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MUMBAI,LATECITY TOYSTORY DECEMBER13,2020 Play is serious business. Apeek into 16PAGES,`5.00 the world of toy start-ups in India DAILYFROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM PAGES 13, 14, 15 ‘POTENTInvestIAL FORmoreAGRO-INDUSTRIES’infarm sector,notenough: PMtellsIndiaInc ‘Niti se aurniyat se, Govt fully committed to farmer welfare’

ENSECONOMICBUREAU NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12

CALLINGFOR greater private sector investment in agriculture to boostfarmer incomes and employment opportunities, FIRST SRINAGAR SNOW PrimeMinisterNarendraModi Farmers in tentsatthe Singhu border Saturday. Praveen Khanna said Saturdaythathis govern- Almostall parts of Kashmir Valleyreceivedsnowfall Saturday, leaving Srinagar cityunder two-three inches of snow, and severalroads blocked. Shuaib Masoodi ment is “fullycommitted to the welfareoffarmers, with itspoli- cies and intent”. Govt says must meet, Addressing industrycaptains at FICCI’s 93rdAnnual General Nadda row: MHA deputes 3officers part Meeting —amid government ef- farmers repeat: first fortstoresolve grievances of farmers who have been protest- of his security to Centre,Bengal says no ing at the gatesofDelhiagainst talk repeal, thenelse newly enacted farm laws —the Prime Ministersaid: “Today present themselvesinDelhi on when Iamamidstindustrylead- HARIKISHANSHARMA DEEPTIMANTIWARYAND Mondayfor ameeting on law Worker beaten ers, Iwant to saythis openly, that NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 RAVIKBHATTACHARYA and order in West Bengal. the kind of investment that NEWDELHI,KOLKATA, Sources said that in acom- to death,BJP shouldhavebeen done by our AS UNION AgricultureMinister DECEMBER12 munication sent to the chief sec- private sector in the agriculture NarendraSingh Tomar held talks retary andDGP on Friday, the blames TMC sector,was unfortunatelynot on Saturdaywith ministerial col- ANEW flashpoint has emerged Federalprinciple Home Ministrydirected IG done. This sector wasnever re- leagues, Haryana Deputy Chief in the Centre’s tussle with West (South Bengal Range) Rajiv EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE allyexplored much by the pri- MinisterDushyant Chautala, and SUNDAY Bengal, with the Home Ministry atstake,court Mishra, DIG (Presidency Range) KOLKATA,DECEMBER12 vate sector.” agroup of farmer leaders who calling to NewDelhi three IPS of- maybeinplay Praveen Tripathi, and SP (North “Wehavehad cold storage supportthe newagricultural STORY ficers who were responsible for 24-Parganas) Bholanath Pandey, ABJP WORKER wasbeaten to problems…withoutprivate sec- laws,thereappeared to be no No question providing security to BJP na- TECHNICALLY, THE to reportfor deputation with the death during the party's Griha torsupport, the supplychain breakthrough in the standoff PAGE 10 tional president JPNadda —and Centrehas the right to Government of India. SamparkAbhiyan in Halishahar could operateonlytill alimited with farmers. of coercion thestate refusing. call an officer on depu- The letter,sources said, was of North24-Parganas district on point.Shortage of fertilisers, you Whiletheystuck to their de- Layoftheir Cars in Nadda’s motorcade tation, and in case of a written afterWestBengal Chief Saturdayevening, police said. have also seen.You also know mands, farmer leaders said they land were stonedbyalleged disagreement,its deci- SecretaryAlapan Bandopadhyay The BJP accusedthe howmuchfertiliser India has to were ready to hold talkswith the in control of Trinamool Congress workers on sionprevails.However, wrotetoUnion Home Secretary Trinamool of murder,while the import. The Central government government providedtheydis- From farmersatthe the outskirts of Kolkataon giventhe federal struc- AjayBhalla asking to be excused TMC said the death wasaresult has been working regularly(to cussedrepealing the three new barricades, to families population: Thursday. On Friday, thestate ture, the Centredoes fromtheproposedmeetingonlaw of afightbetween twogroups of resolve)manysuchproblems in farm laws before anything else. back home,ashared government had declinedto notusuallyinsist. This and order,since the state govern- BJP workers. the agriculturesector.But this re- Theyalso announcedintensifi- concern —over future complywith aHome Ministry matter couldwell end mentwasalready“addressingthe Saikat Bhawal, who was quires both your interestand in- cation of protests. Govt to SC summons to the chief secretary up in court. issuewith utmost seriousness”. beaten and attackedwith sharp vestment. Ibelieve that many Asked about the next round and director general of police to CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 of talksafter his meeting with hours therewill be another Tomar,Union MinisterofState round of talksand some conclu- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE forCommerceand Industry Som sive statementcan come." Asked NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 INSIDE Prakash, one of the three minis- whether the Centrewould give In fray today, two Karnataka iPhone plant ters holding talkswith farmer statutoryrecognition to itswrit- IN RESPONSE to apetition seek- leaders, said, “Ultimatelywe tenassurance to farmers on con- ing implementation of atwo- suspends workafter pay CROWDSSWELL; have to hold ameeting. Thereis tinuing the MSP system, child norm to checkthe coun- candidates seeking to GOYALREPEATS no other way.” Chautala said, “Whatever they try’s population, the Centre has MAOISTREMARKS Following hismeeting with (the farmers) demand.” told the Supreme Courtthat row leads to violence PAGES 6 Tomar,Chautala said, “I am Addressingapress conference India’s population policy is “un- put PSA, jailbehind hopeful that in the next 28 to 40 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 equivocallyagainstcoercion in familyplanning”, whichhas EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE proved to be “counter-produc- BENGALURU,DECEMBER12 tive”, and that the country’s Total Ugrahan wearshis politics on his FertilityRate(TFR) is “witness- WORKERS WENT on aviolent ing aconstant decline”. rampageatafacility manufac- In an affidavit filedinthe top turing Apple iPhones and other sleeve: ‘Called us Pak, now Naxals’ courtonapetition by advocate productsabout 60 km from Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the Bengaluru on Saturday morning, thoseinjail and demanded their Union Ministryfor Health and causing extensive damagetothe SOURAVROYBARMAN& release, drawing sharp reactions FamilyWelfaresaid, “... interna- premises. Severalcars on the premises ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABA from the ruling BJP and other tionalexperienceshows that any Work has been suspended at were damaged. Express BAHADURGARH,JALANDHAR, farmer leaders. coercion to have acertain num- WistronInfocomm DECEMBER12 Ask him about the allega- berofchildreniscounter-pro- Manufacturing India Pvt Ltd's tions and Ugrahan, who formed ductive and leads to demo- ShabirLone(centre) wasdetainedfor 7months. Shuaib Masoodi 43-acreplant in the Narasapura twocarsofthe companywere ALLEGINGTHATthe farmer his outfit in 2002 afterbreaking graphic distortions”. India’s TFR, area of Kolar district.Overahun- damaged,” Kolar deputy com- protests arebeing hijackedby away from the BKU (Ekta), re- the government has pointed out, dred people have been arrested, missioner CSatyabhama said. the hardLeftand “Maoist” ele- mains unchanged and unflinch- is already down “substantially” nounce the needtovote police said. The deputycommissioner ments, UnionMinisterPiyush ing. He makes no bones that he to 2.2 as per the 2018 Sample NAVEEDIQBAL for“unity,prosperityand Violence brokeout during a said the companyhad decided Goyal, addressing the FICCI AGM wears his protestpolitics on his Registration System,whichis ROHAMA(BARAMULLA), dignity”, with photo- changeofshifts at the plant over to suspend operations forafew Saturday, did notname anyone. sleeve —hejoinedthe Shaheen partofthe Census exercise, from DECEMBER12 graphs of thePeople’s the non-payment of promised days in lightofSaturday'svio- It wasanapparent reference to Bagh protests lastwinter. 3.2 in 2000,when the National Alliance forGupkar wages, local officials said. lence. “It seems the workers 75-year-old-year-old Joginder At Bahadurgarh, 7kmfrom “Firsttheycalledus Population Policy wasadopted. AT ONE of the entrances DECISION Declaration(PAGD)lead- “The workers vandalisedthe were unhappy over wagesnot Singh Ugrahanand his Bharatiya Tikri protestsite. Express Khalistani, then theycalledus “(The) FamilyWelfare marking the Rohama 2020 ership. Among the 13 in factoryoveradisputeinpay- being paid as promised. The is- Kisan Union (EktaUgrahan). Pakistani, nowweare called Programme... is voluntaryinna- constituency,thatvotesin J&K the fray areShabir ment of salaries.Itwas an un- sue wasnever brought to the no- At itstransit camp, a gaushala Naxals. The languagekeeps DISTRICT, ture, whichenables couples to the sixth phase of the LOCAL POLLS AhmadLoneandZahoor called-for action. The whole re- tice of the labour department or abutting atemple7km from the stackednear the entrance –on changing, but thereisnolet-up decide the size of their family DistrictDevelopment Ahmad Mir,bothof ception area wasdamaged. district authorities. Theyhave Tikri border,posters of jailedhu- December 10,the HumanRights in the attacks.And the same peo- and adoptthe familyplanning Council (DDC) electionsin whom were jailedunder the Phones made at the plant were brazenlyattackedthe plant. man rightsactivists arrested in Day, Ugrahan’s colleagues and pleharp on the importance of methods best suited to them, Kashmir on Sunday, posters an- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 takenaway. Acar wasburnt and CONTINUEDONPAGE2 the Bhima Koregaon case lie supporters had held posters of CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2

My ISOLATION High tidebyhigh tide, INS Viraat is pulled to the shore, to its end Aweeklywindowintolivesof India’snewsmakersandthe PAGE 1 jump’, or the curved ramp,side, Boardgavepermissiontodis- and Navy officers, afternumer- Viraat wasaround 3,000 ft from mantle the carrier. impactofpandemiconthem ANCHOR from whereaircraftusedtotake mantle it amonthback, aftera ousattemptstoconvert thecar- the shore. Since then, on high In 2019,Prime Minister offfromthe ship. “About 5per final inspectionofthe vessel, in- rier intoamuseum failed. tides, it has been dragged closer, NarendraModi had informed PAGE 11 cent of the ship has already been cluding by officials of the Gujarat Commissionedinthe British using diesel-poweredwinches. Parliamentabout the decision to broken,” said Mukesh Patel, Pollution Control Board(GPCB). Navy in 1959 as HMSHermes, INS The next high tide is on Sunday. scrap INS Viraat,saying no “self AVINASHNAIR Chairman of the Shree Ram Officials said the fuel tanksofthe Viraat wasinducted intothe Being aNaval ship, INSViraat sustaining and financiallycom- AHMEDABAD,DECEMBER12 Group whichbought INSViraat carrier have been clearedofany Indian Navy in 1986-87. is moredifficult to dismantle plete”proposal had been found as scrap. residual fuel, old batterieshave In alast-ditchbid,aprivate than anormal vessel. The carrier to preserveit. Maharashtra, AS SUNDAY brings another high Pateladdedthat theyhad been removed, and checks been company, EnvitechMarine has adouble hull made of steel AndhraPradesh and Goa gov- tide, INSViraat will be winched startedthe dismantling as the made forpresence of anyinflam- ConsultantsPvt Ltd, offeredto plates whichare thicker, and also ernmentshad then expressed closer to theshoreinAlang, weight of the 28,223 ton-carrier mable gases to rule out chances buy INS Viraat from the Shree has multiple smallercompart- willingness to preserve the car- “Unlessthere is an speeding up the breaking of the has to be lessenedbeforeitcan of fire or explosions when the RamGroup and convert it intoa ments. Patelsaid even winching rier and makeitamuseum. iconicaircraftcarrier. be pulledcloser.“The ship is ship is cut using gastorches. museum. However, the com- it is harder.“Usuallymerchant INS Viraat is the second air- emergency, Idon’t step Foraweek now, dismantling about 600feetawayfromthe INSViraat wasbeachedon panycould notprocureano-ob- vessels have aflat and saucer- craftcarrier to be broken in India out of the house” of thecarrier has been on at the shoreright now,"hesaid. September 28 at Alangatafor- jection certificatefromthe shapedbottom. INSViraat has a in the lastsix years. In 2014, INS PARTHIV PATEL Alang ship-breaking yard in While INS Viraat arrivedat mal ceremonyattendedby Gastorches cutting through Centreorreachaformal agree- thin and aerodynamic design." Vikrant, whichplayedacrucial Bhavnagar,with over 250 work- Alangabout twomonths ago, of- Union MinisterofState, thecarrier at Alang. Express ment withthe shipbreaker. The Shree RamGroup expectsto role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, ers startingworkfromthe ‘ski ficials of the Gujarat Maritime Shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya When firstbeached, INS take ayear to completely dis- wasdismantledinMumbai. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020

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Ugrahan wears protests”. service under the Central publiclybeaten to deathbyTMC Harpal SanghaofAzad Kisan Government or another State thugs. Eight others were seri- his politics on Committee (Doaba) said, “There Invest more in farm sector: PM to India Inc Government or under acom- ouslyinjured.” aredifferences over manyissues. pany... Providedthat in case of The TMC refuted the allega- his sleeve: But views of the majority always agro-basedcompaniesare do- and intent),”hesaid. morefromtechnology.” comes of cane farmers, opened anydisagreement, the matter tions. Trinamool MLAPartha prevail. But it seems the govern- ing good work,but that is not The recent agriculturere- “The country’s cold storage newjob opportunities. shall be decidedbythe Central Bhowmicksaid: “Anydeath is ‘CalledusPak, ment wantstocreatearift enough.” forms, Modi said, have triedto infrastructurewill be mod- “Today, India’s agriculture Government and the State unfortunate. Iwould like the po- among us. We cannotaffordto He said higher investments remove obstacles in the wayof ernised. With all these, there sector is farmorevibrant than Government... shall give effect to lice to investigateand find the now Naxals’ makeevenone mistake." done to supportfarmers grow- newmarkets, fresh opportuni- will be alot moreinvestment before.Today,India’s farmers the decision of the Central culprits. Having said that, it is dialogue,” Ugrahan told The Hannan Mollah,CPM leader ing crops, fruitsand vegetables ties and modern technology in the agriculturesector.And can sell their crop in mandisas Government.” also true that this murder is a Sunday Express. and general secretaryofthe All would help increase their in- forfarmers. this will result in maximum well as outside. Today, in India, However, keeping in mind fallout of the BJP'sinfighting. He took the surname from India Kisan Sabha, said: comes and provide newjob “Wehaveseenwalls be- benefits formycountry’s farm- even as mandis arebeing mod- the federal structureofthe Their party has twolobbies in his villageinPunjab’s Sangrur “Ugrahan is justone group opportunities. Thereisalot of tween the agriculturesector ers, it will benefit those farm- ernised, farmers have also country, the Centrerarelyuses the area, and these groups have districtand served in the Indian whichobserved Human Rights potential foragro-basedindus- and other areas associatedwith ers who depend on marginal been giventhe option to this order.Normally, the Centre old disputes.” Armybeforereturningtohis 5- Day. We told them nottomix tries in ruralareas, and current it -- beit agriculture infrastruc- landholdings fortheir liveli- buy/sell their crop on digital writes to states everyyear ask- acreholding. these things here, so that the government policies, he said, ture, food processing, storage hood,” he said platforms. All these effortsare ing foralistofofficers forcentral Karnataka His colleagues in the BKU government does notget a areconducive fordeveloping a or cold chain… Nowall these In the lastfew years, he aimedatincreasing incomes of deputation. Basedonthe will- (EktaUgrahan) appeartobeout- chance to target us. Nowthey rural agro-basedeconomy. walls arebeing removed, all ob- said, work has been done farmers. The country’s farmer ingnessofofficers (notbinding iPhone plant liers, almost. Especiallysince saythe Leftishijacking the “Niti se, aur niyat se, sarkar poori stacles arebeing removed. speedilytostrengthen the agri- should be prosperous. When on the state),the stategovern- December 10.Other protesting movement. The fact is only tarah, kisano ka hit karne ke liye Afterthese wallsare removed, culturesector.Hecited the the country’s farmer is pros- mentssend an “OfferList” for suspends work groups have become wary of seventoeight organisations are pratibadh hai (The government afterthese reforms, farmers government’s policy on perous, onlythen will the central deputation. The GoI then Ugrahan and arecautiouslydis- Left-oriented…This is another is fullycommitted to thewel- will getnew markets, theywill ethanolblending as one exam- countrybeprosperous,” he decides whichofficer in the of- after pay row tancing themselvesfromhim. falsehood to tryand shiftthe fare of farmers withits policies getnew optionsand benefit ple that helpedincreasein- said. ferlistwill be postedwhere. This leads to violence YetDecember 10 wasnot the narrative.The kisan identity is a year the Centrewrotetothe firsttime that the Ugrahan secular identity. This is anew states on December 7for the of- The companyalso neverre- group, whichislending outside contribution of farmers to Indian Chautala says talkssoon; farmers: First discuss repeal ferlistfor 2021. portedany unrest,” supporttothe Samyukt Kisan democracy." Therehavebeen instances of Satyabhama said. Morchaleading the protests, Ugrahan, meanwhile, main- at Singhu on the Delhi- mands were signs that it Tomar said the "progres- blocking the Dabwali, Jind and tussles betweenstate govern- Local officials said that fol- took up the cause of these ac- tains it is important to stand up Haryana border,Kanwalpreet wanted asolution. sive"farmers from Haryana Fatehabad borders, and de- mentsand the Centre over the lowing the Covid-19lockdown, tivists. forthe rightsofthe jailedac- SinghPannu,president of the With the Congress plan- shared with him their experi- ploying watercannons and deputation of officers in the re- salaries of workers –including EktaUgrahan launched tivists “as theyhaveraisedtheir Kisan Sangharsh Committee, ningano-confidencemotion ences regarding howthe farm boulders on the roads. cent past. engineering graduates earning protests in 2018,soon afterthe voice and joined hands in fight- Punjab, announcedaDelhi amidstreports of adivision laws were benefiting them. However, farmers removedthe Tamil Nadu and the Centre between Rs 15,000 andRs arrest of activistGautam ing againstforcible land acquisi- Chalo March on the Jaipur- among the JJP's 10 MLAs, who Som Prakash wasaccom- boulders with the help of trac- had afew years agosparred over 21,000 per month –werecut Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon tion, forupholding the dignity of Delhi highway, starting from arepartofthe BJP-ledgovern- paniedtohis meeting with tors, and made their way the deputationofstate cadreof- by Rs 7,000-9,000. case. Later,itworkedonmass indigenous communities”. Rajasthan's Shahjahanpur,on ment in Haryana, Chautala said Tomar by Punjab BJP president through, with the police often ficer Archana Ramasundaram. The Taiwan-headquartered mobilisation programmes “This is and will remain a Sunday morning. He said farm- therewas no instability in the Ashwani Kumar Sharma, BJP missing. The plan foraproces- In 2014,the UPAgovernment technical service provider againstthe Citizenship peaceful movement,” he said. ers were coming from other coalition, adding, "Westand organisation general secretary sion of combinedharvester hadcalledRamasundaram to companyopenedthe Kolar (Amendment) Act, with He has been the undisputed states to jointhem, including firm on the issue of the MSP. (Chandigarhand Punjab) machines to Delhi, however, the Centre whereshe wasex- plant lastyear with an initial Ugrahan himself attending the president of the union forthe women once provisions had Till Iaminthe government, we Dinesh Kumar and other sen- wasabandoned. pected to jointhe CBI as ADG. investment of Rs 680crore.It Shaheen Bagh sit-in. last18years. It has over one lakh been made fortoilets,and also will ensureMSP to eachand ior leaders, who reportedlyap- Haryana Kisan Manch When the stategovernment did operates as aservice centreand Asked abouthis ideological members across 10 districtsof announcedahunger strikeon everyfarmer.” prisedthe government of the leader Gurprem Singh notrelieveher forthree months, manufacturing centrefor prod- leanings,Ugrahan said it would Punjab, mostlyinthe Malware- December 14."We will notre- Afterhis meeting with situation on the ground. said,"Haryana will clear the way she reportedtothe Centreon uctsincluding iPhone, and em- be wrongtocallhim a gion. fuse ameeting with the gov- Chautala, Tomar held discus- As partoftheir protests on forPunjab if itsgovernment her own. The stategovernment ploys around 3,000 workers. Communist. “Wefollow Bhagat The organisationhas alarge ernment," Pannu said, "If the sions with agroup of 29 farm Saturday, farmers in Haryana dares to seal the borders again. suspendedher forgoing to the The companyislooking to in- Singh as well as Baba Nanak,” he number of women activists. government wantstohavea leaders from Haryana, ledby forced free movement through Younger brother (Haryana)will Centrewithout being relieved. vest nearlyRs3,000croremore said. Union insiders saymore Ugrahan’s wifetoo wasanactive discussion, we areready for BKU (Mann) stateleader Guni toll plazas at severalplaces, notlet elder brother (Punjab) The matter went to the to expand the facility,and aims than itsdecision to demand the member of the union before she that. But our main demandis Prakash, who said theyback meeting little resistance from suffer."Rajinder Singh, general SupremeCourtand to provide employment to release of the rights activists, passedawayin2014. that the three laws be the three laws,after the the authorities. Apolice officer secretaryofthe Krantikari Kisan Ramasundaram retainedher 9,467localpeoplewhenthe whichalsofound mentionina In the past, the union has scrapped... Until these laws are amendmentsproposedbythe said the toll companywould be Union, said, "I reallywonder central deputation, but lostthe second phaseofthe plant is memorandum submitted to the been at the forefront of several repealed, we will notgoonto governmenttothe farmers, compensated adequately for whyHaryana is trying to stop opportunity to serveinthe CBI. complete. Centrebyoveradozen farm protests,including againstthe the fourth or fifthdemand." He and gave Tomar a"samarthan the losses. Haryana DGP Manoj the entryofPunjab residents She wasfinallyappointed “Wehad ameeting of com- unions on October 14,its posi- Trident Group's land acquisition reiterated that the laws were patra(aletterofsupport)" on Yadavsaid the protests were again and again. We arenot Director General of Sashastra panyofficials and senior gov- tion that ajointforumshould in Barnala, aproposedpower notmade forfarmers but the same. "The ongoing peaceful. from Pakistan." Seema Bal, becoming the first ernment officials recentlyon notnecessarilyoperateasasin- plant in Mansa, decision on traders. protests areled by vampanthis The All India Kisan Pannu accusedthe govern- woman to headaparamilitary the Wistronproposal to expand gle organisation is behind its powerboardprivatisation, rape Chautala, who also met (the Left) and those who do Sangharsh Coordination ment of trying to weaken the force. the plant. At thetime no issues outlier status. of awoman in Faridkot,attack Defence MinisterRajnath tod-phod (violence). It is no Committee thanked people for agitation, but said the farmers Gujarat cadreIPS officer about workers unrestwere “Ugrahan believesjustbe- on landless Dalit labourers in Singh and Railway Minister moreapeasant movement, it making the “toll free call a would ensuretherewas no vi- Kuldeep Sharma had similarly brought up by officials,” the DC cause unions representing vari- Sangrur. Piyush Goyal, said asolution has takenonpolitical colours," grand success”, saying the olence. fought his waytothe Centrein said. “What has happenedis ous groups and ideologies come could be found onlythrough Prakash said. symbolic move wasmeant to DGP Yadav, however, said 2012. very,veryunfortunate. Itseems together under the same um- No questionof dialogue.“Umeedpar duniya He addedthat theywould "bring out the exploitative the Haryanaborders had not In these cases, however, the some goons infiltrated the brella foracommoncause, they kayamhai (The worldrests on protestifthe governmentre- characterofcorporate compa- been sealed, though theywere officers were willing to serveat premises,” she said. don't needtoshelve theirindi- coercion in hope)," he said. The Haryana pealedthe laws."Everyone has nies (running the tolls)". ready to do so if needed. the Centreand had figuredinthe InspectorGeneralofPolice, vidual projectsand pro- leader addedthat the Centre's the righttoprotest... Farmers Haryana triedtostopfarm- WITHINPUTSFROM offerlist, whichisnot the casein central range, Seemanth Kumar grammes," afunctionaryofthe control of effortstoengagefarmers and will getreal freedom through ers making their wayfrom RAAKHIJAGGAINLUDHIANA, West Bengal now. Singh, said: “Around 125per- unionsaid. population: its24-page replytotheir de- the laws." Punjab to join the toll protest, SUKHBIRSIWACHINHISAR Sources said the matter sons have been arrested.There Ugrahan, who took up the could reachthe courts.“While is no union or union leader in farmer cause by joining amove- Govt to SC the Centrehas the right to call the firm. The workers arealleg- ment in 1982, pointsout thatthe ous steps and schemes by it “to onlytold me that it wasprecau- and areactively involved in cam- notbesent to Delhi. officers to GoI even without the ing that theyare notgetting union wasnot in favour of the according to their choice,with- stabilise the country’s popula- tionary,”hesaid. Lone would paigning againstthis decision by “Wealready have lownum- state's consent, the statecan ar- their salaryontime and that call forindefiniterailroko, keep- out anycompulsion," the gov- tion” were "beginning to yield spend the next six months in provoking and mobilising the bers of IPS officers in the state. gue in courtthat the Centre's de- theyare notbeing paid forover- ing in mind the interestofthe ernment said. dividends”. Srinagar Central Jail. masses.”The document said his So we wrotethatitwill notbe cision is mala fide or informed time. Acaseofarson,rioting, people of Punjab. “Instead, we In his Independence Day “Atpresent India is knocking Describing his decision to activities were “prejudicial” to possible to adhere to their re- by bias againstthe state,” asen- robbery, andobstructing the suggestedthe gherao of corpo- speechlastyear,the firstofhis at the door of achieving replace- contestthe DDC polls, the first the maintenance of public order. questand releasethe officers,” a ior IPS officer said. policehas been registered.” A rate establishmentsand BJP second term in office, Prime ment levelfertilityand has made political activity in J&Ksince Lone's detention waseventually senior officer at the West Bengal team of policemenwho first leaders,whichthe joint forum MinisterNarendraModi had remarkableimprovement in re- Article 370was abrogated,as revokedbythe J&K administra- home department said. Worker beaten went to thefactorywas also at- finallyadopted," he said. highlighted "the needtohave ducing maternal and child mor- "reaffirming my faith in democ- tion on March 10 this year. Senior TrinamoolCongress tacked,the officer said. The union ledadharna out- greater discussion and aware- tality.With commitment and racy", Lone Saturdaydid the DilawarMir,whose son was MP KalyanBanerjee accusedthe to death, BJP Karnataka has witnessed side the residences of Punjab ness on population explosion". perseverance, India can achieve rounds of his constituency also detained, says it had taken Centreofbeing vindictive.“Last severalincidentsoflabour un- Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh He had also said those who the goal of population stabilisa- meeting people, with cam- them 15 days to locateZahoor. evening the MHA wrotealetter blames TMC rest in recent weeks. Over and the Badal familyfrom choose to have small families tion and advancing the develop- paigning having got over.He Pickedupfor hispoliticalac- to the stategovernment asking weapons, wasdeclared dead at J 3,500 workersatthe automo- September 15 to 22, againstthe contribute to the development ment goals of the country." says he had to contestfor his tivities,Zahoorhad been trans- thatthe three IPS officers would NMemorial Hospital in Kalyani bile manufacturer Toyota suggestion of other unions to re- of the nation and that it wasa Upadhyayhad earlier fileda people who were worriedand ferred to ajail in Lucknow. His have to be attached(to the in Nadiadistrict.Alargepolice Kirloskar Motors have been on strict it to one day, Ugrahan said, form of patriotism. petitioninthe Delhi High Court. neededpolitical representation. detention wasrevoked on Centre). The vindictiveness of forcewas deployedafter amas- strikesince November 10.The conceding that he has had dif- Giving figures on fall in fer- Afteritwas dismissed, he ap- However, the PAGD candi- January10along with that of 25 MHA and the centralgovern- sive crowdgathered outside the factoryatBidadi,around40km ferences with other unions from tility rates, the government's af- proachedthe Supreme Court. dateadds, his fight is notjustfor other inmates in jails outside ment is clear.Law and order is a hospital, sources said. from Bengaluru, has been the very beginning. fidavit in the Supreme Court In itssubmission to the local issues likeroads, waterand J&K. statesubject. BJP nevertook per- According to preliminaryin- lockedout,withthe striking “Differences arebound to be said, “The wanted fertility in Court, the Centrehas also said electricity supplybut also “for The sixth phase on Sunday mission forthe rallytheycon- formation, the incident took workers –who areprotesting there. The challenge is to draftan India as per NFHS (National that since 'public health' is a the dignity of the people of J&K will see voting for31DDC con- ducted that dayinthe name of a place around 6pmduring the their bigger workload since actionplan and work towardsa FamilyHealth Survey)IVisonly statesubject, stategovernments and the restoration of our spe- stituencies. Atotal of 124candi- convoy.Ihavealready written to BJP's Griha SamparkAbhiyan in November 9after the company common goal.But manyofour 1.8asagainstthe actual fertility mustlead health sector reforms cial identity”. dates areinthe fray from MHA about this,” Banerjee said. ward numbers 6and 7ofthe decidedtostepupmanufactur- proposals have been rejected so of 2.2 prevailing at that time, in- in a"suitable and sustainable Also contesting from Kashmir and 121fromJammu TMC Lok Sabha MP Prof Halishahar municipal area. ing to meetincreaseddemand far,”hesaid. dicating therebythatcouples manner", and that itsrolecan be Rohama and makinglast- division. With Kashmir seeing its SougataRay said: “The Centre Three people were injured after –camping outside. The discomfitureofthe other (on) an averagedonot want "supportiveand facilitative". minuterounds is the Apni firstsnowfall of the season mayask fornames forcentral twogroups clashed, one of On Friday, nearly 1lakh unions withUgrahan did not morethan 2children." It adds Party's Zahoor Ahmad Mir,50. Saturday, authorities were hop- deputation. But it is forthe state whom wasdeclared dead in workers of Karnataka State come out in the open until the that 25 out of 36 states and In fray today, The nephewofformer J&K min- ing the weather would notaffect to decide whether or nottoal- hospital, policesaid. The accused Road TransportCorporation December 10 event.Many Union Territories had already isterDilawarMir,hehad been polling, whichwill be held be- lowthe IPS or IAS officers for fledafter the clash,theysaid. went on asnap strike, bringing unions of the Samyukt Kisan achievedthe replacement level two candidates detainedonAugust7,2019, days tween 7amand 2pm. central deputation. Thereisno “Another day, another mur- 20,000buses to ahalt and crip- Morchadistancedthemselves fertilityof2.1 or less. afterscrappingofJ&K's special other option. This happens der! Saikat Bhawal, BJP worker pling the state's inter-district from the event, while some took Census figures also show seekingtoput status. Nadda row: when thereisavacancy.” from Halisahar wasbrutally transportsystem. amorelenient view. thatthe 2001-2011 decade was PSA, jail behind This is Mir’s firstelection and While under normal circum- murdered by TMC goons while KSRTCworkers arede- Darshan PalSingh, president, the firstin100 years wherea he says his priority is “develop- MHA deputes 3 stances, IPS officers aresent on 6othersare criticallyinjuredand manding paymentsonpar Krantikari Kisan Union (Punjab), lesser populationwas added stringent Public SafetyAct (PSA) ment and prosperity of the peo- deputation to theCentrewith fighting fortheir lives. He was withother government em- told apress conference on compared to the decade preced- amidstthe crackdown on politi- ple of the area”. Earlier associ- officers part of the state's consent, the Centre targeted during BJP’s door to ployees. Talksbetween the December 10,“Ithink the pro- ing it, thegovernment said. "(It) cal leadershipfollowing the ated with the PDP,heisnow his security to does have the powertocall any door outreach'AarNoi Annay',” government and workers gramme at Tikri wasshowing also registeredthe sharpestde- scrapping of J&K's specialstatus with the ApniParty,whichis IPS officer to the Centre. the Bengal BJP tweeted. “Pishi unions failedonSaturday. With cases of humanrightsviolation. cline in decadal growth, from lastyear. seen as backedbythe Centre. Centre,West Under Rule 6ofthe IPS Cadre can’t retain powerlikethis!,” it the strikelooking settocon- We arenot politicising the mat- 21.54%in1991-2001 to 17.64% Lone, 45, aNational As per the PSAdossier Rules, 1954,incase of disagree- said, referring to Chief Minister tinue,the government has pro- ter. Theprogramme wassimply in 2001-2011.” Conference worker since 1999 againstLone, the “grounds for Bengal says no ment between Centreand state MamataBanerjee. posedintroducing private highlighting problems of the Noting that “the Programme who had been elected sarpanch detention” were his association over an officer's deputationwith StateBJP president and buses on Sunday. present and previous govern- of Action of the International from Nadihal in 2018,was with the National Conference. It In response to the Centre's the Government of India, the Medinipur MP Dilip Ghosh The Toyota workers have ments.” Conference on Population and pickeduponAugust14, 2019, added, "You have startedprop- letter about the three IPS offi- will of the Centreprevails. postedonTwitter:“The brutal participated in the farm RashtriyaKisan Mazdoor Development, 1994,towhich and takentothe nearestpolice agating anti-national feelings cers, West Bengal is learnt to “A cadreofficer may, with deathofSaikat Bhawal... is asign protests,and one of the leaders Mahasangh president Shiv India is asignatory, is unequivo- station.“Iwas notsurewhat was among the masses againstthe have written backsaying it the concurrence of the State of howbloody theupcoming of the KSRTCworkers strikeis Kumar Kakkasaid the event had callyagainstcoercion in family going to happen or howlong I decision of the Central govern- would notbeabletospare the Government...and the Central Bengal Assemblyelections are the farmer leader Kodihalli “nothing to do with the ongoing planning”, the Centre said vari- would be kept in detention. They ment forabrogatingArticle 370 officers –and that theywould Government,bedeputed for going to be....TheBJP worker was Chandrashekhar. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020 3 THE CITY

