march 26, 2017

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How a Telangana cop iniltrated U.P. terror group Pretending to be their Syrian handler, ahead of bombing of Ujjain-bound train, he helped to secure the arrest of three IS sympathisers Vijaita Singh New Delhi

Will abolish house tax, says Kejriwal NEW DELHI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that his party would abolish residential house tax and waive arrears if voted to power in the municipal elections. CITY

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INSIDE

On March 7, Madhya Pradesh police arrested three men — Danish Akhtar, Syed Mir Hussain and Atif Muzaffar — from Pipariya, around 300 km from Bhopal, for allegedly planting a pipe bomb on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train. Nine people were injured in the explosion. The bomb was planted around 8.30 a.m. at the Bhopal railway station and it exploded around one-and-halfhours later when the train reached the Shajapur station.

Based on inputs Within hours, the M.P. police announced that the

three men, who had planted the bomb in the passenger train, had been arrested on the basis of information provided by Central intelligence agencies. Four others were arrested from Uttar Pradesh while one man, Saifullah, was killed in an encounter in Thakurganj area of Lucknow the same night. U.P. ADG Daljit Singh Chaudhary told a news agency a day later that Telan-

got down at the Bhopal railway station. “This officer had penetrated the various social media platforms the group used to search for information related to the Islamic State. All of them are self-radicalised and they even made several attempts to go to Syria and even to Kashmir for jihad. When they failed, they decided to do something in India,” the Ministry official said.

SUNDAY SPECIAL

Gaining their trust The Telangana officer gained their trust and pretended to be their Syria-based handler. The DGP, Telangana, Anurag Sharma, could not be contacted for comment,

gana police had provided specific intelligence about the whereabouts of the group, who were inspired by

the Islamic State. A senior Home Ministry official told The Hindu that the accused were caught

within hours as they were being trailed by a Telangana police officer. The police officer fol-

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Who moved my water?

lowed the accused from Lucknow when they boarded the Pushpak Express on March 6 and even when they

Charges framed against Kejriwal 5 AAP leaders also face defamation trial

The search: As the temperature increases, animals go in search of water in the Kabini backwaters near Mysuru in Karnataka. A scene on Friday. BHAGYA PRAKASH K *

Two killed in communal clash in north Gujarat 30 houses were set on ire, situation under control Special Correspondent Ahmedabad

Two persons were killed and around a dozen injured following an argument between children of two different communities at Vadvali village in Patan district north on of Gujarat Saturday. Among those killed is 50 year old Ibrahim Khan, a local resident. In the violence that lasted an hour, more than 30 houses were set on fire when the two sides threw stones at each other and

then clashed with sticks and steel pipes. More than two dozen vehicles parked in front of houses were also burnt down.

Seven rounds fired Policemen who were rushed to the spot fired seven rounds in the air and lobbed 60 tear gas shells to disperse the violent mob, sources said. Director General of Police P.P. Pandey despatched Inspector General of Police, Gandhinagar, to the riot-

torn village. “We have deployed State Reserve Police personnel in the village and right now the situation is normal,” a senior police official said, adding that the injured were taken to a nearby hospital in Patan town. Asked about what caused the communal clashes, he said it started off with a petty brawl between children after their examinations. “We are investigating why such large scale violence broke out after a small tussle,” the official added.

Sena MP leaves train to Mumbai midway Alights at Vapi to avoid media glare Vedika Chaubey Mumbai

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who was forced to take a train from Delhi after all major airlines in the country put him on their no-fly list for assaulting a senior Air India official, did not get down at the Mumbai Central station here on Saturday as expected. He is understood to have left the train at Vapi station in Gujarat, Sena sources said. However, it was not clear whether he headed for Mumbai or Osmanabad, his constituency.

According to railway officials, Mr. Gaikwad, with two companions, boarded the August Kranti Rajdhani Express from Hazrat Nizamuddin at 6.55 p.m. on Friday. “Once the train started from Delhi, he started complaining of chest pain and asked the train staff for a doctor. We provided him a doctor at the very next station in Mathura, where the doctor told him that he was completely fine,” said a senior Western Railway official.

Recording of evidence Later, the CMM fixed May 20 as the date for recording the evidence of witnesses listed by Mr. Jaitley in his complaint. The CMM had in January this year dismissed a joint application by the six accused seeking permission to address arguments at the stage of framing of charges. Opposing the application,

Maldivian arch-rivals join forces Suhasini Haidar NEW DELHI

CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10 UPROOT AAP, AMIT SHAH TELLS BJP CADRE 쑺 PAGE 9

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New Delhi

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Announcing an alliance with former arch-rival and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is the only way to ensure democracy in the Maldives, Opposition leader and former President Mohammad Nasheed has said. Speaking to The Hindu from Colombo hours after he announced a political front including Mr. Gayoom and leaders of the Jumhooree party as well as the Islamist Adaalath party, Mr. Nasheed said he hoped India would back their cause by pressuring the government of President Yameen to “stop arresting Opposition members.” He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “decision not to visit the Maldives” so far was “thoughtful.” “As long as President Yameen insists on running the country as an autocrat, he cannot be a friend of India,” he added.

Special Correspondent

A Delhi court on Saturday framed charges against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five AAP leaders and sent them to trial in a defamation case filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Sumit Das framed charges against the six accused — Mr. Kejriwal, Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas, Raghav Chaddha, Deepak Bajpai and Sanjay Singh — after they pleaded not guilty and claimed a trial.

despite repeated attempts. “The accused told their handler they wanted to procure explosives and weapons. They downloaded al-Qaeda’s propaganda magazine Inspire and IS’s magazine Dabiq to learn how to prepare the bomb. They made the bomb at the rented house in Lucknow, where Saifullah was killed. On March 7, three of them boarded Pushpak Express from Lucknow and wanted to plant the bomb in it. Seeing the crowd, they dropped the plan and travelled till Bhopal in the Mumbaibound train,” the official said.

Arvind Kejriwal

counsel for the Minister Sidharth Luthra, along with Manoj Taneja, had argued that there was a settled law in a summons case that the court had no option but to frame notice against the accused persons. The Minister has filed the case against the accused for allegedly linking him to alleged corruption in the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA). In March 2016, the court had summoned Mr. Kejriwal and the five AAP leaders.

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Meenangadi has a green dream: carbon neutrality Panchayat in Kerala has audited its emissions and is ofsetting them with more trees and less waste Agrobiodiversity Centre, Academy of Climate Change Education and Research (ACCER) under Kerala Agricultural University, and the Zoology department of Kannur University.

E.M. Manoj KALPETTA

Meenangadi in Wayanad district is on a mission to become India’s first carbonneutral panchayat. The local body in Kerala is working towards a zero carbon footprint, to be achieved by bringing down pollution, carbon emissions, and plastic waste. The carbon-neutral project intends to offset carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted by human activities through a series of greening initiatives, said Beena Vijayan, president of the panchayat. Planting trees is a top priority. With a carbonneutral status, the panchayat CM YK

From ground up: Beena Vijayan, panchayat president, launches work on the study of soil carbon.

hopes to attract the environmentally-conscious consumer: it will brand and market locally grown crops such as coffee and pepper as premium, sustainable

products. The project is supported by the environmental advocacy group Thanal, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation’s Community

Carbon audit The project was launched on June 5 last year with an assessment of carbon emissions from power consumption, fuel use in the 9,000 houses in the panchayat and from vehicles. Assessment of carbon emission from trees has just been completed with help from the students and faculty of ACCER. The team started measuring the

carbon content in the soil on Friday. “The results will help decide which areas need more trees to offset emissions. We have distributed one lakh seedlings to farmers and plan to supply the same number this year,” she said. The panchayat has allocated ₹11 crore for the project, which includes a biodiversity park, soil and water conservation programmes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and a waste treatment plant. The State government has earmarked ₹10 crore this fiscal, Ms. Vijayan said. A ND-ND

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IN BRIEF

Kejriwal vows to abolish residential property tax Also promises to waive arrears if voted to power in upcoming municipal elections

House that, say experts

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

‘Move to strain already cash-strapped civic bodies’

NEW DELHI

TN farmers climb tree to get their demands heard NEW DELHI

Dramatic scenes were witnessed at Jantar Mantar on Saturday when two protesting Tamil Nadu farmers climbed a tree and threatened to jump from it if the government did not respond to their demand of loan waiver. The two farmers Akilan, 19, and Rajesh, 25, hail from Tiruchirappalli. Their action caught the attention of the public and the police who talked to the farmers and convinced them to come down. STAFF REPORTER

Training for docs to deal with sexual offence cases NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court on Saturday held an exercise to train doctors on how to deal with cases of sexual offences as per the Supreme Court guidelines. A high court committee, headed by Justice Gita Mittal, conducted the training to apprise the doctors of the methods and procedures to record the medico-legal certificates, the death summaries and the post-mortem examination reports in cases of sexual offences. PTI

‘Gangster’ arrested from Batla House NEW DELHI

An alleged gangster carrying a reward of Rs.50,000 was arrested in the early hours of Saturday at Batla House in south-east Delhi. According to the police, the arrested man, Asif alias Kala, is an associate of gangster Satyaprakash Satte. He had managed to escape two encounters with Delhi Police in February this year and December last year. A police officer said that they had got a tip-off that Kala would go to meet his friend at Batla House. He was arrested after a short chase. STAFF REPORTER

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that his party would abolish residential house tax in the Capital and waive all previous arrears if voted to power in the upcoming municipal elections. Speaking at a press conference at his residence, the Chief Minister said: “We have fulfilled our promise to slash power tariff by half and make water free for residents. For the municipal polls, we will do away with residential house tax. However, industrial and commercial house tax will be there.’’ Budget 2017 had also stayed away from imposing any new tax on citizens for the third year in a row. Mr. Kejriwal further said that money could be saved by plugging corruption.

Curbing harassment “Currently, the public is harassed in the name of collection of house tax. We will end that harassment. We have seen councillors getting rich after winning elections because the tax goes to their pockets,” he said. Citing the example of the North corporation, Mr. Kejriwal said the body had a budget of ₹3,300 crore, of which ₹250-300 crore came from house tax. “This much can be easily saved,” he said, adding that the party would soon come up with a detailed manifesto for the polls. ‘Judicious use of money’ “Corruption is the biggest bane of the civic bodies. People who roam around on scooters buy five luxury cars, land and houses after coming to power. We want to stop this trend. We want people’s money to be used judiciously. The money saved is money in your pocket,’’ said the Chief Minister. Elections to three municipal corporations are due on April 23.

Damini Nath NEW DELHI

It’s a poll gimmick, says Cong Staff Reporter New Delhi

The Congress termed the AAP’s promise of abolishing house tax a gimmick, raising questions about the unfulfilled campaign promises from the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections. Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said Mr. Kejriwal's government had only made “tall promises”. “Where is free WiFi, marshals in DTC buses, 5 lakh toilets and other tall pre-poll promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party? In the last two years, the AAP government’s performance in every field, including fiscal management, has

AAP writes to poll panel over ‘EVM tampering’ in Punjab

been dismal”, he said. He added that the AAP, if it came to power, would “inflict more damage” on Delhiites.

‘Absentee CM’ “People of Delhi now see the true face of Mr. Kejriwal; he is an absentee Chief Minister. People want development, not politics of freebies,” said Mr. Maken, adding that the Congress’ plan for the municipal corporations was to make it self-reliant within two years. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said the promise was “shameful” as his govern-

ment had been “forcing” the BJP-ruled three municipal corporations to “sternly” levy and realise house tax. “Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is saying once AAP wins civic elections it will exempt residential properties from house tax. However, during the last two years, his government has written to the three corporations several times to levy and realise the tax sternly especially from those living in unauthorised colonies,” he said. The Leader of the Opposition, Vijender Gupta, said the AAP “can fall to any lows to come to power”.

Abolishing property tax on residential buildings, which Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would do if elected to the municipal corporations next month, would strain the already cashstrapped and go against the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, as per experts. Officials, both current and former, and leaders of the three municipal corporations of Delhi said the AAP’s promise of doing away with house tax, including arrears, would need the intervention of the Central and State governments. K.S. Mehra, a retired IAS officer who had served as the commissioner of the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi, said as per the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, the civic bodies are required to collect property tax. Section 113 of the DMC Act lists the taxes that the corporation has to collect, with property tax occupying the first slot on the list.

Question of funds “Any change would require an amendment passed by Parliament...If enacted, the question would be where the funds for discharging the obligatory functions of the corporation would come from, forget about the discretionary questions,” said Mr. Mehra. He added that the Constitution also states that local bodies should be self-sustaining. “The funds from the government are limited. The corporation has to strike a balance,” he added. Officials in the municipal corporations, however, said if the Delhi government could give subsidies to the corporations for the potential loss of revenue from property tax.

Lengthy process: Civic oicials said the AAP’s promise of doing away with house tax would need the intervention both the Centre and the State. FILE PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY *

have been < > We trying to increase the number of properties in the tax net. But, the AAP is trying to collapse the system of self-suicient local government Vijay Prakash Pandey Leader of the House, North Delhi Municipal Corporation

In all, the North, South and East corporations earn about ₹1,300 crore in annual property tax. As per officials, about 35% of this comes from residential properties, while government buildings account for 40% and commercial establishments about 25 per cent. While property tax is among the top sources of revenue for the corporations, the civic bodies have failed to increase the tax base over the years. Estimates suggest that at most 40% of property-owners pay tax. “We have been trying to increase the number of properties in the tax net. We started a survey of properties and are giving them unique Ids. But, the AAP is trying to collapse the system

of self-sufficient local government,” said Vijay Prakash Pandey, the Leader of the House in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. He also said that Mr. Kejriannouncement wal’s marked a U-turn from the AAP government’s previous stance. “On one hand, the Chief Secretary of the government told local bodies to become more self-reliant and increase property tax collection. In fact, when the government released ₹314 crore as grant to the corporations, increasing revenue was one of the conditions,” said Mr. Pandey.

‘Another false promise’ The Opposition Congress, too, hit out against the decision. Farhad Suri, the Leader of the Opposition in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, said one of the conditions of the government for giving Municipal Reform Fund to the corporations was to increase the tax net. “This is just the latest in a series of false promises by the AAP. Would Mr. Kejriwal’s government be so generous towards the corporations if the Congress wins?” asked Mr. Suri.

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Going all out

Claims manipulation, demands veriication of paper trail Press Trust of India NEW DELHI

The AAP on Saturday wrote to the Election Commission, alleging large-scale rigging and tampering of EVMs in Punjab and demanding verification of paper trail. AAP’s national secretary Pankaj Gupta said his party analysed booth-wise voting pattern and reached a conclusion that electronic voting machines were tampered with.

‘Irrefutable evidence’ There is “clear and irrefutable evidence of manipulation of results at polling booths” in the Punjab Assembly polls, he alleged. “In the interest of justice and transparency, the AAP has appealed to the EC that the results of all polling booths, where voter verifica-

tion paper audit trail had been deployed, be crosschecked with the paper trail so that the cloud looming over the use of EVMs is settled and the faith of the common man in the electoral process is restored,” Mr. Gupta said. He said the initial analysis has shown that at several booths, where the AAP has secured very less number of votes, voters in much bigger number than the total number of votes secured by the party have come forward, saying they had voted for the AAP. “These people are ready to file affidavits to support their claim. These people are shocked that their votes have either not been counted or have been transferred to other parties by EVM tampering,” Mr. Gupta said.

CM cancels Gujarat visit Special Correspondent AHMEDABAD

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, who was scheduled to address a rally of party workers in Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Sunday, has cancelled his visit. “Mr. Kejriwal has cancelled his visit,” said AAP’s Gujarat convener Kanu Kalsaria, a former BJP legislator who joined the AAP a few years ago. “We have been told that he is busy with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls where names of candidates are being finalised,” Mr. Kalsaria said.

Bright idea:Scene at the India Gate before and during the Earth Hour. Several prominent buildings in the city put out their lights for 60 minutes during Earth Hour (8:30-9:30 p.m.), a global call aimed at raising awareness about climate change. SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY *

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Egyptian vultures ind their nest back in Delhi The species— rarely spotted here— has made the Capital its home; ecologists say it’s a ‘good indication’ Bindu Shajan Perappadan NEW DELHI

There’s good news for city dwellers. A flock of 10 Egyptian vultures— which are rarely spotted in the city— has been living on land near the Yamuna since January. According to experts, Egyptian vultures have nearly disappeared from the city in the last few years. Their nesting areas would include areas near the Yamuna, Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Ghazipur landfill. “This current population is being monitored for the last two months. But, we found that their feeding habits had changed due to a loss of habitat. The birds now feed mostly on biodegradable garbage,” said CM YK

Good news: :A lock of 10 birds has been living near the Yamuna since January. *

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

ecologist T.K. Roy. He, however, added that the return of the bird was a “good indication”. The vulture is a useful

scavenger as it feeds on carrion and keeps the environment clean. It also controls the spread of diseases from decaying

carrions.

Decline in population The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus),

one among nine vulture species available in the Indian sub-continent, is a large-range distributed species in Europe, Africa and Asia, but its population has rapidly declined in India due to factors such as disturbance, poisoning, electrocution, scarcity of food and habitat loss, but largely due to the toxic effect of veterinary drug Diclofenac through livestock carcasses. Continuous efforts by BNHS for vulture conservation, Drug Controller General (India), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry and Ministry of Agriculture, have, however, proved to be a boon. In 2006, the government banned Diclofenac for veterinary purposes.

JNU students protesting seat cut clash with guards University terms incident ‘condemnable’; FIR yet to be iled Press Trust of India NEW DELHI

A group of JNU students allegedly clashed with security guards at the university’s main gate during their protest against the decision to reduce the number of seats in M.Phil and Ph.D courses, resulting in minor injuries to persons from both sides. The incident happened on Friday after the protesting students forcibly closed the main entrance to the campus.

Injured undergo tests The police said the injured persons were sent to a hospital for medico-legal tests and the two sides have filed complaints, but a case is yet

to be registered. The JNU administration in a statement on Saturday appealed to the agitating students to immediately end their “forcible closure” of the north gate to the campus, following which it was opened. JNU Registrar Pramod Kumar said the behaviour of the protesters is “condemnable” and claimed that he was “abused” by them. “They verbally abused me when I went to request them to keep the north gate open. Some of them manhandled the security guards who tried to open the gate for the commuters,” the statement read. The Registrar said some security guards were injured

and were hospital.

taken

to

the

‘Bad name’ The university administration also criticised the agitating students for protesting outside the UGC office at ITO and blocking traffic on Friday. “Such disruptive activities by a small section of students have brought nothing but bad name to JNU,” he said. Several students in the final year of their MA programme, who have been directly affected by the new rules, staged a protest on Friday, demanding that UCG chairperson Ved Prakash address their concerns. The students also tried to block traffic at the busy ITO junction. A ND-ND

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Amity student killed after car hits, drags him for 200ft

Currency notes worth over ₹1.25 cr seized Nearly all recovered notes are new Staff Reporter

Incident happened near Noida Sector 18; victim was on his way back from a ilm Purusharth Aradhak Noida

A final-year B-Tech student of Amity University died after he was run over by a Honda City, which dragged him for 200ft near Noida Sector 18 on Friday night. The police said that the victim has been identified as Vivek Kumar (21). Kumar hailed from Mangalagiri in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and was pursuing engineering from Amity University in Sector 125.

Victim with friends Noida Superintendent of police Dinesh Yadav said that the incident happened around 11:30 p.m when the victim was returning home after a movie in Sector 18. Passersby raised an alarm and a police team was immediately dispatched to the spot. “Vivek suffered severe head injuries. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital where he succumbed to injuries,” Mr. Yadav said. The police said that at the time of the incident the victim was with his friends. He was living in a PG accommodation in Sector 126 in Noida with his friends, the

about ₹50 lakh in cash from the two occupants of the vehicle. “The two men were identified as Jasmeet singh (24), a resident of Paschim Vihar, and the driver Gurmeg. Meanwhile our staff stopped another vehicle on receiving information and found ₹25 lakh cash from the driver who as later identified as Pankaj from Shanti Nagar area. In another case, ₹50 lakh and ₹30,000 were recovered from Arun, a resident of Shahadra. A few signed and unsigned cheques were also recovered from his car. In all, the total seizure was ₹1,25,30,000,” said the officer.

Plumber electrocuted

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Reversing vehicle Mr. Yadav said the driver was reversing his vehicle when he hit the student. In his attempt to escape he also rammed an SUV and dragged the injured Vivek

In separate cases of money seizure, the Delhi Police on Saturday detained four men and claimed to have seized from them over ₹1.25 crore in new currency notes, in north-east Delhi on Saturday.

Questioned by I-T dept The Income-Tax department is questioning the men about the source of the money. A senior police officer said the recovery was made during a special picket checking at Machli Farm area in north-east Delhi’s Seelampur. Policemen at the picket intercepted a vehicle and on checking found

Cut short: (Clockwise from top) the damaged car; the accused Apoorv; deceased Vivek. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT police added. The driver has been identified as 32-yearold Apoorv, a resident of Sector 66 in Noida who works as an engineer in HCL Technologies.

NEW DELHI

PTI New Delhi

nearly 200 feet before being stopped by the locals. “We have arrested the driver and a case has been registered against him,” said the police. The police said that test results did not show any presence of alcohol in the accused’s bloodstream.

However, they said they are looking into the possibility that he was under the influence of some other substance. Kumar’s body has been sent for post-mortem and his parents have been informed about the accident.

A 19-year-old plumber was electrocuted to death in north-west Delhi's Swaroop Nagar area on Saturday. The victim, Subhash, was working with a drill on the terrace of a house and it is suspected that it came in contact with a live wire, the police said.

Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Mukund Padmanabhan (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act). Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49939 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 7 No. 12 ●

CM YK

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MALAYALAM

GENERAL

Trivandrum nair girl, (24) 5"6", beautiful. Avittam. BTech/ PGDM. SELLING Manager reputed MNC Bangalore, Invite alliance from PG ProfessionFOREIGN CARS als of same cast. 9048436757/ RANGEROVER SPORT 2012 HSE Fully- [email protected] Loaded 15000Km Bronze 68Lac; HINDU EZHAVA 28/163cm Geophysicist 9790771818 working in ONGC Mumbai (pursuing PhD from IIT) seeks suitable groom BUYING Ph: 09745614569, 04872293226

COMMERCIAL LAND KERALA BRAHMIN girl 29/156 cm, Aswathy, MTech,Officer at Delhi WANTED 10 to 100 Acres of Lands & seeks alliance from Equally educatLitigation Properties : Ph: ed and employed Brahmin boys. 09791545927, 07708215904 09656474920. SELLING

AGENTS WANTED FMCG HERBAL company wanted distributor, invest 20k. ct : 9841846949

NRI

30y/155cms, Tamil Mukkulathor COMMERCIAL Girl, PhD in US, seek proposal BUILDING from broad minded Boy / Parents in Contact: 09868392564 / CHENNAI KODAMBAKKAM Arcot Rd, US. Salma Arcade Complex, Grnd Flr 09449485293, girls parents in reShops 425 sft 60 L. 9840817926 UDS spectable position. 238 sft SUITABLE MATCH for an attractive, vivacious Christian. F/29/160 MA, COMMERCIAL LAND living in Melbourne. Seeking handsome Groom settled in Australia. 400 ACRES dry Land in Arakonam (90 Contact Email: groom.melb@ kms from chennai) for sale. Rs.250 gmail.com crores.single owner. Very Strictly No Brokers.Ct: 9677078768

GENERAL

TAMIL

BUSINESS FOR SALE

FACTORIES & SITES

TAMIL MUSLIM 32/ 155, B.Tech. MBA Fair Slim Working in MNC Chennai 1 ACRE LAND ( 3 Side Road ), with Religious Educated Family seeks New Shed, 15 K sqft, for Sale in Professionally Employed Groom InSIDCO Industrial Estate, Gum- dia/ Abroad. 9789055361 drmohd45@ midipoondi. Contact: 9940095288 gmail.com

PROFIT −MAKING with 5Cr Turnover Chennai based debt free BSE listed digital media/animation, Software and Training Company with Contents of Repute is available for M&A/ Takeover. Serious Companies only write to [email protected] with details

FARMHOUSE / LAND / RESORTS

FINANCE

MACHINERY FOR SALE

FINANCE AVAILABLE 09869660994

Contact:

LOANS FOR Mortgage, Business & Foreign Projects immediate loan . Ct: 09884322633 / +9144−26445544

DOCTOR

Finance against Properties, Cheques & abroad projects. Ph− 09840024113

TECHNICAL

PQM for Punjabi Khatri Girl / BTech MBA IT 26 yrs 5’5" very fair beautiful, working top MNC Bangalore. Caste region no bar. E: [email protected] Ph: 9871534116. SEEKING HIGHLY educated Christian groom (IAS/IFS/Scientist/Govt. Off.) for 26y 153cm PhD IISc only child CNI parents Govt.Off. [email protected]

WANTED (MITSUBISHI) Wireedm Programer, Operators, VMC−BFW Operators Contact: 9444279865/ 9840740732

GENERAL

✔ NEED ANY Language Brahmin Groom − India or Abroad. Telugu Brahmin Girl 1984/165/BTech/V.Fair. Now at USA, (Open to settle in India/ Abroad). Girl visiting India in Apr−2017. Ph:09791111321/ 08939750424

DAILY INCOME with Proof. India’s 1st. www.financeexperts.co.in

DEFENCE SUITABLE MATCH for army major,mns, 35yrs,155cm,slim fair.wanted armyman of same or higher rank(caste no bar)−9411198730,9761571624 email:[email protected]

DIVORCEE HINDU SC/AD 34/158, Fair, PhD(Engg) −Faculty, Govt, Chennai−Divorcee, No Issues−Seeks Suitable Qualified Groom with Clean habits. Caste No Bar Ct:9940373865/[email protected]

VACANCIES ✔ INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL in AP need teachers. 43803125

www.thodeti.com

MALAYALAM CSI NADAR girl 32/158, medium, M.Sc., B.Ed, MPhil (doing). Employed boys upto 36 with similar qualification. Tvm natives contact:0471−2351740 SC HINDU Girl Sambava/Rohini/26/ 155 Design Engineer(NIFT) ,MNC Mumbai seeks suitable alliance. 9447247017 MALABAR NAIR Parents settled in Bangalore invite alliance for divorcee daughter, BE, 39, with one child, Pooradam, Senior Software Engineer, MNC, Bangalore from Boys of suitable profile 9448956418 [email protected] SC−PATHIYAN GIRL (caste no bar): Agri Scientist − PHD (Pune) 31/ 157, Anizham, middle class Pathanamthitta Dist, seeks alliance from well employed professionals. 9446096008, 9447296008 Palakkad middle class Nair family settled at Chennai invite alliance from suitable boy for legally and shortly divorced daughter, 31 yrs. 160 cms. Fair, pooyam, Asst. Prof. in MBA. Please send profile with photo to "meenudarls3103@ gmail.com." CHENNAI SETTLED Marar Girl 23/155 Fair Makam BE employed seek suitable alliance from professionals. Send full details: kpmukunth@ gmail.com Age 23 nair f/Christian m girl BE mnc working Malayalam hindu req age b29 mob 09842218153. NAIR NAMBIAR Aswathi Chovvai−8 30/ 150 MBBS, D.Ortho, seeks Doctor / well settled Engineer Groom from Same Caste. Ct:8144140365 / 9345550365 HINDU AVITAM Kumbam 25/157 M.Sc M.Phil(Maths) B.Ed Father−Nair, Mother−Naidu seeks Nair Groom, Equaly Qualified Emplyd Clean Habit 9940352808

044−

KONGU VELLALA Gounder (Divorcee− 4yrs girl child) 32/167, Pooradam, Fair, ML., Advocate Coimbatore. Seeks Govt/Police Officers from a decent family. Caste No Bar. CT:9791511163

VACANCIES

42 / 168 / Ph.D/ SC−AD Never Married seeks alliance from USA / U.K / Foreigners Ct: 04327−256089.

CM YK

THULUVA VELLALA Mudaliar, Punarpoosam 26/152, Doctor MD Final year, Chennai Settled seeks suitable Doctor Groom. Subsect No Bar. 09841060924 Nair Girl Gynecologist 30/165/Pooyam seeks alliance from professionally well qualified. Contact 0471− 2540969.

