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THE TIMES OF INDIA, KERALA SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

Art, Culture And The Postmodern Vernacular

BOOK RELEASE

WESTERN CLASSICAL

SNEAK PEEK

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concert by Cellist Avery Waite, tenor Sandeep Gurrapadi and pianists Mitali Saraf and Milen Manoj Earath organised by Trivandrum Centre for Performing Arts at 6.30 pm on Sunday

PAINTING EXHIBITION

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un, Its Butterfingers Again!’ by A Khyrunnisa will be released by Shashi Tharoor, MP, at 5.30 pm on Monday

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he Third Dimension, art workshop for transgender people on May 13 and 14

rt Cube, by CRAYonS arts, will be held from 10 am to 10 pm on May 13 &14

Venue | Nucleus Mall, Kochi

A year after her Gujarat Files named names, Rana Ayyub reveals why the powers-that-be dare not drag her to court

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ombay Tailors’ by Athithi School of Performance will be presented at 6.30 pm on May 18. National awardwinning actor Surabhi Lakshmi is one of the main characters in the play

Venue | Kerala Fine Arts hall, Kochi

Venue | RRRF Police ground, Malappuram

The Sufi Question

BILKIS BANO &

A Forgotten Genocide D Nidhin A S

than a year after my book has released, the SIT has not approached me or enquired anyuring the eight thing about the revelations,” months she went Ayyub explains. undercover as For her, the graphic narra‘Maithili Tyagi’, a tion of the Gujarat killings by fictitious 26-yearofficials was not a new story. old American film student As a nine-year-old child, she working on a docu in Gujarat, had first-hand experience durjournalist Rana Ayyub had felt ing the Bombay riots. She was a lot lighter. shifted to a safer house for a That, despite the obvious month where she lived withdanger she would ‘encounter’ out any contact from her parif her cover was blown. But, as ents. “I lived in an RSS-domiMaithili, she didn’t have to nated area in Bombay. On worry about being politically Guru Poornima, people would cor rect, whereas as Rana come to tie rakhi on my faAyyub she perforce needs to. ther’s hand as he was a teachA year after the release of er. It stopped since December ‘Gujarat Files: Anatomy Of A 6, 1992,” she recalls. Cover Up’, Ayyub, to many In Gujarat, however, the people, remains a “Muslim scale of what was happening journalist stuck with the 2002 traumatised her. “Top police Gujarat riots”. She faces sexist officers would tell me how and vicious trolls on a daily they loved Muslims being basis for not tweeting about an taught a lesson and I would IS attack, triple talaq and other say ‘wow’. A part of me would incidents where Muslims are cringe inside,” Ayyub reveals. allegedly involved. Recently, Asked on how she would exwhen Ayyub made public one plain mass participation of of the sexually abusive trolls, a ordinary Hindus in the riots Malayali man behind the mesand whether she would agree sage was deported from UAE. that there was something in “I personally have the added the Muslim community's need responsibility of proving my to maintain a separate and nationalism because I am Rana distinct identity that can be Ayyub,” says Ayyub, currently 'provocative', that can act as a an independent columnist, and trigger for long-simmering who had come to Thiruvananresentments, Ayyub demurs. thapuram to deliver a talk on “The Gujarat riot was a result ‘Nationalism: Discourse and of the mass furore created by Contestation’ organised by Sapeople like Modi and Shah magati – a group of young intelwho rallied with the bodies of lectuals – on Friday. Godhra train burning to instiGujarat Files, that became a SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: Writer and journalist Rana Ayyub was in gate people to come out. The bestseller due to its explosive Thiruvananthapuram on Friday to deliver a talk pattern is same in all riots – be content about the alleged role it 1984 Sikh riot or Gujarat of then chief minister Narenriot, the leader will sit in office and pull the trigger. People are dra Modi and BJP strongman Amit Shah, is about how Ayyub, given a message that their identity is under attack,” she says. accompanied by a French assistant, pieces together what hapExplaining the background of how she chose her undercover pened during the riots by coaxing top bureaucrats and police who identity, Ayyub said that the surname Tyagi was purposefully had worked in Gujarat between 2001 and 2010 to confide. “If there chosen as Tyagi is a caste that is placed between Brahmin and is a single incorrect fact, Modi or Shah could have dragged me to OBC. “So I had direct access to both Brahmin and OBC officers court. But they won’t do that because they don’t want media atin Gujarat,” she says. On the caste connection in the riots, Ayyub tention for the book,” Ayyub says. points out that most officers who connived in the riots were from She is understandably concerned that the Gujarat riots OBCs as they wanted to please those in power to get promotions shouldn’t be subject to selective amnesia on the part of the intelthat would otherwise be denied by their Brahmin superiors. ligentsia which is scared of provoking the powers-that-be. At the “Gujarat Files for me is an act of nationalism in itself…People same time, Ayyub is chary of calling the event a ‘genocide’, a term call me an activist. I am not an activist but I am an active journalthat would go beyond mere semantics and brand the riots as a ist,” clarifies Ayyub. She scoffs at BJP’s current effort to ban crime against humanity with its attendant implications. “It is too triple talaq, saying that the same people who are now concerned premature for me to call it a genocide. It is for an investigative about Muslim women are the ones who did the unspeakable to body to find out whether it was a genocide or not. Through the women like Kausar Bi, Ishrat Jahan and Bilkis Bano. events listed in the book, I call it a state-sponsored pogrom. More

Are dervishes and dargahs the beautiful, moderate face of Islam or a smokescreen to keep Muslims subservient?

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VADIVEL

[email protected]

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he word Sufi conjures an image of pious men in the intense pursuit of the absolute, renouncing the temptations of the material world. Intoxicated by union with God, they dance and sing in wild abandon or pen down their ethereal experience. But this popular image of Sufism as the beautiful face of Islam is being challenged by many in Kerala, especially by those who see a conspiracy in promoting this variety of Islam. They suspect Narendra Modi’s newfound enthusiasm in organising Sufi conclaves as part of the grand design to neutralise the Muslim community in India. “Sufism is derived from the word ‘tasawwuff ’, which means a kind of dislike for the material world. But the word Sufism is not explained concretely anywhere and it means different things for different people,” says M K Muhammadali, state general secretary of Jamaát-e-Islami, Kerala. “A complete renunciation of material life is neither possible nor desirable. Individuals can have fanciful ideas but this can have a negative impact when converted into a social movement. Personal piety and upholding moral values at individual level are welcome but this should not be at the cost of social interactions.” Jamaát-e-Islami believes that certain Sufi orders promote extreme forms of reclusion that prevents a person’s meaningful interaction with social issues. “And at times this had led to formation of certain cults and centres of spiritual exploitation. Not just Modi but many rulers before him have tried to confine the Muslim community to the spiritual realm to prevent them from reacting to burning issues,” Muhammadali says. National Development Front (NDF), the former incarnation of Popular Front of India, had expelled three cadres, including its state secretary Ashraf bin Ali, from the organisation more than a decade ago for associating with a Sufi order. “In

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Jisha.Surya & Nandhana P

QUEER ART

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Venue | P Subramaniam Hall, Trivandrum Club

Venue | Co-Bank Towers, Thiruvananthapuram

PLAY

popular thinking Sufis are presented as other-worldly people who are not interested in social issues, including politics. But there is definite politics in Sufism, it is the politics of keeping proximity with those in power at a given time,” says P Koya, PFI leader and editor of Thejas daily. “Sufis are not as liberal as they are often presented in mainstream society. They are obstinate in their beliefs and oppose any move for reforms in the community,”Koya says. “Prompting Muslims in the individual pursuit of spiritual happiness is a good tool to keep them away from any social action. The Modi government is using Barelvi Muslims in north India and their counterparts in Kerala to implement its secret agenda of making Muslims inactive,” alleges Koya.

Sufis sing and dance while experiencing spiritual ecstasy... These qualities never forbid them from carrying out social responsibilities Wisdom Global Islamic Mission, a Salafi group in Kerala, feels that Sufism took shape three centuries after the Prophet by cleverly misusing the Islamic principle of not attaching too much importance to the material world. It believes that nondualism, which is antithetical to the cardinal principle of monotheism, is the basis of Sufism. “Ibn Arabi, who is considered one of the major proponents of Sufism, had declared that human beings can become God. Early origin of Sufism can be traced to Iran and it attests to the Shia link of Sufi ideology,” says P N Abdul Latheef Madani, Wisdom group’s chairman. The international Sufi conference held in Delhi recently had

called for a feminist reading of Quran and claimed that the Islamic dress code stipulated for women is not mandatory. “Anyone who has a basic understanding of Islam can understand that these assertions are against Islam. That could be the reason why major Muslim organisations in Kerala stood up against the Kanthapuram group of Sunnis which participated in the meeting,” Madani points out. Dr Bahaudeen Nadvi, founding vice-chancellor of Darul Huda Islamic University, Chemmad, Malappuram, however, believes that Sufism as an escape from social responsibilities is a wrong construct. “For us Prophet Muhammad is the ideal human being and he never abdicated social life. Islam stands for the middle path; it rejects both unbridled indulgence and complete renunciation. The Prophet had discouraged his disciples who had gone to the extremes,” he explains. “Sufis give importance to piety and kindness in private life. Benevolence flows from them to all creatures in the universe, not just human beings,” Dr Nadvi elaborates. He acknowledges that there may be some groups which exhort Muslims to escape society and lead a secluded life by rearing goats or for ming exclusive communes. “Such ideas are unknown to Islam. Sufi scholars lived in the midst of the society and actively intervened in social issues,” Dr Nadvi points out. The Khadimussanna Sahaya Sangham, an organisation following the Chishti Sufi order in Kozhikode, will take out a journey from Beemapalli in Thiruvananthapuram to Ullal in Kasaragod to “revive the Sufi tradition in Kerala, which suffered a decline after the onslaught from Wahhabism”. Khadimussanna believes that returning to the path of Sufi scholars such as Sheikh Sainudheen Makhdum and Mambural Thangal is the only way to regain the lost plural culture of Kerala.

Gandhi adored her, Ambedkar sought her advice An upcoming autobiography of Dakshayani Velayudhan could provide perspective to the current struggles of Dalits and women [email protected]

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hen a young girl from Mulavukad, till not so long ago a weary boat-ride from Kochi’s Marine Drive, walked into Maharaja’s College in the early 1930s, she was scripting history as the first dalit girl in the whole of India to join a degree course. The entire press was waiting for her at the college entrance, and when a young girl with long hair and a nonchalant gait strode past them they failed to recognise her as their quarry. “She did not match the ‘dalit stereotype’, so they missed her,” says Meera Velayudhan, daughter of Dakshayani Velayudhan, a dalit woman from the backwaters who went on to become India’s Constituent Assembly member, parliamentarian and prominent leader. Dakshayani defied the stereotypes, starting with her name. At a time when dalit women could have only weird names like Azhaki, Poomala, Chakki, Kali, etc. her politically enlightened par-

DEFYING THE ODDS: Dakshayani’s wedding (above) at Wardha in1940; former president K R Narayanan, his wife Usha with Dakshayani and her husband Velayudhan who played a major role in the education of Narayanan; Dakshayani’s daughter Meera Velayudhan (below right) who prompted her mother to write her memoirs ents named her Dakshayani, a rare name at that time. Dakshayani, who was born in 1912, has several ‘firsts’ to her credit -- she was the first dalit girl to wear upper garments, the first dalit woman to get a degree, the first and only dalit woman in India’s Constituent Assembly in 1946, etc. Meera, who is a policy analyst at Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, is all set to publish the autobiography of Dakshayani Velayudhan. By next month, LeftWord Books will publish her autobiography, which was almost completed before her death in 1978. Titled ‘Sea has no Caste’, a reference to the historic kayal sammelanam that

YOU ARE OUR SOUNDING BOARD

was organised by many others, including her uncle Krishnethi, the book has two strands – stories narrated to Dakshayani by her mother about dalit uprisings, including kayal sammelanam, and her own memoirs. It was Meera, the only daughter among Dakshayani’s five children, who gave a sheaf of paper in 1976 to her mother asking her to pen a memoir. “Amma listed various chapters from 1 to 59 and wrote a gist of what she was planning to write in each chapter. So, even in the chapters which are incomplete, we have an idea what she was mentioning,” says Meera, whose professional commitments

delayed the publication of the book. The autobiography, written in English, gives a clear account of the strong social and political statements people like Dakshayani had made at the time. After her graduation in 1935, Dakshayani was posted as a teacher at a high school in Peringottukara in Thrissur. “One day when I was going to teach at the school which was a two to three minute-walk from the house, a Nair woman who was living next to the school, and was finding it difficult to make ends meet, met me on the way. All along the road there were paddy fields on both sides. The Nair woman asked me to make way for her to

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pass. I told her directly to her face, ‘if you want to go past me, you can get down into the field and go’. The field was 4-5 feet below the road. As I did not concede to her demand she had to do as I said. As she left the main path, she kept muttering how she had to walk over night soil (people used the sides of the field as open-air latrines) and of times had changed”, Dakshayani wrote. Meera believes that release of her mother’s autobiography is all the more relevant in the current Kerala context. “Is there really a caste debate as it was there in the reforms period. Despite a radical transformation, why do dalits, adivasis and fishermen continue to live as marginalized sections? Why are they not part of mainstream political parties,” asks Meera. Dakshyani was married to R Velayudhan, Dalit leader and later a Member of Parliament, at Sevagram in Wardha with Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba as witnesses in 1940 -- a leper officiated as priest. It was an inter-dalit marriage, which is very rare now, says Meera. Though a staunch supporter of Gandhi, her Constituent Assembly speeches are proof that she had independent opinions that were neither supportive of Gandhi nor Ambedkar, Meera points out. “When Ambedkar put up the draft Constitution for

debate, Dakshayani had criticised the idea of governorship, stating that it would lead to conflict with the federal system. She also suggested that the draft Constitution must be put to vote during the first general elections so that people can respond to it,” Meera reveals. After serving as a member of the Constituent Assembly and provisional parliament, Dakshayani quit active politics and worked among the poor. During her last years, she organised a forum for Ambedkarite women in Delhi to work among poor slum dwellers.

