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ACTOR TURNS AUTHOR YOUTH KILLED OVER ROAD RAGE RENEWED N-ACTIVITIES Actor Tamannaah Bhatia has launched her book Miscreants stab a youth to death following a N Korea appears to have restarted a nuke reactor ‘Back To The Roots’ which she has dispute over rash driving at Raghunath that is believed to have produced plutonium for nuclear weapons co-authored with Luke Coutinho LEISURE | P2 Nagar in Dumduma area DOWNTOWN | P3 INTERNATIONAL | P10

VOLUME 11, ISSUE 151 | www.orissapost.com BHUBANESWAR | TUESDAY, AUGUST 31 | 2021 12 PAGES | `5.00

India harvested five medals including two golds in a single day HIS SERIES in Paralympic Games Monday. Avani Lekhara created history as she became first Indian woman to win a gold at Paralympics 66.95 while Sunil Antil smashed his own world record with a throw of 68.55 metres, ensuring India’s second gold for the day 68.08 65.27 66.71 Session set to be 68.55 short, stormy FOUL n Oppn has lined up Mohapatra. Besides, the BJP will raise the law and issues such as drought, order problem in the state, Mahanga double murder, he said. Similarly, Congress leader Santhosh Singh OSSC corruption and Saluja said his party mem- farmers’ issue to bers will raise the Mahanga corner the state govt double murder case, drought situation and corruption in OSSC during the session. POST NEWS NETWORK BJD’s Amar Prasad Satpathy said, “Our earlier Bhubaneswar, August 30: experience says the opposi- With only one day left for tion is giving too much em- the beginning of the mon- phasis on how to stall the GOLD RUSH FOR soon session of the State house proceedings. I hope Assembly, Opposition BJP this time they will discuss the and Congress have planned public issues on the floor of to take up various issues to the house and the govern- emerged champions in the corner the state government ment will reply them.” All ICC World Cup. Now those will while the ruling party has put three major political par- certainly pale in comparison together a counter-strategy. ties—BJD, BJP and Congress to August 30. INDIA IN TOKYO The opposition parties have called their legislature Since the beginning of the have planned to raise issues party meetings Tuesday to Olympic and the Paralympic including drought like sit- prepare a detailed blueprint Games, there has not been one uation in the state, Mahanga for the session. single occasion when Indian double murder, law & order The monsoon session will sportspersons have won two gold R-2 women’s Avani, the 19-year-old from Jaipur, ing, I always throw 71m, 72m. I don’t problem, irregularities in commence from September medals on a single day. In Olympics 10m Air Rifle who sustained spinal cord injuries know why I couldn’t do it here. May Odisha Staff Selection 1 and conclude September 9 other than the hockey golds, only Standing SH1 event in a car accident in 2012, finished with be I was a tad nervous,” he said. Commission (OSSC) and amid Covid restrictions. The Abhinav Bindra (2008) and Neeraj here. a world record-equalling total of Hailing from Sonepat in Haryana, farmers’ issue during the session will have eight work- Chopra (2021) have given us the Then it was Antil’s turn 249.6, which is also a new Paralympic Antil, who lost his left leg below the nine-day session. The BJD ing days. September 3 has chance to hear the national an- to hog the limelight as the debutant record. knee after he was involved in a mo- has planned to raise OBC been reserved for private them. It has been a long wait, but smashed his own world record mul- “I can’t describe this feeling; I’m torcycle accident in 2015, bettered the reservation issue, Pradhan members' business while finally Avani Lekhara and then tiple times for the F64 class gold. feeling like I’m on top of the world. previous world record of 62.88m, Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana other days are kept for offi- AGENCIES Sunil Antil gave the country the His throw of 68.55 metres ensured It’s unexplainable,” an elated Lekhara also set by him, five times on the day. and delay in release of paddy cial business. The house opportunity to hear the national India’s second gold for the day. said after the presentation cere- The F64 category is for athletes procurement dues to state. will sit every day from 10.30 Tokyo, August 30: If the annals of anthem twice in a single day… Add to that Devendra Jhajharia’s mony. “I’m so happy I could be the with a leg amputation, who com- “The JMFC court has di- am to 1.30 pm in the pre- Indian sports are ever written in a simply a day for posterity. and Sundar Singh Gurjar’s F46 cat- one to contribute it. Hopefully there pete with prosthetics in a stand- rected to probe involvement lunch session and from 4 pm proper manner, August 30, 2021 Avani created history Monday egory silver and bronze medals in are a lot more medals to come,” ing position while the F46 clas- of law minister Pratap Jena to 6 pm in the post-lunch ses- should always be a red-letter day. morning as she became the first javelin and Yogesh Kathuniya’s Lekhara added. sification is for athletes with arm on Mahanga double mur- sion. MLAs can attend the June 25 and April 2 are always cel- Indian woman to win a gold medal F56 silver in the discus event and Antil on the other hand stated deficiency, impaired muscle power der case. It is a very big proceedings through video ebrated in India with pomp and gai- at the Paralympics. She shot her it truly makes it a ‘Wow’ day for that he could have done better in spite or impaired passive range of issue. We will raise this dur- conferencing from OCAC ety as it was on these days India way to the top of the podium in the Indian sports. of the world record. “During train- movement in arms. ing the session,” said BJP building, Lok Seva Bhawan MLA Lalitendu Bidyadhar and other feasible places.

IRREGULAR by MANJUL State’s TPR falls below 1%; kids’ infection on rise

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, August 30: The state's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,07,112 Monday as 609 more peo- ple, including 97 children, tested pos- itive for the infection, while 67 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 7,901, a It’s about rising prices. Since the health official said. The detection minister would blame him only, I’ve of 609 fresh infections was the low- est daily spike since the beginning come here directly! of the second wave of the pan- demic in April this year. Of the 64,991 samples tested Sunday, only 609 reports returned positive keeping the test positiv- MARKET WATCH ity rate at 0.93 per cent. "The TPR has come down below 1 per cent INDEX VARIATION for the first time in five months," he said. However, despite a sharp SENSEX 56889.76 765.04 decline in fresh cases, the infec- tion rate among children is on

BOURSES NIFTY 16931.00 225.80 the rise. It was 15.92 per cent Monday, 14.01 per cent on Sunday, `0.41 DOLLAR 73.69 13.47 per cent on Saturday, and EURO 86.40 `0.20 12.99 per cent on Friday.

CURRENCY As many as 354 new cases were GOLD `47,200 `338 reported in quarantine centres, while 255 fresh infections were de- SILVER `63,200 `385 tected during contact tracing. BULLION Khurda district recorded the high- est number of new cases at 209, followed by Cuttack (71). Bolangir, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur and WEATHER Nuapada did not register any fresh BHUB CTK case, while the remaining districts y reported less than 100 infections

MAX 32.2° 32.5° each. Cuttack district recorded the

k y m c highest number of fresh fatalities TEMP MIN 24.9° 24.6° at 20, followed by Angul and Forecast Jagtsinghpur (nine each) and Humidity 84% 83% Light rains Khurda (six). Fifty-three other Rainfall 2mm 0.7mm likely coronavirus patients have died due to comorbidities so far, he said. EVANS, JOHANSSON TO P2 IRON BUTTERFLY DRUMMER TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR TEAM UP FOR GHOSTED RON BUSHY PASSES AWAY Avengers co-stars Chris Evans and Scarlett Ron Bushy, the steadfast drummer for Johansson, who are popularly known for hard rock band Iron Butterfly, died playing Captain America and Black Widow, Sunday at the age of 79. The drummer respectively, are teaming up for an adventure behind the 1968 rock classic In-A-Gadda-

y movie titled Ghosted. Dexter Fletcher, who Da-Vida, was the only member to appear

k y m leisure helmed Rocketman, is set to direct the project. on all six studio albums from the band. c FORTUNE FORECAST Launch of Odia movie Tamannaah Jayveer amid fanfare ARIES You are uptight about what is yours and today, you are launches book on even less keen on sharing. This possessiveness may have to do with a certain 'someone'. Ganesha says matters regarding love are going forward intensely and your marital life Indian wellness will blossom. MUMBAI: Actress and-tested secrets that have Tamannaah Bhatia launched served generations of this TAURUS her book Back To The Roots country.” Almost as if crafted by which she has co-authored The Baahubali actress Cervantes himself, you with celebrity lifestyle coach adds: “I have enjoyed the might wake up today feel- Luke Coutinho. The actress journey of delving deep into ing passionate and quixotic. Make hopes that the readers enjoy ancient Indian wisdom with up and make overs may be on the cards the book which is based on Luke Coutinho. As we launch as you will have the urge to be groomed. Once you are done without yourself, intensive research and un- this book today, it’s leaving me BHUBANESWAR: Mahurat of Rajaniranjan who also has penned you will shower others with attention, earths India’s ancient se- with a sense of fulfillment as upcoming Odia film Jayveer was the dialogues. The romantic flick says Ganesha. crets of health and wellness. we serve our purpose of doc- held with much fanfare here at the has RK and Divya in the lead with Speaking about the launch umenting and passing the Jagannath temple of Tankapani veteran actors Bobby Mishra, Puspa of Back To The Roots, new baton of this ancestral knowl- Road area, Panda and Asit Pati playing crucial GEMINI author Tamannaah says: edge. I hope our readers enjoy Sunday. The roles. Japani Bhai scores the music Even though it is for your “India is a library full of the book as much as we en- entire cast of the movie, to be produced under own benefit, you will spend age-old knowledge on healthy joyed the process of putting and crew the banner of Roopsona Creation. the day safeguarding the living. It’s about time that we it together for them.” was present Actress Divya says, “The film is sentiments of others. Not too uncharac- revisited our traditional Tamannaah is gearing on the oc- based on friendship. While the teristic, but unusual nonetheless. For most part of the day, you will be away ways of wellness and put up for the release of cassion. heroine thinks it is not friendship from your family, mostly on a trip for busi- this knowledge to use. All Maestro, which is the Telugu The Bibek but love, the hero takes his time to ness or leisure purposes. Today, family the chapters in Back To The remake of Hindi film Kumar di- realise it. The story has quite a takes a backseat and having a successful Roots are complete with tried- Andhadhun. IANS rector- few twists and turns to surprise the career will be the only thing on your mind. ial is viewers.” Jayveer is the second writ- film for RK after Prema Deewana. ten by He has already appeared in more CANCER than 30 music videos. PNN The workaholic Bull will have more on their plate than they can chew. They will be under so much work pressure that Landmark masterpieces by art their otherwise robust shoulders may wilt under pressure. Ganesha advises you to PC CALLS take it easy, and learn to say no. Also, this is just a temporary phase and as long as you stay cool, nothing can defeat you. stalwarts to debut at auction HERSELF A The online auction will be held September 8-9, 2021 and it includes works by modern masters like LEO Ever been surprised at your MF Husain, SH Raza, Krishen Khanna, FN Souza, Anjolie Ela Menon, KK Hebbar and Jamini Roy own abilities? Today you his September, a selection of Liberation War of 1971, which shall be, says Ganesha. With ‘snack’ the perfect blend of amicable gestures iconic masterpieces by some resulted in the India-Pakistan and lack of inimical actions, you are Tof India’s most distinguished conflict. MUMBAI: Actress Priyanka Chopra poised to become the cynosure of all artists will go under the hammer at The auction also features a Jonas has shared a cheeky picture with her occasions. The day will bring to the fore AstaGuru’s upcoming Modern rare Untitled, 1994, painted American popstar husband Nick Jonas your flexible nature, moderate views, and Indian Art Online Auction. The on- stoneware ceramic by acclaimed and called herself a ‘snack’. your mature mannerisms in a cocktail that is as heady as the best blend. With a line auction will be held September artist Bhupen Khakhar, who is Priyanka shared the picture on mind set on communal harmony, you are 8-9, 2021 and includes works by mod- considered an iconoclast for ex- Instagram. In the image, the actress is seen assured to have success coming your way ern masters such as MF Husain, pressing his views on important wearing a black and red bikini. Nick is today, foresees Ganesha. SH Raza, Krishen Khanna, Bhupen subject matter from social sectar- seen shirtless and wearing black swim- Khakhar, FN Souza, Anjolie Ela ianism to his own homosexuality. ming trunks. Menon, KK Hebbar, Ganesh Pyne, Jamini Roy, Untitled, circa 1950, The Sucker hitmaker is seen using a fork VIRGO and Jamini Roy. is a unique and rare work which will and a knife on Priyanka’s derriere as she Children will ring in This well-curated collection in- appear at auction for the first time. smiles at the camera. applauds and praises – in cludes several important works The auction will also feature an “Snack,” she wrote as the caption along the classroom and off it too! from prolific periods in the artists’ Untitled, circa 1930 portrait from with a fork and knife emoji. Processing logic and reasoning will improve too. Ganesha asks you to keep careers, many of which come from A REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE the limited oeuvre of Priyanka has returned back to the US. calm and enjoy the joy ride, irrespective significant collections within India Hemendranath She was in London shooting for of anything that happens during the day. and abroad. ket witnessed the highest turnover originally from the Pitti family col- Mazumdar, who be- her upcoming series, Citadel. Speaking about the collection, till date with the demand for the lection. Throughout his career, came one of the Helmed by Avengers mak- Sneha Gautam, Vice President -- Moderns increasing by over 65 per Husain formed strong relation- few Indian artists ers Joe and Anthony Russo, LIBRA Client Relations, AstaGuru, said, cent from the previous financial ships with several art connoisseurs of the early 20th Citadel is a spy thriller series “The demand for modern Indian art year.” and enjoyed the patronage of sev- century to gain co-starring Richard Madden, Some days are full of new has increased exponentially in the Making its auction debut and eral collectors in India and abroad. monetary as well and is billed as a global event ideas. Today is one such day as you radiate diligence and last year, with the Indian art auc- leading the sale, is MF Husain’s In the presented offering, Husain as critical appreci- for OTT. IANS intelligence. Consider it an auspicious tion market having its strongest oil on canvas work from the year creates an iconic, anti-war paint- ation for this work. moment to begin new business schemes, year ever. The Indian auction mar- 1972, a highly significant work, ing as a response to the Bangladesh AGENCIES especially if you happen to be self- employed. Today, you will be able to think at a level higher and clearer than the rest. But, as happens when you focus more on SUDOKU work, it comes at the cost of family time. Maintain a balance, advises Ganesha. To solve the Sudoku puzzle, fill in the boxes in such a PEANUTS post manner that every row, column and 3x3 box contains CROSSWORD the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. SCORPIO Dig in deep and keep your- self in the hunt, says Ganesha. Karma matters, but don't give much thought to the out- come. In matters of joint ventures, adopt a wait-and-watch approach today.

SAGITTARIUS Problems will push you in a corner today. But try resolv- ing them as son as possible. Expect delays in making final decisions. But as the day ends, expect fruitful results to come by, predicts Ganesha. CALVIN AND HOBBES CAPRICORN Good news for students! If you have been trying your luck for studies abroad, today is an opportune day, says Ganesha. Also, get your priorities straight and see SOLUTIONS that you achieve them one by one, for only a well-planned move can take you a step closer to your ambition. Those engaged in stock exchange and dealing with shares can expect a fruitful day ahead.

AQUARIUS Ganesha advises you to make a simple change in your routine and things will

work out superbly. You also get recogni- BREVITY CROSSWORD tion and rewards for past achievements. But that does not mean you become com- placent, says Ganesha. Get going, as hard work is still the surest way to salvation!

y PISCES

k y m Ferdinand the Bull would be c the cartoon character that would most aptly describe you today. Calmness will be second nature to you, and wisdom will ooze from your pores. Communal harmony is something

dear to your heart, and your amenability SUDOKU will see you achieve it, says Ganesha. CHECK FOR SOLUTIONS OF THE PUZZLES TOMORROW COVID-19 TRACKER P3 SWANKY LOOK TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR INFECTED RECOVERED DEAD The rejuvenated Chandan World 21,74,15,551 19,43,29,776 45,18,600 pond and its surroundings at Samanta Sahi in Cuttack India 3,27,37,939 3,19,23,405 4,38,210 await inauguration on the occasion of Local downtown Odisha 10,07,112 9,92,473 7,901