LADY, 52, White seeks unmarried Hindu Malayalee Doctors. 09495621351 MBBS DOCTOR Ezhava girl, 5−3−1987, Bharani, 168cm,doing PG, Govt. Medical College Kerala, Parents well settled and educated, seeks proposals from parents of professionals preferably MBBS/ PG doctors. 9447865771 ALLIANCE INVITED from Doctors with excellent career and family background having exposure to outside kerala in the 50s for an unmarried lady entrepreneur! 9847925558, [email protected]

HINDU FC 53 yrs Fair, Good Looking Govt. Teacher Divorcee without issue seeks Well employed Professional Bridegroom around 50 to 55 yrs with Good Character. Ct: 9842714016/ 0452−2458262 HINDU NADAR 25 yrs 165cm, M.A, B.Ed, M.Phil. Seeks Suitable Groom from same community, well Established and Rich Family. 09003214128 TAMIL YADAV Jun’76, Moolam, MCA, S/ w engr Chennai. Looks defying her age.Seeks similar match Unmarried groom. CNB. Ct: 8939042966 PILLAI 24/170, Uthiram, Kanni, B.Arch, fair, good looking seeks suitable groom. Ct:9842985116/ [email protected] THULUVA VELLALA 25/167 B.E., MBA Private Bank Employee Good Looking Revathy/Meenam Seeks Govt. Employed Groom Ct.:9789519393, 9952131413 HINDU AD 27/170 v.fair BE SWE− USA seeks suitable groom 27−32yrs. Caste no bar. Ct:9840346182/ 9840263173 SC/AD 36/164 fair emplyd Govt. Teacher Chennai seeks qualified settled groom employed Govt/Bank/ IT/ Private below 41 Caste No Bar 9245180644 HINDU SC AD 25/150, BA, HR (Recruiter) Mesham, Bharani, Wheatish, only daughter seeks well settled groom. HBP: 9840768077/ [email protected] CNB 28 (Ph.D) student Chennai affluent seeks professionally qualified employed groom MBC/BC. Ct:9003275707 HINDU SC A/D −27/168 CM, BDS, Self employed in own Hospital Ct− 09443815814 DIVORCE PG IN Dental,Noissue needs PG Dental,Medical & Engg in Mudaliar Community age in 36 Years in&around Chennai.Ct:9444157069,735 8650966 DEVENDRAKULA VELLALAR 30.1.1983/ 160 BE Maham Simmam SBI Officer Chennai seeks Prof Qlfd Groom 09445234067 HINDU SC/AD,28/165,Chithirai/Kanni, MBBS doing P.G,dip in Dermotology seeks Doctor Groom.Caste No bar. Ct:94442 28272/ 94864 65929

SC, HINDU − 173cm/24yrs, BE(CSE) not working, hastham−kanni , seeks suitable groom, ct: 9443471183, [email protected]

Hartha Vadama 28yrs/168 cm Moolam IV B.Com CA FInal .Requires groom BE(MS/MBA) Vadama/Brahacharanam Ph 9884812308/ [email protected]

GIRL 25 maham BE bank employee mother Brahmin father non Brahmin. veg family seeks Brahmin groom contact 9442270252

VANNIAKULAKSHATRIYA 34/155 Uttiradam, Dhanush, Central Govt, Kalpakkam 7 Lac PA. Seeks educated employed groom. Caste No Bar. 9940869904. durairaj_ramaswamy@redi ffmail.com

PILLAI VEG 24/150 BE Bank Employed in Bangalore seeks Prof Qlfd Empld groom Subsects no bar. Ct:9901499032

RC GOUNDER 32/153 MSc MPhil Maths seeks suitable groom Caste No Bar. 8190915339/ mariasusai2015@ gmail.com

SAIVA PILLAI Veg 32/175 MCA/SWE, working in USA Divorce,issueless, well−settled seeks Well−educated below 38,Veg pref, Hindu−Caste No Bar. Ct− 9600043356/ brideinusa@ gmail.com

SC HINDU Poosam Kadagam 32/160 slim,fair MA(Eng) seek WellQlfd Empld below36 Business/Govt CNB 9840174244

MUDALIAR HASTAM 29/154 MCA Fair UpperMidleClass seeks ProflyQlfd TAMIL YADAVA Tiruvadirai 29/171 Setld Chennai Mudaliar/Pillai MBBS, MD 70000/pm innocent di- 8220757159 vorcee seeks Dr, Engr, PG Groom. 9443228358 SCAD POORADAM 29/162 BE MBA IIMB VALLUVAN 29/152 Govt Teacher MA MNC Chennai 18Lpa seek Sutable BEd Divorcee Issueles Seeks suit- Groom CNB 8220030491 seeva.1953@ able Groom ( Divorcee/Widower ) gmail.com without child Caste No Bar in & around Chennai only 8760024017 NANJIL PILLAI Girl, 28/165, Mirugaseridam M.E., M.S.(USA) working /[email protected] MNC (USA) with H1B VISA; Seeks HINDU 24MANAI Telugu Chettiar groom working in USA with ComparaProfile. Ct: 9842453050/ B.Sc, 38/150 Divorcee No Issues, ble Chennai Based, Caste No Bar. [email protected]/ [email protected] Ph:9597239459

PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN Girl 25/158 B.Tech Very Fair Beautiful.Seeks Born Again Groom. 9791083974/ 8778344802

PILLAI 30 Anusham B.com MBA Raghu in Lagnam seeks qualified groom 9789898015 [email protected]

CHENNAI FAIR girl MTech (CVI) 24yrs MNC B’lore (Prog.Artficial Intelgnce)father Dr working Kerala seek Xtians bornagain profnls Engrs Drs India/Abroad Email [email protected] WELL SETTLED Nair Girl Fair 35/162 MCA S/W Professional MNC Bangalore 09342993110

SOZIA VELLALAR PILLAI Bride/26Yrs/ 154cm/MCA(Vishakam/Thulam) Sys Eng seeks qualified Bangalore groom (Caste No Bar) Ph:09491130211/ 9449801638/9632018981 Email: [email protected]

CSI CHRISTIAN Devendrakulavellalar, Hindu, Mukkulothor, Kallar,37,SWE,B BE,TCS,Chennai, Age 30/165cm, Fair, E.,MBA(UK),Kanni Rasi Chittirai Slim, Seek employed Ph:9597987931 Nat,girl working in TCS,Chennai, seeks suitable groom.Caste no bar, RC CHRISTIAN 25/155 MBA, fair, Contact 9962020980. working & settled in Bangalore. DKV 28/160, MDS,Oral Surgery, MeCaste no bar. Ct: 08762302906 sham,Bharani,Working in Pvt MediRC NADAR Girl 30/165 Fair, Slim, cal College−Chennai, 5 lacs PA. BE/ MBA/SWE USA seeks Groom Good Seeks Bridegroom, Doctors/Group 1 Ct− Family bkd working USA/ Chennai/ Officers/Executive/Engineers. Bangalore.Ct:9443600443/ sma8451@ 8903284006. gmail.com HINDU NADAR 36/172 Avittam Magara CSI CHRISTIAN Nadar Girl Fair, Rasi MSIT Software Bangalore seekGood Looking, 03−04−1986 born / ing Remarriage looks for groom. 152cm / M.Sc M.Phil , working as Caste Divorcee no bar without ChilAssistant Professor in a Reputed dren Ct: 9443320465/ arunesh8484@ Women’s College, Mount Road, Chen- gmail.com nai. Both Parents Doctors (Private) , Suitable Alliance, Employed / MUDALIAR 24/160, B.E(ECE), Revathi Settled in Chennai / With Clean Star, No Dosham, Good Looking, Habits from Same Community. Con- Sr.Engineer L&T, Chennai. Ct: Parent: 9444398256, Email: kpm6800@ tact: 9841182514 gmail.com CSI TAMIL Girl 27yrs working as a staff nurse,Chennai, looking for a PILLAI (SEER karuneegar) 24/168 Qualified employed groom. Ct: good looking MBBS bride seeks veg post Graduate doctorGroom 044− [email protected] 43597687 BEAUTIFUL BRIDE 33/ 170 / 58 Born Again Christian Software Eng. USA HINDU NADAR 42 yrs PG C.govt 6 LPA please mail at [email protected] Divorcee very fair parents seek Ph: 9884298994, 8754534111, qualified & Employed Groom settled/ to be settled in Delhi 9042708093 Ct:09958876667 34/SMU/divorce/no issues/M.Tech/ well−to−do family seeks descent HINDU NADAR 40 yrs MCA/ MBA SWE well settled groom from Chennai. Project Manager, C.Govt 15 LPA Fair & good looking parents seek [email protected] qualified employed Groom. Ct: CSI NADAR girl 32/158, medium, 09717028822 M.Sc., B.Ed, MPhil (doing). Employed boys upto 36 with high qualification, parents settled Tvm/KK border area contact: 0471−2351740, 09447248414

HINDU SCAD Msc. July 1981 Working SBI,Moolam I−Padam Thanusu seeks professionaly or Equalent good family Character Ct:9884386092 / 9840505586

DOCTOR

COMPUTER / INFO.TECH.

SC, DKV, 37, Diverse, BE, MNC, HINDU AGAMUDAIYAR girl Poosam 25/ Chennai 35000, Own House, Suitable 168 B.Tech(IT) working in ZOHO, Groom Call: 9445115944 Chennai. 4 laks p/a. seeks groom same caste B.E, B.Tech, M.E, M.S. VANNIYAKULA KSHATRIYA DOB 24−03− Ct:08610044908, Email:save31201@ 1983/165cm M.Sc Maths Poosam gmail.com Katagam Employed Cognizent (CTS) USA Corp seeks Bridegroom. Con- HINDU SC Arunthathiyar Uthiratadhi tact: 9789890690 BHP to Meenam 26/165 BE(E&C) seeks [email protected] WellQualified Emplyd SameCaste 09448923396 SC PARAYAN 26/Avitam/Kumbam MBBS Doctor,TN Govt Hospital Group−B HINDU AGAMUDIYAR 26/150 cm MBBS RoSeeks MBBS Dr/Govt Officer hini seeks Groom from MS or MD, Ct:9445489331 Coimbatore Only. CT:9443776534

Sozhia Pillai MCA 24 Pooram Fair Goodlooking Seeks Profnl Below 30 send BHP [email protected] 9790685133 TNPHC GOVT DR MBBS DPH Cuddalore DT 39 divorcee (40 Days only) No issue Inter caste mostly veg Father Hindu Adhidravida (Inter) CN CX SC Mother Vanniyakula Kshatriya MBC From FC look like a college student as 21 seek MBBS ME from any places who want to settle with bride’s working places from welltodo family want like a college student age 36/48 Caste religion Country Citizen Citizenship No bar 9894460196.

Hindu, Kallar Thanjavur 23/158 M.Tech., Parents employed seek settled professionally qualified bridegroom from same caste mail THULUVA VELLALA Mudaliar, Punarto [email protected] poosam 26/152, Doctor MD Final year, Chennai Settled seeks suitRE− MARRIAGE: Hindu girl settled able Doctor Groom. Subsect No Bar. in Kerala,28, Pooram,highly quali- 09841060924 fied, employed, rich,divorce within few months seeks grooms only PILLAI 42/163 MCA working USA PR from highly qualified, employed, seeks Profnls. Visit India April. rich, forward casts abroad or 9894054469 / pnraja45@ India.7592893185 rediffmail.com

SC AD 35yrs BE working Pvt Co.,Chennai, Divorcee no issues, Seeks BE/MBA age between 36 to 39yrs Divorcee without issues, Preferred chennai based Ct:08300224694. Agents Excuse

NEET,TET,IIT by Xperts. Guindy, Chennai − 7299927911 www. ictacademy.co

TAMIL HINDUNADAR 37/164 MSC looking for suitable groom 37−42 from same caste contact 9443268392 kvsvhn−[email protected]

TAMIL MUSLIM seek professionaly employd groom, prfbly Chennai for HINDU NADAR, Bharani, 31/155, PG, daughter 28/157 graduate. Smart, good looking seeks same caste Groom, well qualified & setSINGARAKOTAI NR. Vatalagundu Ct:9566195694 tled, clean habits from Good 20Acres 800ft Highwy frontage TAMIL MUSLIM Rowther 26/150 MSC Family.Ct : 7598344708 09445090908 (CS) Fair Slim Wrkng SWEng USCompaDINDIGUL SEMBATTI NH47 ny B’lore,Seeks Qlfd SWEng chennai/ SC 24/168 Fair BA BL(Hons) (ML) 37Acres+1800CoconutTree 4Wells B’lore Ct:[email protected]/0868281 Civil Judge 65K Upperclass well 25HP 09445090908 3831 settled Chennai seeks groom. 9840583935 RESIDENTIAL LAND TAMIL RAWTHER Girl 21/160 native from Thiruvarur dist.Singapore cit- HINDU NADAR 34 Yrs PhD Divorcee No KODAIKANAL GHAT Road junction 8.5 izen educated in Business Manage- Issues expects suitable Groom, Acres DTCP apprd plots; 094450− ment. Seek fair handsome with Doc- same caste.Send BioData Horoscope tor/CA/Engineer similar family Photo to shanthimuthupandian@ 90908 background India/Abroad. Ct: gmail.com [email protected] Hindu Nadar Thiruvonam 32Yrs Fair CATHOLIC REDDIAR BE MBA 29yrs Di- MCA Seeks suitable Same Caste SELLING vorcee 10LPA seeks Suitable Bride- Groom send BHP paandiyanraajam@ RESIDENTIAL LAND groom fr Chennai.Caste no bar. gmail.com 9443326415 HYDERABAD WELL Developed HMDA Open Widow 38 Chettiar with 2 Kids(Boy Plot for Sale Nr TCS Adibhatla 50% CSI CHRISTIAN Nadar Parents seek & Girl) looking for educated proBank Loan Ph 9848390939/ Groom with Clean habits for Daugh- fessionals or Business persons who 9912393959 ter BE Jan84 162 cm Manager Nabard can accept kids as well.CNB Bank Chennai Ct: 9443282524/ Email:− [email protected] Ct− 8122260106 9443560519

26/160 CMS/MBBS MD final yr/looking for Tamil,SC groom 26−30yrs MD/ MS / 9448799229 MUDALIAR 25/174 Uthirattathi good COSMOPOLITAN looking Non Vegetarian MBBS workChristian 28y BTech,MBA, fair,5’2 , ing in reputed Pvt Hospital in working Hyd seeks suitable groom Chennai,preparing PG Seeks MBBS/PG Groom.Ct:9884195393 / latha.kuber@ in India.9441210555 yahoo.com MEN 48Yrs Seeks Girl below 45 yrs Immediate Marriage Preferred from HINDI Cinema Line. Ct:9940335229 JAIN 35 / 5.3 / Divorcee/B.Com / 39 unmarried cnb CA qlfd Team Lead Employed seek Groom 35 −39 yrs, MNC Bnglre seeks PQM unmarried Doc- Smart, educated Patel,Agarwal,Jain, tors/Engrs/CAs 39/43 .9902011748/ Maheswari, Brahmin Veg family. [email protected] 8610145770

5 Crores & Above Big Loans for Good Projects and Business Expansion, Low Interest Immediate Sanction. Ct:09486382227 / 09043366822

TAMIL PILLAI UTHIRATATHI Meenam 35/Divorce BE/MBA MNC−Ch seek suitable groom blw 40 divorce/unmarred 9176370621

SC SWATHI Thulam,Sevaidosham 26/ 160 MBA Software Rs.18K/pm seeks suitable Groom. 9710634024/ 9444711533 DR. AK. KANNAN Salem seeks alliance for daughter meenakshi 31/ 180 Phd from canada Ct : 09843030324 kannankumaraswami@ yahoo.com SC AD 23/162 Visagam Thulam BE Fair Employed seek Educated Employed Groom 9445821336/ Amsa19646@ gmail.com TAMIL/HINDU Nadar, 27/160 Pooradam, Dhanusu, IAS Indian Administrative Service, Maharashtra. Seeks IAS,IPS,IRS Hindu Bridegroom, (28−32), Caste no bar. 09445282905, 09941137112

HINDU NADAR 25/163 MBBS MS V.Fair VISWAKARMA 28/160 fair Uthradam BE Multi Millioners 23/165 MBBS Fair SWE MNC Chennai 6LPA seeks BE/ME seek MS MCH MD IAS selvam well employed Ct: 09486470296 09884188849 [email protected] HINDU NADAR 23/165 BE V.Fair 21/ TAMIL MUDALIAR 31/PunarPoosam Doc- 163 B.Com VFair Multi Millioners tor−MBBS MD(Ped) Divorcee seek edu- seeks Multi Millioners Selvam cated wellsettled groom CNB 9003074392 9840492107 MUDALIAR THIRUVONAM 27/170 MS ComMUDALIAR Dr Md Rich Bride Very puter Science S/W Engr MNC Singafair 29/168 no dhosam chennai pore seeks suitable groom Subcaste seeks MD groom any Mudaliar no bar. Ct:9381015593/ g8_bala@ yahoo.com 09443895200

TAMIL YADAVA 26/165 ME,Eng wrkng MNC,Bangalore looking for allaince SAIVA PILLAI 30 MBA Ajuba MNC difrom Same Community from Bangalore vorcee no issues seeks divorcee/ Pref. 9486334611/ 9442061708 widower without issues below 35yrs CNB. Ct:9884623072/ rwindkumar@ NATIVE OF Chennai pursuing MRCP at gmail.com UK, 28/156/Tamil/Hindu/AD from well educated family seeks suit- REDDY 30/165 BE MNC Blr 10LPA diable groom from Doctor/Tamil/Hindu/ vorcee, no issues seeks suitable UK/Chennai. Caste no bar. Contact groom empld in Blr, CNB : 94458 29178 Ct:09980999018/ 09844259059, [email protected] SEVVAIDOHAM 29/162 very fair Gavara naidu MBA working in pri- VISWAKARMA 42/150 Pooram Msc BEd vate concern at Chennai. Seeks Teacher (Govt),Chennai B.T Assit well settled & good family back- seeks well−qualified groom from ground groom .Ct:9790240514/ same community. 08056064810/ [email protected] 09868619097/ [email protected]

HINDU YADAV Girl 28/168,Slim Btfl, IIM/BE MNC/Mngr,CTC−11Lkh,Wntd Yadav/OBC blw 30,Same/Eql Qulf.984075 5418/[email protected] PILLAI (ONLYCHILD) Fair 25/155 MBBS,MS (Meritseat) Chennai seeks Drs/Engg 9385599044 / 0431−4024022 MUDALIAR V.FAIR 25/160 BE,MBA Chennai well to do seeks India/abroad Ch−9385599033 / 9384884888 SC AD 25 / B.E(ECE) Govt.Job, Cashier (Indian Bank) 25,000p.m. Seeks Bride Groom. Mrs. Malar − A ND-ND 9962514855

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THE HINDU

CITY 5

NOIDA/DELHI

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017

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Fire at factory kills caretaker Victim’s son sufers burns; police suspect short-circuit to be the cause of blaze Staff Reporter NEW DELHI

A caretaker of a plastic factory was killed and his son suffered burns after a major fire broke out on the factory premises in the early hours of Saturday. According to the police, there were six workers present in the factory at the time of the fire but barring the victims — Koski Nandan Dubey (50) and Niraj Dubey (22) – others were rescued.

Charred: Fireighters said it took nine hours to douse the lames. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

Combustible material A fire department official said the call was made at 12:10 a.m. and 35 fire tenders were pressed into service. “The factory staff members were present on the first floor. We have not ascertained where the fire started. But it spread rapidly as a lot

of combustible substances were lying on all three floors of the building. After the call was received, a police team and fire officials visited the spot and rushed the victims to a nearby hospital,” said a senior police officer.

Son out of danger Koski Nandan Dubey died during treatment while Niraj is said to be out of danger. The fire official added that the fire was doused after nearly nine hours of fire fighting. The police added that since many of the fire tenders went for a water refill, it is estimated that water from 80-90 water tanks was pumped in to control the fire. The police said the casualty could have been much

higher had the fire broken out at any other time of the day as there is limited activity in the factory at night. Dubey is survived by his wife and two sons. Niraj worked as a labourer in the factory.

Forensic evidence The police said that they suspect a short circuit led to the fire but considering that plastic is a petroleum byproduct, sometimes high temperature in the factory also causes fire. “We will take forensic and other experts to the site once it cools down,” said the officer, adding that all three floors were completely gutted. The police have registered a case under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) against unidentified persons.

Ambedkar’s statue vandalised in Noida village

4 students booked for ragging

Residents protest, demand prompt replacement of statue

Press Trust of India

Purusharth Aradhak Noida

A statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar was vandalised by unidentified miscreants in Sarfabad village in Noida on Friday night, triggering tension in the area. Residents visiting the park in the morning found the statue’s right hand and nose broken. As the news spread, people from nearby areas also gathered at the spot and started protesting.

Sentiments hurt Soon, senior police and administration officials reached the spot and tried to pacify the protesters. They covered the broken statue, which is located in a park adjacent to the indoor stadium. According to the residents, some anti-social elements vandal-

CM YK

The defaced statue.

*

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

ised the statue to disrupt the peace in the village. BSP’s Gautam Budh Nagar unit president Lal Singh Gautam said, “It appears to be the work of someone who wants to trigger tension in the area. We demand a fair probe and stringent action against those who hurt the people’s sentiments by vandalising the statue,” he said.

The protesters demanded that the administration replace the statue, complete the fencing of the park and deploy a security guard. “We reached the spot before the police and pacified the people and asked them not to take the law in their hands. We have given an ultimatum to the police and administration to replace the statue and ensure safety of all statues in the district,” Tikam Singh, an Ambedkar follower, told The Hindu.

Statue to be replaced Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate N.P. Singh said he had directed the police to replace the statue. SP, Noida City, Dinesh Yadav confirmed that the new statue will be installed at the park by Sunday morning.

Noida

Four students of a private university here have been booked for allegedly ragging their junior on the campus, the police said on Saturday. The incident is alleged to have taken place on Thursday following which the student informed his parents, who complained to the police on Friday.

Varsity denies claim However, the university management claimed that the incident was a fallout of a personal dispute and not related to ragging. Based on the complaint a case has been lodged against the four accused students. The victim said he could identify only one of them. The SHO said investigation in this connection is under way.

A ND-ND

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6 NORTH

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017

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HP again seeks loan from RBI

IN BRIEF

1,291 cases registered by ACB: Minister JAIPUR

A total of 1,291 cases were registered by the ACB of Rajasthan in last three years, State Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said on Saturday. Of these, 803 were of bribery, 165 of disproportionate assets and 423 registered against officials misusing their official positions. PTI

Woman held with heroin near Nepal border MOTIHARI (BIHAR)

The SSB on Saturday recovered 420 gms of heroin worth ₹2.5 crore from a woman from Mahadeva checkpost along the IndoNepal border in East Champaran district, SSB 47 battalion Commandant Sonam Cherring said. PTI

To pay allowance to jobless, salaries to govt staf Staff Correspondent SHIMLA

To meet its latest commitment of paying an unemployment allowance and to pay the salaries and pensions of the State government employees, fundstarved Himachal Pradesh has again sought a loan of ₹700 crore this week, according to a government notification of the Finance Department. The government had already taken a loan of similar amount on March 14. The demand for repeated loans has been necessitated because of the recent announcement of provid-

Rawat for CBI probe into highway scam

ing a stipend to the jobless youth in the election year by the Virbhadra Singh government. There are more than 8.5 lakh registered unemployed youth in the State, according to the Economic Survey.

8.5 lakh jobless The Chief Minister during his Budget estimates presentation on March 10 had declared that all Class 10+2 pass unemployed youth would be given an allowance of ₹1000 per month and the disabled youth would be given ₹1,500 per month from the month of April this year. He had said that he had

OBITUARY & REMEMBRANCE

kept a provision of ₹150 crore in the Budget. The State government had earlier taken a loan of ₹1,000 crore in January this year for developmental works and meeting its increasing liabilities. The requests for the loan have baffled the Opposition. Earlier loans have been adjusted in paying the 3 % DA to the State employees. The government payes over ₹150 crore every year for the DA to the serving employees and the pensioners. Himachal has a debt of around ₹42,000 crore now with the recent count of ₹2400 crore.

DEATH

DEATH ANNIVERSARIES

Six govt oicials suspended

Trivendra Singh Rawat being welcomed at State BJP oice at Dehradun. VIRENDER SINGH NEGI *

Staff Reporter DEHRADUN

A week after being sworn-in as the State’s new Chief Minister, Trivendra Rawat, while reiterating that he would work towards a corruptionfree system of governance, on Saturday said he recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into a ₹240 crore land acquisition and compensation scam related to the construction of NH 74 in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district. An initial probe by the Kumaon Commissioner shows that between 2011 and 2016, the State had to bear losses of up to ₹240 crore in the distribution of compensation to the people whose land was acquired for the construction of NH 74. Since national agen-

CM YK

cies, including the National Highways Authority of India, are also involved in the case, a CBI probe would be recommended in the scam, Mr. Rawat said, adding that all State enquiries shall now be stopped and only the CBI would probe the matter.

Agricultural land In the alleged scam, while agricultural land being allegedly shown as commercial land to inflate the compensation money by about 20 times, and many farmers who had to be given compensation were excluded, the Commissioner’s report stated. “So far, about 18 cases have come up, where payment irregularities of up to ₹240 crore have been reported,” Mr Rawat said.

DEATH

DELHI, INDIA. Mr Royapettah Natarajan, B.E. 84 years, 21/01/1933 to 21/03/2017. Mr R Natarajan passed away on March 21, 2017 peacefully after a long battle with Parkinson’s. He is survived by a son R. Ravirajan, a daughter Indira Prabakaran, a son−in−law Prabakaran Kesavan, four grandchildren, brothers Mr R Ganesh and R Ananth, nephews and nieces, and close friends. He will be extremely missed by all.

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THE HINDU

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NOIDA/DELHI

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017

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IN BRIEF

Three Maoists surrender in Odisha

Odisha Assembly passes resolution on paddy MSP Seeks upward revision of price from ₹1,470 to ₹2,930 per quintal

MALKANGIRI

Satyasundar Barik

Three hardcore Maoists, carrying rewards on their heads, surrendered on Saturday before the police in Malkangiri district. The three were allegedly involved in around 30 cases including murder. - PTI

Bhubaneswar

Three killed in Bengal road accident BURDWAN

Three persons were killed in a head on collision between a bus and their car in West Bengal’s Burdwan district on Saturday. The car was on way to Katwa from Asansol. - PTI

The Odisha Assembly on Saturday unanimously passed a resolution seeking upward revision of the minimum support price of paddy from ₹1470 to ₹2930 per quintal. After hours of debate, it was decided that a House committee would be constituted under the chairmanship of Speaker Niranjan Pujari in which all political parties would have representations.

House panel to meet PM The House committee would meet Prime Minister Naren-

dra Modi to submit its demand. Earlier in the day, State Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy moved the resolution, stating that the State government had been repeatedly demanding a higher MSP for paddy from the central government to ensure adequate and fair returns for the farmer. “The MSP fixed by the Union government is not commensurate with the rising costs of inputs such as seeds, fertiliser, manure, micro nutrient, irrigation charges and hiring charges of farm machineries being

incurred by farmers in the State,” Mr. Maharathy said. As per statistics of the State government, the cost of production of per quintal of paddy is ₹2,344. The minister had proposed fixation of MSP at ₹2,500 per quintal in the resolution.

Congress demand The opposition Congress, however, said the MSP at ₹2500 per quintal of paddy was too low considering that a farmer spends ₹2344 to produce a quintal of paddy. The leader of the Opposition, Narasingha Mishra, had

proposed the MSP at ₹3516, or 150% of the cost of production. However, the House resolved to demand MSP at ₹2930 per quintal paddy stating that it was an acceptable figure.

Farmers’ suicide The State Assembly has been frequently disrupted over farmers’ suicide for several days. Opposition Congress and BJP members had been demanding constitution of a House committee which would probe the reason behind the suicides. The ruling BJD had rejected the demand.

Minister urges Centre to scrap single engineering entrance test ‘Move amounts to Centre’s intrusion into State’s jurisdiction’ Press trust of India

structure as the State governments were not consulted before initiating such move on an issue which falls under Concurrent List.

Kolkata

The West Bengal Government today expressed concern against the single entrance examination for all engineering colleges from 2018 and urged the Centre to scrap its proposed move. State’s Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said that he had already sent a letter to the Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar opposing the Centre’s move to scrap state engineering entrance exams and pave the way for a central entrance test for admissions to all engineering colleges. In his letter, Mr Chatterjee said that he had requested Mr Javadekar to reconsider

Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee *

the decision to begin the single entrance exam for all engineering colleges from 2018 onward and dismiss the proposal. Describing the proposed move as Centre’s intrusion into State’s jurisdiction, he said that this should not have been done in a federal

‘No parity in syllabus’ “The West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board the nodal body conducting the JEE engineering tests in the State is an established agency set up by us. There have been no problems in conducting the engineering exams. Then why does the Centre want to discontinue this existing system?” the Minister asked. Mr Chatterjee also said that there is no parity in the syllabus among the various boards.

Stolen babies handed over to parents after DNA test Correspondent CUTTACK

Two stolen newborns, who were rescued by the Cuttack city police earlier this month after successfully busting a kidnapping racket, were handed over to their respective biological parents here on Saturday.

CM YK

The real parents of the babies were identified after a DNA test that was held following a local court order. “The babies were till date kept under the care of SCB Medical College and Hospital,” informed local ACP Seetaram Satpathy.

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THE HINDU

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017

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IN BRIEF

‘Son-in-law behind murder’ We have solid evidence of his afair with colleague, allege slain A.P. techie’s parents er’s advice and change. She even booked a ticket for her to the U.S. hoping that she would help her out of the situation. Unfortunately, she supported her son and asked my daughter to adjust,” Mrs. Kumari alleged.