Read all Malayalam Medium stories online at Roots & Wings: http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/roots-wings/roots-wings-malayalam/

THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

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TIMES CITY

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86% migrant labourers express desire to study Reveals A Survey By Literacy Mission in Perumbavoor TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Students of Mazhavillu, a theatre group of children, stage a play ‘The Wizard of Oz’, in association with the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi in Kochi on Friday

Man falls into Vembanad, dies A 62-year-old man died after he fell into Vembanad lake while fishing on Thursday night. Velappan, a native of South Paravoor, was alone on his canoe when he slipped and fell into the lake. Though he was rushed to a nearby private hospital by fishermen, his life could not be saved.

Drive-through container scanners at Vallarpadam: Ananya Ray, member and special secretary, central board of excise and customs (CBEC), will lay the foundation stone for the installation of drive-through container scanners at ICTT Vallarpadam on Saturday. The container scanners are anti-smuggling equipment developed by the directorate of logistics under the CBEC.

*Staying and working in Perumbavoor municipal limits

EDUCATION LEVEL

Kochi: Literate Kerala is influencing the migrant labour force in Kerala. Many have expressed keenness in studying Malayalam, Hindi and English by planning their daily schedule in such a way that they can enter the world of knowledge. According to a model survey of migrants living in the Perumbavoor municipality, conducted by the state literacy mission, 86.24% expressed their desire to study and were willing to attend classes. The survey was an initiative by the mission to identity illiterate migrant labourers and help them become literate. While none could write in the Malayalam language, many could not write in Hindi too. They do have some knowledge of basic arithmetic. Among the migrants, five persons who have studied above Class X expressed willingness to teach their local language to fellow migrants. However, 13.76%

Migrants with no schooling 11.76%

ABOVE 10

Men

Women

19.79%

53%

(321/1,701)

(42/79)

21.34% NO SCHOOLING

24.81% 4-7TH CLASS

28.69% 8-10 CLASS

Literacy aspiration

13.42% BELOW CLASS 4

86.24% 13.76% want to have no study time

65.71% interested in attending 1.50% interested in evening class morning classes 32.79% interested in night classes of respondents expressed disinterest in attending classes as they have to go in search of work and there had no free time at all. When asked about the timings of their study, about 65.71% showed interest in attending evening classes and 32.79% preferred night classes. On holidays, a majority of 53.81% preferred evening classes while 26.18 % wanted day classes. The survey was done with the help 300 students of MEC college, Marampilly, on four days from January

26 to 29. A total of 3,211 migrants were surveyed. The respondents also included those who are staying outside Perumbavoor limits but working in the area. The survey audience comprised 3,132 men and 79 women. Of the 1,701persons staying and working in the municipality, 363 migrants have had no school education. Among women, 42 of the 79 surveyed had never been to a school. Among the 1,701 people living and working in the municipality 741 were from

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

SPCA rescues injured animal:

Jipson Sikhera

A buffalo which was knocked down by a water tanker near Kannankulangara was rescued by the society for prevention of cruelty against animals (SPCA). The buffalo was hit by an unidentified tanker at 8am on Friday. The buffalo was first taken to Tripunithura veterinary hospital and later shifted to a shelter house for better treatment.

Staff assn get-together: All

Kochi: Two people were arrested in separate cases for possession of ganja on Friday. A 19-year-old boy was arrested by the south police with about 300g of ganja, while the Kadavanthra police arrested a minor with more than 200g of ganja. The accused were under observation by the shadow police led by shadow SI Honey K Das. The accused used to deliver the contraband to customers, including women. The shadow police said that phone numbers in the accused phones are under observation. Separate cases under the NDPS Act have been filed against the accused. TNN

Techies to sport umbrellas from Attapadi TOI

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kochi: Umbrellas for techies working with the Infopark here will come from Attapadi this monsoon handcrafted by women in tribal hamlets. A group of IT professionals called Progressive Techies have partnered with a collective of tribal women to market umbrellas under the brand Karthumbi. A social media campaign has been started to solicit support for the initiative. “We are trying to get ourselves involved in the initiative to show our respect to their hard work,” said Anand Nooranad, the admin of Progressive Techies Facebook group. The umbrellas cost Rs 350

HELPING HAND: Umbrellas will be marketed under the brand Karthumbi

each and a pre-sale coupon of Rs 100 can be bought through Progressive Techies by those who want to place orders before May 20. The umbrellas will be available by the first week of June. The remaining cost can be paid once the prod-

SH school starts summer classes [email protected]

Kochi: The Sacred Heart School, Thevara, has started summer classes for students from classes IX, X and Plus Two for the next academic year on Wednesday. The school got approval from the CBSE regional office to go ahead with the classes. Earlier this year, the school authorities had approached the Kerala high court seeking permission to conduct classes in summer. The court in its order on March 17 said that the school can conduct summer classes provided they have parent teachers association’s (PTA) approval. A consent letter from the PTA was forwarded to the CBSE regional office to give approval to conduct summer classes in May. On April 22, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR) had passed an order suggesting that the general education department must “stop all vacation classes in the state in accordance with the provision in Rule 1 Chapter VII Kerala Education Rules”, which suggests that “all schools shall be closed for summer vacation every year on the

MK.SunilKumar @timesgroup.com

Kochi: The city corporation has started measures to take over Kaloor-Kadavanthra (KK) road from the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA). Around 15 years ago, the corporation handed over the Kaloor-Elamkulam road owned by the local body to GCDA for widening and extension. Then, the road started from Kaloor ended near Elamkulam village office. The GCDA later extended the road to Kadavanthra and widened the entire stretch up to Kaloor. “The GCDA, which was floated as the development

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CAREGIVERS FOR LIFE: Actor Parvathy Thiruvoth, who acted as a nurse in the film Take Off, lights candles at a ceremony held in connection with the International Nurses Day celebration at a private hospital in Kochi on Friday

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Blood donation camp: Plant saplings distribution and a blood donation camp will be held as part of the 61st birthday celebration of Sri Sri Ravisankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, at 5.30pm at Ernakulathappan Hall on Saturday.

Ganja peddlers arrested

Corp set to take over road from GCDA

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India loco running staff association is organizing a family gettogether at Lions Club community hall, Kadavanthra, at 9.30am on Saturday. Poet and lyricist Rajeev Aalungal will inaugurate the function.

Assam, followed by 444 Bengalis and 286 from Odisha. The others were from Bihar (124), UP (75), Tamil Nadu (4) and Haryana (17). There were five migrants each from Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The rest of the respondents who were living outside municipal limits but worked in the area included 975 people from Bengal and 330 from Assam. The other migrants were from UP (43), Bihar (45), Odisha (117), TN (8) and Haryana (2). The largest population of migrants were from Bengal (1,409). Of the total 1,701 migrants in Perumbavoor, 1,436 people were in the age group of 14-40 years and 264 people above 40 years. The population surveyed included people living for more than 10 years to people who have reached just one day ahead of the survey. The demonetisation had resulted in return of several migrants to their home states.

last working day of March and reopened on the first working day of June, unless otherwise notified by the director.” “The PTA readily agreed for vacation classes in May as they know it is the only way for us to complete the syllabus on time,” said Fr Anthony M, principal of the school. Shoba Koshy, chairperson of KeSCPCR, said that the order was passed with a larger picture in mind. “There are several schools that started holding classes immediately after the previous academic year ended. Several schools did not provide drinking water to their students. Even the washrooms did not have water,” she said. She added that she agrees with the court’s decision suggesting that the court has placed a significant responsibility upon the parents to ensure that all facilities were made available to students before summer classes commence. TPM Ibrahim Khan, president of Kerala CBSE school management association said: “A school must be evaluated individually upon their facility to provide summer classes and it should not be a blanket restriction.”

uct is delivered. Karthumbi umbrellas are three-fold and buyers can specify the colour and design beforehand. “An order can either be placed through the phone numbers placed on the Progressive Techies’ page or through a Google doc file link available on the page,” said volunteers with the group. According to Vishnu Prasad, marketing manager of Karthumbi umbrellas, the entire amount from the sales will reach the hamlets. “A tribal woman can earn up to Rs 70 from an umbrella. The marketing of the brand is done by those hailing from Attapadi and the entire earnings will go to the hamlets,” said Vishnu.

“Karthumbi was started with the support of an organization ‘Thampu’ and a social media fraternity called Peace Collective. Karthumbi, was

tribal people in Attapadi, their aim is to build self-esteem and confidence among the tribal mothers. “This is not just a job, but something

agency, should have returned the road after developing it. Even the executive committee of the GCDA held in 2004 had decided to hand over the road to the corporation. But nothing concrete happened as both the authorities failed to do follow-up action,” said M G Aristotle, councillor

from Kaloor south. “In 2015, the corporation council had passed a resolution to take back the road. The GCDA then replied that they had just completed resurfacing of the road under the five-year performance guarantee scheme and they cannot hand over the road before completion of the annual maintenance contract, which is for five years,” said Aristotle. Moreover, the GCDA informed that they had earmarked Rs 2 crore for the development of the road. If the road is handed over, the amount can’t be used for the development of the road. According to GCDA authorities, they have no problem in handing over the road. “We are carrying out beautification works. Once the work is over, we will hand over the road,” said M C Joseph, GCDA secretary. The GCDA executive committee will have to take a final decision in this regard, he said. Meanwhile, there is a demand that the road should be handed over to Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL). The KK Road is the only road that connects two Metro stations. The road should be entrusted with KMRL so that the Metro agency can develop it in to a model corridor connecting the stations. But sources with KMRL said that no such suggestion has come up before the Metro agency. Moreover, maintaining the road will drain the KMRL’s coffers, the source said.

Eloor municipality to get new chairperson TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kochi: Eloor municipal chairperson Siji Babu and vice-chairperson A D Sujil of the LDF submitted their resignation on Friday. While Siji represented the CPI, the vice-chairperson belonged to the CPM. As per an understanding in the LDF, both of them were to serve for a term of one-and-a-half-year after which the constituent parties would swap the posts. It was after much debates, argument and threats of ripping the LDF that Siji was sworn in as the chairperson of the municipality. In the 31-member council, LDF has 18 members, UDF 10, BJP 2 and an independent councillor. Earlier, the two BJP members and the lone independent member had stayed away from the voting for the election of both the chairperson and the vice-chairperson. Meanwhile, it is reported that C P Usha of CPM would become the next chairperson and M A James of CPI would hold the post of vice-chairperson. “No official announcements or confirmation has made in this regard. Such speculations could come true,” said a senior LDF councillor. Usha is the wife of CITU leader K N Gopinath, who was attacked at Palarivattom Junction in November 2016. Eloor municipal secretary Bijimon Jacob said that the resignations were accepted. “As per procedures, we will have to notify the election commission and conduct polls to elect a new chairperson and vice-chairperson. The councillors will vote following the party whip,” he said.

TIMES STATE

The mortal remains of Fr Gabriel will be taken to Christ College Monastery on Saturday. Archbishop George Cardinal Alanchery will be the main celebrant of the concelebrated mass and the funeral services with a vision. He likened him to a shooting star which comes once in a century. May be the Church will have to wait for another century to have a person like him,” he said. The mortal remains of Fr Gabriel will be taken to Christ College Monastery, Iringalakkuda, at 8.30am, on Saturday. One the way, the procession will stop near Karuvannur Bridge, Gabriel Square, Iringalakkuda; and St Joseph's College, Iringalakkuda, so that the public can pay their respects. The body will be kept at the Christ Monastery Chapel till 2pm, when the funeral rituals will start with the holy mass. The head of the Syro-Malabar Church major archbishop George Cardinal Alanchery will be the main celebrant of the concelebrated mass and the funeral services of the departed priest.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram: The vigilance special court here on Friday admitted a petition filed against head of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Loknath Behera, which alleged corruption behind his directive to paint police stations and offices of circle inspectors and DSPs using a particular brand of paint. The judge has directed the VACB to file a report before May 20. The judge issued the directive after hearing the petition filed by Paichira Nawaz, a regular litigant in the vigilance court. Vigilance legal advisor C C Augustine stated before the court that the decision to provide a common colour code to all the stations was made at a nationallevel meeting. Behera was merely accepting the suggestion put forward by the Kerala Police Housing Construction Corporation. However, vigilance judge A Badharudeen asked whether Behera was capable of issuing such an order on April 28 as the Supreme Court had already nullified the government order appointing him as the state police chief on April 24. The judge sought to know why Behera specified a particular brand. How can one say there was no corruption involved, he asked. The judge also observed that the uniform colour code must first be established in ration shops, where essential commodities were sold. The court will continue hearing on May 20 on the basis of a report to be filed by the VACB.

Beena Kumari To Continue In T-Section

Paravur native to contest in New Zealand elections

TOI

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Thiruvananthapuram: The government on Friday decided to cancel the state police chief’s order transferring a junior superintendent from the department’s confidential section to the special armed police camp. Shifting junior superintendent Beena Kumari from the police’s T-Section was one of the transfer orders directorgeneral of police T P Senkumar had given after he was reinstated as the state’s top cop based on a Supreme Court order.The government decided to act on the DGP’s transfer order citing that it was now impractical to transfer officials from the police headquarters. An order on the cancellation was yet to be issued. Sources, however, said the government had directed the DGP to maintain status quo. Beena Kumari, who refused to oblige to the transfer order, had lodged a complaint to the chief secretary, saying it

Shifting junior superintendent Beena Kumari was one of the transfer orders T P Senkumar had given after he was reinstated

was not legal to shift her before she completed three years of service in that particular post. Senkumar had on Thursday clarified his stand on the transfer to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and chief secretary Subratha Biswas. The TSection deals with sensitive and confidential files. Senkumar argued that the state police chief had the power to appoint an officer of his choice in the confidential section. He had also claimed that Beena Kumari had committed serious lapses in processing a petition filed by Koduvally MLA Karat Razack. Sources said an officer, entrusted to probe Senkumar’s

allegations, gave a clean chit to Beena Kumari after it was found that she had promptly forwarded the petition to the intelligence department. But, Senkumar suppressed the finding, sources said. Senkumar, who was appointed the state police chief by the previous UDF government, was replaced by Loknath Behera as soon as Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government came to power. Instead of assuming charge of his new office, he went on leave and fought a successful legal battle, which culminated in Supreme Court ordering the government to reinstate him on April 24.