Self-Government Day Tuesday

k y m c Youth killed over road rage in City PRAYERS AT A DISTANCE

POST NEWS NETWORK TURN OF EVENTS Bhubaneswar, August 30: In a heart-rending incident, some mis- ANATAN WAS ON HIS WAY TO ATTEND A FEAST NEAR SHANI creants stabbed a youth to death fol- STEMPLE SUNDAY NIGHT WHEN THE PRIME ACCUSED, RAJA, lowing a dispute over rash driv- ALONG WITH ONE OF HIS FRIENDS DROVE PAST HIM AT A VERY ing at Raghunath Nagar in HIGH SPEED Dumduma area on City outskirts here late Sunday night. The de- N ANNOYED SANATAN ACCOSTED RAJA FOR THE RASH DRIVING. ceased was identified as Sanatan ATHEY INDULGED IN A HEATED EXCHANGE WHICH SOON TURNED Routray, 21, a mobile shop owner VIOLENT AS BOTH ENGAGED IN A FIGHT at Dumduma market. AJA THEN TOOK OUT A KNIFE AND STABBED SANATAN IN HIS The Commissionerate Police RCHEST, FACE AND THROAT swung into action and arrested File photo of Sanatan Routray six persons including two women in the case Monday. However, the in Dumduma under Khandagiri with one of his friends drove past The accused fled the scene when main accused, Raja, has been on police limits for the past few years. him at a very high speed. they saw Sanatan’s family members the run. According to locals, Baya and Subsequently, Sanatan accosted coming to his help. However, the vil- The accused were identified as other family members are involved Raja for the rash driving. They in- lagers chased the accused persons Raja Pradhan alias Rabi, 19, his in bootlegging and other criminal dulged in a heated exchange which and nabbed them except Raja. father Baya Pradhan alias Bideshi, activities. Khandagiri police had soon turned violent as both en- Sanatan was rushed to AIIMS- 40, and mother Bala Pradhan, 38, also arrested them several times in gaged in a fight. Bhubaneswar where the doctors de- Mithun Sahu, 25, and his mother the past. Later, the other accused rushed clared him ‘brought dead’. Subhadra Sahu, 50 and Simanchal Sources claimed that Sanatan to the spot and started thrashing Police arrested the six accused Pradhan alias Jati, 29. All the ac- was going to attend a feast near Sanatan. Suddenly, Raja took out by registering a case (453/21) in cused who hail from Ganjam have Shani Temple Sunday night when a knife and stabbed Sanatan in his this regard. Further investigation As Srimandir remains shut to avoid congregation on Janmashtami, devotees pay obeisance to the deities in front of been staying at Raghunath Nagar the prime accused, Raja, along chest, face and throat. is in progress, said the police. the Lion’s Gate in Puri, Monday OP PHOTO Notification out for 6,720 TGT posts CM urged for early issuance of UG marksheets POST NEWS NETWORK The notification UNION MINISTER DHARMENDRA PRADHAN POINTED OUT THAT THE STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO says 3,136 TGTs Bhubaneswar, August 30: State SUBMIT THEIR FINAL OR PROVISIONAL MARKSHEETS FOR SEEKING POSTGRADUATE ADMISSIONS Directorate of Secondary Education (Arts), 1,842 TGTs has released a fresh advertisement Science (PCM), PRESS TRUST OF INDIA sheets were causing great suffer- varsities like Mumbai University. for recruitment of Trained ing and jeopardising the career “In this context, it is also relevant Graduate Teachers (TGTs) in gov- 1,717 TGTs Science Bhubaneswar, August 30: Union prospects of the students. to mention that these students will ernment-run secondary schools of (CBZ) and 25 Education Minister Dharmendra The Union education minister also be deprived of appearing in of- the state. Pradhan has sought Chief Minister pointed out that the students were fline university entrance exami- A total of 6,720 TGT posts in Telugu teachers Naveen Patnaik's intervention in is- required to submit their final or pro- nations being held outside the Arts, Science and Telugu language will be appointed suance of provisional final semester visional marksheets for seeking state,” he said. will be filled through the recruit- results or marksheets to under- postgraduate admission to vari- “Keeping in mind the welfare ment drive. graduate students in the state. ous state and central universities and career prospects of final se- The registration process for the in- they are eligible for the post as a computer-based competitive ex- In a letter to Patnaik, Pradhan leges and state education author- outside Odisha where the procedure mester undergraduate students in tending eligible candidates will com- per advertisement. Application amination to be held at selected said that the students who had ap- ities, these students have not been has already commenced. Odisha, I seek your urgent atten- mence on the official website through any other mode shall not test centres in the state, tentatively peared for the sixth semester ex- provided with provisional mark- Pradhan said he was ‘distressed tion in undertaking necessary ac- https://dseodisha.in/ from September be accepted. in the second week of October 2021. aminations through online mode sheets. I am also in receipt of mul- to learn’ that many students had al- tion for immediate issue of final 4, 2021. The last date for online reg- As per the notification, 3,136 The application processing fee in the first and second week of tiple grievances in this regard from ready missed the admission dead- marksheets or attested provisional istration is September 30. TGTs (Arts), 1,842 TGTs Science has been fixed at `600 for general August had not been provided with the student community in Odisha,” lines for Central University of marksheets to them so that they Candidates are required to apply (PCM), 1,717 TGTs Science (CBZ) category and `400 for SC, ST and marksheets and the results were ex- the letter read. Mizoram and Bharathiar University may be able to pursue postgradu- online through the proper link on and 25 Telugu teachers will be PWD category candidates. Payment pected to be declared later in Pradhan underlined that the in Tamil Nadu, adding that they ate admissions into various state the website https://dseodisha.in/ appointed. will have to be made online which September. late publication of provisional re- were under severe stress due to and central universities in India," after thoroughly ensuring that Selection will be made through is non-refundable. “Despite repeated pleas to col- sults or non-issuance of mark- fast-approaching deadlines for other Pradhan added.

RAIN AHEAD NINL likely to be disinvested by Dec

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Bhubaneswar, August 30: The process for disinvestment of Odisha- based Central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL), is likely to be completed by December 2021, offi- cials said Monday. “The disinvestment process for NINL is going on very fast. The government has received very good response. Many big bidders have come forward and they want to take over the company," said NINL managing director RK Jha. “We government has received multiple NINL’s equity shareholding con- are at the advanced stage of dis- expressions of interest for the pri- sists of Minerals & Metals Trading investment. Most probably by vatisation of the company, sources Corporation (49.78 per cent), December, this company will be said. Meanwhile, Tata Power has National Mineral Development disinvested,” Jha added. snapped electricity supply to the Corporation (10.10 per cent), The Department of Investment Central PSU due to non-payment of MECON (0.68 per cent), Bharat and Public Asset Management long-pending dues, source said. The Heavy Electricals (0.68 per cent), (DIPAM), under the aegis of the 1.1 million tonne-a-year integrated Industrial Promotion and Ministry of Finance, had invited pre- steel plant is located at Kalinganar Investment Corporation of Odisha liminary bids for the strategic sale in Jajpur district, which is treated (12 per cent) and Odisha Mining Dark clouds hover over Jobra anicut in Cuttack, Monday OP PHOTO of NINL in January this year. The as an industrial hub of Odisha. Corporation (20.47 per cent). Private hosp staffer Blue print soon for promotion of folk arts nabbed for forgery The Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi has so far POST NEWS NETWORK uine medical documents and other identity details of the patients. awarded more than 400 Bhubaneswar, August 30: He would then change the name artistes and has also Commissionerate Police Monday and address of the original patient arrested an employee of a private with a fake one. The accused used increased the cash prize hospital in the Capital city on to pay a small amount of fund re- for the awardees charges of attempt to misappro- leased from CMRF to the patients priate money under Chief and keep the rest with them. Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) Behera collected the documents POST NEWS NETWORK through forged documents. of three patients, Rabindra Kumar The accused was identified as Barad, Parvati Sahoo and Dama Bhubaneswar, August 30: Artistes Dillip Kumar Behera, 38, of Muduli, admitted at the private hos- from different fields and districts Budhibar under Krushna Prasad pital recently. Subsequently, he ap- gathered Monday at Rabindra police limits in Puri. plied for financial assistance of `5.43 Mandap, one of Odisha’s premier Behera works as an assistant man- lakh under CMRF by depositing the auditoriums, as they were felici- ager at the MRD section of the pri- forged documents at the H&FW de- tated with the prestigious Kabi vate hospital in Bharatpur police partment. The hospital authorities Samrat Upendra Bhanja Awards station here. The incident came to the informed the department during and Odisha Sangeet Natak Anant Mahapatra (acting & direction) and Kumkum Mohanty (Odissi dance) receive Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Award for 2019 & 2020 respectively OP PHOTOS fore after an official of state Health verification process that the docu- Akademi Awards for the years and Family Welfare department ments submitted have been forged. 2019 and 2020. Award, the artists got `5 lakh cash the initiative of providing help Prahallada Natak, Dhabalpur, Culture department Minister Jyoti lodged a complaint with Bharatpur Police Monday arrested the ac- Anant Mahapatra (acting & di- rewards each, while for the Sangeet to the artistes without any diffi- Banabadi, Duruha and others.” Prakash Panigrahi said that dur- police in this regard a few days back. cused by registering a case (286/21) rection) and Kumkum Mohanty Natak Akademi awards, the amount culties. We are requesting artists OSNA president Aruna ing Covid-19, the government gave Sources claimed that Behera in the matter. Behera was later sent (Odissi dance) received Kabi Samrat was `2 lakh. to apply online for grants.” Mohanty said that since 1992, the monetary relief to the artistes.

along with several other persons to judicial custody by the court. Upendra Bhanja Award for 2019 Akademi secretary Prabodh Rath also said, “For the promo- academy has been presenting Also, more than 15,000 artistes of

k y m c used to arrange patients from dif- Police sources asserted that and 2020 respectively. This apart, Rath said, “The pandemic forced tion of folk arts through Guru award named after Kabi Samrat the state would be given mone- ferent parts of the state. The mem- probe is on to arrest other members a total of 32 artistes from different us to be restrictive in the cele- Shisya Parampara, we have started Upendra Bhanja. OSNA has so far tary relief by the government. He bers of the racket would bring them of the racket. The cops will also try fields were felicitated with Odisha bration of the awards ceremony. ‘Dikshyanta’ programme, under awarded more than 400 artistes also said that very soon, the de- to the City by assuring them qual- to find out whether staffers from Sangeet Natak Akademi (OSNA) As per the Odia Language, which, we have trained students on and has also increased the cash partment would launch a blue ity treatment at the private hospi- other major hospitals are involved awards for the year 2019 and 2020. Literature and Culture depart- different folk art forms such as prize for the awardees. print for the promotion and safety tal. Later, Behera would take the gen- in the racket or not. For Kabisamrat Upendra Bhanja ment’s instruction, we have started Ghoda Nacha, Samprada, Odia Language, Literature and of folk arts of the state. P4 TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR downtown

NGT seeks info on recovery DURGA PUJA PREP BEGINS

k y m of penalty from illegal miner c

penalty of `41,79,393 has Abeen charged against M/s Corsan Corviam Construction for illegal mining of murram and earth to the tune of 1,14,162 cubic metre but there is no indication whether the amount has been recovered SPCB had submitted in a POST NEWS NETWORK lution control board in an earlier Oprevious affidavit that affidavit submitted that a penalty about 114162 cubic metre of New Delhi, August 30: The of `41,79,393 has been charged earth material/murram has National Green Tribunal (NGT) against M/s Corsan Corviam been used for road has asked the Odisha State Pollution Construction for illegal mining of construction by the company without obtaining permission Control Board (OSPCB) to submit murram and earth to the tune of for mining of the material an affidavit stating the amount of 1,14,162 cubic metre but there is fine recovered from M/s Corsan no indication whether the amount Corviam Construction for illegal has been recovered. struction of two/four laning of mining of murram and earth. “We find that this affidavit does not Talcher-Duburi-Chandikhol section A bench of the green panel mention whether the environmen- of NH-200 from Km 301.890 to Km Soil collected for Durga Puja being consecrated at Kuakhai riverbed in Bhubaneswar, Monday OP PHOTO comprising Judicial Member B tal compensation has been recov- 427.885 including Km 8.5 to Km 14.886 Amit Sthalekar and Expert ered from the company or not for of NH-23 in Odisha under NHDP III Member Saibal Dasgupta asked the damage caused to the environment on EPC mode. the OSPCB to clearly state and the cost of its restitution/restora- The OSPCB had submitted in a whether environmental com- tion. We also find that the break-up previous affidavit that about 114162 CM dedicates 10 more smart schools to Hinjili pensation has been recovered of the amount of royalty and penalty cubic metre of earth material/mur- from the mining company and has not been mentioned in the said ram has been used for road con- POST NEWS NETWORK I have full confidence also give the break-up of the affidavit,” the NGT noted. struction by the company without in you (students). royalty/penalty. Significantly, M/s Corsan Corviam obtaining permission for mining Bhubaneswar, August 30: Chief We believe that The tribunal noted that the pol- Construction was awarded con- of the material. Minister Naveen Patnaik Monday one day you all will grow up inaugurated 10 more smart schools and do good work and in Hinjilicut constituency in the amplify the glory of the Odia fifth/final phase. As many as 50 community One dies, another ATM looters’ gang busted; 3 held schools transformed under 5T ini- tiative have so far been inaugu- NAVEEN PATNAIK | CHIEF MINISTER hurt in mishap POST NEWS NETWORK to prevent the cash from getting rated by the Chief Minister through ejected. Later, they would take out virtual mode. Special events have been or- POST NEWS NETWORK Bhubaneswar, August 30: the device and collect the cash Inaugurating the schools, Patnaik ganised in these 10 schools on the Commissionerate Police Monday from the machine when the cus- wished all the students every suc- occasion. Ministers, legislators, Cuttack Sadar, August 30: A arrested three interstate burglars tomers leave the kiosk. cess in their lives. Naveen said he sarpanchs, panchayat members, man died after a motorcycle and involved in a series of ATM loot in- Subsequently, the bank reimburses has spoken to students from various alumni of the schools and current a car collided head-on near cidents in the twin city. the amount in the account of the vic- schools during the five-day event in students along with their parents Fakirpada on Cuttack-Paradip They were caught through CCTV tim as it shows cash not withdrawn. Hinjili and Shergarh blocks and and locals attended the events. State Highway Monday. While the during a failed attempt to loot an The miscreants withdrew several felt that the school transformation glory of the Odia community.” guide the students properly. Under the programme, state-of- biker died on the spot, the critically SBI ATM kiosk at Badheibanka lakhs of rupees from 11 ATM kiosks programme has created a lot of con- “Dear children, go ahead, my Patnaik said he would be happy the-art facilities like e-library, smart injured pillion rider, a woman, Square under Lingaraj police lim- in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar within fidence among the children. wishes and blessings are always if there is a competition among classrooms, computer rooms, sci- was sent to a hospital. its here August 25. 48 hours recently, said the police The new environment in their with you,” the Chief Minister told teachers to ensure 100 per cent re- ence laboratories, sports facilities, The deceased was identified as The arrested were identified as sources. Recently, the accused were schools has also brought a trans- the school students. sults in their schools. The school reading rooms, laboratories, drink- Shiba Prasad Barik, a resident of Md Salman, 18, and Raj Kumar caught by the bank officials who formational change in the minds Stating that the school trans- transformation programme, which ing water facilities, hygienic toilets Jayeepur village in Jagatsinghpur. Tanwar, 31, of Faridabad district, came to know about the series of of children, he said. formation programme has increased was started in Hinjili Assembly and above all conducive study en- According to Kandarpur police, and Qaf Hayat, 35, of Nagina in Nuh thefts through the CCTVs installed Congratulating the children, the responsibilities of the teach- constituency, will be extended to all vironment have been created in Shiba was on his way to Cuttack on district of Haryana. Sources said at the ATM kiosks. Patnaik said, “I have full confi- ers, he advised the teachers to en- schools across the state, he added. the government schools. The walls his motorcycle (OD 21 F 9291) along the miscreants, through a unique The accused were Monday sent dence in you (students). We believe sure students get benefited from The programme was moderated of these schools have also been with the woman when the car (OD modus operandi, used to put a to judicial custody after the rejec- that one day you all will grow up the transformational programme. by Secretary to the Chief Minister painted based on educational and 02 AN 2988) coming from the op- metal plate inside ATM machines tion of their bail pleas. and do good work and amplify the The teachers have been advised to (5T) VK Pandian. interesting themes. posite direction hit his vehicle. The situation at the spot re- mained tense for a while but later it was brought under control by ZOO INFRA ASSESSMENT the police. A case of unnatural Sero survey in City begins today death has been registered and the investigation has begun. POST NEWS NETWORK ing of educational institutions and targeting last mile immunisation Bhubaneswar, August 30: In a need to be made in near future, it AIIMS launches snake bid to identify and compare preva- is crucial to generate evidence on lence of Covid antibodies among dif- the exposure of children and ado- ferent age groups, the Regional lescents, and the unvaccinated helpline app, portal Medical Research Centre (RMRC) group to the pandemic. It is also im- here has announced the beginning portant to assess the persistence of BHUBANESWAR: AIIMS of the two-day Sero survey in state immunity among the vaccinated Bhubaneswar launched a Capital August 31. groups, particularly the health- dedicated snake helpline app and The survey is a part of the state- care workers. Vaccination coverage website to monitor the human- level serological surveillance being nodal officers will ensure mobili- against Covid-19 among general snake conflict management. The website and app were inaugurated undertaken by the RMRC, sation of 200 persons among vari- population and healthcare workers Monday by gastroenterologist of Bhubaneswar, in 12 districts of ous age groups, including children, will be estimated through this sur- international repute, Padmashree Odisha from August 29 to Sept 20. for the survey on the dates assigned vey,” said RMRC Director, Subrat Kumar Acharya, President, For smooth conduct of the survey, to the wards. In addition, they will Sanghamitra Pati. AIIMS and Gitanjali Batmanabane, the Bhubaneswar Municipal co-ordinate with the survey team It may be noted that the RMRC Director of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. Corporation (BMC), Monday, ap- for its successful completion,” the began the survey August 29 in The app and website pointed five nodal officers under its BMC said in a notification. Sambalpur, Sundargarh, www.snakehelpline.com, jurisdiction. Sources said that the survey Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Khordha, prepared under the guidance of “In response to a letter by the aims to identify prevalence of Covid Puri, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, the faculty of the Department of Director of ICMR-RMRC, among children. Altogether, 6,680 Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Bhubaneswar, requesting support samples will be collected including Nabarangpur districts, in order to are meant to educate public and for the Odisha State Covid-19 Sero 1,644 from children aged between estimate and compare the age-spe- the healthcare professionals of survey, the BMC has designated 6 to 17 years, 3,836 from adults and cific prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 an- Odisha regarding the ‘human- A single-member team from the Central Zoo Authority on a two-day visit to Nandankanan Zoological Park in five officers as nodal authorities 1,200 from healthcare workers. tibodies in general population and snake conflict management’. Bhubaneswar, Monday OP PHOTO for Ward No 8, 15, 32, 41 and 63. The “As decisions regarding the open- health care workers across the state. CM launches MGR system Staff crunch, infra woes dog Cuttack Energy PS PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Banharpali, Jharsuguda. The 47-kilometre long MGR sys- POST NEWS NETWORK around 20 days back. Since then, we Bhubaneswar, August 30: tem will ensure hassle-free coal espite provision for two don’t have any info on the vehi- sub-inspectors, the Energy Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik transportation, enhancing fuel se- Cuttack, August 30: The Special D cle’s repair. Lack of vehicle has PS has none. There is only one Monday inaugurated a Merry- curity to the power plant operated Energy Police Station at Jobra assistant SI in place of two been creating hurdles in carrying Go-Round (MGR), a dedicated by OPGC, an official said. here, the district’s lone police sta- out raids,” the IIC said. rail transportation system be- The Manoharpur coal mine tion (PS) that deals with cases re- he PS has only four Mohanty pointed out, “For raids, tween the production and con- was allocated to the OCPL in 2015 lated to power pilferage, has been Tconstables - two males and the private discom has been asking sumption points, for carrying to cater to the dry fuel require- grappling with infrastructure woes as many females – although the us to go with their staffers in reg- coal from a mine to a power gen- ments of power generating units and staff crunch for at least one and sanctioned strength is 12 ular vehicles. It’s weird with reg- eration station of the state-run of OPGC. a half years now. he female colleagues have ular vehicles. Carrying out raids Odisha Power Generation The ITPS to Manoharpur mines Established in 2004, the Energy Tno option than to travel all using police vehicles helps in main- Corporation Limited (OPGC) MGR line is 47 km long, while the PS used to have a dedicated com- the way to Malgodown police taining credibility and subsequent through virtual mode. track including loop lines and sid- plex in Jobra area until late 2019 station, 300 metres away, owing collection of fines.” An event was organised by the ings is 66 km, which makes it one when it had to be bulldozed for a to the broken washroom door The official added that she took OPGC at Manoharpur coal loading of the longest MGR systems in the city beautification plan. Since then, over as the IIC 40 days back and since platform where state Energy country, the official said. it has been functioning from the tres away, to attend the nature’s call. then they managed to collect around Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra The MGR system required con- premises of the Settlement Office electricity theft cases. though the sanctioned strength is Although the PS has a Tata Sumo, `25 lakh from the violators. flagged off the coal rake move- struction of as many as 123 major in Jobra area. “Despite provision for two sub- 12,” Mohanty said. facilitated by the central electric- Notably, Energy police stations ment on this MGR from and minor bridges. According to Durgesh Nandini inspectors (SIs), we have none. The IIC also narrated about the ity supply utility, the vehicle has deal with tampering of electric Manoharpur coal mines of Odisha This MGR line has five stations Mohanty, the police station’s in- Similarly, there is only one assis- broken washroom door for which been lying defunct for at least a meters, bypassing the meters by Coal & Power Ltd (OCPL) located – ITPS, Chharla, Gidhaghara, spector in-charge (IIC), shortage tant SI in place of two. Moreover, the female colleagues have no op- year now. “After desperate requests, plastering the cables inside the in Sundargarh district to IB Kechhobahal & OCPL-Manoharpur of hands has become a deterrent we have only four constables (two tion than to travel all the way to the private power distribution com- walls and unauthorised tapping