Tharun Boda VIJAYAWADA

Suresh Prabhu launches schemes via video link HYDERABAD

Union Minister of Railways Suresh P. Prabhu launched several projects and new passenger facilities at various places across the South Central Railway limits. He inaugurated the projects through remote videolinkage from Hi-tech City Railway Station in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Kannur varsity teacher booked for misconduct KANNUR

The Kerala police registered a case against T.V. Ramakrishnan, head of the mathematics department, Kannur University, following a complaint of misconduct by three postgraduate students. The registrar forwarded the complaint following the varsity Syndicate’s decision on March 14.

‘Agrarian crisis in Anantapur district dire’

Parents of software engineer N. Sasikala, who was found murdered along with her son in New Jersey, U.S., produced emails on Saturday to substantiate their allegation that their son-in-law N. Hanumantha Rao was behind the crime. The motive was to “continue his affair with his colleague,” they alleged. Sasikala and her sevenyear-old son were found dead in a pool of blood in their apartment in Maple Shade on Thursday.

Huge loss: Vijayawada Mayor Koneru Sridhar (right) with Sasikala’s parents in Vijayawada. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

‘Daughter harassed’ In what they said was “solid evidence” that established an affair between Mr. Hanumantha Rao and a colleague, Sasikala’s father S. Venkateswara Rao, mother S. Krishna Kumari, family members and their advocates presented before the

media screenshots of purported conversations between the two. Ms. Kumari said there was evidence to show that Mr. Hanumantha Rao had been having an affair with a colleague who worked as a manager. Since 2012, they had been having an affair

*

Hanumantha Rao detained in Hyderabad HYDERABAD

Former Congress MP V. Hanumantha Rao was on Saturday detained for protesting over the FIR lodged against him for misbehaving with a policeman. “This is a conspiracy against me. I did not say anything wrong,” Mr. Rao told the media here. ANI

Government’s eforts to persuade people against it fail Sathish G.T. Hariharapura

The risky ritual of Sidi was held as part of the annual Udusalamma festival at Hariharapura in the Holenarsipur taluk on Saturday, despite opposition by a few pro-Dalit organisations. The Hassan district administration’s attempt to persuade people against participating in the ritual failed.

Walking on fire Four Dalit men of Chakenahalli got metal hooks inserted in their bodies before taking part in the Sidi. Many women from all castes, locked up their mouths with metal hooks to take part in the procession of the deity, held as part of the festival. They all participated in the fire-walking

Risky feat: A man performing Sidi at Hariharapura in Hassan on Saturday. PRAKASH HASSAN *

ritual in front of the Udusalamma temple. The religious events, which started at dawn, culminated with the Sidi, in which Dalit men are tied to a wooden pole. They do many rounds as the pole is rotated at the other end. More than

10 men took part in the ritual. The district administration had deployed police at Hariharapura and in the neighbouring villages, as there were reports that proDalit organisations would stage a protest opposing the risky ritual.

Woman abducted in Kurnool, rape suspected 4-year-old’s sleep problem is parents’ nightmare

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ANANTAPUR

The Congress on Saturday accused the A.P. government of being “heartless and callous” in its response to the agrarian crisis in Anantapur district. Addressing the one-day ‘Samuhika Satyagraham’ programme here, APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy came down heavily on the TDP government.

and “from then, our daughter was subjected to harassment,” the retired school teacher alleged. “A year after giving birth to Anish, she (Sasikala) came to know about the affair. My daughter strongly believed that he (Mr. Hanumantha Rao) would heed his moth-

Appeals to govt. “We have emails showing how he was harassing our daughter since 2014,” she said, and added that Sasikala had sent mails to her brother Vijay Bhaskar with attachments of screenshots of purported text conversations between Mr. Hanumantha Rao and his colleague. “None of Sasikala’s in-laws has called us so far to give us information or console us after the murder of our daughter and grandson,” said the slain techie’s father. Vijayawada Mayor Koneru Sridhar visited Mr. Venkateswara Rao's house and consoled the family.

Row notwithstanding, Sidi ritual held in Hassan

Dumped at her house after the incident

Rare ‘Sleeping Beauty’ syndrome afects Kerala girl who once slept for ive days at a stretch Shyama Rajagopal

Special Correspondent KURNOOL

In a dastardly act, masked men sprayed a sedative, abducted a 22-year-old woman from her house in the Halaharvi mandal headquarters of Kurnool district and allegedly raped her. They dumped the unconscious woman with her hands and legs tied, and mouth gagged, in the forecourt of her house in the early hours of Saturday.

Severely beaten up A group of persons with faces covered allegedly barged into the woman’s house after switching off the electrical main outside, sprayed a sedative, abducted

her and severely beat her up in the early hours of Saturday, Adoni DSP Kolli Srinivasa Rao said. A case had been booked, he added. The victim’s husband told the media in the Kurnool general hospital that his nephew who had gone to a late night film at Adoni, returned around 2.30 a.m. and found the bleeding woman lying in the forecourt and alerted the family members and relatives. She was rushed to the hospital in Adoni, 36 km away. Alur circle inspector Ghouse and staff visited the hospital and inquired about the incident. Doctors referred the woman to the Kurnool general hospital, he told the media.

Kochi

The girl would suddenly fall asleep, even while standing or sitting on a sofa or anywhere. She once even slept for five days at a stretch. It was impossible to wake her up even after an hour or two, when one would assume she had got enough sleep. Parents of the child, Liya, who was four years old, were left dazed by what they learnt. She was having ‘sleep attacks’ that left her in deep sleep for hours, with some bouts lasting between 10-12 hours and even five days. “In a desperate moment we tried shining a torch into her eyes”, said Linu Denny,

Liya with her mother Linu Denny. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

her mother. Nothing would wake her up; it was frightening, she said. The trips to hospitals started with the sleep attacks that began in October last year. “What I found was that she was tremendously

hungry before the attacks”, said Linu. “Hungry, irritable and crying.” The doctors found high blood pressure and even high blood sugar in the child, but the heart rate was low, the mother said. Liya’s developmental parameters did not follow a normal timeline. She had delayed speech and showed certain autistic features. Linu and her husband Denny Anthikkadan, a rice mill worker in Kanjoor, Kalady, had sought help earlier. She started speaking only when she turned three.

Eight ‘attacks’ so far The girl has had eight sleep attacks since October. She was treated also for non-

convulsive epileptic attacks earlier, and it was during one such episode that she was found to be bleeding from nose and mouth. The ESI hospital that was sending them to referral centres then sent her to Aster Medcity. Dr. Akbar Mohammed Chettali, paediatric neurologist treating the child, said it was a rare case of a sleeping disorder called Kleine-Levin syndrome or ‘Sleeping Beauty’ syndrome. It is a rare neurological disorder with only around one or two cases per million, he said. A neuropsychiatric disorder, it had earlier been found in a few cases in small children who had autistic

features. But no studies have linked it with autism, he added. A study was done using Polysomnography: recording brain waves, the oxygen level in blood, heart rate and breathing as well as eye and leg movements to diagnose sleep disorders. Consultations with other specialities followed, indicating prolonged REM (rapid eye movement, deep) sleep. Investigations through clinical criteria and diagnosis through exclusion pointed to Kleine-Levin syndrome, said Dr. Chettali. The child has responded to treatment. The sleep attacks are expected to come down with age, the doctor said.

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CM YK

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THE HINDU

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IN BRIEF

People see larger role for religious leaders Citizens upset with politicians: report

Uproot AAP, Shah tells cadre BJP chief sets the wheels in motion for party’s campaign in Delhi civic polls

Staff Reporter

in five State elections recently. There are many factors like the work of Modiji‘s government, his personality, his popularity, his propoor policies and the love of the people for the country. But I believe the biggest and most important factor is the BJP activist fighting at the booth level,” he said. “In all these States, the campaign began with conventions like this one and the result is the spectacular win that the party has secured,” he further said.

Staff Reporter Nagesh Prabhu

Ram Jethmalani hospitalised KOCHI

Rajya Sabha member and well-known lawyer Ram Jethmalani was admitted to a private hospital in Kochi on Saturday after he complained of tiredness. He was in Kochi for a felicitation meeting. Hospital sources said his condition was stable. He was in the ICU for observation.

Man kills daughter, honour killing suspected RAMPUR

In a suspected case of honour killing, a man allegedly strangulated his 16-year-old daughter to death and then burnt her body at Hasanpur North village here, as he was against her relationship with a boy, the police said on Saturday. PTI

Elephant census begins in Assam’s Kaziranga GUWAHATI

The Assam forest department on Saturday started its four-day census of elephants in the Kaziranga National Park. The number of elephants was 1,165 during the last census in 2012, according to Kaziranga Park director Satyendra Singh. IANS

BENGALURU

A large number of people in South Asian countries favour a role for religious leaders as against politicians in major decision-making in their country, at a time when all the countries in the region have democraticallyelected governments. According to a report titled ‘State of Democracy in South Asia’, while in Pakistan more than half the respondents favoured the involvement of religious leaders in place of politicians in crucial decisionmaking, over one-third took this stand in Sri Lanka, and around one-fourth endorsed this position in Nepal, Bangladesh and India. The survey report, which enumerates the opinions of 18,576 citizens in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, has been brought out under the aegis of the Global Barometer Survey and conducted by Lokniti, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, and Jain University, Bengaluru. The support for a role for religious leaders in highest among the Muslims across

countries of the region, says the report. “It can be a matter of debate whether this represents a lack of faith in the political class or a positive endorsement of religious leaders,” said the recentlyreleased study. In Pakistan, minorities such as Hindus and Christians favour a role for the religious leaders. In Sri Lanka, the support for a role in decision-making for religious leaders was not just among the Sinhala Buddhists and Muslims but also among the Christians and Hindus.

Rising polarisation The report said, “Support for religious leaders reflects is not so much a vote of confidence in their credentials but a clear frustration with the political class. The increased religious polarisation that societies in countries of South Asia were witnessing in the recent past might have also contributed to this unconscious assertion of faith in the capacities of religious leaders.” In fact, “it is a rare moment in South Asia today when all the countries in the region have democratically elected governments.”

Bengal Cong to boycott Sibal, Singhvi

NEW DELHI

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah urged thousands of party cadre to “uproot” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and to increasingly strive towards “replacing with saffron” the sole remaining “white spot” that currently characterises the Capital on the political map of northern India at a workers’ convention here on Saturday. Formally setting the wheels in motion for the party’s campaign for the upcoming civic polls with convention events similar to that which preceded the BJP’s campaigns in the recentlyconcluded Assembly elections in five States, Mr. Shah took the opportunity at Ramlila Maidan to open a direct front against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the incumbent AAP Delhi government on issues ranging from corruption to its alleged failure at delivering on manifesto promises after coming to power.

‘Failed to keep promises’ Direct comparisons between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government at the Centre — including the ‘surgical strike’ in Pakistan —

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Up in lames

Direct challenge: Amit Shah in a meeting at the Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi, on Saturday. He is lanked by M. Venkaiah Naidu and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari. SANDEEP SAXENA *

and that of Mr. Kejriwal’s at Delhi found multiple mentions in Mr. Shah’s 24minute-long address to an estimated 65,000 boothlevel workers. These were in line with the party’s strategy to project the civic polls as a battle between what the BJP president termed were Mr. Modi’s “corruption-free and pro-poor” policies and overall image versus the “inher-

ent corruption and failure to deliver on promises” of the latter. Union Minister and former party president M. Venkaiah Naidu, BJP’s national organisation general secretary Ramlal, Union Ministers Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Vijay Goel, were also in attendance. “I have been asked many times the secret to the spectacular success of the party

Stepping stone Pointing to a map of India near the stage, Mr. Shah said that while the country was being painted in “saffron”, Delhi continues to remain a “white spot”, and he asked party workers to ensure the BJP’s victory in the civic polls. “After 2014, the BJP has won nearly everywhere, except Delhi and Bihar. Today, BJP workers will go back with a resolve to plug the gaps so that the BJP’s victory flag is unfurled in the national capital,” the BJP chief said, adding that a victory in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls guaranteed a victory in the Delhi Assembly elections.

KOLKATA

Days after the Trinamool Congress was represented in the Supreme Court by top Congress leaders and lawyers, Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the Bengal Congress has decided to boycott them. Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that they will not invite the two Central leaders to any future programmes of the State unit. “Mr. Sibal has told us that he appeared as the TMC government’s counsel as a professional lawyer but we have decided not to invite him and Mr. Singhvi to any programme of the State Congress,” said Mr. Chowdhury. The Congress leaders represented the TMC-led government in the Narada cash-on-camera case in the Supreme Court, challenging the Calcutta High Court’s decision of a CBI probe. Questioning Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s credibility, Mr. Chowdhury said that if the CM is “really honest” then she should have asked the ministers and MPs who were purportedly seen taking money in the Narada video footage to step down.

BSF oicer plays host to VIP guest Rajnath visits house of Assistant Commandant who lost his eyesight in action

First woman combat oicer

Special Correspondent New Delhi

An officer of the Border Security Force, who lost his eyesight in a counter-insurgency operation, had an unusual guest on Saturday in Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Mr. Singh visited the officer when he had gone to Tekanpur to visit the BSF academy to attend a passing out ceremony of jawans. Mr. Singh decided to meet the family of Assistant Commandant Sandip Mishra when he was told about him by officials. Mr. Singh was told that Indrakshi married Mr. Mishra four years after he lost his eyesight in 2000 while fighting insurgents in

Colossal loss: A ire broke out at the ordnance factory in Khamaria, Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday, setting of a series of explosions. There were no casualties as all workers had already left for home. The ire was doused after three hours. PTI *

Press Trust of India Gwalior

Matter of honour: Rajnath Singh with BSF oicer Sandip Mishra in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh. PTI/ TWITTER *

Assam. “Met the family of BSF Assistant Commandant Sandip Mishra who lost his eyesight during an ambush.

It is their love for the country which binds Sandip and Indrakshi together,” Mr. Singh said on Twitter.

Tanushree Pareek has become the first woman combat officer to be commissioned in the 51-year history of the Border Security Force. Ms. Pareek (25) led the passing out parade of 67 officers that was reviewed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the BSF camp at Tekanpur on Saturday. A resident of Bikaner, Ms. Pareek will be posted along the Indo-Pak. border in Punjab.

Jawans threaten suicide Press Trust of India

Sand maia kills forester, one arrested Staff Reporter Dehradun

A day after a forest worker was allegedly killed by the sand mafia for attempting to prevent illegally mined sand from being smuggled in Uttarakhand’s Ramnagar area, the police on Saturday arrested one person in connection with the case. On Friday night, when Pahalwan Singh, a Beat Watcher in the forest department, was chasing a tractor trolley that was smuggling mined sand from Kosi river, he was crushed to death by the trolley in the Jwala forest area river, Nainital Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Janmejay Khanduri said. Jaswant, the tractor-trolley driver, has been arrested by the police.

CM YK

RSS plans ‘Ram Navami’ rallies in Bengal Staff reporter Kolkata

For the first time, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is all set to celebrate Ram Navami on April 6 across West Bengal with a massive show of strength. Speaking to The Hindu, RSS sources said the move is to “uphold Hindutva” in Bengal. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has

called a meeting of the Trinamool Congress’ core committee on April 1, aimed at formulating a strategy to combat the RSS and BJP. The RSS has planned “six mega rallies” in Kolkata and at least 175 across the State, Sangh officials said. In Kolkata, rallies will be taken out in Khidderpur, Burrabazar, Baranagar, Hastings and Brace Bridge areas. The rallies are not be-

ing organised directly under the banner of RSS but by affiliated committees — the Ramnavami Udyapon Samity and Shree Shree Ram Navami Utsav Samity. On the Trinamool meeting, a senior leader told The Hindu, “Among other things, we will discuss how to counter RSS and BJP in the State, as neither the CPI(M) nor the Congress is keen to resist the BJP.”

Bikaner

In a video footage gone viral, nearly a dozen Home Guard jawans from Rajasthan have accused the department officials of giving them work only after taking cash and have threatened to commit suicide if their issues are not resolved. They have also appealed to the Union and the State governments to resolve their grievances by March 31, failing which, they said, they would commit suicide.

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How a cop iniltrated U.P. terror group The official said that the police officer had not known till then that they had planted the explosives, and got to know about it only when one of them, Atif Muzaffar, sent him a photograph an hour later. They were on way to Allahabad when they were caught at Pipariya, and from there they planned to reach Lucknow. On March 9, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Atif Muzaffar of Kanpur was the “mastermind of the attack” and the accused belonged to IS. “They clicked the photo of the bomb and sent it to their handler in Syria. One of them is a mechanic and they learnt the preparation of the bomb through Internet,” Mr. Chouhan had told a news agency.

Coordinated operation “It was at this time that the police officer alerted other agencies and a coordinated operation was launched to nab them. He was still trailing them and it was he who gave the exact location of the men when they were arrested at Pipariya,” said the official. The same day, the M.P. police released a video footage to the media, where the two accused were seen alighting from a bus near a toll plaza. The video appears to have been shot by

someone who was keeping a watch on them from a distance. At one point, the person shooting the video even asks a person who comes in front of his camera to move away. A Home Ministry official said the blast could have been averted had the Telengana police officer alerted the U.P. police when the accused were procuring weapons and explosives. Eight pistols, gun powder and shrapnel were recovered from the house where Saifullah was killed. “At best, we could describe them as an IS-inspired group, but with no direct connection with anyone in Syria. Mohammad Ghaus Khan, a former IAF employee was their ideologue,” said the official. After initially claiming the accused belonged to the Khorasan wing of the IS, the U.P. police retracted their statement and said the accused were “self proclaimed” members of the terrorist group. In his statement to the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said: “MP Police coordinated with Central agencies for the investigation. Subsequently, based on available intelligence, three suspects were taken into custody by M.P. Police during vehicle checking at Pipariya in district Hoshangabad.”

Charges framed against Kejriwal The court had, among others, examined Rajat Sharma, chairman and editor-in-chief of India TV, as a witness in support of Mr. Jaitley. He said he was very disturbed about the reputation of the complainant (Mr. Jaitley) when I saw the allegations by the accused persons that ₹57 crore had been siphoned off during his tenure as DDCA president. Mr. Jaitley had said in his evidence that he did not receive a single rupee from the DDCA on any account during his presidential term between 1999 and 1913. “Between December 1999 and December 2013, I was the president of DDCA. I discharged my functions lawfully and with utmost integrity. During my tenure I have not received directly or indirectly a single rupee from the DDCA on any ac-

No appeasement, says Adityanath His priorities include safety of women, opportunities for youth and support for farmers

Press Trust of India

This comes against the backdrop of complaints that these squads were targeting even the innocent boys. Referring to the crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, Mr. Adityanath said his government would fulfill the promises made in the BJP’s manifesto before the elections. With regard to the welfare of the farming community, he said a team of two ministers and some officials has gone to Chattisgarh to study their system which is “very efficient“.

Press Trust of India Gorakhpur

Asserting that there will be no appeasement of anyone, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday promised development for all without any discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or gender. Mr. Adityanath also told BJP cadres and supporters not to be “overzealous” in celebrating the party’s historic poll victory and not to take the law into their hands as it could provide “anarchist” forces a chance to disturb law and order. He stated that the police had been instructed not to harass innocent couples, a direction that comes amid complaints that the “antiromeo” squads, meant to target eve-teasers, were troubling even the boys seen with their female friends.

Bhavan for yatris The Chief Minister announced that those undertaking the annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra will be

The mahant returns: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his irst visit to Gorakhpur as Chief Minister on Saturday. PTI *

given ₹1 lakh each by the State government and a Kailash Bhavan will be constructed for them in Noida or Ghaziabad. On his first visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Gorakhpur after becoming the Chief Minister, Mr. Adityanath said he intended to usher in development and progress of

all sections of the State as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. “There would be no discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or gender. There will be development of all. But there will not be any appeasement of any section,” he said.

Mr. Adityanath, who took over as the Chief Minister last Sunday, talked about his priorities including the safety of women, opportunities for youth and support for farmers and labour. He said that there would be no place for ‘goonda raj’ and corruption under his rule.

count whatsoever. I have not even charged any amount towards expenditure,” Mr. Jaitley had said in his evidence. Mr. Jaitley has sought prosecution of Mr. Kejriwal and the five AAP leaders for allegedly defaming him and his family by accusing him of taking illegal pecuniary benefits from the DDCA when he was heading it.

time they have spelt out their plans. Mr. Nasheed said their “first step” would be to bring a no-confidence motion to impeach the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Majlis. “With the four of us joining together we would have a parliamentary majority, and we should be able to do this soon,” he said. The Majlis is expected to take up the proceedings against the speakers on Monday, when the strength of the ruling PPM party will be tested. At present, Mr. Nasheed has 21 members, while the Jumhooree and Adaalath parties have 8, in the 85member Majlis.

Sena MP leaves train to Mumbai midway However, according to railway staff, the constant presence of media persons at every station caused a disturbance to fellow passengers who soon began complaining. Passengers from adjoining compartments also complained of media harassment. A passenger who didn’t want to be quoted and was in the same compartment said, “This is just not done. Just because we are travelling with some leader, we have to face so many disturbances. We are CM YK

common people and need peace. I also tweeted and also put it on other social networking sites about the ruckus that was created last night.” Interestingly, the passenger also said Mr. Gaikwad was seen requesting the media to be left alone. “The media people with their cameras even came inside and argued with him also,” the passenger added. Apparently, according to the passengers and railway staff on board, Mr Gaikwad couldn’t be seen after Vapi station.

Riot cases may go: Minister Muzaffarnagar

Mulayam, Azam skip SP meeting

Akhilesh alleges casteism in govt. U.P. administration targeting police oicers of ‘particular caste’, says former CM Press Trust of India

Press Trust of India

Lucknow

Lucknow

Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh and senior leader Azam Khan on Saturday gave the party’s national executive meeting a miss. The meeting, held here, was presided over by former Chief Minister and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav. Mr. Yadav took over as the party’s national president on January 1 after a bitter split. Mr. Singh is a member of the body in his capacity as former national president and the party’s patron, while Mr. Khan is a member as he is the party’s national general secretary.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday accused the Yogi Adityanath government of targeting police officers of a “particular caste”, after IPS officer Himanshu Kumar was suspended for “indiscipline”. Mr. Kumar was recently in news for his controversial tweets accusing senior police officers of targeting subordinates of a particular caste. “Only policemen of one particular caste are being suspended and transferred and everybody knows about it,” Mr. Yadav said during an interaction with the press

Akhilesh Yadav ahead of the Samajwadi Party’s national executive meet. The Samajwadi Party, which Mr. Yadav heads, has also been accused by political opponents in the past of working in the interest of a

particular caste. Earlier, a Home Department spokesman said, “IPS officer of the 2010 batch, Himanshu Kumar has been suspended for indiscipline.” Though Mr. Kumar’s tweet of March 22 that stirred controversy in the State has since been deleted, its screenshot is still doing the rounds. The deleted tweet said: “There is now a rush among senior officers to suspend/send to reserve lines all police personnel who have ‘Yadav’ surname.”

In the name of caste In another tweet, Mr. Kumar said, “Why DGP office forcing officers to punish people in the name of

On the draw keshav

caste?” Later, Mr. Kumar put out another tweet saying, “Some people have misunderstood my tweet. I support the initiative of the government.” After his suspension, Mr. Kumar tweeted: “Truth alone triumphs.” The suspended officer was attached with the Director General of Police’s office in Lucknow, where he had been posted by the Election Commission. He was earlier posted as the Superintendent of Police in Mainpuri and Firozabad, which are known SP bastions. The IPS officer was in the news last July for filing a case against his estranged wife.

Muzaffarnagar riots accused minister Suresh Rana has said that the cases against “innocent people” in connection with the 2013 violence in the district and its neighbouring places would be withdrawn by the Aditya Nath Yogi government after an inquiry. Rana himself had been arrested for allegedly making provocative speeches in the 2013 riots and had been booked under the National Security Act. At least 62 people were killed and more than 50,000 displaced in the communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and its neighbouring districts in 2013. He also said the government would ensure improvement in the law and order to prevent a “repeat” of the alleged Kairana mass exodus.

VHP insists on 3 ‘P’s for temple They are PM, Parliament and people Special Correspondent New Delhi

Four Maldivian arch-rivals join forces While Mr. Modi cancelled his visit to Male in 2015 over opposition protests, both External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar have visited the island nation and President Yameen visited India in April 2016. In a major development that could spell trouble for President Yameen, the four leaders signed a joint declaration on Friday, “agreeing to use their representation in parliament and in the political sphere to achieve the common objectives.” Although he and Mr. Nasheed, the MDP opposition leader, who was jailed twenty times during Mr. Gayoom’s term, decided to join forces some months ago, this is the first

Pothole deadline The Chief Minister directed officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) to make all State roads pothole free by June 15. He also asked the officials to complete all works and projects within the prescribed time frame on a priority basis. The Chief Minister asked for adoption of e-tendering to make the system more transparent and corruption free.

Sambhal

A case has been lodged against a youth here for his alleged objectionable post on Facebook against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Hindu religion. On the complaint of one Akshit Agarwal, an FIR was lodged against Shahzad Akram on Friday under Section 153 A (promoting enmity between groups) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the IPC and IT Act, the police said. Mr. Agarwal had alleged that Mr. Akram had posted some objectionable material against the Chief Minister and the Hindu religion which hurt the sentiments of Hindus, he said.

Press Trust of India

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Arvind Kejriwal

Youth booked for FB post

CBFC hurdle for release of Sameer

BJP to hold national executive meet in Odisha

Vidya Venkat

Focus on State after party’s success in local body polls

Chennai

The Examining Committee of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has asked producer-director Dakxin Bajrange to cut the phrase “Mann ki Baat” from a dialogue in his upcoming film, Sameer, on the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts. CBFC Chairman Pahlaj Nihalani told the filmmaker that this could be seen as a reference to the Prime Minister’s radio talk show. In a letter dated March 16, which The Hindu has accessed, the CBFC has demanded that the BJP flag be removed from the background of one of the scenes, curse words be cut out, and post-blast scenes showing dead persons with nails and glass pieces on their face and skin be halved. After compliance, the board has agreed to issue an ‘A’ certificate for the film.

Nistula Hebbar NEW DELHI

The BJP will hold its next national executive meet in Bhubaneswar between April 15 and 16, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Saturday. The venue was arrived at after considering Shimla and Lucknow, the capitals of States where polls are due or where the party has posted victory. What swung matters in favour of Bhubaneswar was the success of the BJP in the local body polls concluded last month in Odisha. The BJP came in a strong second in most local bodies, pipping the Biju Janata Dal’s traditional challenger, the Congress. Although the ruling BJD managed to remain ahead of others in the rural polls, the BJP won 297 as against 36 seats in 2012 and the Congress finished third with 60

seats as against 128 in the last elections. The meeting will be held to thank the people of Odisha for their unprecedented support to the BJP in the panchayat

Fourth time This is the fourth time the BJP will hold an executive meet in Odisha, after meetings in 1982, 1992, and 1997. Another, deeper strategic reason is the fact that BJP president Amit Shah last year had unveiled a plan for expanding the reach of the BJP in non-traditional areas. “About 113 seats had been identified in States like Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, where the BJP does not have a big presence but did well in the 2014 General Elections. State unit chiefs and national prabharis [in charge] of these States were then told to mobilise workers in those areas,” said a senior office-

bearer of the BJP. In the national executive held in January this year, full-time workers have been assigned for these areas. “In 2019, we need to improve our performance in areas where we came a decent second or even got more than the votes required to retain a deposit,” said the general secretary in charge of one of these States. After the RSS, in its annual pratinidhi sabha, launched a frontal attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as fuelling “Jihadi” groups, it seems the party is determined to follow the Sangh’s “Look East policy.” BJP Odisha unit president Basanta Panda said the national executive would encourage party workers to prepare themselves for the 2019 general elections. (With Prafulla Das in Bhubaneswar)

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), reiterating its demand for a new law for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, has put the onus of that move entirely on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led governments at the Centre and Uttar Pradesh. Upping the ante on its demand, the VHP will convene a meeting of saints in Haridwar between May 31 and June 2 with the sole agenda of discussing the temple issue. “We will be calling a meeting of sants in Haridwar in June, but no Dharma Sansad [the original congress of saints that first passed a resolution for a Ram Temple in Ayodhya in 1984] will again discuss the issue till we can see the beginning of the construction process,” said VHP president Praveen Togadia. He said VHP workers would raise the demand for the construction of the temple in 5,000 places across the country between April 1 and 16 during nationwide Ram Mahostsav celebrations.

