesettingupof BSL-3highcon- scientists andtheir spirit of in- Chairperson, BIRAC. the illegal usageofPegasus mili- lent means or by marriageorby ModidescribedSomnathasa economies impacted by the andreproduces spikeproteins. tainment facility as is required novation. I’d liketothank the In 2010,Zydusbecame the taryspywaretoconductunautho- getting aperson marriedorby “divine pillar of modern India”, Covid-19pandemic. In response, the human body in the productionofinactivated Department of Biotechnology, firstcompanytodevelopandin- rizedsurveillance, repeal of the aidingapersontoget marriednor and said that the journeyofthe “Thereare possibilities of na- generatesantibodies. virus vaccines likeCovaxin. Government of India fortheir digenouslymanufactureavac- threeanti-farmerlaws,grossmis- shall anyperson abet such con- reconstruction of thetemple af- tionaland internationalspiritual Zydus also claims that its Instead,thevaccinecanbeman- supportinthis mission of Atma cineagainstswineflu.Thecom- management of Covid-19 pan- version.” terIndependence and itssubse- tourism. To give these possibili- technologyis“ideally”suitedfor ufactured withminimum Nirbhar Bharat and Indian panyearlierdevelopedthe demic,runawayinflation and “...The interpretation of quent “grand development” was ties ashape, the countryistoday tackling Covid-19asitcan be biosafetyrequirements. Vaccine Mission COVID tetravalent seasonal influenza priceriseasalsospirallingunem- Section 3ofthe (2021) Actas... notmerelythe result of effortsof creatingmoderninfrastructure,is easilyadaptedto deal with mu- “Doublegoodnews forthe Suraksha,” said PankajRPatel, vaccine and the inactivatedra- ployment” and steamrolling leg- AdvocateGeneral wantsusto afew yearsordecades,butrather reviving ancient pride. We have tationsinthevirus,suchasthose nation!@CDSCO_INDIA_INFap- Chairmanofthe ZydusGroup. biesvaccine. islations in Parliament. readwouldbeasubjectmatterof the culmination of firm resolve the example of theRamayan cir- already occurring. Friday’s ap- proves the 1stDNA-based,nee- OnJuly1,announcingthein- According to Health “The Prime Minister, in his adjudication but prima facie on a andideologicalconsistencyspan- cuit. Thanks to theRamayancir- proval comes on the basis of dle-free #COVID19vaccine in terim resultsofphase IIIclinical Ministrydata, Indiahas admin- Independence Dayaddress, did plain reading of Section 3ofthe ningcenturies. cuit, today, crores of devotees of datagenerated from the largest the world-‘ZyCov-D’... Making trials, Zydus,had said that apri- istered57.22 croredoses so far, notfocus on asingle-issue con- (2021) Act, we feel that marriage LordShiva symbolises the LordRam from across the coun- clinical trial foraCovid-19vac- childrenof IndiaCOVID-safe,this maryefficacy of 66.6 per cent of which44.44crore have re- cerningpeople’s miseries. The inter-faithfollowedbyconversion seedsof rejuvenationinruinsand tryand the worldare learning cine in India,with over 28,000 vaccine can be usedfor individ- has been attainedfor sympto- ceivedtheirfirstdose,and12.77 speechwasfullof rhetoric,empty would amount to an offence un- creation in destruction, and gives aboutnewplacesassociatedwith participatinginphase-IIIof clin- uals aged 12 and above.ZyCov- matic RT-PCR positive cases in crorehavereceivedboththeir slogans and disinformation. In derthe(2021)Act....Fromtheper- people the couragetofight the thelifeofLordRam.Today, we are icaltrials. Disthe6thapproved#COVID19 the interim analysis. doses. fact, it wasarepackaging of ear- ception of the common man, it forces of time,Modi said. getting the opportunity to go to lier speechesgiven in 2019 and appears that merelybecause a Therefore,theSomnathtempleis thoseplacesandunderstandhow 2020.This speechisanominous conversion occurs because of asourceof confidenceforIndians. LordRam is the Ramofall of misappropriated;recoveries government land in Ghaink vil- ous irregularities in the imple- Sonia to Opp warningthatthelivesofourpeo- marriage,itper se cannotbeheld “When anyone in the world India,” the PM said. stood at Rs 1,593. lage.“Iswear by my parentsthat mentationoftheschemeandthe that Opposition parties should plewillcontinueto beruinedfur- to bean unlawful conversion or a looks at this grand structure to- ■InWest Bengal,Rs2.45crore Idon’t know as to howand when Vigilance Organisation moved work together to fight the elec- ther,” the statementsaid. marriage done forthe purpose of day, he doesn’t merely seeatem- NREGA schemes wasmisappropriated;Rs14,802 revenue officials entered agir- againstover20government offi- tions.Ajointstatementissuedaf- Stating that procurement of unlawful conversion,” the court ple. He sees an existence which, 2017-18toRs1,11,405.3 crorein wasrecovered. dawari pertainingto23kanals cersformisusingtheirofficialpo- terthe meeting,however, made thePegasusspywareisextremely observed. forhundreds,thousandsofyears, 2020-21. ■InGujarat,onlyRs6,749was and 9marla stateland at Ghaink sition in transfer of stateland to no mention of 2024orany elec- alarming,itsaid“thegovernment The courtalso notedthatthe has been inspiring, expounding Oneofkey findings of the au- misappropriated,nothing of in my name,and howand when privateindividuals. Four years toralstrategy.Itgaveacall fora refuses to answer one straight Section 6A of the amendedAct humanvalues;aplacewhich was dit is “financial misappropria- whichwas recovered. itwascancelled,’’KavinderGupta later,underSatya PalMalikasJ&K joint protestactionfrom question –Has it, or anyofits placesthe burden of proof on the calledbyour seers theplace of tion”,whichincludesbribery, and ■ Jharkhand filedthe most told The Indian Express. Governor,repealedtheRoshniAct September 20 to 30. agencies purchasedthe Pegasus partiesenteringintoaninter-faith light, meaning knowledge,thou- payments to non-existent per- FIRs—14outof the38filedacross In 2010,when the khasra gir- and cancelled all pending appli- Themeetingviavirtualmode Spywarefromthe Israeli firm – marriage,toprove that the mar- sands of years ago; and aplace sons and to vendors formaterial the country over the last four dawari(revenuedepartmentdoc- cations seeking transfer of own- wasattendedamong others by NSO, known forcyber military riagewas notsolemnisedonac- thateventodayisproclaimingto procured at high rates. years. Twoemployees were sus- ument that specifies landand ership of stateland to itsoccu- Banerjee,DMK chief and Tamil surveillance? The government count of anyfraud, allurement or the worldthat truth can’t be de- Social auditsare seen as a pended, and the services of 31 crop details) wasentered in their pants. In October 2020, the J&K Nadu Chief MinisterMKStalin, mustanswer and come clean.” coercion.“Thisagainputsthepar- feated by untruth, thatfaithcan’t powerfultoolto enforceaccount- were terminated.However, of the names, J&K had aNational High Courtset aside the Act“ab ShivSena chief and Maharashtra The parties put forth11de- tiesvalidly entering intoaninter- be trampledoverbyterror.” ability.UnionRuralDevelopment Rs 51.29 croremisappropriated, Conference-Congresscoalition initio”cancellingallactionstaken Chief MinisterUddhavThackeray, mands to thegovernment:aug- faithmarriage in great jeopardy,” Modi is the chairmanofthe SecretaryNagendra Nath Sinha onlyRs1.39 crore(2.72%) has governmentandKavinderGupta under itsprovision since incep- NCPchief Sharad Pawar, JMM mentvaccineproductioncapabil- the courtstatedinits order. Shree Somnath Trust(SKT), the emphasisedthis in alettertoall been recovered. wasthe Mayorofthe Jammu tion and ordered aCBI probe. chief and Jharkhand Chief itiesinIndiaandprocurevaccines The division benchinits ob- religious body that manages and statechief secretaries recently, ■Rajasthan,Kerala,Arunachal MunicipalCorporation.Thiswas, At apress conference in MinisterHemant Soren, RJD’s globally, implement free cash servationsintheordermadepub- maintains the famous temple and asked whystate RDDs have Pradesh, Goa, Ladakh, Andaman however, cancelledonFebruary November 2020, the thenUnion Tejaswi Yadav, CPM general sec- transfersof Rs7,500permonthto lic on Friday, alsocited the near Veravaltowninthe Gir made only“little recoveries”. and Nicobar,Lakshadweep, 9, 2017,bythe Bhalwal Tehsildar LawMinisterRaviShankarPrasad retarySitaramYechury, CPI’sRaja, all families outside the Income Supreme Court’sjudgment in Somnathdistrictof Gujarat.Union “Yes,we have writtento allthe Puducherry, andDadraandNagar following a2011order of the J&K had said formerJ&K Chief PDP chief MehboobaMufti, Taxbracket,withdraw hikes in ShafinJahanversusAsokanKMof Home MinisterAmit Shah, vet- states… Lackofattentiononthis Haveli and Damanand Diure- High Courtwhichdirected the MinisterFarooq Abdullah was NationalConferencechiefFarooq Centralexcise duties on petro- 2018,orwhat is morepopularly eranBJPleaderLKAdvani,andre- aspect is certainlyone (of the is- portedzeromisappropriation. government to cancel all muta- amongthebeneficiariesof Roshni Abdullah. leum and diesel, reduce prices of known as the Hadiyamarriage tired Gujarat chiefsecretaryPK sues). Another is the determina- Section17 of theMGNREGAct tionsandgirdawarisof statelands Act.Aheadof DDCpolls,whenthe Senior Congress leaders in- cookinggas,repealthethreefarm case whereHadiya’s parentshad Laheriare among the trustees of tion of culpability of the persons mandatessocialauditof allworks in favour of private individuals. J&K administration startedmak- cluding former Prime Minister laws,stopand reverse the unbri- alleged that theirdaughter was the SKT. concernedfortheirregularities— in gram panchayats.The Audit of The directions had comeina ingpublicthenamesof illegaloc- Manmohan Singh, Mallikarjun dledprivatisation of the public deceivedand forciblyconverted Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay and in absence of SOPstohandle Scheme Rules were notifiedin public interestlitigation filedby cupantsofstate land including Khargeand AKAntonytoo at- sector,hold aSupreme Court- by theman she married. The SC Rupani waspresent in Somnath such cases suchdetermination is 2011,andTheAuditingStandards retired Professor SKBhalla beneficiaries of the Roshni tendedthe meeting,asdid RLD’s monitored judicialenquiry into had held that the right to marrya fortheceremony, whileShahand noteasy,” Sinha told The Indian forSocialAuditin2016.TheRural through AdvocateSheikh scheme, Kavinder Gupta de- Jayant Chaudhary, Loktantrik thePegasusepisode,orderinves- personofone’s choiceisintegral Advani joinedthe eventvirtually. Express when asked whyrecov- Development Ministryhas re- Shakeel. Kavinder Gupta wasthe scribedthegovernmentactionas JanataDal’s Sharad Yadav, RSP tigation intothe Rafale deal, re- to Article 21 of the Constitution India,Modi said, hasbuilt its eries have been low. leasedaFinancial Management Speaker of the J&K Legislative a“surgicalstrike”againstthecor- leader NKPremachandran and leaseofall political prisoners in whichguaranteesthe right to life pride on the ruinsofancient Therewereoften notenough Index, in whichsocial audit is a Assemblythen. ruptwho “usurpedpriceless representativesofAssam’sAIUDF, JammuandKashmirandthosein andpersonallibertyandhadalso times, anddescribed the Ram people to ensurepayment of keyparametertojudge the effi- Ahead of the DDC pollsin chunksofstate landatdirt-cheap Tamil Nadu’s Viduthalai custodyunderUAPA intheBhima held that“societyhas no role to Temple in Ayodhya as a“pillarof amountsshown as recoverable, ciency of states in management November2020,theJ&Kgovern- rates”. Chiruthaigal Katchi, JD(S), Kerala Koregaon case and anti-CAA play in determining our choice of the country's glory”. Sinhasaid.“Butultimatelyitboils of finances.The2011 Rulessaythe ment had publishedlists of man, Congress (M) and the IUML. protests. partners.” “With acommitment to find downto lackofattentionandlack stategovernment will facilitate including politicians of WFI chief Gandhisaidthemonsoonses- PawarpraisedGandhiforcon- The divisionbenchofGujarat amicable solutions to problems, of sensitivity in takingsocial au- the social audit of work doneun- Oppositionpartiesandretiredbu- sentmultipleemailsto thefeder- sion of Parliament saw“deter- veningthe meeting.Hesaidthe HighCourtinaconcludingobser- thecountryismovingforward.In dit to itslogical conclusion,” he der MGNREGAinevery GP once reaucrats,whohadoccupiedstate ation.“Toourknowledge, several minedunity” by all Opposition present situation in India is “very vationinitsorder,stated,“Prima- the form of Ramtemple, today, added. everysix months. land,orhad ownership trans- emails were sentinthe last10 parties.Theparties,shesaid,func- disappointing”. facie inter-faith marriages be- onemoreilluminatedpillarof the Indeed,noaccountabilitywas Experts said the‘real’ misap- ferred to them underthe Jammu months by Vinesh herself to WFI tionedinacoordinated manner “The farmershavebeen agi- tween twoconsenting adultsby country’sglory is being erected. fixedfor the misappropriation in propriationcouldwellbethreeor and Kashmir StateLand (Vesting and TOPS.These emails had de- withdailydiscussionsamongthe tating formanymonths. It is a operation of the provisions of Our effort should be to makethe manystates. Consider: fourtimestheidentifiedamount, of Ownership to the Occupants) tailedinformationonthetraining floor leaders. painfulpictureinademocratic Section 3ofthe (2021) Actinter- presentbetterbylearningfrom ■ Tamil Nadu accounted for as in manyGPs, auditshavebeen Act, 2001,also calledthe Roshni plans forTokyo, the coachand “Iamconfidentthatthisunity country likeIndia. Economic fereswith the intricacies of mar- history andbuild anew future.” the highestmisappropriation of doneonlyonce. Act. When contacted,Bhalwal supportstaff and sparring part- will be sustainedinfutureses- slowdown, Covidpandemic, un- riageincluding the right to the The mission of uniting the Rs 245crore in 12,525 GPs across One of these experts who is Tehsildar Amit Upadhyayand ners forVinesh,” the statement sions of Parliament as well. But employment, border tension, is- choice of an individual,thereby countryalsoinvolves“theresolve the state, forwhich37,527audit basedinJharkhand,said:“Also,in Ghaink Patwari Mohammad said. “Finally, in the samespirit of thelargerpoliticalbattlehasto be sues of minorities… The country infringing Article 21 of the to tetherourselvestoour past reports were uploaded. 2020-21, thedatauploadedare Aslam said theydid notknow teamwork andcooperationmen- fought outsideit,” she said. isfacedwithmanyissues.Andthe Constitution of India.” while building afutureIndia”, Recoveries stoodatRs2.07crore, notsignificant,asinmanystates, howthe revenue entries(gir- tioned earlier,wesentaproposal “Of course, the ultimategoal presentgovernmenthas failedto TrivedionAugust17submit- Modi said. “Basedonthis confi- only0.85% of the misappropri- including Jharkhand,concurrent dawari) in respect to stateland to WFI on 24th March 2021to isthe2024LokSabhaelectionsfor resolve all these issues… those tedbeforethecourtthatthestate dence, we have built modern ated amount. One employeehas audit wasdone and thereisno were entered in the namesof work on 3main aspects--Junior whichwehavetobegin to plan who believe in democracy and has receivedonlythree com- pride on the ruinsofthe pastand been suspendedand twohave provisionto uploadthedatainthe KavinderGuptaandtwoothersin and Cadetwrestlers forthe long systematicallywith the single- secularism... those people who plaintsofconversion, in which have givenshapes to inspirations been dismissed, but notasingle MIS of RDD.Combinedwiththe 2010.Upadhyay,however, said term, keeping Los Angeles 2028 mindedobjective of giving to our want to work unitedly to protect “nothing has been done so far.” drawnfromthe past,” he said. FIR has been filed. fact thatinmanystatesGPs have thatakhasragirdawariinrespect Olympicsinmind,Sports science countryagovernment that be- ourcountry’sdemocraticvalues... However, the firstFIR registered SardarVallabhbhaiPatelasso- ■Andhra Pradeshhas 12,982 been surveyed onlyonce, the to- to stateland cannotbeenteredin and Coaches,” it stated. lievesinthevaluesof thefreedom all of them should come to- undertheamendedAct,hasseen ciated theSomnath temple with GPs,and31,795socialauditswere talmisappropriated amount someone’s name until one re- The JSWSports declinedto movement and in the principles gether,” Pawarsaid in aposton an interfaith couple move the the independent will of inde- conductedandreportsuploaded. couldbeatleastthree to four mains present on the spotto commentonSingh's remarks. and provisions of our Twitter.Hesaiditwastimeforthe Gujarat HC seeking ‘consent pendent India, and he bowedhis Totalmisappropriated funds times(theidentifiedamount).” showthatthelandisunderhisoc- Singh also said he wanted to Constitution,”she said. parties to draw up aprogramme quashing’ofthe saidFIR. headto Patelforshowingthewill amounted to Rs 239.31crore;re- Akey requirement is forthe cupation. The landparcel — setanexampleof Vinesh,whohas “Thisisachallenge, but to- collectivelyinatime-boundman- AG Trivedihad also assured to revive theprideof ancientIndia covery wasRs4.48crore (1.88%). SAUtobeindependent.Releasing Khasra No.1789 —isahillwith beenshow-causedandprovision- gether we canand must rise to it ner.Hesaidthepartiesshouldpri- the court thattherewould be no by resolving to reconstruct the Penalties of Rs 14.74lakh were theSocialAuditAssessmentIndex wild growth and nowstands re- allybannedforallegedlyrefusing because thereissimplynoalter- oritise issuesrather thantaking abuse of the lawduring the Somnath temple, the Prime levied, and 10,454employees reportinJune 2020,RDD storedto thegovernment,hesaid. to stay with the rest of the Indian native to working cohesively to- up all issues in one go. August17hearing,further sub- Ministersaid. were warned/censured.Atotal SecretarySinhahad said: “Thereisnoconstruction,norany wrestlersinTokyoand notwear- gether.Weall have ourcompul- mitting that thereare multiple Somnathand the other 11 jy- 551employees have been sus- “…Disconcertingly,ithas been cultivation,” he said. ingtheofficialteamjerseyforher sions,butclearly,atimehascome Gujarat HC safetyvalvesincorporated in the otirlingasspreadacrossthecoun- pendedand 180employees have notedthathalfoftheSAUsarenot TheJ&KStateLand(Vestingof competition. when the interests of our nation filedbytheJamiatUlama-e-Hind Act. trywereuniting it, he said. been dismissed. Three FIRs have independentandthatthequality Ownershipto Occupants)Actwas In her reply, Vineshrejected demand that we rise above and the other by an Ahmedabad Meanwhile, the courtwhich “Similarly,thesystemof ourChar been filed. of auditsand intensity of action legislated by the National the allegation that she did not them,”she said. resident,Mujahid Nafees -- rep- has nowadmittedthe twopeti- Dham,the concept of our ■ Karnataka has seen misap- onthefindingsneedsto improve.” Conferencegovernmentled by want to sharearoom with the Thecompulsions,infact,were resented by advocate, tions forfurther hearing, has Shaktipeethas,locationof ourvar- propriationof Rs173.6croreinits Farooq Abdullah in 2001.Itpro- Indian team, but acceptedher clearly visible. With assembly Muhammad Isa Hakim and sen- granted four weeks' time to the ious places of worship in various 6,027GPs;onlyRs1.48crore (0.68 Kavinder Gupta posedtotransfer ownership of mistake inwearingadifferentsin- elections in Uttar Pradesh just ior advocate Mihir Joshi, chal- statetofileanaffidavit-in-replyto corners (of the country) —these %) has been recovered. Atotal 22, Sharma is an independent statelandtoits illegal occupants glet forher bout. monthsaway, the BSP did notat- lenged the amended Actprima- the overall and specific con- contoursof ourfaithareinfactthe 948audit reportsweresubmit- councillor and representsIndra by charging them market rates, Singh claimed he had to an- tendthemeeting.TheAAP,which rilyonthegroundsthatthelawis tentions raisedbythe petitioners expression of Ek Bharat, ted. Karnataka has registeredno Colony, Janipur,inthe Jammu andhopedtoraiseRs25,000crore swer an International Olympic is one of the principal opponents manifestlyarbitraryand violates regarding the amendedAct. The Shreshtha Bharat. FIRs and suspendednone of its Municipal Corporation. Shiv forsetting up hydel powerproj- CommitteepanelafterVineshdid of the Congress in Punjab where the right to privacy. petitioners have been granted “For centuries, the worldhas employees,eventhoughtheserv- RattanGupta isaresidentof Indra ectsinJammu and Kashmir notweartheofficialteamgearal- assembly elections aredue early Advocategeneral Kamal twoweeks'timeto respondto the been wonderingthat despite ices of twoemployees have been Colony. (hencethe nameRoshni). though it wasnot aformal hear- next year,was notinvited to the Trivediduring the course of his state's replyand the courthas therebeingsomuchdiversity, terminated. Both Kavinder Gupta and In 2014,the Comptroller and ing. virtual meeting.TMC’s Banerjee, submissionsof August17hadex- postedthe mattersfor further howIndiaremains one, howitis ■ In Bihar, Rs 12.34 crorewas Sharmadeniedhavingoccupied Auditor General referred to vari- againstwhom the Congress hortedthat interfaithmarriages hearing on September 30.

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021 MEHSANA 3,800 ALCOHOL BOTTLES FOUND IN VEHICLE Policehavestarted an investigation after over 3,800bottles of illicit alcoholworth Rs 3.9lakhwas found fromanabandoned vehicle on ahighway in Kadi Talukaof 3 GUJARAT Mehsana after the vehiclehad turned sidewaysdue to an accident. Mandaviya:Stateauthority Raksha Bandhan: Vaccine drive suspended Ahmedabad:DeputyChief Minis- ment who have been associated ulationinthestatestandfullyim- terNitin Patelannouncedon in the vaccination programme. munisedagainstthe viral infec- FridaythatCovid-19vaccination Sothattheycancelebratethisoc- tion.OnFriday, thestate sawpoor drive shallremainsuspendedon casion of Raksha Bandhan with vaccinecoverage,administering succeedswheninspired Sunday,August22, on the occa- theirbrothersand theirfamilies, 2.75 lakh doses, the lowest since sion of Raksha Bandhan. vaccination work will notbe July26. The week betweenAug- The minister, who also holds done on Sunday.” ust7and 13 hadrecordedthe theHealthportfolio,statedinhis The statehas administered highestcoveragetill date, with fromreligiousauthority announcement, “Severalcrores nearly 4.23croredosesof Covid- over 35.50 lakh doses adminis- of sisters of the health depart- 19 vaccines. Over one crorepop- teredinseven days. ENS therefore, suchprogrammes of EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE BJPare being organisedatsuch GANDHINAGAR,AUGUST20 institutions,” he added. In his speech,Mandaviyaalso DHARMA SATTA(religious au- said that the waypeople from all thority)and RajyaSatta (state au- the communities arewelcoming thority) areatradition of India BJP's yatra, it shows that allthe and when the stateauthority communities arewith the party functions under the inspiration and that their confidence in PM of the religious authority,ital- Mansukh Mandaviya Modi and BJP is intact. ways becomes successful, said The Union ministeralso reit- Union Ministerfor Health, erated that in his council of min- Family Welfare, Chemicals and Darshna Jardosh, Mahendra isters,PMModihas included Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya Munjapara, Devusinh Chauhan, representativesofeachand Friday. Mandaviyaaddedthat Parshottam Rupala and everycommunity.Headded that Dharma Satta givesunderstand- Mandaviya. Rupala and thereare 27 ministers from OBC ing and direction to theRajya Mandaviyawereearlier communities, 20 from SC/ST Sattaand thereforeBJP's pro- Ministers of Stateand have been communities, 11 women and 14 grammes areorganisedatsuch elevatedtothe cabinetrank with youths in the council of minis- religious institutions. changeofministries. ters. Mandaviyawas addressing a Visitstoreligiousplaces is On Friday, Mandaviya's yatra public gathering at areligious one of the mosthighlighting fea- startedfromJunagadhwhilevis- ashram in Chaparda of Visavadar tures of all the ministers' tour. iting places likeMakhadiya, tehsilofJunagadh district, on Addressing the gathering at Bilkha, Chaparda, Visavadar, Friday. TheUnion ministerison Chaparda, Mandaviyasaid, Dhari, Chalala, Savarkundla, the second dayofhis Jan “Dharma Sattaand RajyaSatta Kakranch, Gariyadhar,and AshirwadYatra that newlyap- areatradition of India. In the po- Palitana. pointed ministers in the union litical systems of India, from the At apublic meeting in council of ministersare carrying times of Ramayana and Savarkundla of Amreli district, out under the suggestion of Mahabharat, when the Rajya Mandaviyaspokeonvarious de- Prime MinisterNarendraModi. Sattafunctions under the inspi- velopmentalinitiativesofthe Five MPs of Gujarat, who are ration of the Dharma Satta, the central governmentinthe sec- either newly appointed in the stateauthority always succeeds.” tors of agricultureand coopera- council of ministers or who have “BJP always respect saints, tion. been elevatedtothe cabinet the culture, the religion...Dharma Mandaviyaisscheduledto rank,are carrying out the yatra givesunderstanding and direc- completehis yatrainBhavnagar in the state. The five include tion to theRajya Satta. And Saturday. Ahmedabad man wanted for loot and murder shot at by UP Police

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, AUGUST 20

Aresident of Ahmedabad, who waswantedincases of murder and loot, wasshotatand then arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police in an alleged encounter ONAM WITH AMESSAGE in AzamgarhofUttar Pradesh, following whichthe AfamilyfromKerala celebrates Onam festival in Ahmedabad Police's Detection Ahmedabad by welcoming King Mahabali withaCovid-19 of CrimeBranch(DCB) arrested vaccination themedflowercarpet. Nirmal Harindran three of hisaccomplices. According to police, Bhavesh Solanki alias Raja, a resident of Amraiwadi in SAYS FILED WITH ‘TANGENT PURPOSE’ Ahmedabad, wasshotinhis leg in an alleged encounter by UP Police at EtoraMod area in HC dismisses VHP’s Azamgarhdistrict on Thursday night. According to officials of petitionontemple Ahmedabad DCB, Solanki was wanted in the murder of Awadhesh Sahani, agrocery mahant appointment storeowner in Amraiwadi and the lootofRs16lakh from res- trust. It wasthe case of the trust ident of Kagdapith area of EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE thatVitthalbharti and his associ- Ahmedabad in August. AHMEDABAD,AUGUST20 ates “have caused nuisance” and "Afterthe murder and loot thatnopujarisareallowedtostay incident, Raja had come to THE GUJARATHigh Courton overnight at the hill “for security Uttar Pradeshand he wasplan- August19dismisseda2017pub- of valuables,ornamentsand'mur- ning another incident in lic interestlitigation filedbythe tis'of Godsfortheirgreatvaluefor Azamgarhwhen he wasar- Vishwa HinduParishad (VHP) their antiquity and divinesignifi- rested by UP Police afteranen- seeking that the court direct the cance and to avoid anytheftor counterinwhichhehas been statetoappoint one Kalubharti desecration.” shotinhis leg.Currently,UP GuruVitthalbhartiasthemahant Itwasalsothecaseof thestate Police areinterrogating him and pujari at aShivTemple in government thatithad already and the Ahmedabad Police Palitana. appointedoneAtulbhaiRathodas have startedthe process of get- The divisionbenchofJustices the pujari of the temple and also ting him on transit remand," VineetKothariandUmeshTrivedi submitted that though the man- said an official of Ahmedabad found the PIL to have been filed agement right of the temple was DCB. witha“tangent purpose” by alo- notkeptwiththeJaincommunity, According to police, on cal office bearer of VHP,“to actu- the temple wasmanaged in ac- August7night, Bhavesh allyservethe cause of an individ- cordance with the tenets of the Solankialias Raja along with ual” --Vitthalbharti -- and Jain community. twopersons Brigesh alias Badal observed that “itishighlydoubt- The petitioner VHPhad also and Mukesh alias Maya,both ful”thatthepetitionerhasanyau- submitted before the courtthat residentsofSurat andnatives thorisationonbehalf of theorgan- onlyaperson belonging to the of Orissa, had arrivedoutside isationtofile thisPIL. Brahmincommunityshouldhave RabiyaBibini Chaali in The disputerevolvesaround been appointed as Pujari of the Amraiwadi and stabbed the the management of Nilkanth said temple and notRathodwho victim Awadhesh Sahani over MahadevTemple,constructedby is anon-Brahmin. 20 times,leading to his spot Jain community within the fort The courtnoted,“We arenot death. walls of Shetrunjayhills. As the awareabout the exact commu- "Brigesh and Mukesh are courtrecorded in itsorder, nity to whichthe said person be- residentsofSurat who were “Kalubharti Guru Vitthalbharti longs nor anysuchmaterial has contacted by Bhavesh to come claims himself to be a“Mahant” been placedbeforeusthat onlya to Ahmedabad in order to com- and he nowclaims to be ap- Brahmin can beso appointedas a mit the murder of Sahani with pointed as Pujari, stay overnight Pujari... However, if this has been whom Bhavesh had old rivarly. thereand managethe said the tradition to appoint onlya Aftermurdering Sahani, the MahadevTemple on the Brahminasa‘Pujari’ofthe said trio fledtoVadodaraand Surat. Shetrunjay Hills...Thoughthis PIL MahadevTempleby thestate gov- On August9,Bhavesh returned Petition has been filedbyVishwa ernment so far, it is open to the to Ahmedabad with Mukesh Hindu Parishad but it appears to Stateauthorities to consider the and one another accused be directed forthe personal gain saidaspect of the matter...” namedRanjan Malik and the of...Vitthalbharti who appearsto “However, we areofthe clear trio lootedRs16lakh cash from be aself assumedMahant/Pujari opinionthat...Vitthalbhartiorany- avictim in Kagdapithareaon belonging to Junagadh but who bodyelsehave nosuchrightto be gunpoint. Based on ourinves- seems to be interestedincaptur- so appointed as Pujari or tigation, we have arrested ing and managingthe said Mahant...On theother hand, the Brigesh and Mukesh. Theytold NilkanthMahadevTempleonthe manner in whichhe(Vitthalbh- us in interrogation that they Shetrunjay Hills,quitecontraryto arti) is asserting his so calledself- procured apistolfromYunus Jain tenets.” assumedrightand is litigating Shaikh from Surat. Shaikh was The pujari forthe saidtemple throughvariousforums,indicates then also arrested by our team is appointedbythe stategovern- that he is notatall asuitable per- along with illegal pistoland live ment in consultation with one son to be allowedtomanagethe ammunition," addedapolice ShethAnandjiKalyanjiTrust,aJain said Temple,” the courtobserved. official.