Thermal Power Station (ITPS) at – two of which are end stations. to ensure effective crackdowns on males and as many females) al- Malgodown police station, 300 me- pany has sent it for repairing of power supply.

k y m c P5 TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR state

CWC team’s visit raises hopes of funds

k y m 3 labourers run over c POST NEWS NETWORK LOWER SUKTEL IRRIGATION PROJECT n Over 75 per cent of work on the dam’s spillway and 45.3 per cent of Bolangir, August 30: Construction its soil embankment has been of Lower Suktel Irrigation Project completed despite the Union at Magurbeda in this district has government stopping funds by speeding train progressed well despite the initial since the 2017-18 fiscal setbacks, a report said. Over 75 per cent of work on the n Work on the dam has passed dam’s spillway and 45.3 per cent of through many trials and FACT FILE its soil embankment has been com- tribulations. These are not yet over Some labourers from Chhattisgarh pleted despite the Union govern- as the irrigation project was found were engaged at a construction site of ment stopping funds since the 2017- trapped in the Mahanadi water an over-bridge near the Haldiapadar 18 fiscal. dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh bus terminal. Around seven labourers Many apprehend that the dam decided to leave for home without work might not get completed due n The visit of two senior officials of informing anybody in their camp and to non-availability of Central funds. Central Water Commission to tried to escape at midnight However, the state government the project site has raised hopes GRP sent the bodies for post-mortem has moved ahead with the dam of release of Central funds for and started an investigation, GRP ASI work despite funds crunch and construction work on the project. praisal of the dam work and went the project Arati Poddar said. The family members other setbacks. The dam work further got a boost around the dam spillway and its soil of the victims have been contacted and Work on the dam has passed after a two-member team from the embankment. due to the villagers’ protest but the the bodies will be handed over to them through many trials and tribula- Central Water Commission (CWC) They also reviewed the machines state government again prepared it- after their arrival, she said tions. However, these are not yet over visited the under-construction dam used for constructing the dam and self and started the work on the as the irrigation project was found at Magurbeda and reviewed the sought to know the modus operandi dam in 2013. One of the labourers, Sitaram Kebhard trapped in the Mahanadi water project, Friday morning. of the dam work. Their visit has However, supporters of the dam who had a close shave reached the GRP dispute between Odisha and neigh- They were accompanied by en- ignited hope that the Union gov- launched an agitation over com- police station and narrated the horrific mishap before police officials, Monday bouring Chhattisgarh. gineer Niranjan Rout, chief con- ernment might again release pensation to and rehabilitation of morning. He also helped the police in The matter came to the fore fol- struction officer of Lower Suktel Central funds for the mega irri- the displaced villagers. As a result, identifying the bodies lowing information made avail- mega irrigation project, Nirbighna gation project the dam work was again stopped in POST NEWS NETWORK The GRP sent the bodies for able under the Right to Information Bhoi, executive officer of the dam Sources said that Chief Minister 2018. Later, despite constraints, the post-mortem and started an in- Act. It was apprehended that the and other senior officers. Naveen Patnaik had laid the foun- state government started the work Berhampur, August 30: Three vestigation, GRP ASI Arati Poddar near Haldiapadar level crossing dam work might get stalled till the The team comprised Dillip dation stone for Lower Suktel, from February 26, this year. When persons were run over by a speed- said. The family members of the of Berhampur between 11.30 pm Mahanadi water dispute gets re- Kumar Jena, director of regional November 24, 2001. At that time, the contacted, chief engineer Rout said ing train near a level crossing at victims have been contacted and and 12 midnight for Berhampur solved at the Tribunal. office of Central Water Commision project was opposed by the resi- that the visit of two senior offi- Haldiapadar of Ganjam district, the bodies will be handed over to railway station unaware of the in- However, proving all apprehen- at Bhubaneswar and Ram Prasad, dents of 29 villages, who would be cials of Central Water Commission killing them on the spot. Four them after their arrival, she said. coming Visakhapatnam-Tatanagar sions wrong, the state government deputy director in the office. The affected by the project. has raised hopes of release of others had a close shave. She added that negligence in cross- Special Express train on the same has succeeded in commencing the two senior officials made an ap- The project work was stopped Central funds for the project. The deceased were identified as ing the railway tracks by the three route, an eyewitness said. Jogeshwar Kebhard, 41, his son labourers cost them their lives. Later, one of the labourers, Lakhnu Kebhard, 20, another According to sources, some Sitaram Kebhard who had a close labourer Lokeshwar Kebhard, 35, of labourers from Bilashpur area in shave reached the GRP police sta- Parsadabhed village under Masturi Chhattisgarh were engaged at the tion and narrated the horrific Elephant tramples woman to death police limits in Chhattisgarh. construction site of an over-bridge mishap before police officials, The labourers who escaped near the Haldiapadar bus terminal. Monday morning. He also helped POST NEWS NETWORK ceased and eight other devotees the night. Unaware about the death left the spot soon after the Around seven labourers decided to the police in identifying the bodies. from Bishnupur village under locality, Bilei went to a nearby incident, eyewitnesses added. leave for home without informing Police with the help of a mo- Balishankara, August 30: A Sitapur police limits in Sarguja jungle to attend nature’s call. Local people informed the anybody in their camp and tried bile phone seized from the spot woman, who had come to district of Chhattisgarh had An elephant came from nowhere Government Railway Police (GRP) to escape at midnight. contacted the deceased family Sundargarh district from come to Sundargarh. and, before she could react, took authorities about the mishap. They were crossing the tracks members. Chhattisgarh along with eight They wished to visit the her by its trunk and trampled her others on a pilgrimage, was Jagannath temple in to death. trampled to death by an elephant Sundargarh. After visiting the On being informed, Forest at Ghogar village in Sundargarh temple and Maa Samaleswari personnel and police reached district Monday. temple, they were returning to the spot. After preliminary in- 22 children test Covid +ve in Bhadrak The deceased has been iden- Chhattisgarh. vestigation, the police sent the tified as Bilei Bai (45). On their way, they stopped at body for post-mortem to POST NEWS NETWORK emerged as a matter of concern is According to sources, the de- Balishankara village to spend Sundargarh DHH. that 22 children were infected by Bhadrak, August 30: Even as the virus during the same period. the daily Covid-19 caseload in Of them, 12 are girls. Bhadrak district is showing a The district Monday reported downward trend, the number of nine fresh cases and two deaths, children infected by the virus is on taking the tally and toll to 26,005 the rise. and 135 respectively. While 25,767 According to information shared patients have recovered from the by the district Health department, Covid positive in the last 13 days, disease so far, there are still 99 ac- as many as 136 persons tested starting August 17. What has tive cases.

RAIRAKHOL FOREST DIVISION Fifth jumbo death in two years

POST NEWS NETWORK

Rairakhol, August 30: Notwithstanding the fact that the Forest department spends crores of rupees every year for the protection of elephants through a host of measures, much still needs to be done to check the ca- sualties of the pachyderms in the Rairakhol forest di- vision in Sambalpur. This was evident following the death of another ele- phant in Langartaila forest near Kardapal village under Badbahal range Saturday. According to reports, five elephants have died here for various reasons during the last two years. The casualties have posed a question mark on the safety of the animals, while the efficacy of the protective measures under- taken by the Forest department has come under cloud. Some locals, while they were in the forest, first found a tusker dead. They informed the Forest department officials about their finding. The animal is believed to be 22 years old. A team of officials, including DFO Ramakant Nayak, ACF Debiprasad Rout, Badabahal ranger and other Forest officials, took stock of the situation which led to the death of the animal. The DFO said that the cause of its death will be known after the receipt of the post-mortem report. Veterinarians suspect that the animal might have suc- cumbed to some disease. On the other hand, there has been no let-up in ele- phant casualties in the Forest division. Over five ele- phants have died in the region in the last two years.

An elephant had died in Naktideula range October 20, 2019, while another was found dead in Badbahal range two days later. An elephant calf was found dead in Kusmumakhol gramya jungle under Charmal range October 31 in the same year. A tusker had died in Tudabahal forest under Badbahal range January 19, 2020. At that time, then DFO Sangram

Keshari Behera told the media that some of them had

k y m c died due to anthrax. However, reports revealed that the cause of the elephant deaths was not anthrax. Frequent casualties of elephants in the division has left locals and environmentalists worried. They ob- served that Forest department officials are doing lit- tle for the protection of elephants. P6 TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR power post

FOCUS MONETISATION One mighty deed can change the

course of things; a lonely thought

k y m becomes omnipotent. c SRI AUROBINDO PIPEDREAM OR BOLD REFORM?

