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www.thehindu.in Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 6 No. 230 CITY EDITION 20 Pages Rs. 8.00 ●

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Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata, Hubballi, Mohali, Allahabad, Malappuram and Mumbai

Scam-hit Gayatri Prajapati returns to Akhilesh Cabinet

Ratification of climate deal is a well-planned step, says Anil Dave

Syrian war planes continue to pound Aleppo amid scarcity

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Golfing great Arnold Palmer, who led ‘Arnie’s Army’, dies at 87 Page 19

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BRIEFLY Feb. 1 Budget: Cabinet nod to be sought NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry

has settled on February 1 as the new date for the presentation of the Union Budget. The decision is expected to be placed before the Cabinet for formal approval soon, a senior official of the Ministry said. BUSINESS | PAGE 15

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Six militants from Bangladesh arrested

India suspends talks on Indus water pact Appropriate time to review the arrangements: PM

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Communal clashes in Jahangirpuri NEW DELHI: Clashes between

two communities in north Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on Sunday night left around half-a-dozen persons injured. Clashes broke out when some people from the area joined a candlelight march, organised by an NGO, to show solidarity with those killed in the recent Uri attack.

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NEW DELHI:

SRIHARIKOTA (A.P.): Pushing for-

ward the scope of its workhorse rocket PSLV, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday launched eight satellites and placed them in two diferent orbits. Besides the weather satellite SCATSAT-1, two satellites PRATHAM and PISAT from Indian academic institutions, three from Algeria (ALSAT1N, 1B and 2B) and one each from Canada (NLS-19) and the United States (Pathfinder-1) were launched in the longest Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

PSLV C-35, carrying eight satellites, lifts off from Sriharikota. — PHOTO: PTI mission. Earlier, the ISRO used separate rockets to place

manent Indus Commission, the dispute redressal mechanism that has met 112 times, until “terror comes to an end.” According to Article VIII of the Indus Waters Treaty, the Commission must meet once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan. The last meeting was held in July 2016. According to the sources,

satellites in diferent orbits. For the first time, on Monday ISRO accomplished this in a single mission. It took two hours and 15 minutes for the PSLV C-35 rocket to perform this feat. About 17 minutes after it took of from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here at 9.12 a.m., the rocket placed SCATSAT-1 (371 kg) in the polar sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of 725 km.

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GOES UP; STUDENT-BUILT SATELLITE IN ORBIT | PAGE 9

the Prime Minister held the meeting as “things have been diicult with Pakistan,” adding that, hence, “this was the appropriate time to review arrangements under the Indus Waters Treaty again.” (With inputs from Jacob Koshy)

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NEW DELHI: A 50-year-old government school teacher was allegedly stabbed by two students in Nangloi here on Monday evening. The victim is critical and underwent surgery late in the evening. The accused, both minors and students of Class XII, are on the run. According to the police, one of the students was rusticated recently and held the teacher responsible for his name being struck of the

rolls. The incident took place around 5 p.m. when Mukesh Kumar was coming out of a classroom where he was on invigilation duty. It is alleged that the boys entered the room and stabbed him at least thrice. “All the examinees had left and Mr. Kumar had just stepped out of room no. 108 when the two boys arrived. They inflicted stab injuries on him and fled,” said a senior police oicer. Several students and fel-

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at a road show in U.P. on Monday. - PHOTO: PTI

Rahul escapes shoe attack at U.P. roadshow OMAR RASHID LUCKNOW: A shoe was thrown

School teacher stabbed by students SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR

low teachers were witness to the attack, added the oicer. “Investigations pointed out that one of the two boys was rusticated on September 12. The ground for rustication was his prolonged absence from school. We are probing if he had issued some warning as well,” said the oicer. C.P. Singh, president of the Teachers' Association who visited the victim at the hospital on Monday night, claimed that five boys were involved in the attack.

at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday during his roadshow in Sitapur district, but it did not hit him. He later blamed the BJP and the RSS for the attack. Travelling atop an openair vehicle as part of his Deoria to Delhi Kisan Mahayatra, Mr. Gandhi was folding the sleeves of his kurta when a shoe was hurled at him. It missed him but hit another Congressman. Former Union Minister Jitin Prasada and SPG guards were near Mr. Gandhi at the time of the incident.

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Dusty Kanpur shines with India’s victory in 500th Test City hosts intense game, reviving memories of encounters with Sobers, Benaud and Viswanath VIJAY LOKAPALLY KANPUR. There is an alluring old-world charm about this city, once known as the Manchester of the East. One of the mills, now shut down, reminds you of the Raj with its British spelling – Cawnpore. Radio cabs and a couple of malls are modern aberrations yet to catch the imagination of the older citizens of Kanpur. The good old cycle rickshaw, batteryoperated three-wheelers and city buses in some areas are far more popular. “Why did this city get the country’s 500th Test,” asked a visiting journalist. He could have raised the same question had he visited Kanpur 30 years ago. Or even further back. The city hardly boasted of star hotels when Garry

CM YK

WINNING MOMENT: New Zealand’s Neil Wagner was trapped LBW by R. Ashwin as captain Virat Kohli and others celebrate, at the Green Park on Monday. — PHOTO: V. V. KRISHNAN Sobers came here as part of the West Indies team in 1958. Despite a late-night party, the graceful lefthander produced an unbeaten 198, which old timers rave about as a timeless classic. G.R. Viswanath scored one of his own on debut here in 1969 against Bill Lawry’s

state oppression,” she said, referring to the ethnic minority in Pakistan. Ms. Swaraj sought to marry India’s national priorities with the international community’s objectives, while singling out Pakistan as one country that is out of tune with those. The Minister elaborated Sushma Swaraj addressing on how India’s positions converged with the global conthe U.N. General Assembly on Monday. — PHOTO: REUTERS cerns on three issues — terrorism, climate change and Prime Minister Nawaz the U.N. Sustainable DeSharif, who accused India of velopment Goals. Her narrative also explains human rights violations while speaking at the U.N. — at least partly — India’s last week, Ms. Swaraj sought decision to ratify the Paris to turn the tables on Isclimate pact, in an abrupt lamabad. “The brutality turnaround from its recent against the Baloch people position that the national represents the worst form of process for ratification was

still in progress. MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup had earlier linked India’s ability to ratify the Paris accord to the Nuclear Suppliers Group admitting India as a member, a position India appears to have abandoned. Ms. Swaraj reiterated PM Narendra Modi’s announcement on Sunday that India will ratify the pact on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Referring to the visions of Gandhi and Mr. Modi on environment, she said: “If we exploit nature mindlessly, then we must be mindful that nature will unleash its fury upon us.”

쐍 FRIENDSHIP REPAID WITH TERROR: SUSHMA | PAGE 13

Put Cauvery order on hold, Karnataka tells SC

PSLV places 8 satellites in two orbits DENNIS S. JESUDASAN

VARGHESE K GEORGE

campaign to diplomatically isolate Pakistan to the United Nations on Monday, with External Afairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asking the world community to hold to account countries that “nurture, peddle and export” terrorism. A unified global strategy can defeat terrorism, “and if any nation refuses to join this global strategy, then we must isolate it,” she said, speaking in Hindi. Countering Pakistan

SUHASINI HAIDAR KALLOL BHATTACHERJEE

Declaring that “blood and water cannot flow together,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a meeting of senior oicials from the Water Resources and External Afairs Ministries and the PMO to discuss the government’s options on the IndiaPakistan Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of the Uri attack. While the meeting decided to suspend further water talks and increase the utilisation of rivers flowing through Jammu and Kashmir to maximise India’s share, there was no decision on either reviewing or abrogating the 1960 treaty, oicial sources said. The government decided to suspend talks on the Per-

Wants countries that peddle, export terror to be held to account

UNITED NATIONS: India took its

KOLKATA: Six suspected

militants of the Jammat–UlMujahideen, Bangladesh have been arrested by the Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police. Four of them are wanted by the National Investigation Agency in the 2014 Bardhaman blast case. NEWS | PAGE 13

Isolate Pak., Sushma tells U.N.

Australia. A year after Sobers’s knock, the legendary Richie Benaud, leading Australia, sufered defeat at the hands of India at this very Green Park, of-spinner Jasubhai Patel claiming 14 wickets. With such a rich history, Kanpur was not undeserving of the honour

of hosting the 500th Test. A spruced-up Green Park saw five days of intense cricket, India eventually prevailing by 197 runs over New Zealand. A host of former captains descended on the venue to be part of the commemorative celebrations. India completed the task with a flourish in the second session of the final day. An incident-free match with an overwhelming presence of fans was a fitting tribute to the event. There was no memorabilia on sale for the fans but they went home with an ever-lasting memento — memories of an Indian win shaped by a young team.

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KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL DELHI: Neighbours Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on Monday locked horns over the Cauvery water dispute, with both States rushing to the Supreme Court within hours of each other. The Karnataka government moved the Supreme Court in the morning for permission to postpone the implementation of its order to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu till January 2017. Tamil Nadu asked the NEW

Don’t entertain Karnataka’s pleas, Tamil Nadu urges Supreme Court apex court not to entertain any of Karnataka’s pleas until it complied with each and every one of the series of three orders it passed in September for release of water. ‘Conscious refusal’ It called Karnataka’s manoeuvres as a “conscious refusal” to release water.

Karnataka said it had come to the court after witnessing its people’s “acute situation of distress” due to scarcity of drinking water. The State, represented by advocate Mohan Katarki, reproduced the unanimous resolution passed by both Houses of its legislature on September 23 that no water should be taken from its reservoirs except to meet the drinking water requirements of the people of the State, including the entire city of Bengaluru.

In short, Karnataka wants the Supreme Court to modify its September 20 order directing the State to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water every day to Tamil Nadu till September 27. “Arrears” It said this amount of water, for the time being, would have to be treated as “arrears” to be paid back to Tamil Nadu by the end of the season.

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Money spent on ‘office of no profit’

‘MCDs failed Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’

The General Administration Department (GAD) has told the Election Commission that lakhs of rupees were spent on AAP government’s parliamentary secretaries Page 4

Slamming the BJP-led municipal corporations, Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the civic bodies are to be blamed for the deteriorating sanitation in the city Page 4

Celebrating importance of tourism DEEPAK REDDY NEW DELHI: The Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) has lined up a host of exclusive events to mark World Tourism Day on Tuesday. World Tourism Day is celebrated globally on September 27 with a diferent theme each year. The purpose of this year’s theme — “Tourism for All – Promoting Universal Accessibility”, which was declared by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), is to spread awareness about the social, economic and cultural importance of tourism.

Heritage walk The day will begin with the inauguration of the Heritage

Delhi Tourism lines up a host of exclusive events to mark World Tourism Day today Walk Tour by Kapil Mishra, Delhi Minister for Tourism, at 8 a.m. The tour, which will be organised by Delhi Tourism in collaboration with Delhi Walks, ofers an opportunity to discover various facets of the Capital’s heritage. Sightseeing tour Among the other activities planned for the day is a complimentary sightseeing tour for the diferently-abled students at Qutab Minar and Garden of Five Senses, and musical performances by the bands of the Delhi Police and

the Border Security Force at Dilli Haat, INA, and Garden of Five Senses. The highlight of will be a traditional welcome for tourists at Delhi Tourism information counters. Delhi Tourism plans to engage people from all walks of life to achieve the goal of social responsibility and help people understand that social cohesion through tourism can lead to a better society. The event aims to spread the message of tourism playing a pivotal role in promoting community development. It looks to highlight how tourism across the world requires extensive community participation and has tremendous potential to meet the challenges the world faces. (The writer is an intern with The Hindu)

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FRESH ATTACK

Members condemn efforts to “undermine India’s secular democracy”

JNUSU council slams RSS, warns against ‘safronisation’ of education STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Launching a sharp

attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for trying to turn India into a “Hindu majoritarian fascist country, instead of a secular democratic one”, the new Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) council warned that the government should not use the Uri attack to “cover up its own inadequacies”. Resolutions made available after the JNUSU’s first council meeting held on September 19 also pointed to the grave dangers of “safornising education”. After the closely-followed students’ union elections, the new council condemned the eforts of the RSS and various members of the Modi government to “undermine India’s secular democracy”. The JNUSU, in fact, called for “an all-out resistance against the RSS-dictated of-

LASHING The OUT: JNUSU officer-bearers, who took oath earlier this month, resolved to strengthen the struggle for restoring campus democracy and organising regular students’ union elections on campuses across the country. FILE PHOTO fensive.” It also condemned attempts by the BJP-led NDA government towards “fascist indoctrination by way of saffronisation of education” and called upon all progressive sections to “unite against the concerted attempts to indoctrinate young minds”. The council mentioned the introduction of Dinanath Batra’s books in Gujarat, the man believed to be responsible for getting publishers to withdraw Wendy Doniger’s book from stores and forcing Delhi University to drop A.K

Ramanujan’s essay on ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas’ from the course. The council said that “such assaults that aim to promote the concept of Hindu Rashtra are a threat to the development of critical faculties among children and young adults”.

The Hindu chess event to be held today, tomorrow

From 2017, AIIMS to admit 100 students for UG courses

Council calls ‘Make in India’ “a way to give away India’s resources on a platter to crony corporates and MNCs

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Hindu Chess

Championship, presented by Thyrocare, will be held at Bal Bharti School on Sir Gangaram Marg here on September 27 and 28. The event for junior students of classes V to VIII and senior students of classes of IX to XII will be conducted under the aegis of the Delhi Chess Association. Register on-the-spot Indian Oil Limited is the associate sponsor while Bal Bharti School is the venue partner. On-the-spot registrations will be accepted with an entry fee of Rs. 100/- per participant.

Students who registered online must carry a printout of the confirmatory email received Students who have completed online registration should carry a print-out of the confirmatory email received from The Hindu, along with their school identity card, to be presented at the registration desk. The tournament will be played according to the Swiss League basis under the latest FIDE rapid rules. All students will receive a certificate of participation while nine toppers will receive awards and merit certificates.

Violence against minorities brought up The meeting, which was attended by 28 members of the JNUSU, saw 61 resolutions being passed.

NEW DELHI: The All India Insti-

tute of Medical Sciences here will admit 100 students from the country for its undergraduate programme from next academic session, increasing the number of seats from the existing 72, its director announced on Monday. Besides, seven foreign nationals would also be admitted for the institute’s MBBS course from 2017. “In 60 years of its journey, AIIMS has grown in strength, thanks to the sheer dedication of our predecessors and former directors who shaped this institution. It has grown tremendously with time, both academically and in service delivery. - PTI

These ranged from solving campus-centric issues like construction of more hostels and strengthening the gender sensitisation committee to condemning the “undeterred violence of the cow vigilante groups on Muslims and Dalits in diferent parts of the country”. The students’ union also addressed the attack in Uri and said that the government “should not use it to cover up its own inadequacies and failure to address and resolve the Kashmir situation in a

democratic way, and to secure military bases from terrorist attacks.” The JNUSU also expressed deep concern over the repression and civilian killings in Kashmir saying that they “stand against any attempts by the state to unleash violence on innocent civilians under any pretext”. The JNUSU council also rejected the government’s ‘Make in India’ slogan calling it “a way to give away India’s rich land, forest, mineral and water resources on a platter to crony corporates and MNCs and erode all existing safeguards on labour rights and people’s rights over natural resources of the country.” Taking forward the mandate of the previous union, the new union reiterated its resolve to intensify the struggle against the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, calling it an attempt to curb democracy on campuses by imposing the World Bank dictate, anti-student, and anti-democratic provisions. It resolved to strengthen the struggle for restoring campus democracy and organising students’ union elections on campuses across the country based on pro-student and democratic principals and participation.

Delhi signs education MoU with Germany STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: In a bid to

extend cooperation in the field of higher education, the Delhi government has signed an MoU with Thuringia — a state in east-central Germany. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Georg Maier, State Secretary, Federal Free State of Thuringia, signed the understanding to facilitate exchange of faculty members, academic publications, and information and development of collaborative research. The MoU has been signed recognising the

need for and benefits of increased cooperation and communication within the international community of universities, centres of higher education and research institutions, and to establish a mutuallybeneficial relationship that will encourage such co-operation and communication, the government said. “The cooperation will help introduce a dual system of education in Delhi. We also plan to set-up an institution on the lines of the University of Applied Sciences as in Finland and Germany,” Mr. Sisodia said.

Daily reading to ensure ‘every child can read’ by Nov 14 STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Delhi govern-

ment’s ‘Chunauti 2018’, a major school education reform programme, has entered a new phase with the Directorate of Education (DoE) launching a strategy to meet the November 14 deadline to achieve the ‘Every Child Can Read’ target. The plan, which was launched after assessment conducted as part of the Delhi government’s education reforms showed that 74 per cent students in Class VI could not read their textbooks, has set aside one hour each day for reading-based activities. It calls for a special teacher to be assigned for every 30 students to provide them with extra support. DoE to monitor progress The DoE, meanwhile, has said that it wants to be in a position to monitor the progress of children through such activities. Every Saturday, the teachers will be expected to conduct a review of the reading level using assessment tools designed by the State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT). The strategy also calls for Regional Directors of Educa-

New strategy calls for a special teacher to be assigned for every 30 students in government schools. FILE PHOTO tion to hold weekly review meetings with the Deputy Directors of Education, heads of schools and mentor teachers to monitor the progress of the campaign. ‘Reading melas’ Also, School Management Committees (SMCs) of some schools will organise ‘Reading Melas’ where local children will come with their parents and participate in fun reading activities. It was on Teachers’ Day that Education Minister Manish Sisodia administered a pledge to teachers that all children studying in classes VI to VIII would be able to read by November 14 - Children’s Day. ND-ND

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GURGAON DOUBLE MURDER

Kidnapping case blows lid of drug cartel, two nabbed

Man held for killing mother, sister

SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR

Accused suspected victims of running prostitution racket, two accomplices also in police net

NEW DELHI: Having rescued an

dead. While Sunita was shot twice, Ritika was shot once,” said Mr. Kumar. The three then returned to Najafgarh, and kept a low profile. The bodies were recovered on the morning of September 19 morning after a local informed the Police Control Room. But the bodies could not be identified, and were eventually cremated.

ASHOK KUMAR GURGAON: More than a week

after a woman and a teenage girl were found dead with gunshot injuries in the Industrial Model Township of Manesar here, the Gurgaon Police on Monday arrested three people in connection with the case. The police claimed that the woman, Sunita, and her daugther Ritika, both residents of Najafgarh in Delhi, were strangulated and shot at by her son, Sumit, along with his friends Dharambir and Pradeep. Sumit, according to the police, felt humiliated by the fact that his mother and sister ran a prostitution ring from their house. “Everyone in the neighbourhood knew about it, and would taunt him. Even his friends would call him with derogatory names,” said Assistant Sub-In-

Two pistols, two live cartridges, car used in the commission of crime have been seized

CISF gets new D-G STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: O. P. Singh, IPS, assumed the charge of Director-General, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), on Monday. Mr. Singh joined the Indian Police Service in 1983, and is from the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He has served as SSP, DIG, IG and ADG in the State. Mr. Singh has also served in the Special Protection Group and the Central Reserve Police Force for almost a decade. He has served in the CISF earlier as Additional Director-General (Airport Sector). He was bestowed with Indian Police Medal for Gallantry in 1993, Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1999 and President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2005. Mr. Singh holds a Masters Degree in Political Science and an MBA in Disaster Management.

IN CUSTODY: The three were arrested in Manesar on Sunday night. PTI spector, Crime Branch, Sanjay Kumar. Act of revenge? Sumit purportedly told the police that he tried to exhort her mother and sister to get out of it, but the two would not mend their ways. “He then decided to eliminate the two, and hatched a plan with his friends a week ago. Dharambir, the son of a Delhi Police Head Constable, ar-

ranged for a country-made pistol and a car for the commission of crime,” said Mr. Kumar. As per the plan, Sumit convinced Sunita and Ritika to go for a pilgrimage to Khatu Shyam Ji temple in Rajasthan along with his friends. On September 18, Sumit along with mother, sister and two friends left for the temple, and reached Manesar around 11-30 p.m.

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: A clash between

Six schoolchildren injured in the accident that happened in Patel Nagar on Monday

NEW DELHI: A driver was

killed and six children were injured when a school bus rammed a divider before overturning in central Delhi’s Patel Nagar on Monday afternoon. The bus plied privately for students enrolled at a school in the area. There were around half-a-dozen children in the bus at the time of the accident that happened near metro pillar number 222 in Patel Nagar. The police said it was likely that the accident happened when the bus driver tried to avoid ramming a motorcyclist who was allegedly speeding. As he tried to steer away from the

However, before the police could arrive at the spot, the locals had rescued the children trapped inside.

FATAL CRASH: The police said the accident happened when the bus driver tried to avoid ramming a motorcyclist who was allegedly speeding. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT motorcyclist, the bus driver apparently lost control and climbed over the road divider.

NEW DELHI: Three motor-

DARING BID: The victims were going to a bank on a scooty when they were intercepted by the robbers. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT other two criminals allegedly joined in assaulting the victim. The altercation went on for over five minutes before Shyam loosened his grip on the bag. The robbers then escaped from the spot. Soon, a police team

arrived at the spot. ‘Mute spectators’ Shyam, who is hospitalised with severe injuries, alleged that dozens of people watched the assault, but no one helped him. The police said they were investigating.

DELHI TODAY Exhibition: “Manifestations”, an exhibition of paintings by Susmita Lakhyani, at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Exhibition: “Avata Msana (Garland)”, a painting exhibition by Bindu Chutani, at Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Exhibition: “In the Realm of Myths”, a show of paintings, pop-up art and installation by Sankha Banerjee from Kolkata, at Art Gallery, Annexe Building, India International Centre (IIC), 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Paintings: “Devi”, a show of paintings by Shampa Sircar Das, at Shridharani Art Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 205, Tansen Marg, Mandi House, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Screening: Vithappadu (Sowing Field/Malayalam) documentary film screening at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 7 p.m. Screening: Of French film “Bebe Tigre”, with English subtitles, at M.L. Bhartia Auditorium, Alliance Francaise De Delhi, 72, Lodhi Estate, 10 a.m. (Mail your listings for this column at [email protected])

Locals rushed to help the occupants of the bus even as someone informed the police.

‘No grievous injuries’ The children were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were treated for injuries and discharged. The police said none of the children were grievously injured. The bus driver, Sonu, meanwhile, had sufered severe injuries to his head and was already dead when he was pulled out of the bus.

The TRACED: victims were rescued on Sunday. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

were asking for Rs. 15 lakh as ransom,” said Mr. Yadav. The victims were rescued when a police team, based on a tip-of, raided a house near the Main Anand Vihar Bus Terminal Road, Patparganj Industrial Area, on September 25. Both were found with broken arms, suggesting that they had been beaten up.. Two alleged kidnappers— Sunil Kumar Thapa (34 ) and Mohammad Ali (32 )— were arrested during the raid. “When we started probing Lalneisung and William, we found that it was not a simple kidnapping case,” said Mr. Yadav. Lured with money He said the victims worked for one Ashish alias Ashwin, who is in the business of supplying pseudoephedrine. He had entrusted them with bringing customers in exchange for high amount of money as commission.

“In that pursuit, William approached Thapa who was known to him. Thapa is known to one Ghani Bhai alias Meera, a Chennai resident who agreed to buy the chemical. A few meetings followed, in which the two buyers were joined by one Johny from Andhra Pradesh, and a deal was finalised as per which on September 20, the victims along with Ashish and Ghani Bhai met Sunil Thapa and Mohd. Ali somewhere in Moradabad for the delivery of the drug,” said Mr. Yadav. At the spot, Rs. 30 lakh was paid by Meera to Ashwin. On the sly “After taking the money, Ashwin Colonel disappeared. However, when Meera realised that the chemical was fake, he went after Lalneisung and William,” said Mr. Yadav. “William’s driver Rocky was also kept in confinement till September 24. The three were kept in some places of Moradabad and in a hotel in Agra,” said Mr. Yadav.

Two communities clash in Jahangirpuri STAFF REPORTER

STAFF REPORTER

Talk: “India-US relations and the US elections”, an interaction with Ambassador Timothy Roehmer, former US Ambassador to India; Chair: Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, at Conference Room - II, Main Building, India International Centre (IIC), 6 p.m. Exhibition: A show of paintings by Narayan Acharya at the All India Fine Arts & Craft Society (AIFACS), 1, Rafi Marg, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Exhibition: “Ekantey”, an exhibition of oil paintings by Punam Gupta, at Convention Centre Foyer, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Deal gone wrong? The police said the two were drug dealers, and the accused had kidnapped them to avenge a “deal” where wheat flour was sold of as pseudoephedrine, a raw material for many recreational drugs, for Rs. 30 lakh. The compensation demanded was in the form of ransom, a part of which was paid by the victims’ families, said the police. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said the kidnapping case was first registered in Shillong and later the local police approached them. “On September 23, Lalneisung’s wife Dorothy told the police that her husband had gone to Delhi in the first week of September. On September 21, she was informed through William’s wife Jessica that the duo had been kidnapped by unidentified persons, who

Driver killed as school bus overturns

Robbers flee with Rs. 65 lakh cyle-borne assailants robbed a man of Rs. 65 lakh after assaulting him publicly in east Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar on Monday. The victim, Shyam, works a garments trader in the area. He and one of his colleagues had gone to deposit the cash in a bank on a scooty when the men came after them flashing guns, said the police. When one of them tried to snatch the cash-laden bag from Shyam, he resisted the bid. A scule ensued in the middle of the street. As Shyam grappled with the robber, the

“On their way, the five had a drinking session in the car. Ritika, who initially refused, agreed to drink at the insistence of her mother. After the mother-daughter duo got drunk, Sumit and Dharambir allegedly strangulated Sunita and Pradeep strangled Ritika. The trio then dumped them at an isolated place near IMTManesar, and shot at them to ensure that they were

Walking into a trap The three were arrested on Sunday night when they returned to Manesar to enquire from the locals about the progress in the case. “We had a tip-of that three men carrying arms were loitering in Manesar. Therefore, we put up barricades and nabbed the three. They have confessed to their involvement in the killings. Two country-made pistols, two live cartridges and the car used in the commission of crime have been seized,” said Mr. Kumar. Sumit also purportedly told the police that his mother had poisoned his father to death when he was young.

uncle-nephew duo who were allegedly kidnapped in the Capital, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has claimed to have unearthed an interState drug traicking network. The victims have been identified as Lalneisung (42) from Meghalaya and C. Zosangliana alias William from Mizoram.

The kidnapping was planned to avenge a deal where wheat flour was sold off as a drug, said police

two communities in north Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on Sunday night left around halfa-dozen persons injured. The clash allegedly happened between residents of Jahangirpuri’s C and G block. It broke out when some people from these colonies joined a candlelight march, organised by an NGO, to show solidarity with those killed in the recent Uri attack. As the procession crossed a wedding venue in the area, some boys who had joined the march mid-way allegedly passed derogatory remarks on some people standing

nearby. That soon snowballed into a full-blown conflict in which people from both communities hurled bricks at each other and allegedly nabbed rival youths to assault them. By the time the police took charge of the situation, around half-a-dozen persons had been injured. They were rushed to a nearby hospital. ‘Rare occurrence’ Skirmishes between the residents of the two blocks in Jahangirpuri are common, but mostly arise from disagreements during cricket matches played between members of the two communities.

Locals said Sunday was among those rare days when the skirmishes had communal colours. “We have been living together for decades. The two blocks involved in the clashes have members from both the communities,” said Mohd. Shadab, a resident. Kamlesh Singh, another local, said elders from the two communities were meeting each other to resolve the problem. The police, however, said they were yet to conclude what triggered the clashes. “We have arrested four persons involved in the incident,” said Vijay Singh, DCP (North-West).