Man, niece found dead at BuilderclaimsitownslandonwhichMahakalicaves railway tracks stand,wantsconstructionrightsworthoveralakhsqft Mumbai: A32-year-old man and a22-year-old woman allegedly diedbysuicide afterbeing run over by atrain on the railway legal opinion wasbeing sought trackbetween Ambernath and SANDEEPASHAR on the basisofcivic commis- Badlapur railway stations lateon MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 sioner Iqbal Singh Chahal’s con- Friday. KalyanGRP,that registered sent to do so. Former civic com- the matter as an accidental death, IN Abizarre move,aMumbai- missioner AjoyMehta, who identifiedthem as Yogesh basedconstruction firm has went on to retire as the state’s Bendareand Priti Dhadwad. staked ownership of the landon Chief Secretary, had earlier re- "Theyare residentsofwhichthe ancient rock-cut jected the developer’s proposal Ambernath. Dhadwad is Mahakali Cavesstand. The caves, citing DCR provisions Bendare's niece", said apolice of- known to be in existence since Forgrant of development ficer.The officer added, "We the Ashoka Empire, areclassified rightsincases wherethe appro- learnt that around 9pm, the two as aGrade-I protected monu- priateauthorityforreservationis went and laydownonthe tracks ment by theArchaeological other thanthe planning author- heading towardsBadlapur.After Survey of India (ASI). ity,the DCR makes it clear that it the incident, the driverofatrain Documentsshowthat can be done onlyupon the re- informedthe station masterwho Motion Pictures Private Limited questofsuchAppropriate forwardedtheinformationto us." (MPPL), an associateofconstruc- Authority,anofficial said.Inthis “So farweare unaware of the tion major DB Realty,has ap- case, ASI is the Appropriate circumstances that ledthem to proachedthe ShivSena-con- Authority,and it has made no end their lives. We shall record trolledBrihanmumbai suchrequest. In fact,inthe recent their families statementsindetail MunicipalCorporation (BMC) past, officialssaidthat theASI had and trytoascertain the reason," with this rather unusual claim. specificallyopposedthe devel- said an officer. ENS While no development is oper’scontention. The DCR also permissible in and around 200- makes the civiccommissionerre- metres peripheryofthe pro- sponsible forensuring the pos- E-Seva Kendra tected site, the firm has sought session of all suchland is handed the BMC’s permission to liftde- over to the Appropriate Authority comes up velopment rightsfor the cave only. On Saturday, the BMC clari- land in the form of transferable fiedagain that it wasnot inclined at city court development rights(TDR), to approve the developer’s re- whichcan then be sold or loaded quest. Earlier amajor controversy Mumbai: TheMumbai City Civil foruse on anyproperty with the had broken out when the civic and DIstrict Sessions Courtwill be Mumbai municipal corpora- body had earmarkedareas within the firstinthe city to getane-seva tion’s limit. 200-metreperipheryofthe an- kendra, partofthe e-courts proj- As per civic estimates, the cient cave forrehabilitation and ect under the Supreme Courtto plotonwhichthe ancientcaves resettlement projectsinthe de- makeaccess to courts easy.The stand measuresaround 69,966 velopment plan, showing a40- centre, setupwithin the prem- squarefeet. As per the prevailing feet road development plan road ises of the court, will be accessi- TDR norms applicable in the touching the cave boundary. The bleforlitigantsandlawyersto fa- suburbs of Mumbai, the devel- cavesitself were designatedas an cilitateenquiries about their oper wantsthe BMC to issue a “existing social amenity” forthe cases, file online applications for development right certificateor TheMahakali cavesare classifiedasaGrade-Iprotected monument by theArchaeological Survey of India. Deepak Joshi very firsttime. According to ASI, certifiedcopies. TDR equivalent to twotimes of no developmentcan take place Due to thepandemic, many the plotareaor1,39,932 square within the 200-m peripheryofa physical hearings shiftedto feet in all. Earlier in 2016,the According to the documents, Realty,when contacted,told The grant of development rightsis oper pointedtoanongoing writ cer aresought in respect of re- protected monument. videoconferencing. Lawyer asso- same firm had acquired the the firm had firstappliedtothe Indian Express that his firm’s perfectlyvalid,”hesaid. petition in the BombayHigh questfromapplicant forgrant of Earlier on September 26, ciations had raisedissue of lack nearbyKamalistanStudio, orig- BMC in this regard on May24, claim wasrightful.“The property Havingrejected thedevel- Court in this regard.Inanofficial development rightsinlieuof 2020, Chahal had granted an of electronic access to all lawyers inally foundedbythe film direc- 2019,and has repeatedly fol- cardofthe land is in MPPL’s oper’s claiminthe past, docu- note signedonNovember 6, handingoverofthe land bearing “in-principle”nod to MPPL’s and litigants. The centrewill be torKamal Amrohi. It has now loweduponthe matter since. name. It has been submitted to mentsalsorevealthat the BMC’s Chief Engineer (Development CTS No 1ofvillageVyravali proposal forgrant of develop- inaugurated Mondaybyrepresented to the civic body Forthe time being, the BMC is the civic authorities. The caves development plan (DP) depart- Plan) Vinod Chitorewrote,“In shown as existing social amenity ment rightsinlieu of an exist- BombayHCJustice RDDhanuka that land on whichthe cavesex- maintaining that the developer’s have been designatedasan“ex- ment, on November 6, 2020,for- viewofthe stands takenbyvar- situated near the Kamal Amrohi ing road that connectsthe caves in the presenceofJustices DS istispartofthe sameland par- proposal is notadmissible. But isting social amenity” in the de- warded the matter to the civic ious parties in the writ petition, studio.” The Chief Engineer’s to theJogeshwari Vikhroli Link Naidu and VGBisht. ENS cel. ShahidBalwa, Promoter, DB velopment plan. Our claim for lawdepartment afterthe devel- specific remarks of thelaw offi- note clearly mentionedthatthe Road. Activists, lawyers say Shakti Bill ‘draconian’, ask CM not to table it

Approved by the statecabi- EXPRESSNEWS netonDecember 9, the bills are SERVICE expected to tabledduring the MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 winter session of the legislature. In December 2019,the PROMINENT ACTIVISTS, Maharashtragovernment an- lawyers,women'sorganisations nounceditwillenact alaw on and academicians Saturday the lines of the AndhraPradesh wrotealettertoChief Minister Disha Actwithaprovisionof UddhavThackeray voicingtheir death penalty forrapeinstead oppositiontothe twobills -- of the currentpunishmentof 10 MaharashtraShakti Bill,2020, to 20 years' imprisonment. and the Special Courtand "Toinclude death penalty Government of India Machineryfor Implementation willbecounterproductive to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre of MaharashtraShakti Criminal women and contrarytothe Advertisement No.03/2020 (R-V) Law, 2020--andurginghimnot statement and object of the SELECTION OF JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOWS to table the bills in the two-day law…. women and child rights Last date forreceipt of Application :15/01/2021 WinterSessionstartingMonday. activists andscholars have re- BARC invites applications from interested students for the award of The letter that has 92 signa- peatedlystatedthatthe death JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP at this Centre. tories stated,"We areshocked penalty reduces the already All the selected candidates will register for Ph.D. in Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI) adeemed to be University of Department of thatsuchadraconian legisla- abysmalconvictionratesaswell Atomic Energy. tion is being introducedinthe as the ratesofreporting in cases No. of Fellowships : 105 (Indicative) nameofcurbingwidespread of sexual offences…," the letter, Qualification : M.Sc. or Integrated M.Sc. (Physics /Chemistry /Life violence againstwomen and whosesignatories includedsen- Sciences) girls. Some provisions arenot iorSupremeCourtlawyerIndira Selection Procedure : Candidates will be shortlisted for interview onlyanti-women, but negate Jaising and severalactivists and based on their academic performance and valid score obtained in the the very offenceofrape. The ef- organisations from Mumbai, following qualifying examinations :- (i) UGC-CSIR-NET Fellowship (SLET/ fect of this Bill will completely Pune and Delhi, added. Lecturership is not eligible) (ii) JEST score (iii) ICMR –JRF Test, ICAR-JRF denywomenany hope of jus- Women's rightslawyer Test (iv) DBT-JRB Biotechnology Eligibility Test (v) GATE Score 2019/2020 tice.Hence,weare addressing Veena Gowda said, "This(Bill) is in Physics /Chemistry /Life Sciences/Biotechnology this letter requesting youtonot draconianandnotprogressive at Final selection will be based on the performance in interview. Stipend :- ` 31,000/- plus HRA ` 7,440/- per month (if accommodation table the Billtill thereisalarger all.It'samisplaced,protectionist, not provided) and in addition Contingency grant :- ` 40,000/- per annum. consultation with activists, patriarchal solution to women's Applications will be accepted On-Line ONLY.Facility for On-line lawyers and academicians rights.Iwishtheyhadconsulted application will be available from 18/12/2020 to 15/01/2021.For further working on these issues." us before drafting the Bill.." details visit our website : recruit.barc.gov.in / www.barc.gov.in Coastal villages to observe bandh on Dec 15

Mumbai: Coastalvillagesin Mumbai, from Cuffe Parade to Dahanu, will observeabandhon December 15 as amarkof protestagainst the upcoming VadhavanPortinDahanu. In astatement issued on Saturday,groups of fishermen and tribals askedvillagers to participateinthe bandh against the Port project that theysaid would be “destructive forthe fishermen, tribals, locals, sons of the soil, farmers, orchardown- ers an dye-makers” of Dahanu. Theyhavedemandedthat the projectbecanceledperma- nently. As apartofthe protest, vil- lages along the coastand koli- wadas (fishing villages) willob- serveabandh next week,the protestors said in astatement is- suedSaturday. ENS THESUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020 4 MAHARASHTRA

NCP CHIEF SHARAD PAWAR TURNS 80 NADDA TO CHAIRMEETONDEC 18-20 58 held for State BJP convenes attack on ‘IfPawarbecomesUPAchair,I’lllikeit’ 3-day meet to draw police, SAAMANA vandalism EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE up strategy for gram MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 Pawar deniedopportunity to in Sillod SPECULATION REGARDINGNCP panchayat,BMC polls chief Sharad Pawarsucceeding SAGARRAJPUT Sonia Gandhi as the chairper- be PM twice in 90s by coterie MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 son of the United Progressive Sharad Pawarand EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE It's going to be a Alliance (UPA) refuses to die Sushilkumar Shinde MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 fight to the finish in POLICEONFriday resorted to down even afterthe formerde- in Congress, says Praful Patel BMC 2022. The party lathicharge andfiredfour rounds niedthe development. MAHARASHTRA BJP has con- in the air aftermorethan 400vil- On Saturday, senior interests to divert attention party. venedathree-daymarathon will contest alone. And lagers attackedapolice party at Congress leader Sushilkumar from the ongoingfarmers' EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE "Pawar strengthenedhis po- meeting on December 18 to 20 BJP will leave no stone KelgaonvillageinSillodin Shinde added morefuel to the strife", the discussion has re- MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 sition as afront-rung leader in to discuss and evolve strategy unturned in the polls” Aurangabad district. The mob speculation.While extending fusedtodie down. Earlier,Shiv the Congress in averylittle time. forthe gram panchayatand —DEVENDRA FADNAVIS peltedstones at the police aftera birthdaywishestoPawar,who Sena's SanjayRauthad backed SHARAD PAWAR wasdenied the Praful Patel He wassurelycut offfor aprime BMC elections. BJPpresidentJ video of awoman policepatil at- LEADER OF OPPOSITION turned80onSaturday, Shinde Pawar's name forthe UPA opportunity to become Prime ministerial role in 1991 and PNadda will chair the meet. tempting suicide went viral on said, "He (Pawar) has seen alot chairperson's role. While the MinisterofIndia twiceinthe 1996, but the durbar (nepotism) "The three-daymeetin social media. In the video, she of ups anddowns during the Sena is still notaUPA con- 1990s by a"coterie" in the Patelsaid the recalcitrance of politics of Delhiput aspanner. Maharashtraissignificant as claimedshe wasending her life last50years, andhas worked stituent, it is an allyofCongress Congress, said Praful Patel, NCP Raoin1996 to makeway for This wasdefinitely apersonal the party will draw up an elab- "It's going to be afight to the due to police inaction againsta closely with severalpeople. He and NCPinMaharashtra. General Secretaryand Rajya Pawarled to him missing out a loss to him, but moreoverfor the orateplan forthe forthcoming finish in BMC 2022. The party man who washarassing her. has immense experience. If Backing Pawar'sname for Sabha MP,onSaturday. Later in shotatthe toppostagain in party and the country,"Patel polls,"ahighlyplacedsource will contestalone. And BJP will According to the police, the Sharad Pawarbecomes UPA the national role, Shinde fur- the day, Patelclaimed that the 1996. added. told The Indian Express. leave no stone unturnedinthe 32-year-oldwoman tried com- chairperson, I'll likeit." ther said, "He has an elephan- NCPchief's "dream" to become "In1996, the Congress won Later in the day, while speak- Opposition leader Devendra polls," Fadnavis said. mittingsuicideonThursdayby Shindeisthe firstCongress tine memory.Hemeets several the PM of the countrycould still 145seats. HDDeveGowda,Lalu ing to themedia afterattending Fadnavis is likelytoplayacru- What makes the battle for consuming poison. Beforecon- leader to supportPawar's people, remembers all by be fulfilled. PrasadYadav and Mulayam an event organisedbythe NCP cial role in leading the organi- the BMC crucial is BJP will be suming poison, she recordeda name forthe role. He was name.Heisaccessible to party "After RajivGandhi'sunfor- Singh Yadavaswell as Leftlead- to markPawar's 80thbirthday, sation in the civicpolls along fighting itsestranged allyShiv video in whichshe alleged alo- speakingtothe media in workers and leaders alike. He tunatedeathduringthe Lok ers said theywill supportthe Patelsaid the "dream" of seeing with others whichwill include Sena. cal goon identifiedasRamdas Mumbai. Since Thursday, raises questions of the com- Sabha elections in 1991,the Congress if PawarismadePM, Pawaratthe helm of the country party's Mumbai chief Mangal High on BJP's agendaduring Wagh and his motherwerecon- when Pawarled adelegation of mon man.(In Maharashtra) Congresswas in astate of shock. but Raodid notbudgeand the could still be fulfilled. Prabhat Lodha, Atul the meetwill also be the gram stantlyharassingher forthe past Oppositionleaders to meet AfterYeshwantrao Chavan, if Therewas ademand to make Congress wasforcedtosupport "Pawar missedthe opportu- Bhatkhalkar and Ashish Shelar panchayatelections. Earlier this three months. She alleged that President Ramnath Kovind thereissomeone who main- Pawarparty president to handle Deve Gowda from outside. nity to become aPrime Minister among others. week,the stateelectioncom- when she approachedSillod po- over the farmer protests,there tains cordial ties with every- the situation. However, the dur- "When Raosteppeddownasthe on twooccasions. If the entire Buoyedbythe victory in the mission announcedelections to lice, theyrefusedtotakeaction. has been intense speculation one, it is Sharad Pawar. If he be- bar coterie opposedthe idea of a Congress president, he pushed opposition stands united,then Hyderabad Municipal 14,234grampanchayats in 34 Assistant Inspector KiranBidwe over Pawarhelming the UPAin comes the UPAchairperson, I'd strong leader and hatchedaplan the name of Sitaram Kesri as his we can bring about achange… If Corporationelections,the BJP districts. deniedthe allegation and said, the near future. likeit," he said. Former to makePVNarasimha Raoas successor to ensurethat Pawar the entireMaharashtraisstand- central leadership has decided The elections will take place "There wasnoformal complaint Justasthe NCPhas said Congress MP SanjayNirupam, the party chief," Patelwrote in wasnot selected," Patelwrote. ing behindhim, then it is natural to putinall effortsfor the BMC in the following divisions: made by her. And we have learnt "thereisnodiscussion with whilereacting to thetalkabout an article publishedinthe Shiv Patelinthe signedarticle that adifferent picturecan polls. Konkan (798), Nashik (2,476), there hasbeen adisputebe- UPAinthis regard,and that the Pawarhelming the UPA, said it Sena mouthpiece Saamana on goes on to saythat "coterie" emerge and our unfinished The BMC is the richestcivic Pune (2,870), Aurangabad tween Wagh's familyand vic- reports in the media seem to wasaploytofinish the the occasion of Pawar's 80th within the Congressworkedto dream canbefulfilled," Patel body of the countrywith a (4,134), Amravati (2,448)and tim's family since2017." have been planted by vested Congress. birthday. undermine strong leaders in the said. budget of Rs 37,000 crore. Nagpur (1,508). Aftershe consumedpoison, the woman wasrushed to apri- vate hospital by her husband. HC dismisses plea CM: Thackeray "Wesent ateam and recorded Healthdept wants to extend80:20bed herstatement in thehospital. A memorial will case wasregistered under against three officers Section 354(outraging her mod- promote feeling reservationfor Covid casestill January esty)ofthe IPC followingwhich Wagh and his mother were ar- facing extortion charges of nationalism rested," said Bidwe. The woman be chargedmorethan 10 per is nowstable. againsthim. The complainant TABASSUM centmarkuponnet procure- Wagh and his motherwere EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE later approachedthe HC. The HC EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE BARNAGARWALA ment cost. producedbeforeacourtand MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 in itsorder notproviding relief MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 On May21inasecond noti- granted bail. As word of Wagh soughtby thecomplainantstated fication, the stategovernment being releasedonbailgot out,vil- THE BOMBAY High Court last the "availability of alternateeffi- CHIEF MINISTER Uddhav THE STATEhealth department reserved80per cent of bedsin lagers startedgatheringoutside month dismissedawrit petition caciousremedy"asthereasonbe- Thackeray said the memorial of has proposedtoextend the private hospitals and capped his house in Kelgaon village. They seeking thatanFIR be registered hinddismissingthewritpetition. lateShivSena supremo Bal 80:20reservationofbedsinpri- prices forthose bedsfor both believedpolice did notmakea againstthree policemen foral- The HC referred to Supreme Thackeray,proposedtobeset up vate hospitals until January, as Covid and non-Covid patients. strong case. Police said morethan legedly extorting from aperson Courtjudgmentsstating that the in Aurangabad, would promote aprecaution againstapossible In athirdnotification on August 400people had gatheredby 7.30 theyhadarrested.TheHCinitsor- complainant could approachthe the feelingofnationalismand second waveofCovid-19infec- 31,the stategovernment ex- pm. "I got this information and der,dismissingthepetition,stated magistratecourtunder Section Hindutvainfuturegenerations. tions and cap chargesfor beds tendedthe 80 per cent reserva- accordingly we calledfor more thatthecomplainanthadalterna- 156(3) of the Code of Criminal In Aurangabad forlaying the reserved by thegovernment. tion and price cappinguntil manpower. We stationedariot tive remedies likeapproaching Procedureseeking directions for foundation stone of awater sup- With the post-Diwali spike November-end. control squad in the village. But the magistrate court seeking reg- an FIR to be registered. The com- plyproject worthRs1,680.50 in Mumbai and riseinactive In October,however, the as the mob refusedto budge even istrationofoffence. The com- plainant'slawyerKHGiri said, crore, the CM also carriedout e- cases in districtslikePalghar, Nagpurbench of the Bombay Iwenttothe spottotalk to the plainanthas said theyare decid- "Weare deciding whether to ap- inaugurations of the proposed Nashik,Nandurbar, Highcourtquashedpricecap- villagers," said Bidwe. ing whether to approachthe proachthe magistratecourtor memorial and performed the Sindhudurg,Washim, and ping fornon-Covid treatment in However, while the meeting magistratecourtorSupreme approachthe SupremeCourt. We ground-breaking ceremonyon- Nagpursince November 20, hospitals.The Maharashtragov- betweenthe policeand the vil- Courtagainstthe order. will decide on it soon." line foraRs152 croreroad im- statehealth officials said it is ernment has appealedagainst lagers wasgoingon, one of the The IndianExpress on May19 Mane, currentlysenior in- provement project and the wise to continuethe bed reser- Covid-19testing underway at the municipality ward office HC order in the Supreme Court. villagers playedavideo in which hadreportedabouttheallegations spector(unit XI), said, "The alle- building of anew jungle safari vation in private hospitals in in Mumbai. AmitChakravarty "Our proposal is to reduce the Wagh is seen abusing the police againstthe three officers, includ- gations againstmewerebaseless parkinthe district. case the activecase load further percentageofreservation or re- patil. "This instigated themob," ingthethenseniorinspector(unit and Iamrelievedthat the HC dis- "The memorial of lateShiv risesacross other districts. move it. All hospitals will meet said asenior policeofficer. X) Sunil Mane. The complainant missedthe writ petition. The Sena founder Balasaheb Maharashtracurrentlyhas over sioner on Monday. Health min- General Insurance Public Sector government officials to take fi- had filedawrit petition alleging baselessallegations in this case Thackeray will promote the feel- 73,000 active cases.Mumbai, isterRajesh Tope said the state is Association(GIPSA), cannot nal decision on Monday," said Dr that on October 27 lastyear,the were also usedbyother accused ing of nationalism and Hindutva Thaneand Pune continueto likelytocontinue reservation of charge morethanthe lowest Gautam Bhansali, consultant National Lok Adalat policeofficershadtakenabribeof who Ihavearrestedtotarnish my in the cominggenerations. It will form thebulkofactive infec- bedsinhospitals. "The final sig- bed categoryrates forpatients. physician with Bombayhospital. programme held Rs 18.50 lakh to notcharge himin reputation built over years of also tell them about his work," tions. Mumbai has seen arise in naturewillbeofthe chiefmin- GIPSAisanassociationofgov- "Weare bleeding financially. acheating case. He alleged that good work." he said. The CM also gave his dailyinfections from 400-600a ister. We areyet to finalise the ernment insurance companies Thereare very fewCovid-19pa- theydemandedmoremoneyand Soon afterthe allegations party the credit forexpediting month agoto700-1,000 now. percentageofreserved bedsin that fixespackagerates forsur- tientsinour hospital and we are EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE whenherefused to pay, he was Mane wastransferredtothe land acquisitionprocess forthe Itsactive case load stands at hospitals. Depending on new geries in hospitals. incurring hugefinancial losses. MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 chargedinacaseand arrested. Modus OperandiBureau,consid- Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi 12,423 cases. cases in the coming two-three Forhospitals notattached We have asked government to Eventuallythe complainant ered aside-posting, before being corridorproject, which is also "The idea is to continue days,wewill take afinal call," with GIPSA packagerates,the admit patientsinjumbo facili- ANATIONAL Lok Adalat pro- wasreleasedonbailonApril22,a transferredassenior inspector of namedafter Thackeray senior. 80:20 formula till January. If Tope told The Indian Express. notification providedasched- ties since thereishugecapacity gramme washeld on Saturday dayafter achargesheetwas filed unit XI. "When the land acquisition for cases don't rise, we can always The current statenotifica- ule of ratesbeyond whichthey there," said Dr VRavishankar, in the Courts of Metropolitan the project wasinitiated,itwas recall the decision later.We tion to reserve 80 per cent beds cannotcharge.For instance, an chief operating officer in Lilavati Magistrates, Mumbai. Totalset- Sexual harassment case filed againstSena MP the ShivSena that reachedout to have put forth theproposal, but willcontinue until December angiography would costapa- Hospital. tlement amount of over Rs the affected farmers.Wemet the final decision will be taken 15.Inaseriesofthree notifica- tient notmorethan Rs 12,000, Maharashtraisdiagnosing 281.06 crorewas collected and Mumbai: Police in MiraRoad on Gavit had been demandingsex- them and resolvedtheir issues," by the government in coming tions, Maharashtragovernment anormal delivery notmore 4,000-5,000 newcases with 4,461cases settled. The pro- Fridayregisteredacase of sexual ual favours from her and he also he said. days," asenior health official had introducedpricecapping than Rs 75,000,avalve replace- less than 100deaths on adaily gramme's success wasdue to the harassmentagainstShivSenaMP tried to lureher by offeringaflat. Commenting on the pro- said. fortreatment at privatehospi- ment wascappedatRs3.23 basis. While the active case load effortsofShrinivasBAgrawal, RajendraGavit. Whencontacted,Palghar MP posal forthe renaming of the Private hospitals have op- tals duringthe pandemic. On lakh, apermanent pacemaker in entirestate has reduced, it Principal Judge, City Civil and Police said the 38-year-old Gavit refuted theallegation and Aurangabad airport, the CM said, posedthe government'smove, April30, stategovernment implantation at Rs 1.38 lakhs,a has slightlyriseninMumbai SessionsCourt, Greater Bombay, complainant,whoisfromPalghar said, "She had swindledthe "Theproposal to name theair- claiming theyare incurring cappedrates of various proce- cataract surgery at Rs 25,000 since November 20 afterDiwali. and Sayali TDande, Chief district, wasemployedwiththe agency and in the lastweek of portafter Chhatrapati Sambhaji hugefinancial losses due to dures in private hospitals. and so on. Items likepacemaker, Stateofficials areanticipating a Metropolitan Magistrate, gasdistributionagencyownedby November Icaught her red- has been sanctionedbythe state price capping and reservation. Hospitals in Mumbai, Thane, personalprotective equipment second wavebyDecember or Esplanade, Mumbai, Additional Gavit. The complainantinher handed.SoIsackedher from the governmentand it has been for- Various hospital heads are Navi Mumbai, Panvel, and Pune (PPE), intraocular lenses, stents, Januarydue to back-to-back fes- Chief Metropolitan Magistrates, statement to policehas alleged job and had registeredacase warded to Centre. Iamconfident slated to meetthe statehealth that have an agreement on catheter, balloon, medical im- tivities and phasewiseunlock- Metropolitan Magistrates, offi- thatsince the time she washired, againsther and twoothers." ENS that it will be approved." secretaryand the BMC commis- treatment packages withthe plants, consumablescould not ingacrossthe state. cers and staffmembers. New online series on Indian classical music features Womannabbed with young artistes performing at unusual venues drugs, cash in Dongri in possession of 60 grams of MD. this specialconcert shotatthe While the firstepisode of cians as performancevenues EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE "Weseizedthe drugs under ALAKASAHANI heritageschool.Accompaniedby 'Now Hear Us' wasshotthrough were shut down. Devina Dutt, MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 the Narcotics Act, and she was MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 musicians Swapnil Bhise, theday, thefilmingof theconcert artisticdirectorand founder of placedunder arrest ," said an of- Siddhesh Bicholkar and Akshar took abouttwohours."Inclassical FirstEdition Arts,was ap- THE ANTINarcoticsCell (ANC) ficer.Police, upon searching the AFTER Agap of nearly eight Vairagi, Modak presentshis ren- music, it is an extemporeand de- proachedbythe oil companyto of Mumbai Police's Crime house, found another 1.45 kilo- months,Hindustani classical vo- dition of three ragas--Nat Kedar, pendsalot on the stateofmind. co-curatethis 12-partseries - Brancharresteda25-year-old grams of MD and Rs 8,78,500in calistAditya Modak droveto Rageshree Bahar and Sohini. Youcan't mimeitlater or mix whichuploads anew episode woman from Dongri on Friday unaccounted cash wasalso Bharda NewHigh School near "During this concert,Iwanted sound. Of course, it can't match everysecondSaturday of the and seizedmephedrone(MD) seized. Mumbai's Azad Maidan forhis to explore ragasthatare notcom- the experience of aliveperform- month. andcash totallyworth upto Rs PolicesaidTariq claims to be firstoutdoorperformance since plex yetmelodious.BothNat ance.But thisis an effortto offera At atimewhenaccesstopub- 1.19 crore. Police said the amobile repairer."He would go the Covid-19 lockdown. His per- Kedar and Rageshree Baharare kind of experience that goes be- lic spaces is restricted,the series woman, Sanam Sayyed,hails to Assam and buy Chinese- formance rekindledthe joyofbe- combinations of twodifferent ra- yond singing in front of acamera," wantstoengagewiththe cities from Assamand sheassisted her made mobile phones at a ing with his accompanists in a gaseach. This kind of combina- said Modak,who believesthat that arehome to these artistes. husband, Tariq, who is also cheaper rate,and sell them in beautiful space.Modakwas also tion wasrare. Iwantedtopresent this digital initiative might give The episodefeaturing Shruti wanted in the case, in selling Mumbai," said an officer. nostalgic as he returnedtothe ragasthat youwouldn't find on artistesgreater visibility. Vishwakarma (Hindustani vocal) drugs. However, his addiction to MD same venuewhere he took part the internet easily," Modak said. Theepisodes of NowHear Us also offersomeglimpses into The 32-year-old earlier took will be filmed at Ma Hajiani Police said aconstable from made him become apeddler of in amusic competition as an Theinauguralepisode of 'Now themusicians’ life. Express aconsciousdecision to refrain DargahinWorli while Priya the Bandra unit receivedatip- the drug,said police. eight-year-old. Hear Us' also offers some from doing"live sessions" foron- Purushothaman (Hindustani vo- offthat awoman wasselling We areonthe lookout of The firstepisode of the newly glimpses intothe musicians' life line platforms, afterexperiment- cal)will perform at Bhau Daji Lad drugs in Dongri, and that she Tariq, and expect moreleads af- launched digitalseries featuring as it shows Modak picking up his debut. In writer-director movie, whichhad itsworld pre- ing withitafew times in May, as Museum, Byculla. The episodes had stored large quantities of terhis arrest," said an officer. young Indian classical musicians accompanists afterleaving his Chaitanya Tamhane's interna- miereatVeniceFilm Festival in he did notwanttocompromise featuring RujutaLad and Aditya suchdrugs in her house. Sanam wasproducedinKilla and vocalists -IndianOil Now Borivali home. As expected,they tionallyacclaimedsophomore September,isaboutadedicated on quality.'NowHear Us' was Khandwe -- both Hindustani vo- Subsequently, ateam of the court on Saturdayand re- Hear Us -that startedstreaming exchangenotesabout lifeunder outingThe Disciple, Modak es- young vocalistwho might never conceptualisedwith the idea of calists -- will be filmed at Bandra unit of ANCraidedher mandedinpolicecustody till on Saturdayat7pm, presents lockdown and Modak's movie says the role of itsprotagonist. The achieve hisguru's excellence. helpingyoung classical musi- Girgaum's LaxmiBaug. house in Dongriand caught her December 14. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020 EXPRESS NETWORK 5