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 4 GUJARAT THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021

KARJAN GANGRAPE AND MURDER Alpeshmeetswoman’skin, demandsfast-tracktrial GUJARAT CONFIDENTIAL ers and sisters aresubjectedto CROWDED STAGE EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE rape and cold-bloodedmurder." VADODARA,AUGUST20 ThakoralsoattackedtheVijay WHEN UNION Ministerfor Fisheries, Animal Husbandryand Rupani-ledgovernment, ques- Dairying Parshottam Rupala beganhis Jan AshirwadYatraby TWODAYSaftertheVadodaradis- tioning the silence of the minis- addressing agathering at Unjha APMCofMehsana district on trictpolicearrestedsixpersonsfor ters. Thakor said, "I immediately Thursday, he beganreading out names of the people sitting theallegedgangrapeandmurder demand that acomment should on the dais withhim. The listran so longthat Rupala, known of a37-year-oldwomaninKarjan comefromthe government for forhis wit, at the end of it, said,"Thereare so manyleaders taluka,formerMLAandcurrently this family. Raksha bandhan is sitting on the stagethat Ican even startmyspeechfacing the aBJP leader Alpesh Thakor on coming up in afew days,where stage". The leaders whosenames Rupala mentionedincluded Fridaymet theaggrievedfamilyof Alpesh Thakor sisters tie rakhis to their brothers Mehsana MP Shardaben Patel, Mehsana district president the victimand demandedafast forthe promiseofprotection and Jashubhai Patel, former Gujarat ministerand current general tracktrial in the case, while also safety. In suchatime, the state secretaryofGujarat BJP Rajni Patel, Unjha MLAAshaben Patel, lashing outatthe local BJP lead- death sentence. Ishall run acam- government should take up this Gujarat Revenue MinisterKaushik Patel, BJP leaders from ers, including MLAAkshayPatel, paign forthe same in Gujarat in case in afasttrack courttobring Saurashtra Dhansukh Bhanderi &Bharat Boghra, former MPs forhavingignored the victim's the near future. What is utterly to justice the perpetrators of this from the region Jayshreeben Patel&Natuji Thakor and for- family. Alocal courtmeanwhile, distressingisthatthisisthestate's sister. If youcannotdothis,Iwould mer Mehsana BJP president Nitin Patel. EXPRESS PHOTOGRAPHER HONOURED sentthesixaccusedtofivedays in ownNirbhaya case.Itisahuge have to believe that you(govern- police custody. crimebut notasingle political ment)lacksensitivity.Thegovern- BhupendraRana,Principal Photographer at The Indian ExpressVadodaraBureau, receives Thakor,whovisitedthehome leader has spoken about it or vis- ment has to swing into action to FISHING FOR GAIN the firstprize from Radhikaraje Gaekwad of the erstwhileBaroda royalfamilyduring the of the victiminavillage of Karjan ited this family." ensurethat no other woman in annual news photojournalists'exhibition, Click, in the city on Friday. Rana wonthe prizefor taluka on Friday, said that the ac- Thakoruppedtheanteagainst the stategoes through this." PEOPLE'S EATINGhabitsdefinedbytheir geographyin his photograph (below)covering the Covid-19pandemic.The exhibition sawatotal of 11 cusedhad notonlyraped and the local BJP leaders,especially The Vadodaradistrictpolice, Mehsana and Navsari districts, croppedupatapublic gather- news photographers displayingtheirpictures of the major eventsofthe year. Express killeda"woman of Gujarat" but MLAPatel,wholivesjust"five kilo- on Friday, also producedthe six ing of BJP in Mehsana Thursday. Speaking at the Jan Ashirwad also"ruinedajoyousfamily".The metres away", and said, "It is un- accusedinalocalcourtinKarjan. YatrabyUnion Ministerfor Fisheries, AnimalHusbandryand victim, asingle mother to three fortunatethat the people have The court grantedfivedays of po- Dairying ParshottamRupala, Deputy Chief MinisterNitin Patel children,wasafarmlabourer.The their expectations forjustice out lice remandofthe accusedinthe said that though Rupala has got responsibilitiesoffisheries accused,onMonday, hadaccosted of this government but notasin- case.Accordingto officials,thein- and animal husbandry, he would talk onlyabout animal hus- herinthefarmwhenshewascut- gleleader has metthe family. The vestigators areprobing if the bandry andnot fisheries since Mehsana is a'vegetarian dis- ting grass alone and rapedher in office of the MLAofthis area group of accusedhas previously trict' whichdid nothaveany sea coast. Patelthen requested turns before strangulating her to (AkshayPatel of BJP) is justfive committed suchoffense as they Rupala to strengthen the animal husbandryand dairysectors death with her owndupatta. kilometres away but he has no had"almostspontaneouslycom- of Mehsana district. When it washis turn to speak,BJP chief CR Expressing his disappoint- time to visitthispoorfamily. So, mitted such aheinous crime, in- Paatil who is also Lok SabhaMPfromNavsari, said,“Nitinbhai ment at the lackofoutrageover when do our leaders visitthese cluding murder on spotting the Patelsaid that he is notfromcoastalarea. But, Iamindeed the incident, whichis"similar to places?Dotheycomeonlytoseek victim". The police, on from the coastalarea. So,boththe departments(fisheriesand Delhi's Nirbhayacase", Thakor votes? When something likethis Wednesday,had trackeddown animal husbandry) applytous. And we will take benefits of lashedout at his fellowBJP lead- occurswith the daughter of your theaccusedwiththehelpof asnif- both the departmentstoits fullest.” ersandsaid,"Thisisanattempt to house, will youforgive them? At ferdog, Java,that had ledthe in- taint the pride of Gujarat. The ac- least,Icannotplaythiskindoffor- vestigators to asettlement of cusedshould be triedinafast- saken politicswhereleaders re- vagabonds by the railway track Man arrested for trackcourtand be awardeda mainsilentevenwhenthemoth- near the scene of the crime. Khedapolicebusts POCSO court makingthreat calls sends man in Mittal wants to invest Rs 1lakh cr in state childtrafficking 2018 rape case to to retiredjudge 20 yrs in prison Minister's Office Friday. During croreinsolar energy,wind en- foralleged cruelty and harass- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE the visit, the release added, ergy,and hydrogen gasproduc- racket, 4arrested EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ment at SolaPoliceStation of GANDHINAGAR,AUGUST20 Mittal expressedhis eagerness tion sectors. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE AHMEDABAD,AUGUST20 Ahmedabad in Augustmonth. to make an overall investment of “Givingpositive response, VADODARA,AUGUST20 As per the complaint filedby LAKSHMI MITTAL, chairman of Rs 1lakh croreinGujarat. the CM has invited them forin- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE POLICEHAVEarrestedaman for Parshottam, on August17morn- world's largest steelmaker As per the release, Mittal ex- vestment in Gujarat and assured VADODARA,AUGUST20 ASPECIAL Protection of Children allegedly threatening aretired ing,Praveshbeninformed Arcellor-Mittal, accompaniedby pressedcommitment of invest- necessaryhelp,” the release from SexualOffences(POCSO) judge on phoneinAhmedabad. Parshottam and Dr Yagnik that the company's CEO Dilip ment of Rs 50,000 crorefor the added. THE SPECIAL Operations Group courtinVadodarasentencedan Dr Jyotsna Yagnik, former shereceived acall from an un- Oommen, paid acourtesy visit to expansionofhis unit near Hazira Additional Chief Secretaryto (SOG) of Kheda district police on accusedinarape case of October principal judge,city civil and ses- known number whereone per- Chief MinisterVijay Rupani, said in Suratwhilealso expressing in- the CM, MKDas, wasalso pres- Fridayarrestedfour womenfor 2018 to 20 years rigorous impris- sionscourt,Ahmedabad,whoisa sonidentifiedhimself asapolice- arelease from the Chief tention of investing Rs 50,000 ent during the visit. allegedly running achild traffick- onment and imposedafine of Rs residentofNavrangpuraarea, re- man from Sola Police Station and ing racket by luring pregnant 5,000,while directing the ceivedover42threatening calls informedher that an FIR is going women to put up their biological The four women were VadodaracityPolice to spread fromAugust17toAugust18,from to belodgedagainsther.Uponlis- newbornsfor sale. Amongthe allegedly luringpregnant awarenessaboutthejudgmentin differentnumbersallegedly from tening to Praveshben, Dr Yagnik Five teachers, student bookedfor four arrested,isawoman with a women to put up their order to detersexual offences the accused, ChandraPrakash usedher phone to call the un- five-day-old babydelivered biological newborns forsale. againstminors.Thecitypolicere- Vanskar. Thevictim afterher re- knownnumber and enquire through acesareansection,police ceivedthe courtjudgment, deliv- tirementteaches at Gujarat State about the caller.The complaint ‘cheating’ in class 10 Board exam said. The newborn wasallegedly eredonJuly30,anddecidedtoset Judicial Academyand different further stated thatupon calling put up forsale through aNadiad- forcriminal conspiracy.Another up asix-stepactionplan to deal universitiesandisgivenY-levelse- theunknownnumber,theperson ject. Manju Odedra, ateacher at the FIR states. basedwoman namedMaya, accusedhas told the policethat with sexual crimes againstmi- curity by the stategovernment. identifiedhimself as apoliceman EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Advana Ucchatar Madhyamik The accusedhavebeen while the mother of the baby she has soldthree children nors. According to an FIR lodged at from SolaPS, however, whenDr RAJKOT,AUGUST20 Shala, UR Gohil, ateacher at UN booked under various IPC sec- hails from Nagpur in through this racket so far. It ap- The accused, aged 22,who Navrangpurapolicestation on Yagnik enquired abouthis desig- Fatana High School in Porbandar tions including 406(criminal Maharashtra. pears to have itsroots in other wasbooked under Indian Penal Thursday, thecomplainant nation and badgenumber,he FIVE TEACHERS and astudent and RK Odedra, ateacher at breachoftrust), 420 (cheating Superintendent of Police, states as well and we areprobing Code sectionsfor kidnapping Kantilal Parshottam, husband of hurledabusesather. were booked by the Crime Sharda Vidyamandir in Simar anddishonesty) 409 (criminal Kheda, ArpitaPatel, told this The deeper to understand whether (363),abductingandinducingfor Dr Yagnik,has stated that on "Thecomplainant has stated Investigation Department villageofPorbandar have also breachoftrustbypublic ser- IndianExpress,"Wehadreceived theycommission pregnanciesor marriage (366) andrape(376), August11this year,theyhad thatafterthephonecallonAugust (Crime) of the statefor allegedly been namedasaccusedinthe vant), 447(criminal trespass), atipoffaboutsuchachildtraffick- justlurepregnant women from wasconvicted of the charges sought services of anurse-cum- 17 morning,she receivedover42 getting the juvenile’s answer- FIR as theyhad served as invigi- 379(theft) and 465 (forgery). ing racket running from Nadiad. weak financial backgrounds," while the girl, then astudent of househelpPraveshbenVanskarto threatening calls on her different sheets forClass 10 boardexami- lator in the examination taken According to the FIR regis- Sinceitisasensitive issue,we Patelsaid. Class IX, and herfamilyhad been take careofDrYagnik whowas numbers from August17to nation written by someone else by theminor student forother teredatthe Rajkot division office plannedand laid atrapwith the The policealso said that the counselledbyanNGO, the suffering from poorhealth. August18. Using technical analy- outside his examination centre subjects. The FIR also lists as ac- of CID (Crime), the matter came help of acivilian.Onthe daythe women had,sofar,been making Vadodarapolicestatementsaidon According to police, Praveshben sis,wehavearrestedthe accused in Porbandar in March last year cusedthe unidentifiedpersons to light when the Gujarat newborn wastobehanded over inconsistent statements. "Wedo Friday. had filedanFIR against her hus- ChandraPrakash Vanskar," said a and then submitting them as who wroteanswer-sheetsonbe- Secondaryand Higher to thedummybuyer,awpman notknowyet whether these According to thepolice case, band ChandraPrakash Vanskar policeofficial. genuine. The CID (Crime) lodged half of the student. SecondaryBoard(GSHSEB) was constableaccompaniedhimashis women aremarried... It is nota theaccusedhadluredthegirlinto an FIR againstthe six accusedon According to theFIR, the ac- compilingmarksof thestudents wifeand we caught them red- surrogacy racket.These arebio- arelationship by promising mar- Wednesdayafter concluding an cusedgot or facilitated sending who had appeared in theClass handed." logical children of the accused riage and also enticing her with CASETRACKER enquirywhichwas initiated in question papers of boardexam- 10 examinationconducted by Pateladdedthat primaryin- women themselves. We will also theoffertohelphermakeacareer Januarythis year. ination outside examination hall, the GSHSEB in March,2020 at vestigationhasrevealedthatthree matchthe DNAsamples of the in singing and alsorelease afilm PlacesConfirmedDeaths New cases Those booked include a17- got or facilitated someone to Advana centre. During the data of the women detainedwere womenandthechildrento ascer- album of her songs. The accused Ahmedabad 2,28,762 3,411 5 year-old boywho had appeared writeanswer-sheets outside the entryprocess, officers found an "mothers wanting to sell their taintheirrelationshipsduringthe thenallegedly abductedherfrom Amreli 10,883102 0 in Class 10 examination for examinationhall on behalf of the answer-sheetofEnglish subject children", while one of the ac- investigation," Patelsaid. herschoolandtookherto avillage English subject at Advana student and then send suchan- whichdid nothavethe manda- cusedisthemainconspiratorand The four women were ar- in Mehsana where he rapedher Anand 9,634490 PrimaryKishorShala in Advana swer-sheets inside the block tory barcodesticker but the eval- the mastermind of the racket. restedFridayafterundergoingthe on multiple occasions. The police Aravalli 5,468790 villageofPorbandar district and wherethe studentsweretaking uator had awardedhim 34 "The accused, Maya,hails from mandatoryCovid-19test. The ac- later tracedthe accusedand the Banaskantha 13,659 1620 his fatherwho is ateacher at sec- the exam. The accusedalso then marks. Maharashtrabuthasbeensettled cusedwerebookedundervarious girland brought them backto Bharuch 11,449 1180 ondary school. Other accusedin- collected theanswer-sheets ac- While checkingthe tables of in Nadiad forseveral years. The sections of the IPC including 370 Vadodara,whereshewassentfor Bhavnagar 21,701 3001 clude SN Patel, ateacher of tuallywritten by the student marks of students in the board’s newmother,who delivereda (for knowingly trafficking minor) counselling while the accused Gramya Bharati School in from the examination centre’s database, the electronic data- babyfivedays ago, had arrivedin and511(attemptingto commitof- wasconfinedtoprisonunder the Botad 2,217 42 0 Bagvadar villageofPorbandar blockand destroyed at least six base showedanentryofthe stu- Nadiad amonth agoand wasliv- fencespunishablewithimprison- POCSO Act. Chhota Udepur 3,398 38 0 and who had served as invigila- of them while submitting those dentwith the same seat number ing in Maya's house as the 'sale' ment forlifeorothers), as well as The Vadodarapolice state- Dahod 9,580 38 0 torwhen the student had taken written outside the examination having secured 72 marks in wasplanned.So,wehavebooked relevant sections of the Juvenile mentonFridaystatedthatthegirl Dang 864180 his examination forEnglish sub- hall as genuine forevaluation, English subject. them underthe relevant sections JusticeAct. had deposedasawitness in the Devbhoomi Dwarka 12,935820 caseandhermedicalexamination had confirmed rape."Takinginto Gandhinagar 20,835 205 0 consideringthe forensic, elec- Gir Somnath 8,543670 GRD personnel booked tronicand circumstantial evi- Jamnagar 36,599 4772 dence along with the deposition Junagadh 20,480 2712 for rape, three others of 29 witnesses, the POCSOcourt Kheda 10,391480 sentencedtheaccusedto20years of rigorous imprisonment along Kutch 12,505 1450 arrestedfor extortion with afine of Rs 5,000,and an ad- Mahisagar 8,311 72 0 ditional year of imprisonment Mehsana 24,283177 0 threatening to "expose them" to should he fail to paythe fine. The Morbi 6,502 87 0 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE their parents. policeacceptthe judgement as a Narmada 5,977 15 0 VADODARA,AUGUST20 "Theybeganblackmailingthe boosttothe morale of the inves- victim and her friend and threat- tigating officers," the police re- Navsari 7,167240 FOUR GRAM Rakshak Dal (GRD) enedtocalltheirparents.Theyas- lease said. Panchmahal 11,742 70 0 personnel attachedtothe Savli saultedthemalefriendandforced Assistant Commissioner of Patan 11,623 1290 police station were booked on themto comealongto anATMon Police, AmitaVanani, who heads Porbandar 3,847 19 0 Fridayfor alleged extortion and the highway,wherethe victim the ‘She Team’ in the city said, Rajkot 58,665 7240 rape of a16-year-old girl,onthe andherfriendwithdrew Rs8,000 "The Fourth Additional Sessions pretextof"checking" duringan and handeditovertothe GRD Judgeofthe Special POCSO court, Sabarkantha 9,337 1570 outingwithafriendinthedistrict. personnel.Meanwhile,oneof the in his judgment, has asked the Surat 1,43,558 1,958 4 While one of the GRD personnel accusedtook away the victim to city policetocreateawareness Surendranagar 8,120136 0 allegedly rapedthegirl,threeoth- anisolatedlocationandrapedher. about this order so thatitactsasa Tapi 4,443 23 0 ers areaccusedofextorting Rs Theythen escaped from the spot. deterrent forother perpetrators Vadodara 77,749 788 3 8,000 from thevictim and her When the victim's friend found of sexualoffencesagainst chil- friend, police said. Three of the her, she narratedthe incidentto dren. Accordingly,the Valsad 6,238 49 0 fouraccusedwerearrestedwhile him," an officer said. CommissionerofPolice has in- Other states 1483 one accused, who rapedthe mi- On Friday, the victimand her structedthe teamsto draw aplan. Total New Cumulative Cumulative nor,isabsconding. friend,accompaniedbyagroupof We have put together asix-step cases: cases: discharge: deaths: According to thepolice, the supporters,visitedtheSavlipolice strategy that includes our ongo- victim and her male friendhad stationtoregisteracomplaint ingprogrammeongood touch 8,33,536 17 8,15,008 10,078 decidedtovisit the Khakharia againsttheGRDpersonnel.Three andbad touch, whichisexplained Firstdosetakerstilldate Fullyvaccinatedtilldate Union MinisterParshottam Rupala is mobbed by local BJP leaders and supporters as he canal area on Thursdayevening, of the four accusedhavebeen ar- to students in schools and col- 1,03,20,397 arrivedinRajkotonthe second dayofhis Jan AshirwadYatra on Friday. ChiragChotaliya when theywereaccosted by four restedwhiletheoneaccused,who leges through interactive sessions 3,19,48,731 GRD personnel, who began rapedthe victim,isstillatlarge. to prevent suchoffences..."

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Onam,the festival of MESSAGE religious harmony Being aharvest festival, it is atribute to peace and harmony. It celebrates the true spirit of God’s Own Country

WISHING YOU all alife as colourfulaspookalam,asfestiveasOnam and as prosperous as the bountifulharvest. Igreet the people of Baroda and Malayalees the worldover on the auspicious occasion of Onam, the national festivalofKerala. Thefestival brings along with it all the colours of Kerala --- its history, culture and beliefs. Withsocial distancing the prevalent norm andCOVID-19 showing no signs of waning,Malayaleescan’t come together to revive old memories.Please enjoy with your familiesand friendsathome. Happy Onam! Mohan Nair, President, Baroda Nair Welfare Association K.N.VikramanNair Former General Secretary, BarodaKerala Samajam, Baroda Nair Welfare Association, Baroda.

NAM IS aharvest festival of OKeralathat is celebrated in Au- gust/September every year and is popularacross Indiaand abroad where Keralites are omnipresentasa professional and business community. It is observedonThiruvonam Naksha- (Above)Women complete a rangoli with (below) “Atham” flowers thatare collected earlier in the day tram of “Chingam,” aMalayalee calen- der year. Onamissignificant for It is aharvestfestival markingthe Hindus buthas overtime ONAM IS more fun to celebrate with family and friends,feastsand colourful home end of the monsoon season and is cele- decor.Don’t forget thereal essence of Onam. Keep its spiritalive in your hearts. bratedover ten days, beginning with become acommunity Giving ,sharing,loving andcelebrating together,that’sthe essenceofOnam.The Atham Nakshatram and ending with festival that is celebrated beautyofthe festival lies in its secular fabric. So celebrateitwith joy andverve. Thiruvonam. Onam happens to be the by all irrespective of caste, Onam also helps to create an atmosphereofpeace and brotherhood by wayof mostauspiciousday. creed and religion encouraging various team sports.Onamisthe passion of the people of Kerala and According to Hindumythology, the pride of India. Onam dates back to the period of the Happy Onam to everyone. demonking Mahabali. It wascele- and cultureofKeralainthe most GCNair, President- Baroda Kerala Samajam. bratedtocommemorate his annual unique way. During these ten days,peo- journey to visit his Prajas from Patala ple wear traditional clothes,participate (hissubjectsinthe netherworld). in dance and performance arts, make Known forhis generosityand inclusivity, flower rangolis called pookkalam and his growing popularity became athreat cook atraditional feast called to the Gods, who appealed to Lord Onasadya, which is served on banana Vishnu that they might just lose their leaf on all days. primacyinthe hierarchyofdivinity. charitable person, the kinggranted his even Patala or the underworld could be Onamissignificant for Hindus but Sensing theirconcern, Lord Vishnu dis- wish. LordVishnu then assumed hisreal blessed. Impressed, Lord Vishnu hasover time become acommunity guised himself as apoor Brahmincalled proportions,started to grow in size and grantedMahabali aboon that the de- festival thatiscelebratedbyall irre- Vamana. He called on KingMahabali as with hisfirst andsecond step covered mon king couldvisithis subjects on spective of caste,creed and religion. adwarf and asked him to grant him a thesky and earth. As he wasabout to earth once every year.This visit is cele- Thegrand festivities of an ancienttra- plot of land thathecould cover with takethe third step,Mahabali asked him bratedasOnam. dition dissolve religiousdisparities and three steps.Being akind-hearted and a to place his feet in suchamanner that Thefestivities reflect thetraditions usher in harmony among people. LET ME takethe pleasure of wishing you and your family aHappy Onam MESSAGE festival. On this occasion, Ipray that we are all blessed with good health,happinessand prosperityinour life.Giving, sharing, loving, and celebrating together–that’sthe essence of Onam.Thepast yearhas transformed nearlyevery aspect of our world.Meanwhile, our friends, family, colleaguesand communities have had theirlives upended.Wemust focus on ONAM, the harvest keeping ourselves as healthyaswecan.Wecannot let fearofone disease festival of Kerala, is keep us from doingwhat we need to do to.Stayhealthy and happy. celebrated by Let’scelebrate Onam withheart and soul.Happy Onam to you all. Malayalees across the AnilkumarNambiar,Zonal Director, Sterling Hospitals world, irrespective of their religion, with utmost joy. They organise gatherings through various ONAM is the symbol of love, ONAM IS oneofthe most secular samajams (associations). affection,unity,cooperation and andcultural festivalsofKerala.It This year,let’srestrict our gatheringsand pray for a happiness among all Malayalees is aharvest festivaland is bettertomorrowwhere we can celebrate thefestival without caste, creed, religiousand any celebratedwith alot of joy and withour lovedones.Let’snot getsaddened by the regional boundaries. enthusiasm by Malayaleesand reduced scaleofritualsortheirconfinement to Maythis Onam usherinhappiness, othercommunities. individualhomes. Ajoyfulspirit is what matters in the prosperityand peace to all Wishingall Malayalees a end.Let’sembrace humanity and compassion. Malayaleesofthe universe.Wishing prosperous, colourful, healthy, and Wishingeveryone avery Happy Onam. allaHappyOnam. wealthy Happy Onam. Adv KishorePillai N.P.Nair,Chairman,Ayyappa Rajan Nair.V,Chairman -Ayyappa Education Centre,Vadodara. SevaSamiti, Baroda