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TROUBLE FOR AAP

Money spent on ‘oice of no profit’ Lakhs of rupees spent on Delhi government’s parliamentary secretaries, GAD tells EC NEW DELHI: In what could spell

Cabins in Secretariat Not only were the rooms provided in the Assembly complex, but the PWD also spent Rs. 3,73,871 (Rs.2.22 lakh on civil and electrical work, Rs.1.51 lakh on furniture) on four cabins for

No, I never got any money for attending a conference. The information isn’t correct

PROFIT AND LOSS: The 21 AAP MLAs, who risk disqualification, appeared before the Election Commission last month. FILE PHOTO

The PWD spent Rs. 11,75,828 to furnish the rooms allotted to the 21 parliamentary secys AAP MLAs -- Sarita Singh, Jarnail Singh, Sanjeev Jha, Naresh Yadav -- constructed on the 7th floor of the Delhi Secretariat. Surprisingly, the rooms were also given to 13 parliamentary secretaries in hospitals, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board oice, Delhi Jal Board oice and Labour Department. MLA Alka Lamba has been allotted two rooms in CPO building at Kashmere Gate. Delhi government’s Arts and Culture Department paid for the renovation of the two rooms. Ms. Lamba also has one room in Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital. In Delhi Jal Board, rooms have been given to MLAs Praveen Kumar, Sharad Chauhan, Adarsh Shastri, Madan Lal, Sarita Singh, while two rooms each have been allotted to Naresh Ya-

dav, Jarnail Singh, Rajesh Rishi and Manoj Kumar. Other perks Apart from rooms, the GAD has mentioned that Dwarka MLA Adarsh Shastri was given Rs. 15,479 for at-

Sharmila takes lessons from CM STAFF REPORTER

tending a conference on Information Technology in Mumbai held on November 5-6. However, Mr. Shastri denied getting the money. “No, I never got any money for attending a conference. The information isn’t cor-

Role in policy making Some parliamentary secretaries were also engaged in formulating policies. “A committee of MLAs Somdutt, Rajesh Gupta and Sukhbir Dalal was constituted by the Power Minister for framing a revised policy for street lights,” said the reply. The GAD oice reported that the parliamentary secretaries used to sit in Delhi Ministers’ oices. Despite repeated attempts by The Hindu, PWD Minister Satyendar Jain could not be contacted. The parliamentary secretaries were appointed by the AAP government on March 13, 2015. The role of these 21 parliamentary secretaries was to facilitate better functioning and help the Ministers, without getting any remuneration. The matter went to court on September 8 and the High Court set aside their appointments as the order was given without the consent of LieutenantGovernor Najeeb Jung. The Election Commission is hearing depositions on the question of disqualification of the 21 AAP MLAs on the grounds that theirs is an “office of profit” apart from the entitlements they get as MLAs. On Friday, the EC directed the 21 MLAs to file their final reply by October 7.

‘Demolish tehkhanas in GB Road brothels’

NEW DELHI: Manipuri activist Irom

Sharmila on Monday met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to “learn about the political tactics”. Ms. Sharmila on Friday had announced that she will float her own political party ahead of the Manipur Assembly elections slated in March 2017 and stand against the Congress leadership in her home State. Mr. Kejriwal has committed “all kind of support” to Ms. Sharmila. "Met Irom Sharmila. I salute her courage and struggle. My best wishes and full support in her political endeavours [sic]," Mr. Kejriwal said in his tweets after their meeting at the Delhi secretariat.

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Delhi Com-

POLITICAL TACTICS: Activist Irom Sharmila met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Secretariat on Monday. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

NGT notice over illegal construction in Ridge area BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN NEW DELHI: The National Green

Tribunal has issued notices to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi Development Authority, the Delhi government, and others, seeking a response within two weeks on the alleged illegal construction by JNU in the ecologically-sensitive southern Ridge area. A Bench headed by NGT

chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar passed the order on NGO CHETNA’s plea against JNU, the National Intelligence Grid and the CRPF for constructing buildings in the reserve forest area without environmental clearance. The plea noted that JNU comes under the South Central Ridge (Reserve Forest) category where any construction is prohibited. It said that seven buildings had come up in the fragile eco-

zone on the campus without prior permission. The Bench, which also included Justice R. S. Rathore, said: “The counsel appearing for the applicant submits that the present application would confine to the unauthorised construction of seven buildings on the JNU campus in violation of the law and in the forest area. Issue notice to the respondents.’’ The matter has been listed for hearing on November 7.

mission for Women (DCW) issued a notice to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Monday asking the latter to share its action plan for demolition of illegal structures on GB Road, Delhi’s red light area, within two days. The commission has also asked the North Corporation to provide ownership records, house tax records and receipts and other relevant documents to ascertain the ownership of the brothels. "DCW has been appalled to note the presence of several illegal structures within the brothels which include tehkhanas (hidden cells) that are often used by owners to hide traicked girls,” the notice read. “On its own accord, the commission has been conducting regular meetings with the police, the Delhi government and the North Corporation to identify the owners of these brothels and ensure that these tehkhanas are demolished.” Earlier this month, the

NEW DELHI: The Delhi govern-

ment on Monday told the Delhi High Court that the plea of a teacher seeking sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Law Minister Somnath Bharti for blocking roads and acting as “hooligans” during their protest near Rail Bhawan in 2014 was not maintainable. The Delhi government told a Bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva that a private person cannot seek sanction for the prosecution of a Chief Minister and other political personalities. CM YK

The government was responding to the petition filed by Ajay Gautam, a teacher. “My request for sanction has been pending for long,” said Mr. Gautam. He had sought to prosecute the leaders for harassment caused to him and other public persons when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal staged a dharna before the oice of the Home Minister in January 2014 and then outside the Rail Bhawan. He said he had to walk several kilometres despite having pain in his knees, as roads and metro stations were shut in the area due to the dharna.

DCW had conducted a number of raids on GB Road. A couple and six others were recently arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly running a brothel in the area. Following this, 42 police personnel posted with the Kamla Market police station, under whose jurisdiction GB Road falls, were transferred to other police stations. The police had denied any connection between the two developments and termed the transfers as “routine”. DCW wants details of ownership "The commission has been repeatedly requesting the North Corporation to provide ownership details of the brothels, yet the same has not happened till date," the notice stated. Last week, DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal had also alleged that investigations by the commission have revealed that a prostitution racket, operational at GB Road, was “flourishing” under the protection of a “Union Minister” and a “senior leader of a prominent party”.

Cong leads street vendors’ protest

Can’t prosecute Kejriwal for dharna, says HC STAFF REPORTER

THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

MCDs failed Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Health Minister

rect,” Mr. Shastri claimed. Also, some of the parliamentary secretaries chaired review meetings in the absence of the Ministers. The GAD reply states, Urban Development parliamentary secretary Jarnail Singh chaired the review meeting on May 27, 2016. Similarly, Mr. Shastri attended the review meeting on WiFi project and also the Cabinet meeting held on September 15, 2015, for engaging consultant for the project.

MARIA AKRAM

more trouble for the Aam Aadmi Party, the General Administration Department (GAD) in its reply to the Election Commission has stated that expenditure was incurred in setting up the office of 21 parliamentary secretaries appointed by the Delhi government. The AAP government has vehemently denied that parliamentary secretaries hold “oice of no profit”. But as per the GAD reply to the EC, the Public Works Department has spent Rs. 11,75,828 on 21 executive chairs and tables, 136 visitors chairs for 21 rooms allotted in the Assembly for the parliamentary secretaries. The Delhi Assembly approved Rs.13,26,300 for the same. However, Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel denied any allocation of funds. “How can funds be allocated/approved when there are no rooms for them,” said the Speaker. According to the GAD reply, a copy of which is with The Hindu, Delhi Assembly Secretariat in its letter on June 16, 2015, had conveyed approval of Rs.13,26,300 for the “newly renovated oices for the 21 parliamentary secretaries”.

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STAFF REPORTER

TRADING CHARGES: Satyendar Jain, who met L-G Najeeb Jung on Monday, said the three municipal corporations did nothing “except harass people” and “make money”. FILE PHOTO STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Slamming the BJP-

led municipal corporations, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday blamed the deteriorating sanitation condition in the city on the civic bodies. “The BJP-run municipal corporations have failed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,” Mr. Jain said after meeting LieutenantGovernor Najeeb Jung. He added that the three municipal corporations did nothing “except harass people” and “make money”. “Have the corporations done any work except making money? They just take bribes. If you make a list of

things they have done, you will realise that they only harass people and make money,” he said. ‘L-G is worried’ The Health Minister added that even the L-G was worried about the state of affairs, especially with Delhi battling dengue and chikungunya. “The sanitation condition on Delhi is very bad and burdened with garbage,” he claimed while adding that with the spike in the number of vector-borne diseases, the L-G had ordered the civic bodies to focus on cleanliness for at least a month. “L-G has also directed them to clean ‘dhalaos’ twice a day, which the MCDs, so far, claim to clean every day,”

314 new dengue cases last week BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN NEW DELHI: The Capital saw

a surge in the number of dengue cases with 314 new cases being reported in the last seven days. Chikungunya and dengue continue to wreak havoc in Delhi with the number of deaths from the two vector-borne diseases climbing to 40 and together afecting over 5,387 people this season alone. At least 1,692 cases of dengue have been reported in the Capital with nearly 390 of them being recorded in the first 10 days of September, the month in which the disease begins to peak. “Delhi is witnessing a spurt in chikungunya after nearly 10 years, which is being attributed to “evolution” in the chikungunya viral strain. Dengue and chikungunya are caused by the same aedes aegypti mosquito, but dengue can be contracted through four viral strains while chikungunya is caused only by one strain. Chikungunya is not a life-threatening in general, but in some cases leads to complications that prove fatal, especially in children and old persons,” note doctors. “As for dengue, some strains are more virulent than the others,” explained National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) director A. C. Dhariwal.

Dr. R.K. Singal, principal consultant and director and co-ordinator of Medical and Allied Services, BLK Super Speciality Hospital, said: “Many people have been visiting our hospital suspecting symptoms for chikungunya in the past few days. Signs and symptoms of chikungunya usually appear two to seven days after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. The virus causes high fever and moderate to severe joint pain around three to seven days after infection. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. Swollen joints and redness in eyes and diiculty in looking at light are commonly seen in patients sufering from this disease. Chikungunya is diagnosed by ELISA blood test which is the reliable way to identify it since the symptoms are similar to much more deadly dengue fever which is detection of IgM antibodies. These antibodies persist up to 6 months. Also cooccurrence of these diseases are seen in many places.” People travelling to an area with known outbreaks of chikungunya virus should take precautions. Since chikungunya is not transmitted from human to human, preventive measures are focused on protection from infected mosquitoes.

LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

UP IN ARMS: Congress workers demand implementation of the Street Vendors’ Act during a protest at Jantar Mantar on Monday. PHOTO : R. V. MOORTHY

Maintain hygiene, L-G orders civic bodies NEW DELHI: Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday directed the civic bodies to get garbage dumps cleared twice a day and the city administration to take action against private hospitals which deny admission to poor patients, in a bid to check the rising number of dengue, chikungunya cases. At a meeting at Raj Niwas, which was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain and senior officers from agencies concerned, Mr. Jung directed the municipal corporations and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to take strict action against concessionaires responsible for cleaning dhalaos (garbage dumps) in case of poor performance. “All three municipal commissioners and chairman (NDMC) have been directed to ensure that dhalaos are cleaned twice a day, starting tomorrow (Tuesday). Each supervisor of dhalao must submit a written report of compliance to the municipal commissioner,” the L-G’s office said. The L-G also directed all deputy commissioners (revenue) to step up efforts and prepare a daily roster of inspections. - Staff Reporter

‘If Delhi govt. says it can’t clean city, Centre will step in’

NEW DELHI: Delhi Congress

chief Ajay Maken on Monday led a protest of street vendors at Jantar Mantar against nonimplementation of the Street Vendors’ (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, by the Aam Aadmi Party government. Addressing the crowd, Mr. Maken alleged that over 5 lakh street vendors in Delhi have not yet been issued licenses despite the passage of the Act in 2014, under the then United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre. The Congress chief alleged that despite the passage of the Act, street vendors were being illegally displaced from many parts of Delhi.

Mr. Jain said. In the past one month, the AAP government and the BJP-led municipal corporations have been embroiled in a blame game over the health crisis in the Capital. The Delhi government has been blaming the corporations for not carrying out fogging drives and cleaning the streets. On Friday, the Aam Aadmi Party launched a “Spot the Kachra” social media campaign to pressurise the MCDs. On Sunday, the convenor of the AAP’s Delhi unit and some party workers went to Gandhi Nagar area as part of the campaign. They also pasted posters that said ‘BJP is responsible for the garbage mess’.

NEW DELHI: “Once Delhi is

cleaned, we will clean up the whole country,” the Supreme Court said on Monday while hearing a suo motu PIL on the suicides of parents of a child who died of dengue in 2015. The Centre told the Supreme Court that it was the duty of the Delhi government to ensure that the Capital remained clean and free from diseases like chikungunya and dengue. The Centre, represented by Attorney-General Mukul The apex court has sought Rohatgi, said the Delhi govthe Delhi government’s ernment should first say it response on a plea on the cannot clean the city, and death of a child allegedly then the Centre would step due to dengue. FILE PHOTO in.

A Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur sought a response from the Delhi government on the PIL and asked senior advocate Colin Gonsalves to assist as amicus curiae. SC takes note The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of an incident in Delhi concerning the suicide of a couple -Laxmichandra and Babita Rout, both natives of Odisha – who jumped of a fourstoreyed building in south Delhi’s Lado Sarai in September 2015 after their only son, Avinash, died of suspected dengue. The seven-year-old died after allegedly being denied treatment by five private hospitals. ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Protesting Honda worker faints, hospitalised SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: One of the five

Honda workers who have been on hunger strike at Jantar Mantar since September 19, 2016, fell unconscious on Monday. Vipin Kumar, 32, who had joined Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) at its Tapukara plant in 2011, and had been sacked along with 101 other permanent workers in February this year, fainted around 11 a.m. on Monday. He was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in a police ambulance. According to the workers, both the doctors at the hos-

45 escape unhurt as bus catches fire STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A low-floor, air-

conditioned Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus with 45 passengers on board caught fire at north-east Delhi’s Welcome on Monday morning. No casualties were, however, reported. According to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), the incident was reported to its control room around 11-50 a.m. when the bus, which plies between Kamla Market and Seema Puri, was on a flyover near the Welcome metro station. “The passengers approached the driver when they saw smoke coming out from the engine. The bus was immediately evacuated,” said a police oicial. DFS oicials said three fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was contained within half an hour. DTC spokesperson R.S. Minhas said preliminary inquiry pointed to the incident having been triggered by a short circuit. “A detailed report is being prepared for submission by tomorrow,” Mr. Minhas said.

pital as well as the police pressured Mr. Kumar to quit his hunger strike. When he made clear his intention to continue with his strike, the police refused to transport him back to the protest site in their ambulance, the workers said. “Mr. Kumar ended up taking an autorickshaw back to Jantar Mantar,” said Dilip, one of the protesting workers. Workers cry foul “Not a single oicial from the Rajasthan government or the Central government is ready to listen to us. This shows how much they care about an Indian worker’s life.”

The striking workers said they had distributed 50,000 leaflets in the Capital educating people about Honda’s “illegal labour practices” and urging people to boycott its two-wheelers. “On September 28, Honda workers will take out a ‘March for Justice’ from Dharuhera to Delhi via Gurgaon,” they said in a statement. More than 100 permanent workers and 2,000 contract workers were terminated by HMSI in February following a dispute over the workers' bid to form an independent trade union at its plant in Tapukara, Rajasthan.

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Insurance scam: six arrested for ‘duping’ people of crores STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The North West

district police have arrested six men who allegedly formed a gang which cheated people to the tune of crores of rupees by making them deposit money as income tax and other duties to avail bonus on insurance

policies. The accused had formed a company and opened its bank account where the victims would deposit money, according to the police. That account was opened using documents of a man whom they had provided employment just so they could use him for the said purpose.

It was this employee, Burari resident Ankur, who led the police to the accused persons -- Devender Kumar, Sonu Giri, Rohit Kumar Mishr, Manish Thakur, Vishal Verma and Pankaj Nayak. It is alleged that the accused impersonated themselves as oicials and used

the name and designation of reputed departments to cheat people. They obtained their insurance details from the database of a company some of them had earlier worked for. “We started the probe in May when a senior citizen and retired engineer M.L. Aggarwal complained that

he was cheated by unidentified persons who had been pestering him by making telephone calls since January 2015 and had promised to get the payment of his old unpaid insurance claim released. The complainant added that he had been cheated of Rs. 80 lakh,” said a senior police oicer.

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

NORTHERN REGION

Badal asks Pakistan to refrain from pushing India to war Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday asked Pakistan to refrain from pushing India to war, saying that in such an event East and West Punjab on either side of the international border will sufer the most. “Punjab on both sides of

MIDDUKHERA:

the border will have to bear the brunt in case a war takes place between India and Pakistan,” he told media persons on the sidelines of a sangat darshan programme in Lambi Assembly segment. The Pakistani government must understand and should try to defuse tensions at the

Haryana to integrate 54 mandis with e-NAM CHANDIGARH: The Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) has decided to integrate 54 mandis with electronic-national agriculture market (e-NAM) in the first phase of the ambitious project. While four grain markets of Ellenabad, Karnal, Ambala City and Shahbad have already been connected under e-NAM as a pilot project, 27 others will be covered under online platform by the end of this month, a HSAMB spokesman said here on Monday. He said that the remaining 23 grain markets would be connected by March 31, 2017. This will ensure transparent sale transactions, he said. He said that the Board has spent Rs. 823.66 crore on various development works including upgradation of grain markets, construction of new link roads and special repair of existing roads dur-

ing the past two years. Out of these, Rs. 342.84 crore have been spent on development of new grain markets and upgradation of facilities in the existing markets. In addition, works to the tune of Rs. 272.29 crore for providing similar facilities in existing markets are in progress. Referring to the schemes to be launched during the year long golden jubilee celebrations marking completion of 50 years of Haryana being carved out as a separate State, the spokesman said that 31 mandis would be connected with e-NAM between November 1, 2016 and October 31, 2017. Besides, Kisan Bazaar would set up in mandis at Panchkula and Rohtak. The Board will also complete automation facilities in 10 mandis of Hisar, Uklana, Barwala, Pipli, Cheeka, Kunjpura, Indri, Barara, Babain and Asandh. - PTI

KnowledgePhilic.com

earliest, Mr. Badal said. Replying to a query related to the Indus Waters Treaty, he said the Indian government was “competent and wise enough” to take an appropriate call on the issue. Mr. Badal said India’s “mature and visionary leadership is capable of taking decisions

to safeguard the interests and the unity and integrity of the country”. Asked about the emergence of new political fronts ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, he said: “The new platforms will have no afect on the State polity.” PTI

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Centre clears three A.P. airport projects B. MURALIDHAR REDDY NEW DELHI: The Steering Com-

mittee on Greenfield Airports headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, on Monday gave ‘in principle’ approval to three new airport projects in Andhra Pradesh. These are Bhogapuram and Dagadarthi (Nellore) and Orvakallu (Kurnool). PPP mode The new international airport at Bhogapuram will be developed by the State Government under the PPP (public-private partnership) mode at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,200 crore to cater to 6.3 million passengers per annum in the initial phase. The other two airports in Andhra Pradesh will be developed as domestic nofrills airports with an estimated cost of Rs. 88 crore each.

Committee gives ‘in-principle’ approval for airports in Orvakallu, Dagadarthi and Bhogapuram Dagadarthi will be developed under the PPP mode whereas the project at Orvakallu will be developed by the State Government itself. The Steering Committee has also recommended ‘site clearance’ for the new greenfield airport project at Kothagudem in Telangana. With this, Telangana would get a second greenfield airport besides the Hyderabad International airport. These clearances are expected to enhance the aviation infrastructure in the two States and will boost the Regional Connectivity Scheme recently announced by the Narendra Modi Government.

SOUTH

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

KCR says delay in dam work led to flooding Following Mid Manair Dam breach, CM cancels contract and asks officíals to hand over project to ‘competent’ agency K.M. DAYASHANKAR KARIMNAGAR: Alleging that the

delay in the construction of Mid Manair Dam (MMD) by contractors led to the breach of the earth dam, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao cancelled the the contract and ordered fresh tendering process for MMD work. The Chief Minister, who visited Karimnagar town on Monday, reviewed the flood situation with Ministers T. Harish Rao and Etala Rajender, Chief Whip Koppula Eshwar, district MPs and legislators. He also conducted an aerial survey of the MMD and Sripada Yellampalli projects. The Mid Manair earth dam, constructed as part of the SRSP flood canal project, was breached following deluge on Sunday night. The MMD was expected to act as

A new life for heritage

ALARMING SITUATION: Mid Manair dam overflowing in Karimnagar district on Sunday. — PHOTO. THAKUR AJAY PAL SINGH a balancing reservoir for the proposed Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project. Incessant rains Following incessant rains and copious inflows into the MMD, the flood water overflowed from the spillway and the earth dam on Sunday, forcing the district authorities to evacuate land oustees of

the project. The irrigation authorities had planned to store 3 tmcft of water in the MMD. However, following the 130-metre breach to the earth dam, the entire water in the reservoir flowed to the LMD reservoir. Talking to mediapersons, the Chief Minister said the MMD breached due to heavy inflows and incomplete

earth dam work. He told the oicials to ensure that the work was given to a competent agency. He said all 12,000 villagers who were shifted to rehabilitation centres on Sunday returned to their villages as the flood water receded. Alleging that the Congress government had delayed the payment of compensation to land oustees, the Chief Minister also announced distribution of compensation to children of land oustees who are 21 and above. As per the new order, individuals who are 21 and above would get Rs. 2 lakh compensation. It would cost the State exchequer an additional amount of Rs. 114 crore. The Chief Minister said the scheme would benefit 4,231 land oustees of the MMD and 1,447 of the Sripada Yellampalli project.

1,000 evacuated in Karimnagar With heavy downpour pummelling Telangana over the past few days, the authorities are keeping a watch on the flood situation even as over 1,000 villagers were evacuated in Karimnagar district. “Over 1,000 villagers staying in six villages near the Mid Manair dam, which was overflowing, were evacuated on Sunday evening. It was a precautionary evacuation ... the situation has now improved and they will be sent back,” Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Pradeep Chandra said on

HYDERABAD:

Monday. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday directed his ministerial colleagues to stay in their districts to monitor the flood situation and supervise relief and rehabilitation work. In view of the flood situation, Mr. Rao cancelled the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday and asked the Ministers to work in coordination with district-level oicials. He further directed the Warangal district administration to be on high alert as Godavari was in full spate. — PTI

Proposal to sell breast milk draws flak

ROHAN PREMKUMAR

AFSHAN YASMEEN UDHAGAMANDALAM: The Heri-

tage Section of The Nilgiri Library, which houses old books, some dating back to the early 16th century, has been restored to its glory. The restored section, which houses bound books from England, brought to India by the East India Company, now possesses thousands of books on a huge array of subjects. “This section has been dedicated to the memory of C.P. Ramaswami Iyer, who served as the president for eight years,” said Geetha Srinivasan, the grand-daughter of Mr. Iyer, and the current president of the library. The restoration process was undertaken and supervised by Ms. Srinivasan, who is also the Convenor of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), the Nilgiris.

As Visaaranai goes to Oscars, a similar tale in A.P. APPAJI REDDEM VIJAYAWADA: At a time the Guntur police torture incident of 1983 makes it to Oscar through the Tamil flick Visaaranai, back home a victim in a similar case of illegal detention and torture has filed a case against the police, a finance firm and a judge. The methods of interrogation and human rights violations seemed to have remained unchanged in police stations even after three decades of the real incident based on which the movie was shot. The movie plot of Visaaranai was authored by one of the victims, M. Chandrakumar himself, on the 13-day police torture in a Guntur police station for a crime he and his three other friends never committed. The docu-drama Visaaranai is all about police custody, interrogation and vulnerabilities of the gullible. It is also about the police, who are constantly under pressure to manufacture conviction out of the accused. Interestingly, over three decades after the Visaaranai episode, a similar case has come alive in Vijayawada. The life experience of the victim is a classic example of how the system can push the vulnerable to corner. N. Satyanarayana, a small-time flexi-printing businessman from Vijayawada, was kidnapped, threatened at gunpoint, trapped in false default cases and pushed to the corner by the finance, legal and police systems. “Bajaj Finance has filed false cases in 2010, alleging that I took 14 loans within six months which I never took,” said 33-year-old Mr. Satyanarayana. Ultimately, the victim was acquitted after six years of torture and legal struggle. When contacted, Bajaj Finance General Counsel Babu Rao said: “The case is sub judice.”

CM YK

BENGALURU: Commercial use of

breast milk donated by mothers in the State-run Vani Vilas hospital has been proposed by a private company, on the ground that selling breast milk would act as form of cross-subsidy to The Niligiri Library has been given a facelift by INTACH Nilgiristake it to more of the needy. If approved by the BanChapter. — PHOTO: M.SATHYAMOORTHY galore Medical College and “It took Rs. 5 lakh and more building, throwing together Research Institute (BMCRI), than six months to restore the Gothic and Victorian styles of to which the hospital is atsection,” she told The Hindu. architecture. Though the tached, it would put breast The walls were covered with building itself has required milk up for sale for the first fungus, and the books, which maintenance, the books con- time. had been meticulously artained within the library have The proposal is to provide ranged during the Colonial been remarkably well-prebreast milk, collected free era and had remained unserved. “I think it’s because of from mothers, at no cost to touched since their exodus, the weather, that there has sick and pre-term babies in had to be removed from the been very little deterioration the Vani Vilas hospital itself. hand-crafted wooden shelves in the condition of the books,” But it would also allow the on which they had been said Ms. Srinivasan, while company to sell it to other stored. checking out a copy of a book needy babies across the State The Nilgiri library, over on animal sciences dating at Rs. 300 for 15 ml. 150-years- old, is a unique back to 1812. Neolacta Lifesciences Pvt

Kerala poet’s comment on migrants creates controversy

ate with Vani Vilas for setting up a human breast milk bank. We will study it before taking a call,” he said. Move questioned Breastfeeding advocates and doctors termed the suggestion ‘commercialisation and exploitation of poor mothers.’ Asha Benekappa, director

are unable to get breast milk from their mothers. We have framed guidelines for milk banks and are collaborating with the Union Health Ministry to provide guidance to set up more banks in government hospitals,” he said. ‘Critical public service’ Saurabh Aggarwal, director, Neolacta Lifesciences said cross-subsidy was needed so that “the company can provide a critical public service and also meet the demand.” Donor mothers in Vani Vilas will receive counselling and orientation about the concept. “It is completely voluntary to donate. We will also provide the mothers nutrition support, given that they may come from lower-income strata,” he said.

Back in saddle

and posted on Facebook that he was intrigued by it especially because it had come from “someone who has been a worshipper of a Yadav cowherd named Krishna.” He withdrew the post following her rebuttal. But the original post had already been shared by several people on their Facebook pages.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KANNUR: The row triggered by

poet Sugathakumari’s controversial comment in an interview about migrant workers coming to Kerala refuses to die down, despite her rebuttal. Her purported comment published as a snippet in a Malayalam daily on September 24 has stirred a hornet’s nest on social media. Many, including fellow poet K. Satchidanandan, have disagreed with Ms. Sugathakumari’s observation. The snippet is from an interview published in a Malayalam periodical. Though the poet maintained that the observation attributed to her is not what she had said during the interview, the issue has not died down. In the interview, she is quoted as saying, the ‘dispro-

Ltd., submitted a proposal to BMCRI in May, according to which the collected milk will be transported to a “pharamaceutical grade” facility in Jigani where it will be processed and stored. BMCRI Dean and Director P.K. Devadas confirmed the proposal. “The company has submitted a proposal seeking permission to collabor-

of the State-run Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, questioned the need for commercialisation of breast milk when every woman can secrete adequate quantity to feed two babies. “The only way a poor woman can nourish her baby is through her own breast milk. If there is a market, she may sell it and make her baby a victim of malnutrition. This is nothing but exploitation and may go the voluntary blood bank way,” she said. Satish Tiwari, National Convenor, Human Milk Banking Association said although there are around 25 breast milk banks in the country, milk is not for sale anywhere. “The first condition for any human milk bank to come up is that it should not be for sale but for babies who

Sugathakumari portionate’ inflow of migrant workers was the most serious problem facing the State. Culturally it was leading the State to huge tragedy as most of the migrants lacked education and had criminal backgrounds, and they may marry and settle here, the comment said. A few questions Mr. Satchidanandan termed it a hate-statement,

Sugathakumari’s version In her rebuttal, the poet clarified that she had only spoken about the ‘carrying capacity’ of a small State like Kerala, as the population of migrant workers in the State was likely to rise to 50 lakh soon. “There should be some restriction on rich people and contractors importing lakhs of people, exploiting their poverty,” she says. Otherwise, the situation would be convenient for intruders and extremists.