Pak opens China talksmay be long; will defend shelling along territoryatall costs: Army Vice Chief DangerofLadakhcrisisisitwill LoC before LALMANIVERMA dissipategoodwill:Jaishankar DDC 6th DEHRADUN,DECEMBER12 phasepolling VICE CHIEF of ArmyStaff Lt Gen all. Ithink the real danger is that to become...” SK Saini Saturday said India’s KRISHNKAUSHIK the goodwill whichwas so care- On his takeaway from the talkswith China over the LAC NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 fullydevelopedwilldissipate.But Biden administrationcoming to ARUNSHARMA standoffare likelytobepro- Ialso would (say)that we arebe- office,Jaishankarsaid,“Iwouldsay JAMMU,DECEMBER12 tracted,but addedthat the CALLING THEongoing military ing tested.Ihave confidence that vis-à-vis the world, quiteapart countrywould ensureits terri- standoffwith China in eastern we will rise to the occasion(and) from the securityand political in- AHEAD OF the sixth phaseofthe torial integrity "irrespective of Ladakh aresultofBeijingnot fol- meetthat national security chal- fluence issues,one big question District Development Council the cost". He said India is main- lowing the existing agreements, lenge.But beyond that,atthis forthemishow do theykeep elections in Jammu and Kashmir, taining itscommitment to the ExternalAffairs MinisterS External Affairs Minister time, Iwould really,franklykeep Americacompetitive.The other Pakistani troops Saturday carried dialogue and hopedfor the Jaishankar on Saturdaysaid that SJaishankar speaksatthe my owncounsel.” big question is howdotheydeal out “intense” mortarshelling restorationofthe status quoas Cadets at the parade during the graduation ceremony at the“realdanger”isthatthe“good- FICCIevent Saturday. ANI Talking aboutthe US elec- with the climatechangechal- along the Line of Controlin of April. Indian MilitaryAcademy,Dehradun, on Saturday. Lt Gen will,whichwassocarefullydevel- tions and what aJoe Biden ad- lenge, whichmanyofthemhave Poonchdistrict’s Balakot. Speaking to reporters after Sainiwas the reviewing officer forthe ceremony. PTI oped, will dissipate” with this. ministrationcould mean for very passionate beliefin.” Balakot is one of the 31 DDC attending the passing-outpa- He said he would notventure observing the Line of Actual India, Jaishankar said theyare “Where we would standvis- constituencies going to polls on rade of Indian MilitaryAcademy to predict apossible resolution, Controlandnotbringingforcesto “quite unique” because “what à-vis Americapriorities”, Sunday. (IMA), Dehradun, as reviewing Asked about the lackofa villages or structures have been but that India will rise to the oc- the Line of Actual Control”. happens in America has an im- Jaishankarsaid,iswhatwillmake KKSharma, theElection officer,LtGen Saini said: “Weare breakthrough in the dialogue created insideIndian territory. casion to meet the nationalsecu- He compared it to “dealing pact on all of us”. the difference. “It would be natu- Commissioner forthe Union in touchwith our Chinese coun- with China,LtGen Saini said: “Therefore, it is on the other side ritychallenge. withsomebodywho has violated He said thereare debates in ralfor the US to lookatthe world Territory, saidofficialswere mon- terparts both at diplomatic as “Wehavetokeep the engage- of the border.And, as youare Speakingatanevent organ- the terms of acontract… and in a theUSnowwhichwerenot there and evaluatecountries… Where itoring the situation. “Wealways well as the military level. And we ment on withChina.And, these awarethat continued develop- isedbybusinessassociationFICCI, verysubstantial way”. The minis- earlier,andoneof the“interesting does thiscountryorthesesetsof makealternativearrangements hope that asolution is found arecomplextalksand therefore ment of infrastructureonthe Jaishankarsaiditishardtotopre- tersaid, “I alsobelieve whathas debates is whether actuallythis players fitintomygame-plan? keeping in viewthe possibility of throughthis dialogue and status it is likelytotaketimebut Ido other side of the Line of Actual dictwhenitcomesto nationalse- happenedisnot actuallyinthe America at this time shouldactu- And my sense is today, on keyas- suchsituations.Wecan shift quoasofApril this year is re- understand that these talksare Control has been ongoing forthe curity issues, “so Iwon’tget into interest of China, because it has ally have an industrial policy”, as pectsoftherelationship,certainly pollingstationstosafer places if stored.” protracted.But we aremaintain- lastmanydecades, therefore, it the predictionzone, whetheris significantlyimpacted public “thefreeenterprise system in whenitcomesto securityandde- shelling continues," he said. He added: "While we seek a ing our commitment in this dia- is notamatter of concern forus.” going to be easy or notand what sentiment.” Americaisquiteallergicto theidea fence,whenitcomesto economic ArmyPublicRelationsOfficer resolution through dialoguewe logueand hope thatanearly res- LetGen Saini also said that wouldbethetimelinesandsoon”. Jaishankar said that through of an industrial policy”. issuesespeciallycompetitiveness, Lt Col Devender Anandsaid the arealso committed to ensuring olution is achieved.” ceasefireviolations from across But, he said, “the eventsthis year his career he has witnessedthe “The other is technology,” he Ithink India can makeaverybig "intense" mortarshelling and the territorial integrity and sov- On reports of China setting the Line of Controlhaveseen an have raisedsome very basic con- evolution of howChinahas been said.“Theroleof bigtech–there is difference.... small arms fire by Pakistani sol- ereignty of the country, irrespec- up newvillages near Doklam, increase thisyearcompared to cerns. Theyhavehappenedbe- viewedbyIndians.“Alot of work an international debateabout it, He said, “Today, the relation- diers beganataround 6pm. The tive of the costinvolved." the ArmyViceChief said no new the lasttwo years. causetheotherpartydidnotabide had gone into the relationship on but thereisavery vigorous ship is in asuchadifferent level Indian Armyisretaliating, he by agreementsthatwehavehad both sides. Idon’t believe the American debate, that howbig that the only place forittogo, in added. with them about respecting and eventsofthis year have helpedat shouldbig tech be allowed my view, is up.” The Balakot region near EC asks political Poonchtownhas oftenfacedun- 56% polling in 48 Zilla provoked mortar shelling and parties their stand CLIMATEAMBITION SUMMIT 2020 small arms fire by Pakistani troops.ASarpanchwasamongsix Parishad seats of Goa on revising poll civilians killedinshelling therein PM Modi: India will notonly achieveParis August2015. Leader of Opposition Digambar spending limit Meanwhile, nearly 7.48 lakh EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Kamatsaidtheprotestsagainstin- voterswillSundaydecidethefate PANAJI,DECEMBER12 frastructure projectswould work NewDelhi: The Election Agreement targets, but willexceedthem of 245candidatesfrom31con- in Congress'sfavour. Chief Commission (EC) has sought stituenciesinthe sixthphase of FORTY-EIGHT of the 50 Zilla MinisterPramod Sawant wasthe views of recognisednational and sight of the past. We must not today. Centennial India willnot theDDCpolls.Of them,124candi- PanchayatconstituenciesinGoa firsttovote, at Kothambi village. statepolitical parties on revising EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE onlyrevise our ambitions, but onlymeetits owntargets,but datesarecontestingthepollsin14 went to polls on Saturdaywith This wasalso the firstmajor the expenditurelimit forcandi- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 also reviewour achievements will also exceedyour expecta- constituenciesinKashmir. There- 203 candidates in the fray for polling exerciseinthe statesince dates contesting stateand par- PM Modi at againsttargets already set...” said tions,” he added. maining 121are in the fray from whatisexpected to be abarome- thelockdown,with7.91 lakhpeo- liamentaryelections. SAYINGTHATthe countryhad the summit PrimeMinisterModi. UN SecretaryGeneral 17 constituencies in Jammu. terofthe public mood ahead of pleeligibleto casttheirballot.Over The limitwas last revisedin already reducedits carbon emis- “Our solar capacity has AntonioGuterressaidenough Forsmooth conduct of the the stateelections in 2022. 1,000Covid-19patientsalsovoted 2014.Inaletterwritten on sions intensity by 21 percent as grownfrom2.63 GigaWatts wasnot being done to meetthe- polls, the StateElection Polling beganat8and ended during the lasthour.The state December 7this year,parties compared to 2005, Prime Presidency along with the (GW) in 2014 to 36GW in 2020. climatechangechallenge. Commissioner said 2,071 polling at 5pm. Till 10 pm, the state HealthDepartmentprovidedPPE have been requestedtosend MinisterNarendraModi on United Nations (UN) and France, Ourrenewableenergy capacity Meanwhile hostUK’s Prime stations have been setupacross recorded56.82per cent voting, kitsforthemandensuredprecau- feedback.Theletterwas written Saturdaysaid India would ex- in partnershipwith Italyand is the fourth largest in theworld. MinisterBoris Johnson an- the UnionTerritory—1,208are in PTI reported, quoting State tions at booths. afterthe poll panel setupacom- ceedits Paris Agreement goals. Chile,tomarkthe 5thanniver- It will reach175 GW before 2022. nouncedthat lastweek,the UK Kashmir and 863 areinJammu. Election Commission figures OutgoingZillaPanchayatcan- mittee to examine the feasibility Speaking at the Climate saryofthe Paris Agreement. And,wehaveanevenmoream- has decidedtoreduce itsemis- Of these, Kashmir has only11 The BJP fielded43candidates, didateshaveoften expresseddis- of enhancing the expenditure Ambition Summit 2020 on “This summit marksthe fifth bitious target now—450 GW of sions by at least68per cent by normalpollingstationswith1,047 Congress 38, and AamAadmi affection with lackofexecutive ceiling. The panel will take into Saturday, he further said that the anniversaryofthe Paris renewable energy capacityby 2030. being classifiedas"hyper-sensi- Partyand the Maharashtrawadi powers. Theysay theirrole islim- consideration the increase in signatories should notlose sight Agreement –the mostambi- 2030. We have also succeededin Chinese President Xi Jinping tive"and 150as"sensitive", Gomantak Party17each. ited to overseeingdevelopment number of voters, CostInflation of the climategoals. tious step in our fight against expanding our forest coverand announcedthat China aimsto Sharma said. Jammu has 83 “hy- Sadanand Shet Tanavade,the work intheirelectorate,provided Indexand seek feedbackfrom Atotal of 77 worldleaders ClimateChange. Today, as we are safeguarding our biodiversity... reachcarbon neutralityby2060. per-sensitive”and291“sensitive” BJP state president, said he was theZillaPanchayatbodyreleases political parties before making addressedthe summit —hosted looking to setour sightseven To allmyfellowresidentsofthis FULLREPORTON polling stations. “confident”ofagood show. fundsontime. itsrecommendation. ENS jointlybythe UK COP26 higher,wemustalsonot lose planet, Imakeasolemn pledge www.indianexpress.com WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 6 EXPRESS NETWORK THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020

Deshmukh: FARMERS’ PROTEST DAY 17: MORE VEHICLES FROM PUNJAB ROLL IN Cyber cell monitoring ‘Foreachpersonwhogoesbackhome,10arrive’ Khalistani severaltrips backhome to collect ASHNABUTANI clothes or moreration, arealso &JIGNASASINHA relievedbythe free passageway. propaganda NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 InderjeetBagga, afarmer from Bhatinda, goes backtoPunjab AT SINGHUborder on Saturday, twice in aweek to buy vegeta- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE anew truckortrolleykeptarriv- bles, oil and flour.Heshares his MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 ing everyfew minutes —hun- tent with eight others. Theycook dredsofvehicles have been mak- their ownmeals and go back to MAHARASHTRAHOMEMinister ing their wayfromseveral Punjab their villages when theyrun out AnilDeshmukh said on Saturday districts,via different routes, so of groceries. that the state’s cyber cell was theyare notstoppedatstate bor- Said Bagga, “Our wivesand closelymonitoringthe Khalistani ders. By Sunday,over1,500vehi- children take careofthe farm propagandabeingspreadthrough cles areexpectedtomaketheir whileweare protesting here. social media. waytothe Delhi border. Groceries available nearbyare Responding to aqueryraised Atrolleyferrying 20 farmers At Singhu border,Saturday. By Sunday, over 1,500vehicles expensive and we can’tafford in this regard by amediaperson, from Tajpur in Ludhiana reached areexpected to maketheir waytothe Delhi border;(above) them. We have to go to Punjab. Deshmukh,whowasinMumbai, the protestsiteat6amon Police at the Delhi-Jaipur highway,Shahjahanpur We usuallyspend Rs 100-150 on saidthecybercellwaskeepingan Saturday.The vehicleleft toll... it’s good theyhavewaived eyeonall suchposts. Ludhiana at 9.30pmand drove that. We arealso planning to call The Home Minister, mean- all night through the rain. giventothe farmers since col- less the government repealsthe more farmershere. Theycan while,urgedtheCentretoyieldto Amandeep Singh (25), who leges arenot open. laws.Mywifeand children areal- come, stay forsome time and go the demand of the farmers wasamong the farmers, said, At Tikriborder, protesting ready here. Ialsocalledmy back.” protesting forthe repeal of the “Somepeople have gone backto farmers made calls to their younger brother to joinus. Now, The Delhi Police said more threefarmlegislationsenactedby their villagetotend to theirfarms. and makki,said theycame via wadars have been distributing: Shahabad. Theystoppedatagur- friends and family as the Rohtak Punjab and Haryana officials are than 10,000protesters areatTikri the Modi government. So we collectivelydecided to Haryana and that therewere “For everyone person who goes dwarainLudhiana to freshen up. toll became afreepassageway for helping us —wedon’t have to pay border.Atthe Singhu border,po- The ruling MVAconstituents come to represent the village. If manyothers from the stateusing backtotheir village,another 10 “Just three days ago, I trucks.Protestershad earlier the toll and our vehicles aren’t lice said around 17,000 protest- carriedout demonstrations we go back, anumber of other the same route. come to replacethem.” droppedafew peopleto facedproblemswhile travelling stopped,” said Singh, who livesin ers had gathered as of Friday. againstUnion minister and state trucks will replace us. Thereare RanjeetSingh (34) from the LateFriday, ayellowcollege Amritsar.Theywenthome as becauseofheavy police deploy- ajoint familyof10. He and his Meanwhile, farmers from BJP’s former presidentRaosaheb manyothers from ourvillage Sikh Sewa Forcesaid the number bus carrying around 70 farmers some of them had to tend to their ment at picketsand steep toll familybought atent from a South Haryana and Rajasthan, Danve atvariousplacesacrossthe who want to join. My father is of farmers at the sitehas gone up reachedthe border.Amarjeet farms, others had weddingsin prices outside Punjab. nearbyshop in Jhajjar and setit who intend to joinprotesters in state.Danvehasbeeninvitingflak taking careofthe fields;inafew tremendouslyovernight. But Singh(50), afarmer and the bus the family. ButIhavecome back NasibSingh (45), afarmer up near their truck. The family Delhi, willbegathering in from severalquarters forsaying days,hewill join and Iwillhead thereisnodearth of amenities driver, saiditwas a10-hour jour- with morepeoplethanI from Rohtak,calledhis brother alsodonatesvegetables forthe Rajasthan by Saturdayevening Pakistanand China were behind back.” and food, he said, pointing to the neyfromAmritsar,passing dropped,” he said. The bus, and his familytoTikri border. langar. and moving towardsthe capital the ongoing farmer protests. Amandeep,who growsrice toiletries that he and other se- through Ludhiana, Karnal and ownedbythe Kar Sewa,was “Wewillcall everyone hereun- Other farmers, who make Sunday morning. Stir going strong, transportfirms and factoriesfrom Tikri say business is down

Pvt Ltd, “The NH-8, UP-Haryana tions in the Punjab-Haryana side Industrialists in the Tikri- ANANYATIWARI borders areclosed too, so trucks whereroutes areblocked, and Bahadurgarh region, where NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 have hadtore-routethrough aretransporting onlyemergency farmers areprotesting on the theKundli-Manesar-Palwal goods (food and pharmaceuti- Delhi-Rohtak road, saytheyare FREIGHT CARRIER firms as well (KMP) or Western Peripheral cals), forwhichwetakealterna- facing losses as neitherraw ma- as factoryowners from Tikri- Expressway around Delhi. There tive routes.” terial or finished goods areget- Bahadurgarh saythe ongoing wasatruckthat wasstuckonthe Rampal Singh (42), manager ting transportedinand out of the farmers’ stir has had asignificant KMP forthree days.” at the ATCLogistical SolutionsPvt area. impact on business. Owing to Sandeep(32),atraffic opera- Ltd, said, “Our customers from Nikhil Lalit (38), whomanu- trafficjams, freight carriers or tions manager at Caravan Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and facturesshoes, said, “Raw mate- trucks transporting goods via Roadways Ltd, whichtransports J&K arenot coming at all, and we rial —cloth, rubber,packaging – Delhi-NCR to other states have PVCfromthe Kandla and arenot sending anytrucksdue to has stoppedcoming from Delhi been taking alternative routes, Mundraports of Gujarat, said, “It the uncertainty.” and is steadilygettingover.” leading to delays. is taking along time fortrucks to However, Pradeep Singhal, While finishedproductsnor- Said Varun Sharma (31), di- reachtheirdestination because chairperson of the All-India mallyleave thefactoryfor the rector of SpeedWings Logistics of trafficonthe KMP express- Transporters’Welfare capital daily, this has notbeen way.” Association, said, “The supply possible since the protest started. Manytransporters have chain has notbrokendownand “Delhi is the firststopand from stoppedoperations in the area al- thereisnoshortage Delhi is fac- thereour productsgotovarious together.Umesh Pandey(50), ing as manytrucksaretaking de- areas. Business is down to half generalmanagerofVijay tours due to whichsome delayis and we mayneedtoclose the fac- LakshmiTransolutionsPvt Ltd, inevitable. Therehas been not tory if the protestgoes on foran- said, “Wehavestoppedopera- much impact.” other week,” he said.