ONAM IS anational festivalinKerala. Onam /Vamana Jayanthi celebrations have great significance in ourlives.They showus how one can become agreat person, and rise from the lowesttothe highest.This can be achieved by simplicityand good thoughts.Vamana ,adwarf,the fifth incarnation of LordVishnu is kind enough to grant moksha or salvation to Bali, the asura king.When a bhakthaa's mindbecomes so proud as to forgetthe omnipotent power of the almighty, God takes on new forms to uplifthis bhaktha into asupreme level. Saalokyam, saameepyam,saarupyam andsaayujyam ...These can be attained by the complete surrender of individual pride to theAlmightyGod. Hence the transformation of jiva to parmatma. According to thePuranas ,Vamana Jayanthi falls on theday of the Thiruvonam Nakshatram of the month of Shravana (Chingam ). PeopleofKeralaoffer pooja to Lord Vamana (Vishnu). Onam is alsoacelebration of thevictory of LordVamana over Mahabali.Heactuallypurifies themind and intellect of Mahabali, upliftingajeeva (soul) to higher spiritual levels. Parmeshwaran Namboothiri,ChiefPriest

ONE OF themost ONAM is one festival that is AS KING marvellous facets of totally aligned with nature, Mahabali Onam is the abundance and family.Ifthe comes unfoldingofits pandemictaughtman the callingto rich andwell- importance of respecting the land, I established natureand the importance wishall culture.Wesee of home,family and friends, oursisters notjust glimpses Onam only affirms allthese andbrothers butawholegamut values. By celebrating the spirit of Kerala avery of it in aten-day of Onam,wepass on our age-old happy and joyous Onam. carnival. traditions to future generationsso Also wouldliketosee more Hope this Onambrings in good thattheymay lead asafe and secure life. Wishing youngsterscoming forward to help fortuneand happiness to all Barodians. everyone aHappy Onam! in socialcauses,thereby making Rezin Kailas,General Manager, Dr Ayswaria Wariar,Mohiniyattam Exponent, thissociety abetter placetolive in. Picson Construction EquipmentPvt. Ltd. Arts Educator &Actor Nishant Pillai,SocialWorker

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021 WORDLY WISE In their efforts to impose universalworship, men have unsheathed their swords and killed 6 THE EDITORIAL PAGE one another. — Fyodor Dostoyevsky The sins of empire

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA Modality of US withdrawal from Afghanistanwill give BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL fillip to fundamentalism’s deepestimpulses

A SHARPER EDGE PratapBhanuMehta

MinisterJaishankar’s strong wordsonuniting againstterror AMERICAN EMPIRE HAS been stuckinaplace who begin to constitutethe secret sinews of Afghanistan. The corruptions of empiremade where, to use Polybius’s words, “it can nei- the stateand channel itswar booties. withdrawal long overdue.But the tragedyof point to growing challengevis-a-vis Pakistan, and in region ther endureits condition, nor the means to Externally, thereliance on mercenaries, the theAmerican withdrawalisthat even in try- HE TALIBAN TAKEOVER of Afghanistanhas added severallayers of difficul- overcome it.”Inthe contextofAfghanistan, sordid deals with all kinds of unsavoury ing to extricate itself, America endedupen- ties to the fraught India-Pakistanrelationship. The relationship of thePakistan learnedstrategic thinkers and broadsheets of groups, the casual saturation with arms, the acting the sins of empire, notovercoming imperial privilegelike TheNew York Times, implicationinillicit trade, makeempirere- them. The withdrawal from Afghanistanis Armyand ISI withthe Taliban,especiallythe Haqqani network, is an open se- T will fulminateoverroads nottaken. Butthis semble agangsteroperation that has blow- notanend of the corruptpolitical economyof cret.Their influence overthe processes that took the Taliban speedilytoKabul exercise, as valuable as it might be,misses the backonthe stateitrepresents. Corruption en- violence. The great powers will benewprox- when American forces beganwithdrawing from the countrywas also apparent. Forat wood forthe trees. These questionsre-enact sured both that theUSTreasurywas drained ies who produce the same cycle of violence least three years,ifnot more,security officialsinthe nowdeposed government of the the presumptionofimperial omniscience, in- and no statewas built in Afghanistan. The sec- and civil war. Withdrawal does notsignal a Republic of Afghanistanand Indian intelligence reports have pointed to Punjabi fighters nocence and power. In Phil Klay’s master- ond sin is self-deception. From Vietnam to commitment to greatermultilateralism or supporting the Taliban’s militarypush. By all accounts, cadres of anti-Indiagroups such piece, Missionaries,Lisette, ajournalist who Afghanistan, America knewexactlywhat is the rule of law. Withdrawal will notproduce has spent time in Afghanistan, asksthe ques- going on. But the stakes in keeping the myth an honestreckoning withthe self-deceptions as Laskhar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammedmade common cause with the Taliban and tion: “Anywarsright nowweare notlosing?” of imperial virtue and imperial powerpro- of empire. fought American soldiers and Afghan security forces alongside them. The connections be- Shepromptlythinksthe answer is Colombia. duce self-deceptions of the mostextraordi- Will the Taliban reinvent itself?Thereis tween Islamic StateofKhorasan Province(ISKP),the AfghanistanchapterofISIL, with But this answer turns on howone defines narysort. reason to be deeplyscepticalthatitwill. Will LeT came to theforewhen afterthe arrest of itstop leader in Afghanistanlastyear follow- “notlosing”. The exorbitant privilegeofem- The thirdisamorality that,touse Tagore’s it become likeapoor Saudi Arabia in the ing the horrific attackonaKabul gurdwara, it wasrevealedthat he wasaformer Lashkar pireisyou even gettodefine what countsas phrase, “is split down the middle,” commit- Eighties —apower the West had no problems commander. The National DirectorateofSecurity,the Afghan intelligence agency in the loss and shrug offits costs. tedtothe very things it disavows.What does with,evenwhen it wasinternally repressive erstwhilegovernment,other ISKP cadreswith connections to theISI, had been among Thereisalong litanyoflosses. The wars the rule of lawmean when empireitself en- or exporting jihad? Or will anarchyfollow? in Iraq, Libya, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Somalia, actsaregular lawlessness? What does a“hu- Or will nowthe internal fissures of Afghan so- those arrested forthe attack. The linksbetween these groups and their connections to the Lebanon; the coups from Iran to Chile;the manitarian mission” mean, when it licenses ciety produce anew political dynamic? No deep stateinPakistanwerealwaysaconcern,but the militaryconquestofAfghanistan creationofsecret instruments of violence in There are no easysolutions an outsourcing of torture or disregardfor one trulyknows. by afundamentalistgroup and the emboldeningeffect it is bound to have on outfitssuch assorted places from Colombia, Ecuador, in Afghanistan. The civilianlife? The fourth sin is itscontinualex- But the modality of US withdrawal ex- as LeTand Jaish, amongmanyothers, has increasedthat concern manifold. Guatemala,Laos, Honduras, El Salvador;sanc- corruptions of empire made pansionism. The omniscience of empireis udedthe fundamental sin of empire: Itsre- apttogiveevery local conflict global signifi- inforcement of race and hierarchy.The tropes This wasthe contextinwhichExternal Affairs MinisterSJaishankar flagged the threat tuarytoautocracies and exporters of violent withdrawallong overdue. posedbyterrorism at aUnited Nations Security Council meeting earlier this week.The fundamentalism from Saudi Arabiato cance.But it also has the needtoremind the usedtojustify the mess of this withdrawal all Pakistan, eachofwhomhavesubverted the But the tragedyofthe worldofits resolve to remain preeminent. underscorethis. It is the Afghan president, ministersingledout the Haqqani network, whichisalliedtothe Taliban and is known to US’s ownaims. Ask the question:“Didinter- American withdrawalisthat That needs war. The fifthishypocrisy.The their army, that istoblame, as if after20years have the unstinted backing of the ISI, and the LeT,Jaish and ISKP forspecial mention. His vention leave aplace in abettercondition or even in trying to extricate morepower tries to stretch, the moreitde- of intervening in asociety,the US had no re- strong wordsfor aunited stand againstterrorism containedveiledreferences against achieveanobjective with leastviolence pos- ploys double standards. Some hypocrisy is sponsibility.Suddenly, the pretextofcom- both Pakistanand China —the latter has blockedthe designation of Pakistan-basedter- sible?” The answer oftenturns out to be“no”. itself, Americaended up inevitable in politics. Butitbecomes the mon humanity,and universal liberation, roristgroups in the past. It is significant that at the meeting, the thirdspecial event organ- The tens of thousands of civilian casualties enacting the sins of empire, defining featurethrough which the world whichwas thepretext of empire, turnedinto isedbyIndia duringits month-long presidency of the UNSC, China joinedother coun- testify to that. not overcoming them. The understands imperial power. The sixth is a the worstkind of cultural essentialism. It is Oftenprogress wasset back. TheMiddle cult of violence. Thereisanabiding paradox their culture, these medievaltribalists who tries, including the US andUK, in makingthe demand forholding the Talibantoits withdrawalfrom East had many functioning states,pocketsof in US strategy.The creation of stable states areincapable of liberty.Weveiledthe fact that commitment that it will notallowAfghanistantobeusedbyterrorgroups. urbane modernity,till the geopolitics setthe Afghanistan is not an end of and societies requires the pacification of vi- theyare entirelythe creation of modern war. As Pakistanisinthe driving seat of developmentsinAfghanistan, and has effectively stagefor worse forms of fundamentalistreac- the corrupt political olence. But thereissomething bizarre about And finally, this shocking sense of, achievedwhatithas long wanted—Taliban rulers in Kabul—ittoo should bepreparedfor tion. The exactshape of the Taliban, ISIS, al economyofviolence. The modernimperial counterinsurgency strate- “Franklydear,wecould notcareadamn,” greater scrutinyofits actions. MinisterJaishankar has setinmotion anarrative that is likely Qaeda is no moreover-determinedbythe in- great powers will be new gies. From Iraq to Afghanistan to western about the Afghans who reposedtrustand terventionsofgreat powers, than it is by some Pakistantothe drug wars, the abiding legacy riskedtheirlives.Fundamentalism has drawn to dominatedomestic debates on Pakistan. In the current situation,the possibility of nor- proxies who produce the malisation of ties with Pakistan, whichhad cometothe forefront with the revivalofthe moreprimordial essence of aculture. But it of this empireissaturation of societies with itsmotivating energy, notfromGod, but from is impossible to denythat theyare products same cycle of violence and arms and militias; as if creatingarmedfac- cultivating grievance againstimperialhier- ceasefireonthe LoC, has recededonce again. The benefitsofthe ceasefireare notsmall, but of modern imperial politics: Itsunsettlingof civil war. Withdrawaldoes tions in society and militarising, running it archies.The Taliban’s victoryisnot justa it would be difficult to sustain this fragile truce without awider bilateralengagement. local societies,its encouragementtoviolence, awash with cash, will ever getyou astable morale boosterfor fundamentalistsevery- itssupportoffundamentalism, itsbreaking not signal acommitment to state. The seventh sinisracism.Eventhe where. The US management of the with- up of statestructures. greater multilateralism or mostliberal-mindedempirewill createahi- drawal will give fillip to fundamentalism’s At the heartofempireisthe debasement the rule of law. Withdrawal erarchyofthose whose livesmatter;evenin deepestpsychological impulses. It is an anar- A WELCOME REPRIEVE of moral identity.Empirehas sevendeadly will not produce an honest itsemancipatorymission it cannotget away chic world, eachfor their own. from reinforcing claims of superiority that sins. The firstiscorruption. Internally, empire reckoning with the self- Gujarat HC poses aquestion markonconstitutionality of not alwaysempowers corruptpractices, the le- generateresentment. Thewriter is contributing editor, gions of lobbyists,arms dealers, hucksters, deceptions of empire. Thereare no easy solutions in The Indian Express justGujarat’s ‘love jihad’ lawbut alsolegislation in other states

HEGUJARATHIGHCourtdecision stayingsomeprovisionsofthe state’s anti-con- version law, including the onethatdeems all interfaith marriagesasthosesolem- Tnisedfor carrying out forcefulreligious conversion, is extremelywelcome. While the decision by Chief Justice of the High CourtVikram Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnavisonlyaninterim order,evenasthe largerlegal challengeofthe Gujarat Freedom LAWMAKERS &DISORDER of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021isstill pending, the ruling sends out alargermessage. It poses aquestion markonthe constitutionality of notjustthe Gujarat lawbut also similar legislation in other states, be it Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, or Himachal Pradesh. Can theHouse giveMPs moreseverepunishment than suspension? The stated aim of recent anti-conversion laws brought in by BJP-ruledstatesistopro- hibit unlawful religious conversions. But in doing so, the law’s vague and excessively broad PDTAchary provisions give powers to the statetohold apolice inquirytoprobe the motivesbehind a woman’s changeofreligion formarriageand to potentiallyannul suchamarriage. The law THE CHAIRMAN OF the RajyaSabhaisreport- repliestohis questions. Thus, suspension efitsfrombusinesshouses to canvass support alsoallows the“aggrievedperson,hisparents,brother,sister, or anyotherpersonrelatedby edly contemplating action againstMPs who, from the service of the House is regarded as forthem in the government and Parliament. blood,marriageoradoption” to lodgeanFIR on anallegedly unlawful conversion, essentially he thinks, were involved in the fracas in the aseriouspunishment. But, surprisingly,the The committee foundhim guiltyofmiscon- legitimising mob interference in an individual’s private life. By shifting the burden of proof House.Thereisspeculation in the media rules do notspell out the disabilities of asus- duct,whichwas derogatory to the dignity of on the individualaccusedofforciblyconverting another person,in effect,the lawweaponises about whatkind of action will be taken pendedmember.These areimposedon Parliament. He wasexpelled. Another special communal prejudice and paranoia and throwsthe powerofthe statebehind it. Even as againstthoseMPs. There is also speculation them as per conventions or precedent. committee wasappointedin2005toinquire about the formation of aspecial committee Suspension is the onlyserious punish- intothe issue of MPs accepting moneyfor theselaws areunderchallengebeforeseveral highcourts,theyhavebecomeatemplatefor to suggest severe punishment.Itappears that ment providedfor in therules.Rule 256 of raising questions in Parliament. This followed harassment of citizens. The interim ruling comes, therefore, as much-neededrelief. theRajya Sabha secretariat has preparedare- the RajyaSabha’s RulesofProcedurespeci- asting operation done by aprivate body of The Gujarat HC intervention recognises the unacceptability of law’s intrusionintoan portonthe incident, whichaccuses some fies the actsofmisconduct:Disregarding the investigative journalists.Ten MPs were ex- individual’s private lifeevenwhen the statemay have alegitimate interestincontaining MPs of assaulting security personnel. The authority of the chair,abusing the rules of the pelledinconnection with this episode. unlawful, forcibleconversions. It drawsalineand says that thestate cannotenter the MPs, on the other hand, have alleged that council by persistently and willfullyobstruct- So, specialad-hoc committees areap- doors of amarriagewherethereisnoevidence of it being forced or involving violence. strangers in blue uniform were allowedin- ing the business thereof.Amember can be pointed onlytoinvestigateserious mis- sidethe House who roughedthem up. punishedfor anyofthese actsand, usually, conduct by MPs outside the House. No However, even with the progressive intervention of thejudiciary, decisions areoften ex- House rules vest in thechairman all the the punishment is immediate. Punishing specialcommitteeisrequired to go into cruciatingly slow to percolatetothe ground.Takethe case of the police across the coun- powers necessary to conduct proceedings members long afterthe occurrence of mis- what happens before the eyes of the pre- trycontinuing to file cases under Section 66Aofthe InformationTechnology Actdespite smoothly. Therules also provide forthe sus- conduct is very rare.Suspensionfor there- sidingofficer inside the House. As per the the apexcourtstrikingitdownin2015. Laws that grant the statepolice powers to regu- pension of MPs who “disregardthe author- Thepowertosuspend a mainder of the session makes sense only rules of the House, theyneedtobedealt latefreedoms mustberolledback. TheGujarat HC’s reading of the lawwill hopefully ity of the Chair or abuse the rules of the member is vested in the when theyare suspendedimmediatelyafter withthen and there. have abearing on other courts wheresimilar laws have been challenged. Council by persistentlyand willfullyob- House,not in the chairman. themisconduct has been noticedby the chair. An interesting question that arises in the structing the business of the House”. Thechairman names sucha Forthe actsofmisconduct by theMPs out- RajyaSabha case is whether the House can However, thepowertosuspend amember side the House, whichconstituteabreachof give the MPs moreseverepunishmentthan is vested in the House, notinthe chairman. member whereupon a privilegeorcontemptofthe House,usually suspension. The rules do notrecogniseany The chairman names suchamember where- motion is moved by the the privilegecommittee investigates the mat- punishment other than suspension foraspe- LIKE DRONACHARYA upon amotion is movedbythe ParliamentaryAffairs terand recommends the course of action and cific period.Article20 of theConstitutionpro- ParliamentaryAffairs Minister, or anyother Minister,orany other the House actsonit. hibitsagreater penaltythanwhatthelawpro- CoachNambiar brought home the difference acoach could ministerseeking the suspension of the mem- Aspecial committee is appointedusually videdatthe time of committing the offence. minister seeking the maketoanathlete’s career ber. Under the rule, the maximum period of when the misconduct is so serious that the It is asoberingthought that the rules of the suspension is forthe remainder of the ses- suspension of the member. House mayconsider expelling the member. House do notempower Parliament to inflict MNAMBIAR, THE Dronacharya award-winningcoachwho diedon sion. Asuspendedmember cannot enter the Under the rule,the Suchoccasions have been fewand farbe- anypunishment on itsmembers other than chamber or attend anymeetings of the com- tween. The firstcase of expulsion occurredin suspension forcreatingdisorderintheHouse. Thursday, wasarguablythe firstcelebrity coachinthe country. Notonlybe- maximum period of mittees. He also cannotgiveany noticefor 1951 when aspecial committee wasap- Ocause his mostfamous student wasPTUsha, one of the fewgenuinelyworld- discussion or submission. By convention, a suspension is forthe pointed to investigatethe conduct of HG The writer is former secretary general, class athletesthe countryhas produced, but also because he introduced suspendedmember loses his right to get remainder of the session. Mudgal, an MP who acceptedfinancial ben- Lok Sabha modern methods and drilledinthe importance of qualitycoaching. He brought home the difference acoachcould maketoanathlete’s career at atime when coachinginthe countrywas amateurish, when retired athletesjustfilledinthe role informally. To Usha, Nambiar wasafather figure. In severalinterviews,she reflected that she wouldn’t have become half the athlete she wasifnot forNambiar’s guidance and perse- AUGUST 21,1981, FORTY YEARS AGO verance. From spotting her during adistrictathletics meeting to grooming her forthe Olympics, and overseeing her transition to aboldand confident athlete,Nambiar played POLL REFORMS REJECTED demonium prevailedinthe House with consult the Opposition members. an influential role in the making of Usha. He wasateacher and also her nutritionist, di- members from both sides converging on the etician, recovery expert, psychiatrist, and confidant,who wasbyher side in triumph and AFTER ATUMULTUOUS five-hour debate, centraltable andthe photographsstrewnon DU VIOLENCE markedbypandemonium and acrimony, the the carpet. tragedy. He wasthe supportsystemthat helpedUsha recoverfromthe near-miss in the Lok Sabha on August20rejected by avoice ALARGE NUMBER of studentsofSham Lal 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and fuelledher push forgold medals in the Asian Games two voteamotionmovedbyMadhu Dandavate ZAIL SINGH ON ASSAM Collegeand othercollegesinDelhi University years later.Two others who bagged laurels in the Seoul Games —ShinyWilson and (Janata) calling forurgent poll reforms to raidedDayal Singh College, setfiretoscoot- Vandana Rao—werehis studentstoo. makeelections free of shortcomings. While HOME MINISTER GIANIZail Singh assured ers, motorcycles and bicycles parkedinthe Later, when Usha herself became acoach, she brought intoplaywhat she had learnt the fate of the motionwas moreorlessafore- the Lok Sabha thatthe government would campus, brokewindowpanes, beat several from Nambiar.Her stylewas deeplypersonal, perhaps to afault. Justasitwas detrimen- gone conclusion, the intensity displayedby find asolutiontothe Assam problem that studentsand escapedbeforethe police ar- taltoher career —she stayed with Nambiar when she could have soughtthe services of mostofthe speakers took everyone by sur- would be acceptable to all, or at leastgive rived. 50 to 60 studentsand six teachers were prise. Towardsthe end, it assumedshocking minimumsatisfaction to the maximum in the collegewhen the raiding party arrived. aforeign coach—itwas notbeneficialfor some of herwards thattheystayedtoo long with dimensions when aCongress (I) member number of people. He said that the talkson The raid is suspected to be in retaliation to her.Nambiar,too, reportedly disliked Usha availing the tutelageofother coaches. But BhagwanDev tore up certainphotographs the foreign nationals’ issue wasgoing on in a the beating up of studentsofthe Janata that should nottarnishhis legacy.Maybe Usha could have been better.But Nambiar will of the Garhwal poll tabledbyHarkesh cordial manner. He said before taking afinal Vidyarthi Morchastudentswho had visited be reveredand remembered forthe athlete she has been. Bahadur of the DSF.For 10 minutes, total pan- decision on the issue, thegovernmentwould DayalSingh Collegeearlier in the day.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “The world... must help the next Afghan governmentaddressthe issue of militancy.Given that all the majorplayersinthe tragedy of Afghanistan —from the US to Pakistan —haveplayed aroleinseedingand enablingextremist 7 THE IDEAS PAGE violence in that country, it is incumbentupon themtodoso.’’ —DAWN Lest we remember only hate What Sabyasachi

Whatisimportant is notjustwhat we remember from the tangledagony of Partition, owes Sanganer but what lessons we draw from thesememories Hiscollaboration with H&M putsIndian design on the map, but at the costofstruggling craftspeopleand hand-madetextileproducers