ndia is struggling with a large toll free? This indeed has hap- fiscal deficit. This was ex- pened in the case of the Noida toll pected due to two reasons -- bridge which went toll-free in 2016. Taliban Overtures Ilarge spending commitments Or the Mumbai-Pune Expressway due to Covid and falling tax revenue. (a battle was fought to make it window of opportunity seems to be opening for India to reach out to Last year the finance minister had toll-free). Indeed, that expressway and mend its relations with the Taliban after a key member of the Taliban budgeted the deficit to be 3.5 per cent is the oldest (since 2004) and most Aleadership made a carefully scripted statement August 28 that India of GDP for 2020-21. The actual successful example of a mone- is “very important for the subcontinent” and his group is keen on continu- deficit turned out to be 9.3 per cent. tised asset, but it has not been ing Afghanistan’s cultural, economic, political and trade ties with India In rupee terms the slippage of ac- without its own controversies. “like in the past.” tual over budgeted was `10 lakh What if traffic drops to zero due The overture, first since the Taliban stormed into Kabul August 15 and took crore. This shortfall has to be made to a pandemic-induced lockdown? firm control of Afghanistan, was made by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, up by fresh borrowing. For the Who will bear that risk? There deputy head of Taliban’s office in Doha. He read out in Pashto a 46-minute present fiscal, the budgeted deficit The NMP is a fresh approach to public-private- are also other risks of abrupt can- video message that was broadcast on the group’s social media platforms and is 6.8 per cent of GDP or `15 lakh cellations of long-term contracts. Afghanistan’s Milli TV. crore. This too will be made up partnership. Its success will depend on the devil The Power Purchase Agreements The development comes after India’s position in the affairs of Afghanistan mostly by fresh borrowing. The which is in the details. And the risks of capture, (PPAs) in Andhra Pradesh where became extremely precarious and its foreign policy of avoiding the Taliban plan is to borrow `12 lakh crore, by potential private monopolies, of public the present government cancelled like plague appeared to be proving too costly. India seemed to be out of the which makes up more than three PPAs by the previous one led by the game in Afghanistan after having acted as its closest neighbour for the past fourth of all the financial savings assets are real and need to be addressed Telugu Desam Party, are a case 20 years when it collaborated with the Afghanistan government that was propped of the households in India. The in point. These are the kind of up and backed by the US. This left Pakistan in the driving seat in Afghanistan Ajit Ranade fresh borrowing keeps adding to the erate more value from the same in her Budget speech, and the de- contingencies that the NMP agree- post-Taliban takeover and it is feared Pakistan will not only draw the con- debt mountain of the Union gov- asset than the government. tails were unveiled August 23. The ments have to specify. In essence tours of Indo-Afghan relationship but will also smuggle terrorists, belong- ernment, which is now at 60 per The revolution in telecom or proposals are very ambitious, and the private operator gets the mo- ing to a plethora of outfits, into Indian territory and undo the structural changes cent of GDP. This is the highest it cable TV has shown to what heights go beyond sectors like power, roads nopoly right to collect the toll for the Indian government has done to Jammu & Kashmir. FRESH has been in 14 years. privatisation can take a sector, and railway assets as mentioned a long period in exchange for the Interestingly, Stanekzai was at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun BORROWING The NK Singh-led expert com- which languished under a state in the Budget speech, to a total of upfront value. How is the quality in the 1980s as part of training for Afghan army cadets. In 1996 also he had mittee on fiscal responsibility had monopoly for decades. The same 14 sectors, including telecom tow- of service to be ensured? Will there played a similar peace-making role with India after the Taliban’s first KEEPS ADDING recommended a debt to GDP ratio is true for private courier serv- ers, gas pipelines, warehouses, be a regulator? Not all private en- takeover of Kabul when he was Deputy Foreign Minister of a caretaker gov- TO THE DEBT of 40 per cent. So, the current in- ices, or airlines and hotels. But solar projects and even stadiums. trepreneurs would be willing to ernment. Now this overture comes at a time when India has evacuated its debtedness levels are dangerous successive governments have found Many of these assets don’t belong take on such risks of political up- entire diplomatic contingent from its embassy in Kabul and its foreign pol- MOUNTAIN OF and could be unsustainable. Also, it difficult even to mention the to the government per se, but heavals. Such a political minefield icy in regard to Afghanistan seemed to be lost in the wilderness. THE UNION it is worth a reminder that today’s taboo word of ‘privatisation.’ That rather different corporate enti- is not easy to navigate. So does It doesn’t look like a happenstance that the Taliban are apparently soft- borrowing is nothing but a tax on Lakshman Rekha was crossed in ties, such as the National Highway this mean that only ‘cronies’ will ening their stand on India hours after the latter toned down its pugnacity GOVERNMENT, future unborn generations. The this year’s Budget speech. Will Authority of India, or Power Grid bid, as they are better at ‘manag- against the Taliban at an important resolution of the United Nations Security more reckless the spending today, that ambition be translated into re- Corporation. The resources raised ing risks’ or due to an implied Council August 27. In a significant development suggesting desperate behind WHICH IS NOW the less is the fiscal space available ality? The record is not inspiring. will not wholly go to plug only the quid pro quo? These are the un- the scene activities by India’s foreign affairs establishment to reach out to AT 60 PER CENT tomorrow. Unless of course growth For the last seven years the pri- fiscal deficit, but to those respec- certainties plaguing the NMP. Due the Taliban, India dropped the dirty word, ‘Taliban,’ from the resolution. This picks up very strongly. vatisation (or disinvestment) tar- tive corporate bodies. In the next to such factors, detractors will was done two weeks after India, chairing the UNSC for August, had specif- OF GDP. THIS IS It is in this context that the gets have been consistently missed four years the government esti- surely accuse the government of ically mentioned the Taliban in a resolution urging them not to allow the THE HIGHEST IT government has to seriously think by a wide margin. For instance, last mates raising `6 trillion from the selling assets (family silver) cheaply Afghanistan soil to be used by terrorists as a launching pad for subversive about other avenues of raising year the target was `2.1 lakh crore, NMP, of which `0.88 trillion is to or only to cronies. Another im- activities against other countries, meaning primarily India. The changed res- HAS BEEN revenue or reducing spending, and not even 10 per cent was re- be realised this year itself. portant question is how is the olution retained all the other words directed at reining in terrorist groups. IN 14 YEARS without sacrificing its core re- alised. Even in years when the tar- Given its record on privatisation money going to be raised by the pri- The changed wording suggested two things. First, the USA, which is known sponsibility of governance, so- get was achieved it was because one these numbers are very ambitious vate parties? If the bulk of the `6 to be controlling the UNSC’s decisions, was urging India not to adopt a hos- cial and national security. It is PSU was asked to buy the shares and unrealistic. Also, the risk per- trillion to be earned from bidders tile stand on the Taliban. Secondly, India was equally desperate to build true that seen purely in terms of of another PSU, which is like the ception varies from sector to sec- is to be borrowed from banks are bridges with the Taliban. Stanekzai’s statement indicates India’s gesture is strik- fund flows, the deficit situation is left pocket paying the right pocket. tor. The cleanest case is of toll the banks willing to take this risk? ing a chord with the Taliban too. He stated the Taliban leadership is looking worrisome. But seen from a bal- Remember that this is a ruling highways, which anyway the NHAI And who bears the risk of bad forward to working with India and strengthening its political, economic and ance sheet perspective, it is much party which has promised mini- has been monetising. The private loans? Will it fall on taxpayers? trade ties with India. He even insisted trade with India is so important that better. The government may have mum government and maximum party that wins the bidding, signs The NMP is a fresh approach to the Taliban would even keep the air corridors open for doing trade with India. a lot of unfunded spending obli- governance. a ‘concession’ agreement to collect public-private-partnership. Its suc- This is significant since Pakistan has always blocked overland transit, trade gations, but it also has assets on Seen in the light of an acute toll revenues for the next 15 or 20 cess will depend on the devil which and access between India and Afghanistan. His remarks that the Taliban would its balance sheet which can be fiscal crunch, the National years. The value of the bid is ob- is in the details. And the risks of consolidate Afghanistan’s relations with Turkmenistan and sort out the ‘monetised.’ Of course, we are not Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) is viously the discounted present capture, by potential private mo- problems holding up the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) talking about selling off the Taj an ambitious idea. It aims to trans- value of all the tolls that would be nopolies, of public assets are real gas pipeline project sound reassuring. Mahal or the Gateway of India. fer (not sell) operating assets to collected in the future. Note that and need to be addressed. Similarly, he touched on the importance of the Chabahar port in connecting But there is a philosophical case private parties, and encash the the toll cannot be fixed by the toll The writer is an economist India with Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries. The International to be made to divest assets in value up front as a lump sum pay- operator. It is to be notified by the and Senior Fellow, North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is key to fulfilling India’s ambi- areas where a private party might ment from an auction. The finance government. What if there is po- Takshashila Institution. tion of building a vast network of ports and freight corridors leading to Eurasia. function more efficiently and gen- minister had announced this idea litical agitation to make the road ©THE BILLION PRESS India has already invested billions of rupees to develop the Chabahar port and roads and railway network to tap iron ore deposits in Hajigak mine in central Afghanistan and natural resources in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Once the INSTC is built, Afghanistan’s dependence on Pakistan SPECTRUM GEOPOLITICS for export would be drastically minimised. The cost of Indian exports to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries will come down by 60 per cent and timing by 50 per cent. Over the last two weeks, Taliban spokespersons Suhail Shaheen and Zabiullah Mujahid have also articulated the group’s views on relations with India. New Delhi invested $3bn in development projects, offered scholarships Is it curtains on ‘forever wars’? to Afghan students, and helped construct the parliament building at a cost of $90m, earning massive goodwill in the country. India has undertaken about he horrific terrorist attacks report grilled the illustrious former lector’s item. It is a metaphor for the CIA chief specifically for her 400 projects covering almost all 34 provinces in Afghanistan. outside Kabul airport will British Prime Minister for dissem- the way Muslims are portrayed in record in torture and rendition. The Taliban leader’s detailed message on international trade and commerce T boost chaos sky high. It will bling facts leading Britain into a the media. An Afghan militant, He said on TV “torture works, tor- keeping in mind the pivotal role India can play in collaboration with Iran take focus away from the only frame bogus Iraq war. “I express more sor- headgear et all, is crouching and tak- ture works.” Afghans even the indicates the Taliban’s anxiety to get international recognition and develop in which the epochal events of the row, regret and apology than you will ing aim with his Kalashnikov. In the supine ones making money hand the country’s economic potential independent of Pakistan. If the Taliban are past few days should be seen. Did ever imagine,” he wept. very frame is a western cameraman, over fist with US contractors and really serious, things may not look as bleak for India as they do now. the US withdrawal, however messy, Donald Trump asked Jimmy resting a knee on the ground, click- even more with Ghani’s corrupt bring an end to the ‘forever wars’? Carter, “What should we do, China ing the gun-toting Afghan. This is minions -- would they fall in love with Is that outcome to be welcomed? Or is going ahead of us?” Carter’s how the image of a ‘militant the Americans who built torture WISDOM CORNER is this the time to analyse the ‘in- reply was pithy: “China has not Islamist’ is manufactured. chambers, multiple Abu Ghraibs, Saeed Naqvi competence’ of the Taliban? A peo- been at war since 1978; we have It was prescient of Edward Said crashing down doors and stripping What is crucial in dealing with loss is not to lose the lesson. That ple who defeated a superpower in never stopped being at war.” to have spotted the beginnings of families, humiliating them. makes you a winner in the most profound sense. DAYANANDA SARASWATI battle should be given a little more Is there something akin to racism manufactured Islamic militancy. Even as I write Ben Roberts- IF BIDEN’S than a fortnight to find their feet. in the way TV images of the Taliban This industry was to grow after Smith, of Australia’s Special Air In seeking comfort, we generally find a quiet corner in life where Or, is there an urge in wounded in Kabul send shivers down our the Soviet collapse and burgeon Services regiment, who was there is a minimum of conflict, and then we are afraid to step out of WITHDRAWAL hearts for some rearguard action spine? How did we ever persuade our- that seclusion. JIDDU KRISHNAMURTI after 9/11. In terrorism the Military awarded the Victoria Cross for PUTS AN END TO in order to pick up shreds of pres- selves that they are a ghastly lot? Who Industrial Complex found a durable duty in Afghanistan, was, until the Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as tige blown to smithereens? A mil- knows, they may well be but who has replacement for the Cold War enemy, other day, fighting with his back to by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to ACTIONS WHICH itary response to the residual im- drilled this image so indelibly into the Soviet Union. Oh, the excuses the wall in an Australian court fac- you as by the way your mind looks at what happens. KAHLIL GIBRAN DO NOT BECOME perialist yearning, pulsating our consciousness? Not our media, that are being made for the debacle: ing charges of atrocities on Afghan beneath the ashes, may well provide surely. Our ‘atmanirbhar’, or self-suf- we made the mistake of training the civilians. An internal investiga- AMERICA, HISTORY Afghans with an opportunity to ficient media takes ‘foreign’ news Afghan army in ‘our image’, like the tion last year found Special Forces WORDSWORTH WILL JUDGE measure up to Vietnam’s record. from Western agencies to a point of US military. Really! Where the hell men ‘unlawfully killed’ 39 Afghan Vietnam defeated three permanent saturation. This shapes our mind have all the soldiers gone, however civilians and prisoners. At least Panglossian HIM FAIRLY members of the Security Council and, to some extent, South Block’s wrongly trained, armed to the teeth? in Australia some limited processes in the battlefield: France at Dien too. Of course, our ambassadors What were all those ‘Green on Blue’ were set into motion, but as for the panglossian is optimistic regardless of the circumstances. Or, to put it in Bien Phu, the US at Saigon, and file reams of copy but spring a sur- attacks when trainees turned upon US, let me quote George Bush the Athe words of the optimistic Dr Pangloss, the philosopher and tutor in China in Lang Son. Mujahideen prise on them at work: they are all their trainers, killing many? Did senior. “United States can do what Voltaire’s Candide (1759), “All is for the best in the best of all possible Taliban have two scalps in their watching the same channels. such attacks just end by divine in- the hell it wants.” If Biden’s with- worlds.” We are as profoundly sceptical of this philosophy as Voltaire bag already -- Soviet Union and Painting Muslims in lurid colours tervention or embarrassing episodes drawal puts an end to actions which intended us to be, since Dr Pangloss was old, pedantic and deluded, the US. Another trophy for the has been a practice at least since the just go away because the obedient do not become America, history maintaining his misguided beliefs even after experiencing great suffering. Afghans, anybody? 70s when Muslim states sur- media switches off its cameras? will judge him fairly. Dealing with His name is one clue to Voltaire’s view of the old man, since it comes from It is ironical that Tony Blair’s rounding Israel vigorously sup- Thumb through the files of the the Taliban is a separate matter. Greek pan, all, and glossa, tongue or language, so suggesting glibness and has been the loudest yelp. ‘Imbecilic’ ported the Palestinian cause. Guardian and locate the headline The writer is a senior talkativeness. Writers have since made several compounds out of his name, to withdraw, he screamed. How thick Palestinian Professor at Columbia ‘US marines charged over urinat- commentator on political such as Panglossic and Panglossism, but the adjective Panglossian is by far a human skin can be? Just the other University, Edward Said’s ‘Covering ing on bodies of dead Taliban’. and diplomatic issues. the most common and is frequently found even today: Most management- day Sir John Chilcot in his historic Islam’ has a jacket which is a col- Trump appointed Gina Haspel as IANS speak is, as Schrijvers points out, Panglossian balderdash designed to lull the weak and credulous — the feeble-minded, the nice — into a position of supine docility” (Daily Telegraph, 13 July, 2004). Punjab wrangle Golden beam

Panhandle Sir, The wrangle between Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Congress Sir, Avani Lekhara has emerged as the t is variously said to come from the habit of beggars of soliciting state president Navjot Singh Sidhu in Punjab does not augur well for the party. first Indian woman to clinch an Olympic gold Icontributions by thrusting out tin pans, into which generous passersby etters Punjab will go to Assembly polls in February 2022, and with a Punjab win, the in a shooting event. This is a Paralympic would place their coins; or perhaps it’s from the Spanish pan, literally Congress can play a significant role in Opposition unity. Perhaps Amarinder Singh, gold medal but the metal shines the same meaning “bread” but which could also mean “money” (much as our word a bankable politician, would have easily pulled it off for the party but for Navjot Singh like any Olympic gold. She says, “I am feel- bread can in modern English), or possibly from the idea of some hopeful TOL THE EDITOR Sidhu. Just as Captain Amarinder was all set to be projected as the party’s face ing like I’m on top of the world.” The coun- supplicant panning for gold. Readers of Orissa POST again for 2022, Sidhu threw his hat into the ring. Though ‘pacified’ with the state party try too feels the same. We have garlanded are most welcome to contribute letters chief ’s post, the former cricketer has a much bigger agenda. Therefore, his endless our Olympic medal winners with truckful (200 words), articles and histrionics are the order of the day. One of the biggest assets of an ambitious politi- of gifts and cash rewards. I hope the Union columns (between 750-1250 LOL words). Contributors are cian is patience. When the BJP had little time for an impatient Sidhu, the agitated and the state governments will loosen their requested to send their Sardar left the party in a huff. Despite being given a patient hearing and due support purse strings for our Paralympians too. Catching the shoplifter about this?” contact numbers and full from none other than senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party’s general sec- With seven medals so far the Paralympians

The manager postal address/email ID. They may also retary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sidhu’s histrionics continue to ruffle the party. But have proved that they are no less than our

k y m send in their valuable comments, opinion c shoplifter was caught red-handed agreed and wrote up the and suggestions, preferably by email, Sidhu’s bete noire is an old war horse. The formidable Amarinder Singh is not an Olympians. Avani Lekhara will be shooting Atrying to steal a watch from an sales slip. The crook looked to: [email protected] easy nut to crack. As a former Army man, the Captain knows what it takes to win it out in two more events, the mixed 10m air exclusive jewellery store. “Listen,” at the slip and said, “This is a little a war. So, Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat, who will be in the state as a firefighter, rifle and 50m rifle. India hopes that her said the shoplifter, “I know you don’t more than I intended to spend. Can has his task cut out. Captain Amarinder Singh is unlikely to budge an inch and Navjot kitty jingles with more medals. The coun- want any trouble either. What do you you show me something less B-15, Rasulgarh Industrial Estate, Singh Sidhu’s restlessness is on the rise. try is so proud of her. say I just buy the watch and we forget expensive?” Bhubaneswar-751010 Ganapathi Bhat, AKOLA (MAHARASHTRA) Noopur Baruah, TEZPUR (ASSAM) P7 TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR state Man slits throat

Climate crisis, Kharasrota and Bhitarkanika of pregnant wife

k y m c The problem at Kharasrota is not with the pipeline part of the project but with the diversion of river water which feeds the ecologically POST NEWS NETWORK Kesinga, August 30: A man al- sensitive zone of Bhitarkanika. Therefore, the issue here is not the passing of the pipeline itself but the diversion of water resources from legedly attempted to murder his this sensitive area, which has significant localised ecological consequences pregnant wife by slitting her throat late Sunday night. The incident took place at Dhanarmal village DHANADA K MISHRA lagers from these panchayats are mittee, which is empowered to to adhere to the 4-step EIA process under Kesinga police limits in protesting the construction work refer projects to MoEF and other and conduct public hearings and Kalahandi district. well known environmental of this pipeline and the water sup- regulatory agencies for environ- expert appraisals. Srikant has writ- activist of Odisha, Srikant ply project, which will lead to an in- mental clearance, merely gave ten an open letter to the Principal ANayak is undertaking a crease in salinity and decrease in post-facto approval to an EIA report Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) hunger strike, which is on its 21st the availability of the river water, already prepared by the state gov- asking for an immediate halt on con- day Monday. For years, he has been on which local agriculture is reliant. ernment. Apparently, IIT- struction activities until a com- working in his native village of The increase in salinity will also Hyderabad had conducted the mittee of experts can further ex- Taras near Rajaknika in have a significant impact on Environmental and Social Impact amine the effects of this project Kendrapara district - a stone’s Bhitarkanika Mangroves. Assessment for the government on Bhitarkanika. In the meantime, throw from the famous The district officials claim that and approved the project. However, eminent personalities such as Bhitarkanika sanctuary. His work the project is linear like roads, locals claim that no such public Gandhian Krishna Mohanty, Padma to promote tree plantation, nature highways, transmission lines etc, hearing in this social impact as- Charan Nayak and Rajendra Singh, education, eradication of alco- which passes through several areas, sessment report were conducted, among others, have come out in holism etc, are well known in the and therefore is not subject to the and even if conducted, they were support of Srikant’s protest. area and outside. Because of this rigorous Environmental and Social unaware of it. The hearings of Unfortunately, the treatment meted work through Sambhabana - the Impact Assessment provisions en- this nature are usually conducted out to Srikant has been most harsh The injured woman has been NGO he had set up - Nayak was visioned in the ESIA Policy, which by the Pollution Control Board and cruel by the district adminis- identified as Prakashini Sahani nominated to be a Bhitarkanika is a prerequisite for the grant of en- and are well publicised in local tration, threatening his nursery and the accused as Nihar. Eco-sensitive Zone Monitoring vironmental clearance from the newspapers, which has not hap- and placing him forcibly in hospital. Prakashini is a native of Committee member. Bhitarkanika MoEF. Linear projects are exempt Srikant Nayak with eminent Gandhian Padma Charan Nayak pened in this case. The Intergovernmental Panel on Sambalpur district and had mar- is well known for its mangroves, from the rigours of environmen- Additionally, the monitoring Climate Change (IPCC), in its latest ried Nihar a few years back. The crocodiles and pristine ecology. It tal clearance according to amend- logically sensitive zone of this case, a public announcement committee has the power to refer report, has issued some dire warn- husband and wife duo had an al- has been notified as an Eco-Sensitive ments brought to these policies in Bhitarkanika. Therefore, the issue regarding this pipeline, public the project to these regulatory au- ings. Odisha is considered to be fac- tercation Sunday night and things Zone by the Central government. 2002 and 2013 by the Ministry of here is not the passing of the hearing, or Central-level expert thorities. In accordance with this, ing extreme threats from the cli- took an ugly turn when Nihar All developmental activities, even Environment and Forest (MoEF), pipeline itself but the diversion of appraisal has not been made. As the the NGO member of the monitor- mate crisis. There is a nature-lover turned violent and tried to slit highways and pipelines in eco-sen- Government of India. While these water resources from this sensi- movement intensifies, there is a ing committee, Srikant Nayak, Chief Minister at the helm of affairs her throat following the spat. sitive zones, are categorised as amendments themselves are widely tive area, which has significant lo- redoubled need for a public hear- placed on record his demand for a in the state. Yet, it is shocking that Nihar fled the spot after commit- ‘Category A’ projects in the critiqued, they aimed to facilitate calised ecological consequences. ing to solve this problem. national-level committee to probe such an ill-considered project is ting the crime. Environmental and Social Impact the construction of roads and de- The rationale behind the exemption The records of the monitoring the concerns of damage to being allowed to go ahead in such an Prakashini fell unconscious as Policy, 2006 and are subject to strict velopmental facilities through im- of linear projects like roads or committee meeting held on August Bhitarkanika mangroves. This undemocratic manner in the face of she bled profusely. Neighbours assessment and environmental pregnable forest areas, made dif- transmissions pipelines was that 15 called by the Collector of kind of hasty monitoring, which widespread protests. One hopes bet- found her lying in the same state clearance. ficult by threats of Naxalism. Even they do not involve a similar impact Kendrapda were conspicuous by the frustrates the very idea of having ter sense prevails and soon. Monday morning and rushed her Recently, several panchayats in so, the Supreme Court has also on resources or substantial change absence of two members: an expert these independent local regula- to the Kesinga hospital. Doctors at- Kendrapada district are in turmoil expressed horror at these amend- in the natural habitat of any par- on ecology and a representative tory bodies, is increasingly be- The author is a civil engineer, tending on her said that the con- over the construction of a mega ments, expressing an intention to ticular area – dispersed as such of the MoEF, Government of India. coming the norm in Odisha. Last academician and technologist dition of the woman is critical. pipeline to divert water from give out detailed guidelines to projects are across a more extended The only independent non-state year, the Talabira mines contro- with a strong interest in On being informed by some Kharasrota - a tributary of undo them. linear area. government member on the panel versy saw similar hastily made sustainability and the villagers, police registered a case Brahmani - towards the neigh- The problem at Kharasrota is The assessment for Category A was Srikant Nayak, the NGO rep- and allegedly forged gram sabha res- environment. He thanks Anish and in this connection and have bouring Bhadrak district. Uniting not with the pipeline part of the projects involves public hearings resentative, who voiced concerns olutions filed by the district ad- Amlan for their help in preparing started an investigation. They under the banner of Kharasrota project but with the diversion of and appraisal by the Central-level about Bhitarkanika’s ecological ministration. this article. He can be reached at have also launched a manhunt Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, the vil- river water which feeds the eco- Expert Appraisal Committee. In diversity. The monitoring com- Instead, the need of the hour is [email protected]. to nab the accused. Crores spent on 3 irrigation projects go down the drain

POST NEWS NETWORK Lelehar, Chandipali, Tileimal, Darlipali, Bargarh, August 30: With Hatikhuja and Lakhanpur. three irrigation projects Besides this, water from in Ambabhona block of this project was also to be Bargarh district lying de- supplied to 11 ponds in funct most of the time, it the region. seems that `100 crore spent The third project aimed to on these projects have gone provide water to 1,300 down the drain. These proj- hectares of farmland in ects have failed to serve Samapali, Kapasira, Satidrha, their purpose, especially Baigapali, Ludupali, when a drought-like situ- Ambabhona, Ghughurapali, ation prevails in the re- Antaradi, Kahneipali, gion. Budhipali, Bugabugi,