THE MAHATMA GANDHI MEMORIAL HOSPITAL DR. S. S. RAO ROAD, PAREL, MUMBAI-12. Mobile No :9969100766 APPLICATION ARE INVITED FOR THE POST OF HOUSEMEN AND REGISTRARS FOR THE TENURE COMMENCING FROM 1ST February2021 TO31ST July 2021 HOUSEMEN REGISTRARS TOTALPOST 22 16 QUALIFICATION M.B.B.S. Degree from M.B.B.S. Degree from recognized University recognized University and and registration with registration with Maharashtra Medical Maharashtra Medical Road dug up at the Rajasthan-Haryana border in Shahjahanpur,tostopprotestingfarmers Council. Council. from reaching Delhi, on Saturday. Tashi Tobgyal EXPERIENCE 2House Posts from recognized teaching ‘INDIA INCSHOULDEDUCATE FARMERS ON LAWS’ BENEFITS’ hospital in respective subject/ faculties. AGE LIMIT AS 38 years for Open Category & Protests infiltrated by ON 1.2.2021 43 years for Reserved Category. STIPEND Rs. 54,026/- (Revised) Rs. 54,587/- (Revised) DEPARTMENT HOUSEMEN REGISTRARS Leftists,Maoists: Goyal General Medicine 4 3 Chest Medicine 1 1 Congress says Skin &VD 1 --- ENSECONOMICBUREAU Union Paediatric 2 1 NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 minister apologise, accede; General Surgery 3 2 Piyush Soren callsitakin Plastic Surgery 1 1 THE ONGOINGprotestsagainst Goyal newagriculturelawshavebeen Orthopaedic 2 2 to abusing farmers infiltrated by “Leftists andMaoist Gynaecology 2 2 elements”,UnionministerPiyush NewDelhi:TheOppositionhitout Ophthalmology 2 1 GoyalsaidonSaturdayandcalled would urge all of youtoeducate at Union ministerPiyush Goyal’s Anaesthesia 2 1 on IndiaInc. to explain the bene- farmers in your sphereofinflu- remarks,withtheCongressseek- fits of the reforms to farmers in ence...hold a“panchayat”; talk to ing an apology and JMM leader E.N.T. 1 1 their sphereofinfluence. the localpeople, understand if andJharkhandCM HemantSoren Pathology 1 1 Inavirtualaddressatthe93rd theyhaveany misunderstandings saying the statement amounted TOTAL 22 16 annualconventionof FICCI,Goyal or concerns;addressthem.” to abusingfarmers. RESERVATION said,“...wenow realisethattheso- Goyalalso askedFICCI to send “Modji,thereisnoplaceforau- calledfarmer agitation hardlyre- areport on itsefforts in this re- tocracy in ademocracy.The pol- OPEN SC ST VJ/NT OBC SBC TOTAL mains afarmer agitation. It is al- gard. icy thatyou and your ministers HOUSEMEN 12 3 1 2 3 1 22 mostinfiltrated by Leftists and The ministersaid the govern- followistodeclareevery oppo- REGISTRARS 9 2 1 1 2 1 16 Maoistelements, aflavour of ment is working on an agendato nent aMaoistand an anti-na- Prescribed application forms can be obtained from Cashier of this Hospital, whichwesaw over the lasttwo boostmanufacturing output tional...Apologiseto thefarmers... on 2nd floor against the payment of Rs. 100/- for Open Category and Rs. 50/- days,when therewereextrane- across 24 sectors by Rs 200lakh and accede to their demands,” for Reserved Category w.e.f. 16.12.2020 to 30.12.2020 from 10.30 A. M. to ous demands to release people croreover10years. “Wehave Congresscommunicationdepart- 4.00 P.M. on working days. who have been put behind bars identifiedanother 24 sectors, on ment head Randeep Surjewala The last date for submission of application form is 31.12.2020 till 4.00 P.M. foranti-national activities.” whichworkisgoing on at differ- said. Note :- 1) The no. of posts shown above can be changed. Goyalsaid the movement is ent levels. The initiative is ledby “When it comestopropa- 2) If reserve candidate is not available the post will be filled in probably in the hands of certain industry...tocomeupwithanac- ganda, Ithink the BJP’s rating is from Open Category. elementswhoarenot goodforthe tionableagenda to addnearly Rs higherthanalltheagencies...Toin- 3) Distribution of department of Housemen will be decided as country. 200lakh crores worthofmanu- sult farmers likethis, to ignore per requirement of institution/ hospital by R.M.O. Statingthatthereformswould facturing in India In the next 10 them...insomeways itislikeabus- Sd/- benefit100millionfarmersacross years,” he said. ingthefarmers,”Sorensaidatthe the country, the ministersaid: “I Healsosaidthisagendawould IdeaExchangeprogrammeof The DGIPR 2020-21/1472 MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT. Indian Express. ENS WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020 7 EXPRESS NETWORK BRIEFLY WomanwhomarriedDalitmankilled, Jagan govt names son of Justice buriedonfamilyfarmbybrothers:cops Chelameswar as thebody wasexhumedonFriday The familyobjected since they to Delhiafter performinghis ASADREHMAN night and sent forpostmortem. belong to the OBC category, wife's lastrites in Mainpuri, said Bhattacharjee was &SOMYALAKHANI DCP (EastDelhi) Jasmeet while her husband Arjun is a her body boregunshot wounds. Andhra Addl AG West Bengal CM from LUCKNOW/NEWDELHI,DEC12 Singh told The SundayExpress, “A Dalit. We helpedthe Delhi Police He said theyhad meteight 2000to 2011 case under IPC Section 365 (kid- team exhume the body on Friday years ago: "She livednear my THE DELHI Police has arrested a napping)wasregisteredatMayur evening. We areawaiting the house. We gotmarriedonJune SREENIVASJANYALA Andhra 32-year-old man forallegedly Vihar police station when the postmortemreport.” 12 in Pratapgarh, UP,whereI HYDERABAD,DECEMBER12 CM Jagan WESTBENGAL killing his 23-year-old sisterand complaint wasreceivedfromthe ADelhi Police officer said, in come from. Since Ibelongtoa Mohan Buddhadeb’s burying the body in the family's victim's husband. Ateam was Mainpuri, “her familymembers lowercaste,her familydid not THE ANDHRAPradesh govern- Reddy farm in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri sent to Mainpuri. During investi- therecouldn't give aproper re- acceptour marriage. Her broth- ment has appointed advocate condition district aftershe marriedaDalit gation, it wasfoundthat she had sponse. Villagers were also ers took her to Mainpuri on Jasti Naga Bhushan as Additional man despite thefamily's disap- been killed. We have nowadded asked.Some of them said she November 17,saying she should AdvocateGeneral of the state. Lastmonth, Attorney improving:docs proval,thepolicesaidonSaturday. IPC Section302 (murder) to the wasbrought home,but that no visit foracouple of days andthat An order to this effect wasis- General KKVenugopal declined Thevictimhasbeenidentified FIR.” one had seen her forafew days. theyneedtomakesomepay- suedbythe statelaw depart- consent to initiateproceedings Kolkata:FormerWest as ChandniKashyap. Shelived in Chandni Kashyapand Arjun One accused–one of her When the familywas interro- ments forconstruction work, ment on December 9. Bhushan againstReddy forcriminal con- Bengal chief minister Trilokpuri, EastDelhi, with her Kumar brothers–hasbeenarrested,DCP gated, her brother confessedto and that she should accompany is the son of former Supreme temptofthe Supreme Court, but Buddhadeb Bhattachar- husband, Arjun Kumar,25, who Singhsaid.Effortsare onto nabthe having killedher and then them to the village.” CourtjudgeJustice Jasti notedthat the “timing”of jee’s healthconditionis worksataprivate firm in the na- othertwoaccused,anofficersaid. buriedthe bodyintheir field.” “AftersheleftDelhi,Icouldnot Chelameswar. Reddy’s letter to the CJI, com- showing signs of im- tionalcapital. dead, allegedly by her brothers, The victim came from Theofficersaidthatduringin- getintouchwith her and had The appointment comes at a plainingagainstJusticeRamana, provement, doctors said According to thepolice, who then buried thebody in the Kashyapnagar villageinKisni, terrogation,theaccusedsaidthey calledhercousin,thefamilylied,” time when Chief MinisterYS and the state government’s on Saturday. He is now Chandni's brothers Sunil (32), farm, the police said. Mainpuri district. Senior Sub- hadtakenherbacktoMainpurion he said. “The cousintold me she Jagan Mohan Reddy and his gov- move to makeitpublic“could out of danger,doctors Sushil (28) and Sudhir (26) met On November 22, Arjunsub- Inspector Jacob Fernandez of the pretext of acasual visittofix committedsuicide.Anotherrela- ernment have been at logger- certainlybesaid to be suspect” said, adding he maybe herinDelhi on November 17 and mittedacomplaintto DelhiPolice, Kisni told The Sunday Express, the tense relationship. tive saidshegot marriedtosome- heads withthe judiciaryinthe giventhat Justice Ramanahad dischargedbyTuesday. As took her backhome to Mainpuri. statingthathiswifehadbeenkid- "Kashyapgot marriedagainst ArjunKumar,who on oneelse,whileathirdrelative said state. ordered expeditious trial of per hospital sources, he is On November 20, she wasshot napped. Nearly three weekson, the wishesofher familyinJune. Saturdaynight wasonway back she had returnedtoDelhi.” In October,Reddy wroteto cases againstlegislators. responding to treatment Chief Justice of IndiaSABobde, On November 25, the faster than before.All alleging that Supreme Court Supreme Court, while hearing a blood parameters, pulse Kerala CM judgeJusticeNVRamanahad plea by theReddy government, rate oxygen saturation Police claim suicide, TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE been “influencing the sittings of stayed the AndhraPradesh High levelare normal. His announces free the (AndhraPradesh) High Court Courtorder restraining the me- Covid-19testreports is CASES: ACTIVECASES:3,59,819 including the roster of few dia from reporting the Amaravati negative.His health dete- UP man’s family calls Covid vaccine 285 Honourable Judges”. land deal FIR registered by the riorated on Wednesday DAYSSINCE 98,26,775 DEATHS:1,42,628 Reddy’s letter,whichalso stateAnti-Corruption Bureau. It PANDEMIC evening and he wasput forall in state BEGAN TESTS: 15,26,97,399 | RECOVERIES: 93,24,328 pointedfingers at someofthe directed that the matter be listed on mechanical ventilator it custodial death judges of the High Court, alleged forhearing againinthe lastweek support. He wasadmitted CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS judicial impropriety on the part of January2021. to hospital afterhecom- in whichshe expressedthe wish SHAJUPHILIP DEC11 30,006442 33,494 10,65,176 of Justice Ramana and raised Incidentally, in 2017,Jasti plainedofbreathlessness. SUKRITABARUAH to return home with her rela- THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, questions on land transactions Naga Bhushan’s father Justice ENS BULANDSHAHR,DECEMBER12 tivesand thatnoactionbetaken DECEMBER12 in Amaravati, allegedly involving Chelameswar, had alleged “un- againstthe man. In accordance members of his family. He also warranted intimacybetween The officer in-charge of apolice with this, she wasreturned to KERALACHIEF MinisterPinarayi alleged that TDP leaders were the executive and the judiciary’’ station in rural Bulandshahr has her family. Theman wasalso VijayanSaturdayannounced being shieldedfromprobeshis over the appointment of six High UTTAR PRADESH been suspendedfor “negligence” handedovertohis elder broth- that his government would pro- government had ordered. Courtjudges forAndhraPradesh 70-yr-oldgets afterthe familyofa28-year-old ers. Thepolice said he commit- vide the Covid-19vaccine to all Days later, Justice Ramana, and Telangana. He claimedthat man alleged custodial death. The tedsuicide in his home that people in the statefreeofcost. who is next in line to be the CJI, objections to the appointments 20-yearjailfor police, however, stated that he night and his final rites were car- “It is notknown howmany STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASES said, “it is an important quality raised by thenAndhraPradesh diedbysuicide“due to an unsuc- riedout in presence of people doses of vaccine would be avail- ACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK forajudgetowithstand all pres- Chief MinisterNChandrababu rapingminor cessful relationship” afterre- from the village,” the SSP said. able fordistribution in the state. Uttarakhand 6,8831,094 sures and odds and to stand up Naidu and Justice Ramana were turning to his family. PoliceonSaturday booked But the statewill distributethe N/A --bravelyagainstall obstacles”. similar. Lucknow:Alocal courtin Anil, the elder brother of the five relativesofthe woman’s vaccine free of cost. No feewill N/A -- the UP's Bareillydistrict deceased, Somdutt,said his family, includingher father,for be levied,’’ he said. has sentenceda70-year- brother had leftKanaini village abetment of suicide, on the basis Kerala is the latesttoan- STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLINING Two Maoist ‘Vikas Dubey old shopkeeper to 20-year in Khurjatehsil withawoman of acomplaint signedwiththe nounce free of costCovid-19vac- ACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK imprisonment forraping on December 5, twodays before thumbprint of Somdutt’s mother cine forits people.Statesinclud- Maharashtra73,315 10,544 operatives aminor girlin2018. The her wedding.Aweek later,po- Suresh. The complaint states that ing Tamil Nadu and Madhya Delhi 18,676 9,576 amar rahe’: accused has been lodged lice brought his bodytotheir Somdutt had returnedhome on Pradesh have already made a Rajasthan 17,721 6,597 in jail since his arrest in home on Saturdayataround 5 Fridaynight,after whichthe similar announcement. shot dead in Gangster’s July, 2018.According to am, he alleged,adding that it was woman’s relativescame to their The Chief Ministersaid the STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES police,the accusedraped the firsttime the familysaw him home and threatenedhim, and number of active cases is gradu- ONDEC11 TOTAL MP’s Balaghat her aftertakingher inside since he lefthome, before the that he committed suicidethat allycoming down in the state. Kerala 4,642 6,58,683 FB fan pages his shop on the pretext of body was“forcefullycremated” nightashewas “hurt”. “Thereisaslight increase in daily Maharashtra4,26818,72,440 giving her biscuit while before apostmortembythe However, Bhanu Prakash covid-19deaths. However, the IRAMSIDDIQUE West Bengal 2,753 5,16,505 under lens she wasreturning from familyofthe woman. Vimal, the lawyer of Somdutt’s test positivity rate is down to 10 BHOPAL,DECEMBER12 school. ENS However, SSP Bulandshahr family, claimedthe statementin per cent. If the localbody elec- STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS Santosh Kumar Singh referred to the complaint waswritten by tions do nottrigger afresh wave ONDEC11 TOTAL TWOMAOISToperativeswere AVANEESHMISHRA J&K the caseas“deathbysuicide due police. “In the Khurja police sta- of infections, the presenttrend Maharashtra8949,152 gunneddownoverthe course of LUCKNOW,DECEMBER12 to an unsuccessful relationship”. tion, we found that the CCTV of decline will continue,”hesaid. Delhi 60 9,934 anight-long operation in BJPprotests “On December 6, he made agirl cameras were notworking. If Kerala Saturdayreported Madhya Pradesh’s border district VIKAS DUBEY mayhavebeen West Bengal 50 8,966 againstPanther from his villagerun away from these were working, the current 5,949cases from 56,690 samples of Balaghat on Friday. Savitri,24, dead formorethan five months home.Bothofthem were found unpleasant circumstances could tested in thelast24hours. The DataasonDecember11,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical andShobha, 30, were part of the nowbut the gangster’s “fan” Researchandstategovernments.Often,thenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays Partyleader on December 10.The girl’s state- have been avoided,” the SSP said, number of total active cases aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive Darrekasa and the Malajkhand presence on social media ment wastaken by amagistrate explaining the suspension. stood at 60,029. Dalams,respectively.Bothwere seems to have takenalifeofits Jammu:BJP women ac- area committee members. own. tivists on Saturday Theywerekilledinthe The police areprobingmul- stormedthe office of MP manwho sold fake plasma Borevan forest region, 55 km tiple Facebook groups and fan Jammu and Kashmir Covid-19:How Delhiwill vaccinate from the districtheadquarters. pages that have poppedupin National Panthers Party to Covid patient’sfamily held According to police officials Dubey’s name. The gangster in protestagainstits J&K mosttertiary-carehospitals will fessor of the department of com- from Balaghat, the twowerea wasresponsible forseveral president and former ASTHASAXENA be ropedinfor the vaccination munity medicine at Maulana Tyagi's services on December 8 partofagroup of around 11 killings, including that of eight MLABalwant Singh NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 drive.Thereare approximately60 Azad MedicalCollege (MAMC), EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE on thesuggestion of aguardof Maoists who hadcometo the vil- policemen in Kanpur in July. He Mankotia forallegedly cold chain pointsineachdistrict. told TheIndian Express:“Alltop BHOPAL,DECEMBER12 the Apollo Hospital, where lages surrounding Borevan to waslater killedinapurported using derogatorylan- AS THE countrypreparesa Accordingto theWorldHealth hospitals in Delhi will be usedas Gupta wasadmitted. carry outrecruitment work. encounter. guageagainstUnion roadmap to roll out the Covid-19 Organisation, the purpose of the cold chain points, whichwill be THE POLICE on Saturdayar- Tyagi, who identifiedhimself Inspector-General of Police KP Some of the Facebook pages MinisterSmriti Irani. vaccineinthecomingmonths,the vaccine cold chain is to maintain utilisedfor immunisation. rested aman who allegedly sold as an employee of 'JEH hospital's Venkateshwar Raotold The Indian glorify automatic weapons, eu- Mankotia had without Delhi government has also initi- product quality from the time of Primarily, thecentres will be diluted plasma to the familyofa bloodbank', sold the plasma for Express:"The firstMaoistwas logise the gangsterand even naminganybody,atare- ated the process forcarrying out manufactureuntilthepointofad- manned by medicalofficers who Covid-19patient in Gwaliorear- Rs 18,000along with areceiptof shotaround midnight while the solicit contract killings. These cent rallyinUdhampur theambitiousimmunisationpro- ministrationby ensuringthatvac- will be coordinating the pro- lier this month. The patient, ad- the blood bank. It wasonlywhen other one who had gone intohid- groups arealso replete with district’s Khoon area, ac- gramme.The Delhigovernment, cines arestoredand transported gramme.” Gargisalso apublic mitted to aprivate hospital in the Gupta's health deterioratedthat ing in the jungle wasshotthe next sensitive andobjectionable cusedBJP of bringing 'fe- in coordination with the Centre, within recommendedtempera- health expert forthe Covid-19 city,diedlater. the familygrew suspicious. It morning around 6:30 am, after posts.One of them announces: male dancers' from Delhi. has identified609 cold chain tureranges. vaccination programme. The accused, known by his reachedout to thebloodbank to around 45 minutes of firing from “Vikas Dubeyamar rahe” (Long Smriti Irani had been in pointsinthe national capital As per the initial plan that has Delhi Health Minister nom de guerre Tyagi, wasthe find out that therewas no per- both sides." live Vikas Dubey). Udhampur to campaign whichwillbeusedforimmunisa- been chalked out so far, between SatyendarJainhadearliersaidthat fourth person to be arrested in son by thename of Tyagi there. Balaghat district has been Concerned, the Kanpur forBJP candidates con- tion of healthcareworkers, who 1.8lakh and 2.25 lakh healthcare healthcareworkers and frontline connection with the alleged The receipt, too, wasfake. seeing an increase in the move- Policehas asked itssurveillance testing the DDC elections. willbethe firsttoget the vaccine workers will be vaccinatedinthe staffwillbeadministeredthevac- plasma racket.Sources said he, Police officials said Tyagi re- ment of Maoists over the past team and cyber cell to collect When contacted, when it arrives. firstphase. At present, three vac- cine first, followedbythe elderly, along with the other arrested vealedthe name of another per- fewmonths. According to police moredetailsand take action Mankotia deniedhaving Cold chain pointswillspan cinecandidates—BharatBiotech’s and then the rest. persons, had linkswith the sup- son from whom he had pro- officials, the Left-wing ultras are againstcreators of these pages. said anything derogatory acrossprimaryand tertiaryfacili- Covaxin,SerumInstitute-Oxford’s In Delhi, thebiggestcold stor- plydepartmentsofmultiple cured thediluted plasma during trying to reclaim the forest re- Asenior police officer said if againstSmriti Irani. ENS ties, and medicalfacilitiesright Covishield and the Pfizer India agefacility is being created at hospitals and wassupplying interrogation. Superintendent of gions abuttingMaharashtraand needed, Facebook’s help could from mohalla clinicsand urban vaccine—are inthefray foremer- state-runRajiv Gandhi Super them medical equipment. Police Amit Sanghi said: “Wewill Chhattisgarhthatwerelostby also be sought. public health centres to district gency use authorisation. Speciality hospital and will be The familyofthe Covid-19 be soon registering an offence them owing to leadership dis- Kanpur (rural) SP Brijesh hospitals, maternity homesand Dr Sunila Garg, director,pro- spread over 5,000square metres. patient, Manoj Gupta,had used and probing the case further.” putes in the past. Kumar Srivastava said:“These Gold missing pages caught our attention when our surveillance team from CBI custody: found them active…Aninquiry Probe underway, UAKhader, among finest Malayalamwriters, dies at 85 is on. We have checkedthat the content is highlysensitive. says agency Legal action will be taken. We Awardin1984. Astring of 11 sto- Khader had apenchant forwrit- an outsider while growing up in Khader, who worked in the will also send aletterto NewDelhi:Aday aftertheMadras EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ries situatedinthe fictional ing as well as painting. He was aMalabarvillage. He sought to statehealthdepartment,was Facebook asking them to block High Courtordered Tamil Nadu THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, landscape of Thrikkottoor,the encouraged by the prominent overcome that alienation by dig- close to the Communistmove- these pages, butfirstwehave police to investigatethe disap- DECEMBER12 work stood out forits depiction Muslim League leader and for- ging deep intolocal history and ment in Kerala, and served as to finish our owninvestiga- pearance of over 100kgofseized of rurallifeinKerala’s Malabar mer Kerala Chief MinisterCH discovering the magic of myth the presidentofPurogamana tion,” he said. goldfromCBIcustody,theCentral CELEBRATED MALAYALAM region, well-definedcharacters, MuhammedKoya. and fiction in local lore. Kala SahityaSangham On the social networking agencyonSaturdaysaiditwasal- writer UAKhader,who pub- and afolksy narrative style. Afterschooling in Kerala, Thrikkottoor Peruma remains (Progressive Writers site, thereare at least12profiles ready conductinganinternalin- lishedmorethan 70 novels, Khader also publishedacol- Khader joinedthe Fine Arts unsurpassedinMalayalam lit- Movement). of Vikas Dubey andmorethan quiryintothe matter and that short stories and travelogues lection of stories, Thrikkottoor CollegeinMadras foradegree eraturefor itsnarration of subal- Severalofhis novels andsto- half-a-dozen public groups. strict action would be taken that areconsidered amongthe Kathakal (Thrikkottoor Stories), in painting. It wasduringhis tern lifeand continues to attract ries have been translated to ‘Vikas Dubey FanClub againstany officerfoundinvolved finestworks in the language, that explored the multi-reli- years in Madras that Khader dis- readers. English, Hindi and other Indian (Official)’ in itsbio section un- in the matter. diedinKozhikode on Saturday. gious rural communityof coveredthe writer in him. Seventy years afterhecame languages. His lastnovel, derlines that the FB profile is “As the discrepancy between He was85. Thrikkotoor and itsmythologies. At Kerala Samajam in to Kerala, Khader visited the vil- Shathru (Enemy), waspublished dedicated to “Honourable Vikas the quantity mentionedinthe The writer wasundergoing Khader’s Thrikkottoor is aregion Madras, he befriendedseveral lagehewas born in Burma, in in 2011. Dubey ji”. Thegroup has 9,700 search memo and as per the treatment forcancer forsome near Koilandi in Kozhikode, U.A. KHADER intellectuals and writersfrom search of his relatives. But he In his condolence message, members. Another public weight came to notice, the CBI time, PTI reported, quoting fam- wherehespent apartofhis 1935-2020 Kerala, including KAcould nottrace anyone from his Chief MinisterPinarayiVijayan group, ‘Vikas Dubey Genster promptly ordered an internal in- ilysources. childhood. Kodungallor and T mother’s extendedfamilyas said Khader wasanauthor who (sic)’, has 1,200membersand quirybyasenior officer to look Khader wasknown forapro- Khader wasborn to Padmanabhan. mostofthem had diedduring brought regional history intofo- has photosofpeople posing intothe role of itsofficials....CBI’s gressive and secular outlook to Ussangaantakathu Moithootti under the careofher younger His early storiesdrew from the waryears andthe rest had cus through his stories. Vijayan with automatic arms and internalinquirycontinues and if his lifeand his literature. Haji, aMalayali trader,and sister. His father wasforcedto his experiences of growing up as movedelsewhere following the also recalledKhader’s associa- openlyasking formurder con- anyadverse role of anyCBI offi- His mostacclaimedworkof Mamaid,fromBurma (now flee Burma during WorldWar II. an orphan. political turmoil in that country. tion with the communist move- tracts. Similarly,‘Brahmin cials surfaces, strict action willbe fiction, Thrikkottoor Peruma Myanmar), in Yangon in 1935. Khader wasseven when his fa- His distinctive Burmese fea- He wroteabout the trip in ment and the secularand pro- Shiromani Pt Vikas Dubey’has takenagainstthem,”theagency's (Thrikkottoor Lore), wonhim He losthis mother three days af- ther brought him to Kerala. tures and inability to speak Ormakalude Pagoda (A Pagoda of gressive political values he 2,500memberswith 180posts spokesperson RK Gaur said. ENS the Kerala SahityaAkademi terhis birth andwas brought up During his school days, Malayalam had turnedhim into Memories). espousedinhis life. in the last28days. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 8 CALENDAR THESUNDAYEXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020 YOURWEEKAHEAD BRIDGE SUNDAY CROSSWORD 2299 If it’s your Dealer:East,Vulnerable: Both ARIES (Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sept24-Oct 23) NORTH QUICK CLUES Birthday Your ruling planet, Gettalking but be ACROSS Mars, is being preparedtowait a ♠ QJ10 1. Bathroom powder (6) WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH slightlyindecisive, little longerbefore ❤Q874 I♣ 1❤ 4. Airdrop (8) ♦ 9832 9. ManetorMonet(6) mainlybecause you yousee your plans 1♠ 1❤ 4♠ 5❤ SundayDecember 13 find it very easy to be swept and ideasput intopractice. By ♣ A 10.The Lent period, forexample? You’reenteringapositivephase. The past Dbl Pass Pass Pass (4,4) away by small details and lose the end of the week you’ll be SOUTH 12.Representative samples(8) fewweekshavecoincidedwith intensity sight of the big picture. You clear about what mustbedone 13.Moveemotionally(6) and commitment. The real reason for maythereforedobesttomake at home andwill be able to ♠ 15.Importance (12) current changes is that everyone wantsa it clear that your position comparenotes withfamily 18.Lucknowlocale(5,7) cannotbechanged. members. If youreallywant to ❤KJ10953 better world; theyjustgoabout achievingit ♦ 976 21.Eat noisily? getthem to see things your way, (6) in different ways. TAURUS (Apr21-May 21) youmustset afine example. ♣9764 22. Natural impulse(8) It’s time forall you 24.Momentous (8) Monday December 14 Taureans to exercise SCORPIO (Oct 24 -Nov 22) When everyone has shape and agoodfit, the bidding canget wild. West ledthejackofclubs,wonindummywiththesingletonace. Decideonyour 25. Releasepent-upfeelings People who come into your circle nowwill due caution, so Even if youfeel that playbeforecontinuing. (3,3) helpyou achievepersonal aims and think long and hard youhavemissedthe HowshouldSouthcontinue? 26. Careless (8) ambitions. If the stars offeryou anyadvice before committing yourself to boat thereisstill TheWestHand:S-K8653H-A2D-J105C-J102 27.Loud, rushing noise anyfinancial ventures. time to catchup. TheEastHand:S-A742H-6D-KQ4C-KQ853 (6) over the coming months, it is to keep Oddly,5HXisprobablycoldatthispointifSouthdoestherightthing. Impulse buysshouldbeoff the Friends and relations will make DOWN OnequestionandIwillprovethisstatement. talking, even if other people clam up. agenda unless youare willing allowances foryou, especiallyif Howdothespadehonoursdivide? CanWesthavebothofthem? CanEast 1. Lie across or travel, in away (8) to part with alarge amount of you’vemade anygenerous havebothofthem? 2. Sluggishness(8) Tuesday December15 cash foraminimal return. gestures lately. Youmustbefair 3. Naive(15) Your social starsare strong, so teamwork to friends and family, andall Thespadehonourscanbealmostanywherewithoneexception. Westdoes 5. Farpartner (4) GEMINI (May22-June 21) largesse mustbeequally not have both of them. If West had both the ace andking of spades, he 6. Dentures (10,5) and co-operation aremostimportant. You wouldleadone,notthejackofclubs. Leadinganace-kingcombinationisone That energetic distributed amongstall. 7. Done for(6) shouldmaintain ahealthyself-respect,and ofthebestleadsaround. Seldomisitrighttoignoreanace-kingcombination planetMars is onopeninglead. 8. Ms ZintaofBollywood and IPL fame others maythen come to feel that youare encouraging youto SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec 22) (6) worthmorefinancially. be impatientand Youliketotellitasit Now,giventhatEasthasoneorbothspadehonours,thesuccessfulplayis 11.One from Central America(7) reckless, so if youstart is, whichtosome clear. Lead the queen of spades from dummy. East happens to play the 14.Sleepingoutdoors under tents(7) 24.IdateTim, perhaps, that's howI 17.Putting away the remains in some WednesdayDecember 16 issuing anyorders or people meansbeing ace. You ruff and go to dummy withaclub ruff. Lead thejackofspades 16.MrDiCaprio of Hollywood (8) behave like amonkey !(8) irritation (8) andwaitforEast'splay. Eastplaysalowspadeandyoudiscardadiamond. ultimatums now, youmay rather tactless. 17.Audacity (8) 25. Taxofficialsreturn very little in Italy 19.Sunnycontinent, but calleddark(6) Youcertainlyhaveaneye fordetail andan West takes it but nowyourspades in dummyare good.You canget to (6) land yourself in very hotwater However, rightnow youare at dummybyruffingaclub. OnlyifWesthastwoclubsandtheaceofhearts 19.Rightofentry(6) 20. Retreatbackwith some of the buffs ability to comeupwithpractical solutions to 20. Archimedes'cry (6) 26. Asalt mine mayproduce such indeed. My advice would be to your mostcharmingand will the defence be able to beat you. You will use dummy's good spade to forfinaldisposal (6) problems. But will otherpeople listento discardyourdiamondloserandnowyoucanarrangetoruffyourlastcluband 23. Bread rolls(4) illnesses (8) sticktoyour guns but tread persuasive,and straight concedeatricktotheaceoftrumps. 27.Discomfortafter travelling in aposh 23. It can burn wronglyappliedtape(4) you? If theydon’t, they’ll bethe losers. very cautiously, especiallyin talking maynot be the best "Ireally,really,reallywantedtodouble4S,"saysNorth. CRYPTIC CLUES car carrying beetles (notbees) personal matters. approach. Also, within seven "Onlydownone,"saysEast."Youdidbetter." ThursdayDecember 17 ACROSS (3-3) Solutions to 2298 days you’ll hearnews abouta Your starsare looking passionate. The CANCER (June 22 -July23) "Sorry,"saysWest,afterthinkingaboutthehand. "IfIleadeitherredsuit 1. Mrs. Hip in muchreducedform financial plan. (6) DOWN QUICKCLUESAcross: 1Temperamental, emphasisshould beon business, althoughit It’s time to check wesetthem." 10Locum,11Setsforth,12Boomerang,13 Westledthenineofhearts.ThisleadsurelymarksEastwiththeAJ10 4. See aquarter in the game and some 1. Does mime flop in apse? maybefun to spend on luxuries. Work out out your essential, CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) (8) Yearn,14Thepits,16Trieste,18Octagon, inner,nature. Lifecan be full of all monstrous goings-on here 20Sentoff,22Thief,24Supersede,26 interesting ways to boost your income,even Dealer:North,Vulnerable:EastWest (4,4) 2. The Frenchman has aged terribly Cancer is awater sorts of half-hidden Reinforce,27Nadir,28Light-fingered. if essentialcommitmentsseem to be 9. Digging in, amid Chinese dynasty afterdeserting the cause (8) Down:2Enclose,3Pampering,4Rasta,5 sign and,likeall watery undercurrents. NORTH SOUTH(YOU) (6) 3. Wearingdisplay in whichprogress is Mitigates,6Nifty,7Arrears,8Globe drainingyour resources. individuals, youare deeply However, an ♠ A1072 ♠ K8654 10.When father gets service there's made (9,6) trotters,9Changeofheart,15Sansserif,17 caring and compassionate. Yet unexplainedmystery will be something fish about the fuel 5. Love outlawtofinish Scottish seaport Ignorance,19Tbilisi,21Overdue,23Fifth, Friday December 18 ❤K72 ❤Q854 eventsatworkmay leave you cleared up soon, possibly (8) (4) 25Paean. These arebusy days andthe more time you feeling slightlybemused. within the week.Until then, CRYPTICCLUES ♦ QJ74 ♦ 63 12.Constabledepicted shadowonfruit 6. Be so good as to provide warmth after spend on all those essential chores, the Colleagues and associates just you’ll be fascinated by all sorts (8) abed experience(4,5,2,4) Across:1Staffshortage,10Runic,11 ♣Q10 ♣A7 Chiseller,12Melanesia,13Sonic,14 better offyou’ll bewhen your dreams come don’t see things through of gossip, rumours and hidden 13.Looksaround forboy in uniform (6) 7. Fluid outcome your eyes. knowledge.Midweek favours 15.The lightestofannual occasions (6) Nastier,16Caribou,18Lip-sync,20 true. In love,you mayaim forthe best. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Samurai,22Later,24Adulation,26 domestic arrangements. (9,3) 8. Smallcountryhouse is themost Subscript,27Icier,28Herpetologist. LEO (July24-Aug 23) 1♦ Pass 1♠ rationalarrangement(6) 18.Insistent about the N.C.O.being Down:2Tangles,3Fecundity,4Socks,5 Saturday December 19 Lighten up and AQUARIUS (Jan 21 -Feb 19) Pass 2♠ Pass Pass unreliable (12) 11.The climber's sole aid (7) Oligarchs,6Trees,7Goldnib,8Criminal Financial interestsmay betopofyour mind enjoyyourself. None of us can exist Pass 21.Long standing argument over 14.TVpsychiatristorganisesRAF rise class,9Precautionary,15Racialist,17 over the coming year.Therecouldbefew Venus, lady of love, entirelywithout gangsterhaving old fashioned (7) Rampaging,19Potable,21Raisins,23 activitiesthat youtakemoreseriouslythan is soon to line up in human company West led the nine of hearts. This lead surely marksEast with the AJ10(x). system (6) 16.Purposeoftreatment forsoldiers Recap,25Until. aspecial formation which and youstill need How,ifatall,doyouusethisinformation? 22. Sell safeoff Öwithout cover(8) laid up (8) promises affection to all but partners’ or close companions’ total hermits. Your support and co-operation if you associations with children aretotie up loose ends. should benefit and sons, However, people youmeetnext JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel5s daughters, nephews and week maybemorepositive and Instructions nieces maybeindulged to helpful than those you’ve Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, their hearts’ delight. known foralong time.

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2 BHK Approx 850 sq. ft., OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, The Indian EXPRESS PERSONAL East- West Facing, Well R.W.S.&S. DIVISION, NUAPADA Maintained, Main Road Govt. of Odisha "e" Procurement Notice CHANGE OF NAME Facing Flat In Mulund O-669 (East) FiveMinutes Bid Identification No. RWS&S_10 /2020-21 Walking Distance From The Executive Engineer,R.W.S &SDivision, Nuapada on behalf of I Mrs. Laxmi Baliram Railway StationAnd Governor of Odisha invites bids through e-procurement in double cover Salvi am Legally Highway. Intrested system in conformity with the terms &conditions of the detailed tender call Wedded Spouse of No. Parties Please Contact- notice (DTCN) from the Contractor registered with the Odisha State Govt & Contractors of equivalent grade/class registered with Central Govt. /any MATRIMONIAL OTHER 13850958y Rank HAV Anup- 9820609344. POULTRY other State Govt. /MES /Railway &Reputed Engineering firms having CLASSIFIEDS Name Baliram Prakash- 8879550708. Raghunath Salvi, valid &uptodate Contractors registration certificate, GST clearance BRIDES WANTED AMIR Broiler, Small: Residing At Kapsal, Tal- 0070723831-1 Certificate &PAN Card and possessing compatible Digital Signature Rs. 120/-, Big: Rs. 105/-. Chiplun (Ratnagiri) That Certificate as given in the DTCN to be eventually drawn up in the standard MISCELLANEOUS Lump sum (G2 )contract form. Contact: Phone: +91- Ihave changed my PROPERTY FOR SALE Nature of Work: - Rural Piped Water Supply schemes in 8828895000/ name from Laxmi B. different villages under Nuapada DOCTORS 8080432388/ 022- Salvi To Laxmi Baliram Salvi. Due To Inclusion Ulwe Sector-23open district. 25251901/ 022-23860517. No. of Tender: - 10 (Ten) nos. 28/5.7” Tamil RC Nadar Of middle name in full front airport view 1/2 0070722299-1 Approx. Estimated Cost: - Rs.67.45 Lakhs to Rs.232.40 Lakhs MS Ortho looking That My Date Of Birth is bedroom flats 52 Lacs/ 12.03.1957. (in Words Period of completion: - 06 (six) months Doctors Bride with Alibag Agro.Always 1.1 Cr contact same Community Twelth March Ninten Tender Cost: - Rs. 10000/- available Fresh Chest Contact 9840773577 Fifty Seven) 9769909403. Class of Contractor: - Class B&A and LegBoneless, Date and Time of availability 0050172245-1 0070723818-1 0050172813-1 Whole Birds, Full Legs, of bid document in the portal:- 14.12.2020 at 10.00 A.M. Wings, Curcus etc. I have changed my name Last date /Time for receipt of bids in the portal: - 23.12.2020 up to 5.00 P. M. Please contact on from Ms. Vanshika ESTATE&PROPERTY OTHERS Date of Opening of bid: - 24.12.2020 at 11.00 A.M. 9356217008. GajendraSingh Tomar to Ms. Vanshika The bidders have to participate in online bidding only.Further details can SuSuiitabletable match for 0070717329-1 2% StampDuty,Last Few be seen from the website http://tendersorissa.gov.in GajendraTomar as per Narula punjabi well set- Days UC/Ready/Resale Sd/- AffidavitDt: 11/12/2020. tled Delhi based hand- Freseshh Chicken Trading (Er G. C. Nayak) 1/ 2/ 3BHK At Borivali/ Executive Engineer, someindustrialist Big birds 87/- kg., 0070723689-1 Kandivali/ Dahisar RWSS Division, Nuapada 17/09/91/ 5” 8‘MBA Small birds 112/- kg., I Mrs. Vaashali Spouse OIPR-25050/11/0004/2021 Please contact- 0050172723-1-1 East/ West. Call- of Posnak Prakash 9999022848 with full Turbhe Naka, Navi 7738445432. Barku Resident Of Particulars Mumbai. Mobile: 0070723848-1 EDUCATION Waloti, PO- Morvane, 0020414949-1 9769468897. Tel- Chiplun, Dist 0070708740-1 Ratnagiri have changed TUITION/ TUTORS my name from Vaashali To placeyour ad GROOMS WANTED MEA Mumbai Eggs To Vaishali Prakash Association Suggested NALANDA Academy pro- Posnak vide affidavit in Classifieds call: Selling Rate in Mumbai vide Home tuitions offline/ dated 09.12.2020 before Tehsildar chiplun. Sanjeev : CHRISTIAN Rs. 500/- per 100 Eggs. online (8 to 12 std. PCMB/ all boards/ JEE/ NEET/ Mobile: 9820057700/ 0070723817-1 B.Com/ CA). 9082283805/ 9967552226 SaSalvatiolvation ArmyChristian 9820351822/ 7303390009. 9987504565 Science/ Girl 26 yr /5”/MBBS / 9820649468 commerce. Jitendra : from Trivandrum, 0070694753-1 THANKS GIVING Kerala. Preference to 0070721296-1 N.E.C.C suggested price 9930966193 Missionary doctors THANKTHANK youSaint Jude 9747968993 for 100 eggs in Mumbai and Sacred Heart of Vinay Yadav : samkuttytp1961@gmail. on 13/12/2020 Rs. 501/- RECRUITMENT com. Jesus for Favours and 8451957053 (FiveHundred One), Blessings received. 0050172364-1 only.NECC22834107. SITUATION Continue to help us. Harsh Dwivedi : 0070723204-1 VACANT ED’Souza. 7021818976 OTHERS 0070722983-1 S. K. Patel Small: 122/-, Shalvika : Big: 102/-. 8082040343/ SuSuiitabletable match for agar- 24460095/24459098. To OTHERS PROPERTY 8692939901 walgirl fair 5’6” (1996) subscribe to paper rate central government &purchase rate. Renowned Beach Resort gazzettedofficer post- ACCOMMODATION 9320460095/ 9930193010. @Harihareswar ed in Gujarat. cgoy- AVAILABLE required Residential ''IMPORTANT'' [email protected] 0070723300-1 Housekeeping. Cook & DODOMMBBIIVVLILI East,Pendse 0050172242-1 Whilst care is taken prior to VENCVENCOBOBBB Ex-Farm Asst Cook staffand exp Nagar, 1BHK, Area-480, Civil Engineer acceptance of advertising Yesterday’s price in First Floor, Airy,Road copy,itisnot possible to 9833728827 touch, Furnished flat for BUSINESS Pune Rs. 82/-. verify its contents. The Indian 0090279000-1 sale. 45 Lakhs, Express (P.) Limited cannot be Suggested Retail Price Negotiable. Contact: held responsible for such BUSINESS OFFERS is Rs. 100/-. 9869340090/ 9702137477. contents, nor for any loss or 0070714961-1 WORK FROM HOME 0070723670-2 damage incurred as aresult of ONLONLINEINE TRADING transactions with companies, ZORABIANZORABIAN Today’s Ex- associations or individuals OPPORTUNITYLooking Work From Home. Health DADADAR,R, Prabhadevi, for trading profession- Farm LiveBroiler Rate CareProducts advertising in its newspapers Shivaji Park, Worli, or Publications.Wetherefore Marketing Business als to manage funds or Rs. 82/- Retail Market Matunga, Mahim, Sion, recommend that readers make want to become traders Rate Rs. 118/-. Mobile: Opportunity.No Parel, Bhyculla, Office, necessary inquiriesbefore Investment.Free (Stocks &Forex 8879050887/ 9372663242. Shop, Flat, Godown sendingany moniesor trading) www. Trainings. 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THESUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020 Crude Wa tch OIL PULLSBACKAMID NY COVID CURBS NewYork: Oil prices settled loweronFriday, as demandworries due to new coronavirus-related restrictions on businessinNew Yo rk 9 ECONOMY overshadowedprogresstoward vaccination programs. Brent futures settled down 28 cents, or 0.6per cent,at$49.97abarrel. REUTERS

RESERVE BANK OF INDIAASKS FOR RESOLUTION REQUESTS INSTEAD OF PLANS 93rd ANNUAL CONVENTION OF FICCI Gadkari calls on India Inc to find Lenderstoworkoutrecastplan Swadeshi alternatives to imports

out this requirement,” he said, ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU addingthat therewas aneedto NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 12 reduce imports and increase ex- jointlywithborrowers,saysRBI portsinorder to makethe coun- THE DOMESTIC industryneeds try’s economystronger. to find “Swadeshi” alternatives “Wecan increase our sures of lending institutions to el- under the resolution framework. to importsfromcountries like growth rate and we can even in-

ENSECONOMICBUREAU ED igibleborrowers,includinginvest- In case credit opinion is obtained China,said MinisterofRoad crease the manufacturing sec- MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 Toensure ment exposures. “However, the from morethan one CRA,all such Transportand Highwaysand tor(shareinGDP) from 22 to 30 resolution framework is without credit opinions mustbeRP4 or Micro, Small and Medium per cent,” he said, adding that AIN restructuring THE RESERVE BankofIndia (RBI) prejudice to all applicable guide- better,” it said. Debt facilities/in- Enterprises Nitin Gadkari therewas aneedtotap research has asked borrowers to makere- PL isdoneearly lines issuedbythe relevant finan- strumentswith this symbol are on Saturday. institutes forinnovative tech- quests forresolution ratherthan cial sector regulators and other considered to have moderatede- In order to makeIndia “at- nologies to help in this regard.