SECOND INNINGS: Governor Vajubhai Vala with K.J. George at the oath-taking ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru on Monday. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is seen. — PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.

Kerala Assembly erupts over college fee issue Sabarimala cargo ropeway in limbo SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

KC(M) seated as separate block

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The full

budget session of the Kerala Assembly began on a stormy note on Monday with the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) members disrupting the proceedings, alleging a deal between the government and private self-financing medical college managements that forced students to pay hefty capitation and course fees. Raising slogans, the Opposition members moved into the well of the House, midway through the zero hour, forcing Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan to suspend the proceedings for over 30 minutes. When the House reassembled after discussions between the two sides mediated by the Speaker, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan assured the House that the government would hold talks with the leadership of the Youth Congress, which has launched an indefinite fast in front of the Secretariat over the issue. He also appealed to the Opposition to wait for the

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Ker-

ala Congress (Mani) has been allotted seating as a separate block outside the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Assembly. Party leader K.M. Mani, who was seated on the front row after Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader P.K. Kunhalikutty, has moved two places and now Supreme Court decision in the ongoing litigation on the issue before taking any action. Earlier, raising the issue through an adjournment motion, V.S. Sivakumar (Congress) alleged that the pact between the government and private self-financing medical colleges had resulted in the course fee in the management quota going up by Rs.65,000 at one go. Under the UDF government, the fees had gone up by only Rs.47,000 over five years. The fees payable by stu-

sits after Kerala Congress (Jacob) leader Anoop Jacob and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The new seating arrangement has been made in response to the party’s request that its MLAs be seated as a separate block. The KC(M), on August 7, decided to snap its 35-year-old ties with the UDF citing attempts by sections in the Congress to weaken the party and insult Mr. Mani. dents admitted under the NRI quota had also been jacked up. The government’s decision not to go in appeal against the High Court order favouring the managements exposed the true nature of the deal, he said. Minister’s allegation Health Minister K.K. Shylaja said the agreement with the private self-financing medical colleges was the best under the circumstances. However, her comment that children of some of the Opposition leaders had secured admissions in

private self-financing medical colleges during the tenure of the UDF government evoked a strong response from the Opposition and demand for expunging of the comment from the records of the House. ‘It is plunder’ Intervening in the discussion, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said it was plunder by the private self-financing medical college managements. Instead of walking out of the House, the Opposition would stage a protest in the House to force the government to hold talks with the Youth Congress leadership, he said. The UDF members moved into the well and, once the proceedings were suspended, squatted in the well. The disruption lasted 35 minutes. Speaking on the resumption of proceedings, the Chief Minister said though the fees might have been low in the past, the managements were levying hefty sums under various heads even after entering into an agreement with the government on the fee structure.

RADHAKRISHNAN KUTTOOR PATHANAMTHITTA: The much-

publicised cargo ropeway project at Sabarimala is in a limbo as the joint-venture consortium that had taken up the project 17 months ago has not even started groundwork. The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) had signed the agreement with the joint venture consortium of Kolkata-based Damodar Ropeways and Infra Limited and Ahmedabad-based Eighteenth Step Projects Private Limited for the execution the proposed ropeway project— linking the foothills of Pampa with the holy hillock of Sabarimala Sannidhanam — way back in May 2015. According to HPC sources, the ropeway project — to be executed on a built, operate and transfer (BOT) basis — is estimated to cost Rs. 25 crore. However, the project report prepared by the Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) has put its total cost at Rs. 12.03 crore. As per the agreement, the joint venture consortium will have to design, finance, con-

An artist’s perception of the proposed cargo ropeway between Pampa and Sabarimala Sannidhanam. struct, operate and maintain the material ropeway and facilities in the specified location on a fixed revenue share basis. But the consortium is yet to conduct the environment impact assessment mandatory for obtaining environment clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for starting the

work in the reserve forests. TDB member clarifies TDB member Ajay Tharayil told The Hindu that HPC should cancel the agreement if the contractor failed to start the work in the next six months, and explore the possibility of a more feasible goods transportation project at Sabarimala. ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

NATION

Prajapati returns to U.P. Cabinet Reinstatement of the scam-tainted minister has further undermined Akhilesh OMAR RASHID LUCKNOW: Former Uttar Pra-

desh Mining Minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who had been sacked less than two weeks back by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, was sworn in again on Monday along with nine other ministers. Mr. Prajapati took oath as a cabinet minister as Mr. Yadav inducted four new cabinet ministers and promoted six other State ministers to cabinet rank. Apart from Mr. Prajapati, two Brahmin faces, Manoj Pandey and Shivakant Ojha, who had also been sacked, returned as cabinet ministers. Ballia MLA Ziauddin Rizvi who had been waiting to take oath since June 27, when his name was oicially announced, was also finally sworn in. State Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Laxmikant alias Pappu Nishad was dropped from the ministry. Mr. Prajapati’s return saw the Opposition dub Mr. Yadav a “weak CM” and point to “multiple power centres”

Purohit’s bail plea rejected in Malegaon case MUMBAI: Observing that a prima facie case exists against Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, the special court for NIA cases here on Monday rejected his bail application. Special judge S.D. Tekale passed the order at incamera proceedings. It was for a second time that Purohit’s bail application was rejected in the case. “The court observed that prima facie there is a case against him,” special prosecutor Avinash Rasal told reporters. The court also said the report of a ‘court of inquiry’ submitted by the Army (which Purohit’s lawyer claimed backed his case) could be examined only during the trial and not now. The judge also held that validity of the application of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the accused too could be decided only during the trial. On Purhoit’s contention that some witnesses had given contradictory statements, the court said it could be considered when the witnesses appear before the court. Purohit had sought bail contending that the NIA had dropped the charges under the stringent MCOCA in the case. — PTI

ruption” and patronage to those indulging in illegal mining. “Reinstating a person against whom a CBI order has been ordered by the HC strengthens corruption. The return of all three ministers sacked by Akhilesh Yadav gives credence to what we have always said: there are multiple power centres in the government,” Mr. Maurya said. Congress spokesperson Satyadev Tripathi said Mr. Prajapati's case “glorified Gayatri Prasad Prajapati greeting Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministercorruption.” Akhilesh Yadav after taking oath at the Raj Bhavan in Lucknow A social activist Nutan on Monday. — PHOTO RAJEEV BHATT Thakur filed a petition in the Lucknow Bench of the Allain his government. The corruption and land grabs. habad High Court against strain was perceptible when Mr. Prajapati’s re-induction. the junior Yadav tried to pre- Mayawati takes a dig Citing Article 164 of the vent Mr. Prajapati from BSP chief Mayawati said Constitution, Ms. Thakur touching his feet during the Mr. Yadav frequent changes said when Mr. Prajapati was ceremony, where both SP su- and the return of Mr. Pra- sacked on serious corruption premo Mulayam Singh and japati had shown him as a charges, “he had lost the his brother Shivpal Yadav “weak CM” who was prone pleasure of the Governor and were present. to “U-turns”. It also proved hence, he cannot be re-inMr. Mulayam Singh, re- that apart from bad law and ducted in the ministry unless cently announced that all ac- order, under the SP govern- the facts and reasons on tion against the Minister ment, corruption will also which he had lost the pleasure of the Governor get would be annulled. continue unabated, she said. An OBC leader and firstBJP State president Ke- removed.” She had earlier met time MLA from Amethi, Mr. shav Prasad Maurya said Mr. Prajapati has been mired in Prajapati’s return was an Governor Ram Naik and subcontroversies and charges of “open endorsement to cor- mitted a representation.

The blue beyond

Receding south-west monsoon clouds pass by the light house on Kaup Beach, 14 km from Udupi, in Karnataka. The light house was built in 1901. Also on the beach are ruins of a fort built by Tipu Sultan. — PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR

KnowledgePhilic.com

Value of ISRO’s workhorse goes up DENNIS JESUDASAN SRIHARIKOTA (A.P.): ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar told a press conference that with Monday’s launch of eight satellites in two orbits, the PSLV “can undertake any type of mission.” Flanked by senior scientists including Mission Director B. Jayakumar and Satellite Director O.V. Raghava Reddy, Mr. Kiran Kumar announced the success of the launches from the Mission Control Centre. Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre K. Sivan said PSLV C-35 was the “longest mission” of the PSLV so far.

‘Enhanced marketability’ Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Antrix Corporation — ISRO’s commercial arm, S. Rakesh said the launch has enhanced the “marketability and versatility” of PSLV and has put the ISRO’s workhorse in a “unique position” in the global satellite launch services market. He said Antrix was in talks with many countries for more launches to the tune of about Rs. 280 crore. Besides the Indian satellites, PSLV rockets have so far launched 79 satellites from 21 foreign countries. More launches ISRO plans to launch the GSAT-18 communication satellite from French Guiana on October 4, the Resourcesat 2A on board a PSLV rocket in November and its GSLV Mk III by the end of this year. ISRO, which has so far been taking orders from international customers to launch their satellites into space on its rockets, is also planning to design satellites on customers’ requirements, Mr. Kiran Kumar said. As for the participation of Afghanistan and Bangladesh in SAARC Satellite, Mr. Rakesh said there were some issues and they were being sorted out.

HEPZI ANTHONY MUMBAI: The Aadhaar card

has been made mandatory for students appearing for the Class X and Class XII examinations in February/ March 2017. Students will also have to fill in their Aadhaar card numbers in the exam application forms, according to a recent directive issued by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE). These forms are generally filled around December every year. “We are intimating students and parents

much in advance, in order to give them suicient time to apply and get it,” said G.K. Mhanane, chairman of MSBSHSE. Mr. Mhanane said for the last two years, students were being asked for Aadhaar card numbers, but it was not compulsory. “This year, we are making it mandatory since we feel we have given them suicient time to get it. Aadhaar would help us detect bogus candidates who fraudulently appear in lieu of some other student. The number is important since we intend to link all students with Aadhaar card and track their educational progress,”

Students will have to fill in their Aadhaar card numbers in the exam application forms

Students in a school run by the Mumbai municipal corporation. — FILE PHOTO said Mr. Mhanane. Asked if students not having Aadhaar cards will be debarred from appearing for exams, he said: “We will not be able to debar students

LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

The Supreme Court on Monday indirectly blamed the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar for the delayed murder trial of former RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin, a factor which might have helped him get bail on September 7. “Extreme urgency? But you should have shown some urgency,” a Bench of Justices P.C. Ghose and Amitava Roy retorted when the State government pushed for urgent hearing of its petition against the grant of bail to Mr. Shahabuddin by the Patna High Court.

NEW DELHI:

NEW DELHI: “I was kept inside

the solitary Anda cell... I was not even taken to the jail hospital, which is a street away, and was not given any medicine.” This is how Professor G.N. Saibaba, who sufers from 90 per cent disability, recounts the torture he sufered inside Nagpur Jail's infamous Anda cell during his long incarceration. The interview with the wheel-chair bound academician by The Hindu on April 8, 2016, became a rallying cry in the Supreme Court against the use of torture as an instrument of “human degradation” by State authorities. The interview was highlighted in a writ petition submitted by former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. It led a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur on Tuesday to direct the Centre and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to file their responses explaining why the Central government had delayed the promulgation of a stand-alone, comprehensive law defining and punishing torture. “As on date, India does not have any legislation that defines the expression CM YK

A red-letter day for varsity students STAFF REPORTER BENGALURU: It was a joyous

day for students and faculty at the PES University as the academic imaging satellite PISAT, developed with the participation of more than 250 students from the university and four more colleges, was put into orbit by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was one of the eight satellites that were put into orbit on Monday morning by the PSLV-C35. PISAT, a 3-axes stabilised imaging nanosatellite that weighs in at 5 kg, was functioning normally and transmitting images of Indonesia by Monday evening. At the ground control centre, established on PES

Satellite made by PESU students and 4 other colleges was among those put into orbit University campus, the mood was one of jubilation as the team waited for the satellite to begin broadcasting images of India from space. The final avatar “The project was started in 2012 as a training programme for students and was completed in 2014. PISAT then underwent several tests and we were waiting for ISRO to give us a slot for launch. This has happened today and the students are very excited. Three generations of

students have worked on the satellite,” said K.N. Balasubramanya Murthy, the University’s ViceChancellor. Capturing earth imagery The custom built cuboid-shaped satellite can capture earth imagery with an 80 metre/pixel resolution over an area of 185 km x 135 km area. Controls are by an embedded active magnetic control system which can also function for payload operations. “PISAT generates 13 W of power and charges a battery of 5.2 AH capacity using 52 body mounted solar cells. It is launched in a low earth polar sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of 680 km with an inclination of 98 degrees,” a statement from PESU said.

Maharashtra in favour of making Aadhaar must for school final exams

from appearing for exams, but we are insisting that we want all of them to have Aadhaar numbers.” The State School Education Department will be tracking the progress of students from earlier classes like Class VII, Class VIII and Class IX. It will also keep an eye on whether students from some particular schools are being deliber-

Centre, NHRC quizzed Shahabuddin trial: SC pulls up Bihar on delay in stand-alone State pushes for urgent hearing of its law against torture plea against grant of KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL

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Ashwani Kumar’s petition calls for comprehensive law against custodial violence 'torture' or 'custodial torture'. Nor is there a law dealing specifically with torture in custody and the various specific aspects concerned with custodial torture and those involved in the incidents of such torture,” the petition, argued by Mr. Kumar in person, contended. Mr. Kumar argued that a bare perusal of the Indian Penal Code makes it apparent that its provisions “do not specifically and comprehensively address the various aspects of the custodial torture and are grossly inadequate to address the spiralling situation of custodial violence across the country”. He even pointed out to that the National Human Rights Commission keeps count of incidents of custodial torture only if it leads to death. Mr. Kumar said India, which had signed the UN Convention against Torture in 1997, has still not ratified the Convention which defines torture as a criminal ofence.

bail to ex-RJD MP by Patna High Court The Bench refused any interim relief for the families of murder victims, despite a plea by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Chadrakeshwar Prasad, whose three sons were allegedly killed by Mr. Shahabuddin’s henchmen. “We do not plan to do anything at this stage,” Justice Ghose said, adjourning the case to September 28 after Mr. Shahabuddin’s

lawyer and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani sought time to study the case. Meanwhile, senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, who appeared for Mr. Shahabuddin in this hearing, said the allegations made against his client and fuelled by the media were “ugly.” “I want to show the documents regarding the number of bails I got in the several cases foisted against me,” Mr. Naphade submitted for his client. “He was released on September 7, but the State moved the Supreme Court only on September 16 ... Is this their urgency,” Mr. Naphade argued.

Soon, RS to e-publish gazette notifications B. MURALIDHAR REDDY NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha Secretariat will switch to epublishing of gazette notifications, a year after the Centre stopped physical printing of notifications after announcing the e-gazette project in October 2015. A circular issued by the Upper House secretariat last week said all sections were to submit documentary notifications directly through the eGazette website/portal. To operationalise the new system, the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General has nomi-

nated two designated oicers who will act as Nodal Oicers to oversee uploading of gazette notifications. This will put an end to agonising wait for the important documents. Gazette notification is an important legal requirement to validate, authenticate and to make efective various kinds of laws, rules, orders and Government decisions. Earlier, user groups had to wait for a few months for copies of such notifications as physical printing took some time.

Hard copies were available for sale for usage by government and private users. The e-gazette move is believed to have saved Rs. 40 crore per year which was incurred on 90 tonnes of paper besides power, chemicals, colour, dyes etc. and as such it is a major environmentfriendly efort. In a similar initiative, the Lok Sabha Secretariat is hoping to send by October all papers meant for Members of Parliament through e-portal as it moves a step closer towards the goal of a ‘paperless’ institution.

ately failed in Class IX. This directive will have no bearing on Class X exams of schools ailiated to other boards like CBSE or ICSE. Advocate Rahul Narayan, who appeared in a case in the Supreme Court against Aadhaar said: “This is completely wrong on the part of the government, since the SC has clearly stated that Aadhaar cannot be made compulsory to get any kind of service. I would imagine that some student would approach the court and get a stay against this order.” He asked: “What about those students who do not wish to get Aadhaar card or

3 Naxals killed in Chhattisgarh encounters SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Three suspected members of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) were killed in two separate encounters in the restive Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on Monday. The first encounter was reported from Narayanpur district of the insurgency-hit region in which two Naxal commanders were killed. “In a stunning blow to the Naxal organisation, two commanders — Tirupati and Lokesh of the PLGA (CPIMaoists’ military wing People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army) Company No.6 — were killed in an encounter with the DRG (District Reserve Guard) in the forest of Banspal-Toinar of Narayanpur district,” said Narayanpur district Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena in a statement which was forwarded to the media by Bastar police chief Shiv Ram Prasad Kalluri. The deceased Naxals were identified as Tirupati alias Akash, a resident of Madded area in Bijapur district, and Lokesh alias Ramesh, a resident of Tiraknar.Drag marks and blood spots near the encounter site indicated that more than six Naxals were killed or injured.” In a separate incident, one more Naxal was killed in Kondagaon.

NAGPUR:

are not able to get one due to some technical malfunction of the Aadhaar mechanism. After all biometric is not a foolproof system.” But the teaching community seemed quite open to this idea. Seema Shaikh, principal of Pradnya Bodhini High School, Goregaon said: “Last year, when the Board had asked students for Aadhaar number in exam application forms, though it was not compulsory, it had us worried since many parents complained about not having Aadhaar numbers. We contacted the local corporator, who got an Aadhaar enrolment camp or-

ganised right in our school premises. Almost all our students and 95 per cent of our parents are thus enrolled for Aadhaar number. We were prepared for Aadhaar being made compulsory this year since we knew that such a decision was in the oing.” Her school has already made Aadhaar mandatory in admission forms and school leaving certificates. “Other countries also have some form of identification systems in place. If the government is trying to do something good, then why not be a part of it?” she argued. (The writer is a freelance journalist)

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

The case against simultaneous polls If concurrent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were to be a reality, it would go against the political diversity essential for addressing the social diversity of India T U E S D AY , S E P T E M B E R 2 7 , 2 0 1 6

Joining the climate high table

T

he Centre’s decision to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change on October 2 is a welcome airmation of India’s commitment to join the global community in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As an emerging nation with a large number of people living without access to electricity, India’s predicament of having to generate more energy for poverty eradication while simultaneously curbing GHGs is universally acknowledged. But there is no denying that the country has adopted an approach that is predicated on a much-too-high use of fossil fuel-based technologies. This needs to be addressed as all nations look towards the next phase, when the climate agreement comes into force. There is near certainty that the decision made in Paris will become operational before the deadline for signatures set for April 2017: 61 country-parties responsible for 47.79 per cent of emissions have ratified it so far. What remains is for individual countries in Europe, and the European Union, to review their commitments after Brexit, and sign up to reach the target of 55 per cent of total GHG emissions. India’s decision to join, overcoming a reticence that was apparently linked to the failure to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group, is commendable. It would, in any case, have come under pressure to do so since the Paris process is sure to move ahead with Europe’s entry. With climate commitments becoming almost inevitable, a national consultative process on low carbon strategies cannot be delayed. In order to comply with the Paris process, every aspect of energy use would need precise measurement in the years ahead, which several sectors of the economy are illequipped to do at present. Upgrading the electricity grid to take in higher volumes of renewable power is an urgent necessity if India is to realise the national goal submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to install 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2022. A bold new policy on urban design to curb emissions from buildings and transport has to be written into all relevant legislation. Such far-reaching steps can be taken only with the active participation of State governments, many of which remain on the periphery of the discussion. That needs to change, and a blueprint for action has to be drawn up, if a convincing case is to be made for assistance from the $100 billion a year that the rich countries are to put together by 2020. Fundamentally, national policy should mandate even higher levels of taxes on fossil fuels and transfer the benefits to eco-friendly options, be it solar panels, eicient light bulbs, bicycles, green buses/ trains, and greening initiatives.

Positive signals from the GST Council

W

ithin a fortnight of President Pranab Mukherjee signing of on the 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, work on the next steps has begun. The GST Council, led by the Union Finance Minister and with representatives from all States, had its first meeting on September 22-23, flagging of the process of determining the nitty-gritty of the new indirect tax system and resolving diferences on crucial first-principle issues. Time is of the essence, as just six months remain for the April 1, 2017 deadline that the Centre has set for ringing in the GST. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has admitted that the deadline is ‘challenging’, but going by the outcomes of the first meeting of the Council, it is clearly doable. Apart from agreeing on the rules and timetable for its meetings, the Council reached a consensus on the threshold turnover for a business to be covered by the GST, Rs.20 lakh, which ensures that the new tax will not be a compliance burden for small retailers and traders. It has also agreed on the draft compensation formula for States’ revenue losses and accepted industry’s rationale to subsume myriad cess levies inthe GST. An important signal at this juncture is the Centre’s decision to let go of the Central Board of Excise and Customs’s proposal to create dual control over the assessment of businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs.1.5 crore and give States that power. Experts reckon that a large number of assessees fall below this threshold. By conceding ground on this contentious issue, the Finance Minister has sent a welcome message of give-andtake. This is important given the need to resolve more tangled Centre-State tax issues on the Council’s agenda quickly, if the model laws for Central, State and integrated GST are to be ready for Parliament’s winter session. It is evident that all States participated with an open mind, including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, irrespective of their ratification strategies for the Constitution amendments in their respective Assemblies. All decisions were arrived at by consensus. The Centre and the States appear to be informed by the roll-out experience of the Value-Added Tax regime, and the States want to be on the same page through discussions and support one another rather than get divided along regional or party lines. This bodes well for the GST, where every decision has to be taken by the Council based on a majority view: the States have twothirds voting power and the Centre has one-third. It is to be hoped that this accommodative spirit of cooperative federalism prevails. CM YK

S S. JAGDEEP CHHOKAR

ANJAY

KUMAR

Though spoken about for quite a few years, simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies seem to be fast on their way to becoming a matter of national concern. This proposal is not only being discussed in the television studio, but even the Central government is seeking inputs from ordinary citizens through a website about its desirability and related questions. The online public consultation will last till mid-October, and it is likely that there will be overwhelming support for this proposal because of the argument put forward in favour of it: simultaneous elections will save a lot of money and will help the government carry forward the developmental project without many hindrances. The real question, however, is not of desirability; it is one of feasibility. Can simultaneous elections for both the Central and State legislatures be implemented given the federal nature of Indian democracy guaranteed by the Constitution? The question of cost No one can deny that a huge amount of money is spent in conducting elections in India, both by the candidates themselves and political parties as well as the government (the Election Commission of India). Though there is a legal limit on how much money a candidate can spend on his campaign from his own sources, most spend as much as they can in the belief that this would help them reach out to a larger number of voters, thereby increasing their chances of winning. However, the argument in favour of simultaneous elections does not seem to be based

The slogan ‘one country, one election’ overlooks the existence of 29 States... The intention, it seems, is to move the country towards becoming a unitary state on saving the money spent by political parties and candidates, but by the Election Commission. There is hardly any doubt that the fewer the number of elections, the lesser would be the expenses. But then, elections are the lifeblood of democracy. If Lok Sabha and Assembly elections happen to coincide, it is a natural process. But if it is imposed only to reduce the number of elections and cut costs, it is highly undesirable, because it privileges monetary concerns over democratic principles. Simultaneous elections resulting in better governance is another argument that has been put forward. The contention is that

with multiple elections, the Model Code of Conduct is in force for much of the time, which prevents the government from initiating new projects and ultimately slows down development work. While this is true, in order to overcome this problem, it may be more useful to make changes in the Model Code of Conduct to allow the government to initiate projects and programmes till a reasonable period (maybe till the notification of elections) instead of the existing scenario where the code comes into force the day the elections are announced. One should not also forget that there is a provision in the Model Code of Conduct that the government can consult the Election Commission about policy decisions and if the decisions are not likely to have any implications for the electoral outcome, the Commission can permit the government to take those decisions. Also, in the normal course, the code should apply only to the State where Assembly elections are to be held. There is no logical reason why governance in the rest of the country, and at the Centre, should come to a standstill, unless the so-called policy decisions are intended to be taken to influence the electoral outcome in the State where elections are to be held. In this case, it is not the holding of the election that stops governance, but the suspect intentions of those who are supposed to govern. Undermining the federal structure The argument, or slogan, of “one country, one election” is misleading. What this label overlooks is that while India is undoubtedly one country, the Constitution also recognises the existence of 29 States which have a constitutional status of their own in matters of elections and government formation. “One country” does have “one election”, and that is for the Lok Sabha. The seeming intention to force all States, and sometimes it has even been mentioned all panchayats, not on-

CARTOONSCAPE

ly seems impractical but also a step in the direction of moving the country towards becoming a unitary state rather than a federal one that the Constitution envisages. India has a federal structure and a multi-party democracy where elections are held for State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha separately; the voters are better placed to express their voting choices keeping in mind the two different governments which they would be electing by exercising their franchise. This distinction gets blurred somewhat when voters are made to vote for electing two types of government at the same time, at the same polling booth, and on the same day. There is a tendency among the voters to vote for the same party both for electing the State government as well as the Central government. This is a rule rather than an exception, not based on assumption but on evidence. The empirical evidence If we consider elections from the 1989 general election onwards, there have been 31 instances of holding simultaneous elections for State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha in diferent States: Andhra Pradesh (1989, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014), Odisha (2004, 2009 and 2014), Karnataka (1989, 1999 and 2004), Sikkim (2009 and 2014), Tamil Nadu (1989, 1991 and 1996), Maharashtra (1999), Assam (1991 and 1996), Haryana (1991 and 1996), Kerala (1989, 1991 and 1996), Uttar Pradesh (1989 and 1991), West Bengal (1991 and 1996), Arunachal Pradesh (2009 and 2014) and Telangana (2014). When simultaneous elections for the Assembly and the Lok Sabha were held in these States, in 24 elections the major political parties polled almost a similar proportion of votes both for the Assembly and the Lok Sabha, while only in seven instances was the choice of voters somewhat diferent. It was noticed thrice in Tamil Nadu (1989, 1991 and 1996) when the votes polled by the Congress and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were diferent for the Assembly and Lok Sabha. The other similar examples are from Arunachal Pradesh during the 2004 and 2014 elections (when the Bharatiya Janata Party polled more votes for its Lok Sabha candidates compared to those for its Assembly candidates), in Haryana during the 1996 elections and in Andhra Pradesh in 2014. During the same period, when in many States the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections were held at diferent times, the electoral outcome (votes polled by diferent parties) of the two elections has been diferent. While there are various ifs and buts before this may be finally implemented — including the feasibility of constitutional amendments of the kind which this may require, State governments agreeing to the untimely dissolution of the Assemblies, the question of what happens if a government falls without completing its term, and several such issues — if simultaneous elections were to become a reality, it would go against the political diversity which is essential for addressing the social diversity of India. Jagdeep S. Chhokar is a former Professor, Dean, and Director In-charge of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Sanjay Kumar is a Professor and currently Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi. The views expressed are personal.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

Not vote banks The Prime Minister’s powerful pitch to project the BJP as a pro-Dalit and pro-poor party, dedicated to the idea of social justice, and at the same time attempting to reach out to Dalits and Muslims, is quite encouraging (“Don’t view Muslims as vote banks: Modi”, Sept.26). But this is a message that should percolate to the lower levels in the party. Who can forget the way and manner in which Dalits are being hounded in the name of cow vigilantism? One cannot also ignore the fact that Dalits are considered as a vote bank by the BJP just as other political parties do so with the Muslim community. India is being polarised on religious and caste lines. Elections should be fought on past performance and the record of governance. M.Y. Shariff, Chennai

The Muslim community still continues to be viewed as a vote bank. The Prime Minister’s “appeal” will have more credibility if the BJP acts in a manner that accepts and treats Muslims equitably. This will help it emerge as a robust national party. Vijaykumar Harpanahalli Kulkarni, Moodbidri, Karnataka

The clarion call is amusing as Mr. Modi still remains a silent spectator to incidents that happen across the length and breadth of this country against Muslims and the other minorities. His concern for the minorities should be real and not on paper alone. J. Eden Alexander, Thanjavur

Indus review strategy Any decision on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) should be arrived at with great caution, responsibility and wiser calculations lest it end up as a ‘diplomatic misadventure’ and in global condemnation (“PM to

review Indus Waters Treaty today”, Sept.26). It is an international treaty arrived at the behest of the World Bank and is not something to be done away with unilaterally. Further, turning of the tap as far as Pakistan is concerned might actually provoke China, its close ally, to follow suit. The Indus has its origin in China and we must be very cautious. Unlike India and Pakistan, Beijing is not party to any international water agreement vis-à-vis the IWT. Mohammed Tahsin, Mysuru