The control room of Parbati Giri Irrigation Project in Bargarh and (inset) a water tank of the project OP PHOTO

In the absence of suffi- Kusamuda, Banjhipali and cient rain as well as irri- Jamapali and also to 1 gation facilities, farmlands 5 ponds in the locality. in the locality have devel- Chief Minister Naveen oped cracks. Paddy crops on Patnaik had inaugurated highland fields have al- the projects through video ready gone waste, leaving conferencing September the farmers a worried lot. 8, 2018. After the inaugu- Responding to the farm- ration of the much-awaited ers’ pleas, the state govern- projects, farmers were ment had launched the hopeful that their days of Parvati Giri Mega Irrigation sufferings would end soon. Project. Under this, three But that did not happen. mega irrigation projects at In this regard, secretary, a cost of `99.69 crore were Lal Bahadur Shastri constructed in Chikhili, Krushak Sangathan, Tamadei and Antaradi Shankar Khamari said that (Jamapali) areas of the farmers have been de- Ambabhona block. They manding an anicut or a bar- were made operational rage on the Mahanadi river. in 2018. The objective of But, nothing has been done these three projects was to in this regard. This resulted irrigate 4,720 hectares of in the present crisis. agricultural land in 41 vil- Expressing his concern lages in the riparian zone over the failure of the proj- of the Mahanadi river. ects, ex-sarpanch Saroj The Chikhili mega irri- Danasena said, in addition gation project was meant to technical faults, poor to irrigate 2,000 hectares and erratic electric supply of farmland in Chikhili, have rendered the projects Ruchida, Narangpur, worth around `100 crore Badasareipali, Benianpali, useless. “I urge the con- Bhalutal, Sahlepali, cerned authorities to in- Barangakote and Bhukta spect the projects and take villages and also supply necessary measures so that water to 14 ponds. This they become capable of de- project was constructed at livering results,” he added. a cost of `42,24,00,000. When contacted, the de-

Similarly, spending partment engineer Samir k y m c `29,57,00,000, the Tamadei Sahu said release of water project was constructed from the projects depends with the objective of irri- on rainfall in the upper gating 1,400 hectares of farm- end. “Presently, water is land in Bungapali, Lether, being supplied from all the Ramkhol, Udeipali, Uttam, projects,” he claimed. P8 HIMACHAL PRADESH ASSAM

TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR

k y m Defunct paper mill employee 70% OF KAZIRANGA FLOODED c PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Guwahati/Golaghat, August 30: Flood waters have submerged 70 per dead, toll rises to 93 in 6 yrs cent of Assam’s Kaziranga National Park (KNP) and the animals are tak- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA ing shelter near the national high- way that runs through the Park Guwahati, August 30: An em- or are crossing it in search of dry ployee of the defunct Nagaon Paper land, prompting the park author- Mill of Hindustan Paper Corp died ities to issue an advisory to heavy in Assam’s Morigaon district, tak- vehicles to avoid the stretch. ing the total deaths since the clo- The carcass of a swamp deer, sure of the PSU’s two units to 93, which is believed to have come out a union leader said Monday. of the Park looking for dry land, was Akshay Kumar Mazumder, 62, recovered near the boundary wall suffered from hypertension and Monday morning, a forest de- cardiac ailments. He died Sunday partment official said. without getting proper medical At least three hog deer have been treatment, president of Joint Action killed by speeding vehicles in the Committee of Recognised Unions Park in the current wave of floods, (JACRU) of Nagaon and Cachar KNP authorities said. The forest of- mills Manabendra Chakraborty Panchgram in Hailakandi district ficial said a local youth spotted the said. Mazumder is survived by his This is the eighth death and Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad dead animal and the preliminary wife and a daughter. after the Himanta Biswa in Morigaon district are non-func- suspicion of attempted hunting This is the eighth death after Sarma government tional since October 2015 and March was confirmed during post-mortem. the Himanta Biswa Sarma gov- assumed office, while 2017, respectively. “The female swamp deer was rivulets flowing through the park, patch at the permitted speed limit. animals & putting them on risk, ernment assumed office, while during the tenure of former The BJP government had prom- killed by using sharp spears while rain water from the bordering The cards are collected at the may I appeal to truck / other ve- during the tenure of former CM CM Sarbananda Sonowal, ised to revive the paper mills after coming out of Park during night,” Karbi Angong hills flood the area other end by forest and district ad- hicles to avoid NH 715 for com- Sarbananda Sonowal, 85 people 85 people had died either Sonowal assumed power in 2016. the official said adding a case has annually. Sunday evening KNP ministration officials to ensure muting between lower & upper had died either due to starvation due to starvation or lack of Even during the campaigning for been registered and investigation through its official Twittter handle compliance with the speed limit Assam & use NH 15 thru North or lack of medical treatment, medical treatment this year’s assembly polls, the BJP initiated. Animals have started advised heavy trucks to use the and a penalty is imposed for any vi- Bank instead?” he tweeted. Chakraborty said. had said that steps would be taken coming near the NH 37 that passes North Bank road to avoid traffic in olation. The general speed limit is Sarma also asked the police of the MANABENDRA CHAKRABORTY I “Most of our employees have through the Park in search of dry UNION LEADER to revive the mills. the Kaziranga stretch of the na- 40 km per hour through the Park, districts in and around Kaziranga died due to lack of proper treatment The National Company Law land with many crossing the road tional highway. It has already started with approximately 37 kms of NH as well as in the northern bank to as they did not receive salaries or Tribunal, after several rounds of to reach higher land necessitating issuing time cards to regulate traf- running through it. redirect traffic accordingly. dues for the last 55 months. This is release all legal dues to save the lives meetings between all stake- speed control of vehicles. fic in the animal corridor. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Besides NH 37 (NH 715 now) con- not any normal death but our peo- of the remaining employees. holders and a number of hear- The Park authorities said 70 per The authorities said time cards Sarma tweeted Monday appealing necting lower and upper Assam ple are dying due to the apathy of He also appealed to all citizens ings, had ordered the liquidator cent of the Park’s total approxi- are handed over to the drivers to drivers of truck and other ve- which passes through Kaziranga, the authorities,” he said. to “kindly raise their voice against April 26 to sell Hindustan Paper mately 430 sq km area in currently when their vehicles enter the na- hicles to avoid Kaziranga. NH 15 which runs along the north- Chakraborty appealed to the the injustice faced by the employ- Corp as per the decision of the reeling due to the flood. Besides tional highways stretch passing “We all take pride in Kaziranga ern bank of the Brahmaputra river state government and the Centre ees of both the mills.” National Company Law Appellate water from the swollen through KNP and time is marked National Park. In wake of floods also serves as a road link between to fulfil their commitments and The Cachar Paper Mill at Tribunal. Brahmaputra and other river and for how long it will take to cross the causing displacement of Kaziranga the two parts of the state. Displaced Santhals, Assam Cong decides to break HP first state to give first dose Bodos, Muslims to be vax to 100% adult population ties with Ajmal’s AIUDF, BPF AGENCIES some people were left out of the vac- cination count, it will be investigated PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Shimla, August 30: Himachal and everyone will be vaccinated rehabilitated in Assam Pradesh has become the first state soon. Guwahati, August 30: The in India to administer the first Himachal Pradesh reported 123 Opposition ‘Grand Alliance’ in dose of Covid-19 vaccine to 100 per positive cases and a single Covid fa- Assam is set to collapse with the cent of its adult population. tality in 24 hours Sunday. There state Congress Monday announc- The state’s health minister, Rajiv are 1,750 active cases in the state as ing that it has decided to break Saizal, said, “The state’s perform- on August 29. Sunday, 186 patients ties with Badruddin Ajmal-led ance in vaccination has been very recovered from Covid-19. AIUDF and the Bodoland Peoples good. We will administer the sec- As of Sunday, India has admin- Front (BPF). ond dose to 100 per cent of the pop- istered a total of 63,09,17,927 vaccine A core committee meeting, ulation by November 30.” doses. Out of these, 48,60,28,702 are chaired by state Congress presi- The health minister also said first doses and 14,48,89,225 are sec- dent Bhupen Bora, observed that the state would organize a special ond doses. the AIUDF’s “behaviour and atti- virtual event where PM Narendra So far, 51.45 per cent of India’s tude in relation with the BJP has Modi would interact with the ben- adult population has been vacci- baffled the members of the eficiaries and healthcare workers nated with at least one dose and 15.34 Congress,” party spokesperson of the state government. per cent of the eligible population Bobbeeta Sharma told reporters. The minister has assured that if has been fully vaccinated. “The continuous and mysterious praise of the BJP and the chief minister by AIUDF leadership and senior members have affected the public perception of the Congress The state Congress president The 10-party ‘Grand Alliance’ party,” she said. was given full authority to make a or ‘Mahajot’, led by the Congress, Sharma said that after a long decision on the matter and it was was formed ahead of this year’s discussion, the core committee decided to inform the high-com- Assembly elections in the state. members of the state Congress mand the decision to break ties Besides the Congress, AIUDF unanimously decided that AIUDF with the party, Sharma said. and BPF, it comprised the INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE Over 2.5 lakh people can no longer remain a partner in The meeting also endorsed the Jimochayan (Deori) People’s the ‘Mahajot’ and the AICC will earlier decision of giving full au- Party (JDPP), Adivasi National Guwahati, August 30: Assam’s were displaced since be informed accordingly. thority to the state president, work- Party (ANP), CPI(M), CPI, Bodoland Territorial Council 1996 in separate Bodo- A discussion was also held on the ing presidents and chairman of CPI(ML), Anchalik Gana Morcha, (BTC) administration has decided alliance with BPF as its leader- the legislative assembly committees and the RJD. to rehabilitate thousands of Santhal conflicts and ship has been expressing their un- constituted for the forthcoming The alliance had won 50 seats in Santhals, Bodos and Bengali- militants’ violence in willingness to remain a part of the bypolls to take decisions on election the Assembly polls with Congress speaking Muslims, displaced from ‘Grand Alliance’ on various plat- strategy and candidate selections, securing 29 seats, AIUDF 16, BPF their villages in ethnic riots and the Bodoland Territorial forms, she said. she said. four and the CPI(M) one. terrorism since 1996, BTC chief Region, comprising the Pramod Bodo said Sunday. Over 2.5 lakh people were dis- four western districts of placed since 1996 in separate Bodo- Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri Santhal conflicts and militants’ vi- Water, instead of woes, may soon flow in Queen of Hills olence in the Bodoland Territorial and Kokrajhar Region (BTR), comprising the INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE for daily use. This project will be four western districts of Chirang, of great use for them.” Baksa, Udalguri and Kokrajhar. Bodoland (NDFB) militants had Shimla, August 30: Water, in- Bhardwaj said the government “The BTC has decided to take carried out a series of violent at- stead of woes, may soon flow out is also planning to set up solar pan- back the displaced Bodos, Santhals tacks, killing around 76 people, in of the taps in the 'Queen of Hills', els on the water line to produce and others to their villages within and around BTR. once the favourite summer retreat green energy. the next three months. Some of the Ethnic violence also witnessed of British India, with the pumping The cabinet last week approved displaced people had been shel- between the Bodos and the of the Satluj river water from its the draft package negotiated by tered in relief camps for the past Bengali-speaking Muslims in 2008 catchment with the World Bank the Urban Development depart- 25 years while others had relo- and 2012, leaving over 100 people help. ment with the World Bank and the cated somewhere else,” Pramod dead and thousands displaced As per the project with an out- Department of Economic Affairs Bodo told the media. from their homes and villages. lay of $250 million (Rs 1,813 crore), of the Centre for funding the Shimla He said that the Bodoland areas The NDFB extremists had also it will cater to the demand of Shimla Water Supply and Sewerage witnessed many ethnic riots and been involved in this violence. Planning Area, comprising sub- Services Delivery Programme in the militant violence with major in- The BTC head also said that urbs Kufri, Ghannatti and Shoghi, Greater Shimla area. cidents in 1996, 2008, 1998, and the surrendered NDFB militants for an estimated population of 4.13 Of the Rs 1,813 crore, the World 2012. Bodo, the President of the are also being rehabilitated. “The lakh by 2050. Bank will provide an assistance United Peoples’ Party Liberal Assam government would give As per records of the state Urban of Rs 1,160.32 crore and the state gov- (UPPL), said that the BTC is keen Rs 160 crore for the rehabilita- Development, Shimla, planned for ernment will bear Rs 652.68 crore. to rehabilitate the affected peo- tion of NDFB cadres,” he said. a maximum population of 16,000 The main components of the ple in their original villages and Over 1,600 rebels, belonging during the British Raj, is now home project include augmentation of create a harmonious and peace- to four factions of the NDFB, to 2.47 lakh people with a floating water supply from the Satluj river ful BTR. had laid down weapons January population of 75,000 as per Census with additional 67 MLD to meet He said that houses for the re- 30 last year after the signing of of 2011. the water demand till 2050 and turnees would be built under the the historic BTR pact in the For over a decade this tourist ply to Shimla residents is his dream He said the Sutlej Water Supply “After we get 24 hours water sup- bulk water supply of special area Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and presence of Union Home town has been getting water sup- project and a major promise. The Scheme will add 67 MLD to the ply, our performance will definitely development authorities of Kufri, other area development plans Minister Amit Shah. The Centre ply once in two or three days, largely timeline of the project by laying a total capacity. “This will be suffi- be improved. The scheme will help Shoghi and Ghanahatti. would also be undertaken si- has already provided a Rs 1,500 during the peak summer. In some 23.65-km-long pipeline from Sunni cient to meet water demand in the to provide urban entitlement, be- The project envisages lifting multaneously. crore special development pack- localities, the water supply is once tehsil is June 18, 2024. Shimla Planning Area by 2050. The sides boosting the economy, re- water from the river near the “The riot and militancy-affected age to the BTC administration a week. Still the pleasant weather “As a pilot project five wards of existing water source will con- leasing the mental pressure from Shakrodi village in Shimla dis- people did not return to their to undertake specific projects for remains one of its prime attractions Shimla town will be provided 24 tinue to remain the primary source people. As we know Shimla is a trict involving lifting to a height of

areas all these years due to se- the development of Bodo areas. as it is known for wooded deodars hours water supply by December of water. The Sutlej supply will tourist town and after 24-hour 1.6 km and pipe laying of 22 km to

k y m c curity reasons. The BTC has de- The ruling BJP, and the local and Raj-style structures. It sup- this year,” Bhardwaj told IANS. supplement the existing sources.” water supply is available, the augment 67 MLD water at Sanjauli cided to set up police posts in Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) and ports more than 450 hotels, restau- A total of 107.63 million litres per Shimla has been ranked the best tourism sector will also get a boost,” near here. The project also seeks to their villages,” he said. the UPPL took over charge of the rants and guesthouses. day (MLD) is estimated for Shimla city among below one million pop- an elated Bhardwaj told IANS. replace the distribution pipe net- The Santhals were also affected BTC in December last year, de- For Urban Development Minister by 2050. Currently, the town is get- ulation in the Ease of Living Index “What pained me to see is peo- work across the Shimla Municipal in December 2014 when the feating the Congress-led alliance and four-time local legislator Suresh ting 40 MLD from two major sources of the Union Ministry of Housing ple leaving their jobs in the middle Corporation to upgrade it to a 24x7 National Democratic Front of in the polls. Bhardwaj, the 24-hour water sup- -- Giri and Gumma streams. and Urban Affairs. and rushing home to fill the water water supply system. Lord Krishna's eternal ALERT IN MATHURA P9 message, as TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR expounded in the Bhagwad Twenty-nine cases of mite- Gita, to discharge our duties borne rickettsiosis, known with sincerity and without as 'scrub typhus', have attachment to the outcomes, surfaced during primary has been a source of investigation in Mathura, a y inspiration for all of mankind first for the district