EX E● working out resolution plans un- Departmentsofthe RBI in respect gree of safetyregarding timely manirbhar”, the shareofthe According to Gadkari, there der the KV Kamath committee’s THE RBI clarification ensures thatrecastisdone early without of anyparticularexposure,”itsaid. servicing of financial obligations. manufacturing sector in the is also aneedfor liquidity in the resolution framework to tackle compromising on the interests of lenders. The financial parameters pre- Suchdebt facilities/instruments country’s gross domestic prod- Road Transportand Highways market. Covid-related stress. The resolu- TheRBIhadearlierbroadlyacceptedtheKVKamathcommit- scribedby theKamathCommittee carry moderatecredit risk. uct (GDP) needstobeincreased and MSMEMinisterNitin “I knowthat thereare some tionplanwillbeworkedoutjointly tee’srecommendationto takeintoaccountfive specificfinancial and notifiedbythe RBI on TheKamathcommitteenoted to 30 per cent from 22-26 per Gadkari. via@ficci_india Twitter problems. RBI (ReserveBank of by thelendersinconsultationwith ratios and sector-specificthresholds foreachratio in respect of September 7, 2020 areapplicable that corporatesectordebt worth cent currently, he said at the India) has got Rs 9lakh crore the borrowers. 26 sectors while finalising the resolution plans. onlytoborrowershavingexposure Rs 15.52 lakh crorehas come un- annual meeting of the deposited by the banks, getting As per theRBI, borrowers do of morethanRs1,500crore forres- der stress afterCovid-19hit India, Federation of IndianChambers The Ministerurged the in- 2per cent interest. We aretry- notrequireany resolution plan in olutionplans to be undertakenin while another Rs 22.20 lakh crore of Commerce and Industry dustrytolook intoproducts, ing. The Prime Ministeris anyformtobesubmitted to the resolutionplanto beimplemented sectors while finalising the reso- termsof resolutionframework.“If wasalready under stress before (Ficci). Agriculture, on the other likemagnets and lithium ion telling them to use it forthe lending institutionsatthe time of maybedecidedbythelendingin- lution plans. thereare multiplelendinginstitu- the pandemic. hand, needs to account forover batteries, that arebeingim- people —finance it to the peo- requestforinvocation.“Rather,for stitutions,inconsultationwiththe While forpersonal loans the tionswithexposuretoaborrower Thiseffectively meansRs37.72 25 per cent of GDP as opposed portedand what is being pro- ple,” he said. invocation, the borrowers arere- borrower,”itsaidinaclarification. resolution plan is to be imple- whoseresolutionisundertakenin crore(72 per cent of the banking to 14-16per cent currently, duceddomestically. “Without liquidity,wecan- quiredto merelysubmitarequest The RBI clarification ensures mented within90days from the terms of the resolution frame- sectordebt to industry)remains he added. “Whatever the thing which notincrease the growth rate to thelendinginstitutionsforbeing thatrecastisdone early without dateofinvocation, forall other work,all lending institutions hav- under stress. This is almost37per Noting thatIndia wasim- we areimporting we have to and without growth rate,we considered underthe resolution compromising on the interests of loansaperiodof180days fromthe ingexposure to suchborrowerare cent of the total non-food bank porting “a lotofthings” in the find out the Swadeshi alterna- cannotget capital investment framework,” the RBI said. lenders. dateofinvocation has been pre- required to enter intoICA (Inter credit. The Kamath panel has said automobile sector from China, tive in the countrywithout and we cannotincrease the Thereafter, thelendinginstitu- The RBI had earlier broadlyac- scribed,the RBI said in an FAQon CreditorAgreement),”theRBIsaid. companiesinsectorssuchasretail Gadkari said, “I am notabusi- compromising on the quality employment potential. And tions will take an in-principle de- ceptedthe KV Kamathcommit- resolution framework forCovid- “Onlysuchresolution plans trade, wholesale trade, roads and nessman or abusinessexpert and cost. That is exactlythe withoutemployment poten- cision—as per their boardap- tee’s recommendationtotake 19 relatedstress. whichreceive acredit opinion of textiles arefacing stress. Sectors but Iamseeing ahugepoten- main mission of Atmanirbhar tial, we cannoteradicate proved policy—on invoking the intoaccount five specific financial The central bank said the res- RP4 or better forthe residual debt that have been under stress pre- tial forelectric cars, e-bikes, Bharat,” he said. povertyand, without that, we resolutionframework.“Aftersuch ratios and sector-specific thresh- olution framework maybein- fromacreditratingagencywillbe CovidincludeNBFCs,power, steel, electric auto rickshaws and “Hundredsoffields and sec- cannotmakeAtmanirbhar invocation,thespecificcontoursof olds foreachratio in respect of 26 vokedfor resolution of all expo- considered forimplementation real estate and construction. even electric trucks.” tors aretherewherewecan find Bharat,” he said. BRIEFLY ‘No pressure ‘Housing prices appreciation: 56 47th Kant: Need to focus CEA:V-shaped COUNTRIES &TERRITORIES RANK IN Q3 2019, AS on regulator to recovery India slips 7spots to 54th place’ TRACKED IN TERMS AGAINST 54TH IN Q3 2020. on sunrise sectors OF RISE IN RESIDENTIAL ADECLINE OF 2.4% YoY make decision continuesinOct India’s rank slipped 7places to 54th in terms of REAL ESTATE PRICES IN HOME PRICES appreciation in residential prices as ratesfell 2.4 per cent on vaccine’ NewDelhi: Chief Economic year-on-year during theJuly-September quarter, ENSECONOMICBUREAU AdviserKVSubramanianon according to property consultant Knight Frank COMPAREDTOJunequarter, pandemic,realestatedevelopers NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 Saturdaysaid V-shapedre- India’srankingremainedunchanged. startedinnovatingtheirmarketing ENSECONOMICBUREAU covery of economic activity strategieswhichincludedfinancial NITI AAYOGCEO Amitabh Kant NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 continuedinOctober and ATTHETOP benefits,discount,andeasy said on Saturdaythe government bothfactoryoutputandcore COUNTRY PRICE paymentoptionstoattractbuyers is working to bring down the cost INDIAWILLonlygrantemergency sector growth have inched APPRECIATION(%) of logistics and costofpowerfor useapprovalto aCovid-19vaccine up to the pre-Covid level. Turkey 27.3 OUTLOOK Indian industry.Hesaidithas on the basis of factors likesafety, NewZealand 15.4 Thoughtheeconomic takenaseriesof measuresto make immunogenicityandefficacy,said Luxembourg 13.4 fundamentalscontinuetoremain India highly competitive in the NitiAayogMember-HealthDrVK RBIappoints strong,economicrecoveryisfaster- global economy. PaulSaturday. threeexecutive MOROCCOwastheweakest- than-expected.Thehousingtrend Kant addedIndia needs to fo- NITI AayogCEO Amitabh “Ourregulatorwill(make)the performingterritoryinQ32020, remainsstrongandisexpectedto cusonboostingitsmanufacturing Kant. via @ficci_india Twitter rightdecision...indeed, safety,im- directors withhomepricesfallento3.3per continueinthefirstquarterof2021 capabilities in sunrisesectors. He munogenicity and efficacywill centYoY notedthattheProduction-Linked drive the decision,” said Paul. NewDelhi: The Reserve 4.5%: Theaverageresidential Incentive (PLI)schemecouldspur addressing the Ficci annual con- “These decisions will be sci- Bank of India has appointed WHYISITIMPORTANT? pricesgrowth(onannualbasis) manufacturingandhelpIndiabe- vention via video conferencing. ence-based, evidenced-based, RSubramanian, RS Ratho Inordertocombattheadverse across56countriesandterritories comealeaderinmanufacturingin Kantalsosaidtherewasaneed rules-based, norms based...We and RohitJain as economicimplicationsofthe worldwide Source: Knight Frank/PTI sectors under the scheme. to shiftfocusto boostingmanufac- have absolutely nopressureonthe executive directors. “The onlytwo challenges that turing capacity in sunrise areas. regulator to (make) thedecision we have inthemanufacturingsec- “What, quiteoften,wedoin oneway or the other,” he said, torare nowbringing down the India is to focus on sunsetareas adding that the regulator’s deci- AIgetsreprieve costoflogistics on whichweare of industries, and it’s then very sionmaking process is respected. inUKcourtover working, and discoms becauseI difficult to penetrate emerging The Drugs Controller General Forex reserves surge FinMin okays `9,879crore feelthatthecostofpowerforman- areas of growth, “saidKant, not- of India is also in touchwith regu- leasepayments ufacturing, industrial consumers ing that73-74per cent of India’s latoryauthorities in the UK and capex proposal of 27 states is still high compared to other exportswereinsectors that ac- working togetherwithrespect to London: Air India has got to record $579.3 bn countries, whichneeds to be countedfor only30per cent of “aparticularvaccinewhichiscom- some reprieve from aUK brought down,” said Kant while the globalmarket. montoboththenations,”saidPaul. courtasitallowedthecarrier time until early Januaryto ENSECONOMICBUREAU SECTORSTHAT makepayments in acase of ENSECONOMICBUREAU FCAsJUMP NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 WILLBENEFIT unpaid dues of over NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 2020s belong to India; focus on new $17.6million. ■Foreign currency THEFINANCE Ministryon THE COUNTRY’Sforeign ex- assets,amajor Saturdaysaid it has approved ■ The capital changereservessurgedby component of the Rs 9,879.61 croreworth capital expenditureprojects regulatory standards: Tata Sons chief SBIwillprefer $4.525 billion to toucharecord overall reserves, rose by expenditureproposals of 27 have been approved in co-origination high of $579.346 billion in the $3.932 billion to states. Of this, Rs 4,939.81crore diverse sectors like, dards,” Chandrasekaransaid. week endedDecember 4, the RBI $537.386 billion, the hasbeen releasedasthe first health, rural ENSECONOMICBUREAU He said the impact of Covid models:Chairman datashowed. ReserveBank of India’s instalment. development, water MUMBAI,DECEMBER12 on innovation has been all-per- In the previous week ended weeklydatashowed. In astatement, the Ministry supply, irrigation, vasive andmodels of working NewDelhi: SBIwill prefer November 27,the reserves had saidall states, exceptTamilNadu, power, transport, TATA SONSChairman from home aremaking all com- the co-origination model to declined by $469 millionto ■The gold reserves have availedbenefits of the education, urban NChandrasekaran said Saturday panies rethink the future cater to the financingneeds $574.821 billion. increasedby$535 newly announcedschemefor development. the countryshould focus on tal- of work. of MSMEs,chairmanDinesh In the reporting week,the in- million in the reporting ‘Special Assistance to States for ent,enable dataand bandwidth “My rootsthat areembedded Kumar Kharasaid. PTI crease in reserves wasonaccount week to $35.728billion. CapitalExpenditure’, whichwas and becomepart of the newreg- in technology make me see the of arise in foreign currency as- announcedonOctober 12 as part gation, power, transport, educa- ulatory standards to achieve pandemic and itsimpact on India sets (FCA), amajor component of of AatmaNirbhar Bharat package. tion,urban development. higher growth.“Isee tremen- in averypositive frame of mind. ‘FiatCEOManley the overallreserves. FCAroseby by $535million in the reporting The Ministrysaid the scheme As partofthe AatmaNirbhar dous, limitless opportunities in Tata Sons Chairman The 2020s belong to India,” he inpolepositionfor $3.932billion to $537.386 billion, week to $35.728 billion in the is aimedatboosting capital ex- Bharat package, the government India.Wehaveoften struggledto NChandrasekaran. via said.Headded self-evident the ReserveBankofIndia’s (RBI) week endedDecember 4, the penditurebythe stategovern- had announcedthat the Centre grow manufacturing as aper @ficci_india Twitter trends —advancement of digital Ferraritopjob’ weeklydatashowed. datashowed. mentswho arefacing difficult fi- will offerRs12,000crorespecial centageofour GDP.Weusually databyalmostadecade during Expressedindollar terms, the The special drawing rights nancial environment this year interest-free 50-year loan to highlightissues likepower,logis- thepandemic, decoupling of Milan: Fiat Chrysler Chief foreign currency assets include (SDRs) with theInternational due to theshortfall in taxrevenue states, exclusively forcapital ex- tics,and labour. We have pointed startactingbyvisionaryscale, we China from the UnitedStates that Executive MikeManley is in the effect of appreciation or de- MonetaryFund (IMF) rose by $12 arisingfromthe pandemic. penditure. out high-interestrates and have will becomeapivot to the new signifies that countriesand com- pole position to take over preciation of non-US unitslike millionto$1.506billion. The The capital expenditureproj- “Capital Expenditurehas a also understood regulatoryover- worldorder.Weneedanew fo- panieswillneedtode-riskand the topjob at Ferrari, Il the euro, pound and yenheld in country’s reserveposition with ectshavebeenapproved in di- higher multiplier effect, enhanc- reachand interference,” he said. cus on talent, enable dataand balancetheir supplychains on a Messaggero said. REUTERS the foreignexchange reserves. the IMF increasedby$46 million verse sectors like, health,rural ing the futureproductive capac- “But in the future, if we put bandwidthand we needtobea marketing basis forthe future— The gold reserves increased to $4.725 billion. development, watersupply, irri- ity of the economy,” it added. this behind us and as an industry part of the newregulatory stan- fortifythisbelief. Nasdaq to remove 4Chinese SEEKING TO DIVERSIFY AWAY FROM CANCER BIZ IN A BET ON IMMUNOLOGY DRUGS companies’ shares from indices AstraZeneca to buy Alexion for$39 billion Semiconductor Manufacturing spokeswoman Hua Chunying KANISHKASINGH InternationalCorp,Nasdaqsaidin said on December 4. Aspokes- tiallyslowing itsrollout, and as a “It is atremendous opportu- version of Soliris calledUltomiris &ROSSKERBER astatement. woman forindexprovider MSCI LUDWIGBURGER rivalshotfromPfizer was nityforustoaccelerateourdevel- has an even larger market poten- NEWYORK,DECEMBER12 AWhiteHouse executive or- Inc said via e-mail on Fridaythe FRANKFURT,DECEMBER12 launchedinBritainandapproved opment in immunology,getting tial. It expects more growth from derlastmonthbarredUSinvestors firmhasspokenwithclientsabout foruseintheUS.TheBritishcom- intoanewsegment of disease, a introducing the target’s rare-dis- NASDAQ SAID it will remove from buying securities of black- possiblechanges and will com- BRITAIN’S ASTRAZENECAhas panysaid on Saturdaythat newsegment of physicians, and ease treatmentstoChina and shares of four Chinese construc- listedfirms, starting in November municate “anynecessary agreedtobuy US drugmaker Alexion shareholders would re- patientswehaven’t been able to otheremerging markets. tionand manufacturing compa- 2021. The administrationof changes” soon. Alexion Pharmaceuticals for ceive $60 in cash and about coversofar,” AstraZeneca Chief TheBritishfirmsaidtheboards nies from indexesitmaintains in President Donald Trumpalleged IndexFTSERussell saidon $39 billion in itslargest ever $115 worthofequity per share— Executive Pascal Soriotsaid. of both companies had approved responsetoaUSorder restricting the companies were linked to December4itwoulddeleteshares deal, diversifying away from its eitherinAstraZeneca’sUK-traded Alexion’s best-selling drug is thedealwhichisexpectedto close purchase of their shares. China’s military. of eightChinesecompaniesinlight fast-growing cancer business in ordinaryshares or in Soliris,usedagainstarange of rare in the thirdquarterof2021. The securities,whichare not China condemnedthe move, of movesbythe WhiteHouse. abet on rare-disease andim- dollar-denominated American immune-disorders including AstraZenecawasonceseenas traded on the Nasdaq exchange, saying the effort rancounter to S&PDowJonesIndicessaidon munology drugs. DepositaryShares. paroxysmalnocturnal hemoglo- leadingtheraceto developaCovid will beremovedfromthe indexes principlesof market competition. December 10 it would remove Thedealcomesinaweekthat Basedonareference average binuria(PNH),whichcauses vaccine, but has fallen behind on December 21.Theyinclude “The US shouldstopabusingna- mainland-listedA-shares, Hong AstraZeneca said it wasconduct- ADR price of $54.14,that implies Vials of AstraZeneca’s anaemia and blood clots,and PfizeranditspartnerBioNTech,as China Communications Constru- tional powerand nationalsecu- Kong-listedH-shares and ing further research to confirm atotal price of $175 per share. Covishield vaccine at Serum whose revenue rose 3.6 per cent well as Moderna, whose shots ctionCo, China Railway rity concepts to suppress foreign American DepositaryReceipts whether itsCovid vaccinecould Alexion shares closedataround InstituteofIndia, Pune. File in the firstnine months to $3 bil- have shown greater efficacy in ConstructionCorp,CRRCCorpand companies,” Foreign Ministry (ADRs)of 10 companies.REUTERS be 90 per cent effective,poten- $121 apiece on Friday. lion.Astrahopesthatanimproved late-stageclinicaltrials.REUTERS WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020 10 SUNDAY STORY

With farmers rejecting the government’s offerand deciding to continue their protestagainstthe farm laws, The SundayExpress meets some of the farmers camping at Delhi’sborders, andvisits their families and farms back home, to find ashared concern—asense of despairoverfalling crop prices

HARISHDAMODARAN

ANY COUNTRIES experiencing rapid growth andrising prosperity,whichmay even be over afew decades,have at some point got stuckina“middle-income trap”. Punjab’s farm economycan be said to have been suffer- M ing this fate forquitesome time. The seeds of the granarystate’s postcardrural affluence storyfromthe 1960s were literallysownbyhigh-yielding varieties of wheat and paddy. KalyanSonaand Sonalika releasedinthe mid-Sixties, followedbyHD-2285 and HD-2329inthe early Eighties, raisedaverage wheat yields in Punjab from 1.2tonnes to over 3.7 tonnes per hectarebetween 1960-61 and1990- 91.IR-8(introducedin1966) and PR-106 (1977),likewise, pushedupper- hectareyields in paddy from 1.5tonnes to 4.8tonnes. The breeding effortsofthe IndianAgricultural Research Institute and PunjabAgriculturalUniversity scientists were accompanied by investments in rural link roads, electrification, tube-well and canal irrigation, organised ‘Will lose land to corporates farm credit —and, of course, APMC (Agricultural Produce Market ‘If corporatescome, they Committee) mandis.Metalledroads in 98%ofPunjab’s 12,188 villages by 1980, APMC yardswithin bullock-cartdistance and government procure- because of the new laws’ ment at minimum supportprices (MSP) ensured that the increasedpro- willtreat us as employees’ duction from the newsemi-dwarf varieties, responsive to fertiliser and wa- terapplication, also translatedintohigher incomes forfarmers. JARVINDER SINGH, 35 In the process, anew post-Green Revolution NARPINDER SINGH, 40 12,farming is akey source of income. Narpin- PADLUVILLAGE, agrarian middle class —not “rich” or “kulak” JATANAVILLAGE,LUDHIANA der’s wifeSharanjit Kaur,39, is ateacher at a KURUKSHETRA,HARYANA farmers, as armchair experts would believe — TOTALLAND: Owns 13 acres government school in the village.His father TOTALLAND: emergedinPunjab. This wasamiddle class that CROPS: Growspaddy,including basmati, passedawayfew years ago. 13 acres; sevenacres on lease wasconfident and very sureofits futureinagri- and wheat Besides the house in the village, the family CROPS: Paddy,chilli,potato, sunflower culture. And likeall middle classes, it wasaspira- ownsatractor,aSwiftcar,andaHappySeeder tionaland identified itsinterests withthat of India ground leveller.Thanks to theelectricity sub- (Bharat, in this case). RAAKHIJAGGA&AMILBHATNAGAR sidy forthe agricultural sector in Punjab,they SUKRITABARUAH Thatrural middle class is nowwaging waron LUDHIANA,NEWDELHI paynopowerbills. KURUKSHETRA NewDelhi —the same Establishment that once Besideswork onthefields,Charanjithasto propelledits rise. Itsfight isn’t about upwardmobility —agriculturecan no SINCE NOVEMBER 26, Narpinder Singh and take care of twocows,threebuffaloesandthree ON NOVEMBER 25, Jarvinderlefthis villageto (Top) Jarvinder with his parentsathis longer be aconduit forthat —but defending pastgains. histractortrolleyhavebeenonadifferentsort calves.Thefamilysellsaround35 litresof milk march towardsDelhi along with other farm- farm in Padlu village;hehas been The averagemonthlyincome of agriculturalhouseholds, according to the of afield—farfromhis13 acresinJatanavillage aday to theVerkacooperative society.“We get ersasthegroupfearedlosingitslandto bigcor- protesting at the Singhu border since NABARD’sAll-IndiaRuralFinancialSurvey in2016-17, wasthehighestinPunjab. in Ludhiana, and parkednexttoapolice barri- Rs 22 alitrefor cowmilk and Rs 40 alitre for porates because of the three newfarm laws. November 25. AbhinavSaha At Rs 23,133, it wasmorethan 2.5 times the national averageofRs8,931and cadeatthe Singhu border. buffalo milk,” says Charanjit. “Everyone in the villageunderstands the aheadofHaryana(Rs18,496)andKerala(16,927),withUttarPradesh(Rs6,668) Accompaniedbyvillagers, “I am aheartpatient. So my threat.Ibelieve that eventuallybecause of the and Bihar (Rs 7,175) farbehind. But this is still the familiar “middle-income Narpinder says he won’t go back granddaughtersandmy sister-in- newlawswewilllose our land to corporates The familyownsatractor whichthey trap”thatBrazil,Mexico,Argentinaandotherlarge LatinAmericaneconomies tillthe farm laws arerepealed. lawDaljithelpmetake careofthe suchasAmbani-Adani,” he says. bought forRs8lakh in 2014,acultivator,apo- hit in the 1960s—failing to transitionand break intothe richleague. “Thereisnothingforusinthe cattle,” she says. The 13 acres of farming land that the fam- tato planter,aharrowmachine,arotavator,a Punjab’s failureonthis count is mainlyattributable to theplateauing of newlaws. The laws have given “I can’t do muchmanual ilyowns supports his parents, wife, 11-year- land leveler,and atrolley. yields. Since 1990-91,its averageper hectare yields have further gone up from corporate houses direct entry work but Igothereonceaday. oldson,hisbrotherwhohasbeenlargely bed- Complaining about the poor sale of chill- 3.7to 5.2tonnesforwheatandfrom4.8to 6.5tonnesforpaddy.There have also intoagriculture.Already,forcrops Narpinder had sown the wheat ridden following an accident last year,his iesthisyear,Jarvindersays,“Iwasexpectingto been newblockbustervarieties suchasPBW-343,HD-2987and HD-3086 in withnoMSP,weare atthemercy before going to Delhiand luckily, sister-in-lawand 20-year-oldnephew. Since sell them at around Rs 40 per kg,but instead it wheat,andPR-121 andPR-126forpaddy.Butthegeneticyieldgainsfromthem of privateplayers. Once these the firstbatchofwater and urea November 25, apartfromJarvinder’s brother, sold at Rs 10-12per kg.Iincurredaloss of aren’tcomparable to those from the early GreenRevolution varieties. newlawscome in, that will hap- goesinonlyafteramonthof sow- allmalemembersof thefamilyhavebeentak- morethan Rs 10 lakh.”Incomparison,during Yields apart,the Punjabfarmer is facing pressures from risinginput costs pen in case of allcrops.Iamvery In Narpinder’s ing. So there’s stillaweekleft,” ing turns to jointhe protests at Delhi’s Singhu thesameharvesting season,hemade aprofit —beitoflabour,fertilisers, crop protection chemicals and diesel.Some of worriedand insecure about my (above) absence, his says Charanjit. border.WhenJarvinderreturnedonDecember of Rs50-55,000fromhissunflowercrop.And, these costpressures have been absorbed by the government through sub- future,” says Narpinder,who has mother Chandrika is “Everyone is taking careof 5totend to his crops, his son, nephewand 75- frompotato harvest inlastDecember,hemade sidised urea andfreeelectricityfor irrigation, though theyhaveexacted leasedout eight of his 13 acres. supervising work at eachother’s crops. Over 20 peo- year-oldfather took his place at the protest. aprofitofRs10-11lakh. their ownheavy price by wayofsoil degradation and groundwater deple- This year,Narpinder sold his the farm. Raakhi Jagga plefromour villagehavegone to Padlu,thefamily’svillage,hasapopulation The familyofeight livesinasingle-storey tion.The government has also persistedwith MSP hikes and procurement basmatiatRajpuramandi,75km Delhiandtheykeeptakingturns, of around 2,000.Tosupplement the income home in their potato fields. Jarvinder began of grain from the state’s 154primaryAPMC mandis and attachedsub- away,for Rs 25,000aquintal. He butNarpinderhasnotcomeback from their ownland, the familyhas also been work on thefarmafter completing Class 10, yards/seasonal purchase centres. Therewas reallynochoice when India sold paddy at a mandi 2kmfrom even once,” says Charanjit. cultivatingonanadditionalsevenacresofland but hopesfor a“different path” forhis son. desperatelyneededPunjab’s grain. his village forthe MSP rate of Rs 1,888. Sheisn’tcomplaining,though.“Whatmat- on lease,that has an annual rent of Rs 45,000 “I am sending him to aprivate school. It’s Today, thegovernmentdoesnot feel the need to buy muchfromPunjab. Over300kmaway, atJatana,inNarpinder’s tersisthatfarmersareattheDelhiborder, fight- peracre.“Ihave onefull-timehelper.Ihiredaily my dream to see him becomeanIPS officer.If Economists,too, see it as an unnecessaryfiscal burden. The feeling of being absence, neighbours and other villagers chip ing...,” she says. wage labourers forRs200 per dayduring the thatdoesn’twork out,Ihopehefindsajobwith unwanted and cavalier disregardfor their concerns can be an affront to any in with offers of help on the fields, with Nar- At Singhu,Narpindersays thedismantling harvest season. We mayneedabout 50-60 agoodsalaryataprivate company. If thatdoes proudmiddle class. pinder’s mother Charanjit Kaur,65, taking on of thesystemof arhatiyaswon’thelp.“Wehave workers per daywhen chilliesare being har- nothappen either,there’s always the Army. the supervisoryrole. an understanding with them. If corporates vested,” says the35-year-old. Farming is the lastoption,” he says. ForNarpinder,whodroppedafterhisClass come,theywilltreatusasemployees,”hesays. ‘Hardly made money.Sold bottlegourd for Rs 2per kg’ ‘Privateplayersdon’t offergood price for maize, moong’

GURTEJ SINGH, 25 SURJEET SINGH, 47 don’t offeragood price.Onlythe cultivation NANHERIVILLAGE,PATIALA RANSIHKHURDVILLAGE,MOGA,PUNJAB of wheat and paddy has kept us afloat,” says TOTALLAND: TOTALLAND: 15 acres Surjeet. 10 acres, of whichhehas leasedout 5 CROPS: Growswheat, maize and moong At Ransih Khurdvillage,Pradeep’s wife CROPS: Growswheat, paddy and garlic KaramjeetKaur(43)hasbeenlookingafterthe on remaining 5acres family’scattleinhisabsence.“Weusesomeof RAAKHIJAGGA the milk at home and give theresttothe vil- MOGA lage’s milk society,” she says. RAAKHIJAGGA&AMILBHATNAGAR Reiteratingthe demands of the farmersof PATIALA,NEWDELHI AMEMBER of the Bharat Kisan Union (Ugra- the village, she says,“We want the blacklaws han),Surjeet hasbeenprotestingatDelhi’sTikri to be scrapped, nothing else.” GURTEJSINGH firstwent to Singhu border on Gurtej(right)went to the Singhu border on November 28; in his absence, his bordersince November 28. Afew days before Surjeetsays he does mostofthe work on November 28. Since then, he has made one mother,Paramjeet, has been managing the farm. Raakhi Jagga, AbhinavSaha leaving, he completedsowing wheat on 10 hisfield,andhiresafew labourersto transport other trip, and is nowhome on a“brief visit”. acres of his land. On the remaining five acres paddy.“Ican’tafford anythingmore.Everyyear, Apostgraduateinpoliticalscience, Gurtej of his land, he had sown green moong and my input costs increase and Inow have adebt workedinaprivate bankforayearin2017,be- careofeachother,” she says. made. This season we grew bottlegourdbut maize, “but Idid notget good ratesfor either of Rs 6lakh,” he says. fore taking to his familyoccupation of farm- WhileGurtejwasaway inDelhi,Paramjeet onlygot Rs 2akg.The same formaize —we of the crops,” he says. His children,a15-year-olddaughter and a ing.His wifetaught in aprivate school but has had to manage thegarlic crop thattheyhave hadtosell at Rs 8akg. Whowill grow other OnDecember9,Surjeet returnedtothevil- 11-year-oldsonbothstudyinEnglish-medium been without work since the lockdown. sownontwoacresandwhichwillbereadyfor crops if this is the rate,” says Paramjeet. lage briefly to spray ureainhisfields,andinthe schools nearby. Karamjeetsays her daughter Besides the house in the village,the family harvestingby April.Thefamilyhassownwheat Gurtejtakeshiswheatandpaddyto Rajpu- fieldsof someof hisfriendstoo.Afatherof two helps her with dairyworkand has also devel- owns atractor,plough and motorcycle. on 2.5 acres, and green fodder and vegetables ra mandi,20kmaway, as the nearbyMardan- who has studiedonlytillClass 12,Surjeetsays opedaninterestinfarming. Gurtej’s mother ParamjeetKaur, 50, says on the remaining land. purmandi(lessthan2km)isalways crowded. farming is all he knows. “Wewantthings to getbetterfor our chil- thatsince the stand-offbegan, Gurtejand his “Thesoilforthegarliccrophasto besoften- “Thishas notbeen aprofitable year so far, “I joinedthe protests because Iknowthat dren. Earlier,Itoosat on a dharna at apetrol threepaternaluncleshave beentakingturnsto ed by digging.Since Gurtej wasaway, Igot with an averagedecrease of about 10-15% on the newlawswill reduce my income further. Karamjeetsays her daughter is pumpinMoga, but nowthere’sabigger mor- go to Delhi,andto work inthefields.“We have labourers to do it forRs35,000.Itooworked returnsfrompaddy. Iamrunningdebtsofover Even nowwhen Iapproachprivate compa- interestedinfarming. Raakhi Jagga cha in Delhi. Onlythat will forcethis deaf gov- manyrelativesinthe villageand we all take with them. There’s hardlyany moneytobe Rs 5lakh,” says Gurtej. nieswithmymaize andmoong crop, they ernment to listentoour demands,” she says. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 11 OPINION THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020

Across Fifth THEAISLE COLUMN TAVLEENSINGH Thenewnormalisscary Twitter@tavleen_singh