Constitutional route “We want a Constitutional route to temple construction, which can only be done through the three ‘P’s — the Prime Minister, Parliament and the people,” Mr. Togadia said. He added that the template for the construction of the temple would be based on the reconstruction of the Somnath Temple after independence. “The statements and conversations that went on between Sardar Patel, Babu Rajendra Prasad and K.M. Munshi is instructive in this regard,” he said. Last week the Supreme Court had suggested an outof-court settlement to the dispute between the parties

Praveen Togadia involved. While the BJP had welcomed the move, the VHP had released a statement sticking to its demand for a law that would enable the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Palampur resolution On Saturday, Mr. Togadia refused to make any personal comments on Prime Minister Modi or Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Instead he frequently invoked the BJP’s Palampur resolution of 1986, when the party had decided to support the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, the fact that the issue has appeared in every BJP manifesto for the Centre and U.P. since and the role of Yogi Adityanath’s guru, Mahant Avaidyanath, who was at the helm of the movement. “The BJP passed this resolution two years after the Dharma Sansad held its first meeting at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. And it has been mentioned in every BJP manifesto after the 1986 Palampur resolution. We hope that Prime Minister Modi, and the BJP will remember their resolve,” he said. “Mahant Avaidyanath, Ramkrishna Paramhans (of the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas) and Ashok Singhalji all departed the world without seeing the temple, we hope Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath will make it possible,” he added. A ND-ND

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THE HINDU

NEWS 11

NOIDA/DELHI

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017

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IN BRIEF

INTERVIEW | SUNIL LANBA

‘We back indigenisation, but Tejas didn’t it the bill’ Naval chief outlines his vision for the force based on timelines for projects and induction of personnel, especially women And, then there was this hullabaloo when she was to be scrapped. It’s a costly affair to convert a carrier into a floating maritime museum and given the cost of construction of a jetty, it costs you roughly about ₹1,000 crore.

S. Anandan

Facebook removes Bengal poet’s post KOLKATA

Facebook has removed a controversial poem Curse by poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay, after a Siliguri student lodged a criminal case against him for allegedly hurting the sentiments of Hindus. The poem was posted on Facebook on March 19, the day Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as U.P. Chief Minister. The poet complained about receiving “threats over the poem”. PTI

3 NSCN (K) cadres held in Arunachal Pradesh ITANAGAR

Three suspected operatives of the banned insurgent group NSCN (K) have been apprehended, and arms and ammunition seized by the police from the Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh. Officials said the three were apprehended after a special operation by the police a few days back. PTI

British man among three drug-dealers held in Goa PANAJI

The Goa police on Saturday busted a drug racket and arrested three alleged drugpeddlers. Chennai-born Yusuf Bashir Mohammad was the first one to be arrested. Based on his tip-off, David Johnson, a British national, and Ganesh Pondir, a resident of Himachal Pradesh, were arrested. PTI

Kochi

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, in a wideranging interview with The Hindu, clarifies that the Navy has only taken a purely technical decision in turning down the naval version of the light combat aircraft developed by the DRDO despite its strong commitment to indigenisation. He highlights the need to step up training facilities to meet personnel shortage and the Navy’s strong ‘Act East’ focus. All along, the Navy had placed thrust on indigenisation of assets, but is now facing flak for turning down the homegrown fighter LCA Navy, which is being read as a retreat from the earlier commitment.

We are the pioneers of indigenisation, which we started in the 1960s and have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the DRDO, whose naval labs also have naval personnel. As for the LCA (light combat aircraft Tejas) programme, the Navy was the first service to support the ADA (the Aeronautical Development Agency) in its development and the Air Force came on board at a later date. What the Navy wants is a deck-based fighter, but the LCA Navy Mk1 doesn’t meet that requirement. Its powerto-weight ratio, the thrust the engine generates [are insufficient] and it’s underpowered for the airframe. Unfortunately, even the Mk2 variant doesn’t qualify. That’s why we took this case up to the Defence Ministry. A good 25% of the financial support for the project

comes from the Navy. As and when the ADA produces a fighter that can operate from the deck of an aircraft carrier, we will be more than willing to acquire it and fly it. The LCA Navy was supposed to be flying off from [the aircraft carrier] Vikramaditya. The second carrier, Vikrant, should be sailing in 2019. So we want a deck-based fighter today. The timelines that the ADA promised to generate one was over a decade ago. We are looking at a period of at least a decade for the ADA to produce a deck-based fighter. In the meantime, the Ministry has allowed us to go ahead and look for a fighter that meets our requirements following which we issued an RFI. Timelines have slipped for the under-construction, maiden indigenous carrier Vikrant thanks in part also to delay in delivery of aviation equipment from Russia. Also, what is the latest on the third carrier?

There have been some delays in the delivery of equipment for the aviation complex

from Russia. We are hopeful that Vikrant will start going to trials in 2019. As for the IAC-II [second indigenous aircraft carrier], we are taking up the case with the Ministry for which we will get an approval sooner than later. We are looking at a CATOBAR aircraft carrier above 65,000 tonnes and with EMALS and an advanced air strip. What will be the fate of the decommissioned carrier INS Viraat?

The Navy will like the Viraat to be converted into a museum, but it is not the Navy’s job to do that. We made an offer through the Ministry to all the coastal States, but only Andhra Pradesh responded. The offer was that we will give the ship to you and you will convert it into a maritime museum at your cost, without any funding from the Ministry. The proposal that we got from

not just ‘Look < > It’s East’, we are also ‘Acting East’ in accordance with the government’s policy Andhra Pradesh was for a 50:50 partnership. The Ministry is very clear that they are not going to do that. So, at the moment, we have no proposal to convert her into a museum. If we don’t have a concrete proposal, we propose that the ship be scrapped. Off the cuff, what I thought was we could take her out to sea and make her a maritime museum by sinking her in 30-40 metres of water not far from the coast, thereby turning her into a diving site. Interested people will dive to have a sight of the ship. We don’t want to go through the Vikrant experience in which we gifted the ship to the State of Maharashtra for ₹1 and got stuck with her for 17 years, occupying valuable berthing space.

A leaner military is on the cards Jaitley approves most proposals of expert committee; ex-servicemen may take over running of NCC Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

The government has approved a host of reforms in the military, with proposals to cut flab and improve financial management. If the proposal to reduce deployment of active-duty soldiers in avoidable postings were to be implemented, retired officers and jawans will replace serving personnel in the running of the National Cadet Corps (NCC). Arun Jaitley, who took additional charge as Defence Minister last week, has approved most of the proposals of a committee of experts, headed by Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (Retd), constituted by the Defence Ministry. The committee, set up in 2015 to recommend measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the armed forces, submitted its final report in December 2016. Sources said Mr. Jaitley

Combat training: NCC cadets in action. The Centre wants active duty personnel withdrawn from avoidable postings in such organisations. PTI *

had approved in principle 90 of the recommendations.

Huge savings The committee has said that if its recommendations are implemented over the next five years, the government can save up to ₹25,000 crore from the current expendit-

Muslim outit raises the pitch against Mujib bust Cites Islamic tenets against idols Soumya Das Suvojit Bagchi

ure. Most of the recommendations are measures to cut down flab in the Army to make it lean and agile and increase coordination among the three Services. The panel has recommended a roll-on defence budget to have enough capital expenditure available for mod-

Performance audit The committee has recommended a performance audit of the role of non-com-

IMPHAL

Congress reaction A spokesman of the Congress party in Manipur has welcomed the statement of the Assam Chief Minister. Talking to The Hindu he said that the BJP-led coalition government in Manipur should provide the details of the agreement. If an explanation on the agreement was not forthcoming, there would be widespread agitations in the State. “From the very beginning, we have been pledging to protect the

Centre calls reports on Naga deal ‘erroneous’ Press Trust of India NEW DELHI

The Centre on Saturday refuted as “erroneous” the reports that it had agreed to carve out a larger Nagaland State, saying no such decision had been taken. A Home Ministry spokesperson said some reports had appeared recently saying that the Centre was planning to create a larger Nagaland territory of Manipur, ’’ he said. The territorial integrity was an election issue in the just-concluded polls in Manipur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said during their election meetings that there was no cause for apprehension on the agreement. Meanwhile, the Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren

by taking away territories of neighbouring States. “Such reports are erroneous. There is no such agreement or decision,” the spokesperson said. Thuingaleng Muivah, General Secretary, NSCNIM was quoted recently that the ‘Framework Agreement’ signed with the Centre in 2015 recognised the demand for integration of Naga inhabited areas.

To be honest, I cannot give an assurance that there will be zero accidents. But SOPs have been put in place and a culture of safety is being enforced. The number of accidents has come down drastically lately. Some of those past incidents have been blown out of proportion by the media.INS Betwa’s was an accident that shouldn’t have happened. A Board of Inquiry is looking into it. Basically, there was a mistake in calculating the stability [on the blocks]. Of late, the Navy has been focussing strongly on the eastern side, strengthening the

In Andaman and Nicobar, newer and more capable assets are in place in the form of Kora-class ships [corvettes] and there is a longterm infrastructure plan where airfields in the northern group of islands are being strengthened and lengthened for heavier aircraft to operate. A similar project is taking place in the south. Infrastructure plans of making OTR (operational turnaround) facilities in the southern group of islands have started to move. The Boeing P8I [long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft] is being deployed from Port Blair. At the same time, our cooperation with our neighbours in the east has grown. We have resolved our maritime boundary issues with Bangladesh and there is much greater interaction with Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. It’s no just ‘Look East’, we are also ‘Acting East’ in accordance with the government’s policy. We are assisting island nations in the IOR (Indian Ocean Region) and neighbours in the East in capability enhancement and are doing coordinated patrols with Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia. For full text of the interview, visit http://bit.ly/sunillanbainterview

In U.S., Doval talks terror, S. China Sea NSA meets top oicials during visit

NEW DELHI

Varghese K. George

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a corruption case against four senior officials of Syndicate Bank’s Jaipur and Udaipur branches, a chartered accountant and five others for an alleged loan fraud of about ₹210 crore involving 118 accounts. Some of the accused had been booked last year for fraud of over ₹1,000 crore. While three of the officials have been suspended, the fourth official has since retired. Of the 118 loans, 80 were given for buying houses, 11 for commercial properties, 14 overdraft limits, 11 term loans and two Foreign Letters of Credit. In all loans given for purchasing commercial spaces at World Trade Park in Jaipur, the funds were credited and instantly transferred to fictitious accounts.

Washington

He was reacting to Muivah’s statement on Greater Nagaland The Assam Chief Minister S. Sonowal, on Saturday said that the territorial integrity of his State would not be compromised to create a ‘Greater Nagaland’ . He was reacting to the statement of Thuingaleng Muivah, general secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) that the framework agreement, signed between the Centre and the NSCN (IM) on August 3, 2015, had envisaged the integration of the Naga areas in three States to create a ‘Greater Nagaland.’

A string of accidents had dented the image of the Navy a couple of years ago. It seemed to be a thing of the past when the frigate INS Betwa collapsed on its side in the drydock late last year.

security apparatus along the island chains.

Special Correspondent

Special Correspondent

In a watered-down version of his earlier statement,the general secretary of the Minority Youth Federation (MYF) has said the organisation is not against installation of the bust of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh, “in any place in the city” except at Baker Hostel, a hostel for minority students. The general secretary of the influential minority body, Mohammad Quamruzzaman, has also blamed the erstwhile Left Front government for installing the bust of Mujibur Rahman in a Muslim hostel even as it was “against the tenets of Islam to install idols.” On Saturday, Mr Quamruzzaman insisted again on removing the marble bust, which was described as “unfortunate” by the senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata. “We have been paying tributes (at the statue) for such a long time, but suddenly some people started questioning it,” a senior

official said. The Hindu had earlier reported the MYF demand for the removal of the bust of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the third floor corridor of Baker Hostel in central Kolkata. Mr Quamruzzaman reiterated that such idol installation was “un-Islamic.” The bust of Bangabandhu was unveiled in 2011 to mark Mujibur Rahman’s two year stay in the Baker Hostel in the 1940s, while he was studying in Kolkata. Mr. Quamruzzaman’s response was criticised by civil society in Kolkata, with politicians of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) saying they would not “succumb” to such a demand.

CBI books four bank oicials

Tribals reject Manipur CM’s ofer of talks

Iboyaima Laithangbam

Caught in a row: The statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Baker Hostel in Kolkata.

There is a steady growth in the number of sailors and officers being integrated, and overall shortages as per percentage have come down. But we are constrained by our capacity to train. We have to get the right kind of people and have to compete with other avenues that are open to youngsters to get the kind of people we need. The shortages are gradually being bridged, with the Indian Naval Academy working in full capacity at 1,300 cadets. We induct about 800 officers each year, but 500 retire annually. So the net gain is 300. With increase in training capacity and the government sanctioning more numbers, we will be able to liquidate the shortage in five to six years. The other issue is of inducting women to serve on board ships. We have about 570 women officers in branches such as education, logistics, ATC, as observers

Assam’s territory will remain intact: Sonowal

Kolkata

CM YK

ernisation as against the present practice of surrendering unspent capital budget at the end of each financial year.

bat organisations under the Defence Ministry. The organisations include those dealing with defence estates and accounts, the Director- General of Quality Assurance, the Ordnance Factory Board, the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the NCC. The committee has suggested downsizing or rationalisation of manpower in these organisations, which can lead to significant savings. Another recommendation is the setting up of a joint services war college for training middle-level officers. Sources said comprehensive reforms in the running of NCC could be rolled out over the next few years. Progressively, the NCC could be run by re-employed or on-contract ex-service personnel. It is not clear if the NCC will be transferred out of the Defence Ministry to the HRD Ministry, as recommended by the committee.

How do you plan to address shortage of personnel and also attain gender parity by inducting women officers in combat roles?

on maritime reconnaissance aircraft and the law, and not counting the doctors. We have identified ships on which [billeting] facilities are available for women officers and are working on the modalities of their induction on board ships. We need some minimum numbers [of women] on each ship. We are also going to do a survey and ask them if they want to serve on board ships. And then we will take a call and take this proposal forward.

IMPHAL

The Joint Action Committee Against Anti-tribal Bills has spurned the offer of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh to hold talks on performing the last rites of the eight tribals, whose bodies are lying in the morgue for the past 562 days. Their demand is that the government should first withdraw the Bills. Nine tribals were killed in protest against the Protection of Manipur People Bill, the Manipur Revenue and Land Reform (7the amendment) Bill and the Manipur Shops and Establishment (2nd amendment) Bill— in September 2015.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his U.S counterpart, H.R. McMaster, committed to work together to “combat the full spectrum terrorist threats”, a U.S administration official said after a meeting between the two on Friday. Mr. Doval also met U.S Defence Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly during his three-day visit to the U.S capital. The focus of Mr. Doval’s meetings was terrorism, but the security situation in India’s neighbourhood, including Afghanistan and maritime security issues in the Indian Ocean, were also discussed, Indian officials said. “The new administration has taken a very strong view on terrorism. That is something that is good for the entire world as this will lead to a more united approach to tackling terrorism,” one official said, adding that Islamist terrorism and cross-border terrorism specifically targeting India were also discussed.

Continuing cooperation Tensions in South China Sea also figured. The officials spoke on broad objectives and areas of common of interests between the two countries, and according to Indian assessment, there is continuity on all fronts of cooperation between the two countries.

Ajit Doval India, meanwhile, has asked the U.S. to provide details of the 271 undocumented migrants Washington wants New Delhi to take back. “This is an ongoing matter. The U.S. authorities had conveyed to us sometime back that out of certain statistics provided to us earlier, 271 cases remained to be addressed. However, no details of these cases were provided. We have asked for the same,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said. Earlier, ahead of the meeting with Mr. Doval, Mr. Mattis said that no relationship can stay static as it either declines or grows. “Democracies like ours need this sort of dialogue. We had a strengthening of the relationship over the last several years. No relationship stays the same, either decline or get better, they get stronger. Intent here today is to continue to strengthen the relationship and make sure that it gets stronger every year.” (With Press Trust of India inputs from New Delhi)

Singh, would be rushing to Delhi on Sunday, to discuss, inter alia, the ultimatum served by the opposition Congress in the State, demanding the disclosure of details of the framework agreement signed between the Centre and the NSCN (IM). Police have tightened security in vulnerable areas of the three states to maintain law and order. A ND-ND

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Martin Schulz Should Angela Merkel be afraid of him?

The September face-off between a policeman’s son and a pastor’s daughter could well prove to be a most keenly fought electoral battle in Berlin in decades among the Social Democrats (SDP) and the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The centre-left contender from Germany’s venerable SDP, Martin Schulz, is a one-time bookseller and veteran Member of the European Parliament of 23 years and its former president for two terms. Pitted against him is incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel, a physicist and formidable politician of the CDU, seeking a fourth term. The quadrennial contest will test whether Mr. Schulz’s role on the frontlines of the regional bloc would be viewed as more advantageous in a country upon whom the mantle of Europe’s leadership, as well as of the entire free world, is being thrust. Conversely, it remains to be seen whether voters will plump yet again for Ms. Merkel, whose nearly 12-year record at the helm of Germany, as well as her international standing, has occasioned comparisons with the country’s stew-

ardship by her one-time mentor Helmut Kohl, if not the first post-war Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

Surprise entry Already, Mr. Schulz’s surprise entry into the fray, replacing the party vice-chairman Sigmar Gabriel, has seen a 10 percentage point surge in support for the SDP, with ratings within a narrow distance of its archrival. Yet, indications are that Germany’s oldest party is unlikely to lean further to the left, thus limiting its appeal among voters looking for an alternative. The recently anointed candidate of the SDP could not be more unlike his pragmatic and consensus-building conservative contender. The outspoken Mr. Schulz admonished heads of EU states in December to “stop pretending that all success is national and all failure European,” in his farewell speech as president of the European Parliament. Last July, the aftershocks of London’s momentous vote to leave the bloc triggered speculation among eurosceptic fear-mongers on other capitals most

likely to further break the union. Provocative enough for the plain-speaking former Parliament president to call for a directly elected European government along national lines to replace the unelected executive body. Mr. Schulz’s suggestion could not have seemed more illtimed to pro-EU politicians hard put to counter the populist and anti-immigrant surge in the continent. In contrast were the cautious and circumspect remarks of Ms. Merkel on announcing her decision in November to seek reelection. The woman, often described as iron chancellor, suggested that it would be “grotesque and absurd” to suppose she could solve all problems by herself. But paradoxically, rather than the contrast in personalities, it is in fact political commonalit-

ies which bind the two. That could prove far trickier to determine voter loyalty. The convergence in political stance between the CDU and the SDP is so considerable that the electorate could swing either way. That would leave the candidates dependent upon the respective ideological constituency for a decisive verdict. Moreover, Ms. Merkel and Mr. Schulz are both staunch Europhiles who believe a stronger Germany and a stable Europe are mutually compatible, unlike some national leaders who view the 28-member bloc as a forum to advance domestic interests. A divergence of stance between the respective parties on austerity measures for debt-stricken Euro zone countries is well-known. Even so, differences between the two leaders could not be ex-

aggerated. As Chancellor, Ms. Merkel was obliged to echo the hawkish line of party hard-liners. Conversely, Mr. Schulz’s more conciliatory tone on debt relief reflected the views of his party and popular sentiment.

Political outsider As a relative outsider to domestic politics, Mr. Schulz will feel his shoulders lighter. He does not have to carry political baggage from his party’s current cohabitation with the CDU as part of a grand governing coalition. His centreleft stance of restoring trade unions to their former strength has rejuvenated the party cadre. But the SDP announced last Sunday that it would sever its traditional links with France’s Socialist Party in the country’s coming general elections. At home, this move is sure to narrow the scope of the party’s anticipated leftward slant, with potential to dampen enthusiasm among the SDP’s soaring new cadres. Ms. Merkel has a match in her unlikely rival. GARIMELLA SUBRAMANIAM

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After he received the notice, SPB took to his official page on social networking site Facebook to announce that he and two other singers, K.S. Chitra and S.P. Charan, had been served a legal notice by Ilaiyaraaja’s attorney, asking them not to perform his compositions. The notice stated that if they continued to perform his compositions, they would be breaking the copyright law and would have to pay huge financial penalties while also facing legal action.

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Spat between Ilaiyaraaja and SPB over songs

HOW DID IT SPB is currently perCOME ABOUT forming a series of con-

Last week, we were witness to a rather messy legal tangle involving music composer Ilaiyaraaja and singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, or SPB as he is popularly known, after the former served on the singer a legal notice when he was performing concerts in the U.S.

WHAT IS IT

certs as part of the SPB50 world tour, which began in August 2016 in Toronto. The singer and his troupe have already performed in Dubai, Singapore, Russia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia as well as parts of India and are currently touring the U.S. While he had already finished concerts in Seattle and Los Angeles, SPB, his co-singers, organisers of the concerts in cities there and venue management firms received the legal notices be-

fore the performance was scheduled to be held in San Jose. In his statement on Facebook, the singer said, “I am ignorant of the law. If it is a law, so be it and I obey it.” He also mentioned that despite having finished many concerts across the globe already, he had not been informed of these legal issues earlier and had only now got the notice from Ilaiyaraja. The Copyright Amendment Act, 2012 sought to introduce a level playing field, protecting the rights of all categories of players in the entertainment industry, not just the producers who earlier held all the rights.

WHY DOES IT The outcome of this MATTER legal spat will have an impact on the lives — and work — of every creative person in the film industry. While the composer himself is yet to react, social media has been abuzz with talk about a friendship between the composer and the singer, who have churned out several hit numbers for decades, gone sour. Copyright experts state that Ilaiyaraaja is within

his rights as composer of the songs SPB is singing, to send him a legal notice over his live performances. The copyright law states that there are two aspects to a composition: the musical aspect and the sound recording part. The composer holds complete rights over the musical aspect of the work and according to performance rights, the singer holds the rights only over the specific performance he gave while recording the composition. This is, however, not the first time that Ilaiyaraaja has been involved in a copyright claim battle. In 2015, the Madras High Court gave an injunction against four music labels from monetising the composer’s works. Stating that he had signed agreements with labels back in the day, Ilaiyaraaja said that they were valid only for five years and that they had become void. “Only I hold the right to all my songs. The money I would now get by selling the rights would be shared with the producer of the film, singers, and lyricists,” he said, after the injunction.

Since the composer said he holds the absolute copyright to his works, he further warned that action would be taken against television channels and FM radio stations if they play his works without permission. With upset fans raising questions about whether the composer was right in having sent a legal notice instead of engaging in a conversation with the singer, this issue has highlighted the need for the Tamil film industry to understand the terms of the copyright law. Lyricist Madan Karky joined the debate and pointed out that the industry needs to discuss how royalties should be shared between musicians, lyricists and singers in future. Others in the industry said that those seeking to make a point about intellectual property rights in creative fields could probably take some advice from yet another popular composer A.R. Rahman.

WHAT NEXT

S. POORVAJA

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have foreign fund lows been volatile

Why were FIIs being bearish? * If the period between the last quarter of 2016 and early 2017 was anything to go by, FIIs were quite bearish, both in debt and equity. Between October 2016 and end-January 2017, FIIs were net sellers in the debt and equity segments at ₹48,406 crore and ₹31,903 crore, as per data from the National Securities Depository (NSDL). The equity segment saw selling by FIIs on expectations that the new government in the U.S. under President Donald Trump would take fiscal steps to boost growth even as interest rates trended higher, thereby making the other markets relatively less attractive. Incidentally, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates by 0.25% on March 15, only the third such increase in a decade. There was some amount of profit booking in the equity segment on account of demonetisation as well, which is expected to dent corporate earnings over the next few quarters. Portfolio management firm Sanctum Wealth attributes the outflows in the

debt segment to the infusion of fresh deposits in the banking system that is likely to bolster demand for government bonds at banks, which augurs well for bond prices but makes debt less attractive for yield investors. The narrowing of the rate differential is likely to keep foreign investors on the sidelines, it said. What makes FIIs so important? * FIIs have been the prime drivers of every bull run in the Indian equity market. They have been attracted by the handsome returns and the robust regulatory and trading mechanisms of the country for long. Data on foreign flows in the Indian equity and debt segments are available from 1992-93, and since then, they have invested ₹8.51 lakh crore in equities and ₹2.82 lakh crore in debt. Interestingly, between 1992-93 and 2015-16, there have been only three financial years (1998-99, 2008-09, 201516) when FIIs ended the fiscal period as net sellers of equity. In the debt segment, they were net sellers on five occasions.

Within the Asia ex-Japan pack, India traditionally features among the highest recipients of foreign money. When will foreign flows stabilise? Going by the data for the past two months, it seems the outflows have stabilised for now. Data show that foreign investors have been net buyers of Indian debt at ₹17,630 crore in February and March. In equities, they have been

*

all the more bullish, putting in a cumulative amount of ₹30,863 crore in this period. But a section of market analysts feels that it is too early to conclude that the trends have changed as the past two months have seen a reversal in flows across all emerging markets, not just India. For instance, while India has seen inflows of $4.6 billion in the current calendar year, as per Bloomberg data, South Korea and Taiwan have also seen inflows in excess of $4 billion. Further, Indonesia and Malaysia have seen inflows of $455 million and $961 million respectively. There is a view that the flows started reversing by January-end on increasing expectations that growth in the U.S. would accelerate, which would have a ripple effect on the emerging markets too. Historically, a strong growth acceleration in the developed markets has led to emerging markets being significant beneficiaries. This time though, analysts are taking a cautious view as the Trump administration has talked about trade restrictions and punitive import

duties while calling domestic companies to manufacture more in the U.S. Much would depend on the valuations as the recent surge has made Indian markets expensive in both the relative and absolute sense. Based on parameters like price earnings and price to book returns, India looks about 40-50% higher than the regional average. Finally, corporate earnings would also be an important factor to decide the course of foreign flows. Currently, there is hardly a bullish view on earnings growth as many are expecting a hit from demonetisation and global economic momentum is yet to decisively strengthen. Incidentally, the recent surge has entirely been due to liquidity as investors have been betting on equity on the back of a strong mandate for the ruling political party. So, from an economic point of view, a combination of slightly cheaper valuations and consensus growth in earnings are the key to continued foreign flows. ASHISH RUKHAIYAR

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18 March 2017

Another light goes out: Chuck Berry, one of the founding fathers of rock and roll who inspired generations of musicians with his ‘ringing’ guitar rifs, memorable words and swinging style of singing, died at his Missouri home on March 18. He was 90. Tributes poured in for the pioneer who duck-walked on stage, with Ringo Starr of the Beatles — the Fab Four had done a cover of Chuck Berry’s Roll over Beethoven — tweeting, “R.I.P. And peace and love Chuck Berry Mr. Rock ‘n’ Roll music.” Paul McCartney hailed him as one of rock and roll’s greatest poets. Robbie Robertson, former member of The Band, called him the “original guitar god,” and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones wrote, “Chuck, you were amazing. Your music is engraved inside us forever.” His songs, Maybellene, Johnny B Goode, Memphis and Sweet Little Sixteen with its mix of blues, rock and jazz provided the framework for rock and roll as we know it. Chuck Berry was rock’s master theorist and conceptual genius, wrote The New York Times. He was the “songwriter who understood what the kids wanted before they knew themselves.”

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In Mumbai, penguins cause a lutter

CM YK

On March 19, Mumbai’s zoo in Byculla, Veermata Jijabai Udyan, opened its new penguin house to the public. The zoo saw a spike in the number of visitors, with around 25,000, against the usual weekend traffic of 12,000, according to Sanjay Tripathi, the zoo’s director. The zoo had not bought new animals for 15 years until 2015, partly in compliance with a Bombay High Court order in 2005 that zoos could not get new animals until their infrastructure improved. The proposal to bring in penguins was first made in 2009, and it took more than six years for it to fructify. In July 2016, the Municipal Corporation of

Greater Mumbai (MCGM), which runs the zoo, bought eight Humboldt penguins from the Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea. The species was chosen because they are better suited to relatively higher temperatures and adapt themselves well to life in captivity. Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti), also known as the Chilean penguin, Peruvian penguin, or patranca, breeds on the coasts of Chile and Peru. It is named after a cold-water current off the coast of South America. They are medium-sized penguins, with adults being 56–70 cm tall and weighing 3.6 to 5.9 kg. They have been recorded as living up to 20 years in captivity. The MCGM paid ₹2 crore for six young birds (three males and three females), and the Koreans added two more females for free. The birds were brought to Mumbai in July 2016 and kept in quarantine. The process of preparation of their enclosure began in 2014. The new penguin house, in which the birds now live and can be seen by visitors, spans two

during the next five years. The cost of bringing in the birds caused a furore in the city, with Opposition parties in the municipal corporation alleging corruption, and animal rights activists questioning the purchase itself, saying the city was not the right place for the birds.

floors and 35,000 sq. ft. The air temperature in their enclosure is controlled, between 16°C and 18°C, and the water in their pool is between 11°C and 16°C. The penguins eat seven to eight kg of mackerels, anchovies and herrings every day. The cost of the enclosure is an estimated ₹113 crore, and the civic body has earmarked ₹45 crore for maintenance

Row over death in quarantine Just three months after the penguins came in, a female (informally named Dory by one of the zoo’s doctors) died in quarantine. The autopsy report suggested that the penguin contracted a bacterial infection leading to septicaemia. Dory’s death elicited angry responses from animal rights activists. Advocate Advait Sethana filed a public interest litigation petition in the Bombay High Court, seeking to stop the exhibition of penguins. High Court Chief Justice Manjula Chellur ruled: “We cannot come to a conclusion that the penguins are not being taken care of properly. We are not going to stop the exhibition. Why should Mumbaikars

not enjoy viewing such penguins? Are there no penguin shows in other countries?” Daisy, Donald, Bubbles, Flipper, Olive, Popeye, and Mr. Molt — as the penguins have been informally named by the zoo staff — have settled into their enclosure and spend a large part of their day swimming in their tank. But many visitors were disappointed on seeing the birds. Used to seeing larger birds on nature channels on television, they found the smaller Humboldts underwhelming. Others complained that the birds did nothing much beyond swimming. Many also criticised the enclosure, which they said was visually unappealing. An additional downer for some was that the zoo does not permit photography in the penguin house. Visitors to the penguin enclosure get free entry till March-end. From April, they will pay an entry fee, which is likely to be ₹100 for adults and ₹50 for children. HARIPRASAD RADHAKRISHNAN A ND-ND

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Taking a leap of taste Whether an idli, or a certain Khayal gharana, or a form of democracy, what is once tasted cannot be untasted

is a writer, ilmmaker and columnist

It all depends on what you’re used to, I suppose. Maybe it has to do with how you’re first introduced to something, how through repetition at a foundational stage the thing acquires the mantle of comfort and authenticity, making you perhaps react badly when something similar-looking, or similarly labelled, turns out not to be exactly like the ‘original’. Keeping this confined to just music and food, I can immediately think of a couple of examples. I was lucky enough to be exposed to Indian classical music while young, when, after a few years of initial resistance, I began to develop a taste for both Hindustani classical and Carnatic, both glued together by the more alien improvisatory

Trojan Horses of flavour Speaking about taste and south India, I ate my first idli and dosai as a child in south Calcutta. I became addicted, and when the family went to Ahmedabad for our holidays, I demanded my biweekly fix. To my shock, the stuff tasted radically different: the idlis and coconut chutney were recognisable, but the

HRISHIKESH BHATT

ruchir joshi

Manchurian or cheese macaroni with ketchup. This home food lust cuts across generations. An old Anglo-Indian jazzman who spent a lot of time with his family in Australia once told me: “You know the first thing I do when I come back home? I go get a bottle of Director’s Special whisky and a big tin of Amul cheese. I miss these so much!”