Dealing with Pakistan Pakistan has been consistent in its ‘bleeding India by a thousand cuts’ approach, which successive Indian governments apparently have no answer for (“Solving the Pakistan puzzle”, Sept. 26). The response to unconventional warfare cannot be military in nature. India must exploit the countless vulnerabilities of the Pakistani state in response to its nefarious activities against us. Amala S. Maheswari, Kozhikode

Urban flood management The report, “Nine die as rain pounds Telangana for the third day” (Sept.22), shows that most of our cities are unable to withstand any sort of natural phenomenon. In this case, unplanned urbanisation is the key cause. Various low-lying areas which acted as “flood absorbers” are fast vanishing while old drainage and sewerage systems have not been overhauled. Providing rainwater harvesting systems and maintaining tanks can help mitigate the problem. However, displaying the political will is of prime importance. Prasanth Sahoo, Visakhapatnam

Blow for knowledge A close reading of Sections 14 and 52(1)(i) of the Copyright Act, 1957,

will show that neither the author nor teacher and pupil enjoy absolute right in their respective domains (“On the right to photocopy”, Sept.26). While the author’s right, to own and make profits from his or her works tangibly or intangibly, should be protected, the right of the consumer (teacher, researcher and pupil) to make photocopies of the textbooks and reference works should also be recognised. Afordably priced books and photocopying of a reasonable volume of excerpts will go a long way towards removing the conflict of interests between author and consumer. Both parties should not lose sight of the fact that they are complementary to each other in the fast-proliferating knowledge scenario. Syed Sami Ullah, Hanamkonda, Telangana

Vintage vignettes The beautiful group photograph of the Indian cricket squad that played the first Test at Lord’s, from June 25 -28, 1932 — just two years before I was born — and which appeared on page one (“From 1 to 500, in 84 years”, Sept.22). was really exciting to see. Similarly, the article, “‘We shook hands and returned to the hotel’” (‘Sport’ – Sept.23), on C.D. Gopinath and the first-ever Test victory against England at Chepauk in 1952, speaks volumes about the beautiful game played then and now. I recollect standing with my friends in front of Kasturi Buildings where a huge scoreboard was in place when the said match was played. I wonder whether The Hindu has photographs of the huge crowd gathered at that event. Srinivasan B., Chennai

The photograph brought back sweet memories when my father, the late Theodore Gabriel, had the distinction of playing for the then formidable Madras University Team

as a new ball bowler against Aligarh Muslim University in 1930. This team had Mohammed Nissar, who later went on to play for India — and seen in the last row in the picture — and Mushtaq Ali, India’s opening batsman. I recall my father telling me about the fiery fast bowling that Nissar unleashed on the Madras University batsmen. My father, one of the top fast bowlers from the Malabar, went on to top the bowling averages for the team on that tour of Aligarh Muslim University, Delhi University and Lahore University. Sudhir M. Gabriel, Edathala, Kerala

The picture was moving. As India has now won the 500th Test, I feel that we should acknowledge some of the contributions made by the coaches, managers and the technical team for the past 84 years. We normally praise the cricketers while forgetting the Dronacharyas. Stars like John Wright, Gary Kirsten, P.R. Man Singh (manager of the Indian team during the 1983 World Cup) to name a few, have played a pivotal role in the journey of the Indian team. The BCCI should felicitate the coaches and technical experts. A. Anton Stevenraj, Thanjavur

The Hindu@138 A probable spin-of, or more like a riposte to the British Raj, the establishment of the English language daily, The Hindu, now celebrating 138 years of its existence, is a remarkable achievement indeed. As a South African, and having visited Indian shores five times, I have always been fascinated by the plethora of English language newspapers and periodicals in a country once under British rule. Were it not for the Internet, I would not have followed the many stories which are covered brilliantly by a team of journalists who know how to present their reports. Like a batsman at the crease, very eager to reach 150,

let’s look forward to the daily crossing that milestone and beyond. Abdul Razak Modak, Johannesburg, South Africa

Science and sustenance The report (Some editions, “Lake restoration enters curriculum”, Sept.25), of how a private institute’s idea has caused Anna University and the B.S Abdur Rahman University, both in Chennai, to integrate the project in their curriculum, shows that institutes and students can play a vital role in driving change. Perhaps the concept “Ideas rule the world” can be introduced. “One plant, one student”, based on the old slogan “one ghar, one ped” (or one house, one plant) is one such idea, where every student is given a sapling which he/she has to take care of. Based on this, he/she is given “no dues”. In the past, the curriculum had a subject “environmental science”, implemented as classbased projects. Hemappa K. Hullatti, Hirekerur, Karnataka

Why not govt. health care? One wishes our political leaders good health. However, the instance where a prominent political leader of Tamil Nadu has been hospitalised in a private superspeciality hospital in Chennai leaves one disheartened. It is all the more surprising as the leader opened a government multisuperspeciality hospital in the city quite recently. Had the leader been admitted to a government hospital, the administration would have got to know first hand the standards of care available. The public seems to have got the message that good treatment is available only in private hospitals. Unless we make it mandatory for MPs, MLAs, and government oicials to undergo treatment in government hospitals, their standards will never improve. Rajagopal Nambakam, Hyderabad ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

RIGHTS WATCH

Preventing death in custody Seven weeks after a 25-year-old inmate allegedly hanged himself in the Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai, P. Ramkumar, the sole accused in the murder of Infosys techie Swathi, also allegedly committed suicide in the same prison by “pulling and biting into a live electric wire”. The Puzhal prison complex was inaugurated in 2006 by RAJA the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, with BAGGA the promise of making it a model for reform. It has become notorious, however, for being a den of drugs and a place where mobile phones are frequently seized. The Puzhal prison isn’t alone. From 1995 to 2014, 999 suicides were reported inside Indian prisons. Tamil Nadu alone has seen 141 of them. The State houses less than 4 per cent of the country’s prisoners, yet it accounts for 14 per cent of suicides inside prisons. With such a poor track record, the State machinery should at least deliberate possible solutions. Is Tamil Nadu the bad apple or is the entire orchard rotten? Data show that in the last 20 years, three inmates on average have been found dead daily in Indian prisons. In 2014, there were five deaths every day, so 35 deaths in a typical week. Two of these deaths were suicides. In the same period, the death rate inside prisons rose by 42 per cent. Ninety per cent of these deaths were recorded as ‘natural’, but what constitutes ‘natural’ in a custodial set-up is questionable. Violation of rights The numbers show that the prison department is ill-equipped to protect the health and safety of inmates. Little public scrutiny in jails provides the possibility of violation of basic rights. It is only when violations result in deaths that questions are raised, and even then only cursorily. This perfunctory attention to prisons helps overlook the fact that deaths are the consequence of the everyday reality of prison life. Inmates live in despair of little or no contact with the outside world, are denied the basic desires to eat or wear clothes of their choice, to forge relationships. They wait for basic medical needs, their movements are restricted, and they are frustrated as they know nothing While the liberty of a person about their cases. As they are not taken to court often, they miss the in custody can be curtailed chance of meeting a judge, their according to ‘procedures lawyers, and families. There is also lack of a mechanism to hear established by law’, it cannot their complaints. be stretched to extinguish life And this is just the tip of the iceberg. As an undercover operation in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasna Jail showed recently, abuse takes place in prisons. Extortions, corruption, and torture are common. The only way to thwart what goes on in these institutions is to make them accountable. Prison monitors are mandated to regularly visit jails, listen to prisoners’ grievances, identify areas of concern, and seek resolution. These visitors include magistrates and judges, State human rights institutions, and non-oicial visitors drawn from society. However, an upcoming Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative study (CHRI), ‘Looking into the haze — a study on prison monitoring in India’, shows that not even 1 per cent of Indian jails are monitored. In Tamil Nadu, according to recent media reports, most prisons await appointment of nonoicial visitors. As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures for 2014, just 500 inspections were made across the 136 jails in Tamil Nadu, perhaps by the oicial visitors. This means that there were less than four inspections per jail in an entire year. Surveillance The Supreme Court last year ordered the Centre and the States to install CCTV cameras in all the prisons in the country. CCTV cameras serve two purposes: they bring on record incidents that could otherwise be suppressed, and play a preventive role in violation of rights, as the fear of facing consequences for the same would increase under vigilance. However, Ramkumar’s death remains a mystery despite the Puzhal prison installing CCTV cameras. This is because the alleged suicide occurred near a water pot in the dispensary block where no cameras were placed. So, while the court’s order was a step in the right direction, it fell short by not formulating guidelines for implementation. Suicide is a critical problem in prison complexes — in the last 20 years, the suicide rate (suicides per lakh population) in prisons is recorded at 15.4. A person is 1.5 times more likely to kill himself or herself inside jail than outside it. In Tamil Nadu prisons, the suicide rate is higher than 40. Providing counselling to inmates is crucial for them to deal with the ordeal they undergo in custody. But are prisons prepared for this? Tamil Nadu prisons have only sanctioned 105 correctional staf. Less than half the positions are filled. Out of the 13 psychologists sanctioned, only eight have been hired. With around 16,000 prisoners, this translates to one psychologist for every 2,000 inmates. After Ramkumar’s death, the DG (Prisons) announced that a magisterial inquiry will be ordered. But does that mean anything? The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed concern in the past about postmortem reports “appearing to be doctored due to influence”. There is no information in the public domain about the details of these reports, whether the magistrate visited the death scene, what evidence was gathered, the time taken for the inquiry, the outcome, and whether prison oicials were charged or found guilty. Saving lives The prison department is mandated to report all cases of custodial death to the NHRC within 24 hours of their occurrence. But the prison department data collated by the NCRB and the NHRC data don’t match. Also, almost half of the unnatural deaths in prisons are reported as ‘others’ by the NCRB. It is important that these ‘others’ be demystified. While the liberty of a person inside custody can be curtailed according to “procedures established by law”, it cannot be stretched to extinguish life itself. The NHRC has repeatedly issued guidelines to prevent and respond to custodial deaths. It is time for the State governments to start taking these guidelines seriously. If the state works to promote communication between the inmate and his family and lawyer, increase conjugal visits, ensure adequate trained prison staf, and open up the prison to civil society, we might be able to save some lives. If not, we know who is responsible for the next suicide inside our jails. Raja Bagga is Project Officer, Prison Reforms Programme, CHRI.

FROM THE ARCHIVES (dated September 27, 1966)

Warning against danger of atomic war

Japan fails to put satellite into orbit

The President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan to-day [September 25, New Delhi] made a forceful plea for an immediate end to the conflict in Viet Nam and hoped that eforts of peaceloving nations in this direction would succeed. Inaugurating a four-day international Round Table on “Jawaharlal Nehru’s Role in the Modern World”, he stressed the urgency of the situation by pointing out that the world was not far away from a nuclear war. If there was a real nuclear war, there was no salvation for humanity, he added. The Round Table has been organised by the Government of India and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Japan’s bid to become the fourth member of the exclusive space club after the United States, Soviet Union and France received a setback at least until December when the four-stage Lambda-4S rocket fired from the Uchinoura Space Centre in Southern Kyushu failed to put an artificial satellite into orbit. Failure to ignite the fourth stage of the Lambda rocket, which after separation was itself to have become the artificial satellite, was given as the reason tor the failure. The Lambda rocket was launched at 11.58 a.m. (local) to-day [Sept. 26] under a clear blue sky and its last stage, 48 cms. in length, was to have become the satellite and gone into orbit at a height of about 300 kilometres.

CM YK

KnowledgePhilic.com

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PERSPECTIVE

Towards a database nation The lack of a public debate on the efectiveness or safeguards created for the Central Monitoring System, NATGRID, and Aadhaar puts data at the sole discretion of the government organisations and is exempted from the Right to Information Act. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor asked about potential parliamentary scrutiny of NATGRID in 2015, and the government responded saying it considers the current oversight mechanism adequate. In the meantime, the controversial Aadhaar project is functional without any meaningful public debate or costbenefit analysis. The identity number is being pushed aggressively by the government. For example, citizens are pressured to enrol by making critical services contingent on Aadhaar numbers. Most people would enrol if told that their bank account, pension, scholarship, driving licence or voter identification card is in jeopardy. It makes matters worse that people are lining up to add their children to this database. Given that no one can opt out of the database once enrolled, this is a very serious human rights violation. It does not ofer adults a way to withdraw consent and does not ofer the next generation the opportunity to reverse their parents’ decisions.

CHINMAYI ARUN

Although criminalisation of speech is distressing, other corrosive threats to our democracy and liberty are surging unnoticed and unchecked. There has been a sharp rise in state surveillance, government collection of data and government aggregation of big data sources. It appears that we are thoughtlessly mutating into what Jack Balkin calls the “National Surveillance State”. This is a governance form in which governments use surveillance, data collection, data mining and other such invasive methods to prevent crime, terrorist attacks and to deliver welfare services. No one seems to have noticed that the Central Monitoring System (CMS) is already scanning our communication in real time in Delhi and Mumbai; or that the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), which links multiple government databases, aggregating all kinds of information, will be operational next year. No one has asked whether Aadhaar, with its access to our biomet- ILLUSTRATION: SATWIK GADE ric identification and its connection with all kinds of databases from banking data. It has not helped that the Indian juto health and scholarships, will be a part diciary was shortsighted in its approach of NATGRID. to phone tapping in the nineties. It reWe have no idea how secure these sponded to large-scale, unfettered govdatabases are and have given no ernment surveillance with weak safethought to what will happen if someone guards that became obsolete very fast. hacks them or misuses the sensitive inThe problems with this have been formation contained in them. Although highlighted in a piece by Arun Jaitley, major data breaches have been reported the current Union Finance Minister, from entities ranging from the U.K. gov- when the previous government was in ernment to Adobe, Sony and Ashley power. He wrote “every citizen in India Madison, it has not yet occurred to us has a right to privacy”. In his powerfully that creating these databases means argued piece, Mr. Jaitley pointed out risking data breaches. that even access to citizens’ call data records violates privacy since it reveals Government surveillance their relationships and potentially conIt is the nature of politicians and gov- fidential transactions. ernments to seek and consolidate This year, the CMS is actually being power. Indian politicians and the Indian used to monitor our communication in government are no diferent. Our Na- Delhi and Mumbai, and its reach will be tional Intelligence Agency, precursor of expanded gradually. This system has the infamous Intelligence Bureau, is never been discussed meaningfully older than the British MI6. Prime with the public, and no eforts have Minister Indira Gandhi is alleged to been made to explain what safeguards have put President Giani Zail Singh un- prevent its misuse. der surveillance, and reports indicate In response to questions in Parliathat this extended to having his oice ment, Law and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has claribugged. The imbalance of power created by fied that law enforcement agencies get the state’s attempts at treating citizens access to intercepted communication like pawns is dangerously magnified by on a near-real-time basis through the advances in digital technology that al- CMS. He has also made it clear that such interception will take place secretly, low for easy monitoring of communication and access to large amounts of without the involvement of the tele-

We have no idea how secure these databases are and what will happen if someone hacks them or misuses the sensitive information in them communications service provider, eliminating the only third party that ever had any idea of government excesses in this context. This creates two potential problems. One, of course, is that the state will use the system for surveillance excesses as it has done in the past. The other is that whoever actually executes the ambiguous ‘automated process’ through which the government accesses our communication in real time may abuse this access to private information for personal gain. Government databases In addition to the CMS, the government has spent approximately Rs.150 crore from 2009 onwards on the NATGRID, which is supposed to ofer law enforcement agencies data access to 21 providers such as airlines, banks, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, railways and telecommunications operators by 2017. NATGRID is classified among the ‘intelligence and security’

A dark future It appears that we are travelling fast towards a complete transformation into a National Surveillance State. This journey may be irreversible. However, there is a lot that we could have done, and that we can do, to mitigate the imbalance of power created in this state. We have had no public debate about the efectiveness or safeguards created for NATGRID and Aadhaar. We have put our children’s personal information in these databases without any information about the resilience of these databases in the face of sophisticated cybercriminals. We have not asked how easily they may be hacked, and what the consequences will be if our data are compromised or misused. Even the United States lets its citizens know when public databases are breached. Aadhaar and NATGRID might be hacked several times a year for all we know; no one is obligated to tell us. The government wants to add our travel and bank information to these databases, and is pressuring all the phone manufacturers to integrate with them. This renders us powerless and steps around our painstakingly crafted civil liberties to hand control of our lives and information back to the state. Chinmayi Arun is Executive Director of the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi, and Faculty Associate of the Berkman Klein Centre at Harvard University. Parul Sharma helped with the research for this piece.

The new face of tax notoriety It is alarming that countries are coming to the aid of defaulting MNCs, and both are in harmony against any possible regulatory measures by authorities in any other EU member state. Therefore, the Commission has questioned this entire special tax arrangement extended by Ireland to Apple on grounds of illegal state aid and failure to reflect economic reality. The Commission has consequently ordered Ireland to recover up to €13 billion from Apple Ireland. On the one hand, this retrospective action against Apple focusses on compensating Ireland for a loss of revenue in at least the last decade. Then again, it is also a clear message to all EU member states not to slacken their taxes excessively and maintain diligence when entering into special arrangements with MNCs. The wrath of the Commission is not sudden, and its vigil stretches to hundreds of matters similar to Apple. One among several such investigations is the scrutiny of Luxembourg’s special tax arrangements for Amazon and McDonald’s.

KINSHUK JHA

Both historical and contemporary perceptions of tax have characterised it as a necessary extraction, a penalty. A likely fallout of this statutory burden is that there is an innate urge to either mitigate the liability or even eliminate it. Tax avoidance is when a lawful mitigation of tax burden takes place. Tax evasion is where a seepage in the boundaries set by fiscal laws is discovered, and which is then used to escape the tax net to a great extent or altogether. Here is the genesis of tax notoriety, the artistry, where prima facie the tax mitigation exercise appears legitimate, but in reality it maybe an abusive tax avoidance strategy which may lead to very low payment or no payment of taxes. Era of double non-taxation Out of all the taxes, corporate taxes imposed on multinational corporations (MNCs) are major sources of revenue for most economies. But in the event of these corporate tax payers shifting their tax liabilities from a high tax jurisdiction to a low- or no-tax jurisdiction, massive revenue losses are imminent for the fiscal jurisdiction where the taxes should have been ideally paid. Once riddled with incidents of double taxation, the MNCs have now outsmarted the system and have moved into an era of double non-taxation. With a mélange of some creative accounting techniques and existing loopholes in diferent fiscal jurisdictions across the world, tax evasion has emerged as a global woe in the last few decades. Various countermeasures have been deployed by states, either at an individual level or as members of diferent economic groups. Lately, the north and south have come together and there is a conscious attempt to tackle the reckless acts of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The BEPS action plan is a step in that direction where the developing and the developed have jointly worked on strategies to curb the exploitation of gaps and mismatches in tax rules, which can be used to artificially shift profits to low- or no-tax locations. Since a majority of corporate entities in such jurisdictions have little or no economic activity and are mere subter-

RECOUP: “The European Commission’s retrospective action against Apple focusses on compensating Ireland for a loss of revenue in at least the last decade.” A balloon depicting Apple Inc. is tethered before a protest by demonstrators urging the Irish government to accept the EC’s Apple tax ruling, in Dublin. PHOTO: REUTERS fuges, it is all the more critical to identify and penalise such entities. Some jurisdictions have also taken the initiative of revising or updating their existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) to plug the existing loopholes. Another important instrument of tackling tax notoriety are the Tax Information Exchange Agreements. These bilateral agreements act as information bridges between diferent fiscal jurisdictions and they aid in the establishment of tax transparency. Despite some major limitations, various fiscal jurisdictions have already gone ahead with signing such agreements. Further, novel techniques such as the Diverted Profits Tax, popularly known as the Google Tax, are providing more salvo to the tax administrators in tackling aggressive tax planning. Apple tax ruling Now, a colossal decision by the European Commission on August 30 has taken the fight against “aggressive tax planning” by corporations to a new turf

The European Commission’s decisions are not seeing a meek acceptance at the hands of the concerned states and the defaulting corporations altogether. The European Commission has issued a ruling in relation to the tax arrangements of Apple in Ireland, where it has its European headquarters. A bulk of its global sales profits are directed there. In a nutshell, the subject matter of this dispute was the selective treatment, a sweet deal, granted by Ireland to Apple Ireland through two tax rulings in 1991 and 2007. The Commission relied on the financial information of Apple Ireland and found that though the corporation recorded a €16 billion profit in 2011, the efective tax rate on the same amount was just 0.05 per cent in the same period. It also found that the rate in efect declined to 0.005 per cent in 2014 even as profits grew. These corporate tax rates are significantly lower than the corporate tax rates applicable

Challenging the Commission Interestingly, though the Commission’s decisions would appear to undo the wrong done to the EU member states by the tax-avoiding MNCs, the decisions are not seeing a meek acceptance at the hands of the concerned states and the defaulting corporations. In fact, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are the first countries to challenge the Commission over its decisions last year that the tax arrangements they extended to Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler, respectively, were illegal. Even Apple and Ireland have decided to appeal against the Commission’s decision. This is an alarming emergence where the concerned fiscal jurisdictions, despite being awarded judicious reliefs, are simply trying to justify the special arrangements which allowed such tax seepages in the first place. This trend also seems to add an entirely new chapter to tax notoriety, where the states are coming to the aid of the defaulting MNCs and both are in harmony against any possible regulatory measures by the concerned authorities. Clearly, the tax defaulters and tax administrators are in no mood of granting respite to each other. The sensational duel between prolific tax notoriety and amplified tax vigilance continues. Kinshuk Jha is Assistant Professor and Assistant Director, Centre for Comparative and International Taxation, Centre for International Trade and Economic Laws, Jindal Global Law School ND-ND

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Karnataka wants SC order put on hold Within hours of the filing of this application, Tamil Nadu hit back with one of its own followed by an urgent mentioning in the post-lunch session before a Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra. The Bench agreed to list the application on September 27. “The State of Karnataka is acting as judge in its own cause and refusing to comply with the orders passed by this court by consciously failing to ensure the release in spite of the matter being sub judice before this court,” the application filed by advocate G. Umapathy said. T.N.’s contention Tamil Nadu said Karnataka’s stand that it required the entire stor-

age of water in its four reservoirs to meet the drinking water requirements was “totally untenable.” It highlighted how Karnataka had issued an ordinance in 1991 to stall the release of Cauvery water. On that occasion, the Supreme Court, while quashing the ordinance, had termed Karnataka’s move as “an invitation to lawlessness and anarchy.” ‘Partisan interests’ Tamil Nadu said the Supreme Court should enforce its orders in order to prevent any “evil consequences to the federal structure.” The partisan interests of a State cannot be allowed to prevail over the interests of other States, it said. “The prestige and dignity of this court is at

Rahul escapes shoe attack at road show As his cavalcade moved on, Mr. Gandhi hinted at a political motive for the attack. “I want to tell the BJPRSS people, throw as many shoes at me as you want. I am not going to step back,” the Amethi MP said. “Your anger is your weakness. Even if you ofer it to me I am not going to take it. I have forgotten about the shoe. You stick to your hate. I will continue believing in love and brotherhood,” he said. Attacker held The young man accused of hurling the shoe was whisked away by police and taken into custody. Identified as Hariom Sharma, the youth claimed he was a journalist and his political ailiation was not known. “The Congress has left the

Pak. artistes should be hit with shoes: Som MOHAMMAD ALI MEERUT: The

Muzafarnagar riots accused and controversial BJP MLA, Sangeet Som, has advocated that Pakistani artistes be beaten with shoes. Speaking to The Hindu on the phone, Mr. Som said: “There are artistes in Pakistan who are of no use there and they don’t get work there. They get work here and earn crores of rupees but are traitors. They should tell Pakistan that they don’t want terror incidents against India.” “Pakistani actors, who behave like traitors, should be beaten with shoes and thrown out of India. Even animals are loyal to their owners and do not betray them. Only nationalists should be allowed to stay in the country,” Mr. Som added.

country in the dumps in the last 60 years,” he told mediapersons before being led away in a police van. The youth accused the Congress of giving farmers nothing but false promises. “I have been a journalist for the last two years. I have been so upset,” he said, adding that talk of reduced electricity bills and loan waivers remained empty promises despite the party having been in power for 60 years. Mr. Gandhi is in the second phase of his 2500km pre-poll yatra across U.P. His strategy involves addressing small public meetings and khat sabhas (meetings held on string cots) to strike a chord with farmers, who he says have been neglected under the Modi government.

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‘The community could make a difference in about 70 of 403 seats’ SMITA GUPTA MAGHAR (U.P.): The Ami, a trib-

utary of the Rapti river, that flows gently past the village of Maghar no longer yields the fish the Nishads settled on its banks caught and sold in earlier times. Complaints about its poisoned waters, thanks to the chemical eluents that leach into it from nearby factories, have produced no results. Locals say that the factory owners ensure that the water samples sent for testing are clean. Here, in Uttar Pradesh’s Khalilabad Assembly segment, located in Sant Kabir Nagar district, the poisoned waters of the Ami and the resultant loss of livelihood

have become hot political issues. Halchal Nishad, sipping his morning cup of tea, tells me, “We are primarily fishermen, but the chemical factory two kilometres away has poisoned the Ami. The fish are dying; we are dying. There is little land here: in any case, when there was drought, no one helped us.” Maghar has 10,000-odd voters; a large chunk are Nishads of which a majority, Bhauron Nishad says, had voted for the Bahujan Samaj Party in 2007, the Samajwadi Party in 2012 (both Assembly elections) and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls here. But this time, they have de-

Chinese troops violate border in Arunachal ITANAGAR/NEW DELHI: After the

Ladakh sector, Chinese troops came 45 km inside Indian territory in a remote area of Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month and built shelters to claim that the territory belonged to them, according to reports from the area. Initial reports from Anjaw district said more than 40 Chinese soldiers set up a temporary shelter at ‘Plum post’, an area 45 km inside the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the district. Banner drill conducted Oicial sources said on Monday that the incursion was, however, detected by a joint patrol of the ITBP and Army on September nine after which a required banner drill was conducted. However, the Chinese troops were reluctant to leave the place and claimed that the territory belonged to

them, the sources said. The ‘Plum post’ has witnessed frequent incursion bids by the Chinese troops every year at least two to three times but it was for the first time that they entered the area, the sources said. Some of the Chinese troops left on September 13 and the others after India and China held a flag meeting on September 14 on the Chinese side, the sources said. In a bid to end the repeated incursions, the two sides would be meeting again on October one. Chinese troops have to travel through dense forests to reach ‘Plum post’ while Indian troops have a jeep track in larger areas and have to trek some distance to reach this post, the sources said. The Chinese troops had earlier entered Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh but were pushed back. — PTI

own parties, the SP and the BSP. They have shown their strength and others have joined them and helped them form governments. We may achieve nothing this time, but we have the potential for growth,” says Sajjan Nishad, who now sells fruit.

DETERMINED Villagers LOT: of Maghar in U.P.’s Khalilabad feel all parties have let them down. — PHOTO: SMITA GUPTA cided to vote for Dr. Sanjay Nishad’s brand new outfit, the Nishad Party. But surely the Nishad Party cannot hope to form a government in U.P., I ask. Pat comes the answer: “We have tried all the other parties and

KOZHIKODE: Some hard bar-

UNITED FOR A CAUSE: Soldiers from India and the U.S. take part in ‘Yudh Abhyas-2016’, a joint military training exercise to hone their skills in counter-terrorism operations at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand’s Ranikhet on Monday. — PHOTO: PTI

KOZHIKODE: The induction of

SHAH SHOW: BJP president Amit Shah gets a gift from Ilyas, an artist from Kannur, during the National Democratic Alliance meeting in Kozhikode on Monday. — PHOTO: K. RAGESH NDA convener also comes close on the heels of the SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan accusing the BJP of neglecting the BDJS. The NDA leaders said the BJP-led coalition would grow into an alternative force to take on the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala. The doors of the NDA were wide open and those opposing the UDF and LDF and were willing to work in tandem with the

NDA could join the new BJP coalition, Mr. Rajasekharan said. If Kerala Congress (Mani) was interested, that party too could join. However its leaders should make the first move, he said. The future programmes of the NDA would be decided at its maiden meeting in Kochi on October 6. District and booth-level committees would be formed by December, Mr. Rajasekharan said. P.K. Krishnadas and V. Muraleedharan (BJP), C.K. Janu (JRS), Rajan Babu (JSS)

none of them paid attention to us, so why not try a party that will exclusively look at our concerns,” says Halchal Nishad. The others nod in agreement. “Look at the Yadavs and the Jatavs: they have their

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP, representing Karnataka, in the NDA’s State unit as vice-chairman has come as a surprise for many in the BJP. “...Kerala’s politics needs a strong alternative. An alternative political front based on equitable development for all. The NDA with its rapidly growing vote share and popularity is that alternative and I am privileged to serve in it..,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said. — Special Correspondent were among those elected as co-conveners of NDA. The following are the other NDA State committee members: O. Rajagopal (BJP), M.M. Mehaboob (LJP); V.V. Rajendran (Socialist Janata), Kuruvilla Mathew (Socialist Kerala Congress); K.K.Ponnappan (Praja Socialist Party); R. Ponappan (JSS); B. Premanandan (NDP- Secular); B. Suresh Babu (BDJS); V. Gopakumar (BDJS); Sunil Thekkadan (ARS); Ahammed Thottathil ( Kerala Congress); and Kumar Das (JRS).