Kochi: Priyanca Radhakrishnan, a native of Paravur, will contest the general elections in New Zealand, which will be held in September this year. Radhakrishnan, a member of the Labour Party, will contest from Maungakiekie electorate. She previously worked at Shakti, an organization which works for ethnic women survivors of violence and their children. “I strongly believe that everyone—regardless of ethnicity, age, socio-economic status, religion or gender— should have equal opportunity to live with dignity. All of us, regardless of wealth or social position should have equal access to and protections through the justice system, quality education, decent health care, affordable quality housing and decent, secure work,” said the Labour Party candidate in her official website. She was selected as the Labour Party’s candidate from Maungakiekie late last year. In the 2014 New Zealand general elections, she was a Labour List candidate. She also worked as a policy analyst in the ministry of women’s affairs in New Zealand. TNN

Aluva-Edappally Rd is still NH TIMES NEWS NETWORK

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Thrissur: Hundreds of people from different walks of life flocked to the chapel of Amala Hospital on Friday , to pay homage to eminent social worker and founder of several institutions Fr Gabriel Chirammal who died on Thursday. Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, is one of the several acclaimed institutions set up by the departed priest and many were seen in tears as they passed by the body kept there for the public to pay homage. Several prominent people, including religious leaders, politicians and cultural leaders paid their last respects to the centenarian priest. In his condolence message, agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar said that Fr Gabriel made a profound impact on the state’s education and health sectors. The minister said he had the opportunity to meet Fr Gabriel several times and that he was humble and soft-spoken. He remained an active member of the society even at the age of 103. His demise is an irreparable loss not only for Kerala, but for the entire nation, the minister added. Remembering Fr Gabriel, auxiliary bishop of Thrissur, Raphael Thattil said, he was a person who did much more than a man can do in his lifetime and yet remained humble and humane. “I must say Fr Gabriel taught the church how to work for the society

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Kochi: The road from Aluva to Edappally is still part of the national highway and it hasn’t been handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) or the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, the National Highways Authority of India (NHA) has informed the high court. The NHAI was responding to a petition filed by South Kalamassery-based Hind Resorts and Services seeking renewal of beer and wine-parlour licence (FL-11) for its hotel. The high court had recently asked the excise department to provisionally renew licences of some hotels situated along the Aluva-Ernakulam Road if it is classified as a city road.

LIQUOR BAN ALONG HIGHWAYS As per the PWD’s website, the Aluva-Ernakulam Road, which is also called Old NH 47, has a length of 10.05km and stretches from Edappally Station Kavala (old Edappally Junction) to Thevara Bridge. Through a judgment issued on December 15th

last year, the Supreme Court had banned sale of liquor within 500 metres of all highways. A statement filed by the NHAI’s counsel to the court stated: “The National Highway Authority of India has issued permission to the DMRC/KMRL for erecting columns of metro viaduct on the median section of the NH-47 from Aluva to Edappally Junction for the Light Metro System for Kochi, subject to condition that the DMRC shall maintain the stretch during the metro project construction... It is to be mentioned that the above referred stretch is not handed over to the Kerala PWD/KMRL. The jurisdiction of the stretch is with the National Highway Authority of India only.” The national highway stretch from Salem to Edappally was renamed from NH-47 to NH-544 as part of rationalization or systematic numbering system. It was done through a notification issued on March 5, 2010. However, the stretch from Aluva to Edappally is still part of the national highway, the court was told.

Pastor gets life term for raping minor [email protected]

Thrissur: A pastor who was found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl in the church as well as in the presbytery, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Pocso court on Friday. The accused pastor, Sanil K James, belonging to the Salvation Army Church, has also been slapped with a fine of Rs 50,000. The pastor has been undergoing 40-years of imprisonment in another case of rape of a 12-yearold girl. The sessions court judge made it clear that the pastor will have to undergo rigorous imprisonment for the remaining years of his life.

He said the accused has committed a heinous crime and did not deserve any leniency. The 35-year-old pastor raped the Class VII girl on several occasions in the church and presbytery during 2013-2015. The girl reported the incident to her teacher who was also the counsellor at her school. He, in turn, took up the matter with police after getting in touch with Childline officials. Both the girls raped by the pastor studied in the same school and medical examinations had confirmed rape, the prosecutor said. The accused was staying with his wife and daughter when the incidents occurred.

SBI move to revise bank charges will hit economy, says Isaac TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram: Reiterating his concerns over the move by the State Bank of India (SBI) to introduce new service charges, finance minister Thomas Isaac told the assembly on Friday that it will have a severe impact on the economy as it would destroy the trust people have on the banking system. Replying to a joint submission moved by members from both treasury and opposition benches against ‘fleecing of customers by the SBI’, Isaac said the government would raise its worries before the Union government and the SLBC (state level bankers committee). “Due to the banking charges, people are now keeping their cash in hand, which is leading to currency shortage just like what happened postdemonetisation. If the SBI, which

holds one-fourth of the market share, loses its credibility, the economic impact will be severe,” he said. The new charges were for recapitalising its huge non-performing assets, which stood at Rs 1.6 lakh crore (out of the total Rs 6.7 lakh crore in the banking sector), the minister said. “Loans to corporates account for a major chunk of the NPA. It is pulling down the bank’s share value and foreign agencies are putting pressure on the bank for recapitalisation,” he said. The minister also said the move by the SBI would invariably nudge other banks to follow suit. BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan, meanwhile, said the BJP did not have any obligation to blindly support or justify the SBI when it indulges in wrong doings. “The Union government policy is to widen the base of the banking sector. Banks like the SBI should focus more on public welfare than on profitmaking,” he said.

TIMES STATE Preman Dinaraj is new KSERC chairman

THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

Justifies Action Taken By Revenue Officials TIMES NEWS NETWORK

The CPI leader said the thought that K M Mani’s entry would add to the strength of the front emanated from some ‘complex’, and people wouldn’t forget the allegations levelled by LDF against Mani gations levelled against Mani by the LDF when he was part of the UDF. The CPI leader, who has been on a collision course with the CPM, also defended sub collector VSriram’s action at Pappathichola. “Imposition of prohibitory order comes well within the powers of district collector. There is nothing wrong in the collector imposing section 144”, he said when pointed out chief minister’s reply in the assembly on Friday that the imposition of prohibitory order at Munnar was wrong. “The collector has the right to impose the order. If the government feels it is wrong, they can correct the collector”, he said to a query.

Thiruvananthapuram: R Preman Dinaraj, principal account general (accounts & entitlement), Kerala, would be the next chairman of Kerala state electricity regulatory commission (KSERC). The state cabinet on Wednesday cleared the name of Dinaraj to the post that fell vacant after T N Manoharan demitted the office on May 2. Dinaraj would be swearing in after opting for voluntary retirement from the current position. The posting is for five years or up to 65 years of age, whichever is earlier. There were over 30 applicants for the post of KSERC chairman and among them, a panel appointed by the state government had shortlisted two persons. The other shortlisted was the KSERC member (finance) S Venugopal. TNN

Petrol pumps to remain closed on May 24 Kochi: Petrol pumps in Kerala under All Kerala Federation of Petroleum Traders in Kerala will remain closed on May 24, as part of the 24-hour closure of petrol pumps called by Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers (CIPD). The strike is in protest against the ‘meager commissions’ offered by the public sector oil companies. TNN

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know 19 is a bigger number than six. “They have six MLAs. We don’t know how many of them will stay if they decides to move. But, we can take six. Even in that case, 19 is a much bigger number than six”, he said. CPI has 19 MLAs in the assembly while KC (M) has six MLAs. Of the six, P J Joseph and Mons Joseph have openly expressed dissent over the tie up between KC (M) and CPI in Kottayam district panchayat president election. While addressing a news conference at Kollam on Friday, Kanam Rajendran repeated the arguments. He said the people wouldn’t forget the protest and alle-

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Thiruvananthapuram: CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran has stepped up his attack against Kerala Congress (M) and a section of CPM leadership by launching staunch criticism against K M Mani and his party during a public function on Thursday night and a news conference at Kollam on Friday. Kanam, while inaugurating the concluding rally of annual red volunteer camp at Kulakkada, near Kottarakkara, on Thursday had said the thought that K M Mani’s entry would add to the strength of the front emanated from some ‘complex’. In a sarcastic tone, he said the people of Kerala would never believe all the LDF leaders were affected by Alzhiemer’s disease. Referring to the recent criticism by KC (M) that the CPI was afraid at the entry of KC(M) to the LDF, Kanam said everyone who knew simple Mathematics would

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Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) will hold its political affairs committee meeting at Indira Bhavan here on May 16. AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik will attend the meeting, said KPCC president M M Hassan in a news release issued on Friday. The party will also convene a joint meeting of the executive committee and various other invitees and cells on May 17, to be attended by Mukul Wasnik and pradesh returning officer Sudharsan Nachiyappan. The meeting, to be presided over by the KPCC president, will be attended by members of political affairs committee, former KPCC presidents, members, parliamentary party office-bearers, ex-officio members, permanent invitees, special invitees and the presidents of feeder organizations and cells. A meeting of the DCC presidents and KPCC officebearers will also be held prior to the joint session. TNN

Kanam continues tirade against CPM and KC(M)

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KPCC political affairs panel meet on May 16

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Though revenue minister E Chandrasekharan had said that the eviction process would progress smoothly, nothing has been worked out

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Idukki: The uncertainty over further eviction drives at Munnar has brought small-scale encroachers out of their hidings. The initiatives by the revenue department in general and Devikulam sub-collector Sreeram Venkitaraman in particular, had been effective in controlling illegal construction and encroachments in and around Munnar for a while. The Public Land Protection Force (PPLF) was also successful in evicting small-scale encroachments at Devikulam, Munnar Colony, Chinnakanal

and Pallivasal. However, the eviction preceded by removal of a giant cross at Pappathichola had created a lot of hue and cry, with chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticizing the sub-collector and district collector over the incident. It had also widened the rift between the CPM and the CPI. Even though revenue minister E Chandrasekharan had said that the eviction process would progress smoothly, nothing has worked out, say sources. The CPM leadership in the district has strongly opposed the eviction move

and it is to be seen how far the government can overcome this resistance from within the ruling front. The land mafia is also widely misusing the government stand to avoid strict action against small-scale encroachers (who keep less than 10 cents of land), revenue department sources said. A revenue official, on condition of anonymity, told TOI: “The revenue minister’s promise that evictions won’t be stopped has turned futile. Since the CPM workers had manhandled PPLF members, they are also afraid to openly take action against encroachments.”

Pembilai Orumai ends protest against Mani, plans land stir TOI

‘Procedures flouted while declaring 144’ Thiruvananthapuram: ‘The ground realities in Munnar drive did not justify the prohibition orders declared by the district administration during the height of the anti-encroachment drive there, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the assembly on Friday. “That’s why the order was withdrawn immediately. There were deviations in following the procedure. It is ensured that such actions would not be repeated in future,” he said. According to the CM, there was no lack of coordination between departments as both the home and general administration departments were under the CM. TNN

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

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Idukki: The Pembilai Orumai leaders who have been protesting against state electricity minister M M Mani for his allegedly derogatory remarks against them, called off their 20day agitation on Friday, without achieving any of their demands. But the leaders have announced that they would launch a bigger agitation on July 9 at Munnar demanding land for estate workers. KPCC general secretary Lathika Subash, Shanimol Usman and INTUC leader P A Joseph attended the function. “The government has not taken any steps to bring the protest to an end. We will start a big land agitation on July 9 at Munnar and want the government to distribute one acre of land to each family of the estate workers at Munnar. The government should reclaim 80,000 acres of its land held by the Tata group and distribute it to the estate workers at Munnar. We will continue our protest until the government meets our demand,” said Pembilai Orumai leader Gomathi Augustine. Aam Aadmi Party leader C R Neelakandan and Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha leader M

Kottayam: The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the BJP in the district to protest against the attack on two of their councillors in Kumarakom panchayat, allegedly by CPM activists, was complete on Friday. Violence was reported at various parts of the district, including Kumarakom and Kottayam town. The attendance in government offices was less than10%. KSRTC operated its services partially. The BJP took out a rally in the town led by its district president N Hari. Hartal supporters destroyed banners and boards put up by the CPM and other organizations in the town. A streetlight in the Thirunakkara Maidan was also destroyed. Police arrested a person who pelted stones at a

Pembilai Orumai leader Gomathi Augustine speaks at the meeting at Munnar on Friday

Geethanandan were also present. The protest was started following a controversial speech by power minister M M Mani during a public meeting at Kunchithanny Eirupathacare. Mani had alleged that the women who participated in the movement were engaged in drinking and immoral activities during their agitation last year. Later, the Orumai leaders had started a hunger protect which was called off after four days.

Kannur: The politics of bloodshed marred the peace in the district once again on Friday, when a BJP-RSS worker, identified as Choorakkattu Biju, was hacked to death near Ramanthali in the suburbs of Payyannur on Friday afternoon. He was the 12th accused in the murder of CPM leader Dhanaraj C V, committed in July 2016. The BJP has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kannur district and Mahe on Saturday. According to police, Biju, who was riding his motorbike, was attacked with swords by a gang that came in a car at Palakkod Bridge near Payyannur around 3.45pm. He suffered deep injuries on his body, including neck, and though he was rushed to the Pariyaram Medical College hospital, he was declared brought dead. The body has been kept there for autopsy.