ness”. Now, the blockprintersare simulta- neouslystruggling withheavy competition from skill-less screen printers, who provide Harsh Mander fabric quicklyand cheaply,inthe same way that powerlooms have overrunhandlooms. ON THE EVE of India’s Independence Day, Theyfaced the challenge of mill printson Prime Minister NarendraModideclared that hugemachinesinlarge factories when colo- August14would nowbeobserved as the JayaJaitly nialists prioritisedLancasterand Partition Horrors Remembrance Day. Manchesterand destroyedIndia’s tradition “Partition’s painscan neverbeforgotten”, he of textile production by hand. Then came declared.“Millions of our sisters and broth- THE CURRENT SPARKSonsocial media are digitisation, sounding yetanother death ers were displacedand manylosttheir lives notjustafrothy tusslebetween someelite knellfor India’s hand work heritage. due to mindless hate and violence.” persons,who areconsideredthe protectors The whole point of the crafts-support- The overwhelming majority of Indians of craftspeople, daring to come up against ingworld, even internationally, is to re- alive todaywereborn long afterIndia’s Sabyasachi Mukherjee, one of the mostsuc- specthandworkand humanendeavour blood-drenchedPartition tore the country. cessful names in the fashion business. It is over the machine. This supportisnot just Theymustindeedremember this history: about agenuineand much largerchallenge ahashtag or ahand-on-heartstatement. The agonyofamillionpeoplelosingtheir forthe worldofthe handmade. On one side Itspurpose is to benefitthe makers directly livesinHindu-Muslim riots;oftrainsinboth arethe values that areimportant to our cul- and to respect adistinct heritagethat loses directions piledwithcorpses; of 14 million tural heritage, whichare aboutcommunity sense if hybridisation is consideredtrue people uprootedinthe largestdistress dis- sharing and retaining pride in our diverse design. If fashiondesigners likeMukherjee placement in human history,exceptthe traf- identities and skills. It is about alifelong usedsome of their profitstouplift the ficking of Africans as slavestothe Americas. riyaaz to improveone’s skills and designs. working environment in Sanganer, it But the salient questions are—what they Craftspeople can create, innovate andco- would be agenuine gestureofrespect for shouldremember,how theyshouldremem- operatewith modernity very easily. Their our craftheritage. ber, and what lessons theyshould draw from immensevalue is that their workmanship When Mukherjee boasts of “putting this recollection. incorporates specific cultural histories and Indian design on the map” with his name Irecall speaking in ahall in Ludhiana, stories special to eachplace and skill. They and his brand, it maybeabig win forhim Punjab, some years agoabout the imperative areour livingtreasures, whoneedsupport and forIndia, but notfor thosewho are of fighting religious bigotryand hate. An age- and opportunity and theyneedtobepri- fightingtocontinue blockprinting in ing man, older than me, spoke, his voice quiv- oritisedsothat their existing and precious Sanganer so thatpeople likehim can be“in- ering. He recalledthe slaughter and pillageof CRSasikumar livelihoods aresustained. On the other side spired”and “createhybrids”frommultiple Partition, whichhad snatched from him his is thenew “market monster” whichmakes regions including other “ancient worldcul- familyand his home. “When Irecount this and Hindus of the villagetook refugeinagur- leftbehind in Pakistan, condemnedtocon- it alright to swallowupthe old ways forthe tures”, as he says.Sadly, thereisnohumil- history to my children, howcan youexpect dwarawith high,fortress-likewalls. When tinue the work of manual scavenging sakeoffame and profit. JeffBezos,who has ity in suchstatements. It is no longerreally me to teachthem to love and respect Muslims Muslimmobs laid siege to the gurdwara,the but savagedbyblasphemylawsand religious been accusedofexploiting hisworkers,has Indian nor Sanganeri craftifitcomes out for who destroyed us so mercilessly?” men in the community decidedthat all the discrimination. the gall to thankmillions of Amazon cus- H&M’s “masses”fromadigital version. Yet, Irepliedtohim, “I understand your pain. women and girls would save their‘honour’ Can we remember the thousands of tomersall across the worldfor funding his he should know that he is ahuge“influ- Itoo belong to aPartition family,and the fam- by throwing themselvesintoawell. When Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims who risked their multi-billion dollar dream trip intospace encer” forall fashiondesign studentsin ilies of my parentssufferedtraumasidenti- some womenrefused, men of their own livestosavetheir neighbours from the hate forfiveminutes. It is an unequal battle. The India. He drivesthe media intoafrenzy of cal to yours. But if youmustspeak of this to families slicedthem with swords and threw violence of peopleoftheir owncommunity? passing acknowledgement by our designer adoration. Bridesare so desperate fora your children, and their children, can youat them in. Iamgrateful thatInever hearda Some of us believe that behind the an- to hybrid craftforms is something similar. Sabyasachi lehnga,whichcan costuptoRs leasttell them the full story? Tell them that word of bigotry against Muslimsfrommy nouncement of the Partition Horrors When it wasannouncedthat market- 25 lakh, that one small-time electrical shop Hindusand Sikhsdid sufferhorrendouslyat parents.Myfatheroften told me that the Remembrance Dayare the politics of the rul- ing lines had crasheddue to the success of ownerhad to sell some of his property to the hand of Muslim mobs in places where word Allah appears more than athousand ing establishment. August14iscelebrated as H&M’s tie-up with Mukherjee foranew please his to-be-marrieddaughter.We theywereinaminority.But tell them also times in the Sikh HolyBook. Their prayer IndependenceDayinPakistan. My socialme- line, who would nothaverejoicedthat came across azardozi shop ownerinDelhi that Hindus and Sikhs, whereinamajority, room carriedthe name of Allah on itswalls, dia feedis alreadychokedwithmessages that Indian designers had conqueredthe world? who showedushis “original copy” of a unleashedidentical horrors upon Muslims. along with acrucifix, Buddhaand many My parents’ village,Kahuta, blame Gandhi and Nehru forPartition, and We have been proudofthe typical Sabyasachi sari that he “kepthidden from No community kept at baythe frenzy of hate Hindu gods and goddesses. maintain that it wasSardar Pateland the RSS Indiannessofhis designs in the Bengal imitators”, he said. in those horrific months. The hands of every Decades later,when Idecidedtoleave be- near Rawalpindi, wasamong that savedIndia from fragmentation and fur- patina, justasweproudly acknowledgeRitu Since the designer’s influence is vast,if community were equallytainted withthe hindmycareer in the IAS in protestagainst the worst-ravaged by hate ther dismemberment.The RSS historically Kumar’s contribution to handembroidery he even whispers the word “digitisation” in blood of innocents. Youlostlives andhomes, the Gujarat communal massacreof2002, to violence during Partition. playednorole in the freedom struggle. Is the and hand blockprints, when other design- the contextofaprecioushand-crafted tex- but tell your children that our Muslim sisters fight forjustice and healing with the sur- TheSikhs and Hindus of the announcementof PartitionHorrors Dayapart ers were running the Western way. But on tile, he could crush the aspirations and liveli- and brothersalso lost their livesinequal vivors, manyrelativesofmyextendedfam- of their largerproject to rewritehistory,with reading Mukherjee’s statement about the hoods of all hand-made textile producers numbers. Partialremembering can onlynur- ilywerefurious, and cancelledmefromtheir village took refuge in a the RSS painted as patriots and the Congress collaboration, it wasthe mention of a and invalidatethe work done by those who turefurther hate.” lives. One of them said to me loudlyduring a gurdwarawith high, fortress- ledbyGandhi as traitors? When we remem- Sanganeri blockprint being digitisedthat have struggledtokeep crafts andlivelihoods Irecalledtohim Mahatma Gandhi’s epic familywedding, “Weare ashamedofyou. likewalls. When Muslim berPartition, we must recall that it was caught the eyeofthose who have dedicated alivethrough abetterappreciationofhand 40-dayfastinCalcutta, just weeksafter India Afterall we sufferedduring Partition, you mobs laid siege to the Savarkar of the Hindu Mahasabha who, long their livestoensure that itsneglectedand skills. Those young people who areturning wonher freedom, trying to restorepeace and have crossedtothe wrong side”. Ireplied, before the Muslim League, imaginedtwosep- oftenstarving practitioners gain respect, to supportthe craftsector nowinthe name sanitytoacityburning in feverishHindu- “Afterall our families sufferedinPartition, gurdwara, the men in the aratenations, of Hindus and Muslims. It was recognition and remuneration. of “organic” or “sustainable” or “slowfash- Muslim violence. AHindu man, torn by grief, who morethan us can understand the suf- communitydecided that all the RSS that sought an India of Muslims as sec- One wonders if Mukherjee knows ion” will switch paths in amomentifsome went to whereGandhiji layfasting,and fering of victims of the same hateviolence? the women and girls would ond-classcitizens.It wasthe RSS andcommu- what’s been going on in the real Sanganer. big fashion name says it’s okay. Thereisalso shouted,“What youare doing is utterly un- It is, even more, our duty to stand resolutely nal organisations of Muslims that lit and It is asmall edge-of-townkindofcolony ariskofdumbing down those customers justand heartless. Ilostmyson —sosmall — withthem,againstthe perpetrators of hate. save their ‘honour’by stokedthehorrific firesofcommunal violence. outside Jaipur,surroundedbygarbage and who areslowlylearning to careabout and to Muslim mobs. Howcan Ieverforgive Iamonthe right side. It is youwho areonthe throwing themselves into a Yes, Indians mustnever forget thetor- sewage.The blockprinters therehavebeen recognise the differences betweenpower- them?”Gandhiji replied, “I understand your wrong side. Don’t yousee?” well. When some women ment and horrors of Partition.Wemustre- struggling to getclean waterand to con- loom and handloom and screen and block pain. Butlet me suggesttoyou away.Find a What is important is notjustwhat we refused,men of their own member so that we neverallowhatetopar- tinuestaying thereinstead of being sum- prints. One cannotproudly claimto“Make little boy—sosmall. AMuslim boywhose remember from the tangledagony of tition notjustour land, but even more marilyrelocatedto some unknown and un- in India”bydestroying another creative sec- parentswereslaughtered by Hindu mobs. Partition, but what lessons we draw from families sliced them with fundamentally, our hearts.Wemustremem- familiar area by thePollution Control Board. tion of India, andbenefiting onlymultina- Adopthim as your son, raise him in the faith these memories. swords and threw them in. I beralways whatthe politicsofreligioushate Hand-block printing employs wood carvers tionalsand designer brands. intowhichhewas born;maybe youwill then Can we remember who were themost am grateful that Inever does to apeople. and metalblockmakers, dyers, designers be able to heal, even to forgive.” tragic victims of Partition violence? The heard aword of and printers. The charm of hand-block The writer is founder, My parents’ village, Kahuta, near women who were treated as property,and Mander is ahuman rights and peace worker. printing is also its“perfection of uneven- Dastkari Haat Samiti Rawalpindi,was among the worst-ravaged battlefields to defendortransgress the “ho- bigotryagainst Muslims His booksinclude Partitions of the Heart: by hateviolence during Partition. The Sikhs nour” of the community. TheDalit Christians from my parents. Unmaking the Idea of India LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR Empowering the players A QUESTION THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Word IDEAS police’ (IE, August20). It appears that ONLINE In NewIndia, sportspersons have full supportfromgovernment, PM the decision to ban the use of the col- loquial term “gorakh dhanda”(uneth- ical practice) by the Manohar Lal ONLYINTHE EXPRESS Anurag Singh Thakur Khattar government in Haryana was takentosoothe the “hurt sentiments” ● DELHIFAILSHOMELESS: of Gorakhnath community.But what SHALAKACHAUHAN, THE SIGHT OF our Prime Ministeroffering medalcount.Hesaid that thereisnoreason approachbut also allowfor optimumutilisa- tingent, he asked them to keep sharing their about the phrase “Aaya Ram-gaya ARAVINDUNNI churmatoNeeraj Chopra, icecream to PV anation likeours should remain deprived tion of existing resourcesinthe state. viewsonways to strengthen sporting infra- Ram”, whichoriginated in Haryana? Sindhu, laughing with Bajrang Punia, telling of Olympic success. But, according to him, Further,wemustalsoget on boardcor- structure. Be it Mirabai or MaryKom, the PM It is aunique contribution to the lex- ● LIBERALISEMACHINE Ravi Dahiyatolaugh moreand hearing the the issue wasnot the players but our in- porateIndia to adopt“One Sport, One has personallyensured theygot thebest icon of the Hindilanguagetodescribe TRADE: MANMEET AJMANI, experiences of Mirabai Chanu brought a ability to createthe right supporting at- Corporate”. Across the world, corporates are treatmentfor theirinjuries. the phenomenon of defection by DEVESH ROY, HTAKESHIMA smile to everyIndian’s face. What was mosphere.The women’s and men’s hockey at the forefront of extending supporttobud- Another issue impacting Indian sports is leaders from one political party to an- equallyencouragingwas that he spent time teams have gone on recordsaying that the ding talent, building leagues, enhancing the (ironically) the rise of moderntechnology. other.The phrase is adisdainful de- www.indianexpress.com with everyathlete who took partinTokyo PM’s phone calls aftertheir defeatsplayed fanexperience, marketing as well as mer- PM Modi has addressedthis in his book, scription of politicians’ unethical be- Olympics.The next day, he interacted with akey role in boosting their morale.In2019, chandisingtoenhance the financial kitty of ExamWarriors and in Pariksha Pe Charcha haviour.Will thegovernment ban this the Paralympic contingent, discussing their when Neeraj Choprasufferedaninjury, PM players. The success of corporates with townhall programmes. He talked about giv- phrase when approachedbythe inspiring lifejourneys. Modi wishedhim aspeedy recovery,which cricketoverthe years is acase in point. ing as muchimportance to theplaying field devotees of LordRam? is female’ (IE, August19). The main These gestures indicateadifferent side to waswidelyappreciated. Additionally, the sponsorship pattern has as to the playstation. Modi has notdismissed LRMurmu, Delhi tenetofthis supposedlyfeministarti- NarendraModi —aperson who is passionate When it comes to sports,the PM has un- transitionedfromFMCG brands to new the advent of modern technology.Hehas cle is gender essentialism, atheorythe about sportsand willing to go the extramile derstood therootofthe problem—that FinTechunicorns. This can be awin-win for sought ahealthybalance wherethe human LESSOPAQUE scientific community startedquestion- forIndia’s athletes. Beforethe TokyoGames sports generate much interestbut when it players, corporates and the game itself. element of sports —teamwork,togetherness ing years ago. The writers believe “em- began, PM Modi held an extensive review comes to incentives and participation, there Another important aspect is to build a —ismaintained. Further,the National THIS REFERS TO the editorial, pathy, compassion and sensitivity” are meeting to take stockofour preparedness. is awide gap. Therewas both fact and opti- grassroots sporting culture. Forthis, it is EducationPolicy also consists of mecha- ‘Welcome the nine’(IE, August20). The “innateabilities” of women. This is a Those who have seen PM Modiclosely mismwhen he remarkedafter meeting the imperative to expand the calendar forvar- nisms that will makesports education an at- call fortransparency and accountabil- rehash of the misogynistic belief that can vouchfor the passion he has towards Olympic winners —“seeing the recent suc- ious games at the local, stateand national tractive option. In the years to come, Manipur ity in the functioning of the Supreme men areintrinsicallyanalytical and supporting acultureofsportsand games cesses in sports, Iamconfident therewill be levels. India needs regional leagues in every will getIndia’s firstsports university,which Courtcollegium isn’t intendedtodilute women, emotional. We nowknow among the youth. As CM of Gujarat, he be- ashiftinparental attitudetowards sports.” sportthat will provide an opportunity for willbeaboontoathletesand harness the the pivotal role playedbythe judiciary that these observedgender differences ganthe Khel Mahakumbh initiative, which When parents see India’s medal countrising, young athletestohone their skills through- richsporting legacy in the Northeast. in our statestructure.The lackofse- aredue to socialisation; thereare few boosted grassroots levelsportsparticipation one hopes theywill be more open to their out the year at various levels, as well as en- Tokyo2020 wasanOlympics of many crecy in the appointment and transfer biological differences betweenmen’s in astate that is nothistoricallyknown for children pursuingsports. But,moreimpor- hance the sports ecosystem and infrastruc- firsts forIndia. We wonour firstgold in ath- of judges would ensurecommon peo- and women’s brains. The writers sporting excellence. Thereisalso amethod in tantly, when theysee all arms of the govern- tureinthe country. Ialso believe our letics, thehockeyteam did wondersand ple areinthe loop, making anyattempt should consider whether women are howhehas supportedsports andsportsper- ment, and thecorporate sector supportour university system can be transformedinto thereweresuccesses in other sports suchas of assault in the functioning of the judi- innately empathetic or socialstrictures sons, whichwould makemetoargue that he players, theywill realise that sportsmakes an oasis forOlympic excellence. discus throw,golf, fencing, etc. The Target ciarybyany other organofthe statea compel them to be so. The article goes is India’s firstand foremost“Sportsperson’s foranattractiveand honourable career. Thesemeasures will fill the gapbetween Olympic Podium Scheme, Khelo India and lesser possibility.Afair and independ- on to argue that morewomen should Prime Minister”. Amongstthe various ways we can en- interest and participation going forward. the FitIndia Campaign have laid the founda- ent judiciaryisthe collective responsi- join the workforcebecause of theben- Afew days ago, a2013video went viral. hance India’s sporting success is by looking One of the things that has helpedIndian tionsfor greater success. NewIndia has fire bility of everycitizen. efit theirinherent, “non-technical” In that video,Modiwas addressingagroup at encouraging ourstatestowards a“One sports is the emphasis on quality and global in itsbelly. Our sportspersons have the full Sudip KumarDey, Barasat skillsprovide. This viewconfines of collegestudentsinPune, wherehe State, One Sport” outlook: Theycan prioritise standards. The conventional routewas bu- supportofthe government and the PM in women to the role of emotional prob- lamented that India has alarge andtal- onegame or promote afew (while notignor- reaucratic and tiresome; this has changed in their questfor sporting excellence. GENDER STEREOTYPE lem-solvers and thus positions them entedpopulation as well as ahistory of ingothers)basedon the availabletalent pool, the Modi government,whereeventhe PM as supplemental to men. sporting excellence, but in Olympics after natural interest, climatic conditions and avail- prefers to receive feedbackdirectlyfromthe The writer is Union Ministerfor I&B and THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘The future AshiraShirali, Gurgaon Olympics, we have struggled to raise our able infrastructure.This will bring afocussed players.While meetingthe Tokyo2020 con- YouthAffairs &Sports

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 8 GUJARAT THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021 Electricity board clerk ‘dies by suicide’ in Vadodara Jewellers’ body in state 3directflights from lageinVadodaradistrict, Sanjay statementthatherhusbandwasal- ing to meethim and lefthis house EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Patanwadia wasattachedtothe legedly being harassedbyprivate inDabhoi.Thewifehassaidthatshe VADODARA,AUGUST20 PanigateofficeofGEB.OnThursday, moneylenders, who had already hadcalledhimmultipletimesover to join nationwide Bhavnagar flagged off hewasfoundhanging,allegedlyby extorted morethandouble the the phone but later in the day, she A38-YEAR-OLDclerkoftheGujarat anactofsuicideinhisslumrehabil- principal amount of aloan of Rs 3 wasunable to reachhim. She then protest on August 23 ingthefactthatitistouchingnew Electricity Board(GEB) allegedly itation quarters in Tarsali area. lakh thathehad taken. sent his cousin,who worksinthe EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE heightsofdevelopment.Andwith diedbysuicideinhis apartment in The Makarpurapolice station Police Inspector RA Patelof MakarpuraGIDCarea,tofetchhim. GANDHINAGAR,AUGUST20 this, he added,anew chapteris the Tarsali area of Vadodaraon has registeredacase of accidental MakarpuraPolicestationsaid,"The WhenhereachedtheTarsaliflat,he Agitation against‘arbitraryimplementation’ being written forBhavnagar.He Thursdayevening.Aprimafaciepo- deathandinitiatedaprobe.Thede- deceasedwas aresident of foundthedeceasedhangingfroma of ‘hallmarking’process by the BIS UNION CIVIL Aviation Minister addedthat earlier with effortsof liceinvestigationonFridayrevealed ceased'swifehastoldthepolicethat Malharpurabut the familyhad an ceilingfanandinformedthepolice." Jyotiraditya Scindia and Chief Modi,Bhavnagarhadgot sea-con- that the clerkwas under financial he wasstressed as he couldnot re- apartment in the slum rehabilita- Patelsaid the familyhas notyet national task forcehas been MinisterVijay Rupani, on Friday, nectivity with Surat throughRo- distress,having taken aloan of payaloan of Rs 8lakh that he had tionschemeinTarsali.OnThursday, told the policeabout the alleged EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE made by representativesofover virtuallyflagged offthree direct Ro andRo-pax services. about Rs 8lakh from twoprivate takenfromtwo private banksbut he told his wifethat aprospective moneylenders. Patelsaid, "Wewill AHMEDABAD,AUGUST20 350jewellers' associations across flightsofaprivate airlinecompany RupanisaidthatBhavnagarhas banks. Anative of Malharpura vil- the wifetold media persons in a buyer forthe Tarsali flat wascom- further probethe case..." the country. Till nowwehavehad connectingBhavnagarwithDelhi, athriving business of ship break- JEWELLERS' ASSOCIATIONS in 10 meetings but we have notre- MumbaiandSurat,saidanofficial ing.Apartfromthat,itisalsogoing HAFFKINE BIO-PHARMACEUTICAL Gujarat will be joining aone-day ceived anywritten assurances release.Theeventwitnessedpres- togetbigadvantageofrecentlyan- CORPORATION LTD. symbolicstrikeonAugust23as from the BIS on the matter.BIS is... enceof UnionMinisterofState for nouncedvehicle scrap policy and (Govt. of Maharashtra Undertaking) partofnationwide protest called playing the role of taxationand Civil Aviation General VKSingh, theproposedfirstCNGplantof the Acharya Donde Marg, Parel,Mumbai- 400012, by jewellers againstthe "arbi- jewellers aretheir easy targets. " Gujarat Civil Aviation Minister country. With increasedair con- Maharashtra,India traryimplementation" of "hall- "Wewelcome the process of BhupendrasinhChudasama, nectivity,Rupani said, facilities for Phone No.022-24129320-22, 022-24150628 marking" process by theBureau hallmarking but notthe Gujarat BJP Chief CRPaatil and traders will be increased. Email :[email protected] of Indian Standards (BIS). Hallmarking Unique ID as it is a BhavnagarMPBharatiben Shiyal The release quoted Scindia as e-TENDER NOTICE According to astatement re- disastrous process which doesn't among others. saying that point-to-point con- leasedbyNational Task Forceon provideanyextrasecurityfeatures ScindiaandRupanijoinedvir- nectivity is very important factor HAFFKINE Bio-PharmaceuticalCorporation Ltd., AGovt. Hallmarking,anumbrella asso- to thecurrenthallmarkingprocess. tually from Delhi and forthe development of trade and Of Maharashtra undertaking company is seeking tenders from companies/firms with multi-domain experties to ciation foundedbythe jewellers, Useof penalaction,cancellationof Gandhinagar respectively. business. He addedthat with de- Establishment of BSL3 Drug SubstanceBulk Vaccine (110 "Toprotest the arbitraryimple- registration,searchandseizure by The flightsfromBhavnagar to mocratisation of air services, the million doses per annum capacity)Facility for Covid-19 mentation of hallmarking agencies will onlybring Inspector DelhiandMumbaiwilloperateon airserviceshave beenmadeavail- vaccine on Turn-Key basis. process by the BIS, jewellers Rajbackinthesystem,"saidAshok alldays of aweekexceptTuesday able to even common people. He Scope of Work : The Scope of the work under the tender Government of India across India will join aone-day Meenawala, member,National and Saturday. Whereas, the one further addedthat earlier there includes. symbolic strike on August23. The Task ForceonHallmarking. from BhavnagartoSurat will op- were 70 airports in the country (1) Civil, PEB electrical and plumbing work for the facility Ministry of Textiles erateonThursday, Saturdayand whichhavebeenincreasedto136. (2) Floor finishing including epoxy coating, coving PU Appointment of Sundayinaweek. Paatil demandedmoreflights Painting (3) Critical utilities system piping and Pendent Senior Consultant (Scientific Research) Quoting Rupani as saying on forSuratwithincreaseddemands based distribution (WFI/PW/DI/CA/PS etc.) (4) HVAC the occasion,the release stated and expressedhappiness for system including AHU and ducting (5) Cold rooms, Deep under National Technical Textiles Mission. thatundertheleadershipof Prime Gujarat gettingthree flightsina Freezers (6) Supply and installation of all process and Minister Narendra Modi Central singleday.Hesaidthatearlierpeo- clean room equipmentfor vaccine manufacturing (7) Last date of applicaton: 20 September 2021 ElectricalMVand LV system (8) Integrated Building Government has providedthree plehadto doagitationto getanair Management systems including access control, CCTV,fire Interested candidate may refer detailed flightstoGujarat while consider- service. alarm system, public address system, fire hydrant, ETP advertisement on STP (9) This is atrunkey tender which involves purchase of equipments, installation, calibration, validation, www.texmin.nic.in Sub-Inspector stabbed regulatory clearance/ certification and final handoverto Davp 41101/11/0004/2122 HBPCL (10) Miscellaneousworks. Qualification Criteria : Eligibility criteria for the prospect in Ahmedabad,fourheld vendor (s)/ contractor (s)should have : Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration 1. Successfully completed3similarBSL-3orhigher Opp.ISRO, Satellite Road, Ahmedabad 360 015, Gujarat, INDIA. Patani, all residentsofShaher containmentLaboratory projects with at-least one Phone: (079) 2691 9900 Fax: (079) 2691 9945 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Kotda area. projectofvalue of Rs. 20.00 Crores. AHMEDABAD,AUGUST20 "Wehad receivedacomplaint 2. Shall have an Average Annual turnover during last www.spipa.gujarat.gov.in from ashopkeeper at Pushpraj three financial years upto Rs. 80 Crores. Training for preparation for recruitment Exams/Class 1-2 )related 3. The Firm shall have more than 2ongoing AMC to Central Govt. offices &Public Sectors -Year 2021-22 APOLICESub-Inspector(PSI)was complexthat agroupof four per- contracts for BSL-3 or higher containment stabbed andcriticallyinjured al- sons were stone pelting his shop. (This advertisement is for providing training bySPIPAand is legedly by agroup of persons in Upon reachingthe spot, we saw Laboratories. not ajob recruitment) 4. Other criteria as specified in Tender Document. Shaher Kotda area of old city the four accusedrunning away SPIPAprovides coaching forpreparation of Examinations con- Ahmedabad on Thursdaynight and we startedchasing them. As Details of this e-tender is available on https://mahatenders.gov.in ducted by Central Govt. offices &Public Sectors to the aspi- and https://www.vaccinehaffkine.com. Interestedbidders should as apolice team arrivedtostopa Icaught twoaccusedAjayand sent authorized representative of their firm along with rants of Gujarat state. stone pelting incident. Krishna afterchasing them, their authority letter &PAN Card of thefirm to collect technical Online Applications are invited forentrance test foradmission According to police, apa- twoaccomplices returnedand specification &BOQs in hard copy from above mentioned in this training program. The interestedcandidatesare trolling team of Shaher Kotda po- Manoj then stabbed me with a office address. Confidential agreement to be signedbefore required to apply online on https://ojas.gujarat.gov.in from lice station had arrivedoutside knifeonmychestand stomach," taking technical documents before 27.08.2021. Please Dt.21/08/2021 to 06/09/2021 (till 23:59 pm). After filling online Pushpraj complexatPotaliya said Chaudharyinhis complaint. contact to Mr.B.G.Dhekane, Materials Manager (Mob :- application, all the candidates of all categories should deposit cross section in Shaher Kotda area According to police, the PSI +91 9969302019) for any query. the feevia Online PaymentFeesonthe website of afterreports of stone pelting by a wasshiftedtoCivil Hospital in Timelines :- Timelines for tender submission and work https://ojas.gujarat.gov.in from Dt.21/08/2021 to 06/09/2021. group of four persons. According Asarwa afterthe incident. completion are as indicated below : (till 23:59 pm) to police, as the patrollingteam Taking cognizance, police 1. CDA Execution and taking the Technical specification All other necessarydetails with respect to educational qualifi- triedtochase the miscreants, PSI have booked the four accused &BOQ of bid documents before 27.08.2021 by 1645 cations,age limit, exam fee, SPIPA&Regional Training cen- VP Chaudharywas allegedly under IPC sections 307for at- Hrs. tres,no. of vacancy/category, details pertaining to exam, how 2. Bid Published Date :19.08.2021 at 1645 Hrs. stabbedin hischestand stomach tempttomurder,333 forcaus- to apply,how to download or print hall ticketetc. are made 3. Pre-bid meeting :- 01.09.2021 at 1100 Hrs at above multiple times by twoaccused. ing grievous hurttopublic ser- mentioned office address. available on website http://www.spipa.gujarat.gov.in and The four accused have been vant to prevent themfromduty, 4. Last date forbid submission of completed bid : https://ojas.gujarat.gov.in Candidates are requested to visit the identifiedasAjayDattani,Krishna 337for causing hurtwith rash 08.09.2021 by 1630 Hrs. website carefully before submitting the application form. Patani, Manoj Patani and Sanjay act, 353for assault on public ser- 5. Date of Technical Bid Opening : 09.09.2021 by 1630 Hrs. Forfurther details,kindly visit the above website vant, 186for obstructing public Sd/- DGIPR-2021-2022/1667 Managing Director servant, sections of the rioting, (G.H. Khan, IAS) 294b forobscenity,506 forcrim- Dy.Director General inal initimidation and 427for SPIPA, Ahmedabad Classifieds mischief. No. CGR-TRG/2021-22/Entrance Exam/2021/EDP Dt.21/08/2021 "The complainant shop- keeper has told us that the four FORM NO. URC-2 PERSONAL accusedare anti-social elements who were creating aruckusout- Advertisement giving notice about registration Change of Name Change of Name side his shop on Thursdaynight under Part IofChapter XXI of the Act by harassing the customers. [Pursuant to section 374(b) of the companies Act, 2013 and rule I, ARMY NO- I, ARMY NO- When the shopkeeper asked 4(1) of the companies (Authorised to Register) Rules,2014] 8034599H, MORE 8034599H, MORE them to nottodoit, theyresorted HAV/GD- Mavi 1. Notice is herebygiven that in pursuance of sub-section(2) HAV/GD- Mavi to stonepelting.We have arrested of section 366 of the Companies Act, 2013, an application Bapusinhbhai Bapusinhbhai twopersons in this case yetwhile is proposed to be made after fifteen days hereof butbefore Dalsinhbhai Declare Dalsinhbhai Declare twoare wanted," saidaseniorpo- the expiryofthirty days hereinafter to the Registrar at that Name of my Son that Name of my Son lice official. CentralRegistration Centre (CRC), Indian Institute of changed from Mavi changed from Mavi Corporate Affairs(IICA), Plot No.6,7,8, Sector 5, IMT Jaishkumar More to Ankushkumar More Manesar,District Gurgaon(Haryana), Pin Code -122050 More Mavi to More Mavi that "SANKET ENTERPRISE"apartnership firmmay be Jayeshkumar Ankushkumar registered under Part IofChapter XXI of the Companies Bapusinhbhai Bapusinhbhai Act 2013 in the name of "SANKET INDIAPRIVATELIMITED", Affidavit No- 25977 Affidavit No- 25977 as acompanylimited by shares. Dated -13Aug 2021, Dated -17Aug 2021, 2. The principal objects of the companyare as follows: To engage in or carryonthe business or activities of trading, assembling, repairing, importing, exporting, buying, selling, branding,hiring, leasing, packing, re- packing, re-condi- tioning, servicing, supply or otherwise dealing in all kinds of electronic items or models,shapes,sizes,capacities and varieties of domestic and household appliances,heating, cooking and electrical appliances and devices such as mixers,juicer mixer grinders,hand blenders,toasters, stoves, pressure cookers,ovens,cooking ranges,other kitchen and small appliances,and washing machines, refrigerators,air conditioners,computers and computer products/equipments,mobile phones,microphones, speakers,televisions,electronic motors formachines and vehicles and large appliances,personal care appliances and other electronic appliances,their consumables,parts, accessories,components,fittings etc., whether as wholesalers, I, Urvi APatel ,W/O retailers,agents,sub agents,distributors or otherwise. AshishG.Patel R/o To carryonthe business of traders,stockiest, commission B/3, Maruti Krupa agents,importers,exporters of electrical products, Society,Near Tulsi consumerdurable products/appliances,industrial products, Dham, Zadeshwar fast moving consumer goods,cloths,garments,accessories, Road, Bharuch, bags and/or anyother products,their assemblies,kits, Gujarat- 392011 .have spares and accessories. changed my name To provide services related to the products sold such as and shall hereafter be Known as Urvi repairing, maintenance,technical support, and deliverance. Choksi Patel . 3. Acopyofthe draft memorandum and articles of association 0070750788-1 of the proposed companymay be inspected at the office at Sanket Enterprise,LSNo. 470, 1+2, Opp.Zydus Hospital, Ihitherto known as Anand-Lambhvel Road, Anand, Gujarat-388001. Pinky Pravinkumar 4. Notice is herebygiven that anyperson objecting to this Gupta w/oPraveen application maycommunicate their objection in writing to Gupta res. of C-42, the Registrar at Central Registration Centre (CRC), Indian Nebula Tower, Near Institute of Corporate Affairs(IICA), Plot No.6,7,8, Sector5, PROPERTY FOR SALE Hotel Grand IMT Manesar,District Gurgaon (Haryana), Pin Code- 122050, Bhagwati, 25000 sqft. Plot at Ahmedabad-380054, within twenty one days from the date of publication of this OUT OF MUMBAI Hadapsar Industrial have changed my notice,with acopytothe companyatits registered office. Estate in Pune, 60ft FLAT for sale. 2BHK, 3rd name and shall here- Name(s) of Applicant road touch, Ample floor, Sailila, Oppt. St. Water &Power. after be known as For,Sanket Enterprise Marg, High School, 9373067706. Pinky Gupta. Mehulkumar Dineshchandra Patel Chendhre, Alibaug, 0050182691-1 0050182827-1 Sanketkumar Dineshchandra Patel Raigad builtup area 850 sq.ft. Price: 47.5 lacs IMPORTANT Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy,itisnot possible Beenalbahen Mehulkumar Patel (Negotiable). Contact to verify its contents. The Indian Express (P) Limited cannot be held Dineshchandra Chunilal Patel D’Souza:9869501881, responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or damage incurred as aresult of transactions with companies, associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or Publications. We therefore Date: 21-08-2021 Premilaben Dineshchandra Patel 9769910137. recommend that readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any Place: Anand Kinnari Sanketkumar Patel 0070750819-1 agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever.