*

form of Jazz. Later, in London, I made friends with a fellow Gujarati, RB, and we spent many an evening listening to the treasure trove of his father’s ¼” tape recordings of the Hindustani greats performing in the ’70s and ’80s for the old gentleman’s music circle. On one visit from India, I lent RB a few Carnatic cassettes, propagating with particular enthusiasm an M.D. Ramanathan tape. A few days later I called RB to ask what he thought. I could almost hear him wince, partly at least in embarrassment. “You know, I found it very difficult to listen to these. I know I should like these masters, and I know that one of them is doing a Bhairavi, say, but it’s not my Bhairavi! The taste is recognisable, but it’s just wrong!”

sambhar was sweet, and the dosai — pronounced ‘dhhawnsaa’ or ‘dhhawnso’ in those parts — was something else. Passing through Bombay, I had the same experience again, but with local variation — the familiar cluster of tastes, but with one or two important components replaced by impostors, Trojan Horses of flavour let open on my unsuspecting palate. Across time, I began to appreciate Calcutta south Indian, Ahmedabad dhhawnsaa, and Bombay Udupi as three related but distinctly different cousin cuisines. When I finally

made it to south India, this family was of course further populated. While a certain umbilical cord stayed intact with the first experience of south Indian food, going abroad for a long period completely damaged my relationship with what we now call ‘Indian Chinese’ food, and also to what used to pass off as ‘Italian’ food. Try as I did, I could not bring myself to bubble up enthusiasm for those ‘original tastes’ acquired in adolescence, even as other ‘phoren’-returned friends gasped in ecstasy between mouthfuls of Chicken

Between the new and old Talking about tastes from home, there is a famous story of the Indian Prime Minister of a cow-protecting government who was ‘caught’ eating beef steak in a restaurant abroad. When asked about this, he apparently smiled and said, “These foreign cows have nothing to do with our Indian cows, completely different species!” Like the former Pradhan Mantri-ji, many of us also discern between the beef we find abroad and the beef we find at home. I first ate beef in Calcutta in one legendary eatery’s superlative kaathi rolls. Abroad, I love eating decent steak, hamburgers, and beef stews, but none of these had lessened the desire for the lean and often slightly stringy beef of home, for what the magi-

cians of the Calcutta kaathi rolls, the chefs within the Raj-Anglo tradition producing the very Indian ‘Chateaubriand’ steak, and the great Kerala cooks do with Indian cow meat. Whether you’re a full-out carnivore or a strict vegetarian, whether you love only Carnatic or a certain Khayal gharana, perhaps the challenge is about finding a balance between foundational memories and new experiences; between questioning the authenticities loaded onto you in childhood and examining carefully the supposedly latest notion someone is trying to sell you. Maybe your preferences in food remain unchanged, but perhaps it is other things that shift and open up. Perhaps democracy begins to taste different at home once you’ve tasted the thing with the same label in another part of the country or at another time. Perhaps the leader you’ve been served with is not the one you ordered when you voted, and you refuse to pay the bill. Perhaps the freedom to speak, to love who you want, to live alongside people very different from you, perhaps this freedom, once tasted cannot be untasted.

Forget the delivery, it’s all about the promise

How to look back on our shape-shifting times

To win elections, what you say appears to be more important than what you do

Does it take a traveller’s eye to catch the iconic images?

The unchanged Indian voter While both arguments have merit, it would be facile to conclude that the Indian voter is changing, and development now makes a more compelling case for the electorate than old-school politics of caste and community. Because, if that were the case, the BJPShiromani Akali Dal combine should have won rather than getting routed in Punjab, where the same ‘Modi plan’ was pitched. The governance argument used in Mr. Yadav’s case doesn’t really hold either, going by the results in the other States which went to polls at the same time. Both development performance and governance were not too bad in Uttarakhand and Goa, for instance, but government change did happen (well, almost, in Goa’s case!). Go back a little bit and you find the same divergence emerging. If Mr. Modi’s ‘Gujarat model’ was indeed so compelling, why did the BJP suffer such a humiliating rout in Delhi? If development was the key, why did the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam get

investment, capital formation or project completion). Those that were at the bottom have, by and large, stayed at the bottom. And regardless of these rankings and shifts, governments have risen and fallen, both in the “better” States and the worse-off ones. While there appears to be little correlation between winning elections and actually delivering development — perhaps the most glaring example of this mismatch was the first National Democratic Alliance’s debacle in 2004 after the ‘India Shining’ campaign — there does, however, appear to be a clear linkage between governance and development: better the governance, higher the development, and vice versa.

Good governance and growth One of the earliest studies to look at this in the post-reforms period was a 2000 paper by former Deputy Chair-

Mini kapoor is Ideas Editor, The Hindu

“Is travel writing dead?” is the question posed to some of the best of the genre in the latest issue of Granta magazine (138: Journeys). Of course, the very fact that it has been put to travel writers such as Pico Iyer, Robert Macfarlane, Rana Dasgupta and Geoff Dyer makes it clear that travel writing, in the editors’ estimation, is definitely not dead — though in their individual ways the writers try to give the reader a sense of how it’s changed, and continues to change, since its “popular peak in the 1980s”. That’s a solid enough nudge to drive the reader back to older writing. That nudge also came with news this week of the death of Robert B. Silvers, founder and editor of The New York Review of Books.

Recollecting revolutionary times On his watch, NYRB for decades set standards not just for reviewing and political commentary, but also travel writing, excelling in international despatches that did not just provide a sense of place and time, but also caught a country/society/region at the cusp of change, so that the writing continued to give context years later. Some of the best of these despatches were collected into an anniversary volume in 2013 edited by Silvers, The New York Review Abroad: Fifty Years of International Reportage. And to read the book again this week is to wonder, as does Granta editor Sigrid Rausing in her introduction to Journeys, how will we recollect the revolutionary times we are living through? Or, what travel reportage is currently being conducted that may help us, in time to come, put in context the shape-shifting political developments around the world? What may be the iconic images of these times? In his brief, one-paragraph introduction, Silvers put the challenge like

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man of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, which argued that good governance and growth were closely interlinked. Better governance resulted in better and more implementation of development programmes and generated better outcomes for public spending. Poor administration and corruption (two sides of the same coin) resulted in the reverse. Better governance also led to a better investment climate, while a poor land order environment impeded development activity. A more recent and far more focussed analysis of the linkage between governance and growth is ‘Governance performance of Indian States’ by Sudipto Mundle, Samik Chowdhury and Satadru Sikdar, which used a range of economic and social indicators to look at levels of governance. The indicators ranged from State highway density (in km per 100 sq. km of area) to infant and maternal mortality rates, per capita power consumption, how much a State generates as tax revenue on its own (excluding Central transfers), the rate of violent crimes, and percentage of trials completed within three years to arrive at rankings. The basic rankings were no surprise: the developed States (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Punjab) were at the top; the usual suspects like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar were at the bottom. The surprise was in the change over a decade (between 2001 and 2011) when these rankings were adjusted for base development. In the adjusted Governance Performance Index so developed, States like Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh had climbed the most number of ranks, while the leaders had actually slipped a few notches. “Evidently,” the authors argue, “governments in these States are attempting to offset their negative legacy of relative backwardness, delivering a much better quality of services than would be expected at the relatively low level of development of these States.” Did that help in winning elections? Not really. Politically, better-performing States have seen just as many regime changes as non-performing ones. Clearly, promising a bright future in a convincing enough manner works better than actually delivering it!

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Why did the Bharatiya Janata Party win and the Samajwadi Party get wiped out in Uttar Pradesh? Did the BJP win because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of sabka saath, sabka vikas? Or did Akhilesh Yadav lose because of his government’s governance failure, particularly when it came to law and order? Most post-poll analyses have concluded for either or both of these propositions. The larger consensus is that the BJP won because of Mr. Modi’s muscular campaign predicated on development and a better future for all, while Mr. Yadav got done in by his governance failure, aided and abetted by his damaging feud with his father and a disastrous alliance with the Congress.

M. MOORTHY

is the Editor of The Hindu Business Line

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raghavan srinivasan

pitched out in Tamil Nadu in 2011? The reality is that when it comes to governance delivery and electoral outcomes, there appears to be little correlation between performance and results. Generally speaking, the developmental die appears to have been cast in the first decade of reforms. States that picked up the ball early and ran with it are at the top of various types of development rankings as well as governance rankings (where governance is generally defined as a combination of social development indicators, law and order, and bureaucratic performance as measured by some indicators of economic growth such as

this: “… many writers of these reports set to clarify some corner of history they thought was misunderstood, particularly the ways people were being treated and mistreated by governments and their neighbours. In some cases they took considerable risks in order to observe and understand baffling violence.” From April 1984 — appropriately 1984, as the article itself makes clear — there is an interview with Natalya Viktorovna Hesse, a friend of physicist and human rights activist Andrei Sakharov and his wife Elena Georgievna Bonner who emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States, and brought a deeper picture of Sakharov’s detention in the town of Gorky, now renamed Nizhny Novgorod. Hesse’s meetings with Sakharov would take place on the street, “at a prearranged place and a prearranged hour”. The Sakharovs’ apartment was bugged, so anything spoken there would be heard by the authorities. Also, when they went outside, the apartment would be searched. So: “This man with a bad heart — suffering from acute hypertension — is forced to carry this bag every time he leaves home, even if only for ten minutes.” It contained his manuscripts, diaries, notes, even photographs, and a radio receiver. Another snatch from Hesse’s interview captured the absurdity of such intense surveillance. She recalls Bonner telling her that once looking out a window at the trash on the street outside their apartment, she (Bonner) told Sakharov: “You know, Andrei, I think I’ll photograph this, take a picture and send it to the West. Let them look at this wonderful landscape.” Soldiers ar-

rived the next day and cleared the trash. Also from a 1984 issue of NYRB, and included in the anniversary volume, is William Shawcross’s report “The Burial of Cambodia”. It’s a tour of Tuol Sleng, a school in Phnom Penh that had been converted by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge into an interrogation centre, or as the sign at its gate said, “extermination centre”. It had by the time Shawcross got there, in 1980, been turned into a museum by the Vietnamese after they invaded Cambodia and drove out the murderous Khmer Rouge, bringing to an end a genocide that left at least one-fifth of the country’s people dead. Around 16,000 people, mostly Khmer Rouge cadres who the party thought had turned on it, were brought to Tuol Sleng, writes Shawcross. Hardly any of them got out alive, but before being put to their death, they were photographed and underwent thorough interrogation, their “confessions” meticulously filed. Today Tuol Sleng is a sobering stop on the tourist’s itinerary in Cambodia, before she moves on to the splendours of Siem Reap. But it is Shawcross’s snapshot of the museum from the eighties, when the Vietnamese were still in control of the country with the Khmer Rouge trying to regroup on the Thai border, that you get a sense of the Vietnamese attempt to shape the historical narrative. It helps explain the current edgy relations between Vietnam and Cambodia, so that some Cambodians refer to the anniversary of the day the Vietnamese swept into their land as “liberation” while others call it “invasion”.

The clash of conceptual end goals The Indian electorate often has a radically diferent understanding of the purpose of politics than our intellectual class done. The key metric in his calculus was efficacy of action. Machiavelli’s hero was a doer who doesn’t flag in energies, who bestrides the political scene not as a balm for our grievances but as a transformative presence.

is a writer and is on Twitter @ks1729

Every time I read about criminals graduating to become MLAs and MPs, I am struck by how easily we gloss over this detail as an inevitable fact. As per reports, in the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, 859 out of 4,853 candidates had disclosed criminal cases against them, of which 704 had “serious” charges. Yet ironically, despite a free and fair electoral contest between a conscientious citizen and a criminalpolitician, often enough the electorate overwhelmingly prefers to vote in the latter. What follows on our opinion pages is pious commentary about criminals in politics and the absence of honest citizens. What is often little noted amidst these displays of civic highCM YK

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keerthik sasidharan

Not criminals, but doers In a recent study about criminal politicians in north India, the anthropologists Anastasia Piliavsky and Tommaso Sbriccoli document that these figures are often seen as ‘doers’. In fact, they are often not necessarily seen as ‘criminals’ but as ‘toughs’ who protect society and provide public goods, stepping in when the state machinery creaks to a halt. In a way, this motif of a local hero who steps out of convention to cater to immediate social needs reminds one of localised divinities who abound across India. These ‘small’ divinities — from Aiyyanaar in Tamil Nadu, Jhunjharji Maharaj in Rajasthan, Kail Bisht in Uttarakhand, Jasma Odan in Gujarat — who are often removed from the ‘high’ philosophical traditions also accrue their worth in the social imagination as prolific ‘doers’ who defend the social order. These localised divinities stand often in contrast to the larger, homogenising, and tran-

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mindedness is that the Indian electorate often has a radically different understanding than our intellectual class of the end goals of politics.

scendental categories of belief that the state calls ‘religion’. What follows from such twofold valencies of belief — the local and the transcendental — is that individuals see little conflict in relying on two different ethical frameworks for evaluation of their lives. They evaluate the exigencies of social living in terms of efficacy, purpose, and performance, while on the other side, they think of their private lives in terms of the transcendental:

what is duty, what is good, what is moral. This compartmentalisation of ethical frameworks is neither uniquely Indian nor modern. Machiavelli, for instance, was dismissive of early medieval Christian theologians who demanded politics be reducible to the personal. Instead, he demanded that leaders of societies ought to demonstrate ‘virtù’, a complex assemblage of potentialities which he described as spirit, force, ruthlessness, and an intent to get things

Locus of investigations In contrast to this view, the great contemporary philosopher of ethics, Alasdair MacIntyre, thinks that politics is a means to arrive at what he calls ‘goods of excellence’ that are positive for all. This is in contrast to the practice of politics that maximises ‘goods of effectiveness’, such as money, prestige, power — goods whose possession may allow for greater efficacy of action but are not ends in themselves. Framed thus, Machiavelli sees the purposiveness of politics as maximising effectiveness of action to govern better, while MacIntyre, much like Gandhi, sees politics as a means for internal excellence. These two views have different locus of investigations: society and man. When our opinion pages reconcile heavy-heartedly to fiery presences like Yogi Adityanath and declare that his ap-

pointment as Chief Minister is a defeat of India, what we see is this familiar clash of conceptual end goals. Our intellectual class views politics as a collective practice to produce citizens who value goods of internal excellence. Meanwhile, for many Indian voters, still struggling after decades of misgovernance, democracy remains a means to identify leaders with ‘virtù’ who will produce goods of effectiveness. Their locus of evaluation is not the individual in a society but a maintenance of social infrastructure within which individuals can thrive. This is an analytical framework that exalts ‘action’ and produces a mentality that seeks protectors of that infrastructure. Our tolerance for goondas in politics is directly tied to our collective imaginary that thinks efficacy of action — of getting things done — is a virtue in itself. The real puzzle of modern Indian history then is how did democracy allow us to sidestep Gandhian claims that saw politics as a site of moral refinement and turn to a more ancient intuition that sees compartmentalisation of ethical frameworks as a natural way to be? A ND-ND

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Stripes in zebrafish Macrophages are cells that eliminate dead or dying cells and microbes harmful to the organism. A new study on zebrafish, published in Science, finds they have an unexpected tissue-specific role. Their presence or absence can affect stripe formation during development.

Brain cells by the million Scientists have discovered a stem cell technique using which brain and muscle cells may be generated by the millions in just a few days. The report published in Stem Cell Reports makes possible production of cell types that could not be made earlier, for use in studying disease.

Heart on a leaf Scientists have succeeded in culturing beating heart cells on spinach leaves that were stripped of plant cells. This is useful, as previous bioengineering techniques were unable to fabricate the branching network of blood vessels down to the size of capillaries, which is needed for it to function correctly.

A brewing debate on evolution theory picks up in India Is ‘niche construction’ a revolutionary concept in evolutionary biology?

Oldest fossils hold clue to origin of life

Shubashree Desikan

The phenomenon of niche construction in evolutionary biology has been mooted to be highly important but neglected in evolutionary biology theory. Not just that, it has been termed a concept at par with natural selection. Five Indian evolutionary biologists connected to Evolutionary & Organismal Biology Unit of JNCASR, Bengaluru, have set out to show that this is not so. Apart from citing instances of the concept’s use in earlier papers, they also argue that incorporating the phenomenon does not involve a major reworking of Standard Evolutionary Theory (SET). Their paper is soon to be published in the Journal of Genetics. Over the last two decades, niche construction – the phenomenon by which evolving organisms modify their environment, which in turn increases or decreases their own survival rate – has become much talked about in the literature. Proponents of this theory have argued that it has been neglected in the Standard Evolutionary Theory, which therefore needs a major overhauling. This has been debunked in the paper by the authors. When posted on the Biorxiv, the paper got an unprecedented level of attention.

A new domain It is interesting that evolutionary biologists from India are engaging in this debate on the concepts of evolutionary theory. Amitabh Joshi, one of the five authors of the paper, remarks, “We biologists from India have largely added to the compendium of facts, sometimes (mostly Indian ecologists and evolutionary biologists) to theoretical concepts, but hardly ever

The ind shows early diversiication of organisms K.S. Rajgopal

Debaters: (From left) N.G. Prasad, Sutirth Dey, Amitabh Joshi and T.N.C. Vidya get together periodically to work on conceptual issues at the foundations of genetics and evolutionary biology. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

to fundamental debates about the conceptual foundations of the subject. For example, the foundational debates within evolutionary biology for the past 15 years have been dominated by scientists from North America and Western Europe.” One of the contentions of the authors is that contrary to the claims that Niche Construction has been neglected in the Standard Evolutionary Theory, they show in the paper that it has been considered by many authors to explain phenomena, even before the term “niche construction” was coined. One of the examples they give is of an experimental study done by Borash and others in 1998: The experiment involved breeding larvae of fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, in an environment where food was reduced and

presence of nitrogenous waste was increased. It was observed that even within one generation the larvae that formed early became heavy feeders and the late developers grew to become waste tolerant. Thus, within one generation, they were able to observe the effect of environment that was altered by the organism (the heavy feeders depleting the environment of food for the late developers). They found that it introduced the above polymorphism – separation into heavy feeders and waste tolerant types. Proponents of niche construction use the following examples often: The use of lactose to feed adult humans – which is believed to have evolved along with cattle husbandry – and the high incidence of sickle cell anaemia in populations where

there is a prevalence of malaria, due to yam cultivation. The authors debunk the claims by citing references of the above examples already having been used within the classical theory itself.

Other claims They also deny some of the oftquoted claims about it: for instance, that NC is more than an alternative perspective, and it is a serious body of formal evolutionary theory or that NC is an evolutionary process, at par with natural selection. The article has drawn the attention of the international community as well. Prof. Jerry Coyne, eminent biologist and recipient of the Richard Dawkins award has written a blog post in which he agrees with most of the points made in the paper.

Life on Earth may have originated earlier than thought and could have done so in hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. A new study in Nature finds the origin of life at at least 3,770 million and possibly 4,290 million years ago in ferruginous sedimentary rocks, interpreted as seafloor-hydrothermal vent-related precipitates from the Nuvvuagittuq supracrustal belt of Eastern Canada. Scientists led by Dr. Dominic Papineau of University College London made the discovery. Epifluorescence imaging of modern vent samples has shown that cylindrical casts composed of iron oxyhydroxide are formed by bacterial cells and are undeniably of biological origin (biogenic). Hence, morphologically similar tubes and filaments in ancient jaspers may be taken as evidence that the jaspers held organisms that can survive elevated temperatures. “The fact that we found microfossils in these rocks shows that within only a few hundred million years of the accretion of the Earth, life had not only originated, but had also already diversified into specialised microorganisms living in hydrothermal vent environments where biologists have been suggesting for years that that was the site for the origin of life on Earth,” noted Dr. Papineau in an email to this Correspondent. The scientists found that NSB rocks contain graphite with ratios of the 13C/12C isotopes (the two naturally occurring stable isotopes of carbon – 13C having one more neutron

than 12C) indicative of biological metabolism. The mineral graphite is composed of carbon and can form during the metamorphism of biological organic matter. It is the same for carbonate, but these minerals represent oxidised organic matter.

Rosette remnants Microscopic spheroidally-concentric mineral structures called rosettes were found in the NSB rocks and are composed of apatite (the phosphate mineral in our teeth and bones), carbonate, and graphite. Also found were granules which are similar to rosettes, but slightly larger, up to 2 mm in diameter. The granules contain different iron minerals that indicate the former presence of chemical reactions. The scientists believe that both rosettes and granules are the mineralised products of putrefaction. On the basis of chemical and morphological lines of evidence, the tubes, filaments and granules are best explained as remains of ironmetabolising (consuming iron) filamentous bacteria, and therefore represent the oldest life forms recognized on Earth. “Some bacteria can literally eat iron, which is what we think these ones were doing more than 3.77 billion years ago. All these lines of evidence have also been documented in younger jasper that formed when we know life existed, as well as in modern ferruginous-siliceous (iron– silica containing) precipitates in the vicinity of hydrothermal vents. Hence, we conclude that we have found the oldest fossils known,” Dr. Papineau says.

Indians ind a new bacterial target for drug development In an innovative approach, the researchers focused on the bioilms that normally shield the bacteria from antibiotics Light makes sheets curve A new technique shows light can curve two-dimensional plastic sheets to form threedimensional objects. Researchers printed black lines on the sheet, placed it under an infrared lamp, causing folds to form due to nonuniform absorption of heat. Controlling the number of lines, they could make various shapes.

View stars better A research group has developed a program to better interpret noisy astronomical data, such as the hazy image of a galaxy, using a machine learning algorithm. This algorithm was trained by comparing artificially degraded images with the correct original. This method works better than traditional ones, the researchers claim.

R. Prasad

Indian researchers have found a new target that can potentially be used for developing new antibiotics that will be effective against many bacteria. The new target is made of two proteins, which form a complex that is responsible for the formation of biofilm, that perform very important functions and are critical for bacterial ability to successfully infect humans. The results were published in the journal Biofilms and Microbiomes.

Biofilm as a biological shield Bacteria form biofilms, a kind of matrix, during infection in plants and animals. The biofilm shields the bacteria from antibiotics and helps bacteria survive harsh conditions such as extreme temperature or stress. Now a study by Indian researchers has found the molecular signalling events that play a crucial role in biofilm form-

Serendipity: (From left) Anshika Singhal, Andaleeb and Richa Misra deduced the key to bioilm formation lies with one chaperone protein. *

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ation in Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. Till now, all attention has been on developing antibiotics that tar-

Brain switch that controls blood low Capillaries play an active role in this

ODD & END Tree in a chip Trees and plants can pull up water from their roots and sugar from the leaves through a system of tissues called xylem and phloem. Now a team of researchers from MIT has designed a microfluidic device that mimics this mechanism and pumps water and sugars through a chip at a steady rate, without requiring external pumps and motors. To make this, the researchers sandwiched two plastic plates and drilled holes through them to represent phloem and xylem. They filled the ‘phloem’ with sugar water and ‘xylem’ with plain water, separating the two with a semi-permeable membrane. Covering the ‘phloem’ slide with a membrane, they placed a sugar cube for addiional sugar source. The chip was connected to a source of water. Once developed, the system was able to pump water continuously.

CM YK

Press Trust of India

A protein “switch” within the tiny capillaries of the brain controls the blood flow that ensures optimal brain function, a new study, published in Nature Neuroscience, has found. Researchers from University of Vermont in the U.S. have uncovered that capillaries have the capacity to both sense brain activity and generate an electrical vasodilatory signal to evoke blood flow and direct nutrients to nourish hard-working neurons. “When there is an increase in brain activity, there is an increase in blood flow,” said Thomas Longden, assistant professor at the University of Vermont. Previously, capillaries were thought to be passive tubes, and the arterioles as the source of action. Researchers have discovered that capillaries actively control blood flow by acting like a series of wires, transmitting electrical signals to direct blood to the areas that need

it most. To achieve this feat, the capillary sensory network relies on a protein (an ion channel) that detects increases in potassium during neuronal activity. Increased activity of this channel facilitates the flow of ions across the capillary membrane, thereby creating a small electrical current that generates a negative charge — a rapid signal — that communicates the need for additional blood flow to the upstream arterioles, which then results in increased blood flow to the capillaries, researchers said. Researchers also determined that if the potassium level is too high, this mechanism can be disabled, which may contribute to blood flow disturbances in a broad range of brain disorders. “These findings open new avenues in the way we can investigate cerebral diseases with a vascular component,” said Fabrice Dabertrand of University of Vermont.

get disease-causing bacteria and not the biofilm itself. One of the basic questions that scientists have been trying to an-

swer is how and when bacteria decide to form biofilms. “One possibility is that bacteria has sensors on the surface which senses some signal and helps in biofilm formation,” says Andaleeb Sajid from the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi and one of the authors of the paper. “It was serendipity. Our lab was working on signalling in bacteria and we were studying PrkC and similar proteins. When PrkC protein is deleted, Bacillus bacteria are unable to form biofilm. So we started studying the mechanism by which PrkC protein controls biofilm formation,” she says. “Our hypothesis is that PrkC senses some signal and transmits it from outside to inside the cell. This signal goes to other proteins like GroEL. PrkC adds phosphate group (phosphorylate) to different proteins. The mystery to biofilm formation lies with one chaperone protein called GroEL. The addi-

tion of phosphate to this tiny machine initiates a course of events within bacterial cells leading to complex biofilm formation,” Dr. Sajid says.

GroEL protein’s role The team found several proteins receive signals from PrkC protein. Using cutting edge genetics, molecular biology and proteomics techniques, they confirmed that GroEL was regulated by PrkC. “From other unrelated bacteria, we already had a clue that GroEL has a role in biofilm formation. We looked at the molecular level and found six amino acid residues where phosphate was getting added to the GroEL protein. Through a series of steps, we ascertained how important phosphorylation was for proper functioning of GroEL,” says Gunjan Arora from IGIB and the first author of the paper. “We wanted to know if the bac-

teria has any other compensation mechanism to form biofilm in the absence of PrkC. So we made PrkC mutant bacteria to produce more of GroEL. The bacteria were able to form biofilm even in the absence of PrkC. This experiment helped us understand that PrkC is the influencer and GroEL is key to biofilm formation,” Dr. Arora says. Both PrkC and GroEL perform very important functions and are critical for bacterial ability to successfully infect humans. “We think GroEL-PrkC complex could be a target for developing new antibiotic that will be effective against many bacterial pathogens such as the ones that cause MRSA, TB and pneumonia. One strategy to tackle drug resistant bacteria will be to develop multi-drug regimen that combines traditional antibiotics with candidate drugs that can block bacterial signalling and prevent biofilm formation,” Dr. Arora says.

IIT Bombay researchers ind a novel target for blocking cancer metastasis The biophysical properties of cancer stem cells are used to control the metastatic cancer Ratneshwar Thakur Yatendra Kumar Satija

Researchers from IIT Bombay have found a novel pathway that is responsible for the progress of cancer metastasis — spread of cancer cells from its primary site of origin to new areas of the body. The finding holds potential in controlling metastasis to reduce cancer deaths. The study was published in the journal Oncotarget.