According to BJP leaders, Biju was the Ramanthali mandalam karyavahak of the RSS and he was released on bail quite recently after he was arrested in connection with Dhanaraj murder. However, the BJP claimed that he had no role in the murder and he was let off by the police. It is suspected this murder is an act of vendetta, and the BJP leadership alleged that the CPM was behind it. The murder was committed with the knowledge of the CPM leadership, alleged BJP district president P Sathyaprakash. “Though some of the top brass in the police have got information that there were plots to annihilate the Sangh Parivar workers with the blessings of the chief minister who is a CPM leader, the police kept quiet about it,” he said. The murder has happened on the eve of the state conference of the NGO Union, which chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan would inaugurate on Saturday, and such violence had happened earlier too, he said. The murder was committed to

show their violent sensibility to the leaders who come for the union meeting, he alleged. However, the CPM distanced from the allegations and said the party had no role in the murder. The party said it strongly condemned the murder and demanded a comprehensive investigation to book the killers at the earliest. Even after the all-party peace meeting, the BJP and RSS tired to create provocation in many places but the CPM maintained restraint, said the CPM district secretariat in a statement. This is the eighth murder in the last ten months and there is concern that it might lead to further tension in the district. It was on July 12, 2016 that CPM worker Dhanaraj was hacked to death by a six-member gang at Kunnaru in Ramanthali. Within hours, a BJP worker C K Ramachandran was killed apparently as an act of retaliation. Taking into consideration the volatile situation, the police have deployed a large number of police personnel in the sensitive areas of the district.

Shutdown total, clashes reported from several places in Kottayam

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Asserting that mere announcements wouldn’t suffice in the anti-encroachment drive, Chennithala asked whether the government is ready to evict M M Lambodharan (M M Mani’s brother) and Boby Albin (a member of Zachariah’s family). Earlier, replying to the adjournment motion, revenue minister E Chandrasekharan said that the government was committed to protect Munnar from encroachments, and rubbished the allegations of ‘chief minister’s interferences in eviction procedures’ as mere propaganda. “The chief minister has every power to hear complaints from aggrieved parties, ask for clarifications and give suggestions,” he said. On the allegations by P T Thomas that the government was backtracking from notifying Neelakurinji Sanctuary in Idukki ‘to help encroachers including Joyce George MP, who has encroached 32 acres of land in the area’, the minister said the government was only examining whether there is any old settlements in the area before coming out with the final notification. As the House witnessed heated arguments over the Congress leader’s repeated mention of Joyce George’s encroachment, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan intervened and said these allegations were being made to create a smokescreen when the government was set to distribute title deeds on May 21. TNN

District CPM Opposes Eviction Drive

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Thiruvananthapuram: The opposition staged yet another walkout from the Assembly over Munnar anti-encroachment drive on Friday, this time after alleging that the government had lost its collective responsibility in the drive to evict encroachers. Denied an adjournment motion moved by senior Congress leader P T Thomas on the issue, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that all the eviction procedures had come to a standstill following the tussle between the CPM and the CPI, and that the CPM leaders were the major encroachers.

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Small-scale encroachers Gang murders BJP worker, out in the open at Munnar hartal in Kannur & Mahe

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STANDSTILL: The deserted Kottayam private bus stand on Friday

car in Thirunakkara. In Chengalam, hartal supporters forced their way into the village office and destroyed files. An employee named Rajesh Kumar who tried to stop them from destroying the files was attacked.

He has been admitted to General Hospital. In the morning, private vehicles and KSRTC local bus services were stopped by hartal supporters which lead to altercation with the police. Though shops remained

closed in town areas, hartal had not affected the rural areas much. All the examinations of the MG University were held as usual. Though local bus services of the KSRTC were affected, long distance services operated without disruption. On Thursday morning, Kumarakom panchayat councillor P K Sethu of the BJP and another BJP councillor Jayakumar were attacked by a group of people wearing mask in Kumarakom. Sethu is now undergoing treatment in Medical College Hospital with fractured arm and leg. Jayakumar has also suffered wounds. BJP district president N Hari had alleged that a person named Ambily was behind the attack and demanded investigation against him after charging him under Kaapa.

TIMES NATION THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI | SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

PUNJAB GOVERNMENT COMMITTED TO WAIVE FARM LOANS, SAYS CHIEF MINISTER AMARINDER SINGH

INDIA DIGEST

Goa nurses to take ‘practical’ exam for jobs in govt hospitals Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Friday said nurses aspiring to join government hospitals in the state will have to go through a ‘practical’ exam. “State-run Institute of Nursing Education will design a module to test the practical knowledge of students and it will be implemented for the selection process,” Rane said.

Over 300 pirated DVDs of Baahubali-2, new movies seized: Over 300 pirated DVDs of new movies, including 'Baahubali-2-The Conclusion', have been seized during a raid conducted in Chennai and ten persons arrested in this connection, police said on Friday.

Manipuri icon Laishram Singh honoured with Padma Shri: Age is not a hindrance for 97 year-old Laishram Birendrakumar Singh, who was conferred the Padma Shri Award, 2017, the country’s fourth highest prestigious civilian award for his contribution in music.

Dalit boy dies after clash in TN: A16-year Dalit boy has been murdered after a clash between two groups of people during the Chitra festival in Rameswaram district, police said on Friday. An altercation between the groups erupted over attending “mandagapadi” (temple ritual) for which Thevar community had paid fees to the temple.

JUST LIKE THAT

AJIT NINAN

VIBRANT DEMOCRACY IS POSSIBLE THROUGH GOOD GOVERNANCE, SAYS UNION MINISTER KIREN RIJIJU

HC inflicts severe blow to Gandhi family in National Herald case The Court Dismisses Plea Challenging I-T Department’s Notices [email protected]

New Delhi: In a setback to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, the Delhi High Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea by Young Indian Pvt Ltd. (YIL) challenging the Income Tax Department notices served on the company, clearing the decks for an IT probe. The Gandhis are the main stakeholders in YI and have been accused by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy of cheating and misappropriating funds linked to National Herald newspaper A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Chander Shekhar said Young Indian should approach the IT authorities first and raise its grievances there rather than directly moving court. "We are not inclined to entertain your writ petition. It is better you withdraw and approach the income tax assessing officer,” the court observed while refusing relief. “Don’t be arrogant” it counselled the petitioners, pointing

MAJOR SETBACK: Besides the Gandhis, Congress leaders Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and YI are accused in the case

out that in case YI is unable to get relief from IT authorities, it can approach court, but as the company has not even approached the assessing officer so it should submit documents before the department. Sensing the mood of the bench, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the firm, withdrew the petition, which was allowed by the court that termed it as "dismissed as withdrawn". After a trial court allowed the

IT department to go ahead with its probe, Young Indian (YI) had approached the HC seeking a direction to stay the IT proceedings and sought quashing of re- assessment notices issued against it with regard to the National Herald misappropriation of assets case. The company was issued notices regarding assessment year 2011-12. The IT department's move to issue notices followed its probe on Swamy's complaint alleging that the Gandhis had misappropriated

AJL's assets including vast land holdings, while transferring their shares to the newly formed Young Indian. Swamy’s criminal complaint filed in court accuses the Gandhis and other Congress leaders of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds to take full control of AJL. Swamy has argued that Young Indian, controlled by the Gandhis, purchased AJL for Rs 50 lakh taking over the right to recover loan AJL owned of Rs 90.25 crore to the Congress Party. By being in controlling position in YI and Congress Party, the Gandhis and other leaders such as Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda conspired to take over AJL with an eye on its huge properties, Swamy has claimed. In his complaint, he alleged that the Congress granted an interest-free loan of Rs. 90.25 crore to AJL, owner of the National Herald newspaper, established by Jawaharlal Nehru, but in repaying the loan YI stepped in to take over AJL.

45 days into new session, CBSE yet to print class X English textbook

The 1 crore followers are in addition to lakhs of followers on several other TOI handles like @TOIBengaluru, @TOIOpinion

New Delhi: The Times of India crossed the 1 crore follower mark on Twitter on Friday. This makes TOI’s main handle — @timesofindia — the most followed institutional news account in India. “Ten million twitter followers is a significant milestone even at a global level. We’re very thankful to our users. We’ll continue to work hard and deliver quality content and compelling experiences and be the first to do it,” says Gautam Sinha,

CEO, Times Internet. The 1 crore followers on the main handle are in addition to lakhs of followers on several other TOI handles like @TOIBengaluru, @TOIOpinion. Among other institutional news accounts, television channel NDTV comes second with 9.4 million followers. Aaj Tak has gathered over 5.8 million followers, and Hindustan Times’ main handle @htTweets has over 5.6 million followers.

Fatehabad (Haryana): A former soldier’s wife, shaken by recent attacks on Indian troops by Pakistan, has sent a 56-inch blouse to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an apparent reference to claims that he had a 56-inch chest, largely seen as a symbol of courage. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Suman Singh, wife of ex-armyman Dharamvir Singh, reminded Modi that the Bharatiya Janata Party had before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls claimed if it came to power, Pakistan would not “dare” attack Indian soldiers. “But the situation is even worse now,” she wrote. Her husband told reporters here that the letter addressed to the Prime Minister, along with the blouse, had been submitted to the Zila Sainik Board in Fatehabad. Dharamvir, who claimed he was a former district observer of the Aam Aadmi Party, said he had served in the Army from December 1991 to 2007 and retired as a

Teen breaks space record, designs lightest satellite Srinivas Laxman

Mumbai: Eighteen-year-old Rifath Sharook, belonging to a comparatively unknown town of Pallapatti in Tamil Nadu, is all set to break a global space record by launching the lightest satellite in the world, weighing a mere 64 grams. The satellite, called KalamSat, will be launched by a NASA sounding rocket on June 21 from Wallops Island, a NASA facility. This will be the first time an Indian student’s experiment will be flown by NASA. Speaking to TOI from Pallapatti, Rifath said it will be a sub-orbital flight and postlaunch, the mission span will be 240 minutes and the tiny satellite will operate for 12 minutes in a micro-gravity environment of space. “The main role of the satellite will be to demonstrate the performance of 3-D printed carbon fibre,” he explained.He

GSLV Mark-3 launch on June 5 he much-awaited launch of the GSLV Mark-3 rocket carrying the nearly three-tonne Gsat-19 satellite is scheduled for June 5 at 4.30pm in Sriharikota, Isro officials said on Friday. This will be the first developmental flight of the rocket. The experimental flight was on December 14, 2014. According to Isro, Gsat-19 will employ advanced spacecraft technologies. It carries an instrument called Geostationary Radiation Spectrometer (Grasp) which will study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on spacecraft and electronic components.

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said the satellite was selected through a competition called ‘Cubes in Space’, jointly organised by NASA and an organisation called ‘I Doodle Learning’. The main challenge was to design an experiment to be flown to space which will fit into a four-metre cube weighing exactly 64 grams. “ We did a lot of research on different cube sats all over the world and found ours was the

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Former Army man’s wife sends 56-inch blouse to Prime Minister

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printing was stopped and finally it is getting printed now,” said the official. Therefore, there will be two sets of books of English literature which will be in circulation – one with the chapter deleted and the other with the chapter. The print run for the book, according to CBSE sources, is closed to 5 lakh copies. Already the quality of the CBSE textbooks are under scanner of the MHRD. The board publishes six English textbooks and two Sanskrit textbooks, apart from many supplementary books.

lightest,” he said. Rifath said the satellite is made mainly of reinforced carbon fibre polymer. “We obtained some of the components from abroad and some are indigenous,” he said. On April 5, a Chennai-based organisation called SpaceKidzIndia, which had teamed up with ‘I Doodle Learning’, got a message from the latter that the satellite has been chosen for the space flight. Rifath is a part of SpaceKidzIndia.

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IPL cricket has got rid of nail cutters

New Delhi: It has been nearly 45 days since the new academic session has started and yet textbooks published by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) are yet to be made available to the students. On being asked by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD), CBSE in FebruaryMarch 2017 created a link to raise indents for NCERT books, but has apparently “failed” to respond to its own responsibilities. According to CBSE sources the

board is yet to complete the printing of the English literature textbook for class X. On the reason for the delay, a senior CBSE official said: “Printing was ordered on time. However, it had to be stopped in the first half of April as there were errors in the books. Changes were made in close to 140 pages of the book.” The delay got longer as the printing had to be stopped for the second time post the publication of close to 60,000 books. “As per the curriculum a chapter of the book had to be withdrawn. For which the

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[email protected]

havaldar. Being an ex-Army man’s wife, he said, Suman had expressed anguish at the recent spate of killings. “She told me that women send their sons, brothers, husbands to the border to defend their motherland and not to get beheaded and get pelted with stones. Where has the 56-inch chest gone now, she asked,” the Fatehabad resident said.

PAK ATTACKS ON SOLDIERS The ex-serviceman was asked if the gesture could be seen as an insult to the office of the Prime Minister. “You tell me one thing — are we not being insulted? Our Prime Minister used to say never ever will our soldiers have to go through what they went through before. But what is happening under the present regime is even worse,” he said. Suman wrote in her letter that videos had surfaced “in which our soldiers are

seen being slapped, humiliated and pelted with stones”. Two soldiers were beheaded by Pakistan, she wrote. She referred to Lance Naik Hemraj, who was beheaded by Pakistan’s Border Action Team in January, 2013. “At the time of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, we felt that no more of our soldiers will be beheaded like Hemraj and enemy will think ten times before doing such action, but they have been repeated,” the letter said. She urged the PM to give the Army a “free hand” to tackle the situation on the border. “The way the hands of our soldiers are tied they are unable to take the situation head on, which is most unfortunate,” she wrote. Dharamvir said he was deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for over 11 years. “I was part of several counter insurgency operations. I also got the Sena Medal from the President on two occasions. My son is also preparing to join the forces,” he said. AGENCIES

Raids on shell cos unearth `1k cr laundering racket TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Income tax raids on a dozen odd shell companies in Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata has unearthed a money laundering racket of over Rs 1,000 crore where illegal remittances have been made through banking channels to Singapore, Hong Kong and China on fake import and export invoices. The preliminary investigation has revealed that the key accused in the case is a 24year-old man who has created at least 10 shell companies in Kolkata in the name of his family members and remitted at least Rs 572 crore through the banking channel to Singapore, Hong Kong and China. The I-T searches were conducted on some people behind these shell companies in Vishakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Kolkata. Officials involved with the investigation said these shell firms were also involved in creating forged software import documents to channelise these remittances. All the outward remittances were made using two banks in Vishakhapatnam during April 2015 and March 2017 for import of “customised software”.