M VENKAIAH NAIDU | VICE PRESIDENT

k y m national c

of the day uote Vax supply jumps, Not having the ‘C.1.2 VARIANT MORE INFECTIOUS’ picture of Pandit THIS VARIANT MAY EVADE THE PROTECTION PROVIDED BY VACCINES Jawaharlal Nehru in 3rd wave could peak raising export hopes the poster of ‘Amrit AGENCIES between Oct-Nov Mahotsav’ issued by After donating or selling 66 mn doses to nearly 100 the ICHR is not only New Delhi, August 30: A new India may see a third wave of countries, India barred exports in the middle of April condemnable but also shows the variant of S-CoV-2, the virus which Covid-19 peaking between narrow mindset of the central cause COVID-19, has been detected October and November if a government in South Africa and many other more virulent mutant than the AGENCIES countries globally which could be existing ones emerge by ASHOK GEHLOT | RAJASTHAN CHIEF MINISTER more transmissible and evade pro- September, but its intensity is New Delhi, August 30: India's tection provided by vaccines, ac- expected to be much lower rising output of COVID-19 vac- cording to study. than the second wave, a cines and the inoculation of more My government scientist involved in the is pro-farmers Scientists from National Institute than half its adult population with for Communicable Diseases (NICD) mathematical modelling of the at least one dose are raising hopes and we are pandemic said Monday. aware of the woes of and the KwaZulu-Natal Research the country will return as an ex- Innovation and Sequencing Meanwhile, India saw a single- porter within months, ramping ducing about 150 million doses a the ryots particularly day rise of 42,909 new COVID- Platform (KRISP) in South Africa up from early next year. month of its version of the in the context of 19 infections, which took the damage to crops said the potential variant of in- total tally of cases to After donating or selling 66 mil- AstraZeneca shot, more than twice during the recent rains and squally terest, C.1.2, was first detected in COVID’S FRESH THREAT 3,27,37,939, while active cases lion doses to nearly 100 countries, its April output of about 65 million, weather the country in May this year. registered an increase for the India barred exports in the middle a source with knowledge of the N RANGASAMY | According to the yet-to-be peer- sixth consecutive day, of April to focus on domestic im- matter said."No fixed timeline on C.1.2 has more mutations THE POTENTIAL VARIANT OF INTEREST, C.1.2, reviewed study posted on the according to Union health munisation as infections exploded, exports but the company hopes to PONDICHERRY CHIEF MINISTER than other variants of WAS FIRST DETECTED IN MAY THIS YEAR preprint repository MedRxiv ministry data updated Monday upsetting the inoculation plans of restart in a few months," said the concern or variants of August 24, C.1.2 has mutated sub- THE NEW VARIANT HAS SINCE BEEN FOUND many African and South Asian source, who declined to be named interest detected stantially compared to C.1, one of IN CHINA, MAURITIUS, ENGLAND AND NEW countries. India's daily vaccina- without approval to talk on the Congress's worldwide so far Gram Sabha the lineages which dominated theS- ZEALAND the original virus that was identi- tions surpassed 10 million doses on matter. President will CoV-2 infections in the first wave fied in Wuhan, China in 2019. Friday, with national vaccine pro- SII, which has previously indi- be made in 58,000 in South Africa. month, rising from 0.2 per cent of eage has a mutation rate of about "It could be more transmissi- duction more than doubling since cated exports could resume by gram sabhas in the They noted that the number of genomes sequenced in May to 1.6 41.8 mutations per year, which is ble and has potential to spread April and set to rise again in the year-end, did not respond to a re- state in 20 days. available sequences of C.1.2 may be per cent in June and then to 2 per about twice as fast as the current fast. Since there are so many mu- coming weeks. New production quest for comment. Global vaccine Workers and officials an under representation of the cent in July. global mutation rate of the other tations in the spike protein, it lines have been set up, a vaccine de- sharing platform COVAX hopes should go to every village and every spread and frequency of the vari- "This is similar to the increases variants. could result in immune escape veloped by Cadila Healthcare won India will restart foreign sales household during this period and ant in South Africa and around seen with the Beta and Delta vari- Virologist Upasana Ray noted and thus a challenge for the vac- recent approval, and commercial sooner than later. With Covid-19 talk about the party's mission the world. ants in the country during early de- that the variant is a result of nu- cination drive worldwide if al- production of Russia's Sputnik V cases on the rise in Vietnam, Indian PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA | The study found consistent in- tection," the authors of the study merous mutations accumulated lowed to spread," Ms Ray from is starting in India.The Serum Naval Ship Airavat arrived at Ho CONG GENERAL SECY IN-CHARGE UP creases in the number of C.1.2 said. in C.1.2 line in the spike protein Kolkata's CSIR-Indian Institute Institute of India (SII), the world's Chi Minh City port with Covid-19 genomes in South Africa each According to the study, C.1.2 lin- which makes it a lot different than of Chemical Biology, told PTI. biggest vaccine maker, is now pro- relief material Monday. SHORT TAKES ED questions India won’t allow PLA’s FESTIVE FERVOUR Jacqueline New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recorded the unilateral action: Rajnath statement of actor Jacqueline Fernandez Monday in connection with a money treat,” he said while terming it as laundering investigation a "historic" incident. linked to alleged conman India wants a solution to the Sukesh Chandrasekhar, border dispute with China through officials said. They said the 36- dialogue, the defence minister said year-old actor was examined and asserted that the government for four hours here as a will never compromise on issues witness in the case and her of the "country's borders, its hon- statement was recorded our and self-respect". under the provisions of the “We will never allow the sanctity Prevention of Money of borders to be violated,” he said. Laundering Act (PMLA). Recalling the Galwan incident, he said the bravery, valour and restraint shown by the Indian Two UP Cong PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Army are incomparable and un- paralleled. leaders resign Chandigarh, August 30: Defence In the first deadly clash in the Ballia (UP): In a blow to the Minister Rajnath Singh said border area in nearly five decades, Congress just months before Monday that India wants a solu- 20 Indian soldiers were killed on the Uttar Pradesh assembly tion to the border dispute with June 15 last year in the Galwan polls, two senior All India China through dialogue and as- Valley in fierce hand-to-hand Congress Committee (AICC) serted that the government would combat with Chinese troops, trig- members from the state have never allow the sanctity of borders gering a large deployment of resigned from the party's to be violated. troops and heavy weaponry by primary membership, alleging The Modi government has made both armies at the friction points that old and loyal leaders are it clear to the forces that any uni- in eastern Ladakh. being neglected. Shailendra lateral action on the Line of Actual In February, China officially ac- Singh and Rajesh Singh sent Control (LAC) should not be ig- knowledged that five Chinese mil- their resignation letters to the party's Uttar Pradesh unit nored, he said. itary officers president Ajay Kumar Lallu Singh was de- LAC ROW and soldiers Sunday. livering virtually were killed in Children dress up as Lord Krishna on the occasion of the Janmashtami festival, at Durgiana temple in Amritsar PTI PHOTO the third Balramji Dass Tandon the clashes with the Indian Army Memorial Lecture organised by though it is widely believed that the Panjab University on the issue of death toll was higher. Khattar, Amarinder 2 Bangladeshi national security. In a significant forward move- shot dead by BSF The defence minister said that ment towards the restoration of 33 KIDS, 7 ADULTS DIE IN UP exchange words there have been “perception dif- peace and tranquility in the re- New Delhi: The BSF has lodged ferences” on the border with China. gion, the Indian and Chinese Health teams have tested the patients but they have all tested negative for Corona over farmers’ protest a “strong protest” with its “Despite this, there are some agree- armies completed the disen- Bangladesh counterpart BGB ments, protocols which the armies gagement process and restored INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE children showing symptoms of the including Mathura, Firozabad and PRESS TRUST OF INDIA after smugglers from that of both countries follow to con- the pre-standoff ground position disease are being treated. Mainpuri, have witnessed a spike country attacked an Indian duct patrols.” in Gogra in eastern Ladakh after Lucknow, August 30: Uttar At least 30 children recently lost in cases of 'viral fever' which has Chandigarh, August 30: Haryana patrol, which fired in self-defence Referring to the clashes in east- 15 months. Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi their lives in this hospital, re- made the government press the Chief Minister Manohar Lal leading to the death of two ern Ladakh last year, Singh said Adityanath Monday confirmed portedly to the mysterious fever. panic button. Khattar Monday accused the miscreants along the border, The development came after the officials said. The incident Chinese forces had ignored the 12th round of military talks be- that 32 children and seven adults BJP MLA from Firozabad, Congress government in Punjab took place in the early hours “agreed protocols.” tween the two sides July 31 at the had died in Firozabad, owing to a MYSTERIOUS FEVER Manish Asija, had claimed on of fuelling farmers' unrest in his (around 3:35 AM) of Sunday “We cannot allow the Chinese Chushul-Moldo meeting point in mysterious dengue-like fever in Sunday that 40 children died last state, provoking a sharp response near the Changrabandha Army PLA to act on the LAC in a eastern Ladakh. the district. "The dedicated Covid-19 ward week from the disease. from his Punjab counterpart. border post in the Cooch unilateral manner under any cir- Earlier, the Indian and Chinese Adityanath visited the families at the district hospital of Firozabad The claim was refuted by UP The exchange took place two days Behar district of West Bengal. cumstances. "That is what the frontline troops had conducted the of those who lost their members and is reserved for patients suffering Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh after farmers protesting over laws Indian Army did that day in Galwan first synchronised disengagement assured them of help. The Chief from this fever," the Chief Minister who termed Asija's claims "wrong" enacted at the Centre several and bravely confronted the PLA at the south and north banks of Minister also visited the 100-bed dis- told reporters. Some of the dis- and said that he received no such months back clashed with the soldiers and forced them to re- the Pangong lake in February. trict hospital at Firozabad where tricts in western Uttar Pradesh, reports. Haryana Police in Karnal. Writer Buddhadeb Addressing a press conference Guha dies at 85 on the completion of 2,500 days of a BJP-led government in Haryana, Kolkata: Eminent Bengali Khattar blamed Punjab for the writer Buddhadeb Guha, farmers' picking his state for their author of many notable works Terror challenge in Kashmir amid Afghan crisis protests. “There is a clear hand of such as ‘Madhukari’ (Honey Gatherer), has died. He was AGENCIES American planning and ac- province, must now be viewed in the Punjab government in it,” the 85. Guha died of post-Covid The tion on one cardinal the context of the developments CM charged. Punjab Chief Minister complications at a private New Delhi, August 30: Global current point: Islamabad's in Afghanistan, or to put it wisely, Amarinder Singh hit back a little hospital here at 11.25 pm media reports supported by security happenings in support to the the Af-Pak region. In any case, later, accusing the BJP, including Sunday after a massive cardiac experts indicate that the Taliban Afghanistan have Taliban. This was New Delhi has not closed its do- the Haryana CM, of taking refuge arrest, family members said. 2.0 now ensconced in Afghanistan raised new security ignored, whatever mestic options, including reviv- in “shameful lies” over the “hor- has come to control $85 billion mil- questions the American com- ing of the provincial status of the rendous attacks” on protesting itary equipment, including 600,000 pulsions. territory, possibly reverting to full farmers. RAJNATH SINGH I DEFENCE small arms, 200 planes/choppers, MINISTER Now that it has statehood at "an appropriate time", “Repeal the farm laws instead of Rain havoc black hawks, night vision devices, happened, it is, going by the official pronounce- blaming Punjab for the mess your in Telangana body armours and medical sup- perhaps, easier to ments. party has put the farming sector in,” plies. Those who worked for explain why India acted in August But this essay is about external Singh said in a statement. Also Hyderabad: Four persons, Afghanistans defences till last month 2019 to end Jammu and Kashmir's security threat to Jammu, Kashmir Monday, a “kisan mahapanchayat” including a newly married testify to these biometric details. of this newly-acquired military cally cushioned by eastern neigh- "special status", annulled its po- and Ladakh territories with the at Gharaunda in Karnal issued an woman died, and a boy and Most of it has come overnight, might – notwithstanding dodgy bour Pakistan, is bound to be India- litical and constitutional auton- advent of the Taliban.2. Not to be “ultimatum” to the Haryana gov-

y woman were reported missing in separate rain-related incidents much of it for the first time and most assurances by the new rulers? ruled Jammu and Kashmir. omy and dissolved the state ignored is Pakistan's heightened ernment. The meeting demanded

of it from the United States that As one struggles to gaze beyond The key point to note here is that (province) itself by carving out campaign on the way it looks at the the registration of cases by

k y m in Telangana over the past 24 c hours, police said Monday. will evacuate by this month-end. the horizon from ‘new' Kabul ruled India anticipated this – if not fully, two "union territories", directly "Kashmir dispute" as its Foreign September 6 against those re- Two women including a bride No banned organisation had by ‘new' Taliban with whom the gov- then substantially. It had urged ruled from New Delhi. Whether Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi sponsible for Saturday's lathi- died in Vikarabad district after this much ever in human history. ernments will have to do business, the US all through the recent years or not it was a ‘correct' step, in tours the Gulf nations and the charge. Otherwise, September 7, their car with four other The question is: Besides the op- sooner than later, the first point not to quit in haste. India had keeping with the popular aspira- Central Asian Republics to can- farmers will lay siege at the occupants, including the groom, ponents, among them the ethnic mi- of call for the new regime, nur- warned the Obama, Trump and tions, or whether it was popular vas early recognition of the new secretariat in Karnal, a farm leader was swept away Sunday night. norities, who will be the targets tured, supported and diplomati- Biden administrations to base all with the people of the erstwhile Kabul regime. warned. A third dose of B’DESH’S FIRST METRO P10 vaccine is not a RAIL MAKES TRIAL RUN TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR luxury booster that is taken away from someone who is Bangladesh’s first metro rail in capital still waiting for a first jab. Dhaka made a trial run on a section of It’s basically a way to keep the 20.1-km project, known as Mass the most vulnerable safe Rapid Transit Line-6 (MRT 6). The test HANS KLUGE | REGIONAL DIRECTOR, run was flagged off by Road Transport

WHO EUROPE Minister Obaidul Quader in Dhaka

k y m international c of the day uote US flies out evacuees amid rocket strikes Fresh activity at suffer, and our economy will AGENCIES be permanently 6 Afghans killed as N Korea reactor damaged Kabul, August 30: Islamic State militants fired a volley of rockets rocket hits houses LEE HSIEN LOONG | at Kabul’s rapidly emptying in- ix Afghan civilians, including SINGAPORE PM ternational airport Monday, with Sfour children, were killed after troubling: IAEA just hours left before a deadline a rocket was fired at the Kabul for US forces to withdraw at the end airport where the US-led We are moving of America’s longest war. evacuation flights were forward in our The Pentagon is tight-lipped about continuing but failed to hit the commitment to final operations and has not speci- target, a local source confirmed. criminalise enforced fied when the withdrawal will be com- The rocket struck a house in disappearances. pleted ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. Khwaja Bughra, a populated There can never be residential area in Police District any place for enforce But spokesman John Kirby told re- porters “there is still time” for 15, killing two adults and four disappearances in a democracy children, Hajji Karim, a Americans to join a massive airlift hurt anyone. The Taliban released of the unidentified fighters said. representative of the SHIREEN MAZARI | MINISTER FOR HUMAN that has allowed more than 116,000 a video shot from the airport’s With the departure of the last of RIGHTS, PAKISTAN neighbourhood in the people to leave since the Taliban grounds, saying the Americans its troops, the US is ending its 20-year municipality district, told swept back into power two weeks ago. had removed or destroyed most of war with the Taliban back in power. reporters at the site. All day Monday, US military their equipment and that troop Many Afghans remain fearful of The incident occurred roughly ting economic cargo jets came and went despite numbers were far lower. “It looks them or further instability, and problems (of at 455 pm local time in the the rocket attack, which did not like today will be the last day,” one there have been sporadic reports of area, west of the Hamid Karzai the country) killings and other abuses in areas from the nuclear International Airport. under Taliban control despite pledges talks and its results should always be Qatar emerges as key player to restore peace and security. In the last 24 hours, the American parting aircraft. On Thursday, an considered by all DUBAI: Qatar played an outsized role in US efforts to evacuate tens of thousands military evacuated about 1,200 peo- Islamic State suicide attack at an In this satellite photo released by Planet Labs Inc, North Korea’s main nuclear members of the government, of people from Afghanistan. Now the tiny Gulf Arab state is being asked to help ple on 26 C-17 flights, while two coali- complex is seen in Yongbyon, just north of the capital, Pyongyang PTI PHOTO particularly by the Economic shape what is next for Afghanistan because of its ties with both Washington and airport gate killed at least 169 Afghans Coordination Headquarters the Taliban, who are in charge in Kabul. Qatar will be among global heavy- tion flights flew out 50 others, the and 13 US service members. White House said. The two-week air- The Taliban tightened their se- REUTERS added. While intelligence on North EBRAHIM RAISI | PRESIDENT, IRAN weights when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosts a virtual meeting to discuss a coordinated approach for the days ahead, as the US completes its lift has brought scenes of desperation curity cordon around the airport Korean nuclear weapons is lim- withdrawal from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country. and horror. In the early days, people after the attack, clearing away mas- Seoul, August 30: North Korea ited, making it impossible to know The meeting will also include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United desperate to flee Taliban rule flooded sive crowds of Afghans who were appears to have restarted a nuclear their number, Albright estimated SHORT TAKES Kingdom, Turkey, the European Union and NATO. onto the tarmac and some fell to desperate to flee the country in the reactor that is widely believed to the country had the capacity to their deaths after clinging to a de- waning days of the US-led airlift. have produced plutonium for nu- produce material for four to six clear weapons, the UN atomic watch- bombs a year. New nuke chief dog said in an annual report, high- The IAEA has had no access to Paris shrinks speed lighting the isolated nation’s efforts North Korea since Pyongyang ex- appointed in Iran to expand its arsenal. pelled its inspectors in 2009. The Tehran: Iranian President limit to save climate Reggae icon, dub pioneer The signs of operation at the 5- country subsequently pressed ahead Ebrahim Raisi has appointed megawatt (MW) reactor, which is with its nuclear weapons pro- Mohammad Eslami as the new AGENCIES seen as capable of producing gramme and soon resumed nu- chief of the Atomic Energy weapons-grade plutonium, were clear testing. Its last nuclear test was Organization of Iran (AEOI). Paris, August 30: No more zipping the first to be spotted since late in 2017. Eslami, the former minister of past the Eiffel Tower or through the Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry rests 2018, the International Atomic The IAEA now monitors North Transport and Urban Latin Quarter without slowing AGENCIES famous, while his dub production, Energy Agency said in its report Korea from afar, largely through Development, replaces Ali down to soak in the sights Starting with its haunting use of space and dated Friday. satellite imagery. Akbar Salehi who has served Monday, the speed limit on nearly Kingston, August 30: Lee “Scratch” echo, would have a profound in- Since early July 2021, there have Commercial satellite imagery as the AEOI chief since August all streets of Paris is just 30 kph (less Perry, the eccentric, revolutionary fluence on post-punk, hip-hop, dance been indications, including the shows water discharge, support- 2013. The 65-year-old Eslami than 19 mph). Jamaican producer, songwriter and music and other genres. He exper- discharge of cooling water, con- ing the conclusion that the reac- holds degrees in civil It’s the latest initiative by a city performer whose influence extended imented with drum machines and sistent with the operation, the tor is running again, said Jenny engineering and has also trying to burnish its climate cre- far beyond his historic role in the the potential of studio equipment. IAEA report said of the reactor at Town, director of the US-based formerly served as the dentials and transform people’s development of reggae music, died As well as firing guns, breaking Yongbyon, a nuclear complex at 38 North project, which monitors Governor of Iran’s Mazandaran relationship to their vehicles. City Sunday at a hospital in Lucea, province, a deputy minister of glass and sampling animal noises, the heart of North Korea’s nuclear North Korea. the Ministry of Defence and Jamaica at age 85. No cause of death he also blew marijuana smoke on programme. No way to know why the reactor the CEO of Iran Aircraft was immediately given. to master tapes to supposedly en- More plutonium could help wasn’t operating previously - al- Manufacturing Industrial Perry is known for his pioneer- hance the recordings. Along with North Korea make smaller nuclear though work has been ongoing on Company. ing experiments in dub, which rev- his gnomic pronouncements and weapons to fit on its ballistic mis- the water reservoir over the past olutionised not only reggae, but mystical air, he became one of siles, said David Albright, presi- year to ensure sufficient water for also hip hop, dance and other gen- Jamaica’s most unusual and es- dent of the Institute for Science the cooling systems, she said. res. He earned his “Scratch” nick- forgettable” and praised his “ster- teemed artists. Keith Richards once and International Security. The timing seems a little strange 11 dead, 6 hurt name from an early recording, The ling contribution” to music. described him as “the Salvador The bottom line is North Korea to me, given the tendency for flood- in boat collision Chicken Scratch, in 1965. The loping tempos of Perry’s Dalí of music. He’s a mystery. The wants to improve the number and ing in coming weeks or months that Jamaican Prime Minister work established the roots reggae world is his instrument. You just quality of its nuclear weapons, he could affect reactor operations. Lima: At least 11 people died Andrew Holness called him “un- sound that Bob Marley made world have to listen.” and 6 others were injured officials say it’s also aimed at re- after two boats collided on the ducing accidents and making Paris Huallaga River in the Peruvian more pedestrian-friendly. district of Yurimaguas, Car owners are fuming. Delivery ISRAEL OKAYS GESTURES TO WORSHIPPER’S WAIL authorities said. Meanwhile, an unknown number of drivers say it will create longer passengers were missing, wait times for customers. Taxi PALESTINIANS AFTER MEET according to the Sectorial drivers say it will drive up rates and Emergency Operations Centre hurt business. of the Ministry of Health. The But polls suggest most Parisians PRESS TRUST OF INDIA rection after the complete break- accident occurred on early support the idea, notably in hopes down of communication between Sunday morning when a that it makes the streets safer and Jerusalem, August 30: Israel’s Abbas and Israeli leaders in recent barge, which had left with quieter. defense minister Monday an- years. Israel’s new government has around 80 people onboard Already, cyclists often move faster nounced a series of gestures aimed said it is interested in bolstering from Santa Maria to than cars in the densely populated at strengthening the Palestinian Abbas in his rivalry against Gaza’s Yurimaguas, was hit by a French capital. And only action Authority, including plans to loan ruling Hamas militant group. motorboat. stars like Tom Cruise in “Mission USD150 million to the cash-strapped “The stronger the Palestinian Impossible” can realistically pick Authority is, the weaker Hamas up speed on winding, medieval will be,” Gantz was quoted as telling Af militant attack Parisian streets that are barely Israeli military correspondents more than one car wide. Monday. “And the greater its ability kills 2 Pak soldiers The new rule includes excep- to govern is, the more security we’ll Islamabad: Two Pakistani tions for a handful of wide avenues have and the less we’ll have to do.” soldiers were killed in a cross- including the famed Champs- The Israeli moves come two days border attack by militants Elysees and the bypass circling after President Joe Biden urged from Afghanistan into the historical capital. autonomy government in the oc- Israel’s new prime minister during Pakistan’s northwest Bajaur Under Socialist Mayor Anne cupied West Bank. The announce- a White House meeting to take district, an army statement Hidalgo, the Paris city government ment came a day after Defense steps toward improving the lives of said Sunday. The terrorists has already restricted or banned ve- Minister Benny Gantz met with Palestinians. Gantz’s office said opened fire at a military check hicle traffic on several streets and Palestinian President Mahmoud he told Abbas that Israel will take post located at the border in multiplied the number of bike Abbas in the first high-level meet- new measures to strengthen the Pakistan’s northwest Khyber lanes. Some other French cities ing between the two sides in years. Palestinian economy. It said they A Jewish worshipper attends a prayer at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site ahead of the Jewish New Pakhtunkhwa province, the and towns have also limited speeds The stepped-up contacts and also discussed security issues and Year, in Jerusalem’s Old City REUTERS military’s media wing Inter- to 30 kph. Israeli gestures mark a shift in di- agreed to remain in touch. Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement.