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SIMPLY PUT CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD

TOTAL VACCINATED IN INDIA (at leastone dose) The Taliban war chest 44,44,86,031 ■ Firstdose ■ Seconddose

80,00,000 Where did the Talibanfind funds to sustainthemselvesoveratwo-decade warwith theUS? With the 43,83,862 Americans gone and the Afghan opposition collapsed, what military assets do the Taliban have? 34,38,031 40,00,000 14,09,193 11,42,225 KRISHNKAUSHIK NEWDELHI,AUGUST20

0 IN RETURNINGtopower in Kabul over the LAST 10 DAYS (daily) weekend, the Taliban demonstratedboth the Aug10Aug 19 successofalightning military offensive againstAfghanistan’s then government, as well as their remarkable resilience in the face TOTAL DOSES COVISHIELD COVAXIN of onslaughtsbythe world’s mostpowerful 87.44% 12.44% militaryfor 20 years. 57,22,81,488 When theyweredrivenout of Kabul in November 2001,the Taliban had been in (SputnikV's6,77,713doses powerfor alittle over five years, and in exis- tence foronlyseven. Whatmakes them the notrepresentedinpie) fighting forcethat outlastedthe UnitedStates in itslongest ever war, and defeated the DOSES ON AUG 19 57,93,055 Afghanswho receivedequipment and train- ing worthover$80 billionfromthe AUG 18: 58,36,403 (1ST DOSE:43,82,113 ;2nd:14,54,290 ) Americans? Wherehavethe Taliban found the funds to sustain themselvesoveratwo- decade warwithanadversarywith almost INDIAACTIVE CASES 3,63,605 limitless resources? Flourishing drug trade 4,00,000 In aMay 2020 report, the United Nations SecurityCouncil estimated that “overall US Armysoldiers walk through apoppyfieldnear Zangabad villagein2009. The primarysource of Talibanfundinghas been Taliban annual combinedrevenues range the drug trade, includingfromheroin and methamphetamine, besides opium. The NewYork Times 3,86,351 3,63,605 from $300million to upwards of $1.5 billion 2,00,000 per annum”. It said thatwhile the figuresfor 2019 were lower, officials “werecareful to Mining, taxes, donations ing to the Taliban funds that it receivedtofight datashow. note that the Taliban usedresources effec- In September 2020,Radio Free Europe re- againstthe fundamentalistmovement. SIGAR’s Julyquarterly report mentioned tively andefficientlyand were notexperienc- portedonaconfidential reportcommis- Thereare other players too. In September that the Afghan Air Forcehad atotal of 167 0 ing acash crisis”. sionedbyNATO, whichconcludedthat the 2017,then Afghan ArmyChief GeneralSharif aircraft, including jets and helicopters that LAST 10 DAYS Theprimarysource of the Taliban’s funds Taliban “has achieved, or is close to achiev- Yaftali told the BBC that he had documentsto were “usable/in-country”asofJune 30. This Aug10Aug 19 has been the drug trade, as reportafter report ing, financial and militaryindependence”, prove that Iran was“supplying weapons and included23A-19aircraft, 10 AC-208 aircraft, Note:The August19figures in these graphs arebased on thegovernment updates on August20 has shown over twodecades. Theirincome which“enables[it] to self-fund itsinsurgency militaryequipment to the Talibaninwestern 23 C-208 aircraft, and three C-130 aircraft, be- sufferedinrecent years because of the“re- without the needfor supportfromgovern- Afghanistan”. sides 32 Mi-17, 43 MD-530, and 33 UH-60 duction in poppycultivationand revenue,less mentsorcitizens of othercountries”. ANovember2019report by theUS helicopters. INDIA TOTAL CASES 3,23,58,829 taxable income from aid and development Besides the illicit drug trade —overseen Defense Intelligence Agency notedthat since On August17, twodaysafter the Taliban Source: Ministry of Health &Family Welfare, updated at 11 pm on August 20 projects, and increasedspending on “gover- by Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob, the son of “at least2007, Iran has providedcalibrated took controlofKabul, White House National nance” projects”, the UNSC reportsaid. Taliban founder Mullah support —including Security Adviser JakeSullivansaid, “Wedon’t However, “while heroin cultivation and Muhammad Omar,ashad- weapons, training, and have acompletepicture, obviously,ofwhere production have providedthe bulk of Taliban owyfigurewho is expected THE FALL OF funding —tothe Taliban to everyarticle of defence materials has gone People with prolonged or revenue formanyyears, the emergence of to play an important role in counter US and Western in- but certainly, afairamount of it has fallen into methamphetamine in Afghanistanisgiving thenew government —the KABUL TO fluence in Afghanistan, the hands of the Taliban.” severe Covid have highest impetus to amajor newdrug industrywith Taliban had “expandedits combat ISIS-Khorasan,and StijnMitzer and JoostOliemans, conflict significant profit margins,” the report noted. financial powerinrecent TALIBAN increase Tehran’sinfluence analysts specialisinginmodern-day According to the report, “interdiction of years through increased in anypost-reconciliation weaponryand military tactics who have antibody levels, study finds methamphetamine wasfirstrecordedbythe profitsfromillegal mining government”. workedforwebsites suchasJanes, Bellingcat United NationsOffice on Drugs and Crime and exports”, the report The US has also accused and NK News,haveusedopen-source intel- PEOPLEWHO have had severe or long- ipantswhohadsevere symptomswere (UNODC) in 2014 (9 kg) and has continued said. Russia of supporting the ligence to trackthe equipmentthatisproven lastingcasesof Covid-19are morelikely foundto have IgGantibodiescompared on asharp upwardtrajectory, with 650 kg in- It estimatedthatthe Taliban, but thereislittle ev- to have fallen intoTaliban’shands. to have high levels of an important an- to 89% with mildtomoderate symp- terdicted in thefirsthalfof2019”. militant movement earned idenceofthat. According to them, the Taliban nowpos- tibodyneededtofightagainstfuturein- tomsand79%whowere asymptomatic. Methamphetamine, the reportsaid, “was “a staggering US $1.6 bil- Beyond theseexternal sess twowarjets,24helicopters, and seven fection, according to anew studyfrom “Neurological changes, including stated to be moreprofitable thanheroinbe- lion” in the year ending avenues, the Taliban has Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UnmannedVehicles Rutgers University publishedinThe brain fogand problems with memory causeits ingredientsare low-cost and it does March 2020. Of this, $416 WHATITMEANS also been abletoarm itself that were with the Afghan forces earlier. Journal of Infectious Diseases. or vision,wereinfrequentamong in- notrequire largelaboratories”. millioncame from the drug FOR INDIA with the weapons and am- Additionally, according to them, between Thepublishedpaper,‘Determinants fected participantsbut did tend to last The Taliban, it said, “werereportedtobein trade; over $450 million ASERIES munition that the US has June andAugust14the Taliban captured 12 and dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection formanymonths when theyoccurred. controlof60per centofmethamphetamine from the illegalmining of providedtothe Afghan tanks, 51 armoured fighting vehicles, 61 ar- in adiverse population: 6-month eval- Notably, having persistent symptoms laboratories in the keyproducing provinces iron ore, marble, copper, forces over the years. tilleryand mortar, eight anti-aircraftguns, uation of aprospective cohort study’, wasalso associatedwith having higher of Farahand Nimruz”. gold, zinc, and rare earth metals; and $160 America’s Special Inspector General for and 1,980trucks,jeeps,and vehicles, includ- waspartofthe larger antibody levels over time. The reportquotedofficials as saying “the million from extortion and taxesinthe areas AfghanistanReconstruction (SIGAR), a ing over 700Humvees. Rutgers Corona Cohort We know from other re- system of heroin smugglingand taxation or- and on the highways it controlled. It also got Congress-backedwatchdog, notedinan All of this —inaddition to thefact that the study,whichfollowed548 search thatvaccinationfur- ganisedbythe Taliban...stretchedacross eight $240 million in donations, largely from analysis in 2013 that nearly 43 percent of the forces of the erstwhile Afghan government healthcareworkers and ther enhances immune of Nangarhar’s southern districtsfrom Persian Gulf nations. To launder the money firearms —2,03,888 of the 4,74,823 —pro- have surrendered everywhereinthe coun- 283others from the start protectionand sometimes Hisarak to Dur Baba,onthe border with it earned, it importedand exportedconsumer videdtothe Afghan forces were unaccounted tryand theold NorthernAllianceopposition of the pandemic. even helpsease long-term Pakistan”. goods worth$240million. The Taliban also for. “Given the Afghan government’s limited is ashadowofits former self —makes the The researchersfound PAPER symptoms,” aRutgers “Ineachdistrict, smugglers paid atax to ownproperties worth$80million in ability to accountfor or properly dispose of Taliban morepowerful than it ever was. It is that, within 6months of University press release district Taliban commanders of 200Pakistan Afghanistanand Pakistan, the reportsaid. theseweapons, there is areal potential for now“muchmoremilitarilypowerful”, thestartofthestudy,more CLIP quoted co-leadauthor rupees (approximately$1.30), or itsequiva- these weapons to fall intothe hands of insur- Jonathan Schroden, amilitaryoperations an- than 93 of the total 831 Daniel BHortonassaying. lent in afghanis,per kilogram of heroin. Weapons from Pakand loot gents, whichwill pose additional riskstoUS alystwho directsthe Countering Threatsand participants (11%) tested Co-leadauthorEmilyS. Smugglers were provideddocumentation by The Taliban do notappear to have had any personnel, the ANSF,and Afghan civilians,” Challenges Program at the CNACorporation, NEWRESEARCH positive forSARS-CoV-2,or Barrettwas quoted as say- eachTaliban commander certifying payment dearth of weapons to fight the Afghan and US the analysis said. anonprofit,nonpartisan research andanaly- forantibodies.Of those93, ing: “It is normal foranti- of taxbeforeproceeding to thenextdistrict forces. SupportfromPakistanhas always sis organizationbased in Arlington, Virginia, 24 were severely symptomatic and 14 body levels to declineovertime. and repeating the same process. Afghan offi- been key, but the Taliban did notrelyonany US militaryassets with Taliban told The Indian Express. “It effectively con- were asymptomatic. One-thirdofthe Nevertheless, IgG antibodies provide cials stated that the smuggling routes thus single source of arms and ammunition. No figures areavailable forwhat kind of vertsthem from alightlyarmedguerrilla infected participantshad symptoms – long-term protection to help the body helpedtofinancially empowereachdistrict Journalists suchasGretchen Peters,Steve American military assets,and in what num- movement to apseudo-conventionalarmy.” suchasfatigue,shortnessof breathand fight reinfection.” Taliban commander.” Coll, and others have repeatedly pointed to bers, have fallen into Taliban hands. According to Dr Schroden, among the mil- loss of tasteand smell –that lastedat The study recruited people before In areportpublishedlastyear,UNODC the supportofthe ISI and Pakistanarmyto The US Government Accountability Office itaryequipment that the Taliban nowhas, the leastamonth; 10%had symptoms that they were diagnosedwithSARS-CoV-2 said “Afghanistan, the countrywheremost the Taliban,directly andthrough the Haqqani saidin areport in 2017 that between2003and D-30 howitzers areprobablythe mostlethal. lastedatleast four months. infectionandevaluatedpeopleacrossa opiumisproduced, whichhas accounted for network,asprawling Islamistmafia basedin 2016 the US funded75,898vehicles, 5,99,690 “It is concerning both as awaste of US tax- Most peopleinfectedby SARS-CoV- spectrum of illnessseverity, providing approximately84per cent of global opium Pakistan’s tribal areas and in Afghanistan, weapons, 208aircraft, and16,191 pieces of in- payermoneyand as apotential source of 2developantibodies.Thestudyshowed broader insight into antibody response productionoverthe pastfiveyears, supplies comprisingfighters,extremistreligious telligence, surveillance,and reconnaissance weapons forthe myriadterrorist groups that thatantibody productionvariedbased over the longterm. markets in neighbouring countries, Europe, schools, and shady businesses with power- equipment forthe Afghan forces. have ties to theTaliban,” he said. onseverityofsymptoms:96%of partic- Source: Rutgers University the Near andMiddleEast, South Asia and ful connectionstoArabcountries in the Gulf In the lastfew years, 7,000machine guns, And “there is anon-zeropossibilityof Africaand to asmalldegree NorthAmerica and in Pakistan. American leaders and gen- 4,700 Humvees, and over 20,000 grenades groups likeal-Qaeda or the Pakistani Taliban (notablyCanada) and Oceania.” erals have openlyaccusedPakistanofdivert- have been giventothe Afghan forces, SIGAR getting their hands on some of the weapons.” ThemakingofHindustan-228,HALaircraftforcommercialtransport

What willbeits role? civilian use? times, and had even been presented at Aero AKSHEEVTHAKUR Smallcivilianaircraftwill be an essential TheDo-228hasfulfilledtherequirement India 2009 —afew days before it crashed. BENGALURU,AUGUST20 elementofthe UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam of aLight TransportAircraft(LTA) within the In 2017,the government askedNALtore- Naagrik) scheme that the Centreisattempt- defence forces. vive development of its14-seatSaras Mk2 ON AUGUST15, HindustanAeronautics ing to put in place forregional connectivity. HAL has produced 125Dornier-228sun- aircraftundertheUDANscheme.Theproject Limited(HAL)carriedoutasuccessfulground CivilAviation Minister JyotiradityaScindia der licence at itsKanpur facility since 1983. wasrevived afteranalysis revealedthe crash run and low-speedtaxi trials of acommer- saidrecentlythatthegovernmentaimsto set OnDecember26,2017,theDGCAclearedHAL wasaresultofprocedurallapsesandnotdue cial aircraft, Hindustan-228, fortype certifi- up 1,000 newair routes and establish 100 Do-228tobeusedfor civilian flights. The to technical issues. cation by the DirectorateGeneralofCivil newairports. Kanpur facility is nowmanufacturing The Saras, atwin turboprop aircraft, was Aviation (DGCA). “Two civildemonstratorsofDo-228have Hindustan-228s to supportUDAN. initiated in the 1990s but wasconstantly already been made and arereadytobede- OnMay27, thefirstgroundrunof thefirst plaguedbycontroversies. The firstproto- Whyisthis important? ployed in the Northeast and Uttar Pradesh, prototype wascarried out, followedbylast type, whichflewonMay 29, 2004 was WhileHAL producedthe Hindustan the twoplaces wherewewanttostart the week’sgroundtrialsandlow-speedtaxitrials nearly 993 kg overweightonaproposed Trainer-2 and itsvariant the Hindustan UDAN scheme,” HAL chairman RMadhavan forDGCAtypecertification,whichinturnwill 4,125kg. Theaircraftflewnearly125 flights. PropulsionTrainer32(HPT-32)fortheIndian said this week. help getinternational certification. HAL Subsequently, an engine changecut the Air Forcesix decadesago,and morerecently The Hindustan-228 has been conceived The aircrafthas successfullycompletedtrials forDGCAtype certification. Express Chairman RMadhavantold TheIndian weight in the second prototype,but the air- the Light Combat Aircraft(LCA) forthe IAF, asamultiroleutilityaircraftforVIPtransport, Express: “The international certification has craftcrashedin2009. Athirdprototype that the Indian aviationsector had notproduced passengertransport,airambulance,flightin- been takenupparallelly.DGCAisonboard wascloser to the 4125 kg markwas then in anycivil transportaircraftearlier. spectionroles,cloudseeding,recreationalac- Howisthe aircraft designed? maximum takeoffweight of 6,200kg. Fora with us. We will go forahighspeedtrial very the pipeline. The19-seatHindustan-228ortheDo-228 tivities likeparajumping, aerial surveillance, It is built on the existing frame of the transportaircrafttobeflyable under the soon and willcertify the aircraft. Once this is The development of Saras is projectedas is India’s firstmajor attempt in India to de- photography, remote sensingandcargo trans- GermanDornier 228 defence transportair- CommercialPilotLicencecategory, HALhasto done, it becomes moreusable.” aprecursortothe development of apro- velop asmall civilian transportaircraftafter port. With amaximum cruise speedof428 craftusedbythe defence forces. In February reduce the weight below5,700kg. posed70-seat Regional TransportAircraft the14-seaterSarasaircraftdevelopmentpro- km/hr and arange of 700km/hr,the aircraft 2020, HAL receivedthe modification docu- TheHALDo-228-201(upgraded)civilair- What is the status of the Saras project? involving NALand HAL that wasinitiated in grammeatthe National Aeronautics is capable of night flying. HAL is alsolooking ment forthe HAL Do-228 upgradedcivil air- craftisequippedwith adigitalcockpit. The project washalted following acrash 2013 butwas subsequentlyshelvedwith Laboratory(NAL)wasshelvedin2009onac- forwardtoexportingtheaircrafttocountries craftfromthe DGCA. Twocivil Do-228spro- on March 6, 2009 that killedthree test pilots. HAL focussing on modifying the Dornier- countofmultiple problems. like Nepal. ducedbyHALforlaunchunder UDANhave a At what stageisits development for By then,the second prototype had flown 45 228 aircraft.

Ahmedabad THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021 10 EXPRESS NETWORK