Promoter of telecom company arrested for loan fraud TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The CBI on Friday arrested the promoter of a telecom company in connection with a Rs 126 crore bank loan scam. Sunil Kakkad, promoter of Click Telecom, was arrested on Friday evening for allegedly cheating a consortium of State Bank of India, Canara Bank and Vijaya Bank of Rs 126 crore, CBI sources said. The agency had registered a case against Kakkad in 2015. Kakkad had allegedly expressed urgency for the funds and had got them released from the bank, pending execution of individual documents, the CBI said. After the funds were released, he allegedly fled India. In another case related to loan default, CBI booked Hyderabad-based VNR Infrastructures Ltd and its managing director V Narayana Reddy for allegedly causing loss of Rs 205 crore to Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI). Agency teams carried out searches at multiple locations

Kakkad had allegedly expressed urgency for the funds and had got them released from the bank, pending execution of individual documents, the CBI said in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Nellore in connection with the case. “It was alleged that the private firm had applied for loans for the purpose of executing certain projects in the year 2014-15 worth Rs 190 crore against security of immovable property which were given highly inflated values with malafide intention, and did not repay the same, thereby causing loss of Rs 205.02 crore to IFCI Ltd,” CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said. Besides Reddy and VNR Infrastructures Ltd, six other companies and unidentified public servants figure in the FIR.

Cops face HC’s wrath on Najeeb missing case New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Friday again rapped the Delhi Police over the manner of its probe into the disappearance of JNU student Najeeb Ahmad, missing since October last year, saying the agency appeared to be looking for an “escape route” and “beating around the bush”. A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Deepa Sharma said the conduct of the police showed it was trying to sensationalise the matter or looking for a way out as it was filing reports in sealed covers and “there was nothing confidential, damaging or crucial” in them. The court was referring to the forensic analysis reports of the missing student’s laptop and call records that the police had filed in a sealed cover, but had initially not even shared with its own lawyer. “This conduct itself ... you (police) pitch it (report) so high that you are sharing with us something so confidential which is not even shared with your trusted lawyer, gives us the impression that it was a fast one being played on us.

Najeeb Ahmad

“We have to keep in mind the possibility that the police is trying to sensationalise or trying to find an escape route. “We are left with the impression that the investigation is not being done properly,” the bench said. The court also lashed out at the police saying it has been “beating around the bush and not in the bush” as it has been sending people across the country and setting up special investigating teams (SITs), but the nine students suspected to be behind Najeeb’s disappearance were not questioned on day one and neither were they taken into custody. AGENCIES

V K Saraswat named as new JNU chancellor New Delhi: The HRD ministry has named scientist and former DRDO chief Vijay Kumar Saraswat as the next chancellor of JNU. A full-time member of Niti Aayog, Saraswat will be replacing Isro chief Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan whose five-year term ended on

March 30. Though Saraswat is yet to receive official communication, his name has been finalised for the varsity’s top position, according to sources in the ministry. Saraswat was conferred Padma Shri in 1998, Padma Bhusan in 2013 and had served as a chief scientific adviser to the minister of defence. As project director of Prithvi, Saraswat steered the

design, development, production and induction of the first indigenous surface-tosurface missile system into the armed forces. According to teachers in the university, the outgoing chancellor, Kasturirangan, showed much interest in language, literature and cultural studies. A chancellor has a little role in day-to-day activities of the administration. AGENCIES

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Police declare bounty on ultras behind Fayaz’s killing Posters Of Three Accused Come Up In South Kashmir

Police posters stated: “Any person providing information regarding the criminals will be suitably rewarded and his identity will be kept secret.” Sources said all three assailants have criminal records. Thoker, a middle school drop-out, used to be a daily wager in apple orchards and the fruit-packing industry during summers in Shopian, before he joined Hizb in 2015. There are two murder charges against Bhat besides the killing of Lt Fayaz’s, said

Meanwhile, facing increasing local resentment for the killing of Lt Ummer Fayaz, a Kashmiri youth considered by many as a role model, Pakistan-based United Jihad Council released a statement on Friday distancing itself from the murder despite overwhelming evidence of Hizbul Mujahideen’s hand in the attack. Trying to beguile the Kashmiri people, council spokesman Syed Sadaqat Hussain, quoting Salahuddin, said: “Our militants are not involved in murder of Lt Umar Fayaz. Such a killing is condemnable. An officer from a pro-freedom family was murdered by the Indian agencies and militants are being accused of it to shield the real face of the Indian AGENCIES.”

Janaushadhi stores to be opened in every block [email protected]

New Delhi: The health ministry will roll out pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) under its flagship universal immunisation programme (UIP) on Saturday to tackle pneumonia which, along with diarrhoea, is among the major killers of children under 5 years of age with India accounting for the highest number of deaths in the world. The vaccine will be initially introduced in Himachal Pradesh and parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, targeting over 21 lakh children. In the next phase, the vaccine will be launched in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan next year before being expanded to the whole of the country in a phased manner. In 2016, nearly 3 lakh children died from pneumonia and diarrhoea in India. Of the two, pneumonia alone accounted for 18-19% of deaths of children under-5 years of age.

New Delhi: The government on Friday announced to open ‘Janaushadhi’ store in every block to make low-priced generic medicines available across the country. The scheme is expected to create a “silent revolution” in achieving health security by providing affordable and quality medicines for all. Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers Ananth Kumar said the government plans to open such stores so that doctors and pharmacists cannot push expensive branded medicines in the garb of unavailability of generic drugs. The minister emphasised that it would now be mandatory for doctors to prescribe generic drugs prominently along with brand names or else they would attract action by the Medical Council of India.

The scheme is expected to create a “silent revolution” in achieving health security by providing affordable and quality medicines for all He said the government is also contemplating changes in the Drugs & Cosmetics Act to create scope for chemists to substitute medicines prescribed by a doctor. While the government is trying to make it legally binding on both doctors and pharmacists to sell generic medicines, it is important to bring in a legal framework. Kumar said by the end of 2017, more than 3000 ‘Janaushadhi’ stores will be opened across the country. Currently, 1320 stores are already functional, selling over 600 medicines and 154 surgical and consumables in all therapeutic areas including anti-diabetic, an-

ti-cancer and cardiovascular drugs. The government said the industry has shown a lot of interest to open these stores in partnership with the government. Kumar said agreements for opening these stores have been signed with 19 state governments and other organisations. A total of 32,225 applications have been received out of which in-principle approval has been given to 30,300 applications. Kumar said the ministry of railways come on board to open ‘Janaushadhi kendras’ at over 1000 stations across the country.

Vigilantes beat up 6 for slaughtering buffalo in Agra Anuja.Jaiswal @timesgroup.com

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Jammu: A civilian was injured on Friday when Pakistani Rangers targeted forward BSF posts along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Arnia sector. “Today, at about 0630 hrs, while one BSF operational and area maintenance party was dominating our area ahead of border fencing in Arnia area, Pakistani Rangers without any reason, fired on the party, BSF spokesperson said, adding that the Indian side retaliated strongly. The exchange of fire lasted over two hours till 0840 hours. The spokesperson confirmed the civilian injury. “A bullet hit the tractor used by BSF in field and resulted minor scratch/injury to driver of vehicle (a civilian),” he said. “BSF is on high alert and fully committed to ensure sanctity of International Border, and will not allow any kind of activities under garb of such misadventure,” he asserted. This is the second ceasefire violation in the Jammu region of state in two days. Earlier, Pakistani troops had targeted civilian areas and forward posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district in Jammu region, killing a woman and injuring her husband.

Agra: Six people were beaten up by a mob of cow vigilantes for allegedly slaughtering a buffalo inside the premises of dairy unit owned by a Hindu in Gandhi Park area of Aligarh. Police booked six people, including the dairy owner, but the no action was taken against the vigilantes, alleged the dairy owner’s family members on Friday. Aligarh senior superintendent of police Rajesh Pandey told TOI that the dairy owner, Kallu Baghel, had asked some people to take away his buffalo, which was sick and had stopped giving milk. The SSP said five people came to his house and allegedly slaughtered the animal in the compound of the dairy. According to the police, Imran, a cattle trader, offered to buy the animal on the condition that the dairy owner allows him to slaughter the animal on his premises only. During slaughtering, the animal’s blood flowed out of the dairy compound which was noticed by local residents in Pannaganj locality. A mob soon gathered

on the spot and started thrashing those slaughtering the buffalo. Later, police managed to control the situation. According to police, six people, including dairy owner Kallu Baghel, Sonveer, Vinod, Chhottu, Bunty and Imran, were booked for voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, criminal intimidation and mischief by killing cattle. Suresh Kumar, Kallu Baghel’s elder brother, alleged the police have not taken any action against the people who had brutally thrashed his brother and others. He said if his brother was guilty of slaughtering an animal, those who assaulted him were guilty too and police should take action against them. The dairy owner’s 12year-old daughter, Ruby, who was in tears, told TOI that his father used to take care of the sick buffalo every day but it was not getting well, so he decided to sell it off. When contacted, circle officer Pankaj Srivastava said the matter is under investigation and action would be taken against whosoever is found guilty.

HC orders UP govt to issue licences to slaughter houses Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Friday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to issue new meat licenses and renew the old ones in the slaughterhouses matter. The high court observed that it is the responsibility of the local body for the construction of slaughterhouses. The high court has sought for information by the government and related departments on July 17. The ban on legal as well as illegal abattoirs was one of the main agendas of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto in the recently concluded elections. Keeping his word, a day after Yogi Adityanath took charge as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, illegal slaughter houses were sealed in Allahabad and other places across the state.

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Centre to roll out pneumonia vaccine in phased manner

LOST SMILE: File photo of Lieutenant Umer Fayaz

Sanjay Khajuria

cember last year and posted in Akhnoor area of Jammu.

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Srinagar: The Jammu & Kashmir Police released posters on Friday of three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists wanted for the killing of Lt Ummer Fayaz and pasted these at several places in Shopian town of south Kashmir, offering a reward to anyone who could provide information about them. The police identified the three as Ishfaq Ahmad Thoker (24) and Gayas-ul-Islam, residents of Padderpora, and Abass Ahmad Bhat (26) of Mantribugh. Police, after its preliminary investigation, said that an active module of Hizbul Mujahideen was involved in Lt Fayaz’s killing and an INSAS rifle snatched from cops may have been used in the murder. Two empty cartridges of an INSAS rifle were found where Lt Fayaz was shot dead.

police. Bhat was undergoing trial in the murder of a Kashmiri doctor, Masood Ahmad, with whom he had some land dispute in 2011. Police sources said Bhat threw the doctor out from a running car with the help of his accomplices. He was arrested but was bailed out from jail in April 2016. He joined the terror outfit in September 2016, after Hizb commander Burhan Wani’s killing in order to escape the trial and conviction, police records reveal. Gayas-ul-Islam, a class 12th pass-out, was jobless and joined HM in 2016 after Wani’s killing. Lt Fayaz, 22, was abducted on Tuesday and found shot dead the next morning in Shopian district where he’d gone to attend the wedding ceremony of a cousin. A Kulgam resident, Fayaz was commissioned by the Army in De-

Civilian hurt as Pakistan targets BSF post along IB

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THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

Big B WHO’s goodwill ambassador for hepatitis New Delhi: The World Health Organisation on Friday appointed Amitabh Bachchan as its goodwill ambassador for hepatitis in South-East Asia region to boost awareness and intensify action to arrest the epidemic. Announcing the decision here, WHO’s regional director for South-East Asia, Poonam Khetrapal Singh termed it a “historic association” as viral hepatitis kills 4,10,000 people in the region, which also includes India, annually. “This historic association is expected to help strengthen WHO's efforts in reducing the high numbers of premature deaths and illnesses from viral hepatitis which is not only causing hardships to individuals and families, but also impacting health and development across the SouthEast Asia region,” she said. “I am absolutely committed to the cause of hepatitis. As a person living with hepatitis B, I know the pain and sufferings that hepatitis causes. No one should ever suffer from viral hepatitis,” a WHO statement quoting Bachchan during an event in Mumbai said. AGENCIES

HC slaps fine on MBBS student for misusing quota Vishwas.Kothari @timesgroup.com

The high court observed that it is the responsibility of the local body for the construction of slaughterhouses

A large number of illegal slaughterhouses have already been shut across the state. In an official release, the state asked closure of illegal slaughter houses in view of the overall public order, safety and health of the general public. After the official release by the state government, the slaughter house owners and meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh have closed their shops following an indefini-

te strike call by different associations. The strike was against the government’s crackdown on illegal slaughter houses and retail meat shops. According to reports, slaughter house owners and meat retailers protested against raids by municipal authorities and police, alleging exploitation by the authorities. They had complained that they are being raided by police despite valid licenses. AGENCIES

Pune: The Bombay high court has directed a final year MBBS student of BJ Medical College here to pay Rs 10 lakh to the state government for availing the other backward class (OBC) quota benefit against a non-creamy layer (NCL) certificate obtained by making false representation. The HC bench comprising Justice V M Kanade and Justice P R Bora made scathing remarks in a judgment on May 5 against the girl’s father — a financially well-off surgeon who owns a well-equipped 16-bed hospital — for making an “undesired attempt” at securing the NCL for her daughter. “We regretfully state that such a well-placed person did make such an undesired attempt,” the bench said.