12 Houthi rebels killed in airstrike China bans exams for 6-yr-olds to allay pressure Sanaa: At least 12 Houthi CHINA’S EXAM-ORIENTED SYSTEM PREVIOUSLY REQUIRED STUDENTS TO TAKE EXAMS FROM FIRST GRADE ONWARDS, CULMINATING IN THE FEARED rebels were killed when Saudi- led coalition airstrikes hit two UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAM AT AGE 18 KNOWN AS THE GAOKAO, WHERE A SINGLE SCORE CAN DETERMINE A CHILD’S LIFE TRAJECTORY pick-up vehicles in Rahabah district in Yemen’s central province of Marib, a military AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE and under huge exam pressure,” The aim is to reduce China’s ed- increase incentives for parents to source at the scene said. The have been axed by the Ministry of ucation inequality, where some have more children. coalition airstrikes came as Beijing, August 30: Beijing Education, according to new guide- middle-class parents willingly fork Beijing city authorities last week the Yemeni troops were Monday banned written exams for lines released Monday. out 100,000 yuan ($15,400) or more announced that teachers must ro- advancing from two directions six- and seven-year-olds, as part of The ministry said the pressure per year on private tutoring to get tate schools every six years, to pre- towards Al-Sadara mountain, sweeping education reforms aimed on pupils from a young age “harms their children into top schools. vent a concentration of top talent the last rebel bastion in the at relieving pressure on pupils and their mental and physical health.” Many also snag property in at some schools. Education offi- southwestern district, the parents in China’s hyper-compet- The regulations also limit exams source told Xinhua news schools’ catchment areas, driving cials on Monday reiterated a ban agency Sunday. Fighting itive school system. in other years of compulsory ed- up house prices. on schools setting up ‘priority’ between the Yemeni army and China’s exam-oriented system ucation to once a term, with mid- “There is no other country that classes for gifted students. the Houthi rebels also raged previously required students to term and mock examinations al- has such a strong tutoring culture The Ministry of Education also on in the neighbouring take exams from first grade on- lowed in junior high school. as China,” said Claudia Wang, part- banned written homework for first-

wards, culminating in the feared The measures are part of wider ner and Asia education lead at and second-graders earlier this

k y m districts of Jabal Murad and c Sirwah. Houthi-run al-Masirah university entrance exam at age 18 government reforms of China’s Shanghai-based consulting firm year, and limited homework for TV reported 15 coalition known as the gaokao, where a sin- education sector, which include a Oliver Wyman. junior high students to no more airstrikes against the Houthi gle score can determine a child’s life crackdown on cram schools -- seen With population growth at its than 1.5 hours per night. positions in those districts in trajectory. by parents as a way to inflate their vate tutoring firms to turn non- jects at weekends and holidays, ef- slowest in decades, Chinese au- However, many Chinese parents the last 24 hours, without “Too frequent exams ... which children’s educational fortunes. profit, and barred tutoring agencies fectively crippling a $100 billion thorities lifted a two-child birth still regard education as a path to providing more details. cause students to be overburdened In late July, China ordered all pri- from giving lessons in core sub- sector. limit earlier this year and wish to social mobility. With strong recovery OZ CONSIDERING NEW LAWS P11 post lockdown and a TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR shift in consumer preference The Australian government is considering away from public new laws that would tighten the regulation transportation, we are well- of digital payment services by tech giants positioned to capitalise on the like Apple and Google. Treasurer Josh various urban mobility needs Frydenberg said he would consider that of our customers and other recommendations from a

government-commissioned report

k y m business BHAVISH AGGARWAL | CO-FOUNDER, OLA c of the day uote NTPC gears up ‘Biz activity continues to rise, reaches new high’ to meet rising Last fiscal did AGENCIES pointing out that the 7-day mov- see a demand ing average (MA) of cases rose by uptick during ABOVE PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS power demand Mumbai, August 30: Business 9,200 from last week to 41,000, al- the festival season, but it did not sustain. resumption activity continued its he Nomura India Business though this deterioration was led Two-wheeler dealers northward journey and reached TResumption Index rose to 102.7 for by Kerala. It warned that a po- were the most a new high, much above the pre-pan- the week ending August 29 from 101.3 tential third wave “cannot be impacted. This fiscal, too, sales demic levels for the week ended in the prior week, as per the brokerage ruled out” given the impending fes- August 29, a Japanese brokerage tive season. across segments are yet to reach or the week ended August 29, Google said Monday. The Nomura India pre-pandemic levels retail and recreation and Apple driv- On the other hand, the vacci- Business Resumption Index rose to F nation pace has risen to 7.1 mil- BHUSHAN PAREKH | DIRECTOR, CRISIL ing indices rose by 0.6 pp and 10 pp, 102.7 for the week ending August respectively, although workplace mobil- lion doses per day (7-day MA) from 29 from 101.3 in the prior week, as ity surprisingly fell by 3.7 pp 4.7 million a week back, it said, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA per the brokerage. Here in India, adding that if this pace sustains, the needs of 70 The index, which compared busi- GDP GROWTH WILL SEQUENTIALLY REBOUND IN THE SEPTEMBER QUARTER, THE BROKERAGE SAID, MAINTAINING ITS India would be on track to fully New Delhi, August 30: State-run million persons ness activity with the pre-pan- ABOVE-CONSENSUS GDP GROWTH FORECAST OF 10.4 PER CENT IN FY22 vaccinate roughly 50 per cent of power giant NTPC Monday said living with some demic levels of March 2020, had the population by end-2021. that it has geared up to meet rising form of disability fallen steeply during the two waves after 17.1 pp in July and 15 pp in and 10 pp, respectively, although week, while the labour participa- GDP growth will sequentially power demand and recorded elec- have remained of infections, which were accom- June. workplace mobility surprisingly tion rate inched up to 40.8 per cent rebound in the September quar- tricity generation growth of 23 per under-served despite panied by lockdowns. Nomura said For the week ended August 29, fell by 3.7 pp. from 40 per cent. ter, the brokerage said, maintain- cent over the previous year. The a vibrant startup ecosystem. We the index increased by 5.6 per- Google retail and recreation and Power demand rose by 0.1 per There is, however, a mixed set ing its above-consensus GDP growth country is witnessing a sharp in- believe that there can be a thriving centage points (pp) in August 2021, Apple driving indices rose by 0.6 pp cent as compared to the previous of news on new infections, it said, forecast of 10.4 per cent in FY22. crease in power demand, and NTPC market for assistive technologies is making all efforts for meeting de- SEHRAJ SINGH | mand as per the grid requirement, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROSUS INDIA it said in a statement. NTPC has geared up to meet the ‘Time for tariffs to move increasing demand, and the gen- Rising M-cap of BSE-listed firms eration from NTPC group stations commodity have registered a 23 per cent growth prices, up, levies on industry compared to the previous year, it especially those of stated. steel, copper, ` Under flexible utilisation of coal rhodium and zooms to record 247.30L cr policy, NTPC is arranging coal at palladium amongst needs to be lowered’ the stations where the stock posi- others have left us with no choice PRESS TRUST OF INDIA tion is critical. but to raise prices across models PRESS TRUST OF INDIA The company also said that it is SHASHANK SRIVASTAVA | EXECUTIVE New Delhi, August 30: Driven continuously coordinating with DIRECTOR, MARKETING AND SALES, MARUTI by bullish sentiment in equities, the New Delhi, August 30: A day Coal India and Railways for aug- SUZUKI INDIA market capitalisation of BSE-listed after announcing capital-raise of menting coal supply at critical sta- companies jumped to an all-time `21,000 crore via a rights issue, tions and diverting rakes wher- high of `2,47,30,108.97 crore Monday. telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal ever required. SHORT TAKES Extending its winning momen- Monday made a passionate pitch It is also augmenting 2.7 Lakh MT tum for the third session, the 30- for hike in tariffs and a cut in gov- import coal left out from the con- share BSE benchmark Sensex ended ernment levies to save the indus- tracts placed earlier. Darlipalli Unit Go Airlines 765.04 points or 1.36 per cent higher try. Mittal, the chairman of India's 2 (800 MW) was put in operation, gets Sebi nod at 56,889.76, its new closing peak. second largest telecom company It is time that tariffs and commercial operation of the During the day, it jumped 833.55 Bharti Airtel, said while 35 per do take a tick up to unit is being done with effect from New Delhi: Budget carrier Go points to its lifetime high of 56,958.27. cent of industry's revenue goes to make the industry viable September 1, 2021. Airlines, which has rebranded In three days, the benchmark the government in taxes and levies, and, more importantly, The plant is a pit-head station, itself as 'Go First', has has gained 945.55 points. Thanks to telcos are loaded with an extraor- have decent and and coal is being fed from the cap- received market regulator the winning run in equities, the dinary debt of AGR (Adjusted appropriate returns on tive mine of NTPC (Dulanga), it Sebi’s go-ahead for an initial market capitalisation of BSE-listed Gross Revenue) dues and spectrum capital to grow into more said. It is increasing coal produc- public offer (IPO) worth `3,600 companies zoomed to `2,47,30,108.97 payments. tion from all captive mines of NTPC, technology areas, to roll crore. The airline plans to crore. In a tweet, BSE CEO Ashish "People are consuming average it added. garner up to `3,600 crore Chauhan said “congratulations 16GB of data per user per month. It out more networks, and During peak hours, approxi- Investors have become become more viable through sale of shares, India” as he mentioned about the ` is time that tariffs do take a tick up mately 7 GW of gas capacity is on according to the Draft Red equity market capitalisation on richer by 5,76,600.66 to make the industry viable and, model of sustainability in the bar against 3 GW last week. Herring Prospectus (DRHP). It the exchange reaching an “all time crore in three days of more importantly, have decent and future also plans to raise up to `1,500 high of USD 3.37 trillion. (INR 2.47 appropriate returns on capital to SUNIL BHARTI MITTAL I TELECOM CZAR crore by way of a pre-IPO crore crore)”. He also tagged the market rally. The 30- grow into more technology areas, to placement. The carrier, which Amazon launches handles of Prime Minister roll out more networks, and become effected by Airtel over the last few filed its preliminary papers for share BSE index had Narendra Modi and Finance more viable model of sustainability months are a “testimony” that the the IPO in May, received its closed above the Karigar Mela in p’ship observations August 26. Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in in the future," Mittal said. company has indeed "run out of the tweet. 56,000-mark for the He stressed that the industry patience". with Tribes India Investors have become richer first time Friday needs to have "right economic In a rare move, the Bharti Airtel by `5,76,600.66 crore in three days model", and rued that "for far too Ltd chairman attended about an AGENCIES Tomato prices of market rally. The 30-share BSE long, we have played in this game hour-long investor call, answering crash to `4/kg index had closed above the 56,000- Nestle India, Infosys and TCS by growing this industry at a very queries related to the rights issue New Delhi, August 30: Amazon mark for the first time Friday. were the laggards. In the broader minimal pricing level". as well as those pertaining to the India Monday announced the New Delhi: Tomato prices in "Stocks surged through the market, the BSE midcap and Levies are far too high in the telecom sector. launch of Karigar Mela in part- wholesale markets in most day on positive global cues buoyed smallcap indices gained up to telecom sector, Mittal said adding Asked if Airtel will take a lead nership with Tribes India, wherein producing states have crashed by the Fed commentary," said S 1.72 per cent. that "levies and load on industry in raising tariffs in future, Mittal the e-commerce platform will fea- ` to as low as 4 per kg amid Ranganathan, Head of Research "Notably, dovish commentary needs to be brought down" for said that the company has already ture a dedicated storefront for tra- supply glut, government data at LKP Securities. Bharti Airtel from Federal Reserve chairman India to truly realise its digital vi- been doing it in a limited manner ditional tribal and local Indian showed. In fact, the wholesale was the biggest gainer among in Jackson Hole Symposium lifted sion. Mittal made it clear that by pushing up base tariffs to `79. handicrafts. prices of tomato in 23 growing the 30-share frontline companies investors' sentiments globally," said Airtel will not shy away from "Can this go to `99 eventually, As part of the initiative, cus- centres out of 31 monitored by pack, followed by Axis Bank, Tata Binod Modi, Head - Strategy at raising tariffs. my answer is yes, the question is tomers will be able to access and the government were down by 50 per cent from the year-ago Steel and Titan. Tech Mahindra, Reliance Securities. He argued that tariff changes when" Mittal observed. shop from a selection of over 1.2 period or below three-year lakh unique traditional tribal and seasonal average. Currently, local Indian handicrafts and hand- tomato crop of the early kharif BIZ BUZZ loom selections, a statement said. (summer) season of the 2021- Some of the unique art forms 22 crop year (July-June) is State telcos’ AGR rises by 4.6% that will be available in products being harvested. OSL lauds state government’s efforts listed for purchase as part of Karigar Mela include Bidri, Dhokra, Bhubaneswar: On the occasion of National Sports Day, Odisha Stevedores Limited ` Ikkat, Patachitra, blue art pottery, Sensex zooms (OSL) lauded Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as well as the Odisha government for to 1,228cr in Q1 FY’22: TRAI etc, it added. the judicious decision to further extend the official sponsorship of both the Indian As part of the Karigar Mela men’s and women’s hockey teams for another 10 years till 2033. Odisha, as the prime 765 points POST NEWS NETWORK in the April-June quarter, 2021 Vodafone with `84.2 crore and initiative, Karigar sellers will sponsor, has been supporting Indian hockey for the past three years. Patnaik where Reliance Jio registered the BSNL with `58.8 crore. also benefit from a 100% Selling Mumbai: Equity benchmark deserves all credit for his vision and immaculate love for hockey as India (men’s Bhubaneswar, August 30: The highest share of `642.7 crore in Jio further extended its lead- on Amazon (SoA) fee waiver for Sensex skyrocketed 765 points team) ended its 41-year wait, winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics; while telecom service providers oper- the same quarter. Jio was fol- ership position with 52.3% gross two weeks from August 30- to scale a fresh lifetime high the women’s team achieved its best-ever fourth place finish at any Olympics. ating in Odisha recorded only 4.60 lowed by Bharti Airtel with revenue market share in the sec- September 12. Monday, driven by gains in ` index heavyweights Reliance per cent rise in their total rev- 467.2 crore, Vodafone Idea with tor, as per the financial report "The tribal artisan and weaver ` ` Industries, ICICI Bank and Axis Exports from SEZs up 41.5 pc enue at 1,228 crore in the quar- 58.6 crore. State-owned BSNL published by TRAI for the April- community are at the nucleus of the ter ended of June, 2021, according posted `54.7 crore of gross rev- June quarter, 2021. Indian economy. It is also one of the Bank amid a positive trend in New Delhi: Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) global markets. After touching ` to data published by sector regu- enue in the first quarter of cur- As per the report, overall gross segments that have been most se- grew by about 41.5 per cent to 2.15 lakh crore during the lator TRAI. The gross revenue of rent fiscal. revenue in the sector in Odisha in verely hit due to the ongoing pan- a lifetime high of 56,958.27 April-June quarter of the current fiscal on account of during the day, the 30-share the telecom service providers was In the same quarter of a year Q1 has remained flat versus the demic. The launch of Karigar Mela healthy growth in pharmaceuticals, engineering, and ` index ended 765.04 points or gems and jewellery sectors, as per official data. SEZs are key export hubs which con- 1,174 crore in the same quarter ago, Jio was also the highest mar- previous quarter, wherein Reliance will play an important role in help- 1.36 per cent higher at tribute about one-fourth of the country's total outbound shipments. According to a year ago. ket share holder followed by Airtel, Jio achieved nearly 4.9% growth ing artisans and weavers revive 56,889.76. Similarly, the commerce ministry data, exports from these zones dipped to `7.56 lakh crore in The TRAI’s report says that Vodafone and BSNL. Jio had in gross revenue followed by nearly their livelihoods and accelerate broader NSE Nifty surged 2020-21 as against `7.97 lakh crore in 2019-20. In the first quarter of the current the total revenue of the sector achieved `594.3 crore gross revenue 3.7% growth that was witnessed their growth," Minister of Tribal 225.85 points or 1.35 per cent financial year, SEZ exports rose about 41.5 per cent to `2.15 lakh crore. in Odisha stood at `1,228 crore followed by Airtel with `434 crore, by Airtel. Affairs Arjun Munda, said. to its record closing of 16,931.05. It touched an all-time intra-day high of 16,951.50. Aluminium industry stares at critical coal shortage Former SBI chief The aluminium joins HSBC board INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE sidiaries for assured long term coal requirement for the Smelter and industry CPPs have supply. Any abrupt stoppage of this refinery operations and reduce de- New Delhi: The Hongkong and New Delhi, August 30: The highly secured coal supply brings the in- pendence on power grids. Shanghai Banking Corporation signed FSA with CIL power-dependent aluminium in- dustry to a grinding halt and has a Any power outage/or failure (2 Ltd (HSBC) has appointed and its subsidiaries dustry is in for a tough time. This severe impact on the SMEs in down- hours or more) results in freezing Rajnish Kumar as an is because of Coal India Ltd’s (CIL) stream sector resulting in increased of molten Aluminium in the pots Independent Non-Executive for assured long term recent move to significantly reduce prices of finished products and bur- which leads to shutting down of Director on the board of its coal supply. Any coal supplies and railway rakes for dening end consumers. the aluminium plant for at least Asian entity. Kumar had Captive Power Plants (CPPs), re- Aluminium is a continuous six months rendering heavy losses retired as Chairman of SBI in abrupt stoppage of sulting in coal crunch for the Indian process based highly power inten- and restart expenses, and once October 2020. "In addition to Aluminium Industry. sive industry wherein coal accounts restarted it takes almost a year to his extensive background with this secured coal Aluminium is a metal of strate- for 40 per cent of aluminium pro- get the desired metal purity. regulatory authorities, gic importance and an essential duction cost. Huge investments of The Indian aluminium indus- investors and businesses in supply brings the