CHANGE IS the lawofnature.India, to- companies areoccupiedbywomen; —ofanxiety or fear or desperation.The cial activists,writers and poets;and day, is notthe India of the 1200sorthe when an India-issuedcredit cardpayable newnormal in India appears to bethat — ■ monopolisation of economic 1600s, it is notthe 17 percent-literate in rupees is acceptedinevery foreign ■ the Prime Ministerwill complete powerwillbeencouraged and actively Surrealism IndiawhenitattainedIndependence in country; when one can dial and speak to twoterms as head of the government supported. 1947,itisnot the India that sworebythe anyone in the worldwithout going without addressing asingle press State‘occupying the commanding through the agonyof‘booking atrunk conference; ARE YOU PROUD? as reality PCHIDAMBARAM heightsofthe economy’. call’; when onecan buy acar,truckor ■ the right to speakinParliamentor Website:pchidambaram.in One changecan dramaticallyalter the two-wheeler on EMI; when one can or- at an all-partymeeting will be controlled Read all of the above examples in one Twitter@Pchidambaram_IN courseof acountry. In1991,DrManmohan derfood to medicinestoclothes online (and denied) by afinger on abutton that go,discount some adjectivesasbiased, REALITYINIndia sometimes seems sur- Singh, as Finance Minister,did what until and have thegoods delivered at one’s will ‘mute’ the microphone; place your hand on your heart, arouse real. We sawthis happen lastweek.The thenwasunthinkable.Heabolishednearly door;when one can buy medical insur- ■ asenior bureaucrat will openly your conscience and ask yourself the Prime Ministerperformedareligious allrequirementsfor licences and permits. ance and recovermostofone’s expenses speak of “too much democracy” and will question: am Iproud of the ‘new’ normal ceremonytoinvokethe blessings of the As CommerceMinister, Iannouncedthe of hospitalisation or surgery;when notbeadmonished; to whichmycountryisheading? gods forthe inauguration of anew newForeignTradePolicythatstartedwith sportspersons from rural India fill many ■ the Special MarriageAct that Take theUPordinance againstthe Parliament building. It wasasifwehad theunprecedented(forIndia)declaration places in the Indian cricketteam;and permits inter-faith marriages will be so-calledlovejihad thatwas defeated thepandemic and the econ- that ‘Imports and Exports shallbefree’. when Indian origin executiveshead repealedbystealth andreplacedbyalaw promulgated on November 28. Within omywas doing so well that we had Alongwith the two-step devaluation, Google, Microsoft, IBM,Adobe, Nokia, that will punish the man among the 11 days,fivecases were registered.In moneytospare forsomething that is not the three policy announcementsset Cognizant, MasterCard, Xeroxand inter-faith couple; one case, the girl’s familytold the police exactlyapriority.Surreal? The reality is the country on anew and irreversible Reckitt Benckiser,thereisasurge of pride ■ the government by the majority of that the twofamilies had resolvedthe that the pandemic is still ragingacross economic direction. in our hearts. elected legislators will turn intomajo- matter, the girlhad marriedanother boy the country, overwhelming our shabby Some changes happen over aperiod Some newnormals makeone un- ritarian rule; and the familyhad notfiled acomplaint. health services and causing millions of of time and arenoticedonlywhen the comfortable. Forexample, Iamnot yet ■ the media (or the bulk of it) will be Yet, an FIR wasregisteredagainstthe young Indians to lose jobs theydesper- One canconcludethat the changegathers acritical mass. Thereare totallyconvinced that courts should be- takenoverortamedintosubmission by boy. In another case, following an FIR atelyneed. TheEconomicTimes reported most rampantcrime in UP many examples: can anyone identifythe come virtual courts andconduct all hear- the ruling party; and anon-bailable warrant,the police lastweek that 3.5 million Indians lost is twoyoung peoplefalling datewhen the ubiquitous STD/ISD/PCO ings through video.Routine applications ■ the institutions created to actas threatenedtoattachthe property of the their jobs in the month of November. boards vanished? Or the datewhen and minor cases maybeheardinvirtual watchdogs will be hollowedout by boy’s familyifhedid notrespond to the The realityalso is that millions of in love and marrying! Hence listenersstopped tuningintoAll India courts,but when major questions of law leaving vacancies unfilled or by appoint- police’s summons. One canconclude very poor people in rural India arebeing it is engaging the attention Radio (or Aakashvani) to ‘listentothe or complexfactsare required to be ar- ment of loyalservitors; that the mostrampant crime in UP is driven back under the povertyline be- of the chief minister and the news’? Or the datewhen everycollege- guedand analysed,thereisnosubstitute ■ some aremoreequal than others twoyoung people falling in love and causeofthe economic damage the pan- entire police force,more going girl,eveninthe conservative South, foraphysical hearing. Eyecontact of the under lawand in the access to justice; marrying! Hence it is engaging the at- demic has caused. And, even in acity like abandonedthe half-sari and switchedto lawyer with thejudgeiscrucial.And if ■election contributions will be con- tention of the Chief Ministerand the en- Mumbai Iknowverypoor people who than the growingnumber of apair of jeans or a salwar-kameez? the courtisamulti-member bench, the trolledand directed to the ruling party; tirepoliceforce, morethan thegrowing rely nowonthe kindness of strangersto cases of murder, rape, body languageofthe judges affordsvalu- ■ non-government and non-profit number of cases of murder,rape, assault getone meal aday.This is because the assault or theft to whichthe SURGE OF PRIDE ableguidance to thecounsel. organisationswill be suppressedor or thefttowhich thepeopleare appar- small pavement restaurantsonwhich peopleare apparently drivenout of the country; entlyaccustomedas‘normal‘ in UP. theydepended have closedand they Everychangeushers in anew normal. ■ investigation agencies and anti- The ‘new’ normal forUPmay become cannotaffordtobuy rations to cook their accustomed as ‘normal‘ Some newnormals areuplifting. When CHILLING FACTS sedition laws will be usedtointimidate the newnormal forIndia. That ownmeagremeals. In atime of such in UP 17 percentofBoardpositionsinlisted Some othernew normals send achill and incarceratepolitical adversaries,so- is scary. deepeconomic distress, does it notseem morethanslightly surreal that we will be spending thousands of crorerupees on anew Parliament building? Surreal reality continuedwhen the My ISOLATION PrimeMinister afterthe inaugural cere- monymade aspeechinwhichhesaid, AWEEKLY WINDOW INTO THE LIVES OF INDIA’S NEWSMAKERS Dalitality Dalits and the “Thepeople of the country willbuild the AND IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON THEM newParliament together.” Has he no- ticedthat ‘the people’ have been SURAJYENGDE camped on theborders of Delhi formore Twitter@Surajyengde oppressions within than twoweeks? Theyare protesting ‘Unlessanemergency, I againstfarm laws that theybelieve will cause moreharm than good. If the Prime Ministerhas noticedthe farmers’ siege, don’tstepout of house’ THE RESPONSIBILITYofseeking an egal- he gave no indication of this. In this same itarian worldcannotbeunderminedbya speech,hesaid,“Speaking and listening community that wantsanorder basedon is at the heartofdemocracy.” What precautions areyou taking? equality,respect and compassion. The It remindedmeofsomething he him- Ialways wear amask,and sanitise my burden is heavier on it than those who de- self said just months before he firstbe- hands frequently. Unlessthereisanemer- rive their powerfromoppression. Thus, came prime minister. Therewas an India gency,Idon’t step out of my house. even as it organises againstcaste,the Dalit Today conclaveinDelhi at whichhewas community mustalso seek to target its the star speaker.The audience wasmade Have yougot yourself tested for surrogates—gender,sexuality,religion, up of exactlythose people who arenow Covid-19? region, and other forms of harm. reviledbyModi’s supporters as ‘Lutyens Yes,Ihavegot tested29timesinthelast One of the chargesheld againstthe libtards’. Theyhad come to listentoa four months.AsIwas playinginthe Indian community is itspatriarchal tendencies man theysaw as an outsider and an up- PremierLeague(forRoyalChallengersBan- and treatment of itswomen.While the startbut were willing to give him a galore),Igot testedregularly.Fortunately, it charge is notinvalid, it is notoriginal ei- chance. Tenyears of the Sonia- wasnegative everytime. Sincethe IPL took ther.Wokepolitics, that drawsonoppres- Manmohan regime had created even in placeinthe UAEthis year,the players had sion paralympics, restsonfindingidenti- theseveryprivileged Indians asenseof to getthemselvestestedthriceinIndiaand ties moredevastating as aprecursor to despondency and defeat. In his speech, thenthreemoretimesafterreachingDubai. grantingDalitstheir legitimacy.The iden- Modi painted awondrous vision of what Oncewe enteredthebio-securebubble,we tity of gender is among thefirstofthese he sawasIndia’s future, but made it clear underwent aCovid-19 test everyfivedays. identities,followed by sexuality,then re- that changeand development would Illustration: Suvajit Dey gion, with class finding itsway some- onlycome withthe supportofapeople’s Have yougone intoself-isolation in the where. It is quiteinteresting howand why movement.Heremindedusthat pastmonths? class gets the least, if notthe last, atten- Gandhiji hadcreated sucha‘janandolan’ Ihavenot because Ididn’tcomeincon- Former India wicket-keeper and tion in this caste-wokesocial media can- to fight forfreedom from colonial rule. tact with anyone who wasinfected.How- batsman PARTHIV PATEL, 35, cel-culture. This call of judging one’shu- The real problem with his farm laws ever,Ihad to quarantinemyself forseven recently announced his manitybasedontheir gender, sexuality is that therewas no attempt at a‘janan- days in aBangalorehotelbeforeleaving for retirement from international and religion has resonance especially dolan’. They were rammedthrough theIPL.Therewasanotherseven-dayquar- among Gen Z—one of my favouritede- Parliament without persuading farmers antine periodafter reaching Dubai. cricket, taking on the role of a mographic groups. that theywereintheir best interest. The talent scout forIPL champions This position marksDalitout as an ad- farmers areready to spend cold winter What kind of gloves and mask do you Mumbai Indians. In his 18-year jective that canbehyphenatedwith other nightsand days in the open to make use? career,Patel has played 25 Tests, moral accountabilities, including patri- their voice heardbecause theybelieve Iuse disposable gloves and athree-lay- archy. Butthe idea of gender and sex theyhavethe right to be consulted be- eredcottonmask.Iwashiteveryday before 38 ODIs, and waspart of the IPL needs clarification.Sex is abiological iden- fore majorchangesare brought in the using it again. in UAE, where he played forthe tity assignedatbirth —male or female. Illustration: Suvajit Dey ways in whichtheysell their produce. RoyalChallengersBangalore Genderisapersonal choice, an apprecia- the veryimportantrole of female elders in patriarchyasacanon of investigation,and Theyrepeat over and over again to the While interacting with people, howdo tion of oneself in contextofanother man, their upbringing —mothers, grandmoth- notsingle out Dalit patriarchyasatheory? reporters who come to interviewthem youensureyour safety? woman, non-gender,ornon-binary. ers, aunts, sisters, stepmothers. It is here Dalit patriarchy, in fact, is asummation of that theywantthe Prime Ministerto Ifollowsocial distancing. One habit INTERVIEWBYDEVENDRA PANDEY Gender is asocial construct likerace, caste, that we needtoexamine the conduitsof caste, class, and gendered beingness. hear them. If the newlawsweremeant whichIhavegiven up is shaking hands. and other fictitious divisions. howforms of dominationplayout. What can’t be forgotteneither is that to improvetheirlives,should their ben- Instead, Igofor the traditional namaste. But is Dalit male patriarchyDalit pa- Severalstudies done by Dalit women an urban Dalit has access to Western vo- efitsnot have been communicated to andmoviesonOTTplatforms...At onepoint triarchy? Portraying it as suchmakes a scholars, in particular writer-professor cabularies to put across experiences, un- them first? Howlong have yougone without Idid feel that it’s notgoodfor health. But I conversation and apossible reconciliation Roja Singh, talk about the uber position likehis or her first-generation rural- If democracy is about ‘speaking and seeing your family? did nothavemuchelse to do. difficult. One question to askhereis, is Dalit women occupyinrural areas of dwelling counterpartwho is notexposed listening’, whyare theynot being heard Idid notsee them forthree months Dalit male behaviour Dalit subjectivity,or TamilNadu. Dalit matriarchy is, in fact, to similar sensitivities. instead of maligned? While the Prime whenIwasinDubai playing in the IPL. Howdoyou keep your mindoff the does it derive from privileges granted to common among communities with a However, this is notmeant to excuse Ministerchosetoquote Guru Nanak in pandemic? males in apatriarchal society? close relationship to land. Dalit males of the charge of patriarchy, but the speech he made at theceremonylast Howoften do youstepout? Ididalot of yoga andcontinuedmy tra- The charge of Dalit patriarchyisnow The proposition of Dalit patriarchyalso to makethem awareofthe responsibility week,did he notice that the BJP’s vast During lockdown, Iwent out onlyonce ining to keep busy.Idid my workoutsat being usedtoput down anyassertion of derivesits inspiration from the Western of addressing this charge simultaneously and powerful propaganda machine had to donatemasksandsanitiserstothepolice. homeand went on alot of walks. My being Dalit. Both Dalit males and females canon of feminism as an actagainstthe and noteventually.One cannot be blind startedacampaign to depict protesting Now, Ionlystepout if Ihavecommitments. daughter’sonline classeshavestarted,but arereducedtodefiningtheir identities in dominationofmales. AreDalit males in to the suppression of one’s ownwhile Sikh farmers as Khalistanis? The same Ihaveensuredshealsoworksoutwithme. opposition to the other,ratherthan as muchofaposition to dominate as oth- positing auniversalistagenda. Anti- tactic wasusedwhen another group of Howmuchtime do youspend in front through their ownautonomous selves. ers, or is their domination derivedfrom women behaviour needs to be addressed Indian citizens begantheirprotest in of ascreen? What is the firstthing youwant to do in Arethereany crediblestudies to au- caste-victimhood lockedinvicious as acommunity project. ShaheenBagh at about this time last Alot,actually. Duringthelockdown,the aCovid-freeworld? thenticateexistence of aDalit male behav- Brahminicalpatriarchy?Ifthat is the case, year againstthe Citizenship (Amend- televisionandmy tabletweretheonlysour- Iwant to see people happy, without iour? The obsessive focus on Dalit mas- whynot have Brahmin patriarchy,Baniya Suraj Yengde, author of Caste Matters, ment)Act. Theywerecalled jihadists ceof entertainment.Isaw manywebseries masks, be fearless again. culinity andmaleupbringingdownplay patriarchy, Kshatriyapatriarchy, Shudra curatesthe fortnightly ‘Dalitality’ column and Pakistanis. If the PrimeMinistertrulybelieves that democracyisabout listening to ‘the people’, then whyare all those who try On the to speakupfor their rights depictedas When this is over: Life in post-Covid world anti-nationals and terrorists? Whyhas LOOSE almost everylaw passedinthis firstyear of his second term been rammed LEHERKALA lengeall of itsown. they’re insecure and mistrusting of each With due respect to the moratoriums on early.Aswereturn to normalcy,it’s diffi- through Parliament? Has he noticedthat [email protected] Trustisvital to our dailyexistence. If other,and the vaccine as well. The dis- closeness,let us notforgetphysical cult to foretell if the pandemicwill funda- it is because of this attempt to impose everybodywas eyeingthe other warily, life tancesCovid has created among human gestures have incalculable (dopamine) mentallyalter the waywelive. Micro-level changebyfiat that thereisasense of would become evenmoreisolating than it beings is aweirdkind of lethal, felt more value thatallowustosilently convey and changes areeasier to predict. things slipping out of control? AFTER LOSINGhis spectacles innumer- already is. “You maybedeceivedifyoutrust fiercelybecause of the end of friendly feel emotion. Pedestrians will steer clear of each If the capital of India can remain under abletimes, my father has takentoscotch- toomuchbut youwill live in torment if you pleasantries between masked strangers. Is it prematuretostart making plans other.People will stay masked while using siegefor more thantwo weeks,itis impos- taping his mobile number on to the case do nottrustenough,” opinedAmerican Goneare the hellos in lifts,the polite six months hence, apost-Covid bucketlist public conveyance. Waving, air kissing sible to believe that all is well. And, yetit to aid the Good Samaritan who may thinker and clergyman Frank Crane, in the exchanges in grocerystores, nobody both- of sorts?Itishuman naturetolivelifein and namaste will replace the handshake. waswhile the siegecontinuedthat the stumble upon them. As lifewould have it, late 19th century. By and large,the world ers looking anyone in the eyeanymore. anticipation, acoping tool to makethe Maybeinretrospect, we’ll miss this Prime Ministerfoundtime to perform are- he hasn’t lostthemsince, so there’s been functions with great optimistic spirit,on Letustakesolace in the fact that the drearypresentbearable. There is apeculiar bizarre timethat has provoked auniver- ligious ceremonythat marks the firststep no opportunity to reaffirm our faith in the the assumption that humanity will act in metaphorical finish line, obscurethough kind of joyinspending hours mulling over salbout of mass introspection. in the construction of anew Parliament inherent goodness of human beings. Ibe- accordance with certain expectations. We it is, is somewhat visible.As2020 winds the endless futurethat stretchesahead. StuckinThe Waiting Room before the buildingthat hewantsbuiltby 2022.In the lieve Iwould do it, makethatcall and re- knowtraffic will halt at redlightsand col- down and it seems so does Covid, thereis (Happily,aventilator no longer springs to dental chair (as Ithink of Covid), the rea- firstweek of the siegehefound time to go turn apair of glasses that areofnouse to leagues will showupfor meetings when everyreason to hope that 2021willbefree mind.) Travel, funnilyenough, is no longer lisation has dawnedonsomanythat so- to Varanasi and cruise down the Gangato me and the loss of whichmay be hugely theysay theywill. Relationships, work, of these feelings of suffocating claustro- apriority.Itisasobering thought that for ciety’s definitions of success arecom- witness alaser showonDev Deepavali. Is it irritating to someone. However, in these sport, leisure, politics, everything is based phobia.The post-pandemic world! It’sal- so manyofus, ourfirstportofcalls will be pletely immaterial. The learning — notfairtoask if he exists in adifferent real- times of disillusion, peopleacceptlosses on this understanding. mosthere! To hell withsix feet distances condolence meetings.Not being present howeverbrieflyitlasts before we descend ity to theone the rest of us inhabit? Or is it faster and also lackthe motivation for One of the intangible falloutsofCovid and backtoaworld of hugs. to grieve with lovedones is, somehow, backtoold patterns —istothink of time just thatsortofmomentwhenIndianreal- niceties. It can be debated,definitely, the is ashattering of trust. The greatestof Ihavestruggledsince my greeting of worse than notbeing able to attend cele- as an organising principle of life. It makes ity becomes so surreal that it is hardtosee extent to whichour actions areinfluenced countries have bungled pandemic re- choice has always been an enthusiastic brations. So manyrites of passagewetook it easier to free oneself from the extraor- clearly what reality is anymore. Through by the environment we live in. In this es- sponse, leadingtoaworldwide loss of faith throwing of arms and akiss.Regrettably, forgranted,weddings and graduation par- dinarilybanal burdens we carry,inthe the fogofsurrealism what is clear is peciallyfraught year,not seeing aconspir- in governments. Worse, notonlyare bil- when Imeetmyfriends,Ican neverre- ties were dismantled, forcing the young name of living. that the voice of ‘the people’ is notbeing acy or danger in everysituation is achal- lions petrifiedof catching the coronavirus, member to adheretothe newprotocols. intofacing crushing disappointment too The writer is director,Hutkay Films heard. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020 12 THE WORLD

TOPOFTHE WORLD USclearsPfizervaccine,shotsto startarrivinginstatesonMonday

Massive logistical operationtodistributethe shotskicks off; 3million doses to be shippedinitially wide, according to officialswith Peru suspends Trumpsupporters protestinfront of Supreme Court LAURANNEERGAARD, Operation Warp Speed. Asimilar building,inWashington on Saturday. Reuters At aprotest in Seoul MATTHEWPERRONE amount is to be heldinreserve Sinopharm on Saturday. AP &JONATHANLEMIRE forthose recipients’ second dose. WASHINGTON,DECEMBER12 Initialshipments areexpected vaccine trial after to leave Pfizer’s manufacturing Top court swiftly SOUTH KOREA THE UNITED STATES’ firstCovid- plantin Kalamazoo,Michigan,via ‘adverse event’ Protestserupt 19 vaccine will begin arriving in truckand then be flown to re- states on Mondaymorning,US gional hubs around the country. ends Trump-backed asnotorious officials said Saturday,after the Adding to the distribution REUTERS government gave thefinal go- challengeisthat the Pfizer- LIMA,DECEMBER12 rapistwalksfree ahead to the shots needed to end BioNTechvaccinemustbestored Texas bid to upend SOUTH KOREA’S mostin- an outbreak that has killed and shippedatultra-lowtem- PERUSUSPENDED trials for famousrapistwasreleased nearly 300,000 Americans. peratures of about 94 degrees China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 on Saturdayafter serving Trucks willroll out Sunday ThePfizer Global SupplyKalamazoo manufacturing plant in belowzeroFahrenheit. vaccine due to a“serious adverse US election results 12 years in prison, spark- morningasshipping companies Portage, Michigan, on Friday. Pfizer has said it will be able to Thegreenlightto beginvacci- event” that occurredwith one of ing angrydemonstrations UPS and FedEx begin delivering supplyupto25million doses before theend of theyear,and nations came lateFridayafter the the volunteersfor the study,the and anonymous death Pfizer’svaccineto nearly 150loca- 100million total vaccines by March. AP FoodandDrugAdministrationau- Peruvian government said in a threatsthat ledtoanin- tions,said Army GeneralGustave thorisedemergency use of the statement on Saturday. The LAWRENCEHURLEY creasedpolice presence FPernaof OperationWarpSpeed, vaccine. The FDAfoundthe vac- health ministrysaid the event is WASHINGTON,DECEMBER12 CALIFORNIAFILESTO outside the predator’s the Trumpadministration’s vac- at anews conference. cisionwould be determinedby cinehighlyprotective withnoma- “underinvestigationtodetermine JOINU.S.ANTITRUST home.Protestersgathered cine development programme. The vaccine wastimedtoar- health authorities. jor safetyissues. US regulators if it is related to the vaccine or if THE US Supreme CourtonFriday CASEAGAINSTGOOGLE outsideaprisoninsouth- Another450siteswillgetthevac- rive Monday morning so that The announcementkicks off workedformonthsto emphasise thereisanother explanation”. rejected along-shotlawsuit by ern Seoul on Saturday, cineTuesdayand Wednesday. health workers would be avail- amassive logistical operation in- the rigour and independence of SinopharmGroup Co Ltd, Texasand backedbyPresident Washington: California asked shouting“Send him to The locations include hospi- abletoreceive the shots and be- volving the federal and stategov- their review, but the Trumpad- whichisconductingits trials in Donald Trumpseeking to throw to join the US Departmentof hell!”and“Castratehim!,” tals and other sites able to meet gin giving them, Perna said. ernments, private companies ministrationpressuredtheagency Peru with some 12,000 volun- out voting resultsinfour states, Justice’s antitrustlawsuit as Cho Doo-soon wasre- the ultra-cold storagerequire- It wasunclear who would re- and health careworkers to up until the final announcement. teers,was about to complete the dealing him alikelyfatal blowin againstGoogle on Friday, leased.Chowasarrestedin mentsfor the vaccine. Within ceive thefirstdose of the vaccine, quicklydistributelimited vac- Atop WhiteHouse official even firststage of the trials in the next his questtoundo his election making the state’s attorney 2008 and later convicted three weeks, vaccines should be though health workers and cine supplies throughout the US threatenedtoremove FDAchief fewdays.Some 36,544 people loss to President-elect Joe Biden. general the firstDemocrat to of rapingan8-year-oldgirl, deliveredtolocal pharmacies nursing home residentswere Initially, about 3million shots Stephen Hahn if aruling did not have diedsofar in Peru from the The decision allows the US openlysupport the litigation. andhisnamehassincebe- and other locations, Perna said the priority. Pernasaid that de- areexpected to shippednation- come before Saturday. AP coronavirus pandemic. REUTERS Electoral College to press ahead The department in October come synonymous with with ameeting on Monday, accusedthe $1 trillion the soft-glove treatment whereitisexpected to formally California-basedcompanyof sexoffendersare saidto re- castits votes and makeBiden’s illegallyusing itsmarket ceive in the country’s Iranianjournalist victoryofficial. muscle to hobble rivals,and courts.Cho, now68, was Biden, aDemocrat, has wasjoinedby11other states releasedonSaturday. NYT amassed306 votestoTrump’s when it wasfiled. “California who encouraged2017 232 in the state-by-state is notmakingsubstantive Electoral College, whichallots changes to thecomplaint. In votes to all50statesand the particular,California is not USA protests executed District of Columbia basedon seeking to add anynew facts Unprecedented population. or claims,” AttorneyGeneral The four states in question — Xavier Becerra said in the fil- seriesofexecutions AMIRVAHDAT Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania ing, adding it would notde- continue TEHRAN,DECEMBER12 and Wisconsin —contributed a laythe case. REUTERS combined62votestoBiden’s to- THE TRUMP administration IRAN ON Saturdayexecuted a tal. To win theWhiteHouse, 270 continueditsunprecedented once-exiledjournalistoverhison- votes areneeded. on Jan.20, Trumpand hislegal seriesof post-electionfederal lineworkthat helped inspirena- In abrief order,the justices team have filedaflurryof unsuc- executions Fridaybyputting tionwide economicprotests in said Texasdid nothavelegal cessful lawsuitsinseveral states to death aLouisiana truck 2017,authoritiessaid,justmonths standing to bring the case, baselesslyclaiming voterfraud driverwho severely abused afterhereturnedtoTehranunder abruptlyending what Trumphad and challenging the results. his 2-year-old daughter for mysterious circumstances. Though he wasbased in Paris, toutedthis week as his best hope Trump’sgoalhadlongbeenfor weeksin2002, then killed Iranianstate television and RuhollahZam returnedto foroverturning the election. acaseto reachtheSupremeCourt, herby slammingherheadre- the state-run IRNA news agency Tehran undermysterious Aftermidnight, Trumpsaid wherehehad placedthree new peatedlyagainstatruck’s said thatRuhollahZam,47, was circumstances and was on Twitter,“TheSupreme Court justicesinhisfirsttermandwhere windows anddashboard. hanged earlySaturdaymorning. detainedbyintel officials. AP reallylet us down. No Wisdom, conservativesholda6-3majority. AlfredBourgeois,56,waspro- The reports did notelaborate. no Courage!” ThelawsuitbroughtbyTexasand nounceddead at 8.21pm InJune,acourtsentencedZam DRIVER RAMS INTO PROTESTERS IN NY Complaining thatthe court supported by 17 otherstatesand ED Eastern time at afederal to death,sayinghehad been con- had rejectedthe case “in aflash” more than100Republicanmem- prison in TerreHaute, victedof“corruption on Earth”,a Vague At the siteofthe incident in midtown Manhattanwhereseveral people were injured whenacar despitehis winning morevotes bersof Congressgave himthatop- Indiana. His lawyers had ar- vaguelydefinedcharge that car- PLAIN E charges droveintoastreetprotest on Friday. Theprotest marchwas passing throughanintersection than anyother sittingpresident, portunity.Inthe run-up the Nov. ● guedhehad an IQ that put ries the deathpenalty. EX when the car went through, said TomElla,who wasthere documenting the demonstration. “It Trumpwrote:“ARigged 3election,Trumphad pushedfor him in the intellectuallydis- Zam’s websiteAmadNews juststartshigh-speed,justplowing through people,” he said.The NewYorkFireDepartment Election, fight on!” the swiftconfirmation of Justice abledcategory, saying that and achannel he created on the IRAN HAS usedthe chargesof said six peopleweretaken by ambulance to local hospitals. Police saidthe driver, awoman, was While Biden has movedfor- AmyConeyBarrett, with the pub- should have madehim ineli- popularmessagingappTelegram ‘corruption on Earth’ and takenintocustody and wasbeing questioned. Aprotester said the march wasaimed at drawing ward with awaveofappoint- liclystatedhopethat she could be gibleforthedeathpenalty.AP had spread the timings of the ‘wagingwar againstGod’ to attention to an ongoinghungerstrike by immigrationdetainees at ajailinNew Jersey. Reuters mentsfor his incoming adminis- in aposition to help rule on an protests and embarrassing infor- imprison or execute political trationahead of assuming office election challenge. REUTERS AFGHANISTAN mationaboutofficialsthatdirectly critics, journalists and reli- Rocketattacksin challenged Iran’s Shia theocracy. gious minorities,amongoth- Volunteer sleuths Kabulkillsone Thosedemonstrations, which ers. Both the chargesare Israel says it establishes UK Navy to protect fishing beganin2017, represented the vaguelydefined, allowing au- crack ‘Zodiac’ AT LEAST one person was biggestchallenge to Iransincethe thorities to use them in order killedand twowerein- 2009 Green Movementprotests to ensureharshpunishments diplomatic ties with Bhutan waters in case of no deal serialkiller’s jured on Saturdayin and setthe stagefor similar mass forpeople whose alleged Afghanistan’s capital unrestinNovember of lastyear. crimesmay nototherwise the foreign ministrysaid in a coded message Kabul as tenrockets hit The initial sparkfor the2017 merit suchmeasures. REUTERS statement. KANISHKASINGH various parts on the city, protests wasasudden jumpin TELAVIV,DECEMBER12 “Israel’s circle of recognition DECEMBER12 officials said. ATaliban food prices. Manybelieve that is growing and expanding. The SHARONBERNSTEIN spokesman said that his hard-line opponentsofIranian times and details forthe protests. ISRAEL ESTABLISHED diplomatic establishment of relations be- FOUR ROYALNavypatrol ships SACRAMENTO,DECEMBER12 group wasnot behind the PresidentHassanRouhani insti- Telegram shut down the relationsonSaturday withBhutan, tween us and the Kingdom of willbereadyonJan.1tohelppro- attackastheycontinued gatedthe firstdemonstrations in channeloverIraniangovernment the Israeli foreign ministrysaid. Bhutan will serveasanother tect Britain’s fishing waters in the French fishermenregularly ATEAMofvolunteercodebreak- talkswith the Afghan gov- the conservative cityofMashhad complaintsitspread information Israel’s newrelations with milestoneindeepening Israel’s event the Brexit transition period operateinUKwaters. Reuters ers has crackedamysterious ci- ernment’s representatives in northeasternIran, tryingtodi- about howtomakegasoline the relatively-isolated ties in Asia,” Israeli Foreign endswithout adeal on futureties pher sentmorethan 50 years to endnearly twodecades rect publicanger at the president. bombs.Zam,whohassaidhe fled Himalayannation did notappear MinisterGabi Ashkenazi said. withthe European Union, the agotoanewspaper by the San of war. Security officials Butasprotestsspreadfromtown Iran afterbeing falselyaccusedof to be relatedtoits budding ties Bhutan has full diplomatic MinistryofDefence (MOD) said. TobiasEllwood,aConservative Francisco serial killer who called said it wasnot clear if to town, the backlash turned working with foreign intelligence underUS-sponsoredaccords ties with only53countries, Thereare concernsaboutpos- MP who chairs Parliament’sde- himself the Zodiac, the FBI said militantsofAfghan againstthe entireruling class. services,deniedincitingviolence. with Arab and Muslim countries Israel’sforeign ministrysaid. sible skirmishes between British fence select committee, wascriti- on Friday. affiliateofIslamic State, Soon,criesdirectlychallenging Thedetailsof hisarrestremain in the Middle Eastand Africa. Asigning ceremonywas and foreign fishing vessels if no calof thedevelopment.“We’rejust The Zodiac Killer —who known as Islamic State Rouhani and even Supreme unclear.Though he wasbasedin The agreement follows sev- held between the Israeli and trade deal is reached, with exist- facing the prospectof...our over- wasnever caught —shotor Khorasan, were involved Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Paris, Zamsomehowreturnedto eral years of secret contactsbe- Bhutanese ambassadors to ing transitional rulesthat give EU stretchedRoyal Navy squaring up stabbed sevenpeople in the in the attack. REUTERS couldbeheard invideossharedby Iran and found himself detained tween Israel and Bhutan with India on Saturday, theforeign boatsaccesstoBritishwaters set to aclose NATO allyoverfishing San Francisco BayAreaoverthe Zam. Zam’s channel also shared by intelligence officials. AP the aim of establishingrelations, ministrysaid. to expire at the end of the year. vessel rights,” he said. REUTERS course of about year in 1968 and 1969, killing all but twoof them. During his murderous spree, he sent aseries of terri- fying letters to the SanFrancisco ECONOMIC MELTDOWN HAD PUMMELED AFISHING VILLAGE,THEN JEWELRY STARTED SURFACING ON ITS BEACH Chronicle newspaper. Some of the noteswerein code,including aparticularly Treasurewashes up on Venezuela’sshore, bringing hope to avillage complexmissive with 340 char- acters that became known as the 340 cipher. Amid suchmisery, thevaluable unconfirmedreports that some bays and islands that have long officials mayhavesprinkled the “I hope youare having lots of ANATOLYKURMANAEV find seemedlikeamiracle. had sold their discoveries foras givenrefugetoadventurers. gold on the beachtocalm fun trying to catch me,” said the &ISAYENHERRERA “I begantoshake, Icriedfrom muchas$1,500. It wasonthis peninsula, in protests by local residents cipher,cracked lastweek by GUACA,DECEMBER12 joy,”said Lares, 25. “It wasthe To manyhere,theunexpected 1498,that Christopher againstthe terrible living condi- codebreakers David Oranchak, firsttime something special has bounty wasamessageofhope. Columbus became the first tions. Others frettedthe govern- Sam Blakeand JarlVan Eycke, THE MOSTextraordinarymo- happenedtome.” “This is God, setting his European to setfootonthe South ment would send soldiers to accordingtoavideo postedon mentintheyoungfisherman’slife At home, Larestold his father- agenda,” said CiroQuijada, alocal American continent, thinking confiscatetheir treasure. YouTubebyOranchak.“Iamnot beganinthemostmundaneway: in-law, also afisherman. Word of fish plant worker who founda he’d found the entrance to the Some villagers calledthe gold afraid of the gaschamber be- withamorningvisitto thelatrine. the discoveryspread swiftly, and gold ring. Garden of Eden. ablessing, othersacurse that cause it will send me to Walking backtohis tin- soon mostofthe village’s 2,000 No one knows wherethe gold Later,this sparselydefended would doom anyone touching it. paradice (sic) allthe soonerbe- roofed hut on Venezuela’s residents had joinedinafrenzied came from and howitendedup coastline wasregularly raidedby Once the firstphoto of the cause Inow have enough slaves Caribbean coast, the fisherman, treasurehunt, combing every scattered alongafewhundred Dutchand Frenchbuccaneers. discovery waspostedon to work forme.” Yolman Lares,saw something inch of the waterfront,digging feet of Guaca’s narrow, workaday Today, it is ahaven fordrug and Facebook,the news spread Likethe murdersthemselves, glistenalong theshore. Raking arounddilapidatedfishing boats, beach. The mysteryhas merged fuel smugglers and modern-day around Venezuela. But the area’s solving the Zodiac ciphers has his hand through the sand, he even sleeping on the beachto with folklore, and explanations pirates who prey on fishermen. remoteness, the widespread become an international fixation pulledupagold medallion with protect their fewsquarefeetof Afamilylooking forgoldinthe sand. NYT draw equallyonlegendsof Did astorm disturb apirate shortage of gasoline and the fortrue-crime followers. an imageofthe Virgin Mary. sand and the untold fortune the Caribbean pirates, on Christian treasurechestorbreak openup coronavirus quarantines pre- Oranchak,whom the San The villageofGuaca wasonce plotcouldcontain. traditions and on the widespread asunken colonial frigate? Did vented anational gold rush. Francisco Chronicle identifiedasa at the centreofVenezuela’sfish SincelateSeptember,their mistrustofVenezuela’sauthori- the bounty come from modern Achemical test on alink of 46-year-old Webdesigner who processing industrybut is now search has turneduphundreds shore, offering the villagers abaf- economic collapse. tariangovernment. smugglers heading to nearby gold chain discoveredonGuaca’s livesinVirginia, said in the video reducedtopenurybythe lackof of pieces of gold and silverjew- fling and wondrous —ifshort- Dozens of villagers said they The jagged coastline around Trinidad? Forweeks, Guaca was beachindicated the piece was he had hopedthe cipher would gasoline and the closureofmost elry, ornaments, and golden lived—reprieve from had found at leastone precious Guaca, on Venezuela’s Paria rifewith speculation. likelymanufactured in Europe in yield information about the of itssmall fish-packing plants. nuggetsthat washed up on their Venezuela’s seeminglyendless object, usuallyagold ring,with peninsula, is punctuated with Government opponentssaid recentdecades. NYT killer’s identity. REUTERS DECEMBER13, 2020 | WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM | PAGE 13 THE SUNDAY EXPRESSMAGAZINE