BENGAL POST-POLL 13 labourers die VIOLENCE InquiriesagainstVikasDubey after vehicle falls CBI aks into deep ditch DGP for neverimpartial:Probepanel in Maharashtra details on EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE FIR, police gunneddownsix ac- “The Statehad notcontested NAGPUR,AUGUST20 ASADREHMAN cused,includingDubey,inalleged the matter anyfurther by ap- murder, LUCKNOW,AUGUST20 encounters over the following proaching theHon’ble Supreme THIRTEEN LABOURERS from weeks. On July10, Dubey was Courtagainstthe said order Madhya Pradesh diedand two THE THREE-MEMBER judicial killedwhenapolicevehicleferry- passedbytheHighCourtrefusing others were injured in amishap rape cases commission,whichwas formed ing him from Ujjain, from where to grantleave to appeal,”itadded. in Buldana district on Friday. on thedirection of the Supreme he wasarrested, to Kanpur met TheCommissionalsosaidthat Buldana Superintendent of Courttoprobe thealleged en- with an accident. Police alleged “there is nothing on record to Police Arvind Chawaria said, countersof gangsterVikasDubey thathetriedtoescapeandopened showthat his (Dubey)cases had "Thirteen labourers diedafter At the encounter siteinKhrew area of Kashmir’s Awantipora EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE and five others lastyear,has said Vikas Dubey waskilledinan fire,and that he waskilledinre- ever sincerelybeen contestedby the tipper theyweretravelingin on Friday. Shuaib Masoodi KOLKATA,AUGUST20 initsreportthatanyinvestigation alleged encounteronJuly10. taliatory fire. thegovernmentadvocatesbefore turnedturtle near Dusarbidvil- againstDubey and hisassociates The Commission said that the HighCourt”. lage, whichisunder the jurisdic- THE CENTRAL Bureauof “was neverimpartial” and “there Dubey and his associates easily “In mostofthe cases, the tion of KindkhedRajapolicesta- Investigation (CBI) has written to wasnoserious opposition by the headedbyretiredSupremeCourt and quicklygot bailfromthe High Courthad granted interim tion,onFridaymorning." 2Hizb militants killed West Bengal’s director general of stateauthoritiesorthe govern- judgeJusticeBSChauhan,withre- courtsastherewasnoseriousop- relief to Vikas Dubey,staying the He added, "The tipper was police (DGP), seeking the details ment advocates” againstthemin tired Allahabad High Courtjudge positionbythestateauthoritiesor proceedings before thesubordi- carrying iron bars and wasde- of allcases of murder,attempted the courts. Justice Shashi Kant Agarwaland the government advocates. natecourts in variouscriminal ployedfor the work of in J&K encounter murder,and rape that were re- TheCommissionalsosaidthat former UP Director General of “Sectionsrelatingto seriousof- cases and he remained under the Samruddhi Mahamarg. The portedduring allegedpost-poll 21 files detailing criminal cases of Police KL Gupta as itsmembers, fenceswere droppedbeforefiling protection of such orders fora temporaryroad built forferry- have been identifiedasMusaib violence in thestate,officialssaid Dubey couldnotbetraceddespite wastabledbytheUPgovernment the chargesheet. Duringthe trial, period of 13-14years. The High ing material to the sitehad be- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Ahmad Bhat, resident of Khrew on Friday. giving officials sufficient time to in the Assembly on Thursday. mostofthe witnesses turn hos- Courtgranted bail to Vikas come slushy. As aresult, the tip- SRINAGAR,AUGUST20 in Pamporeand Muzamil The letter to theDGP, locatethem. On July3lastyear,apolice tile... He (Vikas Dubey)was in- Dubey and his associates, mainly per leanedonone side and lost Ahmad Rather,resident of Virendra, came aday afterthe The Commission has con- team that had gone to Bikru vil- volvedin64criminal cases, and on the ground that he had been balance. It fell down in the ad- TWOMILITANTS affiliated to the ChakoorainPulwama. Calcutta High Courthandedover cludedinitsreportthattherewas lageinKanpurto arrest Dubeyhad theStateauthoritiesneverconsid- acquitted in alarge number of joining 15-feet- deep partofthe Hizbul Mujahideen were killed According to thepolice, the probetothe CBI. The agency enough evidence that Dubey and come under heavy gunfirefrom ered it appropriatetoengagea cases without making anyat- land, trapping the labourers in an encounteratAwantipora Musaib“had ahistory of terror has setupfour teams —headed hisgangwerepatronisedbylocal rooftops near the gangster’s specialcounsel forhis prosecu- tempttoknowastounder what under it. Whilesome of them on Friday. crime and wasinvolvedinplan- by joint directors Ramnish, police, revenueand administra- home.Eightpolicemen,including tion. The Statenever movedany circumstances he had been ac- diedonthe spot, others suc- The encounter brokeout af- ning and executing severalter- Anurag, VineetVinayak, and tive officials,and recommended Deputy Superintendent of Police applicationforcancellationof bail quitted and howand whythe cumbed to injuries in ahospi- ter2amduring acordon and rorattacks,including civilian Sampat Meena —toinvestigate aninquiryagainstthe“erringpub- DevendraMishra,diedinthe or approachedthe superior court witnesses have turned hostilein talinJalna." search operation that was atrocities”. the political violence that ensued lic servants”. ambush. forcancellation of anyofthe bail mostofthe cases,” the “All the labourers were from launchedbythe security forces The police also claimedthat afterthe victoryofthe Trinamool ThereportoftheCommission, Of the21 peoplenamedinthe orders,” the reportsaid. reportsaid. Madhya Pradesh,” he added. in Khrew area of Awantipora. he waspartofa“hit squad of Congress (TMC) on May2ina “During the search operation Hizbul Mujahideen” forcivilian bitterly contestedeight-phase as the presence of terrorists got killingsinSouth Kashmir. Assemblyelection. Sources said ascertainedtheyweregiven re- However, Muzamil Ahmad 20-25 officers would be partof TRACKING THE SECOND SURGE CCPA cracks down on firms peated opportunities to surren- joinedthe terroristranks re- the four teams. Eachteam will der,however, theyfired indis- cently, they said. have adeputy inspector general NEWCASES:34,299 criminatelyupon the joint An AK-rifle and apistolwere and about four superintendents 537 with misleading Covid ads search party whichretaliated, recoveredfromthe siteofthe of police from across the coun- DAYSSINCE ACTIVECASES:3,62,028 leading to an encounter,” the encounter.“All the recovered try, officials said. Additional PANDEMIC Jammu and Kashmir Police said materials have been takeninto BEGAN Director AjayBhatnagarwill su- VACCINATIONS:57,22,81,488 paint company, ashirt brand, a lines on misleading advertise- in astatement. caserecordsfor further investi- pervisethe investigation from DAILY DEATHS TOTAL DEATHS WEEKLY CFR OVERALL CFR HARIKISHANSHARMA fabricandgarmentmanufacturer, ments. On Fridaymorning, bodies of gation andtoprobe their com- Delhi instead of the agency’s re- 377 4,33,966 1.15% 1.36% NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 asoap maker and an air condi- Asked about it, the official thetwo militants were retrieved plicity in otherterrorcrimes” gionaloffice here. tioner maker. quoted above said, “The guide- from the siteofencounter.They the policesaid. Reacting to the court’s deci- AN APPAREL firm thatclaimed Among the four companies lines on misleading advertise- sion, stateministerChandrima thatitsshirtkills99percentof the whichagreedforcorrective adver- mentsare in an advancedstage. Bhattacharya said, “It is notfair virus that causes Covid-19and a tisement areahand wash brand Consultations with different CHHATTISGARH to hand over the entireprobe to paintbrand whichclaimed that and amattress maker,the official stakeholders have already taken the CBI. We would notliketo itsproducthasover99percentef- said adding that the noticeswere place.Theguidelinesareexpected Two ITBP personnel comment on the verdict passed ficacyineliminatingthe virus are issuedtothese companies after to be finalisedverysoon.” TESTS TODAY: 18,12,027 | TOTAL TESTS: 50,45,11,729 by the honourable High Court. amongsix companies whichhad taking the suo moto cognizance The CCPAhas also initiated | However, Iwould liketoremind WEEKLY POSITIVITY: 1.85% OVERALL POSITIVITY: 6.42% to withdraw theiradvertisements of their advertisementscirculat- class action against9companies killed in Maoist attack youthat judges of the Madras afterthe Central Consumer ing in the social media. includingane-commerce player High Courtsaid aday before the STATES REPORTING MOST CASES ProtectionAuthority(CCPA)found TheCCPAwasestablishedun- andasocialmediagiantontheba- HighCourt’s order that CBI wasa STATE NEW ACTIVE WEEKLY TOTAL these“misleading”andissuedno- der the provisions of the sis of number of complaintsre- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ‘caged parrot’and that they CASES CASES POSITIVITY VACCINATION ticesto them, atopofficial said on Consumer Protection Act, 2019, ceivedagainst these companies, RAIPUR,AUGUST20 should be releasedfromthis sit- Friday. that came intoforce from July20, the official said, adding that the Kerala 20,2241,82,739 15.35% 2,55,35,751 uation and made an impartial ■ The official told The Indian 2020.TheActdefines“misleading class actionsare pertaining to re- TWOPERSONNEL of the Indo body.” ■ Maharashtra4,365 55,4542.46% 5,14,91,159 Express that the CCPAhas issued advertisement” in relation to any funds related to Covid-19. TibetanBorder Police (ITBP) Her party colleague and TMC ■ Tamil Nadu 1,66819,6211.34% 2,78,88,766 notices in 52 cases —27for mis- productorservice, as “an adver- Infact,thee-commercesector were FridaykilledinaMaoist at- spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, leadingadvertisementsand25for tisement, which—(i) falselyde- accountsforthemaximumnum- tack in Chhattisgarh’s Assistant Commandant ■ Karnataka 1,453 21,187 0.90% 3,60,79,359 “It is very problematic that when unfair trade practices—since its scribessuch productorservice;or berofconsumer complaints reg- Narayanpur district. Sudhakar Shinde (left)and one joins BJP,the CBI starts pro- ■ AndhraPradesh 1,43515,472 2.11%2,60,46,280 establishment on July24, 2020. (ii) givesafalseguarantee to,oris isteredontheNationalConsumer The ITBP personnel have Assistant SubInspector tecting [him or her].” “Subsequent to thenotices, six likelytomislead the consumers Helpline over the lastfinancial been identifiedasAssistant Gurmukh Singh Afive-judgeBenchofthe STATES REPORTING MOST DEATHS companieshave withdrawntheir asto thenature,substance, quan- year.Out of 5.79lakh complaints Commandant Sudhakar Shinde HighCourt on Thursday passed misleading advertisements, tity or quality of suchproduct or registeredonthehelplinein2020- and Assistant Sub Inspector STATE TODAY’S TOTAL WEEKLY OVERALL aunanimousjudgement on a DEATHS DEATHS CFR CFR whichclaimedmorethan99per- service;or(iii)conveys anexpress 21,over2lakhor35per centofall Gurmukh Singh. armedMaoists firedonthem," batchofpublic interestlitiga- cent efficacy againstCovid-19. or implied representationwhich, complaintswererelated to the e- Inspector General of Police said asenior officer. tion pleas (PILs) seeking an in- ■ Maharashtra106 1,39,1762.17% 2.19% Four other companies agreedfor if made by the manufacturer or commerce sector.The banking (Bastar) PSundarrajsaid the in- "The Maoists escapedwith dependent investigation into ■ Kerala 99 19,4240.66% 0.55% corrective advertisement,”theof- seller or serviceprovider thereof, and telecom sectors received cident took place around noon, one AK-47rifle, twobulletproof incidentsofalleged violence af- ficialsaid. would constituteanunfair trade 51,307and34,798complaintsre- just600 metres from the jacketsand awireless setbelong- ■ Odisha 69 7,2765.29% 0.74% terthe pollresultswerede- Theofficial,withoutdivulging practice;or(iv)deliberatelycon- spectively. Kadameta campofthe 45th bat- ing to thesecurity personnel," clared. The courtalsoordered ■ Tamil Nadu 24 34,6631.46% 1.35% the namesofthe companies cealsimportant information”. These three sectors also com- talion of the ITBP. said Sundarraj. WhileShinde that aspecial investigation team ■ Karnataka 17 37,105 1.41%1.27% whichwithdrew their “mislead- However, the Ministryof prisedover50per cent of com- "A squad from the camphad wasaresident of Nandeddistrict (SIT) be setuptoprobe allother ing”advertisements,saidtheyin- ConsumerAffairs,FoodandPublic plaints registeredbetween April gone on an area domination op- in Maharashtra, Singh wasfrom Note:DataasonAug20;vaccinationnumbersasofAug19.Deathsincludethosefrompreviousdays. cases. cludedapopular RO maker, a Distribution is yettoissue guide- and Julythis year. eration, when asmall group of Raikot in Punjab. BSY on foreign trip with UTTARAKHAND Mohallaclasses, catch-up: Experts Narayankoti offer ways to check learning loss family, first since2011 temple to get faceliftafter WhileBanerjispokeaboutlo- Rs 12 crorefor contracts—in- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE cal mohalla classestohelpchil- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE cluding Rs 5crore that wasre- getting ‘adopted’ NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 drenregainsomeof theirfounda- BENGALURU,AUGUST20 ceivedlastyear by twocompa- tional literacy and numerical nieslinkedtoagrandson of the OVERAyearandahalfafterCovid skills,Menonspokeaboutthe SENIOR BJP leader BS former CM from multiple shell DIVYAA forced one of the longestshut- needtocreatedistrict-levelexem- Yediyurappa, who resignedas companies in Kolkata—despite NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 downsof India’sschools,whatlies plars to demonstratehow chil- the Karnataka chief ministeron the companies having no rev- aheadasstatestentatively prepare dren can developconceptual un- July26, has embarkedonaholi- enue in previous years. THE NARAYANKOTI temple in to open up? Giventhe digital in- derstanding of mathematics and daytothe Maldiveswith his ex- Yediyurappa had stepped Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag dis- Punjab Congress Chief NavjotSingh Sidhu with Chief equitythatmeantseveralchildren other subjects. tendedfamilyahead of apossi- down as CM at the instance of trictissettoget amajorfacelift.For MinisterAmarinderSingh on Friday. ANI have hadverylittle interaction “Weshould talk about howto ble return to active politics. the BJP leadership amid growing this, aMemorandum of with school, whatdoes this pro- build uponwhat theyalready Yediyurappa has twosons – concerns over allegedcorruption Understanding(MoU)wassigned longedabsencefromschoolmean International based in Nairobi, knowand build anew pedagogy BJP MP BYRaghavendraand BJP and interferenceinthe adminis- in New DelhionFridaybetween forchildrenintermsof theirfoun- and PrincipalInvestigator for and anew curriculumbased on vice-presidentBYVijayendra– trationbyhis family. He, how- the MinistryofTourism, the CM Amarinder and dational literacy and numeracy LearningatScale,amulti-country that.It’seasierforchildrento solve and three daughters. The entire ever,remains akey Lingayat Uttarakhand Tourism skills? Howcan administrations study of large-scale education word problems, rather than familyruns various businesses leader who is vital to the BJP’s Development Board, Director Sidhu break ice, pick andeducationists help children programmes. grade-levelcurriculum. We and at leasttwo of the younger electoral fortunes and has said General,Culture,Uttarakhandand catch-up? Thesessionwasmoderatedby should pause and think, and members arefinancial consult- that he will help the party to the Social Legal Research & These were some of the ques- UmaVishnu, Senior Editor, The maybewewill find things that antswho studiedinthe UK. The come to poweronits owninthe Education Foundation (SLREF). party-govt synergy panel tions that apanel unpackedon Indian Express. children reallylikedoing. If Covid familyreportedlyleftfor the next stateAssemblypolls, sched- The sitewas identifed under the FridayduringIEThinc,anExpress Talking about the challenges can help us to do that, Ithink that MaldivesonAugust18and are uledtobeheld in 2023. Centre's AdoptAHeritage Project cadres at the Congress head- platform whereexperts confront as schools preparetoreopen, willbeagreatthing,”saidMenon. expected to return on August23, SeveralBJP MLAs and minis- earlier this year.SLREF has come KANCHANVASDEV quarters in Chandigarh. some of the mostpressingissues Atishisaid,“Wehavebeentalking Drawing from his experience sources said. ters who areunhappyoverbe- on boardasMonument Mitrafor CHANDIGARH,AUGUST20 Agovernment statement of our times. about the socio-economic costof in Kenyaand other sub-Saharan “This is the firsttime in many ing leftout of the cabinetofnew the site. later said that the 10-member The session, titled‘Rebuilding the pandemic, but we haven’t Africancountries,Pipersaid,“The years that Yediyurappa is on a chief ministerBasavarajBommai According to the MoU, the THREE DAYS afterAICCgeneral group, to be headedby SchoolsPost Covid’,wasorganised spoken about education... The questionforme,aswe comeback familytrip outside the country have ralliedaround the former SLREFwilldevelopvariousameni- secretaryin-charge Harish Amarinder,willensure better by TheIndian Express in associa- pandemic has takenusback20 to school, is howdowescaffold and it is ashortleave from pub- CM. Tourism MinisterAnand tiesfortourists/visitorsaroundthe Rawatasked Punjab CM coordination between the ruling tion with Central Square yearsinterms of access.Evenin andsupportcatch-upsothatchil- lic life,” aBJP leader considered Singh, upsetoverthe portfolio he heritagesite. This includes con- AmarinderSingh and PPCC chief party and the stategovernment, Foundation, an organisation Delhi, onlyabout 50-60 per cent dren arenot missing skills...Just to be closetothe former CM said. wasgiven, metYediyurappa last struction of roads, installation of NavjotSidhu to exercise re- and expediteimplementation of workingwiththevisionofensur- of the population have access to because skills arelostnow,does- Yediyurappa, his son week in his questtobeupgraded street lighting, garbagedisposal straint, both warring leaders sat variousschemes. ingqualityschooleducationforall digital technology.Learning has n’t mean theyare lostforever.” Vijayendra, grandson Sashidhar to ahigh-profile ministry. system and ensuring availability together Fridaytodecidea10- Besides the CM,the group children in India. been hampered on allfronts.” Banerjisaidsimple,easyto ex- Maradi, son-in-law Incidentally, thelasttime of clean drinking water, develop- member StrategicPolicy Group will have Local Government The panelistsfor Friday’s ses- Banerji, however, said she ecute, catch-up programmes can Virupakshappa Yamakanam- that Yediyurappa went abroad ment of the parkingareaand re- forbettercoordination between MinisterBrahm Mohindra, sion includedRukmini Banerji, wasmoreoptimistic. “The expe- be thekey. aradi, and granddaughter’s hus- withhis extendedfamilywas in vampingtheentranceandbound- the party and the government. Finance MinisterManpreet CEOofPratham,the organisation rience of learningand schooling “Justacouple of hoursaday... band SanjaySreehavebeen ac- July2011toMauritius —during arywallaroundthe temple site. Sidhu went to meet the CM Singh Badal and Social Security that releasesthe AnnualStatus of aredeeplyembedded... The last Children respond very well to cusedofcorruption and money an earlier stint as CM —amid al- The NarayankotiTemple is a at the latter’s farm house in MinisterAruna Chaudharyas Education Report(ASER); Atishi, year-and-a-half, therehavebeen quickprogress,itenthusesteach- launderinginhandling govern- legations of corruption. Two group of ancienttemples located Siswan on Friday, posedfor apic- members, along with Sidhu, the MLAoftheAamAadmiPartyand manykinds of learning... We ers and givesfaith to theparents ment contractsinaprivate days afterhereturnedtoIndia,a about twokilometers from turewith the CM and tweeted: four party workingpresidents -- oneofthe architectsbehind the have to take advantageofthe flu- that all is notlost,”she said. complaint. Lokayuktareportonillegal min- Guptkashi on the Rudraprayag- “Highlypositive co-ordination Kuljit Singh Nagra, Sukhwinder transformation in Delhi’s public idity of the situation... It’s an ex- In his concludingremarks, The Karnataka HighCourt ing during his tenureemerged, Gaurikund highway. meetingonproposal forrosterof Singh Danny, Sangat Singh education;UshaMenon,founder, citing time,” she said. Bikkrama DauletSingh, Co- has issuednotices to the former dislodging him from power. It is amajor attraction for ministers to sit at Punjab Gilzian and PawanGoel. Sidhu JodoGyan,asocialenterprisethat The panel also spokeabout ManagingDirector,CentralSquare CM and others 3after activistTJ Yediyurappa,his sons and a devotees visiting Rudraprayag as Congress Bhawan!!” aide Pargat Singh is also amem- is partofaunique experiment in potentialways inwhichadminis- Foundation, stressedonfounda- Abraham movedthe court for son-in-lawwerelater indicted it’s the onlyplace in the country AfterSidhu suggestedit, the berofthe group. The group will developing conceptual under- trationsandeducatorscouldhelp tional learning,sustaininghome the registration of an FIR to carry by the CBI in an alleged Rs 40 wheretemples of all the nine CM has nowgot arosterpre- hold weeklymeetings forcon- standingofmathematics among children “catchup” afternearly learning and the needtobring out investigations in the matter. crorebriberycase but were ac- planets –Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, pared to assignministers in his sultation with other ministers, children; and Ben Piper,Senior twoyearsoflearninglossinduced moreaccountability to private The allegations pertain to al- quitted by atrial courtand the Venus,Saturn, Sun, Moon, Rahu Cabinet to spendtimewithparty experts etc. as mayberequired. Director,AfricaEducation, forRTI by thepandemic. schools. leged bribesamounting to over matter did notescalate. and Ketu –are present. Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021 MEANWHILE EVER GIVEN CROSSES SUEZ CANAL AGAIN Thegiant container ship Ever Given, whichblockedthe Suez canal forsix days in March, crossed the waterway on Fridayfor the first time since it left Egypt after the incident. The 11 THE WORLD ship, en route from the UK to China,crossed the canal among aconvoyof26vesselssail- ing from the Mediterranean Seatothe RedSea,the Suez Canal Authoritysaid. TOPOFTHE Asia-Pacific extends WORLD AfterTalibantakeover,reportsof lockdowns, adds targetedkillingsfuelAfghans’fears curbs to fight surge

AHMADSEIR,TAMEEM TALIBANKILLED in Delta infections AKHGAR&DAVIDRISING RELATIVEOFDW KABUL,AUGUST20 out of control. A“TeslaBot”prototype. REPORTER,GERMAN REUTERS InneighbouringNew Zealand, Tesla via Reuters REPORTSOFtargetedkillings in BROADCASTERSAYS AUGUST20 an outbreak that beganthis week areas overrun by theTaliban widenedtothecapital,Wellington, mounted Friday, fuelling fears Berlin: Talibanfighters NATIONS FROM Australia to from the biggestcity of Auckland, USA that theywillreturn Afghanistan hunting ajournalistfrom Vietnam announcedmoredras- promptingPrimeMinisterJacinda MusksaysTesla to the repressive rule theyim- Deutsche Welle (DW) have ticcurbs and longer lockdowns Ardern to extend anationwide posedwhen theywerelastin shotdead one member of forcitizens on Friday, as author- lockdownuntil Tuesday. likelytolaunch power, even as theyurged his familyand severely in- ities struggle to rein in outbreaks Vietnam imposedits tough- humanoidrobot imams to push amessageof jured another,the German of the highlyinfectious Delta estorder yet, barringresidents unityatFriday’s prayers. publicbroadcastersaid, variant of the coronavirus. of the business hub of Ho Chi prototypenextyear Terrifiedthat the newdefacto adding that three moreof In Australia’s biggestcity of Minh City from leaving their TESLACHIEF executive rulerswouldcommitsuchabuses, itsjournalists had had their Sydney, 2million residents, or homes from Monday, although Elon Musk on Thursday thousands have racedtoKabul’s homes raided.DWsaid the roughly40% of itspopulation, further details have yettobean- said the electric automaker airportand to border crossings, Talibanhad been doinga face curfew from 9pmto5am nounced. will probablylauncha desperatetofleefollowing the house-to-house search to next week,along with limitson LikeAustralia and New “Tesla Bot” humanoid ro- Taliban’s stunning blitz through find the journalist, who it exercise. Zealand, Vietnam wasonce botprototype next year, the country. Others have takento said wasnow working in Alockdown of the entirecity, laudedfor success in containing designed fordangerous, the streetstoprotest thetakeover Germanyand did notname. KHALIL HAQQANI ATTENDS FRIDAY PRAYERS IN KABUL: KhalilHaqqanispeaksafter Friday nowinits eighth week,was also the virus, but is finding earlier repetitive,orboringwork —actsofdefiance that Taliban REUTERS prayer at the Pul-i-Khishti Mosque in Kabul on Friday. Aleader of one of the mostpowerful extendeduntil the end of measures were insufficient. that peopledon’tliketodo. fightershave violentlysuppressed. and violent Taliban factions, Haqqani is on both the US and UN terrorist lists.Tomany September,with residentstold It has morethan 312,000 in- Speaking at Tesla’s AI Day The Taliban saytheyhavebe- Afghans and foreigners,Haqqani’s emergence in the capital wasastark reminder of who to wear masksoutdoors, except fections and 7,150deaths, up event, the billionaireentre- come moremoderatesince they pastrecord, and ahorrifying in- nowruns Afghanistan. NYT forexercise. from aMay 1figureofless than preneur said the robot, lastruledAfghanistaninthe1990s dicatorofwhatTaliban rule may “I asked health andpolice to 3,000 cases and 35 deaths. whichstandsaroundfive and have pledged to restoresecu- bring,”said Agnes Callamard, the work together,togivemeafinal Japan planstoroughlytriple foot eight inches tall, would rity and forgivethose who fought head of Amnesty International. Biden pledges to Americans in list of whatwecan throw at this, dailyCovid teststo320,000,an be able to handlejobs from theminthe20yearssinceaUS-led The rightsgroup warned to leave no shadowofadoubt as acknowledgement that itsmain attachingboltstocarswith invasion. Ahead of Fridayprayers, that manymorekillings may to howserious we are,” Gladys containment strategy of break- awrench, or picking up leaders urgedimamstouse ser- have gone unreported because Kabul: ‘We will get you home’ Berejiklian, the premier of ing up clusters of infections was groceriesatstores. The ro- mons to appeal forunity and urge the Taliban cut cellphone serv- Sydney’s home stateofNew no longerworking in big cities botwould have “profound people nottofleethe country. ices in manyareas they’vecap- South Wales, told reporters. likeTokyo, the capital. implicationsfor theecon- But manyAfghans arescepti- tured to prevent images from tion wasworking hardtosmooth The state, whichisAustralia's The move comes afternew omy”, Musk said, address- cal, fearing that the Talibanwill being published. ASSOCIATEDPRESS and speedthe evacuations. mostpopulous,reported 644 dailycases exceeded25,000 on ing alabourshortage. He erase the gains,especiallyfor Meanwhile, aNorway- WASHINGTON,AUGUST20 “I don’t think anyone of us newinfections on Friday, while Thursdayfor the firsttime. said it wasimportant to women, achievedinthe past two basedprivate intelligence can see these pictures and not southeastern Victoria state, South Koreaextended fortwo makethe machine not“su- decades. An Amnesty group that provides informa- US PRESIDENT Joe Biden feel that pain on ahuman level,” home to Melbourne, recorded weekssocialdistancingcurbsthat per-expensive”. REUTERS International reportprovided tion to the UN said it obtained pledged to Americans still Biden said, but “nowI’m focused 55, as authorities there warned includeaban on gatherings of moreevidenceFriday thatun- evidence that the Taliban have trappedinAfghanistan: “Wewill on getting this job done.” of arisk the outbreak could slip morethan twopeople after6pm. dercut the Taliban’sclaims they roundedupAfghans on ablack- getyou home.” Evacuation flightsatthe have changed. listofpeople theybelieve Biden’s comments at aWhite Kabul airporthad stoppedfor The rights groupsaidthat its worked in keyroles with the House news conference Friday severalhours on Fridaybecause HAITI researchers spoketoeyewit- previousAfghan administra- come as the US government of abackupatatransit point for Foreignaidtrickles nessesinGhazni province who tion or with US-ledforces. struggles to ramp up amassive AbabyishandedovertoUS the refugees, aUSairbase in recounted howthe Taliban In an email, the executivedi- airliftclearing Americans and soldiers over the perimeter Qatar,USofficials said. However, inasHaitistruggles killednine ethnicHazaramen rector of RHIPTO Norwegian other foreigners and vulnerable wall of the airportinKabul, aresumption wasordered later. tocountvictims in the villageofMundarakht on Center forGlobal Analyses said Afghansthrough the Kabul air- on Thursday. Reuters Thousandsofpeople remain July4-6. It said six of the men the organisation knewabout sev- port, rescuing them from a to be evacuated ahead of the US’ ADRIP of foreign aid began were shot, and three were tor- eral threat letterssent to Afghans, Taliban takeoverofthe country. Aug31deadline to withdrawits to reachmorerural areas of tured to death. includingaman who wastaken Biden is facingcriticism fora struggle to reachsafetyinside.He troops from the country,al- southwestern Haiti on The brutality of the killings from hisKabul apartment this chaotic and oftenviolentscene calledthe pastweek“heartbreak- though the pace had pickedup Thursday, arriving five days was“areminder of the Taliban’s week by theTaliban. AP outside the airportascrowds ing”, but insistedhis administra- overnight. afterapowerful earth- quakekilledmorethan 2,000andflattened tens of FB, Twitter Employees dine between polythene sheets as asafety thousands of buildings into Taliban: China has big role in Afghanistan measureatagarment factoryinDhaka. Reuters rubble. Hundreds of peo- secureAfghan ple lineduptoreceive pro- itsplans to impose Sharia law can playabig role in rebuilding visions from the UN World KJMVARMA likeitdid duringits previous rule Afghanistan,” Shaheen said. “We users’ accounts Food Programme at a BEIJING,AUGUST20 20 years ago, Shaheen told have hadarelationshipwithChina campinthe rural town of China’sstate-runCGTNTVthat and Russia during the past(few) US sees opening in Asia as Camp-Perrin forpeople THE TALIBAN have appealedto the newTaliban government in years. We have told them they ELIZABETHCULLIFORD displaced by Saturday’s 7.2 the internationalcommunity to Kabul would protect women’s should nothaveany concerns AUGUST20 Chinese vaccines stumble magnitude quake. The of- recognise it amid growing re- rightstoeducation and work. from Afghanistan,”hesaid. ficial death toll stood at sentment againstitathomeand He also urgedinternational “Wesee it in ourinterestnot FACEBOOK, TWITTER and 2,189but wasexpected to abroad, even as the Afghan mil- At aprotest in Kabulon monetaryorganisationsto release to allowanyone to use our soil LinkedIn said this week theyhad SUI-LEEWEE& rise. Localofficials arestill itant group sought to placate Thursday. Reuters funds to thenew government. againstour neighbouringand re- movedtosecurethe accountsof STEVENLEEMYERS tallying the dead, and de- China,saying Beijing can playa The Taliban,whichshared gionalcountries.Itisimportantfor Afghan citizens to protectthem AUGUST20 manded moreassistance “big role” under itsrule in the close ties with Pakistan, have us,” he said. “Also forthe recon- againstbeingtargetedamid the to dig out the collapsed strife-torn country. ficiallyrecognisehisgroup,which been warming up to Beijing structionof Afghanistan,we need Taliban’s takeover of the country. FEW PLACES benefitedfrom buildings. REUTERS Taliban spokesmanSuhail has takenoverpowerinKabul. ahead of itsrecent offensive re- the help of allcountries,” includ- Facebook has temporarilyre- China’s vaccine diplomacy as Shaheen said the international Dismissing growing con- sulting in seizing powerinKabul. ing neighbouring countries as movedthe ability forpeople to muchasSoutheastAsia,aregion RUSSIA community should “respect the cernsoverthe Talibancurbing “China is abig countrywith a well as the US and the rest of the vieworsearch thefriends lists of of morethan650 million that has Navalnytells willoftheAfghanpeople”andof- the freedoms of women under hugeeconomyand capacity.They world, Shaheen said. PTI accountsinAfghanistan, itsse- struggledtosecuredoses from Unloading boxesof curity policy head Nathaniel Western drugmakers. Severalof Moderna’s Covid-19vaccine Russiansto Gleicher tweetedonThursday. these countries have recorded in Tangerang, Indonesia, this votetactically Harris faces task of convincing Asiannations Gleicher also said the com- someof thefastest-growingnum- month. Reuters panyhad launcheda“one-click bers of cases in the world. KREMLINCRITICAlexei tool” forusers in Afghanistanto China, eager to build good Navalnyappealed to of US reliability after Afghanistan chaos lockdowntheir accounts, so will, steppedin, promising to And in Thailand,residents Russians from behind bars people who arenot their provide morethan 255 million vaccinated with one dose of on Thursday, nearlyayear security interests at risk,coun- Washington’s commitmentto Facebook friends would be un- doses, according to Bridge China’s Sinovacare nowgiven afterhewas poisonedwith NANDITABOSE& triesinbothEurope and Asia are SoutheastAsia is firm and nota able to seetheir timelineposts Consulting, aBeijing-basedre- the AstraZeneca shotthree to whatthe West says wasa DAVIDBRUNNSTROM Kamala wondering whether theycan paralleltoAfghanistan. or sharetheir profile photos. search company. four weekslater. nerveagent, and told them WASHINGTON,AUGUST20 Harris rely on Washington to fulfill “The debacle in Afghanistan Human rightsgroups have Half ayear in, however, that ThesetbacktoChina’svaccine to vote tacticallyinelections long-standing security commit- will prompt concerns again about voicedconcerns that the Taliban campaign has lostsome of its campaign has created adiplo- nextmonthto trytohurtthe US VICE President Kamala ments, experts say. US staying powerand keeping could use online platforms to luster. Officials in severalcoun- maticopeningfortheUSwhenre- Kremlin. His smartvoting Harris, in avisit to Singaporeand theywerenot fullyconsulted on Harris’ trip aims to establish promises to allies,” he said. trackAfghans’ digitalhistories or tries have raiseddoubtsabout lationsbetweenthetwocountries plan is one of the lastlevers Vietnam next week that aims to PresidentJoe Biden’s decision deepertieswithSoutheastAsia,a The chaotic evacuations from socialconnections. the efficacy of Chinesevaccines, areincreasingly fraught,inpart Navalnyand his allies have counter China’s growing influ- to withdraw American troops regionWashingtonconsiderskey Kabulhaveevokedimagesofthe Twitter said it wasintouch especiallyagainstthe more becauseofthe coronavirus. afteracrackdownthissum- ence, will have to contend with a from AfghanistanbyAug. 31, to checkingChinese expansion. 1975 US withdrawal from withcivil society partnerstopro- transmissible Deltavariant. Vaccine aid from the US of- mer outlawedhis move- newproblem: thecollapseof whichappeared at odds with Regional experts likeMurray Vietnam,whoseCommunistgov- vide support to groups in the Indonesia, whichwas early to fers an opportunity to restorere- ment as “extremist”. His al- Afghanistan, whichhas leftallies his promises to recommitto HiebertatWashington’s Center ernment Washington sought to countryand wasworking with acceptChineseshots,wasrecently lationsinaregion that American lies arebannedfromtaking questioning the credibility of US global engagement. forStrategic and International isolatefor twodecades afterthe the InternetArchive to expedite theepicentreofthevirus.Now, of- officials have mostly ignored for part in the Sept. 17-19elec- foreign policy promises. With the Taliban’s rapid Studies said Harris wouldhave Vietnam War, but with whichit direct requests to remove ficials thereare administering the yearswhile China extendedits tion, and United Russia, US allies have complained takeoverputting their national to trytoreassureher hosts that nowenjoys warm ties. REUTERS archived tweets. REUTERS Moderna vaccine as aboosterto influence. The Biden administra- whichsupports President health careworkers who had re- tion has dispatchedacrowd of VladimirPutin, is expected ceivedtwo doses of Sinovac. senior officialstothe region. NYT to windespiteaslumpinits popularity. REUTERS BRITAIN Malaysia’s new prime minister brings China approves three-child policy with sops Policewarnoftwo weeksofdisruption graft-tainted party back to power to encourage couples to have more children fromprotests ministerwould have to face a ROZANNALATIFF, confidence voteinparliamentto and economicsupportmeasures ples to have up to three children.