No surprise in PM’s move to ratify Paris deal: Minister JACOB KOSHY NEW DELHI: Prime Minister

Modi’s decision to ratify the Paris climate deal on October 2 was a “well considered and pre-planned decision,” Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Anil Dave told The Hindu. “There was no element of surprise in the Environment Ministry,” he stressed. On September 5, India’s official representative to the G20 Summit in Beijing, Arvind Panagariya had said India would not be able to ratify the climate deal by the year end because there were “domestic procedures” to be adhered to. As per procedures, the agreement does not need parliamentary approval, only that the copy of the deal be placed in Parliament. Opportune moment “There was no doubt that the climate deal would be ratified but we must do it at a time and place of our choosing and I think the PM’s choice of date is opportune,” Mr Dave added, speaking to

No evidence of cow slaughter by Akhlaq’s family: Police MOHAMMAD ALI MEERUT: Almost three months

after the Uttar Pradesh police booked the family of Mohammad Akhlaq from Bishahra village for cow slaughter, oicials investigating the case have concluded that there was no evidence to prove that a cow was ever slaughtered by Akhlaq and his family. According to highly placed sources in the U.P. police, investigations in the case, conducted over two months, have not yielded any proof. The police is likely to close the case and file a closure report in the Surajpur Court. In July, the court had ordered an FIR against Akhlaq, his family and his younger brother Jan Mohammad and his daughter-in-law under the U.P. Cow Slaughter Act, 1955. CM YK

Akhlaq Ahmed Saifi or Mohammad Akhlaq was brutally beaten and lynched by his neighbours in Bishahra village in Dadri on September 28, 2015 over rumours that he and his family had stored and eaten beef. Claims of villager According to the complaint of one Surajpal, a resident of Bishahra, on Eid (September 25, 2015) around 12:30 p.m., Prem Singh, another villager, heard the scream of a calf from the house of Akhlaq’s brother. Prem Singh is said to have witnessed Akhlaq, his mother Asgari, his wife Ikraman, his son Danish and his daughter Sayasta holding the calf, which was lying on the floor. Akhlaq’s brother Jaan Mohammad then slaughtered the calf with a knife. Police later registered

Mohammad Akhlaq’s house in Dadri. — FILE PHOTO: PRASHANT NAKWE the statement of Surajpal. However, no evidence was found by the forensic team to establish the alleged cow slaughter even after several visits to the village and the alleged site of the cow slaughter, Jan Mohammad’s house. “The forensic team collected the soil but no element of animal blood was found in the entire area,” said a police oicial in Jarcha po-

lice station where the case was registered on July 15. According to the Circle Oicer of the area, Anurag Singh, the police also did not find knives and other implements which could establish that a cow was slaughtered on the spot. “There is no credible evidence in this case which takes us towards the side of arrest or charge sheet. Had there

Can make a diference Indeed, the Nishads – along with the associated castes of Mallahs, Kewats and Binds, who also live along the rivers and are boatmen — could make a diference in about 70 of the 403 Assembly segments, says Dr. Sanjay Nishad. Using this numerical strength, he says, he hopes – along with electoral partners Peace Party, led by Dr. Ayub, and the Mahan Dal, led by Keshav Dev Maurya – he can make a dent in the traditional

vote banks of the bigger parties in 2017. The Nishad Party was formed on April 28, 2015 but has hit the headlines several times since then: there have been massive rallies across the state, and there has been the agitation it has led to secure five per cent of the SC quota for the Nishads. Earlier, the Nishads were classified as OBC in the State list, but then the SP government moved them to the SC grouping. But, with the better of SCs cornering the quota, the community has now asked for a defined share. In 2017, if the Nishads across the State follow their brethren in Maghar, the older parties in U.P. will have to redo their electoral maths, as the Nishad Party — along with its allies — could emerge as a spoiler.

Trial by fire

A surprise induction

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

BDJS gets convener post BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan will be the unit’s chairman and BDJS president Thushar Vellappally, convener. Kerala Congress president P.C. Thomas will be NDA’s representative from the State in the national committee. The constitution of the NDA State committee was in connection with the decision taken by the three-day national council meeting of the BJP in Kozhikode to strengthen the NDA State units. The appointment of Mr. Thushar Vellappally as

THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Nishads may play spoiler in U.P. elections

NDA constitutes its unit in Kerala gaining by the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) and the Janadhipathya Rashtriya Sabha (JRS) seems to have paid of with the oicial formation of the State unit of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). This was decided at meeting of political parties that had an electoral tie-up with the BJP in the Assembly polls. The meeting was chaired by BJP national president Amit Shah on Monday.

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been even one solid shred of proof, we would have filed the charge sheet,” Mr Singh told The Hindu. He said for the U.P. Cow Slaughter Prevention Act, 1955, to be slapped and proven, it was important that the police recovers the knives used in slaughtering the cow, the blood, carcass and meat of the cow, among other things. “But there is no knife in this case and neither was there any carcass or meat seized from the spot of the crime,” he added. The members of the investigative team said that the police was preparing the closure report after through investigation so that no loopholes could be pointed out by the complainants in the case. Besides, the police also highlighted strong inconsistencies in the complaint.

“There are big loopholes in the version claimed by Surajpal. I do not want to highlight it to the media but we would make it part of the closure report,” said the police oicer who is part of investigating team in this case. Akhlaq’s family had approached the Allahabad High Court to quash the cow slaughter FIR. The case was being heard and the court stayed any possible arrest of the family in the case till the conclusion of probe. The family had also alleged that a fabricated case of cow slaughter was registered only to pressurise the victims and neutralise Akhlaq’s murder case in which 18 accused, including Vishal Rana, son of local BJP leader Sanjay Rana, were arrested. Framing of charges in the murder case is scheduled later his month.

Anil Dave The Hindu over the phone. “This agreement will be ratified only when 55 countries sign it. On October 2, we will ratify it. Mahatma Gandhi’s life perhaps left the least carbon footprint on earth. We follow his ideals and India will play its part in ratifying the Paris agreement,” Mr Modi said on Sunday at Kozhikode at the BJP’s national council meet. The agreement would come into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the United Nations Secretary-General.

So far 60 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification for the agreement, representing more than 47.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. On September 16, the European Union (EU), which is responsible for 10 per cent of global emissions, too committed to have all its members’ ratification of the deal in October. Thus, had India not acceded to the pact, the Paris agreement would still be on track with India — responsible for 6.9 per cent of emissions — sticking out as a spoil-sport. India’s commitment India has committed to reducing its emissions intensity by 33-35 per cent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels and relying on 175,000 MW, 57 per cent of which is expected to come from solar energy. It has also ofered to rapidly increase its forest cover so that an additional carbon sink of about 2.5 to three billion tonnes is created by the year 2030.

Army in ‘operational readiness’ along LoC NEW DELHI: The Army has re-

calibrated its tactics along the LoC over the past few days and has achieved a “dynamic” operational posture, allowing it to exercise various “military options at a short notice”, defence sources said on Monday. They said the Army is in high “operational readiness”, a development following the Uri attack in which 18 soldiers were killed. “We have achieved an operational posture which will allow us to exercise various military options at a short notice,” the sources said. Troop positions along the LoC have been reinforced and gun positions “moved”. The posture remains dynamic, which means it keeps changing, the sources said. They said that various op-

Army soldiers on high alert near the Line of Control in north Kashmir. tions have been looked at and discussed at the highest level. Pakistan has closed its airspace over Pak-occupied Kashmir without giving any reasons. — PTI ND-ND

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URI AFTERMATH

River Sutra: Stay within treaty but use India’s rights fully Union government has decided to set up an inter-ministerial committee to study India’s further options on Indus waters by looking at storage possibilities SUHASINI HAIDAR KALLOL BHATTACHERJEE NEW DELHI: The Union gov-

ernment has decided to set up an inter-ministerial committee to study India’s further options on the Indus Waters Treaty. The decision came during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-level meeting to review the treaty following the attack on Uri. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, Water Resources Secretary Shashi Shekhar, and senior PMO oicials were present at the meeting. Among the committee’s tasks would be to look at storage possibilities that would help irrigate fields in Jammu and Kashmir, where the State Assembly has often complained about the treaty being “unfair”. At present, India has access to the use of three “eastern” rivers of the Indus — the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — while it is allowed limited use of about 20 per cent of the three ‘western’ rivers — the Indus (Sindhu), Chenab and Jhelum. More hydel projects The government also decided to build more run-ofthe-river hydropower projects on western rivers, to exploit the full potential of 18,600 MW (current projects come to 11,406 MW) and to expedite construction of the Pakal Dul, Sawalkot and Bursar dams in J&K, oicial sources said. A decision was taken to review restarting the Tulbul navigation project that India had suspended after Pakistan’s objections in 1987. Earlier in the day, Mr. Modi referred to “water wars” as a serious concern

when addressing scientists of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research. “Concerns over water security are brewing. Some say that there will be wars between countries over water,” adding that scientists must come up with solutions to ensure that water can be used more eiciently and land used better to improve crop varieties. Asked if the decisions taken could trigger a protest or a case filed by Pakistan, sources underlined that no decision taken on Monday contravened the existing treaty. “What was decided today is that India must use to the

Friendship repaid with terror: Sushma VARGHESE K. GEORGE UNITED NATIONS: External

Afairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday placed India on the right side of the climate change debate and SDG, before she launched the criticism of Pakistan at the United Nations. She strategically emphasised India’s continuing willingness to engage its neighbour in dialogue — addressing another key concern of the Obama administration. “We took the initiative to resolve issues not on the basis of conditions, but on the basis of friendship! We have, in fact, attempted a paradigm of friendship in the last two years which is without precedent,” she said, rejecting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s charge that India was setting preconditions for talks. “We conveyed Eid greetings to the Prime Minister of Pakistan,

‘Some say that there will be wars between countries over water,’ the Prime Minister said fullest its rights under the Indus Water Treaty. If you are asking me if we are afraid of following the law because someone might challenge us, the answer is no,” a senior oicial said. In the wake of the Uri attack in which 18 soldiers were killed at an army base close to the LoC by suspected Pakistani militants, several experts have demanded that India withdraw from the Indus Waters Treaty whose terms are considered generous to Pakistan. “Suspension of talks is more symbolic and not substantive,” said Brahma Chellaney of the Centre for Policy Research about the measures taken on Monday. “This is not first time that the talks have been suspended. In the past, following the conflicts the talks were suspended. But nevertheless, a welcome step." (With Jacob Koshy)

Bahadur Ali is a ‘living proof’ of Pakistani hand, U.N. told SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: In her address at the

United Nations General Assembly, External Afairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday mentioned the name of alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Bahadur Ali arrested in Kashmir two

Congress demands special Parliament session on Uri

months ago, as a living proof of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan. “Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan’s complicity in crossborder terror. But when confronted with such evidence, Pakistan remains in denial. It

6 suspected JMB operatives held STAFF REPORTER KOLKATA: Six suspected oper-

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Congress on

Monday demanded a special two-day session of Parliament to discuss the killing of Indian soldiers at Uri and to pass a resolution declaring Pakistan a terrorist state. Party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the Modi government should impose economic sanctions against Pakistan and withdraw the MFN (most favoured nation) status given to it in matters of trade. “It is nine days since the Uri attack,” Mr. Singhvi said, “and the government is looking weak. Our national security is under serious threat and everyone wants serious

action, not just strong statements. Aimless political strategy cannot be a synonym for strategic restraint. Strategic ambiguity is not a strategic response.” He asked for political and administrative accountability to be fixed for the tragic episode. Incidents such as those in Pathankot and Uri had not happened in over two decades. The intelligence and security measures adopted after the Mumbai attack in 2008 had been diluted by the government. On the Indus Water Treaty, Mr. Singhvi said it was up to the government to calibrate action. The pact was another element in the multi-pronged, multi-

faceted approach against Pakistan. “It is ultimately for the government to calibrate and it does not necessarily start from abrogation, though let me remind you that Article 62 of the Vienna Convention provides for such withdrawal,” he said. Short of withdrawal, there were “many other methodologies and methods” available to the government. Citing an example, he said India could construct more dams, allowed under the treaty. He said he was not making any suggestions or demands. “All I can say is that we cannot be a silent spectator to the muscular jingoism every day with no action on the ground.”

Death of youngsters is unfortunate, J&K tells SC

A supporter of the pro-India Awami Ittihad Party is detained in Srinagar on Monday during a protest demanding a plebiscite. — PHOTO: REUTERS NEW DELHI: Terming the death

of youngsters in the ongoing disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir unfortunate, the State government told the Supreme Court on Monday that the death of a 26-yearold in July was caused by pellet injuries. Abdul Rehman Mir had alleged that his son Shabir Ahmad Mir was shot by the police at his home at point blank range on July 10. The police, however, said he died during protests in the Valley. CM YK

Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi told a Bench of Justices P.C. Ghose and Amitava Roy that the postmortem report belied the father’s claim. “It’s an unfortunate incident. We are not treating it as an adversarial litigation. It is unfortunate that young people are dying in disturbances in the State,” Mr. Rohatgi said. The Bench posted the matter for further hearing on November 23. On August 12, the court

wished success to his cricket team, extended good wishes for his health and well-being. Did all this come with pre-conditions attached?” she said. According to her, while the Modi government has sought to open a new chapter with Pakistan, all that it got in return was a series of terrorist attacks. Linking India’s sufering due to terrorism to similar events in other countries, including bomb blasts in New York recently, she said defeating terrorism “is not an impossible task provided we have the will.” The Minister pointed out that some nations were not joining the global eforts to combat terrorism. U.N.designated terrorists “roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity,” in such places.

ordered exhumation and autopsy under the supervision of the District and Sessions Judge. Mr. Rohatgi had assured the court that the probe would have the highest level of transparency and the authorities would leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of the case. The apex court observed that it was a serious matter and such a situation should be handled humanely and with extreme sensitivity.— PTI

atives of the Jammat–Ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB), have been arrested by the Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police. Five were arrested on Monday and one was held on Saturday. Four of them are wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the 2014 Bardhaman blast case. “They were apparently planning subversive activities either in the NorthEastern States or in South India,” Joint Commissioner of Police (STF) Vishal Garg told presspersons. One of them, Anwar Hossain Faruk, is the head of the JMB’s West Bengal unit and another, Moulana Yusuf, is his second-in-command. Hossain hails from Bangladesh. “Yusuf is also the chief motivator of the JMB in Bengal and used to oversee the Madrasas where training was given,” Mr. Garg said. As for the remaining, Sahidul Islam, who hails from Assam, is the head of the JMB in the North-eastern States, while Mohammad Rubel from Jamalpur in Bangladesh and Abul Kalam from Assam are trained in making IEDs. The last operative, Jahildul Islam, is also from Assam. The police seized fake ID papers, 2 kg of a white powder, detonators, wire cutters, batteries, Indian and Bangladeshi currency, a laptop, books on chemicals and circuits and a few memory cards. “The white powder could be some kind of explosive. We will send it for forensic tests,” Mr. Garg said. The police said Moulana Yusuf, Sahidul Islam, Abul Kalam and Jahidul Islam were wanted by the NIA in the Bardhaman blast case. “We have filed four charge sheets so far in the Bardhaman blast case and 30 accused have been named,” an NIA source told The Hindu. Twenty of them have been arrested and 10 are absconding. No one has been granted bail so far.” He said five more were now wanted by the NIA.

persists in the belief that such attacks will enable it to obtain the territory it covets,” the Minister said. Ali, a resident of Lahore, was arrested by the local police in North Kashmir’s Kupwara following a tipof from local people on July 25.

In an unprecedented move, the National Investigation Agency had last month released a videographed “confession” of the Pakistani national to prove that terror camps were being run in Pakistan and that he had been sent to Kashmir to foment un-

rest. Based on Ali’s statement, the National Investigation Agency said LeT had been sending its cadres with the help of Pakistani security forces to fuel large-scale agitation in Kashmir. During interrogation, Ali purportedly told the

agency that, to take advantage of the unrest in Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani, he and other terrorists had been instructed to mix with protesting crowds and lob grenades on Indian security forces.

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Syrian jets continue to pound Aleppo At emergency UNSC meet, Russia is accused of ‘barbarism’ at for aiding Damascus in air strikes ALEPPO: Residents of Syria’s

HEMPSTEAD

(NEW

YORK):

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump were to face of for the first time on Monday in a presidential debate that could rank as one of the most watched and highly anticipated political showdowns in U.S. history. The tight race for the White House and the unpredictable clash in styles between well-known but polarising foes had generated wide interest. The size of the televisionviewing audience was expected to challenge the presidential debate record of 80 million who watched the 1980 encounter between Democratic President Jimmy Carter and Republican Ronald Reagan. Both Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton, who polls show are the least liked White House candidates in modern history, were hoping to use the debate to erase lingering voter doubts and address campaign-trail weaknesses. The debate came as polls showed Ms. Clinton’s once sizeable lead over Mr. Trump has evaporated. A Reuters/ Ipsos poll released on Monday showed half of America’s likely voters would rely on the debates to help them make their choice. More than half, 61 per cent, were hoping for a civil debate and were not interested in the bitterness shown on the campaign trail. Ms. Clinton’s camp has done its best to raise the bar for Mr. Trump, and in television interviews on Monday both campaigns tried to frame expectations. “What we don’t want to have is some sort of double standard where Donald Trump can get the most improved award but Hillary Clinton ... is getting judged on the fine points of policy,” said Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook , calling Mr. Trump “an entertainer”. — Reuters

Pak.-origin actor apologises for anti-India tweets LONDON: A Pakistan-born U.K.

actor apologised Monday for using “unacceptable language” about Indians, which saw him fired from Britain's most popular TV soap. Marc Anwar (45) was sacked on Sunday from Coronation Street after The Sunday Mirror newspaper published screen-shots from his private Twitter account, which hit out at India over the Kashmir dispute. “I would like to ofer my sincerest apologies to anyone that I may have ofended with my tweets on Friday evening, and especially people from India,” he said in a video he uploaded to YouTube on Monday. “This was never my intention. The language was unacceptable. I feel I’ve let a lot of people down: my family, my friends and my former colleagues.” — AFP

POLARISING CLASH: Fans of Super bowl team Kansas City Chiefs wear masks of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during a game in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday. — PHOTO: AFP

‘Hindu community has made fantastic contributions’ WASHINGTON: Donald Trump

praised Hindu community’s “fantastic” contributions to world civilisation and American culture. Mr. Trump also confirmed that he would be addressing an Indian-American event in New Jersey next month, the proceeds of which will benefit global victims of Islamic terror. “The Hindu community has made fantastic contributions to world civilisation and to American culture and we look

Trump unfit to be President: Media houses WASHINGTON: Donald Trump

should not be elected as the next U.S. President as he is “unfit” for the post and makes “crude generalisations” about nations and religions, two of America’s most influential newspapers have said in their editorials. Editorial boards of The Washington Post and The New York Times made a strong case that Mr.

HOUSTON: A troubled lawyer

CM YK

ATUL ANEJA BEIJING: China on Monday said it was not aware of the remarks reported in the Pakistani media, attributed to its Consul General in Lahore, that Beijing will support Islamabad in case of “any foreign aggression”. “I am not aware of the situation you mentioned,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, when asked to comment on the reported remarks.

Envoy’s remarks in Pak. In Pakistan, a statement by the Punjab Chief Minister’s oice quoted Yu Boren, China’s top diplomat in Lahore as saying that, “In case of any [foreign] aggression our country will extend its full

The suspect, a lawyer, is shot dead by police; he had issues with the law firm where he worked

opened fire on morning commuters in Houston on Monday, injuring at least nine people before being fatally shot by police, authorities said. Six victims were taken to hospitals and three were treated at the scene after being shot at while inside their vehicles in the wealthy neighbourhood of West University Place, acting Houston Police Chief Martha Montalvo told reporters. Troubled lawyer One of the victims was in critical condition and another was in serious condition. Ms. Montalvo declined to identify the suspect but said he was a lawyer and had concerns about his law firm. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, in Cuba on a trip to develop trade relations, told reporters, “The motivation appears to be a lawyer whose rela-

CALAIS

Relocation of migrants France plans to relocate the migrants in small groups around the country but Right-wing opponents of the Socialist leader are raising the heat ahead of the election in April, accusing him of mismanaging a problem that is ultimately a British one. The migrants want to enter Britain, but the govern-

Trump should not be elected as the President. “It is beyond debate that Donald Trump is unfit to be President,” said The Washington Post, while The New York Times argued the case in its lead editorial ‘Why Donald Trump should not be President’ A day earlier, NYT had endorsed Hillary Clinton to be the next President of the U.S. — PTI

Police investigate the suspect’s car in Houston on Monday. — PHOTO: AP tionship with his law firm went bad.” The police bomb squad was securing the suspect’s car, which had numerous weapons in it and police were planning to search his house.

REDUCED TO RUBBLE: A Syrian boy rides a bicycle past destroyed buildings in the rebel-held town of Douma. — PHOTO: AFP tricts, Al-Mashhad and Sayf al-Dawla, and sparked large fires, the AFP correspondent said. It was the fourth day of intense air raids on the city since a defiant Syrian regime launched a new assault vowing to retake all of Aleppo following the collapse early last week of a short-lived

128 dead since Thursday The Observatory said Monday that at least 128 people, nearly all civilians, had been killed in Syrian and Russian raids on eastern Aleppo since late Thursday. A Syrian military source

Broken glass from shattered car windows littered a parking lot in an upscale shopping center near where the suspect fired 20 to 30 shots. An unidentified woman, standing next to a car with two bullet holes in the windshield, told a local television station she heard “the bullets literally whiz by my window.” Live video streams showed numerous police cars and ambulances in the area. There were also a few vehicles seen with bullet holes. Oicials in the region asked residents in the area to “shelter in place”. — Reuters

Sharif on Friday. The statement also said the Mr. Yu had conveyed to the Punjab Chief Minister that the “aspirations” of the Kashmiri’s should be taken into account in resolving the Kashmir issue — a definite shift in Beijing’s position which has made bilateral negotiations between India and Pakistan the cornerstone of its position on the dispute. “We’re and will be siding with Pakistan on Kashmir issue...There is no justification for atrocities on unarmed Geng Shuang, spokesperson Kashmiris... and the Kashmir of China’s foreign ministry. dispute should be solved in accordance with aspirations support to Pakistan.” Pakistani daily Dawn repor- of the Kashmiris,” Mr. Yu ted that Beijing had con- was quoted as saying. But on Monday, the veyed the message during Mr. Yu’s meeting with Pun- Chinese foreign ministry rejab Chief Minister Shahbaz iterated that a bilateral dia-

Monday slapped a media blackout on the murder of a Christian writer who was gunned down outside an Amman court where he faced charges over an antiIslam cartoon. The information ministry said the aim was to preserve “the secrecy of the investigation” and that the blackout applied to both social and traditional media. Nahed Hattar was hit by three bullets before the alleged assassin was arrested at the scene of Sunday’s shooting in Amman’s central Abdali district, oicial media said. The gunman, identified as a 49-year-old Jordanian, gave himself up to police, a security source said. A judicial source said on Sunday that the assailant was remanded for 15 days and charged with premeditated

CALL FOR INCLUSION: Children hold banners that read ‘Peace and education for every child in this world’, during an anti-racist rally in Oraiokastro, Greece. — PHOTO: NYT diferences, they said, might disrupt learning. Last week, an association representing the parents of schoolchildren in the small town of Filippiada in western Greece sent a letter to local authorities and the Education Ministry, saying “explicitly and categorically, that

logue between New Delhi and Islamabad should be the way forward in resolving the Kashmir issue. “China’s position on the relevant issue is consistent and clear. As neighbour and friend to both Pakistan and India we hope the two countries will properly address their diferences through dialogue and consultation, manage and control the situation and jointly work for peace and stability of South Asia and the growth of the region,” Mr. Geng observed. The Chinese foreign ministry has not deviated from its position that India and Pakistan should talk directly to resolve their diferences, following the recent flare-up in India-Pakistan tensions.

AMMAN: Jordan’s judiciary on

CALL FOR JUSTICE: A protester with a picture of Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar, during a sit-in on Monday. — PHOTO: REUTERS murder, meaning that he could face the death penalty if convicted. The suspect had acted alone and was not linked to any “terrorist” group, a source close to his interrogation said, asking not to be named. Hattar faced charges over a cartoon posted on his Facebook page.

Greeks enraged over plans to let migrant children attend school ORAIOKASTRO (GREECE): Mariya bint Loqman Abdlkarim is 9. She arrived in Greece in February after fleeing Syria with her family and crossing from Turkey in a rickety boat. Since then she has been living in a shabby state-run camp, her future uncertain, her present reduced to the bare necessities. Not long ago the Greek government decided to give her a shot at something closer to a normal life: Along with 22,000 other refugee children, she would be allowed to attend public school starting in October. But as with many aspects of Europe’s efort to cope with the huge numbers of migrants who have come to its shores, the plan quickly ran into intense opposition, in this case from parents in a number of communities near camps in northern Greece. The refugee children, the parents said, might have contagious diseases. Cultural

told AFP regime forces had no intention of letting up on rebel-held areas. “The air force will bomb any terrorist movements, this is an irreversible decision,” the source said, reiterating that the regime’s goal was to “recapture all regions of Syria” outside its control. With Aleppo back under

Jordan imposes media blackout following murder of writer

NIKI KITSANTONIS

French President Francois Hollande. — PHOTO: AFP ment in London argues that migrants seeking asylum need to do so under European Union (EU) law in the country where they enter. Immigration was one of the main drivers of Britain’s vote this year to leave the EU. It is also likely to be major factor in France’s presidential election. Mr. Hollande bluntly reminded Britain of that, saying that he expected London to fully honour agreements on managing a flow of migrants. — Reuters

ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States.