POINT OF VIEW SPOTLIGHT Kitchen Diaries ‘Politics is an extension Howthe regional and the global come together of my activism’ in the Rashtrapati Bhavankitchen India-born urban planner Nithya Raman on winningthe LosAngeles citycouncil member seat

Agood toyisbased on ideas rather than ma- terials.Thebest learningfromatoy comesfrom breaking it and then remaking it,”hesays. It’s aphilosophythat is endorsedbyan- other playpioneer in the country, Arvind TOY Gupta.For decades,Gupta,67, has introduced children from all kinds of backgroundstothe simplepleasureoffashioningtoys outof waste materials,and,throughit,learnaboutbasicsci- entificprinciples.“Someday, Idreamthatevery housing society in the countrywill have an apartment reserved forchildren foranactiv- itycentre,whereallkindsof junk—plasticbot- STORY tles,usedpens,cartons,newspapersandsome ordinarycrafttools—willfindaplace.Here,all the neighbourhood kidswillcome and have a Play is serious business. Apeek into great time making toys.All forfree,” he says. Both Khanna and Gupta arehopeful that the world of toy start-ups in India the government’s push forindigenous toys will give the industryamuch-neededboost and motivate manufacturers to invest in re- Paromita Chakrabarti search and development thatkeepinmind the demographic variety theyare meantto cater to.And, in keeping with their vision of UTSIDETHE forest,aboard inclusivity,theyhopethatthe small-time toy welcomes visitors intoits makers of India,who work with minimal ma- canopieduniverse. Asingle chinery and little support, willnot be over- slenderloris peeksfroma looked in the process; that the ease of busi- branch. As the parkgates ness that the government is pushing forwill Oopen, the four jeeps make embrace them, too. their wayintothe protected forest area from In the years since Khanna setupthe toy- different zones. The roads aresinuous and design course at NID, mostdesign institutes everyturn brings surprises. Sometimes, it’s a nowoffer acourse in toy making. But Gupta birdcall thatalerts thevisitorsto thepresence believeschangecan onlyhappen when it is of wildlifeahead. Sometimes, ahalf-glimpsed initiated at the grassroots level. “A fewyears watering hole holds that promise. Likeall ago, the Prime Ministergavethe slogan ‘Make forests,this one,too, demands courtesy.Ifyou in India’.Perhaps,soon he realisedthat unless speakloudly instead of letting the silence of children dirtytheirhands andstart making the forest draw youin, thereare penalties. But things in school, right from kindergarten, there forthosewho playbythe rule, the forest gives will neverbea‘makeinIndia’. The Atal youbragging rightsafterwards, rewarding you TinkeringLabs in schools (both private and withsightsthatyou’d always dreamedof. A government) is asplendididea. It is one of the roll of the dice and youcould catchsight of a best initiativestounleash creativity of ordi- lion hunting his prey;another roll and it could narychildren. Theycan makesimple models, even be the elusive cheetahwith itscubs. learn from eachother andenjoythe funof do- While the COVID-19lockdown wasin ing real science,” says Gupta. place, it wasthis boardgame —African Since the PrimeMinister’scall,various pro- Savannah by the brand Kaadoo —that had posals areunderwaytopromote India’s in- kept Srimanti Boccupied. The 11-year-old digenous toy industry. These include the in- would have been on her firsttrip to aforestin clusion of toy making in the National Maythis year but, as all travel plans collapsed Education Policy 2020, the implementation under the weight of the pandemic, it wasthis of amandatoryquality control standardfor boardgame she receivedasagiftfrom her un- importedtoys and asimilar safetycertifica- cle thatcametothe Hyderabad-basedfifth tion forhome-grownones, besides a former’srescue.“I justlikedthe idea of travel- plan to build the world’s largest toy ling with the game because Icouldn’t even go museum in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar. out to meetmyfriends. Ihadn’theardofsome Whilethe wider implications of the of the animals, so later,Iwould look them up impetus and howits implementation pans on Google. It wasgood fun,” she says. out —particularly forsmall-time toymakers It wasthe kind of immersive experience spreadacrossIndia whohavelittle knowl- thatthe makers of the game had hoped for edge of bureaucratic processes—remain to when theycame up with the idea of creating be seen, the start-upsare hopeful that the boardgames about five years ago. “Kaadoo is push will help the industry. “There’snodoubt aplayonkaadu,whichmeans forest and/or that we were findingitverydifficult to com- ILLUSTRATION:SUVAJITDEY jungleinsouth Indianlanguages suchas pete withthe scaleatwhichsome of the for- Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam. The objec- eign competitors were operating. We were tive wastoexpose people to the wonders of designs. Over the next twoyears, as she came the country, has worked towardsthe de- being undercut massively. With this govern- the natural worldinafun, engaging and non- in contact with acommunity of like-minded mocratisation of play. Khanna’s pioneering ment initiative to promote domestic produc- threatening manner.Weknewthattable-top parentsand small-scale producers and de- engagement with toys began40yearsago, tion, we arehopingthat the bleeding of do- games is an under-represented segment in signers,she realisedthattherewas aready when he taught at the National Instituteof mestic brands willreduce and therewill be India and this gave us the hope that the busi- marketfor playand development toys forin- Design (NID), Ahmedabad, and wherehe an incentivetobemoreinnovative,” says ness, if executedwell,standsagood chanceto fantsand toddlers. The idea of Shumee was wasinstrumental in starting itstoy and Subramaniam. While Gupta hopes that the succeedinthe market,” says Ganesh born, anonlinetoy storecateringto early-year game design programme in 2001.“In India, regulatoryprocess and itsbureaucratic red Subramaniam,acharteredaccountantandan playneeds, that she formalisedin2014. we neverlooked at toys from adesign per- tape would ease up to accommodatesmall entrepreneur,who built the brand with “Children learn alot through playand I spective.Our approachalways wasto businesses likehers, Ponnaluri emphasises wildlifephotographer DiineshKumble and vi- found that likeme, therewereother copysomething that wasbeing the needfor larger production facilities. “We sual communicator Raviraj Joshi. Since parentstoo,who knewwhat sort of sold in the West.Tomakeagood have always producedour games in India, ex- Kaadoo’slaunchinOctober 2015 withtwo sa- toys theywanted their children to be toy,one needs to understand the ceptfor afew tinycomponentssuchaspawns fari-basedboardgames,the brand has now introducedtoorwhat safetystan- principles of play. Unless atoy is and dice, whichweimportfromChina. We growntoofferabout 50 boardgames,puzzles, dards theywantedmanufac- an act of discovery forachild, have notfound the rightpartners in India for strategy and cardgames. Markedbysleek de- turers to adhere to,” she says. what purpose does it serve?” these woodencomponentsand the duties signs and attentiontodetail, their games As achild, she’dgrownupwith asksthe septuagenarian. leviedonthe importshurtus. We hope bigger measureuptothe standardset by evergreen wooden toys and Gupta found Khanna,whowasconferred factories areset up in India, wheresuch boardgamessuchasCluedo,Scotland Yard or herself gravitating towardsthe the National Awardin1996for wooden componentswould become avail- Settlers of Catan. material, replacing plastic with his contribution to design sci- able and economically viable forgame de- Even before the PrimeMinisterurged wood and other eco-friendlymateri- ence forchildren,believes that the signers likeus,” he says. Indian entrepreneurs to promote India’s cul- COURTESY:ARVINDGUPTA als in the toys andgames her brand pro- best toys arethosethat break down the ru- tural heritagethrough home-growntoysin duces. These includeeverythingfrom pretend ral-urban dividebybeing accessible to alland ■ ■ ■ his monthlyradioaddressin Augustthis year, wooden medical sets to toy utensils, stamp by making the child an active participant in astart-up culture had slowlybeguntaking sets and Ramayana memorygames to even play. Overtheyears,hehascollectedtoys from In acountrylikeIndia, with avibrant tra- shape in the segment over the lastfiveyears. games based on folk tales. Operating with a around the country, understanding the prin- ditionof heritage toys,playand playthingsare Hyderabad-basedPramod Ponnaluri and leanteam and havinganonline storetore- ciples behindtheir actionsand says some of also tiedupinmemory.Khanna’s daughter his wifeRohini Deepthi Natti launchedKitki, duce overheads have helpedmaintain the bal- his best learnings have comefromrural toy- Surabhi, 34, faculty of industrial design at the an experiential learningcompanyin2013,that ance between price and quality.“In aprice- makers. In his hands, twigs and twine, dis- NID, Haryana, says that one of the things that would partner with schools in the region to sensitive market likeIndia, that's crucial,” says cardedbitsofcardboard, paper,pencils and she always tries to passontoher studentsis organise curriculum-based workshops and Gupta,who has astrongclient base among shells and other expendables have come to- the link between an individual’s memoryof field visits. Soon, theyrealisedthat notmuch NRI parentsinthe US, the UK and the UAE. gether to magicallyform spinnersand play and howthat canenhance one’s ap- hadchangedsince theywereinschool—there boomerangs, wind wheels and mango-seed proachtoadesign that endures. “Playisnot wasnot enough focus on making learning fun. ■ ■ ■ fans,givingchildrenaninsightintoeasyscien- just about creativity but also about continu- In 2015,Kitki begandesigning educational tific principles and encouraging the ability to ity.Ialways tell my studentsthat the design boardgamesfor 8+ years, with afocus on If playisintrinsictochildhood, it is also thinkforthemselves.“Peoplethinkexpensive should bring out someofour ownstoriesor mathematics, history andnatural science. At markedbydegreesof inequality and inacces- toys arealwaysbetter, butmy responseto that memories,” she says. atimewhenboardgamesand toys arejostling sibility.Inthe years afterliberalisation, while is thatit’s likewell-presented junk food. It al- This element of familiarity is what lends with online games forattention, Ponnaluri the easy availability of plastic factory-made ways looksmoreappetisingthanhealthyfood. acontinuum to our memories of playacross says,their games aim to be both entertaining Chineseimports disadvantaged the various generations. Mumbai-based Pritha Roy and cerebrallyengaging.InThree Sticks,for toy hubs in the country—the wooden Gupta,38, grew up playing ranna-bati (cook- instance, aboard game thatfocuses on con- COURTESY:SURABHIKHANNA Channapatna toy makers in Karnataka, the erygames), playing teachertoher mother’s cepts of geometry, players win points by mak- WAYS TO WONDERLAND clay-doll industryinWestBengal’s plantsorusing her grandmother’s towelto ing complexshapes with alimitednumber of (From top) The best toys are those that makethe child an active participantinplay; Arvind Krishnanagar or the Kutchi toys of Gujarat, to pitch atent. “Although Ihad dolls, sticks.InFossil Wars, acardgame, dinosaur Gupta; Surabhi and Sudarshana Khanna at aworkshop in Germany nameahandful —italsoraisedthe aspira- somehowIwas pretty destruc- fossils have to beassembledasexhibits, based tional appeal of visually-pleasing, steeply- tive and brokethemquite on parameters of age, food habits, etc. pricedmass-producedtoyssuchas badly,”she says.She has intro- Eachgame, says Ponnaluri, takesbetween spersedwith internal and external play-test- when Meeta Sharma Gupta,43, returnedto Barbie dolls. Anew culture of play ducedher four-year-old son four andsix monthsto design.“Whichmeans ing.Evenafterallthis,thereweretimes when Indiafromthe US and settledinBengaluru, emergedthat prioritisedconsump- Anshuk to cooking sets and puz- thatoncewe identifyatopicfrom mathorsci- we chose to notlaunchagame because we she wasstruckbythe lack of optionsinage- tion over innovation andunder- zles, Legoblocks andother ence or anyothersubject, we mayquickly weren't convincingly proud of the final prod- appropriatetoys forher twosons, then aged minedthe painstaking work toys.While the firstisahit, ideateonthe coregameplaybut we spend alot uct,” says Ponnaluri. three yearsand nine months, respectively. thatwentintomud,clothor wooden thereissomething else that is es- of time in refining it. In the end, the game has If Kaadoo andKitkicater to apre-teen to Averse to givingher childrenthe readily-avail- toys in favour of “fast” plastic toys. pecially close to his heart—construction to be as good as anygame —not justgood adult audience, therehavebeen otherswho able “Made in China” toys,Gupta began Foralmostall his working life, Delhi- vehicles —especially“monstertrucks and enough foraneducational game. Eachgame have steppedintofillthe lacunaein the Indian searching forniche manufacturers, who of- baseddesign educator Sudarshan Khanna, dumper trucks” he trills, echoinggenerations typicallygoesthrough 10+iterations, inter- toy market foryoungerchildren. In 2012, feredhigh production values and innovative credited with revolutionising toy design in of littleboys before him. EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

14 POINT OF VIEW DECEMBER13, 2020

EYE SPY EVERY FORTNIGHT, WE PICK, YOU WATCH Papa Don’t Preach

MEN WILL BE BOYS Rashida Jones and Bill Murray On The Rocks tackles fathers, daughters and failing marriages

Shubhra Gupta

STHERE acouple, anywhereonthe planet, which doesn’t experience asense of driftsome years into cohabiting? Being joint at the hip is automatic in the Iinitial rosy period, with partners bereft when apart even forafew hours. But things change. Beforeyou know it, you’veclockedafew anniversaries, addedamember to PHOTOSCOURTESYRASHTRAPATIBHAVAN the familyand the little person is sucking up all your en- ergy,not to mention your waking hours, and hey, ho,ro- manceisout of the window. Sofia Coppola doesn’t wasteany time building pream- bles in her latest, On TheRocks,streaming on Apple TV. Could Laura’s husband Dean be involvedwith another Kitchen Chronicles woman? He’s atextbook case of “men with other things on their mind”: suddenlyturning ultra-busy at the office, being tootouchy-feelywith astunning colleague, keeping delicacies will establish Indian cuisineonthe phone chatsprivate,and, that mostsuspicious thing of all, The Rashtrapati Bhavan kitchen has a global map and bring Michelin stars to Indian work trips wheresaid colleague comes along. Could the chefs. The journey, whichstarted with marriage, nottoput toofine apoint on it, be on the rocks? culinary reach which celebrates the Mughlai and tandoori preparations, has now Coppola’s got afine castworking their waysmoothly arrivedatastagewhereregional cuisine is through this question. Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans regional yet has an impact on the global pie proving to be an effective mode of food diplo- feel likeareal-lifecouple in howtheydodgeconversa- macy,evenaswecelebrateour ancient her- tions whichmay notbeeasilyrolledbackfrom: rather itageonthe dining table. than confront the ever-busy Dean, Lauraprefers to Achint Raj Caroli food. Mohd. Sirajuddin, aretired chief store- Today, menus arecarefullydrafted. bounce her troubles offher father (Bill Murray), an ageing keeper,remembers howthe cookswere Signature dishes suchasdal Raisina have cre- man-about-townwho doesn’t quitebelieve he’s getting trainedtocut up, marinateand bakeawhole ated their ownniche and attractmedia at- older.And wrinklier. HE DELICATElocal flavours, vast fish before reassembling it on aserving plat- tention whenever incorporated in menus. Morethan merelyfocussing on the problems of mod- pan-Indian culinary repertoire tertolook as thoughthe fish wasstill whole. The peculiarity of the menus craftedherelies ern coupledom, exacerbated by the pressures of parent- and distinctively conceptualised He alsorecallsthe rigoroustraining imparted in the fact that it reflectsaperfect blend of hood, in whichone partner picks up much moreofthe service patterns of the by French chefstoconfectioners to teach Indiantraditional dishes mergeddelicately domestic slack, the film is interestedinhow women ne- TRashtrapati Bhavankitchen have them to playwithcaramelisedand spun withgreat foodpresentation. Forinstance, gotiatethe bends that crop up on their path to self-actual- an extremelyrichand interesting history.The sugar forcreating lip-smacking desserts for pre-plated tandoori crevette served on abed isation. When it’s aman, the time that goes intobuilding a journeydates backto1931whenthe Viceroy formal banquets. of rawpapaya salad, complementedwith career at the costofeverything else is largely forgiven. House wasthe epicentreofBritish colonial During the 1950s and ’60s, as India COOKTO mint and sweet’n’ sour chilli sauce was Deanisaware that Laurahas been left, literally, holding powerand the palace-cum-home of Lord walked onto the global stage, the Rashtrapati doori chicken, nargisi kofta, chaman matar, widelyappreciated when served during a the babyand the bathwater while getting chores done Irwin. It wasrun on the same lines as Bhavanwas awindow to showcase Indian CONNECT Raisinapulao and naan. In the late1960s, the statebanquet recently. At everybanquet, the and trying to break awriting jinx, but that’s notgoing to Buckingham Palace, wherehousehold and food to theworld. Initially, thefoodcontin- The journey of the RashtrapatiBhavankitchensgot awell-de- colour scheme of table linen,flowerthemes stop him from waltzing out through the door. hospitality operations were managed by a uedtobeAnglicised-Frenchinstyle, but Rashtrapati Bhavan served section of Indian sweets.Bythe late and on-table dottings of small eatsand bev- Boys willbeboys,whether theyare young hunks colossal team of about 500 gradually, pre-plated kitchen, which ’70s, Indian food wasfirmlyestablishedon erages arecarefullychosen to matchthe shimmying up the corporateladder or playboys on the employees, comprising meals were replacedwith started with Mughlai the menu. Consommés were replacedwith coloursofthe guestnation’s flag. On March slopeofold age. Forawhile, the film teeters on the brink cooks, bakers, patissiers, traditional Indian thalis. shorbas,friedfish with kebabs, steakswith 25, the combination of red, whiteand blue of sitcom territory(men and women cannotbefriends! khansamas (traditional International customs and tandoori koftas and, lastbut notthe least, soufflés and linen complemented theflowertheme as an theyhavetobehitting on eachother!), but rescues itself cooks), butlers, utility suchasraising the toast preparations, has custardswith badam kheer and kulfis. honour to President Donald Trump. by introducing adegree of complexity.It’s interesting how workers, florists, sanitation were still followedbut nowarrived at a Shafiullah,the mastercook,identifiedby Highlights of themeal forthe US president Felix, who roams insouciantlyaround the world, hopping workers, laundryand so with atwist, as bubbling stage where regional President RajendraPrasad during his visit to included Cajun-spicedtandoori salmon, a from one five-starhoteltoanother,issowilling to think on. The building had full- champagne made wayfor cuisineisproving to the Nizam of Hyderabad, introducedtradi- pre-plated dessertofhazelnut pie with salty the worstofhis son-in-law. There’s no giving Dean the fledged culinaryopera- colourful, thirst-quenching be an effective mode tional Awadhi dishes suchaskachche gosht caramel sauce and malpuarabri roll —aper- benefit of the doubt;look,look,therehegoes, and there tions with kitchen, confec- sherbets. ki biryani and qormas to the Rashtrapati fect example of East-West symphony. Living History of food diplomacy, she (the colleague) is, he tells Laura, peering through his tionary, larder and scullery Till the mid ’60s, hardly Bhavanculinaryrepertoire. People credit The Rashtrapati Bhavanstaff frequently binoculars, as theygospying on the streetsofNew York. sections. These were well An Indian Express anyIndian food was even as we celebrate Shafiullah with introducing the Punjabi tan- undergoresidential training at the premier As muchasFelix lovesmoralising about other men complemented with a collaboration with the cookedinthe Rashtrapati our ancient heritage door,anoveltyinthose days.The tandoor culinaryand hospitality institutes in India. and infidelity,hehimself is no innocent. All these years, wine cellar,linen rooms, RashtrapatiBhavan Bhavankitchens but just as on the dining table complemented theMughlai cuisine well and The executive chef hereisamember of the Laurahas been vaguelyaware of her dear papa’s proclivi- glass and china rooms. the aroma of Indian spices made it agreat combination to grace ban- Club des ChefsdeChefs(CCC), that brings to- ties, (her mother having made the best of her ownmar- Backinthose days,the cannotberestrained or re- quet menusthrough the 1970sand ’80s. gether chefsofthe heads of statefromacross riage) but it’s onlywhen the scales fall offher eyes does menus were predominantlybasedonFrench sisted, the decision-makers could nothold During the 1990s, awareness about re- the world. CCC organises itsannual general- she reallyunderstand howshallowheis. cuisine with delicacies suchasturtle con- backonIndian delicacies fortoo long. They gional cuisines grew.Itwas president R assembly meet in amember nationand is Murray,anold Coppola hand, is in cracking form. Fora sommé, butter softfiletmignons and stuffed secured aplace on banquetmenus, when Venkataraman who made the south Indian receivedbythe head of state.In2016, forthe man who has livedbyhis owndodgy rules, and who quails. The Britishrejected Indianfood and heads of states visited.Itall beganinMarch idlis and utthapam aregular item on the firsttime, India hostedthe event. thinksthat no one is good enough forhis darling daugh- considered pre-plated meatswith vegeta- 1963, when the meal served to Fazil Küçük, Rashtrapati Bhavanmenu. Initially, it was ter, he stands exposed. Daddy doesn’t alwaysknowbest. bles as accompaniments,toppedwith differ- vice president of Cyprus,began withalmond considered to be toohumble to be served in AchintRajCaroli,additionalcomptrollerof ent sauces, to be moreelegant. Presentation soup and continental entrée,but the main banquets.Little did people knowthat some President’shousehold,isin-chargeofhospitality wasthe mostimportant featureofviceregal course wasaveritable Indian feastoftan- daythe popularity of these regionalIndian attheRashtrapatiBhavan The Joy of Giving The Secret Santa tradition is agreat opportunity to support local artists and businesses in aparticularlychallenging year