LONDON’S POLICEwarned ED LIZLEE&MEIMEICHU provehis majority. KJMVARMA Nopenalty, to address the concerns. Chinapermittedallcouplesto on Fridaythat protestsby KUALALUMPUR,AUGUST20 Ismail Sabri’s appointment BEIJING,AUGUST20 The newlaw stipulates that have twochildren in 2016,scrap- environmental activists added restores the posttothe United PLAIN the countrywill take supportive ping the decades-old one-child plannedfor thenexttwo E ● incentives MALAYSIA’S KINGappointed Malays NationalOrganisation CHINA’SNATIONALlegislatureon EX measures,including thoseinfi- policywhichmanyblame forthe weekswillcausedisruption Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime (UMNO), Malaysia’s ‘grand old Fridayformally endorsedthe nances, taxes, insurance, educa- demographiccrisisinthecountry. across the capital and will minister on Friday, returning the party’, whichwas voted outina three-child policymootedbythe THE NEW three-child policy tion, housing and employment, Chinese officials claim the distractofficersfromdealing job to aparty tainted by graftac- 2018 general election, aftera ruling CommunistParty,inama- means that Chinese couples to reduce families’ burdens as one-child policy prevented over with crime. Extinction cusations as the southeastAsian Ismail Sabri Yaakob multibillion-dollar scandal at jor policyshiftaimedtoprevent a nowhaving morethantwo well as the costofraisingand ed- 400million births. Rebellion, whichcaused nation grapples with aCovid-19 statefund1MDB. steep decline in birth ratesinthe children will no longer have ucating children, state-run China The decisiontopermit the days of trafficchaos in surge and an economicslump. He becomes Malaysia’s third world’s mostpopulouscountry. to paythe “social mainte- Daily reported. thirdchildcameafterthismonth’s London twoyearsago,said Ismail Sabri replaces the backing of 114ofparlia- prime ministersincethe 2018 The revisedPopulationand nance fee”, whichwas afi- The NPC hasrevised the law once-in-a-decadecensusshowed it willtargetthe capital’s fi- Muhyiddin Yassin,who stepped ment’s 222 members. election, afterUMNO pulledits FamilyPlanning Law, whichal- nancial penalty imposedon to implementthe central leader- thatChina’s population grew at nancialdistrictindisruptive down on Mondayafter coalition “His Majesty expressedthe backing forMuhyiddin last lows Chinese couples to have them. Moreover, couples ship’s decision to cope with new the slowest paceto1.412 billion protests whichare due to infighting costhim his majority, hope that with the appointment month, citing his failuretoman- three children,was passedbythe will be encouraged to have circumstances in social and eco- amid official projections that the startonMonday. Thegroup but the newprime minister’s of the newprime minister, the agethe pandemic. “Witharazor- Standing Committee of the children, with incentives nomic development and pro- declinemaybegin as early asnext accuses firms of helping to backing by the same alliance political crisis can end immedi- thinmajority,hewillneedtomake NationalPeople’sCongress(NPC). suchaspotentially more mote balancedlong-term popu- year.The newcensus figures re- fuel climatechangeand it raises concerns that he will also atelyand all lawmakers can surehedoes notfacerebellions of In an apparent attempt to ad- parental leave,betterem- lation growth, the reportsaid. vealedthatthe demographic cri- brought muchofLondon to lead an unstable government. unitetoput aside political agen- thosewhoareeyeinghisposition,” dress the reluctance of Chinese ployment protections for In Maythis year,the sis China facedwas expected to astandstillduring11 days of IsmailSabri is to be sworn in das,” it said in astatement. said Sivamurugan Pandian, apo- couplesto have morechildrendue women and improved child- CommunistParty of China ap- deepen as the populationofpeo- action in 2019. REUTERS on Saturday, the palace said, after King Al-Sultan Abdullah has litical analystatthe Malaysian to mounting costs,the amended careinfrastructure. proved arelaxation of itsstrict ple above 60 years grew to 264 he secured aslim majority with previouslysaid the newprime Science University. REUTERS lawhas also passedmoresocial two-child policy to allowall cou- million, up by 18.7%lastyear. PTI

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021 12 ECONOMY GOLD RUPEE OIL SILVER `46,353 `74.39 $68.91 `60,897

Note:Gold,silverrates at Delhi spot market;goldper 10 g, silverper 1kg; Crude oil (Indianbasket)asonAugust 18,2021 SENSEX: 55,329.32 ▼ 300.17 (-0.54%) NIFTY: 16,450.50 ▼ 118.35 (-0.71%) NIKKEI: 27,013.25 ▼ 267.92 HANGSENG: 24,849.72 ▼ 466.61 FTSE: 7,053.63 ▼ 5.23 DAX: 15,695.68 ▼ 70.13

International market data till1900IST POLICY WATCH CRUDE DOWN13.9% BUT PETROL, DIESEL NEAR RECORD HIGHS MPC:JAYANTHVARMAOPPOSES‘EASYPOLICY’ ECONOMY Global-localdivideinfuel:OMCs One member differs ‘Focus on emerging with panel on ‘easy’ challenges; private makingupfor‘underrecoveries’ stance; urges ‘hard

thanthe latter,and were likely to ing at Rs 101.8per litreinthe investment in green ED look’, rise in rates KARUNJITSINGH be recoupedsoonifthe current Capital, while diesel is at Rs 89.27. NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 Noduty trend of lowprices continues. High crude prices,coupled RBIGuv says economyneeds support PLAIN E cutlikely Expertsnotedthatwithnoex- with elevatedtaxes on fuel, have ● energy required’ WHILE PETROL and diesel prices EX cise duty cut expected andOMCs ledtoa21.7percentincreaseinthe forcongenial financialconditions arestill at or near record-high lev- withholdingpartofthe benefit of pumppriceof petrolanda20.8per els in the country, international WITH NO excise duty cut lowerinternational prices, con- cent jumpindiesel since the be- SUNNYVERMA crude oil has fallen 13.9 per cent expectedand OMCs with- sumers would onlybenefit from ginningof theyear.Elevatedtaxes ENSECONOMICBUREAU NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 since the beginning of August. holding partofthe benefit lowerfuelpricesif crudeoilprices onpetrolanddieselhave alsobeen MUMBAI,AUGUST20 Industrysources told The of lowerinternational continued to remain at lowerlev- keycontributors to record high THE INSTITUTE of Economic Indian Express thatOil Marketing prices, consumers would els forasustainedperiod. prices. Lastyear,the Centrehiked WHILE FIVEofthe six members Growth(IEG)Societypresident Companies (OMCs) might be onlybenefit from lower Even thoughthe prices of Central levies by Rs 13 per litreon of the Monetary Policy Commit- NK Singh said on Fridaythat withholding partofthe benefit fuel prices if crude contin- petrol and diesel arederegulated petrol and Rs 16 on diesel to shore tee(MPC) of the Reserve Bank of thereisaneedtofocusre- fromthefallininternationalprices uedtoremain at lowerlev- and can be reviseddaily, OMCs up revenues as Covid causeda India(RBI)votedfor retaining the searchonemergingchallenges to compensatefor under recover- els forasustainedperiod. had, in March andApril, halted sharp fall in economic activity. accommodative stance at the suchasclimateand energy ies duringearlier periods. hikes as anumber of states went “Thegovernmentwantstoen- MPC meeting on August6,one transition,encouragingprivate 15th Finance Commission Separately, Finance Minister to elections. surethattheearningsof OMCsare member —Jayanth Varma —was ReserveBank Governor investment in renewable en- Chairperson NK Singh was NirmalaSitharamanhasruledout when price increases were held OMCshadalsoheldpricescon- protectedastheyare keyinvestors fortakinga“hard look” at contin- ShaktikantaDas. File ergy and establishing closer recentlyelectedIEG reducing Central taxesonpetrol back, arelikelythe reason that stant forover80days lastyear in important infrastructuresuch uingtheeasymoneypolicyasthe partnershipwithstates,asthey Society president. File anddiesel,citingthefinancialbur- OMCsare beingslowinpassingon from March 16,ascrude fell as pipelines, newrefineries balance of riskand rewardin remain central to implemen- den of havingtopay interestpay- the benefitoflower international sharplydue to the Covid pan- and LPG infrastructure,” said favourof monetaryaccommoda- riskandrewardisgraduallyshift- tation of reforms. Fifteenth mentsonoilbondsissuedtoOMCs prices to consumers”, said an offi- demic.Expertssaidthedecisionto VivekanandSubbaraman,analyst tion is gradually shifting. ing,and this merits ahardlook at Finance Commission Chair- that renewable is cheaper but forearlier under recoveries by the cialatapublicsectorOMC.Usually, hold prices steady,during the pe- at Ambit Capital. He addedmar- RBIGovernorShaktikantaDas the accommodative stance,” he personSinghwaselectedpres- this transition is going to be Congress-ledUPA government. thefullimpactofchangesto crude riod when crude touchedlowsof gins forOMCs had been increas- said the economystill requires said, as per the minutes. ident of the IEG Societyearlier challenging,” Singh told The An unexpected build-up of oilpricesisoftenseenwithalagas around $20 per barrel, ledtofar ingsteadilyoverthepastfew years support in terms of maintaining Unveilingthebi-monthlymo- this week afterformer Prime Indian Express. fuelinventoriesintheUSandcon- domestic ratesare benchmarked higher marketing margins for as their profitswererising even congenialfinancialconditionsand netarypolicy, theRBIpanelraised MinisterManmohan Singh Hesaidthereisaneedtoat- cerns about the spread of the to a15-dayrollingaverageofglobal OMCs during FY21. thoughtheir sales volumes had fiscal boosters. “Atsuchacritical the projection forretail inflation steppeddownfromthe post. tractprivate investmentsinre- Deltavariant pushedBrent crude prices of petrol and diesel. OMCs have also held the price remainedrelatively stable. juncture,canwe reallypulltherug to 5.7 per cent forFY22from5.1 FormerPMSingh,whohad newable energy,asclimateis- to $65.63 per barrelonFriday (as Industrysources said the full of petrol constant forthe past34 Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, andthelettheeconomy tumble?” per cent earlier,quite close to its been the president of the IEG suesremaincentral.“Whatcan of 12:30 pm EDT) —its lowest impact of lowerglobal prices days and cut the price of diesel by BharatPetroleumCorporationLtd Dassaid,accordingto theminutes upper tolerancelimit in the2-6 since 1992, said he waswith- we do to crowdinprivate cap- levelsinceMay. wouldbefeltsoonerindieselthan about 60 paise per litreoverthe and HindustanPetroleum of the MPC meeting. “The needof per cent band. The MPC leftthe drawing from severalactive ital in renewable energy … “Underrecoveriesduringprior petrol as under recoveries forthe pastthree days afterholding CorporationLtddidnotrespondto thehouristwofold:first,continue reporate unchangedat4percent duties in the light of his ad- Howcanwe reduceperceived periods, suchasstate elections former were significantlylower steady for33days. Petrolisretail- emailedrequests forcomment. the monetary policy supportto while retaining the accommoda- vancedage and ‘indifferent regulatoryand other risksfor theeconomy; andsecond,remain tive stance. It retainedthe FY22 health’,and suggestedNK private capital in fundingthe watchfulof anydurableinflation- real GDP growth at 9.5 per cent. Singh’s name as president of sustainable energyinvest- arypressuresandsustainedprice AspertheRBIminutes,Varma the institute. Asked about his ments. This is one very broad VC FUNDING DEALS ANNOUNCED IN INDIA momentum in keycomponents was“notinfavour of the decision plansfor theIEG, Singh said emerging area that needs at- ‘India startups secondtoChinese 828DURING JANUARY-JULY 2021, WITH TOTAL so as to bring backthe CPI infla- to keep thereverse repo rate at thereisaneedtofocusoncon- tention,” he said. DISCLOSED FUNDING VALUE OF THESE DEALS STANDING AT tion to 4per cent over aperiodof 3.35per cent,” and voted against temporarychallenges. Macroeconomic manage- in raising VC funding in 2021’ $16.9 BILLION timeinanon-disruptive manner.” the accommodative stance. “Firstthe worldhas mentisanothersubjectwhich However, taking adifferent While the economyisstrug- changed from when the requires further research,es- Indian startups got$16.9 billion of venturecapital (VC) view, Varma—whovotedagainst gling to regain the momentum Institutewas created in 1952, peciallywhenthereisnofiscal funding in 2021, next only to Chinese counterparts in the GAINS FOR TECH Some notable VC funding deals theaccommodative stance—said that had gathered in the second our priorities have changed councilatthe Central govern- Asia-Pacific (APAC)countries, aGlobalDataanalysis said STARTUPS: in January-July: “easymoneytodaycouldlead to half of 2020-21, thehighestprior- and thereisneedtoreally ment level. “Another impor- Tech startups are the biggest high interestrates tomorrow”. ity nowistorevivegrowthalong ■ $3.6 billion raised by Flipkart makeitmuchmorecontem- tant area is muchcloser part- beneficiaries of India’s “In the lastseveral meetings, asustainable trajectorythat be- porarytothe challenges of to- nershipwithstatesbecausein transformation into a ■ $502 million raised by my statementshaveexpressed comes compatiblewiththe infla- day, and what could these be: next20-30yearsstatesarego- digital-first economy amid Mohalla Tech (ShareChat) the belief that the balance of risk tion target as the pandemic re- climateand energy transition, ingto becentralinthestory, in and rewardisinfavour of mone- cedes,RBI Deputy Governor ■ Rising smartphone ■ $500 million capital raising fuelpricing,carbonpricing,the terms of implementation of penetration by Zomato taryaccommodation.Asthepan- Michael Patrasaid. social and economic conse- the changes in factors of pro- demiccontinuestomutate, it ap- Full report on quences of the fuel transition duction: land, labour,capi- ■ Affordable mobile ■ $460 million raised by pearstomethat the balance of www.indianexpress.com because, afterall, the bulk of tal…Quality of states annual Internet Think and Learn (Byju’s) the fossilfuel staffisinthe economic survey can also be poorer parts of India— improved,” Singh said. Jharkhand, Bihar,Madhya Singh has hadstrongties Sebi puts Adani Pradesh,Odisha.Thesearealso with the IEG—as astudent in Growth in India amid fall in global funding: Whilesome of the top key markets Source: thepartswhichdonot have re- the Delhi University andcur- globallysaw adecline in VC funding value in July over the previous month, India GlobalData/PTI newableenergy.It’seasiersaid rentlyservingasaLifeTrustee. managed to showcase growth despiteadecline in VC funding deal volume Wilmar’s `4,500-cr IPO in abeyance BRIEFLY Facebook,Indifi tie up for credit to SMBs RBI,Irdai to vet FDI plan in pvt ENSECONOMICBUREAU DRHPONAUGUST2 Microsoft,OYO to smallbusinesses, and reduce cialinclusion’,hostedbyFacebook MUMBAI,AUGUST20 NewDelhi:Microsofthasin- ENSECONOMICBUREAU Loans from `5 lakh to the credit gapwithin India’s IndiaalongwithFICCI.AjitMohan, bank-promoted ■ Adani Wilmar,a50:50 vested nearly $5 million in MUMBAI,AUGUST20 MSME sector,” Facebooksaid. VP &MDFacebookIndia, saidat JV between Adani `50 lakh forsmall and MARKETSREGULATORSebi has OYO throughtheissuanceof Itaddedthatsmallbusinesses the event, “Facebook is deeply insuranceco puttheRs4,500-croreinitialpub- Group and Wilmar equity sharesand compul- FACEBOOKINDIAonFridayanno- medium businesses whollyorpartlywomen-owned committed to creating economic lic offering (IPO)ofAdani Wilmar Group, had filedits soryconvertiblecumulative uncedaprogrammeto helpsmall can getaspecial 0.2per cent re- opportunities forIndia’s small NewDelhi: Thegovernment has Ltdin“abeyance”.AspertheSecu- draftredherring preference shares. and medium businesses (SMBs) enablesmallbusinesses to apply ductionperannumontheapplied businesses. Access to timelycap- saidapplicationsforforeigndirect ritiesandExchangeBoardofIndia prospectus (DRHP) that advertise on Facebook to get forloans without collateral thro- loan interestratefromIndifi. ital is moreimportant than ever investment (FDI) in an insurance (Sebi) website, the Adani Wilmar with SebionAugust2 quickaccess to credit of between ugh aquickonline application. Indifiisanonlinelendingplat- as it can helpjump-start their re- companypromotedbyaprivate IPO has been “keptinabeyance”. EPFOpayroll Rs 5lakh and Rs 50 lakh through Small businessesapplying under form providingloanstosmall covery anddrive biggrowth.” bank will be cleared by the RBI Adani Wilmar,a50:50 joint NewDelhi: TheEmployees’ independent lending partners. this programme will notbe businesses. Alok Mittal, who last UdayShankar,President,FICCI andIrdaito ensurethatthe74 per venturebetweentheAdaniGroup holds 50 per cent stakeinAdani ProvidentFundOrganisation “India is the firstFacebook chargedaprocessingfeebyIndifi.” ledIndiaoperationsof USventure said,“FICCI has alwaysadvocated cent limit of overseas investment and Singapore-basedWilmar Wilmar, whichownstheedibleoil sawnet newenrolmentsof countrywherethisprogrammeis Indifiwill also disburse the capital firm Canaan Partners, is forstronger private sectorpartic- is notbreached. These changes Group,had filedits draftred her- brand ‘Fortune’. 12.83lakh in June. PTI getting rolledout. The progra- loan amount within five working Indifi’sMD&CEOandco-founder. ipation forthe growth of India’s were made by amending the ring prospectus (DRHP) with the The proposedIPO offerworth mme is open to businesses regis- days of the borrower completing Facebooksaid,“Theprogram- MSMEsandwelcomesthelaunch Foreign ExchangeManagement Sebi on August2. Rs 4,500crore will comprise a teredacross 200towns and cities all documentationformalities af- me is acompletelynot-for-profit of Facebook’ssmallbusinessloans (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, While the regulator has not freshissueof equity shares by the BPCLchatbot of India,” Facebook said. teracceptance of theoffer by arrangement with Facebook’s initiativetomakeaccess to credit 2019,asper agazettenotification givenany reason forkeeping the firmandtherewillnotbeany sec- NewDelhi:BharatPetroleum Through Facebook’spartner- Indifi.Manysmallbusinessesface lending partners and small busi- moreeasilyavailableto theindus- by FinanceMinistryonAugust 19. IPOinabeyance,anongoinginves- ondaryoffering.If thereare pend- (BPCL) has launchedanAI ship withIndifi,small businesses challenges in securing loans of nesses arenot obligated to spend try. We look forwardtocollabo- “These rules maybecalled tigation into the group’s flagship ing investigations againstacom- chatbot, Urja, to servebusi- that advertise with Facebook can lowerticket-size as theyare not their loan amount on Facebook rating with Facebookoverthe Foreign ExchangeManagement companyAdaniEnterprisesmight panybythe Sebi or anyother ness and retail consumers. getloans at apredefinedinterest viableformanylenders.“Thegoal advertising,” The announcement coming months to developpro- (Non-debt Instruments) (Second have promptedtheSebito putthe regulatorybody or government rate of 17-20 per cent per annum, of the initiative is to makebusi- came at avirtualevent on ‘Enabl- grammes and solutionsthat can Amendment)Rules, 2021,” issue on hold. Adani Enterprises, authority,the regulator normally BharatBank it said. “The programmewill also ness loans moreeasilyaccessible ingMSMEgrowththroughfinan- provideanimpetusto thesector.” it said. ENS promotedbyGautamAdani, putsthe IPO in abeyance. NewDelhi:BharatCo-opera- tive Bank(Mumbai)Ltdwill AT COMPANY’S39TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OFFICE OF THE ADDITIONAL CHIEF ENGINEER, PHED, celebrateits 43rdfounda- Markets REGION AJMER tion dayonAugust21. It has Eicher Motors MD Lal’s re-appointment rejected PHONE No. 0145-2624748 FAXNO. 0145-2627671 No. F. ()/Ar.MP/2021-2022/6104-6154 Dated:6.8.2021 launched3easy business slide amid NOTICE INVITING TENDERS FOR WORKS loans,astatementsaid. ENS supportfrom75per cent of the 2,27,82,012 (27.98 petcent) Bids for the Providing, Laying, Jointing, Testing &Commissioning of Rising/ global selloff ENSECONOMICBUREAU During the company’s votes casttopass the proposal. favoured the move. Distribution pipe line of various sizes/types to convert the existing water NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 Out of the total 21,74,67,139votes, “The resolution wasnot supply scheme into piped water supply scheme and to provide Functional Dutyrelief AGM, shareholders also House TapConnections in the village- Kharkedi and Hathikhera under JJM 15,88,49,543 (73.04per cent) passedwith requisitemajority,” of District Ajmer.(Estimated cost of work- Rs. 419.61 lacs) are invited NewDelhi: The government EICHER MOTORS’shareholders, rejected the proposal of were in favour of the re-appoint- EicherMotors said in aregulatory from interested bidders upto 31.08.2021. Other particulars of the Bid may be has halvedbasic customs SENSEX at the company’s recentlyheld ment, while 5,86,17,596 (26.95 filing.Meanwhile,anordinary visited on the procurement portal (http://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in, increasing Siddhartha http://sppp.raj.nic.in)ofthe state. duty on crude soyoil and (Intra-day, Aug20) annualgeneral meeting (AGM), per cent) votes disapproved the resolution seeking Lal’s re-ap- UBN No.: PHE2122WSOB06055 NIB No.: PHE2122A2707 sunfloweroil to 7.5per cent, have rejected aproposalfor re- Lal’s remuneration proposal. pointment as adirector on the Sd/- as well as cut basic import 55,650 55,329.32 appointmentof Siddhartha Lalas The company’s public institu- company’s boardwas approved (Mukul Bhargava) duty on refinedsoyoil and the company’s managing direc- the proposal of increasing Lal’sre- tionalshareholders particularly by shareholders. Around 86 per Additional Chief Engineer, 55,500 DIPR/C/8103/2021 PHED, Region, Ajmer. sunfloweroil to 37.5 per torfor aperiod of five years with muneration. opposedthe move. cent of the votes were in the cent, tillSeptember 30. PTI 55,350 effect from May1this year. While 73 per cent of thevotes Out of the total 8,13,98,998 favour of the proposal. Royal 55,200 During the company’s 39th favouredthere-appointment, the votes receivedinthe category, Enfield,apartofEicher Motors, is 55,159.13 AGM, whichwas held earlier this rest 27 percentwere againstit.As 5,86,16,986 (72per cent) disap- aplayerinthe mid-sizedmotor- NewJ&JCEO 55,050 week,the membersalso rejected aspecial resolution, it needed proved the proposal and just cycle segment. WITHPTI Bengaluru: Johnson& 54,900 Johnsonvicechairmanof ex- Open Close ecutive committeeJoaquin Duatowillbecome itsCEO New data privacy law in China from January3,replacing NewDelhi: Equity benchmarks AlexGorsky. REUTERS spiralled lowerfor thesecond pected to add morecompliance straightdayonFriday,reflectinga JOSHHORWITZ requirementsfor companies in global selloffasrisingDeltacases SHANGHAI,AUGUST20 the country. China has instructed Powerislanding and concerns of earlier-than-ex- itstechgiants to ensurebetterse- NewDelhi: The government pected US Fedtapering fuelleda CHINA’S NATIONAL People’s curestorage of user data,amid has said 17 islanding broad retreat from riskier assets. Congress on Fridaypassedalaw publiccomplaintsaboutmisman- schemes forpower supply The 30-share BSE Sensexslid designedtoprotect online user agement and misuse. areplannedinadditionto 26 300.17 points, or 0.54 per cent, to dataprivacy and will implement Thelawstatesthathandlingof suchexistingandunder-im- close at 55,329.32, while the NSE the policy from November 1, as The law, designedtoprotect personal information musthave plementation projects. The Niftyfell118.35points,or0.71per per statemedia outlet Xinhua. onlineuser dataprivacy,will clearandreasonablepurposeand scheme is adefence mecha- cent,to 16,450.50.Meanwhile,the The law’s passage completes be implemented from shallbelimitedtothe“minimum nism forpowersystem. PTI rupee lost15paise againstthe US another pillar in China’s effortsto November 1. AP file scope necessarytoachieve the dollar to end at 74.39. ENS regulatecyberspace and is ex- goalsof handling”data. REUTERS Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 13 SPORT/CALENDAR THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021 U-20 Worlds: End of free run Shaili Singh tops qualies, makes Parkour,anoutletfor Afghanyouth from the country’s war-ravagedpast, suffers ahammerblowwith Taliban’s return to power long jump final GAURAVBHATT NEWDELHI,AUGUST20 PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA NAIROBI,AUGUST20 HOLED UP in adormitoryinKabul, Qudrat Frotan breaksdownrememberingthe last UP AND coming long jumper Shaili Singh time he steppedoutside. The 23-year-old liveduptothe expectations as she made it to wasamong the desperate Afghans who the finals aftertopping the qualification round swarmedthe international airporton with an effort of 6.40m in the U-20 World Mondaytoescape the countryafter the Athletics Championships here on Friday. Taliban captured the capital. An explosion, The 17-year-old Shaili, considered oneof the resulting stampede andinjuriestohis the brightestupcoming stars in Indian ath- roommatemade Frotan retreat. letics,achievedher best of the dayinher third “My friend has 16 stitches on his head.His and final jumpafter starting offwitha6.34m right arm is broken. Isaw twogirls lying on in Group B. Her second jumprecorded5.98m. the ground but no one dared to pickthem up She wasone of three long jumpers who and take them to thehospital,” Frotan tells securedautomaticqualification, setat6.35m, The Indian Express. “I rushedbacktothe dor- forthe final. She would have made the grade mitoryand haven’t left. Iamlikeaprisoner. on the strength of her opening effort of All I’m hearing is that the Taliban areinspect- 6.34m but chose to strain everysinewonher ing houses and people on their listare being lastattempt to gain the psychological edge takenaway.” going intoSunday's final. Frotan has reason to be worried. Shaili is considered amedal prospectbut “Weworkedfor peace and equality the final is expected to be atough affair with among the boys and girls of Afghanistan some of the world's best making the cut. through parkour.That is againstthe will of Sweden's 18-year-old Maja Askag, who the Taliban, and anything againsttheir will had wonthe European U-20 title lastmonth, is punished.” qualifiedassecond best overall afterwinning Frotan, one of the architectsof Group Awith abestjumpof6.39m. Afghanistan’s vibrant parkour scene, taught Lissandra MaysaCampos (6.36m) of young acrobatstojump, roll, vault over and THEN AND NOW: Children in Kabul practise Parkour as apartofaworkshop organisedbythe Afghan Parkour Society that Brazil, ShantaeForeman(6.27m) of Jamaica under the obstacles in the urbanscape. In wasformed in 2018 by Qudrat Frotan (right, top). (Right, below) Frotan with his friend who had stitches on his head. and Mariia Horielova (6.24m) of Ukraine, who 2018,hefoundedthe Afghan Parkour Society qualifiedasthird, fourth and fifthrespectively, whichorganisedworkshops and shows in have jumped beyond 6.40mthis season. 18 provinces. Lastyear,hewas adjudged Kabulwas the friendlyneighbourhood and therewas no trustamong them. Everyone Tough times Shaili, who had wonthe long jumpevent ‘Peace Ambassador’ by theInternational the pioneers of parkour itsSpider-Men. My friend has 16 stitches on his wasfacing psychological challenges. By do- Survival, even day-to-day, is challenging. at the National (Senior) Inter-State Parkour Federation. “The kids reallyadmired us. Theywould head. His right arm is broken.Isaw ing parkour,theylearnedhow to getoverthe “There’s no market forthe vendors. Championships in June with an effort of “I don’tthink we will be abletowork tell us, ‘You arejumping, flying likeSpider- two girls lying on the groundbut no mentalblocksas well as the problemsintheir There’s no food on the table of poorpeople. 6.48m, is the current U-18world No.2and withAfghan youth anymore,” Frotan says. Man’,” Jamil Shirzad affordsaweak laugh. one dared to pick them up and take lives. Thinkingisthe solution, notviolence.” The banksare closed, ATMs areclosed. U-20 nationalrecordholder. “Most of our active members have gone to “Theysaw the cartoons and films and wit- themtothe hospital... Iamlike a Everything’sfrozen.Nobody hasany cash.To The Jhansi-bornathlete wasraisedbya Iran, Pakistan... Iamscaredand waiting for nessedthe stuntsinreal life. That inspired prisoner.Weworked for peaceand ■■■ even getsome food is becoming difficult. We single mother who worked as atailor.She help.Ifnothing happens, Iwill have to go to them.” have four hours of electricity and the internet currently trains at the academyofcelebrated Iran illegally.” Shirzad, 28, foundedthe Kabul Boys equality among the boys and girls The parkour collective wasalso afightfor is very expensive.There’s no wayofstaying long jumper Anju BobbyGeorge in Parkour close to adecade ago. What began of Afghanistanthroughparkour. gender equality;the groups believe that the connected with eachother.” Bengaluru. She is coachedbyAnju'shusband ■■■ as athree-man operationgrew to include 60 Thatisagainstthe will of the actof teachingwomenhasmadethemtargets. Shirzad says he is taking arisk everytime BobbyGeorge.Inmen's javelin throw final, members.The group’s progress has been cat- Taliban,and anything against their “Wefoughtfor gender rights, to traingirls he posts on Instagram, asking forhelping Kunwar Ajai RajSingh Rana raisedhopes of From itsroots in militarytraining in pre- aloguedbyseveral documentaries. willispunished.” to be active,totrain girls in self-defence. They hands and safepassage. The parkour frater- winning amedal brieflywith his second best WorldWar IFrance, parkour,orfree-run- “Wemade motivational videos forthose would perform on the streets,” says Shirzad. nity has been supportive but the group re- throw of the year before finishing fifth. ning, evolvedintoanunderground extreme who arereallyhopeless in Afghanistan. We QUDRAT FROTAN “Itwas about going towardsabetterfuture quires tangibleassistance. The 19-year-old Rana rose to thebronze sport,then ametaphysicalmartialart,be- performedfor kids in orphanagesand on live FOUNDER, AFGHAN PARKOUR SOCIETY and abetterlifebut that dream has been “I will be aloser leader if Ileave medal position with his 73.68m fourth round fore becoming the latestfitness craze among television. Therewerecompetitive eventsas shattered. We areliving in anightmarenow.” Afghanistanbeforemymembers. The em- throw,his best of the day, but Nigeria's gym rats.Its exponents arepartof well,” says Shirzad. “The talent in Afghanistan Shirzad says. As of Fridayevening, Shirzad hasn’t slept bassies areonlyevacuating those who work Chnecherem Nnamdi regainedthe third Madonna’s dance troupe and James Bond’s attracted foreign journalists,parkour athletes With alackofgym and training facilities, in 60 hours. Like the rest of his Kabul Boys with them. We were activists forsports,we place witha74.48mresponse. rogues’ gallery. Theyare subjectsofdocu- to come hereand makedocumentaries.We Afghan parkour took to thewar ruins on the Parkour colleagues,hetoo is in hiding. The were activists forgender rights, we were ac- In the fifthround, Poland's Eryk mentaries and YouTubevideos of daredev- filmedwith BBC, Voice of America, Discovery. edge of Kabul. Scaling and leaping from one days arespent awaiting calls from his mother tivists formotivating the youth, performing Kolodziejczak alsobetteredthe Indian's best ilryand one-upmanship. Journalists andparkour enthusiastsfrom point to another in the dilapidated buildings and siblings and directing his teammates to and teaching free of cost. But we will notbe throw to nudge aheadofRana to fourth place. In Afghanistan, however, parkourmeant CzechRepublic, Germany, China, Japan, served twopurposes: tougher ‘obstacle different, safer locations. considered.” Another Indian in the fray,Jay Kumar took the freedom. The practitioners, currentlyrun- Pakistanand Iran came to visitus.” courses’and reminders of the nation’s strife- “InTaliban’s minds,wewerebreakdanc- Shirzad spent years teachingamantrato sixthplacewithabesteffortof70.74m. ningawayand laying low, have spent their filledhistory. ing,free-running with foreigners and jour- the Afghan youth: “you can jumpoverany In other events, Nandini Agasaramade livesrunning throughobstacles and never Attracting the youth “The youth of Afghanistandidn’t want to nalists. We were introducing the culture to obstacle.”Headmitsthe current challenge it to the women's 100m hurdles semifinals staying still. The streetspatrolledbygunmen With greatpower, came great respon- go backtothe bitterhistory.These wars in them, whichisout of Islam.Thatwewerein- seems insurmountable. afterfinishingfourth in her heat in 14.18 nowwereaplayground and canvasrolled sibility. Afghanistanhad lefteveryone traumatised. forming them,” he says.“Theyare with their “As aleader,Icannotaccept failure. But seconds. Though she clockedafaster 14.16 intoone. Wide-eyedpedestriansand mo- “Parkour wasabout introducing anew Theywereall lookingfor peaceand freedom, cars everywhere, carrying guns. It is avery the reality is that this isn’t justthe end of seconds in the semifinals, her journey torists stoppedtowatch as the groupsscaled sporttothe youth and also to showthe pos- whichtheyfound in parkour,” says Frotan. scarysituation forusand our onlydream is parkourinAfghanistan.Itfeels likethe end endedthereasshe wassixth in her semifi- drainagepipes and backflippedoff walls. itive side of Afghanistantothe world,” “Young peoplewereveryfrustrated and survivalright now.” of all life.” nal heats.