Treating metastasis Surgical removal of primary tumours has long been used as a standard treatment for localised tumours, but treating cancer metastasis remains a formidable challenge. “Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are one cause of cancer metastasis. However, there is no study done so far to examine the impact of biophysical properties of cancer stem cells in cancer metastasis,” says Dr. Rahul

Purwar, Assistant Professor at Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering, IIT Bombay. Contractile dynamics of a tumour cell represents one of the most important biophysical properties and is closely associated with cell spreading and cell adhesion properties of tumour cell. Increased cell contractility in breast cancer can initiate the escape of cancerous cells from their primary sites to distant organs, that is, metastasis. Dr. Purwar’s investigating team as well as other, earlier researchers have shown a close relationship between cell contractility (ability of cells to contract) and invasiveness in breast cancer cells, ovarian cancer cells and melanoma cells. Increased contractility is correlated with increased migration of cells which helps in metastasis. However, it remains unknown whether contractile

Cell image: This luorescence colured microscope image shows a culture of human breast cancer cells. AP *

dynamics of CSCs are distinct as compared to the bulk tumour population and contribute in CSC-mediated metastasis.

Robust remission Study lead author Dr. Pur-

war explains that “With this study, we identified a distinct pathway which CSCs use to invade the extracellular matrix and metastasise to other organs. Surprisingly, we observed that blockade of this pathway by

pharmaceutical drugs completely abolished the invasion of CSCs as well as other tumour cells. Thus, targeting this distinct pathway may lead to the development of robust and longterm remission of cancer metastasis’’. Cell contractility is regulated by two groups of enzymes including myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and Rho associated protein kinase (ROCK). The team found that pharmacological targeting of ROCK prevents contractility and cell invasion potential of both CSCs and non-cancer stem cells, and is therefore a novel strategy for the treatment of cancer metastasis. “Our work provides the first evidence of targeting biophysical properties of cancer stem cells for controlling metastatic cancer. However, further work is required to translate our findings before it goes to clinic,” he says. A ND-ND

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TB time bomb: the price of policy inertia India’s TB burden is exacerbated by the government’s refusal to augment resources and enable access to newer drugs mismatch between the urgency with which the government is talking and the resources we are committing,” says Chapal Mehra, a public health specialist on TB. In a major embarrassment for the government, WHO had to revise global TB estimates last year after India informed that it had been under-reporting TB cases from 2000 to 2015. The global estimates were revised upwards to 10.4 million people infected with TB — a jump of 5,00,000 from 2014. In its annual TB report, the Health Ministry explained that “this apparent increase in the disease burden reflects the incorporation of more accurate data. With backward calculations, both tuberculosis incidence and mortality rates are decreasing from 2000 to 2015”.

Vidya Krishnan

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AROUND THE WORLD Mapping dengue A study in Science mapping out the transmission of the dengue virus reveals that in small pockets roughly 200 metres in size, about 60% of infections are of the same strain. Getty Images/iStockphoto Dengue viruses infect more than 300 million people annually, resulting in more than 20,000 deaths. The study researchers sequenced the viruses of 640 dengue infections that occurred between 1994 and 2010 in Bangkok and ive other locations throughout Thailand. They combined these data with 160 sequences from elsewhere in Asia, and more than 17,000 hospital records of dengue infection. There was very little transmission of local Bangkok strains to more distant areas, including other counties in Southeast Asia. However, within a single season, the strains had started to combine and well mixed across Thailand, both within Bangkok and between provinces.

Picking a partner, the Guppy way Brainy, female guppy ish go for looks over brains in their mates, suggests a study in Science Advances. In an experiment, researchers found that GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO female guppies with bigger brains choose mates with more attractive colouring, while females with smaller brains did not demonstrate a preference. Before their experiment, the scientists hypothesised that brain size, shown to be an indicator of cognitive ability in previous guppy studies, impacts assessment of partner quality. Big-brained and small-brained females, as well as those with average brain size, were presented with a male that was colourful (an advantageous trait linked to foraging ability and physiological health, in males). The females were also presented with a less attractive male. Females could not observe both males simultaneously and had to remember both males to make their eventual choice. The authors propose that cognitive ability was the underlying factor leading to divergent results in the large and smallbrained guppy lines.

Go jogging, lazybones Inactive teens have weaker bones than those who are physically active, according to a new study. Researchers in Canada measured the physical activity and bone strength of 309 Getty Images/iStockphoto teenagers over a speciic four-year period that is crucial for lifelong, healthy skeletal development. They arrived at their indings based on high resolution 3D X-ray images to compare diferences between youth who met the daily recommendation of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day and those who got less than 30 minutes a day. The fouryear window — between the ages of 10 to 14 for girls and 12 to 16 for boys — is a vital time when as much as 36% of the human skeleton is formed and bone is particularly responsive to physical activity. Bone strength is a combination of bone size, density and micro-architecture. — Eurekalert

New stem cell method Researchers have developed a new stem cell method that simpliies the production of human brain and muscle cells — allowing millions of functional cells to be generated in just a few days. The results published in Stem Cell Getty Images/iStockphoto Reports open the door to producing a diversity of new cell types that could not be made before in order to study disease. Human pluripotent stem cells ofer the ability to create any tissue, including those which are typically hard to access, such as brain cells. They hold huge potential for studying human development and the impact of diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease. Existing methods to make them, unfortunately, are complex and time-consuming, often producing a mixed population of cells. The new platform technology, OPTi-OX, optimises the way of switching on genes in human stem cells and opens the door to drug discovery, and potentially therapeutic applications in which large amounts of cells are needed.

Social costs of smell loss A study reports that a woman’s social life is associated with how well her sense of smell functions. Older women, who do less well on a smell identiication task, tend to have fewer Getty Images/iStockphoto social connections, the researchers add. The study, published online in the open access journal Scientiic Reports, is based on data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSLHP), a population-based study of health and social factors in the United States. The researchers compared each NSHAP participant’s odour identiication score, an established measure of olfactory function, with an aggregated “overall social life” score, which included measures such as participants’ number of friends and close relatives, and how often they socialised. The data were adjusted to control for possible confounding variables, including education level, tobacco use, and physical and mental health status. The researchers did not ind the same association between olfactory function and social life in older men.

DEMYSTIFYING SCIENCE What is Synlight? It is a giant honeycomb-like set-up of 149 spotlights in Juelich, Germany, and inching towards record books as the world’s largest “artiicial sun”. Switched on last week, the lights are designed to focus on a single 20x20 cm (8x8 inch) spot and produce the equivalent of 10,000 times the amount of solar radiation that would normally shine on the same surface. Creating such furnace-like conditions — with temperatures of up to 3,000o Celsius (5,432o Fahrenheit) — is key to testing novel ways of making hydrogen, according to Phys.org. So far, Synlight’s energy needs are enormous but scientists hope to eventually directly tap solar energy.

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crumbling health system, slashed budgets and an overcrowded country — these factors make India the perfect playground for one of the world’s oldest diseases, tuberculosis. In the past year, the global public health community, led by World Health Organization (WHO), has been looking at India with trepidation. In 2015 alone, 4.8 lakh Indians died of the airborne disease. In fact, India’s leading chest physician Dr. Zarir Udwadia called it “Ebola with wings” earlier this week during a TED Talk to mark World Tuberculosis Day, which fell on Friday, March 24.

Thousands without access Two new TB drugs, Bedaquiline and Delamanid, being used in Europe and the United States for several years, are yet to be made available in India’s national healthcare system. In January, an 18-yearold Patna girl took the government to court after she was refused Bedaquiline on the grounds that she was not a resident of Delhi. The drug is available only in six sites across the country and, according to Health Ministry’s annual TB report released on Friday, only 207 patients have access to the drug needed by at least 79,000 patients. Herein lies the crux of the matter, making India’s bureaucratic inertia

Health alert: “Transmission of drug-resistant TB will continue unabated unless patients get early diagnosis and the right treatment.” Picture shows an awareness campaign, at a railway station in Chennai. AFP *

the world’s problem: TB does not respect geographical boundaries and these patients continue to transmit drug-resistant forms of the disease due to the poor access to medicines. Not only does India shoulder the highest TB burden in the world with over 2 million of the 10 million cases reported here, it also accounts for the most drug-

resistant patients — nearly 1.3 lakh people who do not respond to first-line drugs. “Transmission of drug-resistant TB will continue unabated unless patients get early diagnosis and the right treatment. India has to invest extensively and urgently if it has to expand the testing facilities and get the drugs to the patients. Currently, there is a

The intent-action deficit While the global spotlight for urgent action has sent the government back to the drawing board, experts maintain that it is not putting its money where its mouth is. The budget estimates in the annual TB report are in fact lower than that of 2014-15. As against ₹1,358 crore requested, the government approved ₹710 crore in 2014-15. In 2016, however, in the face of trenchant criticism, the budget requested actually went down to ₹1,000 crore and the approved

budget was a measly ₹640 crore. “By no means is this enough to expand the programme. For the strategic plan to show impact, we must allocate enough resources,” says Mr. Mehra. The government will soon be launching a new strategy, and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda has announced that his Ministry will aim to “eliminate TB” by 2025. “Ensuring affordable and quality health care to the population is a priority for the government and we are committed to achieving zero TB deaths and therefore we need to re-strategise, think afresh and have to be aggressive in our approach to end TB by 2025,” he said on World Tuberculosis Day. During the TED Talk, Dr. Udwadia, one of the first doctors to make Bedaquiline available in India, called tuberculosis patients “therapeutic destitutes”, adding, “Drug-resistant TB represents a collective indictment of all of us as a society. Of the tests too slow. The drugs too toxic. Of the government programme that’s underfunded and inefficient. Of the private practitioners who’ll dole out the drugs but not compassion. Of the public policy failure.” The battle for patients and for caregivers is far from over.

[email protected]

My battle with TB ndia is the tuberculosis (TB) capital of the world, with more than 2.8 million cases. Thousands of Indians are being pushed into depression, poverty, saurabh rane suffering and debt every day due to this disease. Clearly, we seem to be losing the battle against this foe, seemingly deadlier than terrorism. TB is curable, but why is it such a challenge to control? This disease is caused by one of the most mutative bacteria that can respond differently to medication. We have only a handful of drugs to treat TB, and there are chances that the bacteria might turn resistant to some. Depending on the condition, we have drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), extensively-drug resistant TB (XDRTB), and totally drug-resistant TB (TDR-TB). India has over 100,000 such cases. XDR-TB needs stringent and accurate treatment, and few drugs work in such cases. Chances of survival are often minimal. More than 30 years of research has yielded two new drugs — Bedaquiline and Delamanid. Considered miracle drugs, they can be used apart from traditional TB medicines. Recently, a young girl, barely 18, and who is battling XDR-TB, was denied Bedaquiline. The reason given by the government was that she didn’t have the appropriate domicile. The drug is available in select cities and requires stringent monitoring.

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My fight It reminded me of my own struggle, two years ago, when I was diagnosed as a borderline XDR-TB case. There was barely any medication that could work on me. My doctor applied for me to receive Bedaquiline on compassionate grounds. Unfortunately, I could not qualify for the drug for technical reasons. My heart rate and calcium levels were higher than the range required, which posed a serious risk. I could not believe the denial. All hope seemed to slip away. I was barely 21, 50 kg and had my entire life ahead of me. However, my doctor did not give up and put me on a combination of highly potent drugs, used in severe, drug-resistant conditions. Though a risk, it worked. But with the beneficial impact of treatment, came the sideeffects. Due to these medicines, there was concurrent monitoring along with special care. Think of the patient This girl’s father went to court. It worked and she will be started on Bedaquiline shortly. What if he had failed? The government needs to realise that not having access to a life-saving drug is devastating. Patients lose hope and the motivation to fight. While it is essential to keep such drugs in safe hands to ensure no further resistance, you cannot deny patients potentially life-saving drugs. Why can’t we develop a system that allows access to such drugs under strong monitoring? We need to ensure that patients everywhere, irrespective of where they seek care, have access to it. The case of this young girl is a mirror to thousands of patients who do not have access to a potentially lifesaving drug. For some, it could shorten the treatment or provide a better quality of life, for others it could simply save them. The government needs to create a strategic partnership with the private sector to develop an easier protocol needed to make such drugs accessible. Also, there is a need to estimate the need of this drug — we still don’t know how much drug resistance we have. Finally, we need to ensure that we have cost-effective, free, high-quality testing for drug resistance available early to all patients. Patients who need this drug should be provided the free tests that are required to get this drug. An appropriate mechanism is a filtering process set up by an expert panel which has private sector representatives too. This group can take vital decisions for dispensing Bedaquiline and other such new drugs. Building further on this, there has to be priority catalytic funding provided to research organisations for development of revised regimes, drugs and techniques. There has to be adequate training of medical and paramedical staff handling the drug and sensitisation for those being given this drug. Unless the public health system takes an integrated approach to this problem, we will face countless compromised lives despite a potential solution within our reach. Nothing gets more disturbing than knowing this fact. Saurabh Rane, an MDR-TB survivor, is part of ‘Survivors Against TB’, a community of TB survivors working to strengthen India’s ight against TB

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No winners in this battle

BOOKSHELF

A journalist who has covered both sides of the India-Pakistan faultline explains why ties between the two are so strained Suhasini Haidar

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n a relationship like the one India and Pakistan have shared over the past 70 years, there are few moments for reflection, few pauses to take stock of winners and losers. Yet, it is this task journalist Myra McDonald sets for herself in the book Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War. In order to do so McDonald focuses on the period since the turn of the century (1999-2015), coming to her conclusion that India has the upper hand and victory in a war that has been played with every version in the book: overt, covert, using Army regulars, and with proxies, as well as the diplomatic, economic and above all, the moral war.

The Kandahar trail The book begins in December 1999 with the hijack of IC-814 from Kathmandu, a flight that took its 178 passengers and their nation on the worst possible nightmare ride to Kandahar. At the end of that week, India had suffered several blows, its government brought to its knees in front of the world, who agreed to release Masood Azhar, who went on to build a thriving terror empire that attacks India to this day, along with Al Umar chief Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, who directs attacks inside Jammu and Kashmir, and Sheikh Omar Ahmed Saeed, the man convicted for the killing of Daniel Pearl and who organised the funding for the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. in 2001. While these were heavy blows, the unkindest cut was the response of the international community that watched the week’s unfolding horror without offering

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Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War Myra McDonald Penguin Random House ₹509

assistance, nor did it feel the need to hold the terrorists, their welcoming Taliban hosts in Afghanistan, or Pakistan, that gave those terrorists a hero’s welcome back to account for it. McDonald, who was based in India from 2000-2003, and has written an excellent work on the Siachen conflict (Heights of Madness) provides a well-thought out epilogue as well, bringing the book up to date with the impact of the ‘surgical strikes’ announced by the government after the Uri attack in 2016, and of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. As a journalist who has covered both sides of the India-Pakistan faultline, McDonald is even-handed, albeit clearly more sympathetic to India’s case, which leads her to her conclusion of where ‘defeat and victory’ lie. Lest anyone doubt her ability to turn the critical eye on India’s actions, her chapter on the flawed and unjust investigation and trials of those suspected to have conspired in the Parliament attack of 2001 is important.

Peace under pressure: Indian Border Security Force Jawans and Pakistani Rangers at the Wagah border.

One is left wondering if such a shoddy process is the Indian government’s way of covering up for its own lapses, and its own poor preparation, and whether India is in denial of its vulnerability as much as Pakistan is in denial of its diabolical duplicity.

Some lapses There are, however, lapses in McDonald’s narrative that are unfortunately common to other accounts of India-Pakistan relations, both western and Indian. To begin with, there is the temptation to see the relations in a time prism: that begins after the nuclear tests of 1998. In the jacket-

blurb of the book, it speaks of how India and Pakistan ‘restarted the clock’ after they both held nuclear tests and as a result Pakistan used ‘militant proxies’ with ‘reckless reliance’ thereafter. The truth is Pakistan’s ‘reckless reliance’ on proxies did not begin in 1998, but all the way back in 1948, during the first Kashmir war. Later, the use of Sikh militants who hijacked planes to Lahore in the 1980s, or the D-Company that has lived in Karachi after the Mumbai blasts in 1993 were all part of a similar strategy. Before Uri, there was Pathankot; before that there was Mumbai 26/11, the train bombings, the

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Parliament attack, IC-814 and so on. Another lapse, shared with other writers on the subcontinent, is to describe the international community, and in particular the U.S., as naïve players, who mistakenly choose to pursue a South Asia policy that unwittingly allows Pakistan its terror war on India. The U.S. is neither naïve nor foolish. If it has pursued a certain course for decades, then that must be seen for what it is: a policy. While the author painstakingly details the lead-up from the IC-814 hijack to the 9/11 attacks, she doesn’t probe why the CIA missed all the links between the Jaish-e-

Mohammad and al-Qaeda and the Taliban pre-2001. Similarly, on the curious case of David Headley, now convicted in the U.S. for his role in planning the Mumbai attacks, the book fails to investigate why the U.S. government entered into a plea-bargain with him for his life without even informing Indian authorities, forcing the Indian government to do the same in 2015, or to let him travel to India in March 2009, months after the Mumbai attacks, when he was under U.S. surveillance. In Pakistan, the U.S. has undertaken unilateral drone strikes against several terrorists suspected of harming U.S. citizens, but has never turned its gaze on Hafiz Saeed with any seriousness. Even a much touted $10million ‘bounty’ turned out to be a reward for information against Hafiz Saeed, as McDonald records, which the U.S. intelligence agencies should have in plenty. Indeed, if Pakistan has ‘lost’ this war for parity with India through ‘a thousand cuts’, there seems little evidence of introspection within. While defeat might mean the notional loss of U.S. trust, Pakistan will always be an important interlocutor for the U.S. when it comes to Afghanistan. The diplomatic isolation of Pakistan that McDonald describes is only one part of the story. The other part is Pakistan’s link-role in China’s OBOR (One Belt One Road) plans, that is bringing even Russia into a closer embrace. For all its self-defeating tendencies, Pakistan is an orphan with a lot of backers. For India, faced with more important wars with poverty, illiteracy, water shortages and other, there are no winners in this battle for South Asia.

Maximum Cities

One man, many lives

Crippling infrastructure deicits in our urban areas not only cause hardships, but can threaten India’s economic growth itself

Freedom ighter, Buddhist monk, pioneer of Hindi literature—an insight into a unique personality

Ajai Sreevatsan

V.B. Ganesan

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istory shows that ideas spread through scholarly wanderers like Hsuan Tsang, Marco Polo, Fa Hien and Ibn Battuta, who have recorded their experiences for posterity. In the Indian context, Rahul Sankrityayan aptly fits the bill through his innumerable writings on his journeys within and outside the country. However, there is very little material available about his own evolution as a multi-lingual scholar from a boy born as Kedarnath Pandey in a Brahmin family in a village in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Best known as Rahulji across the country, Rahul Sankrityayan has donned many a robe. A vaishnav sadhu, Arya Samaji activist, a freedom fighter, a Buddhist monk, a Communist who fought for the rights of peasants, a pioneer of modern Hindi literature, a scholar who brought many rare Sanskrit manuscripts, mostly Buddhist classics to

ndia’s cities are miserable places to live in. We may dream of smart cities, but our cities are currently rather un-smart. Even basic necessities like piped drinking water and access to a rudimentary sewage network are out of reach for most Indians living in urban areas. Despite the deep political divides in the country, the one thing on which there is broad consensus is this: India’s cities require a lot of work. The remarkable popularity of a pie-in-the-sky idea like 100 Smart Cities is rooted in that imagination. That urban India deserves better. P.K. Mohanty’s Financing Cities in India is a timely intervention that seeks to address this growing sense of frustration among citizens living in urban India. The author’s case is fairly straightforward. Cities are the engines of economic growth. Owing to a variety of factors ranging from availability of skilled manpower to the benefits of agglomeration, much of India’s future growth is expected to come from its cities. By 2030, India’s cities are expected to contribute nearly 70% of the GDP, according to a McKinsey Global Institute analysis. However, very little investment goes back into those very cities.

Cities under-invested India’s annual per capita spending on cities, which stands at $50, is 14% of China’s $362, 10% of South Africa’s $508 and less than 3% of the U.K.’s $1772. The inevitable outcome of that under investment is bad infrastructure and poor quality of life. Mohanty’s case is that these crippling infrastructure deficits matter not just because they cause hardships to residents, but because India’s economic growth itself could be under threat. If cities are unlivable, the benefits of agglomeration would hardly kick in and India would miss its narrow window of opportunity to develop rapidly. Early on in the book, he cites the grim picture painted by the High Powered Expert Committee (2011) constituted by the previous UPA government, which projected that an expenditure of at least Rs.39 lakh crore is required by 2031 for upgrading CM YK

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Evolving landscape: India’s spending on urban infrastructure has to increase eight-fold, and cities themselves will have to igure out ways to raise the money. C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM *

city infrastructure. If operation and maintenance expenses are included, the figure goes up to a whopping Rs.59 lakh crore. For the sake of comparison, the total combined outlay of the Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT is only Rs.1 lakh crore, or about 2% of the funds required by 2031. Therefore, India’s spending on urban infrastructure has to increase eight-fold. But much of this money may not come from the Central government. Cities themselves have to figure out ways to raise the money. However, the current revenue base of municipalities is narrow, inflexible and non-buoyant (meaning, it does not increase in step with the economy, unlike, say, a service tax). That is why cities need to start thinking of ways to improve their financial muscle and the author recommends a slew of methods which cities can consider to raise adequate revenue.

What’s the way forward? The proposed strategies in the book can be broadly divided into three categories: tax, user charges, and raising money through bonds and debt. The author spends considerable time digging into history to make a case for a land value tax, akin to the ones that exist in the U.S., Taiwan or Malaysia. Most Indian cities tax built form through a property tax, but the windfall increases in the monetary value of land as a result of provisioning taxpayer-funded public infrastructure in the vicinity is

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Financing Cities in India: Municipal Reforms, Fiscal Accountability and Urban Infrastructure Prasanna K. Mohanty Sage Publications ₹895

mostly not taxed. The author insists that the costs of providing water and sewer lines, as well as public roads, have to be recovered from developers through a combination of land tax, development charges and betterment fees. The next step is a rational user charge scheme for the continued provision of public services like water supply, with a fairly priced monthly lifeline charge for the poor and a graded increase in charges (based on usage) to ensure the rich don’t end up getting subsidised. The third and last step is the use of financial instruments to raise money in order to direct development along certain corridors or geographies, so that the city government can control growth instead of leaving it to developers. But except Ahmedabad, no other Indian city has even tried a bond issue and almost none are credit-rated. Unsurprisingly, most of the examples mentioned in the book are from

the U.S., which has heavily relied on such financial instruments. Overlooking questions of feasibility on all those three points though, the bigger concern with the book is that it ultimately reduces the issue to a money problem. But as the author himself would know, having worked extensively on Hyderabad as an IAS officer during Chandrababu Naidu’s earlier term, what is possible at any given moment is not just a question of funds. A case in point is that only around 40% of the funds originally allocated for JNNURM were released. Many proposed projects were either not started or remain incomplete as they got stuck in the CentreState-city administrative vortex. India suffers from a serious local democracy deficit. Without fixing that, throwing money at the problem may not help. In the book, a small section deals with good governance in the concluding pages. But good governance is just a catchphrase that has come to mean so many different things for different people. Without serious introspection about the nature of our urban democratic governance, innovative taxes and user charges may not help much. The real opportunity that Indian cities offer is a chance to build a better democracy, where there is considerable local autonomy and government spending is transparent and accountable. While lack of funds is a concern in that equation, it may not after all be the central concern.

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A Freethinking Cultural Nationalist—A Life History of Rahul Sankrityayan Alaka Atreya Chudal Oxford University Press ₹950

the outside world from inaccessible Tibetan monasteries, which still feeds the hunger of scholars throughout the world and a multi-linguist (he is a master of 33 languages) who became an ardent advocate of the supremacy of Hindi… the list is endless. A Freethinking Cultural Nationalist—A Life History of Rahul Sankrityayan by Alaka Atreya Chudal gives us an insight into the personality of

Rahulji as a product of his time—a period of social reforms and movement for freedom from foreign yoke. The author also delves deep into his Buddhist philosophy which ultimately led him towards Marxism as well as his special relationship with Nepal and its redemption from the autocracy of the Ranas. Chudal also explores Sankrityayan’s unique contribution to modern Hindi literature. The Afterword brings out the main theme— ‘his nationalist fervour’— through many stages of his life which presents us with a multi-faceted picture of India itself, covering many important aspects of its rich past and its struggle to make the transition to the future worthy of that past. In all, it is indeed an engrossing study of a stalwart who rekindled the knowledge of Buddhism in India and the world and who lived as an Indian at heart and in his writings all through.

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The book unpacks SinoIndian tensions from the angle of competitive statemaking—through a study of their simultaneous attempts to win the approval and support of the Himalayan people. The author uses original archival research to show how India and China became each other’s ‘shadow states’.

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Resurrecting the lives of a few women who played extraordinary roles but weren’t written into textbooks Vaishna Roy

t is perfect that the first woman in Ira Mukhoty’s book Heroines is Draupadi and that Sita, shoved down our throats as ideal womanhood, is entirely missing. Draupadi, dark, angry, intelligent, whose sexuality the Mahabharata celebrates— sinuous hips, the sheen of sweat on her skin—is no silent sufferer in exile, but an angry woman who demands revenge and her rightful place as queen. Although Draupadi and Radha are mythological heroines, myths dominate our mindspace so much, whether culturally or politically, that it is apt they should feature here, as pointers to the ways in which ancient literature imagined women. These inconvenient role models were quietly downplayed down the ages and women relegated to the antahpura. Besides them, Mukhoty resurrects six real women who played extraordinary roles but who weren’t written into textbooks as were

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Heroines Ira Mukhoty Aleph ₹499

their male counterparts. Take Jahanara Begum, Shah Jahan’s eldest daughter. Matriarch of the royal household after mother Mumtaz Mahal’s death, she was the richest woman of her times. Unmarried, devoted to Sufism, she is a vastly interesting, paan-loving figure. Surat’s revenues were hers, her ship Sahibi sailed the seas, she commissioned a mosque in Agra (a male prerogative) and was the first woman to be made ‘keeper of the imperial seal’. Such nuggets make excellent reading, and counter to

some extent the fact that we haven’t thus far been too good with disseminating our past in accessible ways. One diary entry, for instance, establishes that 1857 was not a rag-tag uprising quelled by a few British bravehearts but a battle that needed one year and half a lakh soldiers brought in from Europe to crush it. Or that immense wealth, art, books and documents were destroyed by the ‘civilised’ British in Lucknow. Ambapali, Raziya, Meerabai, Rani Laxmibai, Hazrat Mahal, they’re all revived here. Not with a romanticised retelling, but through facts extracted from real accounts, letters and diaries. Will we, in these fractious times, allow textbooks to celebrate Hazrat Mahal, Wajid Ali Shah’s ex-wife, who led the longest and fiercest resistance to the British in 1857? Will we acknowledge that Radha, celebrated as a pining devotee, was a married woman who threw off husband and hearth to follow Krishna’s flute?

Master on Masters Amjad Ali Khan Penguin Random House India ₹499

In this deeply personal book, veteran sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan writes about the lives and times of some of the greatest icons of Indian classical music whom he has known personally. He recalls anecdotes and details about their individual musical styles along with portraits of the artists.

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Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China Alec Ash Pan Macmillan ₹499

A writer in Beijing writes about the young generation by following the lives of six millennials. There are over 320 million Chinese in their teens and twenties. Born after Mao, with no memory of Tiananmen, these ofspring of the one-child policy are radically transforming their nation.

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Ascent of a woman

Shadow States: India, China and the Himalayas, 1910-1962 Berenice Guyot-Rechard Cambridge University Press $99.99

South and West Joan Didion Penguin Random House ₹1,052

Two extended excerpts from the notebooks of this National Book Awardwinning writer, one written on a road trip through Louisiana, the other about California in the 70s, give us a glimpse of some of the issues that American society is still grappling with: race relations, social hierarchies, prejudice.