Triple talaq not practised by any other country: Khurshid Continued from P 1 he bench asked him whether triple talaq was India-specific or was practised in other Islamic countries. Khurshid said, “It is not practised by any other country to my knowledge. Right now, it is India-specific.” The bench asked, “Why have other countries repealed it?” Khurshid replied, “Probably, whatever is happening in India happened in those countries earlier.” Khurshid, however, argued that the court need not go into the validity of triple talaq if it accepted his suggestion to declare the practice as “single talaq”. He explained, “When a married Muslim man pronounces single talaq, a threemonth iddat period kicks in during which reconciliation efforts are made by intermedi-

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Khurshid, however, argued that the court need not go into the validity of triple talaq if it accepted his suggestion to declare the practice as “single talaq” aries. If the reconciliation succeeds, then he can revoke the talaq. If he does not, then he announces talaq again and the same process gets repeated till the third and final talaq is pronounced, making divorce irrevocable. “If the Supreme Court, like the Delhi high court, rules that pronouncement of triple talaq in one sitting will also be considered as one talaq, then the irrevocability of triple talaq will

be erased. If triple talaq is made revocable, like talaq said once, it will solve 90% of the problem. “The solution is available within Islam itself. By ruling triple talaq to be single talaq, the Supreme Court can avoid adjudicating the much hyped issue made to look like a big controversy.” Appearing for a Muslim woman divorced through triple talaq, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani said, “Triple talaq allows one-sided termination of marriage and that is why it is abhorrent to gender justice. It discriminates a woman by permitting the husband to dump her. This method is abhorrent to the Quran and Islam. No amount of advocacy by humans can make this abhorrent and repugnant practice valid.” Arguments will continue on Monday.

Parties can demonstrate if EVMs can be hacked: EC Continued from P 1 e also said there will be counting of a certain chunk of paper slips. Zaidi said EC will hold a challenge and offer an opportunity to political parties to demonstrate if EVMs used in the recently concluded assembly polls were or can be tampered with under laid-down technical and administrative safeguards. At the meeting, being held in view of BSP, Congress, AAP, SP, TMC and RJD and some other political parties challenging the accuracy of EVMs and even claiming that they were tweaked to favour BJP, Zaidi said the EC will remain neutral and be equidistant from all political parties as it has no favo-

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urites. Most parties did, however, seek a review and strengthening of security features that EC in a detailed presentation said makes the machine secure and tamperproof. CPM even called for an independent vetting of these claims. Interestingly, JD(U), RJD’s coalition partner in Bihar, came out in support of EVMs, recalling the “widespread rigging” witnessed in Bihar in the times of the ballot paper. Zaidi said the EC will evolve an appropriate framework for subjecting VVPAT slips of EVMs up to a certain percentage to counting. EC sources said the final percentage will be worked out so as to keep a balance between offering more transparency to the voter and ensuring co-

unting remains speedy. On queries raised by some parties about alleged EVM manipulation in the Bhind and Dholpur bypolls, Zaidi reiterated that “baseless perceptions” were generated and there is no case of biased vote results. Suggestions that came up at the all-party meeting ranged from parties like CPI and NC seeking more time for viewing the VVPAT slip before it falls into the printer box to mandatory counting of votes in a given percentage of polling booths in every constituency. On other proposed poll reforms put up for discussion, most of the smaller parties opposed non-disclosure of donations made by corporates to political parties.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

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Modi stresses on harmony in Lanka’s multi-lingual society

Uphaar case: Ansal Triple talaq is an bros to face trial for unfortunate act, say evidence tampering Muslim scholars

Offers Assistance To Construct 10,000 Houses For Displaced

New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Friday upheld a trial court order framing charges of tampering of evidence against real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal in a case relating to the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy. Holding that the trial court had rightly framed charges against the accused, Justice Siddharth Mridul said “the material on record gives rise to strong suspicion that the accused persons had committed the offences for which the charges were framed against them”. “Consequently, there exist no circumstances to warrant interference with the order by this court in exercise of its revisional jurisdiction,” it added. The court directed the trial court to proceed with the trial in the matter in accordance with law. The judge also said that in his view, prima facie, there was sufficient ground to proceed against the accused. “Further, there is adequate material for presuming that the accused had committed the offences for which they have been charged. “Therefore, the trial court cannot be faulted for forming a

AP

Ease of getting electricity: India’s global rank up to 26 [email protected]

Vienna: The focused reforms unleashed by the Narendra Modi government in the last three years have halved the rate at which power prices rose every year, and improved India’s position in the global ‘ease of getting electricity’ ranking. The compounded annual growth in power prices in the 2014-16 period stood at 3.27% against 5.94% through the last 10 years between 2004 and 2014. Simultaneously during the last two years, India moved up to the 26th spot in global electricity accessibility ranking, moving up from 99th in 2014 aided largely by the Modi government’s rural electrification programme in the last three years since it came to power. Nowhere has the success of the government’s policies become more visible than Wednesday's development where solar power tariff went below coal-fired power for a project at Bhadla solar park in Rajasthan. Overall Energy shortage too has come down to 0.7% at present from 4.2% in 2014. No wonder power, coal renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal spoke from a position of strength when he told the Vienna Energy Forum, “Many problems had earlier set India back for many years but now the mood has changed.”

SOARING POWER PRICES

Figures in %

Increase in Electricity Prices (CAGR) 2004-14 2014-16 Domestic Category (2 KW-200 Units/month) 5.06 4.04 Commercial Category (20 KW-3000 5.06 4.10 Units/Month) Agriculture Category (3HP-600 Units/Month) 14.56 8.68 Industrial LT Category (50 KW-7500 5.49 3.83 units/Month) Industrial HT Category (10 MW@ 40% LF -2.92 4.87 1.76 Million units/Month) Railway Traction Category 5.12 2.97 Weighted - All India Price growth 5.94 3.27

Overall Energy shortage too has come down to 0.7% at present from 4.2% in 2014. Total power capacity increased by nearly a third (31%) from 243GW in March 2014 to 320 GW in March 2017 “India is taking rapid strides in terms of commitment and target for promoting energy conservation and efficiency,” he told the gathering. “Traditionally India’s stand has been what the world was ready to do to help us go green. Finally, we are able to tell the world that we will do whatever it takes to improving our pollution levels to

meet the challenges of climate change, irrespective of what the world does. We have finally been able to make solar tariff go below grid parity. India’s leadership position in green energy will new benefit the world,” he said. Total power capacity increased by nearly a third (31%) from 243GW in March 2014 to 320 GW in March 2017. In spite of the Modi government's plan to set up 175 GW geeen power capacity by 2022, conventional power generation capacity too has increased by 26% from 214 GW in March 2014 to 270 GW in March 2017.

Unfazed by Kashmir unrest, pilgrims register for Amarnath yatra New Delhi: A large number of pilgrims have shown interest in visiting the Amarnath cave shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, notwithstanding the continuing unrest in the Kashmir Valley, officials said. The number of people who have enrolled with the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board for the annual pilgrimage, which will begin on June 29, is almost the same as the last year, they said. Despite the unrest, there

has been no drop in the enrollment of pilgrims, an official said. More than 2.20 lakh pilgrims had offered prayers at the naturally formed iceShivlingam last year. The shrine, located at an altitude of 3,888 metre, is 46 km from Pahalgam and 14 km from Baltal. The Amarnath yatra will conclude on August 7. Jammu and Kashmir has seen protests and violence since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan

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He said that India has decided to extend the 1990 emergency ambulance service, currently operating in Western and Southern provinces, to all other provinces. Modi expressed India’s continued commitment to the people of Sri Lanka in their journey of economic progress of the Tamils and others in Sri Lanka. Recalling the tremendous difficulties and challenges

Rajdhani Exp passengers go hungry during 16-hr journey Dhritiman

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nation, which has for over three decades faced a violent struggle in the two areas by Tamils for their rights. In a 30-minute speech peppered with quotes from the works of Tamil saints and scholars, he also announced India’s assistance in the construction of 10,000 additional houses in upcountry areas, where 4,000 have already been built under ownership basis for the beneficiaries.

Ranchi: Hundreds of passengers travelling to Ranchi from Delhi on Rajdhani Express remained hungry and thirsty through their 16-hour journey after the contractual catering staff de-boarded the train without prior intimation. Some angry passengers barged in the pantry car and took away food when the train reached Kanpur Central station at 9:30pm, more than five hours after the train left New Delhi on Wednesday evening. Others purchased food from

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BONDING IN LANKA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena at the temple believed to house the sacred tooth relic of Buddha, in Kandy, Sri Lanka,on Friday

faced by their forefathers when they came from India to settle down here about 200 years ago, he said, “Those men and women were of strong will and courage, who undertook the journey of their life from India to the then Ceylon.” The Prime Minister told the Tamils that being the children of Tamil mother, it was a matter of pride that they also speak Sinhala. “And language is much more than a tool for communication. It defines a culture, forges relationships, joints communities and acts as a strong unifying force. There is no better sight than a multilingual society living in peace and harmony. Diversity calls for celebration and not confrontation,” he told them. Recalling the links between Tamils and Sinhalese, Modi said they are historically intertwined. Several Buddhist texts including Jataka tales mention Saint Agastya, whom many consider to be the father of Tamil language.

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Dickoya (Sri Lanka): In the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Tamil-dominated tea plantation area in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said there is no better sight than a multilingual society living in peace and harmony and exhorted that threads of unity should be strengthened and not separated. With Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe by his side, he said diversity calls for celebration and not confrontation. Modi was addressing a strong gathering of Tamils of Indian origin, largely plantation labour. Modi had visited Sri Lanka two years ago and had undertaken a trip to Jaffna in the north at that time. He pointedly mentioned that he is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the hill areas of “this beautiful region”. The plantation Tamils are distinct from the Tamils of North and East in the island

presumptive opinion regarding the existence of the factual ingredients constituting the offences alleged, and for the framing of charges on the basis of a strong suspicion founded on the material herein before elaborated,” it added. A magisterial court had on May 31, 2014 ordered framing of charges against seven accused for abatement of offence, causing disappearance of evidence, criminal breach of trust by public servant and criminal conspiracy under the IPC. Theatre owners Gopal Ansal and his brother Sushil Ansal, Anoop Singh, Prem Prakash Batra, Harswaroop Panwar, Dharamveer Malhotra and Dinesh Chandra Sharma are accused of tampering with evidence in the case, pending since 2006. All the accused have denied the allegations against them. On February 9, the Supreme Court in the curative petition had sentenced Gopal Ansal to jail for a year in connection with the blaze. However, the bench had spared 77year-old Sushil Ansal because of his age. AGENCIES

vendors on the station. Nusra Khatoon, a 65-yearold travelling to Ranchi with her grandson said there was no coach attendant to give water bottles despite repeated requests. Satish, a 34 year old IT professional working in New Delhi said, “We kept calling for attendants, but they were nowheretobeseen.Whenthetrain reached the Ranchi railway station on Thursday forenoon, passengers vented their ire before senior officers of Ranchi division of South Eastern Railways (SER), who had come to take stock of the situation.

Wani in July last year. There was massive violence during the April nine bypoll to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in which eight people lost their lives in more than 200 incidents. The Election Commission had also cancelled the May 25 bypoll to Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, saying the situation there was not feasible for holding election. A young Kashmiri Army officer was killed by militants two days ago. AGENCIES

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: As the debate over triple talaq takes centrestage with the Supreme Court now taking up the matter, delving into the past records of the comments of eminent Islamic scholars reveals that they had all weighed in with their criticism of the controversial practice. From recommending the ideal circumstances of divorce to clarifying the Shariah stand on the subject, the experts were united in condemning its misuse. Terming triple talaq an innovation and a sin involving multiple legal complexities, Maulana Abul Ala Maududi, founder of Jamaa-e-Islami had said, “If people knew that triple divorce is superfluous and even a single talaq would dissolve the marriage, of course, leaving room for revocation during the next three months and remarriage thereafter, innumerable families could have been saved from disruption.” Renowned graduate from Darul Uloom Deoband, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi had recommended the Quranic method of talaq. “A man pronounces a revocable talaq. He reconciles and resumes cohabitation. A few years later under some provocation he pronounces a revocable talaq once again. On recovering from provocation he again resumes cohabitation. Now two talaqs are over. Thereafter whenever he pronounces a talaq it will be counted as the third talaq which will dissolve the marriage forthwith,” he said. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, another noted scholar pointed out that a man uttering talaq to his wife three times in a row contravenes the Shariah, which is a sin. However, he went on to explain that “if he was known to be in an emotionally overwrought state at the time, his act may be considered

From recommending the ideal circumstances of divorce to clarifying the Shariah stand on the subject, the experts were united in condemning its misuse. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, a noted scholar pointed out that a man uttering talaq to his wife three times in a row contravenes the Shariah, which is a sin

a mere absurdity arising from human weakness. His three utterances of the word ‘talaq’ may be taken as an expression of the intensity of his emotions and thus the equivalent of only one such utterance. He is likely to be told that, having transgressed a Shariah law, he must seek God’s forgiveness, must regard his three utterances as only one, and must take a full three months to arrive at his final decision.” Describing instant triple talaq as accidental and sentimental, former president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Maulana Mujahidul Islam Qasmi had called it an unfortunate act that should not happen. “If one talaq is given out of three, both parties will have the time to reconsider talaq. The meaning of triple talaq is that it is final talaq. Its misuse has destroyed many households. Poor and weak women suffer the most,” he said.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

Monsoon outlook brightens Pressure mounts on India as US as US raises El Nino odds decides to attend OBOR meet Saibal Dasgupta

Amit.Bhattacharya @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: In what could boost the odds for a normal monsoon this year, US government agencies have marginally lowered the probability of El Nino developing during the Indian monsoon months in their update released late on Thursday. The El Nino bulletin issued by the US Climate Prediction Center (CRC) and other agencies shows a slightly higher probability for neutral conditions to continue during August and September. Its April update had given greater odds for El Nino conditions during these months. El Nino is a term for abnormal warming of waters in the east and central equatorial Pacific Ocean which leads to atmospheric changes that are known to adversely impact the crucial summer monsoon in India. “Relative to last month, the forecaster consensus re-

Rains may hit Andamans early hunderstorm activity currently over Bay of Bengal may push monsoon into the Andaman islands earliest than the normal date, IMD officials said. This, however, may not have an impact on monsoon’s onset over the Indian mainland, which begins with the rain system hitting Kerala coast around June 1. Monsoon normally hits south Andamans on May 17 and north Andaman island on May 20.