‘Our stance on Kashmir is unchanged’

9 injured in Texas shooting

‘Calais camp will be closed by year-end’ (FRANCE): President Francois Hollande said on Monday that France will completely shut down “the Jungle” migrant camp in Calais by year-end and called on London to help deal with the plight of thousands of people whose dream is ultimately to get to Britain. “The situation is unacceptable and everyone here knows it,” Mr. Hollande said on a visit to the northern port city where as many as 10,000 migrants from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan live in squalor. “We must dismantle the camp completely and definitively,” he said.

forward to celebrating our shared values of free enterprise, hard work, family values, and a strong American foreign policy,” Mr. Trump said. He issued a short 24-second video message inviting Indian-Americans to attend the “incredible” event on October 15. According to the Trump Campaign, the event will bring together top actors and singers, Hindu spiritual and civic leaders for a celebration of Hindu culture and heritage. — PTI

battered city of Aleppo faced worsening food and medical shortages on Monday as Syrian and Russian war-planes again pounded rebel-held areas in defiance of international concern. A fresh wave of intensive air strikes hit the city’s opposition-controlled east from dawn on Monday, an AFP correspondent in the city said, on the morning after Moscow and Damascus were repeatedly accused of war crimes at the UN Security Council. The emergency council meeting, called by Britain, France and the United States, saw Russia accused of “barbarism” over the worsening carnage in Aleppo. Yet, the worst violence to hit the divided city in years continued on Monday and residents warned that stores of food and vital medical supplies were dwindling to nothing. The strikes from dawn on Monday were particularly heavy on two rebel-held dis-

we will not accept, under any circumstance and without any compromise that the children of so-called irregular immigrants” attend local schools, referring to migrants entering the country illegally. “They come from another continent with completely diferent diseases and

health conditions,” the letter said, adding that the refugees have a “diferent outlook regarding the role of the family, of women, of religion.” Their presence would “alter the Greek character of the schools,” the letter said, adding that “we will not allow religious fanaticism.” Earlier in September, the parents’ association of two schools in the town of Oraiokastro in northern Greece threatened to occupy the school grounds in protest if refugees from a nearby state-run facility were allowed to join classes. A few days earlier, the Mayor had called on residents to take the law into their own hands amid rumours that some refugees were moving into houses in the area. The parents’ announcements and a video of the Mayor’s suggestion that residents “intervene” triggered a public outcry and a storm of angry reactions on social media. — New York Times News Service

Also, protesters called on Monday for Jordan’s government to resign over its failure to prevent the murder. Hattar’s family has so far refused to collect his body for burial, charging that authorities were warned of threats to his life and had failed to act. — AFP

siege since regime forces again fully surrounded the city in early September, residents were having to deal with food shortages and skyrocketing prices as well as intensifying violence. At the Security Council meeting, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power voiced strong criticism of Russia’s support for President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. “What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism,” she said. “It is diicult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes,” said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft. Moscow hit back at the U.S.’s accusations on Monday, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denouncing “the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations”. — AFP

2,000 encounter killings by Pak. police last year, says HRW Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused Pakistan’s police of routinely carrying out extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests, and called on Islamabad to implement urgent reforms of its underresourced forces. The findings were contained in a new report based on interviews with more than 30 police oicers and 50 victims or witnesses of abuse across three of the country’s four Provinces. In addition to noting habitual rights violations — including more than 2,000 so-called “encounter” killings in 2015, which are often believed to have been staged — the report said police often found themselves in thrall to powerful individuals who subvert the law for their own purposes. “Pakistan faces grave security challenges that can be best handled by a rights-respecting, accountable police force,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. In the biggest city Karachi, encounter killings have surged since 2013 as paramilitary forces and police have stepped up raids against Taliban militants, criminals and armed political activists. The term is used to describe staged confrontations. The report found that those from marginalised groups — refugees, the poor, religious minorities, and the landless — are at particular risk. In addition to being on the front-line of the country’s battle against homegrown Islamist terror, Pakistan’s police forces contend with high-levels of organised crime, including kidnappings and drug traicking. — AFP

ISLAMABAD:

2 seriously wounded in Paris shooting

PARIS: A police official says

two people have been seriously wounded in a shooting outside a supermarket west of Paris. The shooter, a man in his 70s, holed up in his apartment after the shooting

at a Super U store in the town of Le Port-Marly, the official said. Special police intervention units surrounded the area, and the man quickly turned himself in, the official said. The official said the shooting on Monday was the result of a private dispute and had nothing to do with terrorism. France remains on high alert after recent extremist attacks. — AP

‘Ahmadinejad won’t stand for re-election’ DUBAI: Iran’s Supreme Leader

has told former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to stand again in next year’s elections, state media reported on Monday, effectively eliminating a major challenger to pragmatist incumbent Hassan Rouhani. “He [Ahmadinejad] came to me and I told him not to stand as I think it is not in his interest and that of the country,” Mr. Khamenei was quoted as saying. Rouhani's popularity

surged after last year's deal with world powers that lifted most sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. — Reuters ND-ND

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BUSINESS

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

GST will help in calculating the country’s GDP in a better way TCA Anant, Chief Statistician of India

BRIEFLY Suven Life gets two CNS product patents HYDERABAD: Suven Life Sciences

Ltd has secured a product patent each from India and Japan corresponding to the New Chemical Entities for treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Parkinson and Schizophrenia. These patents are valid through 2026 and 2032 respectively, the company said. With these, Suven has 19 granted patents each from India and Japan. CEO Venkat Jasti said the grant of these patents adds to Suven’s pipeline of molecules in the CNS arena. — Special Correspondent

TRAI to issue notice to telcos over call failures NEW DELHI: As the row between

incumbents such as Bharti Airtel and new entrant Reliance Jio escalated, telecom regulator TRAI on Monday stepped in saying it would slap show-cause notices on operators for call drops that far exceed the norm. With Jio charging incumbent operators of providing fewer points of interconnection than needed for its users to complete calls on rival networks, TRAI Chairman R.S. Sharma said the regulator would issue show cause notices. “We have received the data. It shows call failure level is far in excess of the prescribed limit under Quality of Service rules. — PTI

Vodafone offers 9 GB free on 1 GB plan MUMBAI: Vodafone India, which got equity infusion of Rs.47,700 crore from its parent Vodafone Plc. last week, has announced its offer of 9 GB additional data for subscribers to the 1 GB data plan. This comes after new player Reliance Jio started offering free voice and data till December 31, 2016. Vodafone India said that the extra 9 GB offer can be availed of by both pre-paid and post-paid customers till December 31, 2016. Sandeep Kataria, Director, Vodafone India said, “We are encouraging new 4G handset users to enjoy the Vodafone SuperNet experience.” — Special Correspondent

Pfizer seals Rs.110-crore deal with Piramal

SENSEX

GOLD

RUPEE

BRENT OIL

26-09-2016 28,294 23-09-2016 28,667

26-09-2016 31,520 24-09-2016 31,600

26-09-2016 66.61 23-09-2016 66.65

26-09-2016 47.59 23-09-2016 47.51

373 points

CMD sent packing four days short of his retirement an executive director with Bank of India, took charge on Monday. Mr. Marathe has been given a term of a little more than two years at Bank of Maharashtra, with his appointment set to run till November 30, 2018, when he is scheduled to retire after attaining the age of 60.

MANOJIT SAHA VIKAS DHOOT MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: In an unpre-

Explanation sought Earlier this year, the finance ministry is reported to have served a show-cause

Sushil Muhnot

New Chief Executive Ravindra Marathe, who was an ED with Bank of India, took charge on Monday notice to Mr. Muhnot asking him to explain why he should not be terminated from service for an allegedly occupying two houses. Mr. Muhnot told The Hindu he was yet to take a decision on his future course of action. “Let’s see. Nothing as yet,” he said, when asked if he planned to file a legal challenge. The new chief executive oicer Mr. Marathe, who was

Women in senior roles help spur more profit SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Companies with greater participation of women in decision-making roles generate higher market returns and superior profits, a Credit Suisse Research Institute report has said. “The higher the percentage of women in top management, the greater the excess returns,” said the CS Gender 3000 report which evaluated 27,000 senior managers at more than 3,000 companies globally. “From year-end 2013 to mid-2016, the ‘out-performance’ of companies with

MUMBAI:

women in 25 per cent of senior positions is a CAGR of 2.8 per cent,” the report said. Companies which with women in 50 per cent of decision-making roles had a CAGR of 10.3 per cent. This compares with the 1 per cent annual decline for the MSCI ACWI (a measure of equity market performance) in the same period. India saw a decline in management diversity to 7.2 per cent (7.8 in 2014). India is the second-lowest in AsiaPacific for female representation at a senior management level, behind Japan and South Korea (both at 2.3%).

NPA woes Like many other public sector banks, the Pune-based lender is also reeling under the pressure of non-performing assets. It reported a loss of Rs.397.4 crore in the first quarter ended June 30 on account of bad loans. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans rose to 12.6 per cent of gross advances as of June 2016, from 7.86 per cent a year earlier. The government holds 81.6 per cent stake in the lender. In September 2014, the government had terminated the services of S.K. Jain, the then chairman and managing director of Manipalbased public sector lender, Syndicate Bank after he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation over graft charges.

Exchange Rates Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m on September 26

Currencies U.S. Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Jap Yen (100 Units) Chinese Yuan Swiss Franc Singapore Dollar Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swedish Kroner Danish Kroner New Zealand Dollar Hongkong Dollar Malaysian Ringgit Kuwaiti Dinar UAE Dirham Bahraini Dinar Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal Omani Riyal

TT TT Buying Selling 66.40 66.72 74.72 75.08 85.87 86.29 66.09 66.41 9.95 10.00 68.55 68.89 48.81 49.05 50.66 50.91 50.38 50.63 7.78 7.82 10.02 10.07 48.19 48.44 8.56 8.60 16.05 16.15 219.87 222.40 18.08 18.16 176.03 176.98 18.29 18.29 17.76 17.77 172.38 173.30

K.D. Diwan

Hind Copper eyes revenue from Rajasthan plant SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KOLKATA: The public sector

Hindustan Copper Ltd is aiming to double its production of copper at its plant, at Jhagadia in Gujarat, which it had bought from ARCIL in May 2015, according to its chairman-cummanaging director K.D. Diwan. It is also planning to invest up to Rs,2,200 crore for harnessing new technology. “We hope to achieve the rated capacity of 50,000 tonnes in this project next year,” he said, adding that 25,000 tonnes of LME grade copper was produced at this plant, which HCL had bought for Rs.210 crore. “We have invested Rs.100 crore in this plant which has been closed since 2009, and expect to start revenue generation by FY18,” he said. Mr. Dewan said that HCL had short-listed a company each from China and Finland for sourcing new technology, to process copper concentrate in producing refined metal.

The Ocean Warrior, the new patrol ship belonging to the Sea FRAGILE CONTINENT: Shepherd Conservation Society, prepares to head to sea before embarking on an environmental campaign in Antarctica. — AFP

Source:Indian Bank

Bullion Rates September 26 rates in rupees with previous rates in brackets

Chennai Bar Silver (1 kg) Retail (1 g) 24 ct gold (10 g) 22 ct gold (1 g) Delhi Silver Standard gold Sovereign

46,685 50.00 31,880 2,981

(47,560) (50.90) (31,930) (2,985)

46,350 (46,500) 31,520 (31,600) 24,500 (24,400)

CM YK

Hero MotoCorp eyes premium market expansion

Tripe-E class While hailed as engineering feats, these mega-ships are now being blamed for contributing to the overcapacity glut plaguing the container industry, which saw its first major casualty with the August collapse of South Korea's Hanjin Shipping . The Triple-E class megaships ordered by Maersk's container arm in 2011 were almost 20 percent larger than the biggest vessels at the time and the economies of scale slashed shipping costs by up to 30 percent. But capacity growth out-

NEW DELHI: Hero MotoCorp,

SIZE STRIFE: Capacity growth outpaced trade, battering freight rates and company profits. — PHOTO: REUTERS

‘Self-inflicted crisis’ There are 45 vessels that can carry over 18,000 TEU currently sailing and another 76 are being built, with the largest able to carry 21,000 TEU, according to valuation firm VesselsValue.

“This is a crisis that is selfinflicted by the sector," said Olaf Merk, ports and shipping administrator at the International Transport Forum, a think tank that is part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. “It's become a competition about who has the largest (ships)... The fact is that they cannot fill the ships.” Akin to floating warehouses that can accommodate stacks of containers up to 22-feet (6.7 meters) high, these large ships trawl the shipping routes between Asia and Europe, transporting goods from toys to wine. The Majestic Maersk even has its own cinema and gym. Maersk's Danielsen said he did not think companies would stop building larger ships despite the overcapacity currently. “I am confident that before I get retired I will be on a ship that is 450-500 metres long.” — Reuters

0.08 $/bbl

ADVANCE PLANNING: Bringing forward the Budget will help ministries begin disbursal of funds from April 1. — FILE PHOTO extensive consultations with the financial advisers of various ministries and departments and the revised calendar has been drawn up,” Economic Afairs Shaktikanta Das told reporters last week. “There is a state of preparedness already in place.” The decision to change the Budget date, and correspondingly the dates of the Budget session of Parliament, does not require Parliamentary approval, according to M.R. Madhavan, co-founder and current President of the think-tank PRS Legislative Research. “The decision to change the Budget date is a Cabinet decision,” Mr. Madhavan said. “The Cabinet advises the President and the President summons Parliament. The Parliament has no

the country’s largest twowheeler maker, on Monday rolled out the new Achiever 150 priced at Rs.61,800 onwards as it aims to expand presence in the premium segment. “As the dominant market leader in both 100cc and 125cc segments in the domestic market, we are now looking at expanding our presence in the premium segment as well and the New Achiever 150 is a move in that direction,” the company’s Chairman, MD and CEO, Pawan Munjal said. While the drum-brake variant of the bike is priced at Rs.61,800, the one with disc brakes will cost Rs 62,800 (ex-showroom Delhi). Hero MotoCorp, which dominates the 100 cc and 125 cc segments with about 65 per cent and 55 per cent market share respectively, plans to introduce more models in the premium segment. The motorcycle comes with new BSIV compliant engine with Hero’s patented i3S technology, the company said. Asked about festive season sales, Hero MotoCorp Head, Sales Marketing and Customer Care, Ashok Bhasin said the company has posted over 35 per cent growth during Onam festival, compared with the yearearlier period, and is expecting a good run during the rest of the year. Hero MotoCorp also introduced a limited edition version of Achiever 150 to commemorate the company’s cumulative production of 70 million units.

say on when it meets, the government decides that. This is very clear in the Constitution.” The government is also reported to be in talks with the Election Commission to make sure that the presentation of the Budget does not clash with the assembly elections that are due to be held next year in States including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The Ministry of Finance released the Budget circular for the 2017-18 Budget on September 23. The Cabinet had also approved the removal of the Plan and Non-Plan distinction in government accounts, something Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed in his Budget speech this year.

Bank Board names 9 for ED posts in lenders MUMBAI: The Bank Board Bur-

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

paced trade, battering freight rates and company profits. As of this spring, 7.4 percent of container ships worldwide have been idle, according to shipping industry data provider Alphaliner. The Majestic Maersk is no longer even among the top ten of the world's largest ships, overtaken by vessels owned by Switzerland's Mediterranean Shipping Co, China COSCO Holdings and the United Arab Shipping Company.

DELHI: The Finance Ministry has settled on February 1 as the new date for the presentation of the Union Budget, with the decision expected to be placed before the Cabinet for formal approval “soon”, a senior official of the Ministry told The Hindu. The Cabinet had last week approved the merger of the railway budget with the general budget and had given an in-principle nod for presenting the Budget earlier than February 28. “We have decided the date for the Budget to be February 1,” the Finance Ministry oicial, who did not wish to be identified, said. “The formal process of approval by the Cabinet will take place soon.” The idea behind bringing forward the Budget date, according to the government, is so that ministries and state governments can begin disbursing funds from the beginning of the financial year. At the moment, with the Budget being presented at the end of February, several processes, including the vote on account, result in states being able to disburse funds only by late May. Advancing the Budget date will allow them to release funds by April. “The Department (of Economic Afairs) has held

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SHANGHAI: For Captain Dick S.

These mega-ships are now being blamed for contributing to the overcapacity glut in the container industry

₨/$

NEW

All set for an Antarctic Campaign

Maersk’s mega-ship obscures cloudy future for shipping Danielsen, the childhood dream has been to sail the world's biggest ships. The Danish seaman got his chance three years ago when he was asked to helm the Majestic Maersk, a mammoth, baby blue-painted vessel that at 400 meters (1,312 feet) is longer than a nuclearpowered aircraft carrier. The ship can hold up to 18,270 twenty-foot (TEU) shipping containers and is owned by the world's largest container shipping firm, A.P. Moller-Maersk. “If you're going to be a captain and the company asks you, do you want to be on our biggest ship in the fleet, everybody would be proud. If they don't, then I think they're lying,” he told Reuters from his ship during a 24 hour-long stop in Shanghai's port last Saturday. Danielsen's dreams reflect the wider vision of his industry, whose firms are in the midst of a spending spree during the last few years to build the biggest ships.

0.04

TCA SHARAD RAGHAVAN

NEW DELHI: Drug-maker Pfizer on

Monday said it had completed the process of transferring four products to Mumbai-based Piramal Enterprises after getting necessary regulatory approvals. “Post completion of requisite formalities and receipt of necessary regulatory approvals for the transaction, the company has concluded the transaction. Accordingly, the aforementioned products stand transferred to Piramal Enterprises,” Pfizer said in a regulatory filing. In May this year, Piramal Enterprises had entered into an agreement to acquire four brands from Pfizer for a consideration of Rs.110 crore. — PTI

80

₨/10gms

Cabinet’s formal nod to be sought for Budget on Feb. 1

Centre sacks Bank of Maharashtra’s Muhnot cedented move, the Centre on Monday sacked Sushil Muhnot, chairman and managing director of Pune-based Bank of Maharashtra, four days short of his scheduled retirement, and appointed Ravindra Marathe as the state-owned lender’s new chief. Mr. Muhnot was appointed as the chairman of the bank in November 2013, and was scheduled to retire on September 30. “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (4) of clause 8 of the Nationalised Banks (Management and Miscellaneous Provisions) scheme 1970/1980, the Central government hereby removes Shri Sushil Muhnot from the post of chairman and managing director of Bank of Maharashtra with immediate efect,” the government order said. However, the government did not cite any reason for its action.

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KnowledgePhilic.com

eau (BBB) has recommended to the government the names of nine general managers for appointment as executive directors in diferent public sector banks. Fareed Ahmed, M.K. Bhattacharya, Atanu Das, P Ramana Murthy, D. Neelam, Ashok Pradhan, A.C. Rout, S. Hari Sankar and Swaminathan K are the oicials whose names have been recommended. These recommendations were based on the interac-

tion that the BBB had with eligible candidates for appointments “against existing and future vacancies of Executive Directors in the PSBs for the period 2016-17,” a statement from the BBB said. “The Government of India will subject the recommended candidates to the necessary due diligence process before it makes the final decision on appointments,” it added. The government had set up the BBB for the appointment of top executives in public sector banks. The Bureau started functioning from the beginning of the financial year.

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Rise and shine on Astronomy Day

An epidemic of heart failures

Look up and see the ever-changing panorama of the skies for a beautiful and becalming experience

DR. I. SATHYAMURTHY SAUMYA BALASUBRAMANIAN

It will be nice to be able to identify the constellations even if we don’t need them to navigate around

A

stronomy Day is a world-wide event observed twice a year, in spring and in fall. The next Astronomy Day this year is on October 8. There is something deeply becalming and beautiful about gazing up at the stars at the end of a long day. In some ways, it feels reassuring to be reminded that we are but a small part of the huge cosmos. It helps us puts our worries, anxieties and fears in perspective. If there is nothing for the children to enjoy in terms of nature, divert their attention to the ever-changing panorama of the skies and let them experience wonder, said Reverend James Woodforde, the 18th century parson, in The Diary of a Country Parson, when asked about children growing up in urban surroundings who don’t have the luxury of waddling through nature. Rev. Woodforde would be pleased indeed if he went on a walk with my toddler son. Once the stars are visible, the little fellow makes it a point to look up, his eyes filling up with wonder and questions bubbling up. His ardent older sister fans him along by pointing to the constellations and asking him to identify

ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN

some of them. The young astronomer accepts this great responsibility with grace. He then proceeds to point at Ursa Major and calls it Orion. Ursa Minor is christened Sirius, Jupiter is labelled Venus and the Moon remains the Moon. All this is done with immense confidence and joy, and the

Equal rights and some unequal music VASHIMA SHUBHA

“I’

m sure you’re not working for money. Why do you want a raise?” said my Chief Executive Oicer. For a moment I looked for shrewdness behind those words, but found none. “But sir, I have so many commitments,” I tried to explain. The kind man looked puzzled and asked what on earth those could be. Patiently I laid down my monthly expenses and told him about the EMIs, the rent, the child’s expenses, and so on. The next question was, if that is so, then what does your husband do with his money? I said, of course he meets his own expenses: pays the bills, EMIs, supports parents, and so on. He just shook his head and said he never ever let his working wife use her pay, and she is the one who still uses his credit card. “What’s wrong with your generation?” he sighed. I am in my 40s and at a stage in societal evolution where stories of woman’s empowerment are commonplace. Be it in sports, business, labour, academia, industry — they shine. Those who are not shining, thanks to the government’s focus on them, it is assumed or hoped that no girl will be left behind. Unequal measure And those remaining, who don’t fall into any category — neither shining nor beneficiaries — like me, are getting their equal share but in an unequal measure. How does this equality work? For the ‘she’ gender, there are changes in society — parents are supportive, she gets a good education, and employment opportunities are available for all skill sets and ambitions. Fathers dote on their daughters and indulge in her life with gusto. And she thrives. She blooms into a young woman with both style and substance. With some ups and downs she sails through this phase, and with each passing day grows stronger and more stable. Soon comes the next phase; it comes either by the laws of attraction or the norms of society, or simply due to the fear of the ticking biological clock. A double income is mostly welcome in conservative households too, and for some time after the marriage the glory of a working woman’s life continues. Dowry or gifts are often supplemented by her

In an equal world, there is hardly any place left today for the softness of the ‘she’ gender own income or in some cases both partners shoulder the alliance equally and enter the partnership. (I will not use the clichéd term ‘life partners’ here, and social trends point to an alarming trend of separations and single families.) Partnership marriages allows an equal stake and some are able to save themselves from the expected subservience of the woman in this relationship; many try to strike a balance. The turning point Her turning point comes with motherhood. Perhaps this is the first time her womanhood solely stands out. Her partner, her family, all get involved but the onus from that moment on is on her — to continue working or not, to lose control over her finances or not, to be able to utilise her skills or not, these are all her own questions. Based on her situation, she decides on one course of action and finds ways to manage it, in both cases (working or quitting) her dependence on others grows, and with the challenges of motherhood thrown in, a completely new woman emerges. She by now had a way of life but with a child in her lap, she is getting defined altogether diferently. The partnership deal demands that she take care of herself. Truth of life The fledgling baby is growing and each day she realises that the child needs her more than ever! As has often been heard, the guilt never leaves a mother – this becomes the truth of her life. As the wheel of time keeps rolling, her physical health faces slow and steady deterioration. Elders get older, requiring more attention; children grow with their demands on funds and time; and her own lifestyle and liabilities mount. If working, she reaches a level which demands her time and availability both to match with others at the workplace. At a personal level, in an equal world there is hardly any place left for the softness of the ‘she’ gender; her professional, personal and emotional needs are all lost in the unequal music. [email protected]

walk takes on a gentle humour of its own. It is hard for us to identify constellations and there is even less need to do so now that we have access to excellent apps such as Sky M and Google Sky. The skies are, however, fascinating and it will be nice to be able to

identify the constellations even if we don’t need them to navigate from Spot A to Spot B at the moment. One night as we stepped out for a stroll after a particularly satisfying meal, we diverted our gaze skywards, as is our wont. “If I become a space traveller, will you come with

me?” he asked me, a little line of worry creasing his face. The background to this question was, of course, another conversation in which we had to let him know that when he grew old enough to become an astronaut, we would be past the age that is currently acceptable for astronauts. Maybe his sister could join him, but we may not be able to do so. He looked forlorn when he heard that, and I made a mental note to remind him about how keen he was to have our company on a space vehicle, when he attempts to learn driving as a teenager. I looked at his face and said, “You know, just decades earlier, nobody would have thought your grandparents could fly halfway across the world to meet you, so we don’t really know how things will change. Maybe if things progress along space travels, we could join you. Who knows?” He seemed happy with the answer, and said, “Where would you like to go first?

Which planet?” I thought for a moment and said I would like to go to Neptune. Before he could assail me with questions as to ‘Why Neptune’ and so on, I neatly turned the tables on him and asked him, “How about you? Where would you like to go?” “I want to go to Jupiter. Maybe the great big spot in the storm.” The reason The daughter asked him why, and he said he would like to see the moon have some company. “Here on Earth, I can only see one moon, but on Jupiter you can see 67 moons, right?” “Did they teach you that in school?” I asked, pleasantly impressed and surprised. “On ‘Space Racers’ [a TV programme created with inputs from NASA], Eagle and Robin get stuck in the storm on Jupiter, remember?” said the couch-astronaut. Whether through television, movies, smartphone apps that map the sky for us, or through science lessons, it is wonderful to glory in the expanse of the universe and accept our position within it. As Carl Sagan said, “Astronomy is a humble and character-building experience.” So, Happy Astronomy Day! [email protected]

A Parisian experience recalled T.M. VALLIKAPPEN

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y wife and I were on holiday in Europe. The Eurostar train that took us from London to Paris through the undersea ‘chunnel’ was incredibly fast, but it turned out to be a bit of a damp squib as we could see nothing outside. It was almost boring; we could just as well have been travelling through the Ratnagiri tunnel on the Konkan railway line! But Paris changed all that. It welcomed us with a rude jolt… We disembarked at the cavernous Gare du Nord station and were about to board a local train to the Charles de Gaulle Etoile. We both had our hands full, burdened with three suitcases and a rucksack. As we waited for the train to arrive, I noticed a group of young girls, very fashionably dressed, standing next to us. At first I paid no attention to them, but as soon as the train pulled in and the automatic doors swung open, I felt myself being surrounded and almost hustled into the compartment by them. On alert I became instantly alert, as I was suddenly reminded of a similar incident in Madrid a few years ago, when my son and his wife were robbed of a fairly large sum of money by a gang of young women. As I was being pushed inside, I shouted out to my wife in our language, telling her to be careful. At the same instant I felt a slight pressure on my

Woman thieves working in groups has become a common phenomenon in European cities left hip pocket and realised that my wallet was being dislodged from there. Confrontation Meanwhile the doors had shut and the train had picked up speed. I dropped both my suitcases onto the ground. As the girl nearest me was the obvious culprit, I grabbed her by the waist, putting both my arms around her in a vice-like grip, all the while shouting loudly in English, ‘You thief, you thief, you have picked my pocket and taken my wallet.’ Tough act The girl kept saying something in French and I could sense that she was trying to pass on the wallet to some of her accomplices. But she

found that to be a somewhat diicult task, because I just would not let go! In the melee that followed, with all the girls shouting at the top of their voices and me holding on tight, she either lost her nerve or decided she had had enough. I heard a small thud. I peered over the back of the girl, and there, on the floor, was my wallet! I quickly let go of the girl and grabbed it. Opening the wallet, I found, much to my relief, that my money, credit cards, tickets and other documents were all intact. Quick exit We had been both so shaken by the event that we quite forgot about the cunning women. And sure enough, at the next station they quickly slipped out and disappeared. We were too upset to even care. This incident, though painful at the time, was not entirely without its collateral

benefits. It toughened us for the rest of our journey, as we discovered that female thieves were a common phenomenon in many of the European cities. In Rome, too, we were accosted by a bevy of young girls with equally dishonourable intentions. By now, however, we had become veterans in this game and shooed them of, much to their chagrin and discomfiture. As they jumped of the train after their futile attempts, I wagged a finger at one of them and I could see her through the window, squirming in embarrassment and disappointment, as the train sped of.

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he heart is essentially a pump. Heart failure is its inability to pump enough blood for organs such as the brain, kidneys and the liver. Ailments such as hypertension, valvular heart diseases, diabetes, coronary artery blocks and primary heart muscle disease can afect the pumping function. The approximate estimate of heart failure patients in various stages of the disease in India is 1.3 to 4.6 million, but the data are incomplete owing to lack of surveillance. The incidence seems to be rising, probably due to increased awareness, improved post-attack treatment strategies and better long-term survival after valve surgery. In our country 105 million people are above 60 years of age (8.4 per cent) and this number is likely to increase to 376 million by 2050 (that is, to 21.6 per cent). The incidence increases among the elderly. We must gear to face an epidemic of heart failures. Proper management is important as patients are prone to repeated hospitalisations. The economic burden on the family, the hospital system and on health insuranceproviders needs to be considered. Heart failure can result in poor quality of life and early death. Early diagnosis is key. Serial echocardiography is valuable in diagnosis and follow-up. High BP is the most common cause: Undetected or uncontrolled, it can result in heart enlargement and failure. Detection and treatment of contributing factors such as diabetes and valvular disease can be achieved through annual checkups. Lifestyle modification steps include salt restriction and abstinence from alcohol and smoking. Drug therapy is tailored to individual patients. Valvular disease needs surgical correction. In the late stages, biventricular pacemakers can improve pumping. Some pacemakers are coupled with defibrillators to prevent sudden death in those prone to life-threatening rhythm disturbances. End-stage cardiac failure patients may benefit from transplants, but finding a suitable donor in a timely manner is a matter of chance. Pacemakers and transplants are expensive. In the western countries heart failure patients are followed up in special clinics to provide focussed care, expert management and rehabilitation. Domiciliary care and follow-up are available options for end-stage disease. Such clinics are yet to become popular in India. The theme of World Heart Day, that comes up on September 29 this year, is “Power your life”. Heart failure patients need to power their heart muscle first for longevity and better quality of life. (The author is an interventional cardiologist at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai)

After-efects The incident has had some hilarious side-efects too. I became such a misogynist that each time I spotted a group of young girls together, I would begin to flail my arms around in a circle, signalling that none of them were to come anywhere near us. My wife tells me that on several occasions this has led to people looking on in amusement, with many of them pointing their fingers at their own heads in that universally recognised spiral gesture, indicating that this old man from India probably had a screw loose! Indeed, our misadventures with the damsels from Paris and elsewhere also gave a whole new dimension to the meaning of the French expression femme fatale. [email protected]

The tale of the tote bag, and the writing on the wall sharing our food with the hungry. Quite ironically, we were also prohibited from ofering a helping hand to a mentally unstable stranger on our way back from school. The teacher wrote on the blackboard, “All that glitters is not gold.” But no one showed us how not to judge a book by its cover. No one read aloud from a textbook that asks us to think from the heart and believe in what it says. They always warned us not to talk to strangers, but never did once anyone teach us how to identify the good people out of them and make life-long friends.