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Contested Knowledge: Science, Media, and Democracy in Kerala Shiju Sam Varughese Oxford University Press ₹995

A fascinating commentary on the relation between science and society, this volume is a pioneering work that analyses the science-mediapublic interaction in a nonWestern context. It examines critical questions about ‘medialised science’ like whether there are limits to democratisation of science. A ND-ND

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Kuldeep trips Aussies even as Smith revels with a ton The debutant chinaman bowler’s four-for helps India come back strongly to bowl out the visitors for 300 Vijay Lokapally

fourth TEST, DAY 1, HPCA STADIUM, DHARAMSHALA

DHARAMSHALA

A newcomer’s intrigue and the seasoned art of a run-accumulator made for some fascinating cricket at the HPCA Stadium here. Kuldeep Yadav’s excellent debut and Steve Smith’s third century of the series were the striking features of the opening day’s play in the fourth and final Test. The aggression was missing in the Indian ranks since Virat Kohli was confined to the dressing room but Kuldeep, the practitioner of chinaman bowling with a built-in smile, brought in a refreshing style of attacking

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David Warner c Rahane b Kuldeep ddddddd ddd 56 ddddddd87 dddddddd 8 dddddddd 1 Matt Renshaw b Umesh ddddddddddddddddd ddddd1 dddddddd 6 ddddddddd ddddddddd Steve Smith c Rahane b Ashwin dddddddddd dd111 ddddd 173 ddddddd14 dddddddddd Shaun Marsh c Saha b Umesh dddddddddddd ddddd4 ddddddd14 dddddddddd dddddddddd Peter Handscomb b Kuldeep ddddddddddddd ddddd8 ddddddd23 dddddddd 1 dddddddddd Glenn Maxwell b Kuldeep dddddddddddddddd ddddd8 ddddddd17 dddddddd 1 dddddddddd Matthew Wade b Jadeja ddddddddddddddddd ddd 57 ddddd 125 dddddddd 4 dddddddd 1 Pat Cummins c & b Kuldeep ddddddddddddd ddd 21 ddddddd40 dddddddd 3 dddddddd 1 Steve O’Keefe run out ddddddddddddddddddd ddddd8 ddddddd16 dddddddd 2 dddddddddd Nathan Lyon c Pujara b Bhuvneshwar dddd ddd 13 ddddddd28 dddddddd 2 dddddddddd Josh Hazlewood (not out) ddddddddddddddd ddddd2 dddddddd 2 dddddddddd dddddddddd Extras (b-1, lb-10) ddddddddddddddddddddddd ddd 11 dddddddddd dddddddddd dddddddddd Total (in 88.3 overs) ddddddddddddddddddddd dd 300 Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Renshaw, 1.4 overs), 2-144 (Warner, 34.1), 3-153 (Marsh, 37.4), 4-168 (Handscomb, 44.5), 5-178 (Maxwell, 48.6), 6-208 (Smith, 59.5), 7-245 (Cummins, 72.4), 8-269 (O’Keefe, 79.3), 9-298 (Wade, 87.4). INDIA BOWLING: Bhuvneshwar 12.3-2-41-1, Umesh 15-1-69-2, Ashwin 23-5-54-1, Jadeja 15-1-57-1, Kuldeep 23-3-68-4.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC 앫 Steve Smith is only the second visiting skipper — Alastair Cook (2012-13), the other — and the sixth overseas batsman to make three centuries in a series in India.

INDIA — 1ST INNINGS

BALLS

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K.L. Rahul (batting) dddddddddddddddddddddd ddddd0 dddddddd 6 dddddddddd ddddddddd M. Vijay (batting) ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd0 dddddddd 0 ddddddddd ddddddddd Total (for no loss in one over) dddddddddddd ddddd 0 AUSTRALIA BOWLING: Hazlewood 1-1-0-0. Toss: Australia. Debut: Kuldeep Yadav.

앫 Saturday’s 111 was his 20th Test hundred in 99 innings. Only Don Bradman (55 innings), Sunil Gavaskar (95) and Matthew Hayden (95) have been quicker to 20. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

game in a throwback to the days of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, taking wickets with sheer skill and not being over-reliant on the surface. Kuldeep’s strikes were pure demonstration of a spinner’s wiles as Australia, riding on a classy century by Smith, finished at 300 after electing to bat. From 144 for one, Australia lost nine wickets for 156 runs, the collapse triggered by Kuldeep, who earned praise for not compromising with

RUNS

Beaten all ends up: Peter Handscomb is foxed by the late drift to be bowled through the gate by Kuldeep Yadav.

the situation. What stood out was Kuldeep’s wicket-taking ability in a lively display of temperament befitting the expectations from him. The tepid spectator-response to this hilly town hosting its first ever Test was a dampener on a day when India took the field without its best player, Kohli, ruled out due to a shoulder injury. However, his involvement remained in tact as he kept run-

ning in with messages. Kohli’s stamp was visible as India picked five bowlers — rightly leaving out Ishant Sharma. The 22-year-old Kuldeep’s inclusion was based on the fact that his wares were unknown to Australia and some of the dismissals confirmed the fears of the visiting batsmen. Failing to read Kuldeep’s wrist left them embarrassed at the crease and India seemed to have found a bowler to join

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V.V. KRISHNAN

Bhuvneshwar Kumar but Karun Nair was late in responding at third slip and spilled the offering. Matt Renshaw, however, played the wrong line to Umesh Yadav and the contest was off to a gripping start, a wicket in the second over. The next, however, came after a struggle as Warner and Smith laid the structure of the Australian innings with a quality 134-run partnership that brought the best of the

the galaxy of slow bowlers — the first of his kind. It was a pleasant sight to watch skipper Ajinkya Rahane execute his plans with an unpretentious presence at first slip. He backed the bowlers with some astute field placements and essentially brought a calming effect during the phase when Australia looked to dominate. The Test saw a two-minute delay and a first-ball thrill as David Warner edged

day’s batting. The first session left the Indian camp in a state of worry. A score of 131 for one presented the new captain with a daunting challenge. His response was calculated even as Australia approached differently. Warner showed patience and respect for the ball. Smith attacked and attacked well, picking the line early and gaps at will. The session was a salute to Smith’s temperament and Warner’s resolve to adapt. The pitch played its part. The bounce was true and movement minimal — a sharp contrast to the nature of the pitch here. It suited the Australians. India feared a huge run-assault but Kuldeep

stepped in and changed the course by removing Warner, Peter Handscomb and Glenn Maxwell with superbly planned deliveries. Warner was surprised by the extra bounce; Handscomb was bowled through the gate and Maxwell foxed by a beauty that squared him up. Kuldeep’s control and confidence matched the tenacity of Smith and took the competition a notch higher. The skipper, displaying exemplary ease in combating the Indians, had contributed more than half his team’s score when he fell at 208, edging R. Ashwin to slip. A half-century by Matthew Wade helped Australia to 300 and left India tackle an over.

Rahane, ninth player from Mumbai to captain India Ajinkya Rahane, who became India’s 33rd Test captain after an injured Virat Kohli was ruled out of the fourth Test, is the ninth player from Mumbai to lead the country in the longest form of the game. Polly Umrigar, Nari Contractor, G.S. Ramchand, Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri and Sachin Tendulkar are the others from the city to helm the National side. PTI

Ashwin breaks Steyn’s world record When R. Ashwin had Steve Smith caught at slip before tea, he broke Dale Steyn’s 2007-08 record for the most wickets in a Test season. Ashwin (79, 13 Tests) tops a list that includes Steyn (78, 12), Ravindra Jadeja (68, 13, 2016-17), Glenn McGrath (66, 12, 1998-99) and Anil Kumble (64, 11, 2004-05).

Smith the best: Wade

Debutant cocks a snook at the visitors

‘Indians bowled well in the middle session’

‘Using Warne’s tips against his men is a special feeling’

Special Correspondent DHARAMSHALA

Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who made a fighting 57, said that it wasn’t as easy to score as it appeared. “From 140 for one, obviously you have to push on a bit after lunch but credit to the Indians — they bowled really well through the middle session. We had to find a way to grind out 300,” he said. The middle session collapse was largely orchestrated by debutant Kuldeep Yadav. “It took a few balls to get used to. He bowled a lot of different deliveries and with a scrambled seam as well. But once you stayed there for a while, you get a read on him. We had a look at everyone before the start of the series so the boys were on top of what he was going to bowl,” Wade explained.

Steve Smith.

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V.V. KRISHNAN

Praising captain Steve Smith, who got his third century of the series, Wade termed him to be the best player in the world. “You look at the scoreboard and before you know, he is on 50. It looks so easy

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Gotcha!

for him but obviously it’s not. From outside, it looks like he is playing a different game. He is the best player in the world at the moment and he is on track to become one of the greatest players Australia has ever seen,” Wade declared. He was also hopeful of his bowlers replicating India’s success. “The cracks are playing a huge role for the spinners as well as the quick bowlers. We will be looking to get a bit out of the cracks tomorrow and grab our opportunities,” he hoped. He finally allowed himself a smile towards the end when asked about the difference in India’s captaincy under Ajinkya Rahane in the absence of Virat Kohli. “I feel they were very, very good; they were very calm and went about their work. They weren’t overexcited. It was no different, to be honest,” he said.

Uthra Ganesan DHARAMSHALA

Right attitude: Kuldeep Yadav, seen celebrating with Umesh Yadav, says he has a lot of conidence in his skills and variations even when he goes for runs. V.V. KRISHNAN *

It isn’t often that a 22-yearold Test debutant walks in for a press conference and owns the place with his cheekiness. But with four wickets on the opening day of the final Test against Australia, Kuldeep Yadav wasn’t going to let the chance to cock a snook at the visitors go waste, in line with the tone of the series. “If you see my first wicket, it was not a chinaman but a flipper, which I learnt from Shane Warne. To learn something from him and use it to bowl his own batsmen is obviously a very good feeling,” Kuldeep said with the slightest of smiles that led to an explosion of laughter and several quizzical faces from the Australian media. It was in response to what tips he had received from the legendary Australian during the Pune Test and not the

CoA has full control and supervision: SC BCCI oice-bearers cannot work independently G. Viswanath Mumbai

Safe hands: Ajinkya Rahane about to grasp a chance ofered by David Warner of Kuldeep Yadav. REUTERS *

‘New mystery guy’ Press Trust of India Dharamshala

Kuldeep Yadav on Saturday received lavish praise from former cricketers for his impressive display. India batsman Rohit Sharma termed Kuldeep a “mystery” spinner. “New mystery guy in the house @imkuldeep18 #Magical,” Rohit tweeted. Former India off—spinner Harbhajan Singh tweeted: “Welldone @imkuldeep18 for making a dream debut..magical bowling??????may CM YK

god be with you.. god bless..keep shining.” Another former India spinner Murali Kartik wrote on his Twitter handle: “Wonderful beginning for a debutant.. 2 very good wickets &the way he has bowled.. Way to go.. God bless #KuldeepYadav.” Former Australia captain Michael Clarke was also effusive in his praise of Kuldeep. “This has been a magnificent spell of bowling from the young man Kuldeep.”

Can BCCI office-bearers C.K. Khanna, Amitabh Chaudhary and Anirudh Chaudhry work independently of the Committee of Administrators (CoA)? In its order of January 2, 2017 that removed Anurag Thakur as BCCI president and Ajay Shirke as secretary, the Supreme Court said: “Upon the CoA nominated by this Court assuming charge, the existing officebearers shall function subject to the supervision and control of the CoA.” And, after naming the members of the CoA, the Supreme Court by its order of January 30 said: “Mr. Vinod Rai shall be the Chairman of the CoA. The CEO of BCCI shall report to the CoA and the administrators shall supervise the management of BCCI.” The office-bearers who have not been affected by the disqualification norm at the BCCI level — Amitabh Chaudhary and Anirudh Chaudhry (treasurer) — have submitted their undertaking, the contents of which have not been revealed so far.

The Supreme Court’s interpretation, on Friday (March 24), of the nine-year tenure ceiling set by the Lodha Committee may have led Messrs. Khanna, Amitabh Chaudhary and Anirudh Chaudhry understand that they have the right to discharge their functions. But, according to the SC “only under the supervision

and control of the CoA.” All the aforementioned office-bearers, would go into the three-year cooling off period only when notice for the next election is served. That’s the million-dollar question now because the CoA is still trying to find ways to persuade the full members to accept the Justice Lodha Committee

recommendations. Only the 31 members have the right to change the MoU and Rules and Regulations of the BCCI. And the CoA is not even in the know of who are eligible to be called for a Special General Meeting. The news on the grapevine is that eventually the entire reforms report may be referred to a Constitution Bench.

HPCA claims ₹2.5 crore G. Viswanath MUMBAI

An agreement signed by the BCCI and the international match-staging associations for the first time for a home bilateral series was made full use of by the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) to claim its compensation of ₹2.5 crore from the BCCI, at the Supreme Court on Friday. A BCCI official told The Hindu: “For the first time, we signed agreements with fullmember associations that were given matches against New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia. “The agreement spelt out

the responsibilities of the staging associations. The BCCI was committed to pay ₹2.5 crore for a Test match, ₹1.5 crore for an ODI and ₹1 crore for a T20I.”

Earlier practice Earlier the practice was to add the international match compensation to the media rights share of 25 full-member associations (not including Railways, Services, All India Universities, Cricket Club of India, Mumbai and National Cricket Club and Kolkata) and remit the consolidated sum to the associations’ account, after the BCCI annual accounts are ap-

proved at the AGM in September. Following the Supreme Court decision on Friday, the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) has sent its invoice for staging the first Test against England at Rajkot in November 2016. The BCCI will now have to remit money to Uttar Pradesh CA, CAB, MPCA, Andhra CA, Punjab CA, Mumbai CA, TNCA, Hyderabad CA, Maharashtra CA, KSCA, Jharkhand CA, Himachal Pradesh CA, DDCA, Vidahrbha and Odhisha associations for playing host to Test matches, ODIs and Twenty20 matches this season.

am impressed with < > I@imkuldeep18’s variations and the way he has started. Keep going strong, this can be your match to shine

field at the end of the Australian innings, Yadav was all praise for Virat Kohli, who kept speaking to him from the sidelines. Kohli even walked in with the drinks, clearly unable to stay out of the action.

— Sachin Tendulkar

only one where he was clearly enjoying himself. Asked about Steve Smith’s doughty innings, Kuldeep wasn’t perturbed. “I did not find anything difficult or special, but then he was not playing any shots against me. But I have always believed that a good spinner will always go for runs but also take wickets,” he said. When informed about Matthew Wade’s statement that it had been difficult to read him, Yadav commented, “Good if he said that, it means they are finding it difficult to play!” Having led India off the

‘Kohli the motivator’ “He reminded me of our plans and how to go about it. There cannot be anything better for a player than your captain motivating you so much even when he is not playing,” Kuldeep said. It may be his first Test but the youngster backs himself to make sure it won’t be his last. “I have a lot of confidence in my skills and variations even when I get hit for runs. I always believe that a good spinner will go for runs but also take wickets and with both Kohli and Anil bhai (Kumble) encouraging me, I am happy we stuck to the plan,” he said.

Bangladesh masters Sri Lanka in opener Agencies Dambulla

Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by 90 runs in the first ODI of a three-match series here on Saturday. Opener Tamim Iqbal struck a century as Bangladesh posted a record 324 for five. Tamim made

SCOREBOARD

127 off 142 balls while Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman added two more fifties, helping the visitors pass their previous highest score of 265 for nine against Sri Lanka. Mustafizur Rahman scalped three for 56 to help dismiss Sri Lanka for 234.

SRI LANKA VS BANGLADESH, FIRST ODI

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal c Gunathilaka b Kumara 127, Soumya Sarkar c Chandimal b Lakmal 10, Sabbir Rahman c Tharanga b Gunaratne 54, Mushfiqur Rahim c & b Sandakan 1, Shakib Al Hasan c Sandakan b Lakmal 72, Mosaddek Hossain (not out) 24, Mahmudullah (not out) 13; Extras (lb-10, w-13): 23; Total (for five wkts. in 50 overs): 324. Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-119, 3120, 4-264, 5-289. Sri Lanka bowling: Lakmal 80-45-2, Kumara 8-0-74-1, Perera 8-0-63-0, Pathirana 5-027-0, Sandakan 8-0-43-1, Gunaratne 10-0-40-1, Gunathilaka 3-0-22-1. Sri Lanka: D. Gunathilaka lbw b Mortaza 0, U. Tharanga c Mortaza b Taskin 19, K. Mendis c sub b Mehedi Hasan 4, D. Chandimal c Soumya Sarkar b

Mehedi Hasan 59, A. Gunaratne c Mosaddek Hossain b Shakib 24, M. Siriwardana c sub b Mustafizur 22, S. Pathirana c Mahmudullah b Mortaza 31, T. Perera c Mahmudullah b Mustafizur Rahman 55, S. Lakmal c Sabbir Rahman b Mustafizur 8, L. Sandakan run out 3, L. Kumara (not out) 0; Extras (lb-5, w-4): 9; Total (in 45.1 overs): 234. Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-15, 3-31, 4-87, 5-121, 6-153, 7-171, 8208, 9-232. Bangladesh bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza 7-2-35-2, Mehedi Hasan 10-0-43-2, Taskin Ahmed 9-0-41-1, Shakib al Hasan 8-0-33-1, Mustafizur Rahman 8.1-0-56-3, Mosaddek Hossain 3-0-21-0. Toss: Sri Lanka. Bangladesh won by 90 runs. A ND-ND

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THE HINDU

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017

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IN BRIEF

Hamilton on pole with record lap Vettel claims Ferrari’s irst front row since 2015 ahead of Bottas Agence France-Presse MELBOURNE

Memorable day for Gianluigi Bufon PALERMO

It was a day for veteran goalkeeper and Italian captain Gianluigi Buffon to savour on Friday as he not only played his 1,000th professional match but also won a European record 168th cap. The 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Albania also helped Italy extend its unbeaten run in qualifiers to 55 matches (41 wins, 14 draws). AFP

England hires Saqlain as spin consultant KARACHI

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has hired former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as spin consultant for a period of two years. “ECB has hired my services for two years and I have to work 100 days a year with them. My main duty will be with the England cricket team but I will also work with young and rising spinners in English cricket,” Saqlain told Dawn. He has previously worked with New Zealand and the West Indies. ANI

Girish downs Harikrishna SHENZHEN

India’s Grandmaster P. Harikrishna put up a spirited fight against top seeded Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri but couldn’t avert his first defeat in the Shenzhen Longgang Chess Grandmaster tournament here on Saturday. “I made a basic error at the opening, with my na5,” conceded Harikrishna after the loss. “I should have repeated with nf6 and nf5 instead. But Anish played well and deserved the win,” he added. The Indian star has now slipped to the fourth position, with one victory, one defeat and one draw and 1.5 points. Anish, on the other hand, has risen to the top place.

Everton loses two ahead of Liverpool derby LONDON

Everton suffered a double blow ahead of next weekend’s Liverpool derby with full-back Seamus Coleman breaking his leg and midfielder James McCarthy a recurring hamstring injury. REUTERS

AIBA coaches certiication course KOLKATA:

Altogether 49 out of 50 coaches have passed the International Boxing Association (AIBA) one-star certification course conducted at the National Boxing Academy, Rohtak, last month. AIBA had sent a team of instructors, including Coaches Commission chairman Adams Kusior and Mofu Makhaya Andile, to conduct the course. The initiative will help the Boxing Federation of India spread correct and latest coaching methods among boxers at the grassroots level.

Triple World champion Lewis Hamilton will start off the pole in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after winning qualifying on Saturday. Hamilton in a Mercedes clocked a record lap of one minute 22.188 seconds to take his 62nd career pole and sixth in Australia into Sunday’s race here. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was second with Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas third.

Fourth straight pole Hamilton has been on pole in Melbourne in each of the last four seasons, and in five out of the last six Australian GPs. “It’s been a fantastic weekend so far. I’m incredibly proud of my team,” Hamilton said. “Valtteri did a great job and it’s great for us as Mercedes. It’s going to be a tight race. “Tomorrow is about putting all the work together and making sure I come back stronger than ever.” He was pushed in the final Q3 stage, first by Bottas and then by Vettel before clinching the fastest lap. “I lost a bit in turn one and in turn nine I tried a bit too much, but I don’t think it would have been enough,” said Vettel, who claimed Ferrari’s first front row since 2015 in knocking Bottas out of second place. Hamilton’s pole time was 1.7 seconds quicker than his qualifying time last year. “Third position is not ideal,” Bottas said. “In general I’m not happy. But I’m proud of what the team has done. I only saw a very small

JAYANT M. SHAH PLATE (2,400m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46, 2.30 p.m.: 1. Jager Bomb (2) Sandesh 59, 2. Ventura (6) S. Kamble 57.5, 3. Danse Debonaire (8) S.J. Sunil 55.5, 4. Othello (5) J. Chinoy 54.5, 5. Kitty Hawk (7) Dashrath 54, 6. Care Free (3) C.S. Jodha 54, 7. Koal (4) S. Amit 53 and 8. Red Fort (1) Nirmal Jodha 51. 1. OTHELLO, 2. KITTY HAWK, 3. JAGER BOMB

2

CURSETJEE DHUNJISHAW TROPHY (1,400m), Cl. II, rated 60 to 86, 3.00: 1. Mountbatten (4) Parmar 59, 2. Miss Saigon (1) Neeraj 57.5, 3. Benezeer (2) C.S. Jodha 54, 4. Carbonara (3) Sandesh 53.5 and 5. Streetjammer (5) J. Chinoy 52.5. 1. MISS SAIGON, 2. BENEZEER

3

Burning rubber: Lewis Hamilton scorched the Albert Park circuit on Saturday en route to taking pole for the season-opening Australian GP. CLIVE MASON/GETTY IMAGES *

part of the preparation and it’s nice to see the work has pulled off and we’re fighting at the front.”

Ricciardo crashes Australia’s big hope Daniel Ricciardo crashed his Red Bull at turn 14 looking to post a good time in Q3 and will start 10th. Ricciardo damaged the rear of his RB13 car and was heard over the team radio as saying: “I’m alright... sorry guys.” The final session of qualifying was suspended while Ricciardo’s car was removed

David in semiinals El Shorbagy on course to retain title HULL

Nicol David raised hopes of challenging for her first World Series title in 15 months when a relaxed and mobile performance carried her into the semifinals of the British Open squash on Friday. The record-breaking former World No. 1 from Malaysia achieved this with a convincing 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 win over the second-seeded Camille Serme, who became the first Frenchwoman to win the world’s oldest title two years ago. In the men’s section, topseeded title-holder Mohamed El Shorbagy made a remarkable double recovery, reviving hopes of keeping both the top ranking and the title when he came back from a worrying deficit. The star from Alexandria was within two points of defeat against Ali Farag, one of his fiercest compatriot

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SUDOKU

rivals, at 5-9 down in the fourth game of a contentious encounter. But even though he suffered a cut eye, a bout of rage, and a stern warning from the referee, El Shorbagy struggled his way to an 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5 win. The results: Quarterfinals: Men: Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Ali Farag (Egy) 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5; Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Tarek Momen (Egy) 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 7-11, 11-6; Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) 11-4, 11-6, 11-6; Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy) 10-12, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5. Women: Nour El Sherbini (Egy) bt Emily Whitlock (Eng) 11-3, 11-4, 11-4; Laura Massaro (Eng) bt Raneem El Welily (Egy) 11-3, 13-15, 11-6, 11-6; Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng) bt Donna Urquhart (Aus) 11-4, 7-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4; Nicol David (Mas) bt Camille Serme (Fra) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8.

from the gravel alongside the track. Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Marcus Ericsson all failed to make it through the top ten shootout. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had a lock-up into turn six on ultrasoft tyres before he posted a time to stay alive into Q2. McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne had a fuel-flow issue which sent the Belgian to the pits and knocked out in Q1. Vandoorne was joined by

Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll and Jolyon Palmer to be eliminated in the first session of qualifying. Giovinazzi is making his

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), 3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), 4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 6. Romain Grosjean (Haas), 7. Felipe Massa (Williams), 8. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Toro Rosso), 9. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso), 10. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), 11. Sergio

MIAMI

Rafael Nadal cruised past Israeli Dudi Sela in the second round of the Miami Open on Friday while Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Canada’s Milos Raonic also enjoyed comfortable victories as the top seeds got underway. Important results: Men: Second round: Rafael Nadal bt Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-4; Philipp Kohlschreiber bt Taylor Fritz 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4); Nicolas Mahut bt Steve Johnson 6-4, 5-7, 6-4; Guido Pella bt Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 7-6(4); Jack Sock bt Yoshihito Nishioka 2-4, retd.;

The top seed battled shoulder injury to beat Sriram Balaji Special Correspondent THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

A nagging pain in his shoulders left Prajnesh Gunneswaran to struggle and restrict himself from displaying the ruthless efficiency with which he had despatched his rivals over the last four days. Yet, the Chennai-based top seed showed remarkable resilience to overcome the injury and a fight adversary in Sriram Balaji 7-5, 6-3 before lifting the men’s singles title of the Indian Oil-ITF Futures tennis tournament at the TTC courts here on Saturday. It came as a real surprise when Prajnesh proved to be way off the mark initially as little was known about the injury that slowed him down considerably. Prajnesh slowly raised the tempo of his game when Sriram turned erratic with the drop volleys which had helped him turn the heat on the top seed. The lefthanded Prajnesh fought back brilliantly, and the tre-

KOLKATA

Yubrani Banerjee of Bengal won the under-18 girls’ singles title to claim a double crown in the Rendez-Vous A Roland Garros-BTA-AITA National series tennis here on Saturday. The boys’ under-18 singles CM YK

Jiri Vesely bt Albert RamosVinolas 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3; Jared Donaldson bt Mischa Zverev 6-4, 6-4; Milos Raonic bt Viktor Troicki 6-3, 7-5; Jeremy Chardy bt Marin Cilic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3; Benoit Paire bt Pablo Cuevas 7-5, 6-0; Donald Young bt Lucas Pouille 6-2, 6-4; JanLennard Struff bt Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-1; Fernando Verdasco bt Ernesto Escobedo 7-6(9), 7-5; Kei Nishikori bt Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-3. Doubles : First round: Nick Kyrgios & Matt Reid (Aus) bt Pablo Cuevas (Uru) & Rohan Bopanna 7-5, 3-6, [10-7]. Women: Second round: Angelique Kerber bt Duan Ying-

title was won by Rishabh Sharda of Chandigarh who downed the top-seeded Parikshit Somani of Assam in the final. Yubrani, who won the doubles crown on Friday, teaming with C. Shivani Sravya of Telangana, did not have to sweat much to get

MANYATTA PLATE (1,600m), Cl. V, rated 1 to 26, 3.30: 1. Dem Sao (5) Bhawani 59, 2. Huracan (6) Trevor 58.5, 3. Frisky Whiskey (3) K. Kadam 56.5, 4. Baker Street (2) Zeeshan 56, 5. Royce (10) Parmar 55.5, 6. Shivalik Skies (1) Merchant 54.5, 7. Oscillation (9) S. Amit 52.5, 8. Black Jaguar (4) S. Kamble 51.5, 9. Secret Flame (7) C.S. Jodha 51 and 10. Star Ace (8) Sandesh 50.5. 1. OSCILLATION, 2. DEM SAO, 3. SHIVALIK SKIES

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D.W. REID PLATE (1,200m), Cl. III, rated 40 to 66, 4.00: 1. An Jolie (2) Santosh 60.5, 2. Irish Bailey (1) J. Chinoy 56, 3. Magical Memory (4) Sandesh 55, 4. Anvill Star (5) Bhawani 54.5, 5. Magnum Opus (3) Kuldeep 54.5, 6. House Of Commons (8) Trevor 54, 7. Golden Eclipse (7) Parmar 53.5 and 8. Arakawah (6) Tograllu 53. 1. HOUSE OF COMMONS, 2. AN JOLIE, 3. MAGICAL MEMORY

MUMBAI: Kramer (P. Trevor up) won the Jimmy Bharucha Trophy, the main event of Saturday’s (March 25) races. The winner is owned by Mr. Jaydev M. Mody rep. J.M. Livestock Pvt. Ltd. M. Narredu trains the winner.

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RAZA ALI PLATE (Div. II) (1,200m), Cl. V, rated 1 to 26: SUPER BOLT (S. Amit) 1, Deccan King (Nadeem) 2, Isinit (Daman) 3 and Rich N Rare (Kuldeep) 4. 1/2, Lnk, 3/4. 1m 12.88s. Rs. 91 (w), 25, 20 and 13 (p), SHP: Rs. 55, FP: Rs. 152, Q: Rs. 128, Tanala: Rs. 832 and Rs. 379. Favourite: Headlines. Owner & trainer: Mr. Mansoor Shah.

RADHA SIGTIA TROPHY (2,400m), Cl. II, rated 60 to 86: PALATIAL (Sandesh) 1, Raees (C.S. Jodha) 2, Frosty (Neeraj) 3 and Sabiq (Trevor) 4. 1, 1-3/4, 11/2. 2m 34.81s. Rs. 23 (w), 14 and 11 (p), SHP: Rs. 28, FP: Rs. 60, Q: Rs. 10, Tanala: Rs. 64 and Rs. 28. Favourite: Raees. Owners: Mr. Haresh N. Mehta and Mr. Manav H. Mehta rep. Rohan Bloodstock Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: C.D. Katrak.

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Forging ahead: Prajnesh Gunneswaran showed remarkable resilience to beat Sriram Balaji 7-5, 6-3. S. GOPAKUMAR *

mendous staying power was finally rewarded as Sriram faltered with his serve in the seventh game. Prajnesh was attended to by a team of physiotherapists at the end of the set, but was still quite visibly in pain at times in the second, in which he was able to come

up with a better display. Sriram, at the other end, tried his best to avoid the inevitable as he upped the speed of the game, but ended up committing far too many unforced errors. The results: Men: Final: Prajnesh Gunneswaran bt Sriram Balaji 7-5, 6-3.