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In its initial monsoon outlook, IMD had forecast rainfall at 96% of long period average, which is in the lower end of the normal range

flects slightly lower chances of El Nino (~45%), in part due to the conflicting model guidance and lack of a clear shift toward El Nino in the observational data,” the CRC bulletin said. CRC’s assessment of lower odds for El Nino comes two days after a similar forecast by the Australian weather bureau, which said El Nino could develop only by September end. The India Meteorological Department (IMD)

too had last month released a lower probability of the abnormality setting in during the June-September window. However, all agencies have also cautioned about a high degree of uncertainty in El Nino forecasts made till May, due to what meteorologists call the ‘spring predictability barrier’. “There are more chances of Pacific conditions remaining neutral (in the monsoon period) but uncertainty per-

sists. A clearer picture will emerge by next month, when we shall release an updated monsoon forecast,” said D Sivananda Pai, IMD’s lead monsoon forecaster. In its initial monsoon outlook last month, IMD had forecast rainfall at 96% of long period average, which is in the lower end of the normal range.

Bookie gives Three booked for sensitive cops the slip posts on social media

SAHARANPUR VIOLENCE “Even after the Shabbirpur village and Saharanpur city clashes, social media was still being used to spread castesensitive messages to incite passion. This act comes under cyber crime. Keeping the sensitivity of the issue in mind, we have booked three youths — Sachin Kumar, Ni-

Though it is a political decision, the US made it appear like a tradeoff that included China’s commitment to buy American beef as part of the ‘100-day plan’ agreement

Observers are divided on whether India will make a last-minute announcement about sending a delegation or decide to take the bold stand of staying out of the meeting, which would attract representation from more than 50 countries and international organizations including the World Bank. “India is in a tight dilemma. India may not send anyone but if it does, it will send a low-level delegation,” Jagannath Panda, a research fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis

in New Delhi told TOI. “At the same time, India has to take cognizance of the US decision to participate. It is an early signal that the Trump administration is reframing the US-China relationship,” he added. The US is sending an inter-agency delegation led by Matthew Pottinger, a top adviser to the Trump administration and National Security Council senior director for East Asia. The decision emanated directly from the meeting between US president Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Florida last month. “We welcome all countries to attend. And we welcome the United States’ attendance as the world’s largest economy in the relevant activities of the Belt and Road initiative,” said Chinese vice-finance minister Zhu Guangyao. China’s dominant position in the program may be

diluted to some extent with the US now joining other developed countries like Britain and Germany taking direct interest by sending representatives to the event. China may come under pressure to become more transparent about its plans, and whether it would follow internationally-accepted standards on environment and labour while implementing the construction projects, they said. Japan and South Korea, which also have military differences with China, are sending their representatives. Most of the other countries engaged in territorial disputes with China over the South China Sea issue including Vietnam and Indonesia are also sending official delegations. In South Asia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are sending their top leaders, while Nepal has decided to send a delegation led by its deputy prime minister.

As Sri Lanka refuses dock, Chinese submarine may now head for Pakistan [email protected]

New Delhi: India is keeping close tabs on the Chinese submarine currently prowling in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), which is now likely to head for Karachi after being refused permission to dock at Colombo, even as it has dispatched four warships on an overseas deployment to southeast Asia and southern Indian Ocean. The Yuan-class conventional submarine was “picked up” by Indian Navy’s Poseidon-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft as soon as it crossed the Malacca Strait on April 19-20 as part of the 26th anti-piracy taskforce of the People’s Lib-

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Meerut: Saharanpur Police has booked three youths for allegedly uploading “caste-sensitive” materials on social media sites, days after widespread clashes between people of Thakur and dalit communities rocked the district leaving one dead and scores injured. “The post could have triggered another flare-up in and around Saharanpur district,” said Subhash Chand Dubey, senior superintendent of police (SSP).

tin and Sachin Kushwaha — under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and 66F IT Act (intent to threaten unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India). On Tuesday night also, two persons were booked under the same sections,” the SSP said. Meanwhile, Congress state president Raj Babbar visited Saharanpur villages, including worst-affected Shabbirpur, on Friday and met the families of victims. “So many caste and communal clashes in such a short span suggest that BJP government has failed on all fronts. We demand adequate compensation for those who have suffered losses of any kind,” he said. 20 vehicles were torched and dozens of people, including policemen, were injured in large-scale violence between police and dalits on Tuesday morning, after police forcefully dispersed members of the community assembling for ‘mahapanchayat’ in a city park without permission.

eration Army-Navy (PLAN). PLAN has been regularly sending its nuclear and diesel-electric submarines to the IOR since December 2013 to extend its strategic reach in the region. “The pretext is anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden. But what role can submarines play against pirates and their dhows?” said a defence ministry source. The Navy has tracked seven Chinese submarines in the IOR till now, with the first being a Shang-class nuclear attack submarine (SSN) from December 2013 to February 2014. “Two Chinese submarines, a nuclear one alternating with a diesel-electric one, are coming

for three months each to the IOR every year. They usually come through the Malacca Strait, where they have to surface due to shallow depth, and exit through the Sunda Strait,” he added. They have included the Song and Yuan-class conventional submarines and the Shang and Han SSNs, with the PLAN yet to deploy its new Jin-class advanced nuclear submarines to the region so far. India, of course, lags far behind China in the underwater combat arena, with just 13 old diesel-electric and two nuclear submarines. China, in contrast, has well over 50 submarines. China has also systematically forged extensive maritime links with several IOR

nations, and is now even establishing its first overseas naval facility at Djibouti. Though China’s primary aim may be protection of its trade and energy sea routes, India has reason to be wary of PLAN’s expeditionary forays in the region. India, on its part, is slowly but steadily stepping up military ties with Asean countries as well naval deployments to the Far East to strategically counter all this. Stealth frigates INS Sahyadari and INS Shivalik, anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kamorta and tanker Jyoti, for instance, are part of the ongoing deployment to south-east Asia in pursuance of the “Act East” policy.

Cong hopes Rane stays but works on Plan B Subodh.Ghildiyal @timesgroup.com

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rya said, “In the conversation, Shah is telling Bunty that the two Gujarat Lions players were set and will do as asked by him. In another message he is saying that the Gujarat Lions team would lose the match even after scoring 200 runs.” Meanwhile, in a joint raid of Kanpur and Ajmer police at the hideout of Bunty on Friday, the police claimed to have recovered 25 mobile phones and three laptops, besides several diaries and registers, on Friday. The bookie, however, managed to give police a slip. “A joint team conducted a raid at the Bijainagar Ajmer residence of Bunty. Though he managed to escape, the police team recovered 25 mobile phones, three laptops, several diaries and registers from the spot,” Arya added.

[email protected]

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Continued from P 1

Beijing: The US has suddenly taken a u-turn and decided to participate in the Belt and Road Forum being organized by China with much fanfare in Beijing this Sunday and Monday. The US move has put tremendous pressure on India, which still remains undecided on whether to send representatives to the event. India has taken a principled stand by objecting to the fact that the Belt and Road plan violates India’s sovereignty as it passes through the disputed Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Though it is a political decision, the US made it appear like a tradeoff that included China’s commitment to buy American beef as part of the ‘100-day plan’ agreement. On its part, Washington agreed to allow Chinese banks to expand operations in the US.

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Higher Probability For Neutral Conditions To Continue During Aug & Sept

TNN

New Delhi: Congress is optimistic that it will placate disgruntled Maratha leader Narayan Rane who is threatening to jump ship but is keeping Plan B ready in case he indeed quits the party. Rane met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday, a move that raised hopes in the party as it came after weeks of speculations over his next step. Well-placed managers said Rane was bargaining for the reins of Maharashtra unit but may not take the extreme step of leaving the fold. Rane’s meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah had started the speculation. However, doubts persist in

Sources said Rane was bargaining for the reins of Maharashtra unit but may not leave the fold. Rane’s meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah had started the speculation view of the restive former CM intermittently issuing comments against the party. Cautious Congressmen, comprising various factions, are pushing for an alternative plan if Rane quits. A senior Congress functionary questioned Rane’s demand for the reins of the state unit, and said giving in to brinkmanship would make the leadership vulnerable to aggression in other states. Sources said the party was

calculating the damage Rane’s possible defection may inflict on its state muscle. Top on the list is the leader of opposition’s post in Maharashtra assembly. Congress has just one MLA more than NCP and there is a view that if Rane leaves, he may take along two MLAs -- his son and a loyalist.Loss of the crucial opposition post in the assembly will compound the perception that Congress continues to be on a slide three years after losing to

BJP in national elections. With all local players worried about the rise of BJP in the state, Congress is mulling joint action with NCP and Shiv Sena to take on Rane, a former Sainik. Sena too is said to be upset with his plan to join BJP. In case of defection, the Rane faction will have to resign from the assembly/council and seek re-election on BJP ticket. While a common platform may not be possible with Sena as partner, the three outfits may divide the two assembly seats and one council berth among themselves to unitedly take on the Rane faction. This may complicate the fight for the dissident. The plan includes putting up a joint candidate against Rane in the council.

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TIMES CURATOR

The most secure smartphone in the world is here

‘I know what makes me good, and it’s not a bat’ On field, his playing does the talking, but ‘Mr 360’ AB de Villiers has a lot to say, especially about his prowess in cricket — and a few other sports

HOT TOPIC

Khloe Kardashian admitted to faking orgasms on a television show

l e g e s t u d e nt s t o e xplain why they faked or g a s m s . T hen t hey asked a larger online group of more than 400 to note which of those reasons applied to them. Through the statistical number-crunching used to generate the scales, the researchers came up with six factors: feels good, for partner, not into sex, manipulation/power, insecurity, and emotional communication. In their attempt to find the right scale, the researchers came across c er t ai n i nteresting findings. When they applied their scale to an online sample of almost 1,600, they found that while 76 per cent of women reported having faked an orgasm at least once, the number was also rather high for men, at 41 per cent. — AGENCIES

Pics: Shriya Patil, Santosh Bane, AFP

Among his favourite films are Gl a di at or a nd D e a d P o e t s Society. And on his travel wish list is a t rip to t he Au g u st a M asters gol f major. When it comes to investments, he prefer s op tions where h i s m o n ey g rows. H i s first big purc h a s e wh e n he earned some money was not a fancy car or watch, but a small flat. “At 20, I bought a tiny flat in Pretoria. I have sold it off now but was very proud of

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Contrary to popular belief, “everyone has the same opportunity to acquire wealth,” says self-made millionaire Steve Siebold. But not everyone seizes the opportunity. Cross check with these seven tips and find out if you’re doing all that it takes to set yourself up for a rich future.

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Study suggests that the rate for faking an orgasm in men is high — and the reasons are the same as that of women

AB de Villiers

The first investment

businessinsider.in

Anti-climax: Are you faking it? In their new paper in the Archives of Sexual B e h a v i o r, D a ny a Goodman, Omri Gi l l at h , a n d P a r n i a Haj-Mohamadi of the University of Kansas aim to explain that most former research about faked o r g a s m s fo c u s e d o n t he f re quency of t he act rat her t ha n f i ndi ng t he motivati ng factors behind it. To change this, the r e s e a r c h e r s c r e at e d a new scale called the P r etend i n g O r g a sm s Reasons Measu re, or PORM. They explained that there have been some past efforts to develop scales studying this issue, but they’ve been limited. For example, one such scale was only applicable to female subjects. To f i nd accu rate reasons, the researchers first solicited col-

“It’s never easy to lose,” De Villiers says. “But life is not all sunshine and roses. Hopefully there are more ups than downs in the future. The important thing is to learn from defeats.” De Villiers escapes from the pressures of cricket by spending time with his wife Danielle and toddler son Abraham. He also loves music. In 2010, he released an album with the South African singer Ampie du Preez. D a n iel le s h a r e s h i s p a s sion for mu sic. “W hen we t r ave l , w e t r y t o w at c h c o n certs,” De Villiers says during the c o nve r s at io n . “ We watched John Mayer live in Chicago. We’ve also seen Jason Mraz and Coldplay.” De Villiers has three guitars, one of them bought in India. Given a chance, he’d like to receive a lesson from Jimi Hendrix and Santana. But overall, it is the Bee Gees sound that he likes.

it. I always had a big interest in property. I had told my parents at age 15 that I wanted a house of my own. That’s how I spent my first moneys. I like to invest in things that grow in value.” Sensible boy, AB. Except on the crease, where he is a dangerous stuntman, hitting reverse sweeps, lap shots and reverse hooks.

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in.techradar.com

John McAfee plans to launch a smartphone which boasts such tight levels of secu rity t h a t i t ’s s t r e e t s ahead of the likes of the Blackphone. The security expert (who fou nded t he antivirus company — which is now a standalone fir m separate from Intel, incidentally) talked to Newsweek recently about the handset, which he said was the result of ‘enormous investment’. The John McAfee P rivacy Phone — someone certainly l i ke s u si n g t hei r own name in their creations — is an Android handset which will not just sport software security features, but also hardware measures. The handset will include a bank of switches on the rear of the device which allow the user to physically disconnect components such as the antennas for WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS, and also the battery, camera, and microphone. Mc A fe e not e d t h at t he phone would be prevented from connecting to a stingray or other IMSI-catcher device (used for surveillance and tapping into nearby mobile phones), and that it would contai n ‘a web sea rch anonymiser’. F u r t her secu rit y fe atures weren’t shared, and neither were any specs — these won’t be revealed until the week before its launch, which is expected to be later this year, as mentioned.