KAMALA MAHADEVAN

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hey didn’t ask her what it meant. They didn’t want to know either. All they saw was that the writing looked like Arabic. They were probably not sure, because they didn’t even know Arabic. Nevertheless, they were terrified at the writing; they were concerned because she was wearing a tote bag that had beautifully written script, possibly Arabic, inscribed on it. No one asked her how the guy was, because no one actually cared to find out about his character. No one was happy she had found her person. Neither did anyone want to meet him nor did they want her to see him again. They cursed her so-called modern thinking. They even despised her laudable degrees, of which they were proud once. Nothing mattered anymore, because the guy was a foreigner. All that the writing on the bag said was, “Do not be afraid because it is written in Arabic.”

Guys like him appear once in a lifetime; a guy with a large heart to love and spread smiles all around. A great guy, but they didn’t care. We were always given warnings, right from our childhood. We were always told to adopt what is

comfortable and what our parents had tried and followed in their life. We were hardly encouraged to think out of the box, unless the syllabus specifically asked us to do so. They taught us good values such as helping the needy and

Suspicion, distrust Our world is turning into a place that houses people who meet every other person with a sense of suspicion, not expectation or hope. A friend of mine from Iran with a long Islamic-sounding name is always given a flashing look of distrust whenever I introduce him to someone. The world we live in is doubtless in bad shape. War, hatred and

abuse have become the way of life. In such a phase, it is natural to be worried, but let not the fear control you. Get the meaning Knowledge is the basis of bringing up children to be safe and responsible; inflicting doubt and apprehension is not. Talk to the guy who belongs to a land you have never been to, talk to the guy from Iran, and ask what the Arabic script means. Impart the values of compassion, kindness and the courage to follow the heart, and trust their instincts. The time to proceed with caution is gone as well. The time has come to ensure that the world is slowly moulded into a better place to be, and the future generations are strong enough to bring about the change. Do not be afraid of the tote bag. Be proud of the one who owns it. She is the change we really want to see. kamala.mahadevan90 @gmail.com

Contributions to this page may be e-mailed to [email protected] to a length of up to 700 words. Please provide the postal address and a brief description of the writer. An e-mail id that is provided could be considered for publication. Certify in writing that it is original material; The Hindu views plagiarism as a serious issue. Also confirm that the submission is exclusive to this page. Taking into account the volume of material being received, we regret our inability to acknowledge receipt, or to entertain telephonic or other queries on the status of a submission. If a submission is not published within eight weeks, consider it to be out of the reckoning — in most cases owing to dearth of space. The publication of an article is not to be seen as The Hindu endorsing the viewpoint in any way.

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Telecast schedule Pakistan vs West Indies: 3rd T20, TEN 3, 9.30 p.m.; Champions League, TEN 1, 2 & TEN 1 HD, 12.15 a.m. (Wednesday)

SPORT

Pouille wins first title

Aurier sentenced for elbowing police officer 쑺

PSG and Ivory Coast right-back Serge Aurier was sentenced to two months in jail on Monday for elbowing a police officer in May.

쑺

France’s Lucas Pouille won his first career title on Sunday when he defeated top seed Dominic Thiem of Austria 7-6(5), 6-2 in the Metz ATP final.

쑺

Jackpot for Rory Rory McIlroy rolled in a 14-foot birdie putt at the fourth hole of a sudden death play-off to edge Ryan Moore for the USPGA Tour Championship on Sunday and claim the $10 million FedExCup play-off bonus in addition to the $1.53 million winner’s cheque.

Massive win makes it memorable 500th for India

an incredible 11 goals as NCC Directorate (Aizawl), represented by Govt. Mizo High School, scored a crushing 17-0 win over The Air Force School (New Delhi) in the under-17 girls’ category of the 56th Subroto Cup football tournament here on Monday.

VIJAY LOKAPALLY KANPUR: Can one shot change

the course of a contest? There have been situations when a match has turned on its head, thanks to a peach of a ball. But, a poor shot can also cost the team and one saw it at the Green Park Stadium here on Monday. Luke Ronchi, having frustrated the Indians with his defence, suddenly went into attack mode, lost his wicket and, eventually, cost New Zealand the match. The thumping 197-run win gave India the lead in the three-match series with R. Ashwin emerging the wrecker-in-chief with his skills that left the New Zealand batsmen dazed, especially the dogged Mitchell Santner, who became a classic of-spinner’s

‘Ashwin is among the top impact players in the world’ I

ndia skipper Virat Kohli was effusive in his praise of his match-winner Ashwin. “He’s been outstanding for the Indian team. If you look at the impactplayers in the world, he comes in the top three-four easily. “There are quite a few players making a big impact for their respective sides. Especially bowlers. Bowlers are the ones, I feel, that win you Tests and Ashwin is one of them. “The rankings, of which I’m not a big fan, suggest that Ashwin is the best at the moment. There’s no doubt that he’s been bowling wonderfully well for the last couple of years. He

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Skipper Virat Kohli, wrecker-in-chief R. Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara and others celebrate the convincing win over New Zealand on Monday. — PHOTO: V.V. KRISHNAN

victim. Introspection would leave Ronchi a despondent man for he trashed all his good work with one bad shot. Disciplined partnership New Zealand began the day with its back to the wall. Heroics were needed and were possible when Ronchi and Santner resumed their fight by showing the application needed at that stage. It was a huge task to bat out the day, but the two displayed the much-needed discipline and India found itself faced with a situation where it was desperate to get a breakthrough. Clouds in the distance threatened, but a bright sun brought cheer in the stands and the contest developed. The intensity was visible in

38 overnight he had progressed to 80. He was dictating the battle with a dedicated partner in Santner. Their partnership for the fifth wicket was worth 102 runs. Once the dent was made, New Zealand’s resilience crumbled as the lower half lacked the calibre to last the day. New Zealand batted 20.4 overs since Monday morning before Ronchi’s dismissal and 29.5 after that. Ashwin, having scalped

Disastrous slog After showing exemplary patience and temperament, Ronchi let go a swipe befitting the last ball of a limited-over match. The ball, aimed for a long-on finish, flew high in an arc for Ashwin to gleefully accept the ofering at point. Fittingly, it was the JadejaAshwin combination that tilted the day’s proceedings India’s way. Ronchi had managed to keep the spinners at bay. From

three on the fourth day, added three more to fittingly bring about the end with some swift strikes. Partnerships of 36 and 27 in the New Zealand lower half were not enough to deny the victory which came 14.3 overs after lunch.

The ‘first advantage’ is vital, says Kohli SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KANPUR: The significance of

winning the first Test of a series was driven home by India captain Virat Kohli here on Monday. He also admitted the team erred by relaxing in phases and assured there won’t be a repeat after experiencing the stubborn stand between Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner. “When we tour, we know that if you’re 1-0 down after the first game, things keep getting more diicult from then on — in terms of your recovery, preparation, the mental side of going into the next game. Whoever has the first advantage

For them to show the resilience and the character that they did, we know that we cannot afford to be relaxed at any stage

will go into the second Test feeling more confident for sure,” Kohli told reporters. He stressed, “For them to show the resilience and the character that they did over the five days of this game, we know that we cannot aford to be relaxed at any stage. We relaxed in phases in this game and they capitalised.” Did Ronchi and Santner cause any concerns? “It wasn’t much of a concern because the reason we scored the extra 3040 runs was we could bat them out of the game.” On the tactics of including an extra batsman for this Test, Kohli said, “Kolkata might not be as slow or turn as much as Kanpur did. We know Kolkata is a much better batting wicket and so we can aford to maybe play an extra bowler there. But it’s a place where it will help the two quality spinners that we have and with reverse swing coming into play as well — you know two crucial wickets by (Mohammed) Shami in the second innings and the breakthrough by Umesh (Yadav) in the first — it makes a massive diference,” he said.

HISTORIC 500

Jadeja is Man-of-the-Match Jadeja was adjudged ‘Manof-the-Match, but Ashwin was the one who toiled on the final day to strike the winning

chimes for the fans, who had braved the heat and humidity for five days to back a young team to play to its potential.

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was a big success. But you need to look at the overall picture before you take the final call,” Thakur said. “I think we need to look into many areas before we take the final call. I would like to go into details in a scientific manner to take the final call,” he said. “As of now, we are not ready to implement pink ball this season,” he added. The pink ball was expected to be used in the ongoing Test series with New Zealand but the decision was put of amid speculation that it could be done in the upcoming home series against England and Australia. The home team is also scheduled to play a one-of

works very hard on his game. He’s a very keen thinker of the game. He likes to talk cricket. “He understands the game very well. A very smart cricketer, very intelligent. That shows in his batting as well. He understands the situation and plays accordingly. He knows when to get runs and when to play out the situation. “It’s priceless to have a cricketer like Ashwin in your Test team. He gives balance with both bat and ball. I wish he keeps nurturing his skill so that we can keep dominating Tests and keep winning as many as we can.” — Special Correspondent

‘To see Pujara bat that way was a revelation’ K

ohli said, “Pujara is someone who absorbs the pressure really well but after a certain stage in the innings there comes a time when the team needs runs. That’s where we felt that he has the ability to capitalise. It was just about conveying that to him. “He has worked hard on his game. He scored at a good strike rate in the Duleep Trophy. Even on this wicket he was scoring at 65, almost 70 strike rate. To see Pujara bat that way was a revelation. Because he used to bat that way initially. Especially at home. If you look at his double hundreds against England and Australia, he dominated the spinners. That’s exactly what we wanted him to do.

“We didn’t want him to go into a shell. We want Pujara to bat to his potential. Once he starts scoring runs and with the composure he has, it becomes very difficult for the opposition to take control of the game. That’s all we wanted to convey to him. He’s someone who understands what the team wants. “He has worked hard on his game. He has come back and he is playing more positively, which we appreciate as a team and I, personally, as captain. “He has not told us ‘this is my comfort zone and I am not going to get out of it’. That is the kind of character we need to win games and series. — Special Correspondent

rhythm in the next spell of 7.3 overs. He added three wickets to take his match haul to 10 to complement his 40 in the first innings. Jadeja — with unbeaten contributions of 42 and 50 and and six wickets, including five in the first — was a worthy claimant to the best player-ofthe-contest honours. The match over, in a signi-

ficant indication of what may transpire at Eden Gardens in the next match, Shikhar Dhawan had open nets on the match-pitch with Anil Kumble bowling to him. K.L. Rahul is nursing a niggle. Meanwhile, in the New Zealand camp, Mark Craig, sufering a side strain, has been replaced by Jeetan Patel. Over to Kolkata!

Applying sustained pressure is the key: Williamson SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KANPUR: New Zealand skipper

ROLLICKING STAND: Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner share a laugh during their fighting century partnership that frustrated Virat Kohli and his men on the final day. — PHOTO: V.V. KRISHNAN

Thakur rules out pink-ball Test this home season NEW DELHI: The pink ball will not be used in Test cricket this home season, said Anurag Thakur the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president on Monday. With this statement, Thakur put to rest speculation on India hosting its first ever daynight Test in the long home season comprising 13 Tests which will go up to February-March. He said more experiments like the one in Duleep Trophy were needed before BCCI takes the final call on introducing the pink ball in Tests. “It is too early to say anything (about pink ball). As far as trying it in Duleep Trophy under lights is concerned, it

The of-spinner bowled in three spells, the first two of eight and four proved wicketless before he found his

Duleep Trophy was a big success but we need to look at the overall picture, says the BCCI president Test against Bangladesh. The BCCI chief explained why more time was needed before venturing into the world of pink ball. “I think we need to take the final call after keeping a few things in mind. First, how to make it more interesting (for fans) and result-oriented. If you have matches like the one in Kanpur (which lasted five days), well done. “Then we don’t need to do

anything. Second, how do you involve more fans who come to the ground or watch it on TV? “Third, you really need to look into areas as to how (pink ball) is impacting Test cricket at a time when enough people are not coming to watch Test cricket. What are the real reasons behind it? One more factor to be considered, he said, is the role of pink ball or red ball in terms of seam, shine, turn, swing and late swing. “With the red ball, you can have reverse swing after 20-25 overs, but with pink you can’t. So the challenge for batsman goes away,” said the BCCI president. — PTI

Kane Williamson was disappointed at losing from a good position at the Green Park here. “Obviously it’s disappointing, But credit has to go to India. They’re a good side, particularly in their home conditions, and they showed that again. “There are positives for us to take from this Test. The way Mitch Santner played and Luke Ronchi coming back into the side were a couple of highlights. “As a unit we want to be able to apply that pressure for longer, which isn’t always easy in this part of the world against a side like India. It’s certainly a challenge for us moving forward.” Reflecting on the last three days of the match, Williamson said, “On the scorecard it looks like a biggish defeat but there were a couple of moments that I would reflect on as where the game turned slightly more in their favour. “The back-end of our first innings with the bat and certainly when we bowled in the second innings there was

Kapil to ring Eden bell KOLKATA: Former India captain

Kapil Dev will do the honours of ringing the Lord’s-like Eden Gardens bell for the first time to signal the start of the second cricket Test between India and New Zealand here on Friday. Confirming this Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretary Avishek Dalmiya said, “This was (president) Sourav Ganguly’s idea and Kapil has agreed to ring the bell on the morning of the Test.” The silver-coated giant bell will be hung near the Eden clock and will be installed in the next couple of days, Avishek said. — PTI

There are positives for us to take from this Test (the way Mitch Santner played) probably a three-hour period where we didn’t bowl very well and they got away from us. “It’s a combination of us not quite being at our best at certain times and they playing very well.” Recover well Asked what can be done before Kolkata, Williamson said: “The first thing is the guys need to recover well. There were a lot of good things to come out of this game and for a number of players it is the first time batting in these sort of conditions. “There will be a lot of lessons learned, reflecting on those and looking to apply the skills that worked for a period of time for a lot longer. That’s certainly what the Indian players do, it is very important.”

“They were pretty good balls, and he [Ashwin] is a pretty good bowler. In these conditions there is certainly more spin so you do take those things into account. “The nature of the conditions later on in the game you tend to get some good deliveries. It is part and parcel of playing here and we have to adapt our games to be better equipped going into the next match,” remarked Williamson on the Ashwin deliveries that got him. Homework to be done How would New Zealand look to tackle Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja? “There will be some homework done. To play the spin like we did for a period of time was good and then there were moments where we lost concentration and made an error in judgement. “That comes down to facing very good bowlers but also having that control in your game that when you are in foreign conditions you are able to adjust and stick to a plan for a long period of time. There were moments when we did that, but we need to do it for longer.”

Australia qualifies for women’s WC DUBAI: Australia has qualified

for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 after a 4-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in the ICC Women’s Championship. Australia captain Meg Lanning has lauded her side for booking a place at next summer’s event to be held in England. Australia arrived in Sri Lanka needing just one win to qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. And Lanning’s side achieved it in style when it wrapped up the first match in Dambulla last Tuesday by 78 runs. It then won the two

Vanlalmawii scores 11 goals NEW DELHI: Vanlalmawii struck

CRICKET / Ashwin scalps six to finish with 10 in the match; Ronchi’s indiscretion spells the end of a determined stand

both camps. There were appeals galore and a sudden hush in the galleries meant the New Zealanders had hit a forcing stroke. For Ronchi and Santner it was obviously an arduous task to keep their wickets intact, but they looked determined. That one tactless moment from Ronchi gave India the breakthrough. He may or may not have shut India out with his batting. But, the Kiwi will rue the stroke. It was a slog, unwise and imploding, that caused despair in the New Zealand dressing room.

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KnowledgePhilic.com

Colombo ODIs by nine wickets and 137 runs. Australia now sits pretty on 30 points from 18 games, 10 points more than its nearest rival the West Indies, which, like the remaining six sides in the competition, has played three matches fewer. England is third with 19 points, followed by New Zealand (16), South Africa (15), India (13), Pakistan (eight) and Sri Lanka (five). The top four sides from the Women’s Championship will automatically qualify for the Women’s World Cup to be held next year. — ANI

Daya scores five In another match, Daya Devi scored five goals as Chanambam Thambou HSS (Imphal) thrashed YUWA India (Ranchi) 7-1. The sub-junior boys’ semifinals will be played on Tuesday with BKSP (Dhaka) taking on Esteqal School (Kabul) and Govt. High School (Chandigarh) facing NCC Directorate (Odisha). The results (u-17 girls): CTHSS,

Imphal 7 (Daya Devi 5, Kritina Devi, Babysana Devi) bt YUWA 1 (Sumitra Kumari); GMRSS, Thiruvananthapuram 1 (Simna) bt SXHS, Bardez 0; GMLB, Chhindwara 19 (Anam 5, Arti 4, Ayushi 4, Amisha 2, Banwari 2, Uma, Trapti) bt Alchemy School, Surat 0; NCC Directorate, Aizwal 17 (Vanlalmawii 11, K. Lalruatfeli 4, Hmingchhuantull Payju 2) bt TAFS, Delhi 0. — Special Correspondent

Vishnu Vardhan bows out MUMBAI: It turned out to be a

good day for Pune’s Nitten Kirrtane while top seed Vishnu Vardhan had to bow out unexpectedly in the first round of the MSLTA-ATT Tennis Tournament (M3). Old warhorse Kirrtane, who had to make it to the main draw through qualifying rounds, taught N.B. Ravikumar a lesson en route a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Top seed Vardhan was unable to finish his first round match after complaining of exhaustion and fatigue. Mumbai youngster Aryan Goveas had to concede the match to S.D. Prajwal Dev Goveas was trailing 6-5 in the deciding set before being forced to shake hands due to stomach pain. The results: First round: Jayesh Pungliya bt Vishnu Vardhan 6-4 (conceded); Mohit Mayur bt Suraj Prabodh 6-1, 7-6(7); Ranjeet Virali Murugesan bt Rohan Bhatia 6-3, 6-1; Kunal Anand bt Paramveer Singh Bajwa 6-2, (conceded); Nitten Kirrtane bt N.B. Ravikumar 6-1, 6-2; Siddharth Vishwakarma bt Niki Kaliyande 6-2, 7-6(1); Shahbaaz Khan bt Anvit Bendre 6-4, 6-2; S.D. Prajwal Dev bt Aryan Goveas 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-5 (conceded). — Special Correspondent

Ilamparithi in lead PUDUCHERRY: A.R. Ilamparithi of

Tamil Nadu drew with Daaevik Wadhawan of Delhi in the 10th round to lead the boys’ category with 9.5 points, a one-point lead over Priansh Das of Odisha, in the under-7 National chess championships organised by the Pondicherry State Chess Association here. The results (10th round): Boys: Daaevik Wadhawan (Del) 8 drew with A.R. Ilamparithi (TN) 9.5; Advait Prashant Patil (Mah) 7.5 lost to Priansh Das (Odi) 8.5; Aarav Lakhani (Mah) 8 bt Jaiveer Mahendru (Mah) 7; Aryan Mohapatra (Odi) 7 lost to Bhagat Kush (Mah) 8; Kshatriya Nitin Vekhande (Mah) 7 lost to Sriansh Das (Odi) 8. Girls: Sarvani Cheedella (AP) 7.5 lost to A.N. Shefali (Kar) 9; Ray Sushree Ananya (Odi) 7 lost to Sneha Halder (WB) 9; Ishani Mondal (WB) 8 bt R. Doyal Naidu (AP) 7. — Sports Bureau

Dvoretsky dead CHENNAI: Well-known Russian

chess coach and author Mark Dvoretsky died at the age of 69, the Russian Chess Federation announced on Monday. As a young player Dvoretsky was a promising talent but he soon decided to end his career as a player to focus on coaching. Among the players who occasionally trained with Dvoretsky are Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Evgeny Bareev, Viktor Bologan, and Loek van Wely. “One of chess’s greatest thinkers. I have gained knowledge & depth in my preparation working with him. “I read his books many a times. Am sure his work will be a cornerstone of preparation for many generations. He will be missed greatly,” tweeted Viswanathan Anand. — Sports Bureau ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

TENNIS

India sharp and raring to go: Uppal SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Indian teams

promise to compete hard in the Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup under-16 tennis tournament, featuring the best 16 in the world, to be played on clay at Budapest from September 27 to Oct. 2. “We all flew in together yesterday. Adil joined us from Spain. “We had a good practice session this morning,” said the boys’ team captain Vishaal Uppal, before the draw ceremony in which the teams will be divided into four groups. The competition will be on a league-cum knockout basis, featuring two singles and a doubles in each tie. “The competition is extremely tough. “Since it is on clay, it makes it a little tougher for us. How-

ever, I think we are better prepared now than during the qualification round, as two of our players were coming out of examinations then and perhaps not playing their best,” reasoned Vishaal. The captain assured that the players were playing “much sharper and raring to go”. It may be recalled that Adil Kalyanpur had recently joined the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain and has been training in the best possible fashion to realise his potential. The girls’ team will have the experienced Ankita Bhambri as captain. The teams: Boys: Adil Kalyanpur, Siddhant Banthia, Megh Patel. Captain: Vishaal Uppal. Girls: Mahak Jain, Sathwika Sama, Shivani Amineni. Captain: Ankita Bhambri.

Riya Bhatia triumphs SHARM EL SHEIKH: Riya Bhatia

nals: Fatma Al Nabhani (Oma) &

won the $10,000 ITF women’s tournament on Sunday, beating Romanian Ana Mihaila 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the final.

Natasha Palha bt Zhanlan Wei & Qianqian Zhao (Chn) 4-6, 6-3, [10-8].

Other results: $25,000 ITF women, Hua Hin: Pre-quarterfi-

Marquee players to gain under AIFF’s new rules MARGAO: The All India Football

Federation’s (AIFF) Executive Committee on Monday approved new rules for the Indian Super League (ISL) which will take efect from the coming season. According to the new rules, payments made by franchises to marquee players will be outside the salary cap of Rs 17.5 crore for the entire squad. This means that franchises can now spend any amount on marquee players. The salary cap itself has been reduced from last year’s Rs 21 crore. The trend of marquee

player also acting as coach will also be discontinued. If a marquee player is appointed head coach, the franchise will have to sign another marquee player. The committee was also apprised about the developments in the Indian team by National coach Stephen Constantine which was followed by India U-17 team coach Nicolai Adam providing updates about the preparations for the U-17 World Cup. The new dates for the Santosh Trophy were finalised and the final round will end by January 10 next year.

The AIFF’s annual general meeting for the elections will be held in December while the federation’s special general body meeting will be held in January. Aizawl gets the nod I-League CEO Sunando Dhar briefed the committee about the league which kicksof on January 7. Keeping in mind Aizawl FC’s performance in the last edition, the committee unanimously decided to allow it to play in the 2016-17 edition. The meeting was chaired by AIFF president Praful Patel. — IANS

Disgruntled Ronaldo eyes more records at Dortmund DORTMUND: Disgruntled Cristi-

ano Ronaldo could make more Champions League history on Tuesday as his Real Madrid side look to end its losing streak at high-flying Borussia Dortmund. A hat-trick for Ronaldo in Dortmund would see him become the first player to score a century of European goals. Ahead of the flight to Dortmund, Real coach Zinedine Zidane subbed Ronaldo for the final 20 minutes of Saturday’s 2-2 Spanish league draw at Las Palmas. The Portuguese superstar was furious with the decision, storming of the field without acknowledging Zidane. It did nothing to help his mood when Las Palmas equalised five minutes from the end. Madrid fans have backed Zidane over his handling of the club’s all-time top scorer with 83 per cent supporting his decision in a poll carried out by Madrid sports daily AS.

Ronaldo’s free-kick equaliser in Real’s 2-1 comeback win against Sporting Lisbon in Group F, the same night Dortmund won 6-0 at Legia Warsaw, left him on 97 goals in European club competition His main rival in the race to 100 goals is Barcelona’s star Lionel Messi, who has 89. But Borussia wants to maintain its unbeaten home record against Real, which has won

just four times in 29 away games against German clubs. Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park Stadium has particularly bad memories for Madrid, which has lost its last three visits to the Bundesliga giant. Its 2-0 defeat at Dortmund in the 2014 quarterfinals came a year after its 4-1 thumping in the 2013 semifinals when Robert Lewandowski scored all four goals for Borussia. It also lost a group stage game 2-1 at Dortmund in 2012. Real’s run since Zidane took charge has hit a slump in the past week. It dropped points against Villarreal and Las Palmas to snap a 16-game winning streak in La Liga. — AFP

$10,000 ITF women, Chisinau (Moldova): First round: Kyra Shroff

bt Ecaterina Ivasco (Mda) 6-1, 6-0. — Sports Bureau

Villarreal up to fourth spot MADRID: Villarreal climbed into

fourth as its unbeaten start to the season continued with a comfortable 3-1 win against Osasuna in the La Liga on Sunday thanks to first-half goals from Alexandre Pato, Bruno and Nicola Sansone. The results : La Liga : Villarreal 3 (Pato 5, Bruno 24-pen, Sansone 39) bt Osasuna 1 (Torres 45+1-pen); Espanyol 0 lost to Celta Vigo 2 (Rossi 90+1, Sisto 90+3). Serie A: Fiorentina 0 drew with AC Milan 0. Bundesliga : Cologne 1 (Osako 25) drew with Leipzig 1 (Burke 5). — AFP

FC Pune City loses Gudjohnsen and Bikey MUMBAI: FC Pune City sufered

a double blow with Eidur Gudjohnsen of Iceland (ankle injury) and midfielder Andre Bikey from Cameroon (thigh injury) ruled out for the season. Coached by Antonio Habas, the squad is back in Pune after pre-season training in Madrid. Gudjohnsen said: “What was an exciting start to my journey in India has come to an abrupt end. Just a few days back, on my left ankle, what I thought was a niggle turned out to be more than that.” — Special Correspondent

Hope Qatar hosts a great WC, says Kafashian S. SUDARSAN

Ali Kafashian, vice-president of the Iran Football Federation and one of the candidates from Asia for the prestigious FIFA Council (formerly FIFA Executive Committee) membership, for which the elections will be held on Tuesday, is ready to work hard to bring credibility back to FIFA. In an email interview with The Hindu, he expressed hope that Qatar would host a wonderful World Cup in 2022 and also congratulated India for accepting the challenge to conduct the Under-17 World Cup next year. If elected to FIFA’s inner circle,

what will be your principal focus? Whether I am elected to the FIFA Council, or my distinguished Asian colleagues, we should all have the same principal focus. As representatives of the largest continent in the world, we should work handin-hand with colleagues from other continents to bring credibility back to FIFA. Do you think Qatar can make a statement by successfully conducting the 2022 FIFA World Cup? In your view, what should be the objectives of the second-ever FIFA World Cup in Asia and the first-ever in the Middle East?

As a young nation, they are going through changes at an incredible pace. This means along the way they may make a mistake or two. But, they are prepared to face those challenges, listen to constructive criticism and implement positive changes. The World Cup is a golden opportunity for not just Qatar, or the Middle East, but all Muslim nations and population around the world to show what the true face of Islam is. How important is the hosting of the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in India? I cannot stress enough what a huge and brave un-

Ali Kafashian. dertaking my colleagues at the All India Football Federation have accepted. Next year’s event can reawaken your sense of pride in your rich football history and bring youngsters back to the football fields and even streets to play pick-up football. I have followed the

fortunes of your under-16 team in the current AFC championship in Goa. They have showed good progress since I last saw them in Iran during the preliminaries. What is the cornerstone of your ideas for the development of the game in Asia? First and foremost, we need to get our children onto the streets again and let them have fun playing football. We will then need to set up scouting centres in conjunction with professional clubs to identify raw talent. Beyond that, we will have to formulate a development programme for these youngsters to train and compete at oicial competitions.