breathing the madness that is holidayshop- tryduring thepandemic. Instead of waiting ping. forhis old job to comebacktohim, this New SLICEOFLIFE So,itseems oddlywonderful to me that Delhi-born 26-year-old chef resignedfrom thisyear Ifind myself thinkingofthe tradi- his furloughedjob afterfivemonths of wait- tion of Secret Santa, notwith my usual dis- ing and startedhis ownbakeryfromthe com- dain,but as aworthwhile indulgence,times fort —and challenge—ofhis home. Beginning two. Worthwhile notonlyfor the act of giving with ahandful of items, he nowtakes on cus- itself, but also forthose whose businesses we tomorders and largeraffairs. His Instagram can support. handle @Glazefactoryisverypopular with We don’tneedtogotoo farbeyond our thecognoscenti. Thisisasmallbusinessthat doorsteps to knowwho needs the good ought to beyour go-tobakeryinstead of out- graces of aSecret Santa. Touching eachofour fits thatare partoflargercorporations. livesare womenand men who aredoingall Supporting his small establishment brings theycan to keep togetherlifeastheyknewit youbespoketreatsand noveldiscoveriesof in March.Manyare beingtorn apart in ways flavours, textures and tastes. we can neverunderstand, and facing ugly re- Formybirthday, Icut intoVardaan’s AAMIRRABBANI alities that have even uglierrepercussions. tiramisu cakethat wasbetterthan any BE VOCAL choosenot to.Queer artists face even more the abilityto keepcreatingbeautyto inspireus Joblessness, hunger, homelessness, suicide, tiramisu Ihavehad anywhere.His chicken FORLOCAL adversities in lifethan their straightcounter- and stay inspired himself. depression arerife. These challengingtimes quiche, mangocheesecake, chewychocolate parts.Aamir’sart shares visuallywhatmostof Vardaan, aculinaryartist, and Aamir,avi- Instead of giving in to pose questionswith no easy answers. cookies and savouryvegetarian turnovers us cannotverbalise out of fear or simplyalack sual artist, aretwo of severalpeople Ihave In these timesofuncertaintyand endless also give morethanjustthe expected. mindless of vocabulary.Through colour,strokes and gone to as Iseeklocal businesses to support. tragedy, we needSecret Santa. We needto Beforethe pandemic hit, 28-year-old consumption during form, he givesshape to what we allsee and Ihope youwill go to them and also find oth- SuvirSaran give giftstoothers, anonymously, generously, Aamir Rabbani wasthe main visual artist for the gifting season, we feel,what we think and want to say, but are ers that youcan encourageintheir newven- and on an ongoing basis. We needtoencour- one of India’s leading stationers. Whereas can spread joy by tooafraidorjustunable to putforth. tures during the holidayseason. Suvir Saran is achef, author,educator age, surpriseand delighteachotherasoften Vardaan found his job furloughed, Aamir de- supporting small, Aamir’s websitegives averycursoryintro- If eachofuscan become aSecret Santa and world traveller and as muchasweare able to. cidedtoleave asteadyincome and familiar duction to hispeerless strengths as an artist and supportlocalartists,home chefs, small struggling businesses The pandemichas destroyed livelihoods work environment to pursue his passions. and to his wide repertoire. True to hisartistic restaurantsand businesses, we canhelp keep HAVINGSPENT almostaquarterofacentury as well as lives. It has shuttered businesses Aamir’s work has arefinedsensibility that persona, selling his work is nothis driving our neighbourhoods, communities, cities, in theUS, Ihavealways been loathtojoinin that were sustainingmindsand bodies, giv- is at once old worldand youthful likehim.His force. As avocational artdirector,hestrivesto countriesand our worldbothhappier and the horrid, all-consuming vulgarity that is ing employment and hope. It has brought artistic creations runthe gamut from land- keep his lifeafloat, and whenthis dayjob ends, morecivilised, despitethe turmoil causedby gifting at Christmas. stress and uncertainty muchcloser home scapesand still life to paintings of moments he bringsthereal Aamir alive.For my mother’s the coronavirus. Cut-throat capitalismand mindlesscon- than before. thathaunt us in thehereand now. birthday, Ipurchasedone of hisearlywatercol- Think,act, influence, give and supportlo- sumerism arethe inertia that leads otherwise My mentee Vardaan Marwahmadepeace Indiaisatthat moment in history where ors and it will nowbring pleasuretoher and callybyinspiring, engaging, giving and sane andmindfulpeople to startliving and with the uncertainty of the hospitality indus- aperson neednot hide their identityifthey all who visit her.That purchasewillgive Aamir connecting globally. EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 13, 2020 SPOTLIGHT 15 DOWN IN ‘Stepping into JUNGLELAND politics wasan RanjitLal Ranjit Lal is an author, environmentalistand extensionof birdwatcher Sideways to my activism’ Heaven India-born urban planner Nithya Raman, who Crack into acrab at fine-dinings, but also learn its table manners assumes officetomorrow, on winning the Los HERE DID it go,Bambi? Wheredid it go, Angeles city council member seat and why girl?” Poisedonthe beach, our bamboo- zledBoxer would stareatthe sand, her accountability in local governance is important W brow furrowedinaworriedfrown. The ghost(or sand) crab that had caught her eyewould skedaddle sideways and Bambi would pounce, but then, poof! it wasgone again. This time with adisdainful wrig- gleasitlowereditself beneath the sand: nowBambi would dig frantically, but to no avail. The crab wasgone! Shiny Varghese District, pretty muchthe centreofLA, with ciansdo notfallalong traditionalparty lines.To Iloved watching her tryand catchcrabs on the beach over 2,000volunteers by herside. Unlikeother me, the differences between voters fell along —and Iadmired these nondescript-looking crabs, exactly corporate-fundedcampaigns,Raman chose twomajor axes —between renters, who faced the shade of the sand, fortheir sheer disdain and their ASTMONTH, Nithya Raman made to go to thepeople.Shespeaksabouthow she morehousing insecurity and were very con- marvelouslydelicatetable manners. Very fastidiously, the unthinkable possible. She be- grew intoacommunity advocate,her cam- cernedaboutrisingrentsand housing supply, theywould pickupatidbit from the sand with their pin- camethe firstcity council member paign in LA’s diverse neighbourhood and how and homeowners, who had different con- cers and put it in their mouths —likeany well-bred so- to unseat an incumbent in Los the “outsider” taghelpedher win. Excerpts: cerns. But everyone careddeeplyabout home- cialitedining with the hoity-toity. LAngeles. But before herhistoric lessness, traffic, and airquality, and wanted Mostcrabs seem to have good table manners —in win,Raman, 39, trainedinurban planningand Howdid issues of land rightsand the moreeffective government. spiteoflooking antediluvian (some have come down over governanceand hasbeen acommunity leader homeless become your areas of interest? 450 million years). Close to 7,000species around the both in India and the US. Iwas in Delhi before the Commonwealth Your fight with opponent David Ryu has world(some say10,000)are found living in fresh and salt Born in Thrissur,Raman leftforthe US with Games (2010)and had read about the Yamuna been called the ‘futureofLApolitics’. water, on land, up in trees and in paddy fields. The tinypea her familyatthe ageofsix. Later,she would Pushta(embankment) evictions, wheremore This wasthe firstelection when the mu- crab is afew millimetres long, while the mighty Japanese live in Chennai (her husband’s family hails than100,000peoplelost theirhomes. Ibegan nicipal elections were movedtobeheld atthe spider crab has aleg span of four metres. Brown, black, from Madurai and Tenkasi) and start the working with slum-basedorganisations, same time as the federal elections. In our dis- scarlet, blue, green, etc., their mostprominent featureis Transparent Chennai initiative.Itempowers fighting evictions and asking forbasic serv- trict,because of ourextensivevoter outreach, their shell (or ‘shield’ as the biologists call it) and those slumdwellers —byusingmaps and data—to ices. Seeing howthe government decisions voter turnout reallyexploded, farmorethan whopping front pincers. Notparticularly friendlywith access basic services like negatively impacted the other city councildistricts—from 24,000 in one another (especiallydudes interestedinthe same girl), clean toilets and drinking livesand livelihoods of so the lastgeneral election forthis seat to more those pincers help them fight eachother. water, and to find avoice in Iwas so frustrated manymade me realise how than 130,000voters. It shows that the broader Theycommunicatebywafting pheromones (perfume local governance. important urban gover- electorateinLAisveryprogressive.Electedof- equivalent), waving pincers, sound, vibration and sight. In 2013,the Harvard with my elected nancewas. Thatpushedme ficials and futurecandidates will have to The famous fiddler crab has one massively enlarged University and MIT gradu- to study urban planning. PHOTOSCOURTESYNITHYARAMAN reckon with this new, progressive electorate. (sometimes gaudy) front claw, used exclusively to beckon atemoved to LA,and representatives...I COMMUNITY of the waythings aresupposedtobedone. the girls. Some spider-crab species decoratetheir shells worked with the City What prompted the BUILDER Had Iknown moreabout what people sayit Youdefeated asitting council member — with seaweed and sponges —effective coverand awon- Administrative Officerof Los decidedtorun urban planner to contest takestowin arace, Imay nothaverun against afirstinLA. What helpedpeople make derful camouflagefor ambush. Others use anemones for Angeles. She found out that electionsand what has (From top) Nithya an incumbent, nor would Ihaverun against that choice? protection, whichliveoff the leftovers of the crabs’ meals. much of thecity spending myself.I’m in this this journey meant? Raman; at an someone so stunninglywell-funded. On the issues thatmatter the mosttopeo- When nothing suitable is in sight, theyevenuse tin cans on homelessness, around Iwas so frustrated with election rally ple,thecity hasbeen moving in the wrong di- and other fatallyundesirable objects. $100million,wasusedinar- role to implement my elected representatives What were theunpredictable moments rection.As aresult,makingthecasefor change Not all crabs carry their homes on their backs:the her- resting people than in serv- the changes I’ve andhowlittletheyweredo- of your campaign? waseasier thanbefore. Iwas also runningata mit crabs occupyshells vacated by snails, oftenit’s achal- ices,outreachorsafehous- ing to address the city’s Thereweresomany! Afterhaving built an timethat sawaprofound interestinlocal pol- ing. In2017,she co-founded been fightingfor as a biggestissues —especially incrediblyeffective door-to-door campaign itics because of the protests againstFloyd’s SELAH Neighborhood in acity likeLos Angeles, operation in the primary, we’d to completely murder.Also,LAhas averyunique neighbour- Homeless Coalition, to pro- community leader whereourlocalgovernment transform our approach, during the pandemic, hood structure. It has sometimesbeen de- videmeals,clothing,health- has so muchpowerand forthe general election. Forexample, to make scribed as aset of smaller cities and towns care,housing and employ- control. Finally,Idecidedto upfornot being ableto have one-on-onecon- rather than as one large city.One of thebiggest ment supporttothe homeless. run myself. Forme, stepping intopolitics was versations, we had volunteers writepostcards challenges wastocreateareal sense of local She had heardstories of people having to an extension of my activism. Iaminthis role (around 60,000)and had people drop offbags community and connection. move out of neighbourhoods because of high because Iwant to be able to implement the of literature to their neighbours with hand- Many morepeople were lookingtothe lo- rentals and sawhow theprotestsoverthe changesthatIhavebeenfightingforasacom- written Post-it notesonthem. cal government to push forchangeand were deathof George Floyd in Maymarkedthe fault munity leader.Ihad to learn to communicate My favouritewas when my then 4-year- receptive to acandidatewho spokemoredi- lines in police funding and brutality.Ithelped policyideaswhichcouldbeunderstoodby vot- old twins,at eventsduringthe primary,would rectlyonthese issues. Ibelieve ourcampaign her shiftthe conversation on homelessness ers,usetoolslikesocialmedia,videosandshort interruptmeduring my speechtoask for wasableto changeoradd to the wayinwhich from itbeingaproblemto providing the tools public speeches. Ievenhad to communicate snacks,orrun in circles around me as Iwas manyresidentsinteracted with the city. to help these people. As the former executive with people who did notalways agreewith speaking. Ihad to learn howtostayfocused. RANJITLAL director of Time’s Up Entertainment, born out me and convince them to give me achance. What awaitsasyou take office? GETOFF MY BACK of the #MeToo movement,she also focused In the hugelypolarisedUSelection,where We arefacinganotherCOVID-19surge.My Speckled swimming crabs onequity andsafetyfor womeninHollywood. Did being an ‘outsider’ in politics work to were the intersections among voters? immediate focuswill beon ensuring thatres- Her race to the primaryand elections your advantage? In acity likeLA, almosteveryone is a identsand small businesses have the re- meant knocking on 80,000 doors in the 4th In some ways,Iwaslucky to be ignorant Democrat, so the differences between politi- sources theyneedtoweather this surge. lengetofind one justthe right size (and probablywith all mod-cons!) Ahermit crab finds aprospective home,alit- tle toolarge forit, and waitsbythis emptyshell foreight hours, while other hermitstrundle up to examine the premises. Whoeverfitsintoit, stays,vacating his old resi- dence, whichour friend-in-waiting will nowtakeposses- sion of. And, thus, the cycle continues as others move on to the next best fit. But at other times, aboorish group will ‘A stad wasagenius whocouldneversit still’ gang up to forciblyevict apoor victim from itsshell and fight amongsteachother forpossession. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Puppeteer Dadi Pudumjee recalls how the inimitable Transposed Heads (2004), basedonanold tale Manyspecies of crabs areterrestrial and mosthaveto of twomen and awoman deeplybonded, yet migratelong distances to the ocean to release their larvae. Astad Deboo revolutionised the way the world saw Indian divided, by love,Astad had suggestedthat I Thousands die en route while crossing roads. Their larvae work with Sudesh Adhana, who is nowavery —tinytransparent, legless creatures calledzoea —are contemporary dance and brought music to the deaf famous dancer in Norway and aNational takenbythe currentsand float with plankton. Atough Awardwinner,and afew other performers. childhood, theyhavetomoult severaltimes —eachmak- IFIRSTmet AstadDeboo in 1981 when Iwas It wasadancepiece featuringalarge pup- In recent years, we did notsee muchof ing them vulnerable to predation. Even as adults, they at the Shri RamCentrefor Artand Culturein petand Astad, and settoRyuichi Sakamoto’s eachother.Ilastmet him at NCPA in Mumbai moult severaltimes. Hormones softentheir shells and the Delhi,running the Sutradhar PuppetTheatre. music from the1987(Bernardo Bertolucci) in March 2019 with his sisterGulshan at our crabs crackthem by ingesting alot of waterand swelling He had come with agroup of friends who film TheLast Emperor.Itisabout howina performance, When Land Becomes Water. up, and take advantageofthe fissureline along their were supporting him in doing up his sets and friendship, one dominatesthe other.This Abouttwo weeksago,Ifound outthathewas backs.Iftheyget stuckwhile getting out, theydie. Smaller lighting. Afterthat, we metoff and on, when causes tension betweenthe human and the notwell. Thereisalot to remember of him — than the males, with their abdominal flap broader and he performedinDelhi or IinMumbai, where puppet,untilthelatter,all of asudden,realises he did alot of work with the Oral School for rounded, females can onlymatejustafter they’ve he wasbased. itspower andflings the dancer,therebytaking Deaf Children in Kolkata, whichwas started moulted.But theycan storesperm in their bodies fora Astadwas agenius who could neversit over the human. Thereafter, the twotry to (in 1964)byadistant cousin of mine Dhun while (if the dude agirlmade out with turns out to be a still. He travelledall overthe worldand had a come together but cannot. It turnedout to be Adenwalla, andher husband Dorab. Therewas good-for-nothing, she maydumphis seeds!) hugegroup of friends and people whom he averyrealistic piece. We travelledwidelywith his work withthe GallaudetUniversity forthe Crabs areomnivores, delicatelypicking offalgae, mol- knewfromthe worldofartsand cultural insti- it, including at Café de la Danse in Paris, with deaf performing arts programme in lusks, crustaceans, worms and, sometimes, even fish. tutions. When he toured,everything was agroup comprising architect RatanBatliboi Washington, DC, The ClarkeSchool forthe Theyare themselves, butterydelectable, on the menu of plannedahead and minutely. Unlikemany and artistBanoo Batliboi, among others. Deaf in Chennai and with the street children many—fish, bird, animal, and, of course, humans. Several dancers, who areconfinedtotheir form, Astad We did another piece later,inthe early of Salaam Baalak TrustinDelhi. Isaw some of species have become endangered —inSri Lanka, all ex- had manydifferent interests across the arts, 1990s, called Thanatomorphia or The Many the performances, including asmall piece ceptone of its50freshwater crab species areendemic and from music to films. In the early days,weused Faces of Death,comprising his dancers and our from the GallaudetUniversity that wastravel- criticallyendangered.Horseshoe crabs areendangered in to speak alot aboutmusicandInoticedthat he puppeteers suchasPuran Bhatt (who would ling and had come to India, and realisedthat the West (used by pharmaceutical and cosmetic compa- usedalot of (American composer) Philip Glass win aSangeetNatak Akademi Puraskarin Astadhad his ownway of working with spe- nies fortheir famous “blue” blood), while in India, theyare music. Recently, he had movedontohaving a 2003). It looked at death in myriad ways —as cial-needs children. He worked alot with discardedas“by-catch” in the nets. lotofhis music composedbyartiste Yukio amythical statewhere Yamraj (theHindugod young people, who areveryindebted to him Everyclassy restaurant will have crabs on itsmenu, Tsuji, aJapanese composer and performer. of death) lurks even as Krishna and the gopis as he gave them alot of freedom in creativity. though there’s controversy over howtheyare killedand In the early days,heusedtoalsocreatedif- play; as aliberator,whereanold man is wait- Therewerealso his great number of col- cooked:usuallythey’rejustdunkedalive in boiling wa- ferent solo pieces on subjectssuchasdrugs. I ingfordeathandis notscaredlikeothers. The laborations, including with the Manipuri clas- ter. Whilesome scientists claimthat theydon’t feel pain, remember the remarkable piece from the piece ends with acelebration of life. We trav- sicaldance PungCholom. He would create others have counter-claimedthat some do react to elec- 1980s MangaloreStreet, depicting scenes from elledthrough the US, the UK, Canada and something different out of traditional forms. tric shocks. the streetsofMumbai, in whichheused Singaporewith Thanatomorphia. And when onstage,Astad couldcreatecertain It’s long been said that youcan keep abunchofcrabs movementstobring alive thecharacters he Ifound alot of dance inspiration formy emotional states and take the audience with in an open bucketand none will escape because the oth- had seen. It wasinthe mid-to-late1980s that worksand he usedpuppetryinmanyways, him. The countryhas lostagreat artiste. ers will pull it down, whichisexactlywhy we’venot ex- we workedtogether on our firstpuppet-and- mostrecentlyinapieceon GoddessKali called celledasapeople: the moment anyone tries to reachthe dance collaboration, a15-minutepiece coin- Your Grace (partof Interpreting Tagore)in2012, RITAMBANERJEE DadiPudumjeeisfounderofIsharaPuppet top, s/he is pulleddownbythe rest! cidentallycalled Friends,whichhascomeinto whichwas withtheyoungerpuppeteersfrom GONE WITH THE WIND TheatreTrust,Delhi alot of my performances since then. Delhi, among others. When Idid The The late Astad Deboo in UnbrokenUnbowed (2019-20) AS TOLD TO DIPANITA NATH WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,DECEMBER13,2020 HARRIS DRAFTEDINTOINJURY-HIT AUS SQUAD Opening batsmanMarcus Harris has been calledinto Australia’ssquad as the hostscount the costofanumber of injuries ahead of thefirst Test against India in Adelaide. David Wa rner had alreadybeen ruledout afteragroin injuryinthe one- 16 dayseries, while Will Pucovskisuffered aconcussion afterbeinghit on hishelmet SPORT while batting forAustralia Aagainst thetourists. REUTERS

[ ISL WRAP:ROUND 5 ] NorthEastattack Curator, chorister,GOAT punching above Lyon’s path to becoming one of the greatestoff-spinnersofall time is aroad less travelled, but one that reveals his strong character its weight SANDIP G DECEMBER12 Aggression, cautionand

SHASHANKNAIR WHENNATHANLyonwas18,henearly losthis NEWDELHI,DECEMBER12 eyes. During an under-19match against tailor-made technique: Tasmania, abatsman drovethe ball straight IGOR ANGULO, Nerijus Valskis, RoyKrishna, backathim; so powerful wasthe stroke that Adam le Fondre –teamsinthe Indian Super the leatherball crashedontohis face, leaving a Can Gill open in Adelaide? League have takenapuntonsome proven redbruiseunderthelefteye.Lyonplungedinto strikingtalent,butattheendofthefifthround, theturf holdinghisface,blooddrippingthrough the surprise of this tournamenthas come in hispalms.Hewasrushedtothehospital,where the form of the NorthEastUnited team and its it wasdiagnosedthat he had fractured his SHAMIKCHAKRABARTY egalitarian attack. cheekbone. KOLKATA,DECEMBER12 In the opening game of the season, NEUFC The injury worriedhis family. He wascon- had the unenviable task of facing aMumbai sidered fragile forhis age. All curly,long locks WITH ROHIT Sharma unavailable forthe first City team that wasand is still considered the and puffy clothes. Theycounselledhim to quit twoTests in Australia, India needs to find an favourite.But the underdogs came away with thegame,rungone of his coaches,Andrew openingpartnerforMayankAgarwal.Thefirst a1-0 victory. Since that win, theyhavescored Dawson, to persuade him out of the game. TeststartsinAdelaideonDecember17,anddur- sevenmoregoals,thejoint-mostintheleague, Dawson reluctantlycalledhim but waspleas- ing the ongoingtour game againstAustralia A, andare currentlythirdintheleaguetableafter antlyshockedwithhisresponse.“Thefirstthing Shubman Gill has shownhe’s firmlyincon- alategoalby LuisMachadohelpedthemclinch he told me wassorry,for dropping the catch. tention. adrawagainstBengaluru FC. He wascounting the days before he couldre- Yettolose agame and having already turnto thefield.Ittookhimawhileto getback, Can Gill open the batting? ShubmanGillscored brisk43amd 65 in equalled their miserly twowins in totalfrom but that willingness wasthere,” he recollects. Gill opens forPunjab in the Ranji Trophy. the second tour game. File lastseason,the unusual startfor NorthEastis That evening,the coachrealisedthe The majority of his 2,162runs in 22 First-Class down to the mannerinwhichthe youngest strengthof Lyon’smind.“Strongboy, Ithought, matches (beforethe Australia Agame) have manager in the ISLhas sethisteam up. Mostly youneedsuchcharacter and toughness to be- come as an opener.Inthe ongoing tour game opting fora4-4-2 or a4-3-3,GerardNus has comeaTestcricketer.Someof theotherplayers, in Sydney, he batted at No.3because Prithvi Pant, Viharihit shown the kind of pragmatism ateam like who arenot as mentallystrong as he, would ShawpartneredAgarwalatthe top. In both in- NorthEasthasto rely on.Hisoffensive strategy have quit aftersuchanincident. It wasanasty nings,Gillcameto thecreaseprettyearly,nego- contrasting tons has allowedbothhis strikers-Kwesi Appiah injury, Iwasrighttherewhenithappened,”rec- tiated the pink Kookaburrawithaplomb in andIdrissaSylla-tosnagacoupleof goalseach. ollectsDawson. tough conditions,and contributed well. Sydney: Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Attacking midfielder Luis Machado has also Towardsthe end of the conversation, Lyon Does he playtoo manyshots for Vihari put themselvesinthe reckon- chippedinwith three strikes. But the young promisedhewould neverdropareturn catch ing fornextweek'sfirstTestwith con- Spanish manager has neverstarted his three in his life. Dawson wasremindedofthe old in- Nathan Lyon is Australia’smostprolific off-spinnerwith 390 Test wickets. Reuters an opener? trasting hundreds as Indiathoroughly goalscorerstogetherandusuallybenchesone cident whenLyonsnaffledasimilar catchoff Gill’s game is aculturedmix of caution and dominated Australia Ainthe pink ball of them.With matches flying in thickand fast Pakistanbatsman Fakhar Zaman, carved aggression.InthefirstinningsagainstAustralia warm-up matchhereonSaturday. and teams with athreadbarepre-season ex- straightintohis face, but Lyon’s palms pre- canbedevelopedintoagoodspinner.Itoldhim enough,Lyonhadtakenawicketoffhisfirstball A,hescored43off58balls,whileinthesecond, Needing 19 runs to reachhis cen- pected to playthemselvestothe ground, vented the ball from disarranging his face. The ‘mate,youare abetterbowlerthanabatsman’. inTestcricket.Butitwasn’thistalentalonethat hemade65off78deliveries.Hisbattingagainst turywhen JackWildermuth com- NorthEast’s manager has juggledaround his mostspectacular return catchthough was He took my advice seriously,”hesays. leftHusseysmitten, but the toughness of his theAustraliaAseamersonSaturdayfurtherat- mencedthe second evening's final best to keep his players fresh. MoeenAli’sduringthe2017-18Ashes,wherein Thereon, as soon as his Manuka Oval shift character, thatmostvaluedofAustraliantraits. testedhisclass,especiallyhisabilityto pickthe over,Pantclobbered him for4,4,6,4, The onlypuzzle lefttosolve forGus is the he flung sideways to pocket aleading edge. ended, Lyon would run to thenets, wherehe Nearly 18 months later, Husseychose himas right balls to hit and find the gaps. 4, to remain unbeaten on 103off 73 defence.Aleague-high eight goals have come The next morning, afew newspapers pho- and Higgs would spend hours bowling.Intwo the anthem successor. The21-year-oldhastheabilityto pick length balls with nine fours and six sixes. At atthecostofhavingconcededfive.Astheteam toshoppedacape to hiscollarand calledhim: years, he emerged as thefinest spinnerin “My decision wasbased on character.I early and put away thehittable deliveries. This the otherend,Vihari labouredhis way is setuptoplayonthe counter, NorthEastrely “GOAT among Supermen.” Dawson wasnot Canberra.“His mind waslikeablotting paper. knewhehadareally goodcharacterandIknew is the reason he scores quicklywithout being to a104-runknockoff 194balls. heavilyonniggling fouls to stop possession- surprised,hehasseenafew Lyonstunnershim- It absorbed everything. He asked alot of ques- he had agoodworkethic and great respect for over-aggressive.Also, he has agoodrange of At the close of play, India were based teams from gaining anyrhythm and self, and it washis athleticism that had im- tions. He also had the determinationand thegame,andheplayedthegamefortheright shots. strongly placedat386 forfour foran have made 162tackles in five games, onlybe- pressedhim first. He washeadingacoaching courage,” says Higgs. reasons as well,” he says. overall lead by 472runs, having bun- hindATK Mohun Bagan in that regard. programmefortheCometsU-17whenoneday InthenexthomeAshes,thecurator-turned- Whyhasn’tGill played Testsyet? dledout the home team out forapal- Death,taxes andrefereeing his friend Brendan, Lyon’s elder brother,intro- ■ ■ ■ choristerwas belting out the anthem. And six GillmadehisODIdebutinNewZealandlast try108 in their firstinnings on Friday. ducedhis sibling to him.“He’s mad about years later, he went on to becomeAustralia’s year and wasincontention foraTest opening In their firstinnings, India were all complaints cricket and wantstohaveacrack here. Just Beforethe 2010-11Ashes, MikeHussey mostprolific off-spinner.And sometime dur- slotwhen India playedahome series against out for194. PTI It wasonlya checkhim out,” he told the coach. wantedto masterGraemeSwann.That’swhen ingthe series againstIndia, he could complete South AfricainOctober lastyear.But the team BRIEF SCORES: Indians 194and 386 matter of time be- “Atthe trials, Iwas startled by his athleti- he heardabout agroundsman at the Adelaide 400Testwickets. management promotedRohit up the order, for4(Vihari 104*, Pant 103*) lead fore yetanother saga cism.Hewasquiteskinny, butelastic,quickand Oval who could ‘flight the ball’. So during the whichprovedtobeasuccess. Australia A108 by 472runs of clubs complaining had areally good arm. His batting wasquite preparatorycampinAdelaide, he asked head ■ ■ ■ However, in the twoTests in NewZealand about refereeingun- okay, Ithought.Therewasafairdegreeof talent curator Damian Hough about the ‘guy who earlier this year,when Rohit wasunavailable, folded. The league and we were keen to gethim in the pro- couldflight theball’.Houghtold Lyon: “They Hough is alaid-back,chatty man. So Lyon’s Prithvi Shaw partnered Agarwalatthe rallytoGill”. This could be an area of has been facing this gramme,” Dawson says. want youtobowllikeSwann. Showthem initialreticenceunnervedhim.“Soinitially, Ifelt top. Shaw’s footwork in seaming condi- concerninapink-ball,day-nightTest. problemfor the past Lyon didn’t setthe battingcharts afire, but you’rebetterthanhim.It’s an order.” Lyon just alittle bored talking to him. Iwas doingall the tionsdidn’tlookupto themark.Also,the ED Pink-ball cricketrequires adecent coupleofyears. This his off-breakswerequitecanny.“Ithought smiledand rushedtothe nets. talking. Icouldclearly seehis heartwas else- Kiwiseamers exposedhis weakness grass coveronthe pitch. So therewill year,new entrants ‘wow,hegetsdecent loop and spins the ball’. I LittledidHusseyknowthathewaspadding where.Hewasgoodatwhathewasdoing,but againsttheshortballintothebody.Inthe belateralmovementandthepinkball PLAIN SC EastBengal were the firsttomakeafor- asked him whether he wascoachedbysome- up againstafutureTestbowler,his inheritorto something seemedtodisturb him,” he says. ongoingmatch against Australia Atoo, E will also swing alittle longer because ● EX mal complaint to the AIFF over the quality of one.Hesaidno,andIwasmore surprised.Then the team anthem Under the Southern Cross. “I Hough understood the reason forhis de- Shaw’s footwork didn’t inspireconfi- of theextracoatof lacquer.Itwillbea the refereeing. he mustbeanatural, Ithought, and beganto had little idea, but Iremember ashy,reluctant tachment when he watchedLyoninaclub dence. challengeinTests againstthe likes of Intheirlossto NorthEast,EastBengalwere encouragehisbowlingratherthanbatting,”he Lyon. He had to be dragged into thenets. But game. Does Gill have the technique to PatCummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell deniedtwo clear-as-daylight penalties that recollects.SodidformerAustraliaspinnerMark youwatchhimbowl andIfacedhimalot inthe “I have seen afairbit of international spin- Starc. could have changed the complexion of the Higgs, who happenedtobeAustralianCapital nets,youalreadyknewyouhadsomeonespe- nershereandthoughthehadthepotentialto be be successful in Australia? matchaswellastheirabysmalstarttothecam- Territory’s coach. Aftercompleting his 12th cialthere. But younever knowifhewas going one. So Iasked him whyhecouldn’t devote Gill’sgameistailor-madefor Australian Who could be his competitors? paign.Asif thatwasn’tenough,theirnextgame grade, Lyon joinedthe horticulturists at the to go onandplay Testcricket,”recollectsHussey. moretimetocricket.Hesaidhisbossdidn’tgive pitches. As this paper has reported, Gillplayed Shawisaspecialistopener in the side, and sawEugensonLyngdohgettinghissecondyel- Manuka Oval.And during an inter-club game Buthedid.Afew monthslater,Lyonwason him offs.Wehad alaugh.” alot of cricketonconcreteduringhisformative KL Rahul is alsoanoption.The latter losthis lowcardinthe 25th minute of the game on aweekend, Higgs bumpedintohim. They theflightto SriLanka.SoonuponreachingGalle, The next daywhen Lyon came to the Oval, years, whichsolidifiedhis back-foot game. place in the Test team afterIndia’s tour of the againstJamshedpurFCdespitereplays clearly were playingforoppositeclubs,andtheelderly the venue forthe firstTest, then batting coach Hough told him he could leave earlyifhewas Australianpitchesarehardandbouncy,and WestIndiesinAugust-September2019.Rahul’s showing that Lyngdoh got theball first. Higgs begantowindupthe rookie part-time Justin Langer allotted a“buddy” forLyon. tired.ButLyoninsistedoncompletinghisshift. usuallybereftofexaggeratedlateralmovement. recent form in white-ball crickethas brought Afterthe game, EastBengalcoach Robbie off-spinner.“Ithought he wasshy and Icould Coincidentally, it wasHussey. The latter heard “He wouldn’t take anyfavours.” The conditions makeastrong back-foot game himbacktothelong-formfold.Also,heisabats- Fowlerexclaimedthatitfeltlikehisteamwere probably unsettlehim.But Iwas wrong. He afeeble thud on the door and sawafamiliar So when the first-class opportunity apre-requisitefor scoring consistently. man with over 2,000 Test runs and five cen- going against12men.“Idon’t think anydeci- startedgiving it backtome.Iinstantly likedhis half-smiling face. “He wasalittleshy.Hetold knockedonLyon,Houghwasasmuchhappyas However, the firstTestisatthe Adelaide Oval, turies. The tour game in Sydneywas theonly sionwas goingour way. Everyone does seem attitude and recognisedthat he could be a me it wasadream come true and all that stuff. worried.Happy thatLyongot adeservedbreak, wherethe pitchisalittle different and calls for opportunityfortheIndiansto getintothepink- to be againstus. We justhad to go outthere muchbetterbowlerthan what he then was,” Ieasedhis tension saying, ‘Mate, we’ll be great butworriedabout finding asuitablereplace- afuller length from fast bowlers. ball groove aheadofthe Test.Virat Kohliand anddefendlikethewaywecananddon’tcon- he remembers. In Lyon’s uncluttered,breezy friends from here’,” he says. ment. “Nathanwas doing aterrific joband to One of the downsides of having apredom- CheteshwarPujarasatout,butotherthanthat, cede and it wasimportant forustoget the high-arm action,Higgs sawvisionsofabright Husseyhad barelyinteracted withhim or findsomeonenewinhisplacewasdifficult.But inantback-foot game,asKolkataKnightRiders theteam management pickedthe XI withan point.Onthebackofthreelosses,itwasahuge future.“Iwaslike‘wow,why aretheynot open- watchedhim, but had ahunchthathewas then Ican claim that the GOAT wasmyassis- assistantcoachAbhishekNayartoldthispaper, eyeonAdelaide. Rahul wasn’t includedand is point forus,” said Fowler. ing the bowling with him!’ Iwas surethat he rooming with aspecial player. Andsoon tant,” he chuckles. is that “leaning intodrivesdoesn’t come natu- shortonlong-form game time. Jamieson fifer swings Kiwis Mourinhofinds hismojo at Tottenham to the top in second Test Facing no pressuretosticktofootballing philosophies of giant clubs, star manager seems to be enjoying time on topofthe Premier League with Spurs JoseMourinho’ssecond-season “It’s something thatwebrought on our- syndrome is in full forceatTottenham For me it is not the manager of the AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSE selves,” he said,adding the problems withthe London club standing atop the month, for me it is the team of the WELLINGTON, DECEMBER12 startedinthe field when HenryNicholls English Premier League table with 24 month. Ibelieveitisabout us as a wasdroppedfivetimesonhis waytomak- pointsin11games and aleague-high team, it is about the results that KYLE JAMIESON bagged five wicketsina ing174 forNew Zealand. 14-goal differential.When Spurs we had in November. If we don't masterclass of swing bowlingasNew “Then, we didn’t bat as well as we should chairman Daniel Levy firedMauricio Zealand struckhardand fast to have the have been batting on awicketthat seems Pochettino and hired Mourinho, it have three victories and one draw West Indies on the ropes on daytwo of the good forbatting. It wasahardday to watch,” seemedthat thereweretwo reasons at Stamford Bridge, forsure we second Test in Wellington on Saturday. he said, blamingpoorshotselection. behind suchatectonic shift in the wouldn't have any chance to win The touristsended theday on the brink philosophyofthe club. One was it, so it's about the team.” of another follow on as theystruggledto Hosts in control obviouslythe needfor abox-office 124/8, still 336behind NewZealand’s 460. Unlikethe West Indies batsmen, figureinMourinho, with Tottenham’s JOSE MOURINHO, ON HIS FIRST MANAGER OnlyJermaine Blackwood providedany Nicholls and Neil Wagner were able to plun- newstadium and Amazon Prime OF THE MONTH AWARD SINCE MARCH, 2007 seriousresistancebut he fell lateinthe day der runs when the New Zealand innings re- documentaryneeding some star power. for69asJamieson and TimSouthee sumedonSaturday morning. The other wasthat therewas a PANDEMIC SEASON WORKING? wreaked havoc. Both scored personalbests,untroubled feeling that Pochettino’sTottenham Most teams didn’tenjoyanadequate Jamieson, the risingstarinthe Black whether the West Indies bowled full or had underperformedfor the quality of pre-season. On topofthat, mosttop Caps, got 5/34 forhis second five-wicket short, as Nicholls advancedfromhis the squad at his disposal, and Mourinho teams areplaying in multiple haul in only his fourth Test. overnight 117to174 while Wagner finished would be able to extract trophies from competitions and regularly taking the The Basin Reservestripcontinuedto unbeaten on 66.The NewZealand pace the world-classplayers at the club – JoseMourinhohas galvanisedTottenham forwards Harry Kane andSon Heung- field fortwo matches aweek. provide all the ingredientsonafast bowler’s quartet –Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner even if it meant that his stint would be a Min(in pic), who have providedthe team with 18 goals betweenthem. Reuters This warofattrition is wherea wish list–pace, bounce and movement – and Jamieson–immediatelyextracted life relatively shortone, as has been the manager likeMourinho thrives. As and New Zealandexploited this perfectly. from the wicket. case with Mourinho’s tenures in his Liverpool struggles with multiple injuries “Theway the ball’s moving we knewif Theymoved the ballinand away and it previous fewclubs. particular,has scored 10 Premier League Madrid or Manchester United.At and ManchesterCity become the team we gotitingood enough areas then things took the tourists four overs to gettheir first goals with only13shots on target. Tottenham, he can postwhat he wants that presses the leastinthe league (1,094 would happen,” said the 2.08 metre(6ft8in) runs on the board, by which stageSouthee SON-KANE PARTNERSHIPBOOSTED on his Instagram accountorbethe star pressures appliedin11games as Jamieson. “It wasjustamatter of doing it had already dismissedKraigg Brathwaite Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min have ARETURN TO THEOLD JOSE? of the showinthe club’s Amazon Prime compared to 1,971byMarcelo Bielsa’s forlong enough and if youdothat youtend caught at firstslip by Ross Taylor. always been world- class players, but this There’s almostatwinkle in Jose’s eyes documentary–while continuingto Leeds United), Mourinho’s Tottenham to getrewarded.” BRIEF SCORES: West Indies 124for 8 season Mourinho’s wordshaveacted as a nowthat he is at Tottenham. Thereisno deliverthe resultshehas been brought playonthe counter and pickoff teams Afterademoralising inningsdefeat in (Blackwood 69, Jamieson 5-34, Southee 3- booster shotofconfidence forthe two longer the pressureofsticking to the in forinhis second season, when that areyet to fully comprehend that the firstTest, West IndiescoachPhil 29) trail New Zealand460 (Nicholls 174, forwards who have providedTottenham philosophies of footballing giantsashas everythingisexpected to come together their wayofplaying isn’t suitable over Simmons found it difficult to see another Wagner 66*, Gabriel 3-93, Joseph 3-109) by with18goals between them. Son, in always been the case at clubs likeReal on the pitchand offit. suchajam-packedschedule. ENS batting collapse. 336runs at stumps on Day2

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