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry &TLewis CROSSWORD 4514 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES (Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) In the past, you Muchofwhat is said hesitated in the face or impliedoverthe of seductive current period is proposals, but you likelytobebasedon maynow feel free to accept unfoundedrumour or fresh offers of asocial or conjecture, and should romantic nature. Take heart thereforebedisregarded. from the fact thatVenus' On the other hand, this changing position in your solar evening youwill be forced to horoscope is abouttobring listentoother people, likeit newand attractive peopleinto or not. your life. SCORPIO (Oct. 24 -Nov.22) TAURUS (Apr.21-May21) Youmustbeonthe Youcan nowafford mend now, and a to relax alittle.Six professional hiccup planetsare acting in should be coming CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson your defence, nota into perspective.You are badtotal consideringrecent setuptospend apleasant stresses and strains. Your social weekend, and the closer you lifeisliable to revolve around feel to aparticularperson, hobbies and joint interests,and the greater youwill activities whichare generally appreciatetheir sensitivity ACROSS DOWN worthwhileand and discretion. 1Reserve playerisbeing 1It’s notfair (4) life-improving. considered (10) 2Doing as is required for SAGITTARIUS(Nov.23-Jan.20) 6Acat scrap (4) identification (9) GEMINI (May22-June 21) Society has setthe 10 Woollyanimal is all over 3Trace out away to respond Mars' approaching weekend aside as mother (5) (5) relationshipwith the time to relax. It 11 Serious actor skilledatreading 4Aunt setabout making a Neptune obliges is thereforerather parts(9) complaint(7) youtolook around fortuitous that the pleasurable 12 Example of fashionable 5The talk of the district forfresh inspiration.Romantic fifthhouse of your solar attitude (8) (7) influences arestronger than chartissowell aspected.You 13 Uncommon Elgar variation (5) 7Objectmade of thin string usual, thoughinamuch arewell primedfor an 15 Possiblyflies in groups (7) (5) broader sense than the purely enjoyableday,with an 17 Paytrio forputting the 8Putting down some of the main emotional. Artistic and increasing chance of an shrubberyintoshape (7) dangers of war(10) imaginative types areboundto extravagant outburst. 19 His markwas made in India (7) 9Pet criedout on itslastlegs feel the real benefitsof MARVIN by Tom Armstrong recent initiatives. CAPRICORN (Dec. 23 -Jan. 20) 21 Birdpeckedanother (7) (8) Youmight want to 22 Setmethod of communication 14 Twistedkiller bent on finding CANCER (June 22 -July23) pause foralong, (5) PeterPan’s friend (6,4) The Moon is rapidly deep breath. Recent 24 They have some point in the 16 Mixed Asian settlement (8) heading towards eventsmay have left desert(8) 18 Changefor the better? (9) lively,energetic youpoorer thanyou were 27 Costlyfarmer writers I’ve 20 Aloathsome creature-repel it spaces. Enjoytothe before,yet undoubtedly gathered together (9) perhaps (7) full the next couple of days, wiser.Suchfluctuations in 28 Consumer items thatare cut 21 Be sureabout including a while the accent remains on fortune arepartand parcel of and polished(5) thousand Easterners (7) friendshipsand welcome astrology'scyclical nature, and 29 Not quickornot quickenough 23 HQ of the Frenchvessel (5) (4) 25 Mother making the final domestic experiences. You the next phase willbeone 30 It’s very well known to have move?(5) muststress the valueofa of prosperity. had afestival(10) 26 Drop woman anote (4) pleasant environment foryour future happiness. AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19) What took place SolutionsCrossword4513:Across:1Reproof,5Pedal,8Corpulent,9Pat,10Ribs, 12Novelist,14Arrive,15Scraps,17Dutycall,18Herb,21Nun,22Inthedark,24 LEO (July24-Aug.23) lastweek seems Arson,25Hotspur.Down:1Recur,2Par,3Onus,4Faeroe,5Patience,6Duplicate,7 Your stars justdon't to have upseta Litotes,11Baritones,13Eviction,14Addenda,16Clutch,19Baker,20Rest,23Amp. seem to be able to number of personal take theirgaze away arrangements. However, as from your money. one awkwardplanetary Beforethe next phase or cycle influence has subsided, so in your affairs, youmustget another,morefavourable, JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel3s your finances sorted out.There one has emergedtotakeits Instructions will be muchtosay about your place. Sociallythe futureis Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, cash situation, your incomings bright, so getout and and outgoings, over the next enjoyyourself. therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4569 month or so. theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe PISCES (Feb. 20 -Mar 20) Liferesemblesanovel_____thannovelsresemblelife.-GeorgeSand(4,5) nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO (Aug. 24 -Sept. 23) Youdofeel that you eachoftheninehorizontal These areenergetic have been misledor DOEER GHORNT 4570 rowsandineachofthe times. Whether misinformed. nineboxes. working, relaxing or However, such

SUDOKU pressing on with feelingsmay be basedless on routine chores, youshould real eventsthan on your LTTOO AFIRFM push yourself as hardasyou perpetual tendency to DifficultyLevel can. But don't expect other, grab the wrong end of the

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Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,AUGUST21,2021 PULISIC TESTS POSITIVE Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic has tested positive forCOVID-19lessthan twoweeks before United States playersbegin reporting 14 SPORT forcamp ahead of their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign. AP Rasool wants BCCI to step in, says being forced to think about future BRIEFLY

to be givenalonger rope so that he hangs look intothe development of cricket at thought. Theremustbeareceiptwith them? The district is the onlyvenue whichhas Bhateri,Devisettle DEVENDRAPANDEY himself. As per Rasool, the official deletedhis Srinagar and reporttothe sub-committee. If youfeel someone is notusing it properly, turf pitches while cricket is playedonmat- MUMBAI,AUGUST20 comment later. Rasool narrateshis side of the storyabout then, youwritetothem and nottoacrick- ting tracks elsewhereinthe region. His dis- forsilver atJr.worlds “The official deleteditbut Ihavethe the notice. “Roller is notlikeatennis ball that eter who has nothing to do with this. Idon't trict wanted to organize acricket tournament Ufa: Agold medal remainedelusive ADAY after TheIndianExpress reportedon screenshotofit. Can anyone tell Ican keep in my pocket and roam getthe point whytheywrote me amail espe- but JKCA issuedacircular that those who are forIndia at the junior worldwrestling the notice to all-rounder Parvez Rasool by me what wrong Ihavedone that wherever Iwant to.It’s forground ciallyasIhavenothing to do with this. Write partofanunsanctionedcricket tournament championship as both Bhateri (65kg) Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association Ineedtobehanged?Ifyou have use, it’s forcricket development. to the district officials.” will be bannedbythe association. and Sanju Devi (62kg) losttheir re- (JKCA), asking him to return the pitchroller anydoubts, theyhavemyphone Ireallydon’t whythese things are The recent eventshavemade Rasool Other tournamentsgot the go ahead de- spective finals rather tamelywhile or face “police action”, the cricketer says he number,theycan call me. It took happening here. Igot a‘second think about his futurewith JKCA.Hewas spiteCovid-19restrictions. “Therewere Saneh (72kg) wasstretchered out of feels “victimised” and wantsthe Indian mereseconds to clarify but it notice’ whichstatedthat we had deeplyanguishedwith the waythings are other tournamentshappening, some were the mat afterenduring aknee injury cricket boardto“intervene now” before seems theywanted to victimize sent youanotice on 5th of July.” happening in the valley. happening on mat wickets. Afew districts in the bronze play-offhereonFriday. things getout of hand. me,” he explains. However, Rasool says he “I have playedcricket with passion and laterapproachedJKCAsaying that as their Sanju Devi had managed comeback “Theysaid police action will be taken. The JKCA committee of ad- neverreceivedthe initial notice. hardwork.Theyare nowforcing me to think tournament is already on, theyshould be al- wins in her previous boutsbut Friday Then in the mail, theysaid, do we have ministrators came intoexistence in PARVEZRASOOL Gupta,asub-committee mem- about my future. Ihavecome heretoplay lowedtoconclude it. The JKCA agreedtoit wasnot her dayasRussia's Alina enough proof to nail him down. Does that June afterthe Jammu and Kashmir ber, said, Rasool wassent the no- cricket and nottodoall this. Playing in this but when we asked theysaid no, due to the Kasabieva took the gold with atech- mean youhavecome heretonail me down? High Courtpassedanorder that the BCCI tice via email because the cricketer’s contact environment looksverytough now. If they Covid-19situation theycouldn't allowusto nical superiority win. Kasabieva first Their intention looksdifferent,” Rasool, the should run JKCA cricket. details were givenfor the district cricket unit. have done this to me imagine what theycan hostthe tournament. We arestill waiting for effected atakedownmoveand then lone J&K playertorepresent the Indianteam, One month later,two BJP spokespersons Rasool questions the intention behind the do with smallerplayers” he said. approval from JKCA"hesaid. got atwo-point throw.Therewas still told this paper on Friday. —Gupta and advocateSunil Sethi —wereap- notice. “Theysaid that it’s in their record These days he is busy promoting cricket Rasool nowwantsthe Indian boardtoin- hope but once the Russian got hold of The 32-year-old all-rounder stated he got pointed to the panel, along with cricketer book,ifitwas thereinthe recordbook then backinhis town Bijbeharainthe Anantnag tervene. “I think BCCI should intervene now. Sanju's leg and got the desired grip to even moreupsetwhen one of the officials Mithun Manhas by the Indian board. whywas Inot sent firstnotice, instead Iwas district. He is sponsoring young cricketers to Please see my work.I’m trying to promote execute'fitley', therewas no chance wroteonasocial websitethat Rasool needs Additionally, Majid Dar wasappointed to sent second notice. It means it wasanafter- take up cricket in the valley. cricket on my part.” forthe Indian to come back. PTI Wouldn’t change Stadiumtobe namedafterChopra anything for the 2021 ends for Nadal Pune: Defence MinisterRajnath Singh will visit Pune's Defence Instituteof AdvancedTechnology(DIAT) and world: Biles ArmySports Institute(ASI) on August Chronic left-footinjurysees Spaniardpull out of US Open, to miss rest of season 23 and is likelytoname afacility here afterOlympic javelin gold medalist ASSOCIATEDPRESS Neeraj Chopra, officials said on Friday. AUGUST20 CHRISTOPHERCLAREY Arelease from the Defence PROsaid AUGUST20 Singh, during his visit to ArmySports SIMONE BILES didn’t plan forher second Institute, is likelytoname the stadium Olympics to become aflashpoint in the RAFAEL NADALannouncedonFridaythat he in the campus as 'Neeraj ChopraArmy evolving conversation about the role proper waswithdrawing from this year's US Open Sports Institute, Pune Cantonment'. mental health plays in all levels of sports. andwould miss the rest of the 2021season Chopra, aNaik Subedar in the Army Then again, she’s hardlycomplaining. If because of the chronic left-footcondition who wongold in the javelin competi- anything, she’s leaning intoit. that has troubledhim intermittentlysince tion in the recently-concludedTokyo The American gymnastics star has no re- his teens. Olympics, had himself trainedatthe gretsabout her decision to opt-out of five of "I have been suffering toomuchwith my ASI. As per the release, Singh will felic- the six finals in Tokyobecause of amental foot forthe lastyear now,"Nadal said in a itate16Olympians from the Services block, calling it asmall price to payifitlets video postedonsocial media. during his visit to ASI, apartfromad- others realize theyretain the right to say“it’s Nadal, 35 and afour-time U.S. Open dressing troops and sportsmen train- OK nottobeOK” no matter howbright the champion, mostrecentlywon the singles ti- ing at the premier facility. PTI spotlight. “I wouldn’t changeanything forthe tle in NewYorkin2019. He defeated Daniil world,” said Biles, who leftJapan with asilver Medvedev in afive-setclassic and then un- medal from the team competition and an in- usuallybroke down in tears courtside in his Matthewsleftoutof dividual bronze on balance beam. “I gave an chair as he watchedacommemorative video contractlist outletfor athletestospeak up about their honoring his career. mental health and their well-being and learn But Nadal chose nottodefend his title last Colombo: Eighteen Sri Lankan crick- that youcan put yourself (as aperson) first year when the U.S. Open wasplayedwith- eters on Fridaysignedcentral con- before the athlete.” out spectators and with significant health re- tractsfor five months till the end of It’s amessagethat will be partofthe post- strictions in place due to the coronavirus this year but former captain Angelo Olympic Gold Over America Tour Biles is pandemic. This year,after losing in the semi- Matthews wasleftout. Sri Lanka headlining this fall. The 35-city exhibition, finals of the FrenchOpen to NovakDjokovic, Cricket announcedthat the "players whichkicks offinTucson, Arizona, on Nadal did notplayatWimbledon or the signedthe contractswithout anyde- September 21,will incorporategymnastics Olympics as he triedtoresolve his foot prob- viation from the contractsoffered pre- and dance elementsbut also featureaseg- lem. He returnedtoaction in Washington viously, whichwas formulated by SLC ment ledbyformer UCLAgymnastKatelyn this month, but his movement wasclearly Nadal's left-footcondition firsthampered him on tour during the 2004 season when he was17years old. along with the Technical Advisory Ohashi on the importance of taking careof still affected by the injuryashedefeated Jack Committee". "18players signedthe yourself mentally. Sockinhis opening matchand then lostto National PlayerContracts, which “Wewanted to makeitasrelatable as Lloyd Harris in the next round. came intoeffect from 01st August possible and letthese kids knowthat we’ve Nadal traveledtoTorontobut withdrew 2021. The newcontract will be fora been going through these things,” Biles said. from the Masters 1000 event thereand re- How injuries have been part and 05 month period and will end on the Biles will be joinedonTour by Olympic turnedhome to Spain to weigh his options. 31st December 2021,"the SLCsaid in teammates Jordan Chiles and Grace "I neededtotalk with my family, with my astatement. PTI McCallum as well as MyKaylaSkinner and team and with my doctors especiallytoun- parcel of Rafa’s illustrious career Jade Carey.Chiles and McCallum earnedasil- derstand what is going on," the fourth- verinthe team competition while Skinner ranked Nadal said on Friday. "But the foot is Cairnsisofflife wonsilveronvault and Carey earnedgold on notthe proper waytodayand during the last turnedpro in 2001), Nadal’s career has been Atendinitis problem in 2009 kept him supportaftersurgery floor exercise. Biles qualifiedfor the finals on year Iwas notable to practice and prepare SHAHIDJUDGE riddledwith injuries despitethe 88 titles he’s out of the Wimbledon Championships. He all four apparatuses in Japan but pulledout of myself the wayIneedtotobecompetitive at MUMBAI,AUGUST20 wonalong the way. Along with the leftfoot missedthe 2012 US Open and 2013 Karachi: Former NewZealand all- three of them to deal with “the twisties,” the standardIwant to be.Sowehad to take injury,he’s had repetitive troubles with his Australian Open due to Hoffa’s syndrome in round Chris Cairns is offlifesupport meaning she losther air awareness and did- that decision, but Iamconfident that Iwill Barelyaweek afterRoger Federer said he left shoulder and tendonitis on both knees. his leftknee. He skippedthe US Open in 2014 and is recovering following aheart n’t feel it wassafetocompete. recovermyself 100percent and Iwill be able would miss the rest of the 2021season, Rafael He wasforcedout of the 2016 FrenchOpen due to troubles with his right wrist, and then surgery,his lawyer said on Friday. She returnedtocaptureabronze on to fight again forthe mostimportant things." Nadal toohas optedout because of injury. because of atorn tendon in his leftwrist(his the torn tendon he sufferedatthe 2016 Cairns had sufferedamajor medical beam, tying her with Shannon Miller forthe Nadal's left-footcondition firsthampered playing arm). Earlier this year,he FrenchOpen kept him out of Wimbledon emergency -anaortic dissection -ear- mostcareer Olympic medals by an American him on tour during the 2004season when he What is the injurythat has missedplaying the ATPCup for that year.Hedid nottraveltothe US Open to lier this month and wasput on life gymnast(seven). Asked if she had anyclar- was17years old, forcing him to miss muchof forced Nadal out forthe season? Spain because of stiffness in his defend his title in 2020 due to safetycon- support. Aortic dissection is aserious ity on what might have brought on “the the claycourtseason. That delayedhis debut The Spaniardhas been strug- backwhichalso affected his cerns as the Covid-19pandemic ragedon. condition in whichatear happens in twisties,” Biles thinksitmay have been the at the FrenchOpen to 2005, when he wonthe gling with achronic problem to his Australian Open campaign. Nowthe same foot problem that firstdiag- the inner layerofthe body's main ar- buildup of various issues she’s facedoverthe firstofhis record13singles titles at Roland leftfoot, an ailment that has nosed16years agokepthim out of tery."I'm pleasedtoadvise that Chris lastseveral years. “I mean, I’m in therapy. Igo Garros. Nadal's withdrawal means that forthe plaguedhim throughout this ca- Is this the the firsttime he will Wimbledon and the US Open this year. is offlifesupportand has been able to to therapypretty religiously,”she said. “And second straight year,heand Federer will miss reer.Nadal missedmostofthe miss aGrand Slam due to injury? communicatewith his familyfrom it’s justsomething that took hold of me theU.S. Open. 2005 clayseason due to the stress fracture No.Since winning his firsteverGrand What has Nadal’s 2021season been like? hospital in Sydney,"his lawyer Aaron (where) your body and your mind tells you Federer,40, announcedlastweek that he on his leftfoot, but recoveredintime to make Slam at the FrenchOpen in 2005, the upcom- Nadal did managetowin twotour titles Lloyd said in astatement. "He and his when enough is enough.” would miss the rest of the 2021season and his debut at the FrenchOpen, whichhewon ing US Open will be the seventh time he’s –the ATP500event in Barcelona and the ATP familyare thankful forall of the sup- While Biles’ decision receivedthe pre- would needafourth knee surgery.Dominic skippedcompeting at aMajor due to injury. 1000Rome Masters in May. In the Majors, he portand well wishes from everyone, dictable backlash on social media, she called Thiem, who wonthe U.S. Open lastyear,has a Is thisthe firstmajor injuryhe’s suffered This will be the fourth time in his career that reachedthe Australian Open quarterfinals, and forthe privacy theyhavebeen af- the supportshe’s receivedsince returning right wristinjuryand is also out forthe re- from in his career? he’s missedthe NewYorkevent though – but wasupsetbyNovak Djokovic in the forded.” PTI from Japan twoweeksago overwhelming. mainder of the season. NYT Nowinhis 20th year as aprofessional (he three times due to injury. FrenchOpen semi-finals.

INTERVIEW: BRIJ BHUSHAN SHARAN ‘My allegation against TOPS is they directly oversee training decisions’

said she did notstaywith the Indian team for physio at the Olympics, she did nottell the No,hedid notgoaswomen's coachbut tion should be takenintoconfidence. MIHIRVASAVDA the betterment of the other wrestlers so that federation who her physio was. Howare we he wasmade the women's coachtemporar- DELHI,AUGUST20 theydon’t getexposedtothe virus. Okay, supposedtoknowunless she tells us? ilyfor some reason. Howdoyou see the role of OGQ, JSW, etc. maybeitwas forothers’ good. But then why We do notneedOGQ and JSW. Theyhave BRIJ BHUSHAN Sharan Singh, the president didn't she wear the (official) kit? Because of Vinesh has written multiple emails to the What wasthe reason? spoilt three wrestlers, Iwon't name them. of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), that mistake,she has to knowwhat all Ihad federation with all details. That Tomarji will tell you. [Tomar:Hewas WhentheIndiangovernmentisreadyto spend said he wantstomakeanexample of to undergo,what happenedtome. She gave those proposals to TOPS, never thereatthe pre-departurecampinSonepat. on the athletes, then whydoweneedthem? wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who wasserved a to us directly. She should have givenittous. Since thereisnodifference in men’s and Theycan supportjunior and cadetwrestlers show-cause forallegedly refusing to stay What happenedtoyou? women’s freestyle wrestling, we had com- whoactuallyneedsupport.Notjustthosewho with the Indian team at the TokyoOlympics AfterDeepak Punia's incident happened, Thereare emails… mon coaches forbothteams and he wasone areclose to winning abig medal. Theyaren't and notwearing the team’s official uniform when his coachbeat up one official, Ihad to It has neverhappenedthat Vinesh ap- of them.] spending as muchasthe government, which forher bouts. Singh also demandedabigger appear before acommission that had mem- proachedthe federation. This is my allega- hasspentclosetoRs85crore onthewrestlers. sayinthe planning forthe Paris Olympics bers from the United WorldWrestling and tion againstTOPS. Theyare directlyoversee- Vinesh has had astring of good perform- My biggestproblem is theydon't inform me while accusing the Target Olympic Podium International Olympic Committee. Ihad to WFI president has said wrestlers ing issues likewherethe athlete should go ances. Is banning an athlete from the who theyare sending as sparring partners. Scheme as well as private bodies likethe ensurethe team did notget debarred. Itold connected to JSWand OGQ won’t be fortraining. worldchampionships ajustpunishment? Olympic Gold Questand JSWSports for them therehas neverbeen acase whereour selected to represent India unless Iamnot her enemy. But IOC ke saamne jo If awrestler is connected to anyofthese, sidelining the federation. Excerpts from an wrestlers have flouted anyrules and ex- contractsare shared with federation. So the issue is notplanning per se but just jaleel aur beijjat hona pada... howcould she what is their future? interview: pressedregret but theyquestionedme, ‘how that Vinesh, according to you, sent the pro- wear adifferent kit? She is senior enough to Bilkul nahi khelne doonga (Won’t allow do yourun the federation. Your wrestler isn't posal to TOPS and nottoWFI? understand thereisaproper kit forevery them to play). Has therebeen further progress on the is- wearing the (official) kit’. She could have lost But as federation president, do youthink If it wasour plan then Icould have sent tournament. We have to look at other sue related to Vinesh? amedal had she won. Ihad to begand plead. it wasright forfour women to getjustone my whole team. Bajrang and Vinesh were wrestlers too. India's wrestling isn't depend- Notevensomeone like(Tokyosilver We have referred it to our disciplinary coach? twoverysenior wrestlers. Theythought a ent on one wrestler. medalist) Ravi Dahiya… committee, whichwill call Vinesh, Sonam Therewas justone coachfor four women This youcan ask (assistant secretary certain plan wasbetterfor their futureso Even Iamgiving Ravi Rs 1lakh per and DivyaKakran. It's easy to say‘I’vemade wrestlersbut sevencoaches and support Vinod) Tomar ji [Tomar:“We had one chief theytold TOPS, who then told us. Do youwant TOPS to be involvedin month. From howmanyplaces will youtake mistake’. But what made youcommit that stafffor three male wrestlers. coachand common freestyle coaches for wrestling? money? If theystill want to be involved, they mistake,and why? These aresenior wrestlers. TheIndianOlympic Associationhad set both teams.”] And if youare coming to the At the Olympics, amen’s coach(Rajiv Yes, theyare needed. But whatever pro- should shareacopyoftheir agreement with Vinesh has repliedthrough her lawyer and alimit on number of coaches and physios. issue of Vinesh nothaving her personal Tomar) had gone as women’s team coach. gramme theymake, chief coachand federa- theplayers and factor in our views.

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