AQUATICS

Arvind Mani sets 200m backstroke record Y.B. SARANGI RANCHI: Arvind Mani’s in the

200m backstroke was among four records set on the third day of the 70th Glenmark National aquatics championship at the V.B.B. Stadium here on Monday. The 20-year-old Karnataka swimmer clocked 2:05.46s to break Rohit Havaldar’s threeyear-old record of 2:06.23s. Arvind preserved his energy in the first 100m and made a spirited dash in the latter half to outpace Services’s P.S. Madhu, who had 2:07.02s, holding of Karnataka’s N. Srihari (2:07.13). “I was disappointed that I could not do my best in my favourite event, the 200m individual medley, but now I am happy to have made up for it,” said Arvind. “In the first half of the race I just wanted to be in the leading pack, and pushed hard later,” he said.

FURIOUSOlympian PACE: Shiwani Kataria bettered her performance at the Rio Games to set a record in the 200m freestyle.— PHOTO: MANOB CHOWDHURY Rio Olympians Sajan Prakash and Shiwani Kataria also scripted National records, in men’s 100m butterfly and the women’s 200m freestyle. Sajan’s 54.43s bettered Veerdhawal Khade’s National record of 54.59s set last year in Rajkot. Shiwani timed 2:06.97s to

smash Richa Mishra’s 2011 record by 0.32s. In fact, Shiwani’s performance was far better than her 2:09.30 at Rio. Shiwani said she was delighted to have improved her timing even without much training ahead of the National championship. “My plan was to have a

smooth first 100m and a strong last 100m,” said Shiwani. Gujarat, represented by Maana Patel, Anshul Kothari, Smith Sharma and Dilpreet Kaur, won a thrilling photo finish to rewrite the mixed 4x50m medley record and claim the top honour, just 0.03s ahead of Karnataka. Gujarat’s 1:53.42s erased Maharashtra’s record of 1:54.13 set in 2015. The results: Swimming: Freestyle: Men’s 1,500m: 1. Saurabh Sangvekar (RSPB) 16:15.81, 2. Aryan Makhija (Mah) 16:23.87, 3. Sanu Debnath (RSPB) 16:25.01. Women’s 200m: 1. Shiwani Kataria (Har) 2:06.97 [NR; OR: 2:07.29, Richa Mishra, 2011), 2. Aditi Dhumatkar (Mah) 2:08.09, 3. Damini K. Gowda (Kar) 2:09.94. Backstroke: Men’s 200m: 1. Arvind Mani (Kar) 2:05.46 [NR, OR: 2:06.23, Rohit Havaldar, 2013), 2. P.S. Madhu (SSCB) 2:07.02, 3. N. Srihari (Kar) 2:07.13; Women’s 200m: 1.

Maana Patel (Guj) 2:22.65, Yuga Birnale (Mah) 2:28.35, 3. Shreyanti Pan (Ben) 2:31.78. Butterfly: Men’s 100m: 1. Sajan Prakash (RSPB) 54.43 (NR, OR: 54.59, Veerdhawal Khade, 2015), 2. Supriyo Mondal (RSPB) 55.19, 3. Aman Ghai (Pun) 56.38; Women’s 100m: Damini K. Gowda (Kar) 1:04.31, 2. Mayuri Lingaraj (Kar) 1:05.18, 3. Trisha Karkhanis (Mah) 1:05.60. Mixed 4x50m medley: 1. Gujarat 1:53.42 (NR, OR: 1:54.13, Maharashtra, 2015), 2. Karnataka 1:53.45, 3. Maharashtra 1:55.27. Diving: 1m springboard: Men: 1. K. Ramananda Sharma (SSCB) 297.50, 2. Gaurav Raghuvanshi (RSPB) 269.05, 3. T. Hariprasad (RSPB) 263.45; Women: 1. Simran Rajani (Mah) 167.30, 2. Tanuka Dhara (RSPB) 145.85, 3. Titiksha Marathe (MP) 139.20. Waterpolo: Men: Maharashtra bt Karnataka 10-0; Punjab bt Manipur 5-4; All India Police bt Bengal 5-3; Kerala bt Delhi 11-2; Women: Bengal bt All India Police 5-1; Karnataka bt Manipur 12-0.

VARIETY THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11811 2

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17 Ruthless firm attacked a number (4-6) 19 Reportedly consider Miss Muffet's fare (4) 22 Observe wearing away on either side of the ear (4) 23 Severe attack using talons. Ugh! (9) 25 Released group for nothing (3,4) 26 Fashionable member old and forgotten (2,5) 27 Live on part of a square (6) 28 Repetition of one beginning to express in hypnotic state (8) Down

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1 Refuse to lower the volume (4,4) 5 That woman's science room backs a sort of remedy (6) 9 Course military unit doesn't finish (7) 10 Almost secular company endlessly pleasant CM YK

and to the point (7) 11 Greeting to right girl may still be unpredictable (3,2,4) 12 Reportedly aching to take off (4) 14 One to advance heartily is the notorious ruler (4) 15 Land expert makes a good run on moist ground (10)

1 Illuminating device set on fire twice (10) 2 A target set for boating event (7) 3 Objection to player being coy (6) 4 Crossing of 't', e.g., that brought success? (7,6) 6 Intelligence agency involved in former prisoner's removal (8) 7 Indian sister and girl

meet one Asian (7) 8 Hold security device (4) 10 Miss a piece of clothing when taken to the cleaners (4,4,5) 13 Residential bar by one who doesn't like to go out (4-2-4) 16 Hidden old boy's made well (8) 18 Goes round with list set in a different order (7) 20 Loaded dice for robbers losing direction (7) 21 Visitor's change of top is more fanciful (6) 24 Tom leaves second manipulator (4)

FAITH

Giver of boons

Varadaraja of Kanchi is a giver of boons and hence the name Varada, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi in a discourse. He gives without our having to ask Him. Vedanta Desika says that He gives everything that He has in His possession and yet His wealth remains undiminished. In one of his verses, Tirumangai Azhvar refers to him as a precious gem that confers boons on us. He is like a priceless gem. But He is known for His simplicity. A gem may be precious, but it can be easily tied up in one’s garment. All it takes is a small knot to secure it. God is like such a gem. He is approachable and comes down to our level. ‘Ka’ means Brahma and Kanchipuram is so called because it was here that Brahma worshipped the Paramatma. Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kasi, Kanchi, Avantika and Dwaraka are considered to be the seven pilgrim centres visiting which will grant a person mukti. Maya is the present day Haridwar and Avantika is the city of Ujjain. Kanchipuram is among the seven most holy places of pilgrimage. Varadaraja’s mercy Solution to puzzle 11810 towards His devotees is legendary. There used to be a D R U Mdevotee called Doddacharya, who lived in Sholingur. He E D U C A T O R A E A I A E used to visit Kanchipuram to witness Lord Varadaraja being Y A S HMA K A J P RU T taken on a procession mounted on Garuda. One year he was E N I O L D AT unable to go to the festival and the Lord appeared in G R A V E G OI V E R N S M N N N D E ER Sholingur seated on Garuda so that Doddacharya could T E R OD E E P S E A T E D worship Him. Varadaraja, whose hand is in abhaya pose, is S T U E I N also called Hasti because He is One who gives. He appeared G R I M MM CA ON D A N T in the star Hasta and this too is a reason for the name Hasti. E A T C I AU A R N SE D E T E R M I N E The Varadaraja icon appeared from the sacrificial fire and so T O M I R S F E He has scars on his face. He did not mind bearing the heat of L O C K E R MB LA UG O fire, because His aim was to save us from the fire of samsara. N H I O A A G A S H

P R O P E R T Y

SU | DO | KU

A mind game and a puzzle that you solve with reasoning and logic. Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. The solution to yesterday’s puzzle is at left. ND-ND

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SPORT

Palmer passes into history One of the sport’s first superstars, ‘The King’ took golf to a wider audience WASHINGTON: Arnold Palmer,

ICONIC AND INSPIRATIONAL:Arnold Palmer, who won seven Major titles and captivated fans with his ferocious swing and fearless attitude, chills out during a tournament in 1963, when he was at the prime of his golfing career. — PHOTO: EDDIE HAUSNER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

NEW DELHI ROUND-UP Lalit guides Shradhhanand College to last four Lalit Yadav scored an unbeaten 68 and picked up two crucial wickets as Swami Shradhhanand College upset defending champion L.B. Shastri CC by three wickets to enter the semifinals of the 26th Om Nath Sood memorial cricket tournament. Mayank Dagar picked up three wickets for the winner. The scores: LBS 224 in 47.3 overs (Vikas Dixit 98, Mohit Ahlawat 47, Mayank Dagar three for 49) lost to SSC 227 for seven in 48.4 overs (Lalit Yadav 68 not out, Pragam Sharma 43, Rohit Sharma 31, Kartikeya Singh three for 50).

Air India defeats Army XI Air India put up an improved performance to register a 3-1 win against Army XI in the 10th Maharaja Ranjit Singh hockey tournament. In another match, ONGC scored an easy 4-1 victory

Sania holds on to No. 1 ranking

Sania Mirza.— FILE PHOTO NEW DELHI: Sania Mirza continued at No.1 in the latest WTA women’s doubles ranking, following her recent victory in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo with Barbora Strycova. Sania (9,730 points) is only five points ahead of ex-partner Martina Hingis at No. 2. Among the men, Saketh Myneni at No. 138 is India’s highest ranked singles player. Ramkumar Ramanathan plummeted 10 places to 229, while the injured Yuki Bhambri dropped 62 places to 282 on the ATP rankings. Rohan Bopanna stays at No. 18 in the doubles ranking. — PTI

over Namdhari XI after leading 2-0 at half-time. The results: Air India 3 (Nitesh Kiro, Shamsher Singh, Harsahib Singh) bt Army XI 1 (Noel Dodray); ONGC 4 (Gurjinder Singh, Amanpreet Singh, Jagwant Singh, Harpal Singh) bt Namdhari XI 1 (Shamsher Singh).

Karti, Sahil star for DAV (Pitampura) Karti and Sahil scored 22 points between them in helping DAV Public School (Pitampura) to a thrilling 33-28 victory over St. Francis School in the mini boys’ section in the 27th Hansraj Prabhakar memorial interschool basketball tournament at the Oxford Senior Secondary School courts (Vikaspuri) on Monday. The results: Mini boys: League: DAV (Pitampura) 33 (B. Kartik 12, Sahil 10) bt St. Francis 28 (Ankit 10); Montfort 70 (Tushar 14, Samyak 11) bt Blue Bells 11; Bal Bharati (Ganga Ram Hospital Marg) 29 (Alpansh 15, Hardik 10) bt Bal Bharati (Pitampura) 12.

the golf great whose charisma and common touch drew a legion of fans known as ‘Arnie’s Army’ and propelled the game into the mainstream, died on Sunday at the age of 87. “We just lost one of the incredible people in the game of golf and in all of sports,” 18time Major champion Jack Nicklaus said. “He was always a fighter and never gave up on anything. He didn’t give up even now. Maybe his body did, but I know Arnold’s will and spirit did not.” “Arnold transcended the game of golf,” Nicklaus added. “He took the game from one level to a higher level, virtually by himself.” Palmer, who was called “The King”, captured seven Majors during his illustrious career — The Masters (1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964), the British Open (1961 and 1962) and the US Open (1960). He never managed to complete the career Grand Slam, finishing second three times in the PGA Championship — in 1964, 1968 and 1970. His go-for-broke style, raw athleticism and unorthodox swing enthralled fans, and he became one of golf’s first tele-

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 앫 95 titles , including 62 US

PGA Tour titles

앫 Major victories: The

Masters (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964) 앫 US Open (1960)

앫 British Open (1961, 1962)

앫 Ryder Cup: Six victories in

six appearances as a player (1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1973) 앫 First player to win more

than $100,000 in a season vision superstars, helping make the sport accessible to a much wider audience. His rise — along with that of Nicklaus and Gary Player — set the stage for the sport’s huge broadcast rights fee and prize money riches, which were later enhanced by the success of Tiger Woods. “Thanks Arnold for your friendship, counsel and a lot of laughs,” Woods said on Twitter. “It’s hard to imagine golf

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without you or anyone more important to the game than the King.” Although Palmer’s presence around the game had become less regular in recent years, today’s young stars were aware of the iconic player’s impact. “Let’s be honest, it’s kind of a nerdy sport,” Australia’s Jason Day said this year. “Arnold Palmer made golf sexy.” Palmer, born September 10, 1929, was the son of the club professional and greens superintendent at Latrobe Country Club. Palmer started caddying at 11 and went on to work almost every job at the club. Fans identified with his blue-collar background, and he never forgot his roots even as he piloted his own jet to charity functions and business meetings and became a friend of presidents and corporate big-wigs. “Palmer went to bed at night with charisma. And the next morning he woke up with more,” legendary Sam Snead once said. At age 24, he won the 1954 US Amateur at the Country Club of Detroit. Later that year, Palmer turned pro. In a career that spanned more than

six decades, he won 62 PGA Tour titles, putting him at fifth on the Tour’s all-time victory rankings. He led the PGA Tour money list four times, and was the first player to win more than $100,000 in a season. He played on six Ryder Cup teams and was the winning captain twice, and launched a business empire with the help of Mark McCormack, founder of the International Management Group. In 1974, Palmer was one of the original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. In 2012, Palmer was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, landing him both of USA’s highest civilian honours. Identified most strongly with the Masters, Palmer’s British Open victories are credited with reviving US interest in the championship. “Here’s to The King who was as extraordinary on the links as he was generous to others,” US President Barack Obama tweeted, along with a picture of Palmer giving him a golf lesson in the Oval Oice. “Thanks for the memories, Arnold.” — AFP

Six quintals of rice for a National championship! A. JOSEPH ANTONY HYDERABAD: Believe it or not, six

quintals of rice are integral towards sponsorship of a National championship! “We are in no position to be picky but open to piecemeal funding, in cash or kind,” Hyderabad District Basketball Association (HDBA) General Secretary Norman Isaac admitted to The Hindu. The sub-junior National basketball championship at the Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS) stadium, Saroor Nagar, Hyderabad from October 1 to 7, is less than a week away. Such support, not to be scoffed at, translates to about Rs. 25,000 in cash. It has been raised from internal resources, M. Raghunandan Reddy of the Nizamabad Rice Millers Association and Treasurer, Telangana Basketball Association, chipping in! The nearly nine-month quest to meet the Rs. 90 lakh to 1 crore target has been tough, despite

cutting corners at every step. The SATS indoor stadium, Gachibowli, can accommodate two courts, vital to complete fixtures in time. Rents in the vicinity are beyond reach though. Two adjacent courts cannot be fitted into the KVBR stadium, Yousufguda. Minor players (born on or after January 1, 2003) present major problems! It’s a must that the manager of every girl’s team is a lady. As is transport for the 3km distance between venue and accommodation mandatory, since children cannot commute without adult supervision. The Rs. 30 lakh committed to the cause so far will just about meet the costs of stay, 750 players and officials booked in 250 hotel rooms. Of the said amount, Rs. 10 lakh is from SATS and Rs. 5 lakh from the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). ‘Catch 'em young’ and ‘grassroot level growth’ will remain hot air if such is the scene for a sport among the top five in popularity world-wide.

BADMINTON

TABLE TENNIS

Srikanth spearheads Indian challenge

Archana, Manav, Ananth to represent India

SEOUL: After a quarterfinal finish at the Japan Open last week, K. Srikanth will look to put up another good show at the Korea Open when he spearheads the Indian challenge in the $600,000 Super Series badminton event, starting with the qualifiers here on Tuesday. Playing his first event after the Rio Olympics, Srikanth entered the quarterfinals before losing to World No. 15 Marc Zweibler and the Indian will look to better his result when he starts his campaign against Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vincent in the opening round. “It is a good draw. I just hope to play well,” Srikanth said. Commonwealth Games champion P. Kashyap will once again start India’s proceedings when he takes on Malaysia’s Goh Soon Huat in

the qualifier at the Seong-nam Indoor Stadium. The 30-year-old from Hyderabad had played a fierce match against fellow Indian Srikanth before going down narrowly and will look to keep making giant strides as he makes a comeback after missing action due to a lay-of. World No. 18 Ajay Jayaram, who had to retire midway against Srikanth in Japan after hurting his left ankle, has recovered from the injury and will be playing Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin in his tournament opener. Among others in the fray, Swiss Open champion H.S. Prannoy will square of against Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Wei Wang. In women’s singles, Tanvi Lad will be up against Denmark’s Anna Thea Madsen in the opening round. — PTI

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT BENGALURU: Archana Kamath,

Manav Thakkar and Ananth Devarajan will represent India at this year’s ITTF World junior table tennis championships, to be held in Cape Town (Nov 30 to Dec 7).

All three players qualified by virtue of their September World rankings, with Manav placed at No. 40, Ananth at 43, and Archana 47. Archana achieved the ranking by virtue of her triple-titlewinning performance at the Morocco Open in July. She

had competed in the World Junior championships last year, when she made the quarterfinals in the mixed doubles event (with Czech Republic’s Tomas Polansky), but lost in the round of 64 in the girls’ singles. India’s boys’ and girls’ sides,

however, missed out on continental slots for the team event. The TTFI is hopeful, though, that the boys’ squad, which is second reserve on the waitlist, will benefit from pullouts or still qualify through World rankings.

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LIFE

KnowledgePhilic.com

THE HINDU TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Singapore scion buys stake in Rolling Stone

Snake halts Japan bullet train

First computer music recording restored

A Singapore firm headed by a scion of one of Asia’s richest families has bought a 49 per cent stake in Rolling Stone, with plans to diversify the magazine.

A Japanese bullet train was forced to make an emergency stop on Monday after a snake was found slithering between the seats, media reported.

Researchers have restored the first recording of computer-generated music, created in 1951 on a contraption built by British genius Alan Turing.

U.N. acclaim for Indian anti-hunger activist NEW DELHI: Troubled to see the

Ankit Kawatra

amount of food being wasted in the big, fat Indian weddings, management graduate Ankit Kawatra came up with the solution to redistribute it among the hungry. Mr. Kawatra, who left his corporate job to start ‘Feeding India’, is among the 17 people selected for the inaugural class of U.N. Young Leaders for Sustainable De-

Ancient cats travelled the world with Vikings LONDON: The fierce Vikings

may have had a soft spot for cats thousands of years before they came to dominate internet culture, according to a new study that suggests that felines travelled through ancient Eurasia and Africa alongside early farmers and ancient mariners. In the first large-scale study of ancient cat DNA, researchers sequenced DNA from more than 200 cats that lived between about 15,000 years ago and the 18th century AD. Researchers know little about cat domestication, and there is active debate over whether the house cat (Felis silvestris) is truly a domestic animal — that is, its behaviour and anatomy are clearly distinct from those of wild relatives. “We don’t know the history of ancient cats. We do not know their origin, we don’t know how their dispersal occurred,” said EvaMaria Geigl, from the Institut Jacques Monod in France. A 9,500-year-old human

velopment Goals for his initiative. The young leaders were selected by the U.N. from more than 18,000 nominations from 186 countries. “I worked in a global business advisory firm for two years. One day, I went to a celebrity wedding where there were around 10,000 people invited for the wedding and more than 35 cuisines were

laid for them. I decided to stay back to see what happened with the food. To my shock and despair, heaps of leftover food was thrown straight into the bin which could have fed 5,000 people just that single night,” Kawatra said. This led him to establish his own NGO Feeding India, which now claims to have fed 1 million meals with a net-

work of 2,000 volunteers across 28 cities of India. Redistribution of food They work towards solving hunger and malnutrition in India by redistributing excess food from weddings, corporate, canteens, banquets and households. As part of the initiative, Mr. Kawatra has undertaken several projects in the past

two years. These include ‘The Magic Truck’, a 24X7 refrigerated vehicle moving around the city collecting and donating excess food. “We have adopted many donation centres, self-run schools and shelter homes for children, elderly and specially-abled. We provide them with nutritious and well balanced meals,” Mr. Kawatra said. — PTI

Running theme

COPENHAGEN: A snow-covered

former U.S. army base in Greenland — dubbed “a city under ice” — could leak pollutants into the environment as the climate changes, raising diicult questions over who is responsible for clean-up. In 1959, U.S. army engineers began constructing a futuristic project in northwestern Greenland that might as well have been lifted from a Cold War spy movie. A network of tunnels under the snow contained everything from research facilities to a hospital, a cinema and a church — all powered by a small, portable nuclear reactor. The pollutants left behind include PCBs used in building supplies, tanks of raw sewage and low-level radioactive coolant used in the nuclear reactor that once stood there.

A memorial for black victims of U.S. lynchings MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA: South-

ern U.S. States have long welcomed tourists retracing the footsteps of the late Martin Luther King Jr. and others who opposed segregation. Now, the Alabama city that was the first capital of the Confederacy is set to become home to a privately funded museum and monument that could make some visitors wince — a memorial to black lynching victims. The nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative has announced it is building a memorial in the state capital of Montgomery devoted to 4,075 blacks its research shows were killed by lynching in the U.S. from 1877 to 1950. The nonprofit’s director, Bryan Stevenson, said the aim is to help “change the landscape” of American racial discourse by openly acknowledging a painful past, much as Germany has Holocaust memorials and South Africa a museum on its past state-sanctioned segregation apartheid. “I don’t think we can aford to continue pretending that there aren’t these really troubling chapters in our history,” Mr. Stevenson said. “I think we’ve got to deal with it.” Set to open next year on the site of a former low-cost housing project, the monument is to be accompanied

Alabama city is set to become home to the privately funded museum and monument by a museum a few blocks away exploring the history of blacks in America from slavery to the present. Work is already under way on both. How they will be received is an open question. Pausing at a historical plaque while visiting Montgomery’s civil rights sites, North Carolina tourist Nancy Lange hesitated at the thought of a lynching memorial. “That is tough. I can’t even think beyond that word,” said Ms. Lange, 58, who’s white. Valuable lesson But daughter Teresa Lange, 27, said a memorial could be valuable in teaching about America’s racial past and fostering conversation about today’s climate of Black Lives Matter, police violence against minorities and racial strife. “How many people talk about lynching? How many people talk about the hate crimes that still go on today?” she said. “As a tourist I think it would be a good thing. ... I’d go see it.” — AP

A

ctor Josh Brolin has married longtime girlfriend Kathryn Boyd in a small ceremony in front of family and close friends. The 48-year-old star and his wife shared pictures of their wedding with their fans on Instagram and also thanked their friends and relatives for making up to the best day of their lives. “Thank you to all who were involved and made the trek: Friends and family alike. We love you all dearly, deeply, and without measure... JB & KB,” Brolin wrote. While Boyd posted, “Greatest day of my life. Easy. Hands down. Happy. Loving. Special. Complete.” Brolin was seen wearing a black tuxedo while his bride carried a beautiful white gown in the photos. — PTI

T

burial from Cyprus also contained the remains of a cat. This suggests that the ailiation between people and felines dates at least as far back as the dawn of agriculture, which occurred in the nearby Fertile Crescent beginning around 12,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians may have tamed wild cats some 6,000 years ago.

“When the waste was deposited there nobody thought it would get out again,” William Colgan, an assistant professor in the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University in Canada, said. But a study led by Mr. Colgan, published in August in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that higher temperatures could eventually result in toxic waste from the base being released into the environment. “Neither the U.S. or Denmark has done anything wrong per se, but the world has changed,” he said. Accommodating up to 200 soldiers, ‘Camp Century’ was oicially built to provide a laboratory for Arctic research projects, but it was also home to a secret U.S. effort to deploy nuclear missiles.

Josh Brolin ties knot with long-time girlfrend

elevision mockumentary Modern Family star Sofia Vergara has revealed that she spent a fortune on accent lessons when she first arrived in Hollywood. The 44-year-old actor thought it would be easy to shake the heavy Colombian accent she has become famous for, but it was impossible, reported Contactmusic. “I spent so much money when I decided I was going to act,” Vergara told Harry Connick, Jr. on his new chat show. “I’m like, ‘I’m moving to LA, I’m gonna hire the best speech coach — I can’t understand why Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz can’t learn how to speak perfectly — I’m going to do it!’” But six months later, she was turning up to auditions with a head full of crazy tips on how to speak without an accent, adding, “I didn’t get any jobs.” Even her young son was frustrated — because he didn’t have an accent and constantly had to correct his mother. “He would run lines with me... and he’d say, ‘Mum, I just corrected you, like, two seconds ago and you said the word again wrong’,” she laughed. In the end, Vergara gave up and decided she’d make her fortune with her native tongue. — PTI

Study of cat DNA says felines traversed Eurasia and Africa with early farmers and mariners

Wide-ranging samples Researchers analysed DNA taken from the remains of 209 cats from more than 30 archaeological sites across Europe, the West Asia and Africa. The samples dated from the Mesolithic — the period just before the advent of agriculture, when humans lived as hunter-gatherers — up to the eighteenth century. — PTI

STAR TREK

Vergara wasted a fortune on accent lessons

Richa to make Indian fashion film for Japan

A ONE DIRECTION: Crowds accompany runners at the beginning of the 43rd Berlin Marathon on Sunday. Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia won the contest in two hours, 3 minutes and 3 seconds. — PHOTO: AFP

Melting Greenland ice threatens to expose Cold War waste

CM YK

NOIDA/DELHI

clear reactor but allowed waste — equivalent to the mass of 30 Airbus A320 airplanes — to be entombed under the snow. Half a century later that decision is being questioned as temperatures in the Arctic rise at a higher pace than in the rest of the world.

TIP OF THE ICEBERG: Likely environmental pollution raises questions over who is responsible for the clean-up. — FILE PHOTO Code-named ‘Project Iceworm’, that part of the operation was never mentioned in the treaty between the U.S. and Denmark, once the colonial master of Greenland, a territory that is now largely self-governing. But the spectacular project — which even included a test railway under the snow

— was never fully realised. Three years later scientists found that the glacier was shifting much faster than previously thought, threatening to crush the tunnels, and the base was abandoned in 1967. Assuming the site would remain frozen in perpetuity, the US army removed the nu-

Possible leakage By 2090, the amount of ice melting may no longer be ofset by snowfall, meaning the toxic chemicals could start leaking into the environment, the study found. Before then, fissures in the snow could lead to melt water seeping into the crushed tunnels, currently located around 35 metres below the surface. Since excavating the site would be hugely expensive, Mr. Colgan believes a clean-up operation would have to wait until the camp

has been uncovered by the melting ice. Greenland Foreign Minister Vittus Qujaukitsoq said the study’s findings were “worrying” and that his government was working to ensure that it was established who would be responsible for cleaning up the site. The former government in the capital Nuuk had in 2014 requested a report from Copenhagen on possible contamination from Camp Century without receiving “any assessment of the extent or character of the waste” described in the study, he said in a statement. Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said in a statement that his government would “now look closer at these aspects together with the relevant expertise... in close dialogue with Greenland.” — AFP

ctor-producer Richa Chadha, who recently attended the Nara International Film Festival in Japan, is looking forward to working on a fashion film project with a Japanese producer. Without revealing the name of the producer, Richa said in a statement: “I’m happy to be working on a fashion film project with a Japanese producer who was very keen to work on a film about the varied dynamics of Indian fashion including textiles, considering the vast geography and cultures we have in India.” She is looking forward to curate the film which “we intend to work on from early 2017”. “It will look at how varied fashion aesthetics exist in India and how it has inspired global fashion over the decades.”— IANS

‘Robocop’ is in charge at busy Chinese airport BEIJING: China for the first

time has deployed a robot to maintain security at one of its busiest airports in Guangdong Province. The Anbot, a security robot has been hired for its first job at the Shenzhen airport where it can be seen making round-the-clock patrols through the departure hall in Terminal 3, state-run People’s Daily reported.

The robot’s face has a digital display and a highdefinition camera to take pictures of travellers at one of the country’s busiest airports for analysis. The primary function will be facial recognition. The robot can take pictures of travellers faces, and then send them immediately to human coworkers for further analysis, the report said. — PTI