commodity for diversified sectors, `1.2 lakh crore ($20 billion) have try is already struggling to remain

k y m India, Kumar has strong c industry to a crucial for the nation's economy. experience of global business been made to double the domestic globally competitive due increas- and financial markets from his grinding halt and Aluminium smelting requires un- of coal supplies, without any ad- tions. Also, resorting to imports at production capacity to 4.1 mtpa to ing production costs in India pri- work with the SBI in the UK interrupted and high-quality power vance notice, will bring the industry such a short notice is not feasible. cater to the country's increasing marily due to increased power cost and Canada," said an has a severe impact supply for production which can to a standstill as it has been left with The aluminium industry CPPs aluminium demand. The Indian over the past few years with rising HSBC statement. be met only through in-house CPPs. no time to devise any mitigation have signed FSA (Fuel Supply aluminium industry has set up 9,000 coal prices, increase in various du- on the SMEs Hence, such drastic curtailment plan to continue sustainable opera- Agreement) with CIL and its sub- MW CPP capacity to meet its power ties, cess and RPO. P12 TUESDAY | AUGUST 31 | 2021 | BHUBANESWAR

Javelin thrower Sumit bags gold with three world record throws after shooter Avani becomes

first Indian woman to clinch the yellow metal at Paralympics on a day that sees 5 medals

k k y y m m c GOLDEN DAY! c Avani ‘on top of the world’

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA “As someone with a spinal cord ing the 2015 summer vacations, the disability, I don’t have any feeling vivacious woman from Jaipur did New Delhi, August 30: Life turned below my waist. I still need to exercise pretty well and then began a jour- upside down for Avani Lekhara my legs every day,” Lekhara says. ney that would one day see her pretty early when a car accident ren- “I used to have a physio who script history by claiming the biggest dered her immobile as an 11-year- would come to my home daily to help prize at the sport’s grandest stage. old but what the tragedy could not me exercise and stretch my legs. Going through the pages of do was take away her and her fam- Since then it’s my parents who Bindra’s autobiography only ily’s resolve to be a notch above have to help me with those exercises. strengthened her resolve to realise the circumstances. They do the best they can.” her goal once she decided on one, Lekhara sustained severe spinal At the time she was paralysed which happened after her initial suc- cord injuries in the accident in waist down, studies seemed to be cess in state and national level 2012 but she took it upon herself to the only option but life had other competitions. steer the course, helped generously ideas in store for her. Ranked fifth in the world, by her father’s insistence that she Once she picked up the rifle dur- Lekhara is set to compete in three take up shooting. more events – mixed air rifle prone, A trainee of former Olympian women’s 50m rifle 3 positions and shooter Suma Shirur, Lekhara mixed 50m rifle prone. became India’s first woman She had earlier won a bronze medal gold medallist at the at the WSPS World Cup in Bangkok, Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2017 and bettered the colour of the on Monday when she shot medal to silver in the next two World a total of 249.6 in the 10m Cups in Osijek, Croatia in 2019 and Air Rifle Standing SH1. Al Ain, UAE this year. In doing so, the 19- Shirur is with her in Tokyo after year-old shooter from guiding Indian rifle shooters Sumit still not satisfied Jaipur created a new Divyansh Singh Panwar and Paralympics record Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and also equalled the during the preceding Olympics. PRESS TRUST OF INDIA seven, eight years old, and I con- Haryana’s Antil had broken the sation of a dream. world record. “This was the ultimate goal tinued for four or five years, but not world record twice in the F-64 cat- “It is a dream come true. I can’t She wasn’t quite and I had to be with Avani. I am Tokyo, August 30: Breaking the regularly. I was not that good,” egory. express my feelings right now,” taken by the idea of being a very happy that she has won gold world record five times on his way Antil said. In his sixth and last attempt he the 23-year-old who entered the full-time shooter but after reading and it was all worth the effort,” to gold in the Paralympics did not “I met with an accident and had hurled the javelin to a distance of Tokyo Paralympics as the world Abhinav Bindra’s autobiography Shirur said. suffice for reluctant-wrestler-turned- my leg amputated. After that, life 66.90 metres at the 19th Para- record holder in his event said. ‘A Shot At Glory’, her deal with the Lekhara edged out 2016 Rio javelin-thrower Sumit Antil and changed. I went to the stadium just Athletics Championships at Antil, who lost his left leg below precision sport was sealed. Games gold-medallist Cuiping the Indian vowed to better what to meet people in 2015, and I saw Bangalore in March. the knee after he was involved in Partly inspired by the story Zhang of China who clinched the was already an incredible per- para athletes. They said, 'You have The effort bettered his own world a motorbike accident in 2015, sent of India’s first individual silver medal with a total of 248.9 formance by every yardstick. good height and posture, maybe record of 66.43 metres, set during the spear to 68.55m in his fifth at- Olympic gold-medallist at the Asaka Shooting Range. The 23-year-old clinched India’s you can be in the next Paralympics’. the third leg of the Indian Grand tempt, which was the best of the day besides her own hard World number one and reign- second gold at the ongoing Who knew I would be the next Prix March 5 in Patiala. Both these by quite a distance and a new world work and dedication, ing World Champion Iryna Paralympics here Monday, shat- champion?” efforts were, however, not recorded record. Lekhara crafted her own Shchetnik of Ukraine took home tering the men’s F64 category world He did become a champion for world records. In fact, he bettered the previous piece of history at her the bronze with an effort of 227.5. record multiple times in a stun- Monday, and that too, at the sport’s On how much further he can world record of 62.88m, also set by very first Paralympic She becomes the fourth Indian ning Games debut performance of grandest stage. “This is my first throw, he said, “In training I have him, five times on the day. His last appearance. athlete to win a Paralympics 68.55m. Paralympics and I was a little nerv- thrown 71m, 72m, many times. I throw was a foul. His series read As the Tokyo gold after swimmer Murlikant He was a wrestler prior to a mo- ous because the competitors are don’t know what happened in my 66.95, 68.08, 65.27, 66.71, 68.55 and foul. Paralympics ap- Petkar (1972), javelin thrower torcycle accident that resulted in great. I was hoping for a 70-metre- competition. Australian Michal Burian proached, the unre- Devendra Jhajharia (2004 and his left leg being amputated, be- plus throw, maybe I can do 75m. It “One thing is for sure in future (66.29m) and Sri Lanka’s Dulan lenting COVID-19 pan- 2016) and high jumper fore life smiled on him and a new was not my best, I am very happy I will throw much better,” Antil, who Kodithuwakku (65.61m) took the sil- demic only complicated Mariyappan Thangavelu (2016). avenue opened up. to break the world record.” started out as a wrestler before ver and bronze medals respectively. the journey to glory, Later on the day, Sumit Antil “I was not that great a wrestler. This was not the first time he was switching to javelin throw, said. The F64 category is for athletes badly affecting her es- also bagged the yellow metal in In my area of India, the family making the javelin travel far. A But he was definitely happy to with a leg amputation, who com- sential physiotherapy men’s F64 category of javeline forces you to become a wrestler,” few months before the Tokyo have won the top medal at the pete with prosthetics in a standing routine. throw event. he quipped. “I started when I was Games, within a span of 20 days, biggest stage, terming it as reali- position. JHAJHARIA BAGS SILVER, VINOD LOSES BRONZE GURJAR WINS BRONZE Tokyo: Indian discus thrower Vinod Kumar Monday TOKYO: Two-time gold-winning javelin throw veteran lost his F52 category bronze medal at the Devendra Jhajharia clinched a stupendous third Paralympics here after being found ineligible in Paralympic medal, a silver this time as India disability classification assessment by the surpassed its best ever medal tally at the Games competition panel. The 41-year-old BSF man Monday. Sundar Singh Gurjar also chipped in with a produced a best throw of 19.91m to finish third bronze, finishing behind Jhajharia in the men’s javelin behind Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) of Poland and throw F46 final. The 40-year-old Jhajharia, already Velimir Sandor (19.98m) of Croatia Sunday. India’s greatest Paralympian after winning gold However, the result was challenged by some SILVER LINING FOR KATHUNIYA medals in the 2004 and 2016 Games, pulled off a new competitors. “The panel was unable to allocate the personal best throw of 64.35m for the silver. Jhajharia athlete Vinod Kumar from NPC India with a sport TOKYO: Discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya clinched a silver bettered his own earlier world record (63.97m) but class and the athlete was designated as medal in the men’s F56 event, Monday. The 24-year-old, a gold winner Sri Lankan Dinesh Priyan Herath Classification not Completed (CNC),” the organisers B.Com graduate from New Delhi’s Kirorimal College, sent Mudiyanselage (67.79m), who set a new world record, said in a statement. “The athlete is therefore the disc to a best distance of 44.38m in his sixth and last was too good for the entire field. The 25-year-old ineligible for the Men’s F52 Discus medal event and attempt to clinch the silver. India had won four medals in Gurjar was third with a best effort of 64.01m. his results in that competition are void,” it added. the 2016 editions while the medal count stands at seven in the ongoing event. ASIAN YOUTH BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP Messi era begins with PSG win NEWS IN BRIEF

he waved back at them. They Domestic hockey to Stuart Binny calls Bishwamitra, Vishal, wanted to see one of the all-time restart October 4 time on his career greats, along with Pele and the late Diego Maradona, who Messi adored. NEW DELHI: The much-awaited NEW DELHI: India all-rounder Neha bag gold medals The 34-year-old Messi, who led domestic hockey season is set to Stuart Binny, who owns the record his nation to the Copa America resume in October this year with of the best bowling figures in ODI title last month, joined PSG three the first sub-junior men’s national format, Monday announced his academy championship in Bhopal retirement from first class and PRESS TRUST OF INDIA complete his bout against Uzbek weeks ago after his new contract after a hiatus of seven months due international cricket. The 37-year- Abdullaev Alokhon, whose pound- with Barcelona fell through. to the COVID-19 pandemic. The old began his career with Karnataka New Delhi, August 30: World ing left the Indian visibly shaken Striker Kylian Mbappe was inaugural sub-junior men’s national and represented India in six Tests, youth bronze-medallist and mostly off-balance in the open- named in the starting line-up as Real academy championship will be held 14 ODIs and three T20Is. “I would Bishwamitra Chongtham (51kg), ing round itself. Madrid tries to sign him before October 4-13. This will be followed like to inform you that I have Vishal (80kg) and Neha (54kg) struck In the women’s competition, the end of the summer transfer by the first Hockey India (HI) junior decided to retire from first class gold, while six other Indian boxers Nivedita (48kg) ended with a silver window. Mbappe had already scored men’s academy national and international cricket,” Binny, signed off with silver medals in medal after losing to Uzbekistan’s both goals before Messi came on. championships in Bhopal October whose father Roger also represented the Asian Youth Championships in Farzona Fozilova. Simran (52kg) lost He headed in Angel Di Maria’s 18-27. The junior women’s nationals India, said in a statement. While he Dubai Monday. 0-5 to Uzbekistan’s Kazakova Feruza cross in the 15th minute and then in Simdega of Jharkhand, the junior did not get many international runs Chongtham defeated despite a spirited performance. turned in Achraf Hakimi’s cross in men’s event in Telangana and the under his belt, Binny returned Uzbekistan’s Kuziboev Ahmadjon Tamanna (50kg) also finished the 63rd for his 135th goal since join- senior women’s event in Jhansi, exceptional bowling figures against 4-1, staving off a stiff challenge. second after losing to another Uzbek ing PSG in 2017. For it remains to be Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to Bangladesh -- six wickets for just Vishal, on the other hand, out- in Sabina Bobokulava in her final seen whether it’s his last for PSG, played in October. However, four runs -- in an ODI in June 2014 in punched Kyrgyzstan’s Akmatov bout. Tamanna fought a very close A NEW JOURNEY: Lionel Messi in action during his debut for PSG at Reims which has started the season with Hockey India is yet to confirm the Dhaka. It remains the best bowling Sanzhar 5-0 to finish on top. bout but lost 4-1, managing to win four straight wins and has 12 points. exact dates of the last three events. performance in the ODIs till date. Among women, Neha pulled off one of the three rounds. ASSOCIATED PRESS the 99,000-capacity Camp Nou sta- a hard-fought 3-2 win over Five Indian boxers, including dium in Barcelona, the record six- Kazakhstan’s Aishagul Yeleubayeva one woman, had earlier claimed Paris, August 30: The Lionel time Ballon d’Or winner and four- 10 TEAMS IN FOR I-LEAGUE QUALIFIERS to clinch the yellow metal. The last bronze medals in the youth event Messi era has begun at Paris Saint- time Champions League victor time India secured two gold medals after losing in the semifinals. Germain, without a goal for the made his first PSG appearance at NEW DELHI: The Indian football domestic season is all set to get underway in the men’s competition was back Among men, Daksh (67kg), Argentine superstar but plenty of the modest 20,000-seater Stade with the I-League Qualifiers 2021, which is scheduled to take place at the Bangalore Football Stadium from October with 10 teams participating in it. in 2010. Deepak (75kg), Abhimanyu (92kg) adulation and fanfare. Messi made Auguste Delaune. This edition of the I-League Qualifiers will also see as many as seven teams Vishvanath Suresh (48kg), his debut for PSG Sunday after Such is Messi’s star factor that and Aman Singh Bisht (92+kg) make their debut – Hyderya Sports FC (J&K), Corbett FC (Uttarakhand), Vanshaj (63.5kg) and Jaydeep Rawat bagged bronze medals while Lashu coming off the bench midway the home fans chanted “Messi, Delhi FC (Delhi), Madan Maharaj FC (Madhya Pradesh), Rajasthan United FC

(71kg) ended with silver medals. Yadav (70kg) ended with a bronze through the second half in a 2-0 win Messi” while a smiling Reims goal-

k k y y m m c (Rajasthan), Kerala United FC (Kerala) and Ryntih SC (Meghalaya). c Suresh lost 0-5 to reigning youth in the women’s category. at Reims in the French league. keeper Predrag Rajkovic took a Meanwhile, the likes of ARA FC (Gujarat), Kenkre FC (Maharashtra), and FC world champion Sanzar In the last edition of Asian Messi replaced his friend and photo of Messi holding a child Bengaluru United (Karnataka) complete the line-up. The 10 participating Tashkenbay of Kazakhstan. Youth Championships, held in former Barcelona teammate after the game. teams will be split into two groups of five teams each. The group stage will Vanshaj was also beaten 0-5 by Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, India Neymar in the 66th minute and Before the match, hundreds of be conducted in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group Yernur Suyunbay of Kazakhstan had claimed 12 medals, including they shared a hug. fans gathered for a glimpse of Messi Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scor- will proceed to the final round, also in round-robin format. The team that in his summit clash. Rawat did not five gold. After years of glory for Messi at as he descended the team bus and ing his first goal finish at the top will earn promotion to the I-League top division.

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