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MEMORIES OF YOU PLATE (1,000m), Maiden 3-y-o only, 4.30: 1. Brooklyn Bridge (8) Agarwal 55, 2. Gazino (4) Sandesh 55, 3. Macgyver (2) K. Kadam 55, 4. Montecasino (9) Shelar 55, 5. Arc Shine (10) Merchant 53.5, 6. Dance Of Fire (5) Bhawani 53.5, 7. Princess P (3) Trevor 53.5, 8. Rishab’s Pet (1) Roushan 53.5, 9. Star Anise (7) C.S. Jodha 53.5 and 10. Wild Fire (6) Dashrath 53.5. 1. GAZINO, 2. PRINCESS P, 3. WILD FIRE TATA HOUSING TURF CHAMPIONSHIP (Gr.3) (1,800m), 4y-o & over, 5.00: 1. Colombiana (2) Sandesh 59, 2. B Fifty Two (3) C.S. Jodha 56 and 3. Commodore (1) Trevor 51. COMMODORE KARL UMRIGAR TROPHY (1,400m), Maiden 3-y-o only, 5.30: 1. Adonijah (7) Trevor 55, 2. Gandalf (4) S. Kamble 55, 3. Magic Dust (5) Dashrath 55, 4. Man Of Word (12) Akshay Kumar 55, 5. Sandalphon (9) S. Sunil 55, 6. Someone Somewhere (11) J. Chinoy 55, 7. Fortitude (8) Parmar 53.5, 8. La Magnifique (6) Neeraj 53.5, 9. Lady Be Good (10) Sandesh 53.5, 10. Magical Script (1) K. Kadam 53.5, 11. Poetryinmotion (2) C.S. Jodha 53.5 and 12. Point The Star (3) Bhawani 53.5. 1. LA MAGNIFIQUE, 2. LADY BE GOOD, 3. SOMEONE SOMEWHERE SION F NESSIM PLATE (1,000m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46, 6.00: 1. Jimbo (1) Trevor 62, 2. Double Nine (7) Vishal 61.5, 3. Rock In Rio (11) Kuldeep 61, 4. Barringo (5) Nazil 58.5, 5. El Tycoon (9) S. Amit 58.5, 6. Fringe Benefit (2) Merchant 58.5, 7. Riot Of Colours (10) Raghuveer 56, 8. Forever Yours (13) C.S. Jodha 55.5, 9. Royal Sapphire (8) Bhawani 55, 10. Firebolt (3) Zeeshan 54.5, 11. Dibaba (4) S.J. Sunil 52, 12. Samurai (12) Joseph 52 and 13. Abu Al Bukhoosh (6) Roushan 51. 1. DOUBLE NINE, 2. JIMBO, 3. EL TYCOON Day’s best: LA MAGNIFIQUE Double: MISS SAIGON — GAZINO Jackpot: 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8. Treble: (i): 5, 6 & 7; (ii): 6, 7 & 8. Tanala: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 & 8. Super jackpot: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8.

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8

Kramer wins

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SAMUEL NATHAN PLATE (1,600m), Cl. III, rated 40 to 66: ELEGANT BEAUTY (Trevor) 1, Glorious Eyes (C.S. Jodha) 2, Nelsons Blood ( J. Chinoy) 3 and Uncle Scrooge (Parmar) 4. 1, 1, 31/2. 1m 38.28s. Rs. 16 (w), 13 and 16 (p), SHP: Rs. 29, FP: Rs. 25, Q: Rs. 45, Tanala: Rs. 46 and Rs. 14. Favourite: Elegant Beauty. Owner: Mrs. Sheetal S. Shinde. Trainer: M. Narredu.

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TULIPA PLATE (Div. II), (1,400m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: SPIRIDON (A. Imran Khan) 1, King Of Killen (Sandesh) 2, Sail Past (Raghuveer) 3 and Viking (Neeraj) 4. 2-1/2, 4, 3/4. Not run: Windfall. 1m 24.29s. Rs. 22 (w), 14, 14 and 40 (p), SHP: Rs. 61, FP: Rs. 127, Q: Rs. 44, Tanala: Rs. 1,781 and Rs. 1,336. Favourite: Spiridon. Owners: Ms. Tarita Shankar & Mr. Chetan S.Wakalkar rep. Sahaan Infrastructure (India) Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: Altaf Hussain.

New Zealand’s DRS bungle aids Proteas

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JIMMY BHARUCHA TROPHY (1,200m), 3-y-o only: KRAMER (Trevor) 1, Cambridge (K .Kadam) 2, God’s Own (Dashrath) 3 and Arashi (Parmar) 4. 1-1/4, 2, 3/4. 1m 11.66s. Rs. 15 (w), 14 and 39 (p), SHP: Rs. 77, FP: Rs. 126, Q: Rs. 59, Tanala: Rs. 159 and Rs. 62. Favourite: Kramer. Owners: Mr. Jaydev M .Mody rep. J.M. Livestock Pvt Ltd. Trainer: M. Narredu.

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TULIPA PLATE (Div. I), (1,400m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: ANGEL GIRL (Daman) 1, Zanzibaar (S. Amit) 2, Brabourne (Sandesh) 3 and Sir Desmond (Akshay Kumar) 4. Lnk, 1/2, sh. hd. 1m 25.14s. Rs. 28 (w), 15, 18 and 13 (p), SHP: Rs. 43, FP: Rs. 129, Q: Rs. 62, Tanala: Rs. 237 and Rs. 91. Favourite: Angel Girl. Owners: M/s. Altaf Hussain, Ashok Ranpise & Mr. Haresh N. Mehta and Mr. Manav H. Mehta rep. Rohan Bloodstock Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: Altaf Hussain.

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RAZA ALI PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), Cl. V, rated 1 to 26: RIDGEWOOD STAR (Trevor) 1, Adams Beginning (Daman) 2, Arctic Whizz (Parmar) 3 and Hunayn (Pradeep) 4. 3-1/4, 1-1/4, Nose. 1m 12.26s. Rs. 39 (w), 13, 21 and 17 (p), SHP: Rs. 51, FP: Rs. 157, Q: Rs. 99, Tanala: Rs. 310 and Rs. 112. Favourite: Arctic Whizz. Owner & trainer: Mr. Dallas Todywalla.

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DIEGO RIVERA PLATE (1,200m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: TRIPLE THREAT (Ayyar) 1, Airlift (C.S. Jodha) 2, Kookaburra (Zeeshan) 3 and Lady In Red (Trevor) 4. 3, Nose, 1-1/4. 1m 11.73s. Rs. 294 (w), 91, 13 and 35 (p), SHP: Rs. 34, FP: Rs. 690, Q: Rs. 922, Tanala: Rs. 18,871 and Rs. 8,087. Favourite: Airlift. Owners: Mr. Haresh N. Mehta and Mr. Manav H. Mehta rep. Rohan Bloodstock Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: Mansoor Shah. Jackpot: (70 per cent): Rs. 32,175 (23 tkts.), (30 per cent): Rs. 204 (1,556 tkts.). Treble: (i) Rs. 164 (64 tkts.), (ii) Rs. 35,640 (carried forward). Super jackpot: (70 per cent): Rs. 1,13,492 (carried forward); (30 per cent): Rs. 100 (244 tkts.).

India girls inish 11th Special Correspondent

Ying 7-6(3), 6-2; Julia Goerges bt Carla Suarez 6-4, 7-6(5); Venus Williams bt Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4, 6-3; Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Mandy Minella 6-2, 6-2; Simona Halep bt Naomi Osaka 6-4, 2-6, 6-3; Anett Kontaveit bt Ekaterina Makarova 6-7(1), 6-2, 6-2; Peng Shuai bt Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-0; Samantha Stosur bt Ashleigh Barty 6-4, 6-4. Madison Keys bt Viktorija Golubic 6-1, 6-2; Garbine Muguruza bt Christina McHale 0-6, 7-6(6), 6-4; Ajla Tomljanovic bt Elena Vesnina 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; Barbora Zahlavova Strycova bt Johanna Larsson 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).

Yubrani bags a double Special Correspondent

Perez (Force India), 12. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault), 13. Fernando Alonso (McLaren), 14. Esteban Ocon (Force India), 15. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber), 16. Antonio Giovinazzi (Sauber), 17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 18. Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren), 19. Jolyon Palmer (Renault) and 20. Lance Stroll (Williams).

Prajnesh ights hard to claim title

Nadal cruises past Sela Agence France-Presse

F1 debut after replacing Williams teammate Pascal Wehrlein, who has not sufficiently recovered from a back injury sustained in a pre-season crash.

STARTING GRID

Qualiier Tomljanovic stuns Vesnina

Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

MUMBAI: Trainer Pesi Shroff ’s ward Commodore, who ran second in his last outing, should win the Tata Housing Turf Championship (Gr. 3), the feature event of Sunday’s (March 26) afternoon races. Rails will be 5 metres wide from 1400m to 1200m and 10 metres wide from 800m upto the winning post.

1

SQUASH

Agence France-Presse

Commodore fancied

past Pratibha Prasad Narayan of Karnataka in the singles final. The results (finals): Boys: Rishabh Sharda (Chd) bt Parikshit Somani (Asm) 6-7(2), 6-0, 7-6(5). Girls: Yubrani Banerjee (Ben) bt Pratibha Prasad Narayan (Kar) 6-3, 6-4.

NEW DELHI

Cleaned up! Hashim Amla, who scored a half-century, is castled by a Colin de Grandhomme delivery. AFP *

Agence France-Presse HAMILTON

New Zealand’s muddled use of the review system allowed Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla to lead a South African recovery on a rain-hit day one of the third Test in Hamilton on Saturday. New Zealand had lost its two reviews by the 29th over, and was powerless to react 13 balls later when the umpires missed a faint edge which should have seen du Plessis caught behind for 16.

SCOREBOARD South Africa — 1st innings: T. de Bruyn c Latham b Henry 0, D. Elgar b de Grandhomme 5, H. Amla b de Grandhomme 50, J-P. Duminy c Jeetan b Henry 20, F. du Plessis (batting) 33, T. Bavuma (batting) 13; Extras (lb-1, w-1): 2; Total (for four wkts. in 41 overs): 123. Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-5, 3-64, 4-97. New Zealand bowling: Henry 10-2-25-2, de Grandhomme 16-3-43-2, Wagner 13-2-44-0, Jeetan 2-0-10-0 Toss: South Africa.

India girls took the 11th place as they beat Malaysia 2-0 in the Asia Oceania Junior Fed Cup under-16 tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Saturday. In Bangkok, India outwitted Korea 2-1 for the fifth place in the Asia Oceania world junior under-14 tournament. China took the top honours. The results: Asia Oceania World Junior Under-16: Final: Japan bt Thailand 2-0. Play-off 11th place: India bt Malaysia 2-0 [Sai Dedeepya bt Juliana Shalini Ganendra 6-0, 6-0; Sharifah Elsa Wan Abdul Rahman bt Humera Shaik 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)]. Under-14: Final: China bt Japan 2-0. Third place: Australia bt Thailand 3-0. Fifth place: India bt Korea 2-1 (Nishant Dabas bt Song Woodan 4-6, 6-4, 7-5; Divesh Gahlot lost to Jeon Jewon 6-7 (7), 3-6; Nishant & V.M. Sandeep bt Woodan & Yoon Hyeondeok 6-1, 3-6, [10-8]). A ND-ND

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THE HINDU

SPORT 19

NOIDA/DELHI

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017

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IN BRIEF

Dhawan sets up India Red’s win

Goa and Bengal renew old rivalry

Rayudu brilliance, Hooda cameo not enough for Blues

When Goa last hosted the Santosh Trophy in 1996, it was heartbreak for the host in the final as Bengal, led by Bhaichung Bhutia, triumphed in front of a massive crowd at Margao. A sea change has since taken place in Indian footbal and the once prestigious tournament no longer has the same charm. However, a final between two traditional rivals — Goa and Bengal — at the GMC Stadium Bambolim will be a fitting end to the 71st edition of

Battle will be a itting end to the 71st edition of the Santosh Trophy M.R. Praveen Chandran Panaji

V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM VISAKHAPATNAM

LeBron James shines in Cavs’ win CHARLOTTE

LeBron James just missed a triple-double, pouring in 32 points with 11 assists and nine rebounds, in Cleveland Cavaliers’ 112-105 NBA victory over home team Hornets on Friday. The reigning NBA champion was in front for all of the second half as it bounced back from a disappointing 126-113 loss at Denver on Wednesday. The results: Lakers 130 bt Timberwolves 119 (OT); Warriors 114 bt Kings 100; 76ers 117 bt Bulls 107. Bucks 100 bt Hawks 97’ Rockets 117 bt Pelicans 107. Celtics 130 bt Suns 120; Wizards 129 bt Nets 108; Cavaliers 112 bt Hornets 105; Magic 115 bt Pistons 87; Nuggets 125 bt Pacers 117. AFP

Arrogate wins Dubai World Cup DUBAI

Arrogate, ridden by Mike Smith, won the $10-million Dubai World Cup, the most prestigious race of the UAE racing season, at the Meydan Racecourse here on Saturday evening. The odds-on favourite grey colt, trained by Bob Baffert, rode away with a whopping first prize of $6 million.

TV PICKS India vs Australia: 4th Test, STAR Sports 1, 3 & HD 1, 3, 9.30 a.m. Formula One: Australian GP, SS Select HD 2, 10.25 a.m. British Open squash: Finals, TEN 1, 7.30 p.m. West Indies v Pakistan: 1st T20I, TEN 3 & TEN 1 HD, 9 p.m. WC Qualifiers: Sony ESPN, Sony Six & Six HD, 9 p.m. & 12 a.m. (Monday) NBA: Sony Six & Sony Six HD, 6 a.m. (Monday)

CM YK

A superbly-paced century by opener Shikhar Dhawan helped India Red score a 23run win over India Blue in the first round of the Paytm Prof. D.B. Deodhar Trophy limited-overs cricket tournament at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium here on Saturday. Ambati Rayudu’s brilliance (92, 92b, 8x4, 2x6) and a blinder towards the end by Deepak Hooda (46, 27b, 2x4, 3x6) were not enough for India Blue chasing a victory target of 328. India Blue was off to a slow start scoring 67 for two in the first 15 overs and also lost openers Mayank Agarwal and Mandeep Singh. Even Rayudu was subdued to start with but once he hit Harpreet Singh Bhatia for two fours in one over to move from the 20s to 30s, he turned the heat on. But, later it was Akshay Karnewar’s strikes — he got the big wickets of Rishab Pant and Rayudu, both caught and bowled, and then lured Krunal Pandya to hit straight to long-on — which put the brakes on the chase. Dhawal Kulkarni completed a split hat-trick, dismissing Shardul Thakur with the last ball of the 47th over and then sending back Deepak Hooda and Siddharth Kaul off the first two balls in the 49th over.

Perfect stage Earlier, the stage was perfectly set — a beautiful batting track and an erratic bowling attack — for southpaw Dhawan to rediscover his form with a stroke-filled century (128, 122b, 13x4, 3x6). The only exception for India Blue was pace bowler Kaul who bowled his heart out to return with a fivewicket haul.

Italy keeps pace with Spain

the National football championship. The teams had played out a goalless draw in the group stage. Bengal had looked the better side, but was let down by the prodigality of the strikers. Going into the final, Goa will take confidence from its semifinal victory over Kerala, the best team in the competition.

Crowd support Coach Mateus Costa and his boys are on the doorstep of a significant win. He said his boys would put their best

foot forward and shrugged off the pressure of playing at home. “Bengal is a good side. But, we have worked really hard to reach the final. Our aim will be to win the trophy in front of our supporters,” he said. Nimble-footed striker Liston Colaco will once again hold the key, but unlike against Kerala, Liston will have to deal with a tough Bengal defence, which has not conceded a goal in regulation time so far. However, injuries to three of his key defenders has

IOB silences ASC, enters inal Southern Railway women to ight it out with Chhattisgarh FED CUP

Rayan Rozario Agence France-Presse PARIS

Making it count: A track conducive to batting and an erratic bowling attack helped Dhawan rediscover his form. K.R. DEEPAK *

SCOREBOARD

INDIA RED VS INDIA BLUE

India Red: Parthiv Patel c Mandeep b Kaul 50 (48b, 9x4), Shikhar Dhawan c Tiwary b Hooda 128 (122b, 13x4, 3x6), Shreevats Goswami c Pant b Kaul 1 (3b), Ishank Jaggi st Pant b Krunal Pandya 53 (51b, 6x4, 1x6), Harpreet Singh Bhatia c Pant b Kaul 29 (27b, 4x4), Gurkeerat Mann c Kaul b Krunal Pandya 15 (16b, 2x4), Axar Patel c Pandya b Kaul 22 (15b, 2x4, 1x6), Akshay Karnewar c Pant b Kaul 7 (7b, 1x4), Dhawal Kulkarni (not out) 10 (9b, 1x4), Ashoke Dinda (not out) 2 (2b). Extras: (w-9, lb-1) 10; Total: (for eight wkts. in 50 overs) 327. Fall of wickets: 1-93, 2-95, 3198, 4-255, 5-284, 6-284, 7306, 8-322. India Blue bowling: Shardul Thakur 9-1-46-0, Prasidh Krishna 7-0-61-0, Siddharth Kaul 10-0-59-5, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-72-0, Manoj Tiwary 2-0-13-0, Deepak Hooda 4-034-1, Krunal Pandya 8-0-41-2. India Blue: Mayank Agarwal c

Kulkarni b Khejroliya 34 (35b, 3x4, 1x6), Mandeep Singh b Axar 17 (24b, 2x4), Ambati Rayudu c & b Karnewar 92 (92b, 8x4, 2x6), Manoj Tiwary c Kulkarni b Khejroliya 37 (43b, 4x4), Rishabh Pant c & b Karnewar 20 (30b, 1x4), Krunal Pandya c Harpreet b Karnewar 31 (23b, 3x4, 1x6), Deepak Hooda c Mann b Kulkarni 46 (27b, 2x4, 3x6), Harbhajan Singh c (sub) Poddar b Axar 2 (4b), Shardul Thakur c Mann b Kulkarni 17 (8b, 2x4), Siddharth Kaul c Karnewar b Kulkarni 3 (5b), Prasidh Krishna (not out) 0. Extras: (nb-1, w-3, lb-1) 5; Total: (in 48.2 overs) 304. Fall of wickets: 1-45, 2-57, 3136, 4-185, 5-233, 6-250, 7261, 8-300, 9-304. India Red bowling: Dhawal Kulkarni 9.2-1-64-3, Ashoke Dinda 9-0-57-0, Kulwant Khejroliya 9-0-54-2, Axar Patel 10-0-54-2, Harpreet Singh Bhatia 2-0-14-0, Akshay Karnewar 9-0-60-3. Toss: India Blue.

Italy kept pace with Spain in the European World Cup qualifying as a first-half Daniele de Rossi penalty and late second from Ciro Immobile helped the Azzurri beat Albania 2-0 at Palermo on Saturday. The results: European Zone: Group D: Georgia 1 (Kacharava 5) lost to Serbia 3 (Tadic 45-pen, Mitrovic 64, Gacinovic 86); Republic of Ireland 0 drew with Wales 0; Austria 2 (Sabitzer 75, Harnik 90) bt Moldova 0. Group G: Italy 2 (de Rossi 12pen, Immobile 72) bt Albania 0; Liechtenstein 0 lost to Macedonia 3 (Nikolov 43, Nestoroski 68, 72); Spain 4 (Silva 13, Vitolo 45, Costa 51, Isco 88) bt Israel 1 (Rafaelov 77). Group I: Turkey 2 (Cenk Tosun 9, 13) bt Finland 0; Croatia 1 (Kalinic 38) bt Ukraine 0; Kosovo 1 (Nuhiu 53) lost to Iceland 2 (Bjorn Sigurdarson 25, Gylfi Sigurdsson 35-pen). CONCACAF region: Mexico 2 (Hernandez 7, Araujo 45) bt Costa Rica 0; USA 6 (Lletget 5, Bradley 27, Dempsey 32, 49, 54, Pulisic 46) bt Honduras 0.

Bengal coach Mridul Banerjee worried. “Santu Singh, Rana Gharmani and Provat Lakra are far from fit. But, I don’t want to change a settled side. “They are the favourites and have many experienced players. Our team is young, but the boys have exceeded expectations.” The Bengal attack has revolved around Manvir Singh, Shaikkom Ronald Singh and Basanta Singh. The trio has made its presence felt and will pose questions. Manvir is the linchpin in the attack.

Coimbatore

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) registered an 84-64 win over Army Service Corps (ASC), Karnataka, in the men’s semifinal of the 31st Federation Cup basketball championship here on Saturday. Only the other day G.R.L. Prasad, the ASC coach, had said that it would be a bit easy for his men if they were to meet IOB in the semifinal. But the bankmen proved a tough nut to crack. The opening minutes of the first quarter was far more open with both teams trying to create a strong first impression. But midway through, IOB called the shots. Some impressive layups by S. Prasanna Venkatesh (16 points) and the ever-reliable Rikin Pethani (29 pts) put the team in command. ASC fought hard but failed to control the boards at crucial junctures. In the second also, IOB maintained a sizeable lead. In the fourth quarter, Rikin and Prasanna went flat out to take the team to a 73-56 lead. And ASC had no answers

IOB’s S. Prasanna Venkatesh about to score. M. PERIASAMY *

to IOB’s tactical plan and final rush. In the women’s section, favourite Southern Railway defeated Tamil Nadu 73-67 for a place in the final. The host had in its roster a set of talented individuals but lacked the height and the sting to trouble its opponent in the first session. R. Rajapriyadarshini, D. Anitha Priya and Renjini Peter were the pillars of strength for Railways during

that period. The experienced Renjini, in fact, is returning to the side after a nine-month injury layoff. And, she played her role to great perfection. Railways, with virtually no bench strength to back its efforts, implemented its strategies with caution and care. The scoring rate was not to its expectations but with great understanding and excellent court coverage the team managed to stay afloat for most part. In the final, Southern Railway will take on Chhattisgarh, which scored a thrilling 99-98 win over a fighting West Bengal. The results (semifinals): Men: IOB 84 (Rikin Pethani 29, Prasanna Venkatesh 16) bt Army Service Corps (Karnataka) 64 (Jeethandar Singh 19, Issac T. Thomas 15); ONGC (Uttarakhand) 72 bt Indian Air Force 49. Women: Southern Rly 73 (D. Anitha Priya 25, R. Raja Priyadarshini 14) bt Tamil Nadu 67 (R. Varshanandhini 22, M. Keerthi 17); Chhattisgarh 99 bt West Bengal 98.

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HPCA’s Test debut receives lacklustre response Skipper Kohli’s absence because of an injured shoulder does not help matters; Students from a local school brought in Uthra Ganesan DHARAMSHALA

Disappointing: Despite it being a weekend, more than half the seats at the 23,000-capacity stadium remained empty on the irst day of the Dharamshala Test. AFP *

Coach Lopetegui warns against distraction of winner-takes-all clash Spain is ahead of Italy in Group G on goal diference Agence France-Presse

Spain coach Julen Lopetegui warned his team not to get distracted by its potentially winner-takes-all World Cup qualifying showdown against Italy after the 2010 champion saw off Israel 4-1 on Friday. The win kept Spain top of Group G with 13 points, the same as Italy but ahead on goal difference. Spain and Italy meet on September 2 but Lopetegui’s side must first play Macedonia in June in its next qualifier on the road to the 2018 finals in Russia. “Our aim is

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to take three points in every match,” said Lopetegui. “Before we play Italy, we have to face Macedonia and it will be necessary to approach that with the same rigour we showed against Israel.” Spain and Italy drew their first meeting 1-1 in Turin last year and now lead thirdplaced Israel by four points. Only the group winners are assured a place in the World Cup finals with the runners-up left to take their chances in the play-offs. “I am very happy with my goal, but the victory is the most important thing,” said

David Silva, who scored the opening goal for Spain. “We needed to win to stay ahead of the rest. The table looks very positive and we are on the way to accomplishing a great job. Now we have to continue like this.” Lopetegui said he saw lots of things in the performance on Friday which pleased him. “We dominated them because the team did the right things, so I was happy with the intensity, the recovery of the ball and the start of the second half was also very good,” he said.

Australian batsmen. “There are so many more runs scored in IPL,” they said. “Not exactly the questions a newly designated Test venue would like to answer to its younger fans vis-à-vis the longest format. The organisers had hoped crowds would come in from neighbouring cities in Punjab and from Delhi for the weekend but were disappointed. “It’s the weekend and people from Punjab and Delhi come here in good numbers. We thought they would come for the match as well. But, we now hope that tomorrow being Sunday, things will be better,” an HPCA official said.

Smooth access To their credit, the movement and access to the venue was fairly smooth and relaxed, unlike at most venues across India, despite heavy security deployment that was effective yet unobtrusive. But, the numbers they expected never turned up.

FIFA team lauds D.Y. Patil stadium This is a fantastic stadium, says tournament director Javier Ceppi Special Correspondent MUMBAI

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As a venue, few grounds come close to the HPCA Stadium here in terms of its beauty and surroundings. The edgy thriller that the ongoing Test series between India and Australia has been could not have provided the ground with a better contest to host its debut Test either. But even though it is the series decider, the reception on the opening day of the fourth Test was disappointing. Despite it being a weekend, more than half the seats at the 23,000 capacity stadium in the Himalayan foothills, flanked by the Dhauladhar range, remained empty. Halfway through the day, school children were bussed in, but even that wasn’t enough. That it’s the Indian captain’s brilliance in the shorter format of the game which attracts the crowd and not the game itself was evident from the fact that all the roads leading to the stadium had hawkers selling blue Virat

Kohli jerseys. “But this is a Test match, you don’t wear coloured Tshirts in this,” remarked an elderly gentleman, only to be countered by a group of youngsters. “Uncle we are bothered only about Virat, who cares about the format or colour,” they chorused, putting on the jerseys. Even though there was excitement among some of the youngsters who waited patiently to enter the ground early in the day, it soon petered out. That Kohli decided to sit out the game because of an injured shoulder did not help, with several expressing disappointment. And, with the nature of the beast such that there would be no winner at the end of the day’s play, several left midway, not sure of returning for the remaining days. Students from Mount Carmel School, Gaggal, brought in for a ‘school trip’, questioned why there were so few fours and sixes hit by the

The facilities at the D.Y. Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai — one of six venues set to host matches for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in October this year — came in for high praise from a inspection delegation here on Saturday. Javier Ceppi, the tournament director, after inspecting the venue said, “I had said last year that I am happy with the stadium. I still haven’t changed my mind. This is a fantastic stadium. “Most of the goals we stated have been completed. The remaining goals are temporary in nature and will be

done at a later stage. In that sense, we have no worries that they will be in place.” Ceppi added: “This will be one of the best stadiums, if not the best, in the country for hosting the FIFA World Cup.” He was part of a FIFA delegation, that also included the world body’s Head of Events, Jaime Yarza. “We need to make sure each stadium is the best. This [the DYP stadium] is the standard we expect at every venue,” said Yarza, revealing that two practice grounds are in place, besides two that are getting ready. Vijay Patil, the DY Patil Sports Academy president,

Ankush Chavan, Additional Commissioner of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, and Henry Menezes, WIFA CEO, accompanied the delegates. Ceppi also appreciated the hosts focus to improve facilities, like changing the seats in the stands and facilities for families. “The team at DY Patil Stadium keeps setting the highest benchmark. Even though they met most of our requirements, they keep trying to make their facility even better. We are sure that all the people from Maharashtra will come in numbers to watch all the matches,” he said.

Tickets will be priced approximately at ₹100, he confirmed, to make it affordable for fans. Yarza stressed on facilities for girls, saying, “This is a boys tournament, but we want families to come, so that girls can enjoy the game and see how football can make a difference to live.” Patil said: “Recognition from FIFA is encouraging. It’s an honour to showcase to the world our facilities as well as our love towards the beautiful game.” Chavan said municipal corporation will arrange transport facilities from the nearest railway stations and other places for the fans.

Argentina press criticises win IANS Buenos Aires

While the Argentinian football team may have won a must-win game against Chile in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Argentina’s press condemned it for winning “without football and without ideas” “The win was everything; the game nothing,” read the front page of the morning edition of La Nacion, accompanied by a photo of Lionel Messi after he scored a winning penalty here on Thursday.”, Xinhua news agency reported. Coach “Edgardo Bauza came through: before the game he said Argentina had to win ‘in any way’, and that is how it was. The team gave a very poor impression on the grass of the Monumental.” continued La Nacion. “We played for three points,” resumed the sports newspaper Ole, after Bauza had said Argentina was playing “for 10 points” due to the importance of the game. Clarin also condemned the team, stating “Argentina won without football, but entered the classification zone.” It added that Messi’s penalty had been “controversial” after an uncertain foul on Angel di Maria, and that Argentina had “ended being dominated by its rival.” With five games to play in South American qualifying, Brazil is leading the pack on 30 points, followed closely by Uruguay (23), Argentina (22) and Colombia (21). The first four places are guaranteed to qualify for the World Cup. Ecuador and Chile are both on 20 points. The next matches will be played on Tuesday, with Ecuador facing Colombia, Bolivia playing Argentina, Chile versus Venezuela, Peru against Uruguay and Brazil against Paraguay.

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