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“I think I have a natural hitting ability,” he says. “Quite a few players have inhe elevator doors part somewhere credible ball striking ability – Virat Kohli, David Warner – there are so many players high up in a plush Mumbai taking the game to the next level. It’s hotel. Hushed and perfunctory introductions a combination of self-belief, talent are made. Another door and hard work. It’s the [Malcolm Gladwell] 10,000 hour rule. That opens, then another. And there, in you need to do something for 10,000 an opulent suite, is AB de Villiers perched on a sofa. He seems to be hours to be really good at it. After fiddling with his luxury smart12, 13 years of playing, I’d like watch. Behind him is a huge window to think I have played cricket 10,000 hours. from which you can see the Arabian Sea, But there is blazing in the afternoon sun. “AB, did you connect when you tried?” always room the woman organising De Villiers’s mefor improvement.” dia interviews asks him. De Villiers plays “I did,” he says, sitting with his left knee folded. “You can log in with quite a few deseveral sports — like tennis vices.” and golf — and plays them well. AB almost always connects. On the field, Michael Jordan was like that too. But Jordan couldn’t come to the 33-year-old star of the South African and grip with tennis. De Villiers is Royal Challengers Bangalore teams is one of the best ball strikers, routinely crashing the asked if there is some game ball over stadium roofs. They call him Mr out there in which profi360 for his ability to play shots in all direcciency has eluded him. “I play all of them well,” De tions of the field. And that is why De Villiers Mr Villiers says. “[Though] does not worry about the leaner bats that batsmen will have to use from October 1. I’m not great at all of them. Bat sizes have been reduced to level I can be good at darts. If I throw darts 12 hours a day, I know I the playing field for bowlers, who, for will be very good in a year. It years, suffered as conditions and equipment favoured batsmen. depends on how much passion “I have played incredible knocks you have for the sport with the lightest of bats,” De Villiers and if you have Ampie a natural gift says. “My record-breaking hundred du Preez for it.” off 31 balls [in an ODI against West Indies in 2015] was with a very small bat. I don’t mind the limits on the equipment. [At Setbacks, the] End of the day, you still got to hit the ball music and off the middle.” And then comes the punchfamily line. “I know what makes me good, and it’s As good as De not a bat.” Villiers is, he is not immune to failure. South A self-assured player A f ric a, despite He aspires for humility, this versatile freak being an athletic, (he also keeps wickets). When asked what modern cricket nation, would make him Mr 360 off the field, De have yet to win an ICC troVilliers mentions the importance of keepphy (Champions Trophy, World T20 or ing his feet on the ground. But at the same 50-over World Cup). And in this year’s IPL, time, there is a quiet, justified cockiness Bangalore have misfired. about him. [email protected]

Want to make a fortune? Follow these seven tips that will help you make it to the rich list

DON’T BE CONTENT WITH A STEADY PAYCHECK Average people choose to get paid based on time — on a steady salary or hourly rate — while rich people choose to get paid based on results and are self-employed. “It’s not that there aren’t world-class performers who punch a time clock for a paycheck. But for most, this is the slowest path to prosperity, promoted as the safest,” said Siebold. “The great ones know selfemployment is the fastest road to wealth.” While the world-class continue starting businesses and building fortunes, “The masses almost guarantee themselves a life of financial mediocrity by staying in a job with a modest salary and yearly pay raises,” he added.

PUT EMPHASIS ON EARNING Another way to work smart? Increase

With a net worth of $31.1 billion, Mukesh Ambani is the richest person in India

Bill Gates is leading the world’s billionaires list since 2013 with a net worth of $86.4 billion

After donating shares worth $2 billion, Azim Premji’s net worth is $15.9 billion

your earnings, not just your savings. “The masses are so focused on clipping coupons and living frugally, they miss major opportunities,” said Siebold. There’s no need to abandon practical saving strategies. However, if you want to start thinking like the rich, stop worrying about running out of money and focus on how to make more. A common thread among millionaires is that they develop multiple streams of income and adopt smart savings habits.

A prototype of the phone

Security should be a priority for smartphone users due to the increasing vulnerability of devices to cybercriminals and state spying According to McAfee, [the phone] is not just hack proof but gives the user enormous power over his or her privacy and it is much ahead of the Blackphone or any other phone claiming to be secure. The John McAfee Privacy Phone (which will be released by McAfee’s firm MGT) will be priced at $1,100, which makes even Apple’s prices look cheap. That’s mainly because this is a phone aimed at business users who really need that extratight security — although welloff consumers who truly value privacy may also be interested, of course.

START INVESTING

Bet your bottom dollar

WORK SMART

According to financial adviser Ric Edelman, in order to ensure future wealth, you must equally work hard and smart. One way, he suggests, to do that is to invest your money in the stock market or a retirement fund. “You can do this without taking a huge amount of risk, without a lot of effort, and without spending a lot of time,” he said.

Pic: John_McAfee/Twitter

It contains a web search anonymiser, and switches to disconnect the battery, WiFi, Bluetooth, geolocation, camera and the microphone

Pics: Getty Images, Bloomberg, Thinkstock Photos/Getty Images

THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

One of the most effective ways to earn more money over time is to invest it, and the earlier you start, the better. You don’t have to be an expert about personal finance or use fancy economic jargon to start investing. You don’t have to come from an affluent family, and you don’t even have to earn a massive paycheck. Start by investing in your retirement savings or a low-cost target date fund and you’ll see huge returns in the long run.

PURSUE YOUR DREAMS If you want to be successful, you have to love what you do — that means pursuing your passion. Too many people make the mistake of chasing someone else’s dream — such as their parents’ — explains Thomas C Corley, who spent five years researching self-made millionaires. “When you pursue someone else’s dreams or goals, you may eventually become unhappy with your chosen profession,” he said. “Your performance and compensation will reflect it.”

STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE

DON’T BUY THINGS YOU SIMPLY CAN’T AFFORD If you live above your means, you won’t get rich. Even if you start earning more or get a hefty raise, don’t use that as a justification Sun Pharmaceuticals’ to give yourself a lifestyle Dilip Shanghvi’s net raise. worth is $13.6 billion

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is second on the world’s billionaires list with a net worth of $79 billion

If you want to build wealth, be successful, or get ahead in life, you’re going to have to get used to uncertainty or discomfort. Overcoming fear and taking calculated risks are the key elements to achieving success. “World class thinkers learn early on that becoming a millionaire isn’t easy and the need for comfort can be devastating. They learn to be comfortable while operating in a state of ongoing uncertainty,” said Siebold.

Pic: Getty Images

Eight books that make great conversation starters Done talking about the weather? Take your discussions into bolder territory with these interesting reads businessinsider.in

1

Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

In Better Than Before, published in 2015, Rubin helps readers figure out their “Tendency” — aka their typical approach to habits. Everyone, she says, falls into one of four categories: upholder, questioner, obliger, or rebel. Rubin also offers 21 strategies for developing better habits, each one tailored to different personality types.

Faster Better by 2Smarter Charles Duhigg

This 2016 book is the second bestseller Duhigg has published; the first was The Power of Habit in 2012. Duhigg, a New York Times journalist, explores the science of productivity from different angles: how to make an optimal to-do list, how Disney created the mega-hit Frozen; and what makes Google teams effective. The book is full of eye-opening stories that Duhigg dug up in his research, like how an airplane pilot prevented the plane from crashing by creating a “mental model”.

Unfinished Business by Anne3Marie Slaughter

This book stemmed from a viral Atlantic article titled, ‘Why Women Still Can't

community. Ericsson, a psychologist at Florida State University, draws on years of scientific research to argue that it’s about “deliberate practice”, a strategy that involves setting concrete goals and constantly pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. Other psychologists have found that deliberate practice does not, in fact, account for all the differences between experts and less adept performers. They say inherent ability might play some role as well.

Have it All’, which Slaughter published in 2012. Slaughter was the dean of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She subsequently served as the first female director of policy planning in the US State Department, under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In the book, published in 2 015, Slaughter argues that we undervalue certain contributions to society — like parenting and caregiving in general — and challenges conventional notions about what work and gender equality really mean.

6

Quiet by Susan Cain

Power of Meaning by Emily 4The Esfahani Smith

The Power of Meaning is a fleshed-out version of another viral Atlantic article, this one published by Esfahani Smith in 2013, titled, ‘There’s More to Life Than Being Happy’. The book draws on fields such as religion, philosophy, and psychology to support the idea that constantly chasing happiness isn’t necessarily the optimal route to happiness. If you think your conversation partner might be up for some more existential meanderings, consider discussing some of the research Smith cites in her book. For example, while parenting doesn't always make people happy,

it almost always adds meaning to people's lives. And while thinking about how your life could have turned out differently isn’t necessarily the most pleasant experience, it can make you appreciate the significance of past events.

Peak by Anders Ericsson and 5Robert Pool

The topic that Ericsson and Pool explore in Peak — how to become an expert at anything, from chess to golf to writing — is hugely controversial within the scientific

After Cain published her bestselling book Quiet in 2012, she sparked a national conversation about what it means to be an introvert — and how American society tends to undervalue the contributions introverts can make. Today, Cain, who is a self-proclaimed introvert, runs an organisation called Quiet Revolution, which offers businesses, parents, and educators information about how to help introverts succeed. Through research and anecdotal evidence, Quiet challenges common misconceptions about introverts and what they can achieve at work and in their personal lives. She suggests, for example, that introverts can be just as — if not more — effective in leadership positions than extroverts.

7Stiff by Mary Roach

You don’t have to be a science nerd to be into Roach, the author of multiple books about topics including digestion, sex, and war. In Stiff, published in 2003, Roach tackles the topic of cadavers. She explores all the ways dead bodies have been used throughout history, like testing new forms of surgery. It’s a funny, easy-to-read take on a topic that most people probably don’t give much thought to.

Predictably Irrational by Dan 8Ariely

Ariely, a professor at Duke University, is one of the world’s leading behavioural economists. He’s published multiple books in which he makes psychological research accessible and exciting. Predictably Irrational, published in 2009, gives readers a glimpse into the weirdness of human behaviour. Here’s one of the most thought-provoking examples: We consider an item’s relative price when figuring out how much it’s worth. Ariely came across an old magazine ad featuring three subscription levels: $59 for online only, $159 for print only, and $159 for online and print. He figured out that the option to pay $159 for print only existed so that it made the option to pay $159 for online and print look more enticing than it would if it was just paired with the $59 option.

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AN ECSTASY

RAMEZ NAAM, US scientist

Boys Don’t Cry? IPS officer Charu Nigam sheds a tear at work

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), since its inception, has used a certain set of tools to enhance its political prospects. These include roadside activism, press conferences with revelations, attacking powerful figures in other parties and finally, spreading conspiracy theories such as the one about ‘rigged EVMs’. All over the world, there is a market for conspiracies. A significant chunk of the population likes to believe the unbelievable. This happens across the spectrum of political ideologies. Right wing conspiracy lovers like to believe Muslims are conspiring to overtake the Hindu population, probably getting together at Eid to discuss how they can reproduce fast. The right wing also like to think liberals control the media, where ‘Lutyens Delhi’ types get together over gin and tonic and say cheers while determining how to sabotage Modi’s good work through slanted coverage. Of course, the left wing loves its conspiracies too. Many of its adherents believe it is actually Adani and Ambani who control the media, and call every TV group editor regularly, telling them what to show at prime time that night. They also like to believe that RSS controls the government, with the RSS chief calling the PM and telling him to make the country Hindu or lose his job. Psychologists offer several reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories even when there may be no evidence to prove them, and when some of them are downright loony. Researchers have found that conspiracy theory lovers are not limited to the fringe but could be a third, or even half the population. Theories such as President Obama not being American (despite US birth certificates), or 9/11 being an inside job, or climate change being fake have found enough takers even in the most advanced nation on earth.

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Lennonism Lives The hard right is not winning everywhere, in France and elsewhere liberals are fighting back Gautam Adhikari

Washington: Last Monday, my wife and i went with friends to the Kennedy Center to watch ‘Come Together: A Celebration of John Lennon’. A star-sprinkled show, it understandably couldn’t cover the gamut of Lennon’s genius in one short evening. But, even as the tributes rolled out in speech and music, my mind floated every now and then to the world outside. Inside, we clapped hands and sang along in our nosebleed seats while the glitterati down in the orchestra section didn’t just rattle their jewellery, to cite Lennon’s memorable words, they danced in the aisles. All the speakers and the host, Hollywood star David Duchovny, stressed the power of art to change the world and the lasting impact of Lennon’s mind-altering music on our times. Outside, a few blocks away in the White House sat the arguably most powerful man on earth, Donald Trump, whose views are a universe across from Lennon’s. His impact on the world can also bring about change, though in a diametrically different way. His tenure thus far as president has brought the United States close to policy paralysis and possibly a constitutional crisis. If we let our minds wander, however, across the ocean to France we see hope that Trumpism and other varieties of hard-right nationalism can be kept at bay. The victory of Emmanuel Macron, a ‘radical centrist’, in the French presidential election was a check on the globally surging intolerant nationalism of the far right. But to me it says: Lennonism lives. Let me explain. At the Kennedy Center, Duchovny went into a gratuitous ramble about Team John and Team Paul referring to the cliched contest between fans of Lennon and those of Paul McCartney. He said McCartney attracted older and moderate folk while Lennon fans were young and rebellious. Unfortunately, that’s part of the cliche. Leaving McCartney’s genius aside for this discussion, Lennon as rebel is only part of his story. His brilliance was quite nuanced. Take the lyrics of two songs from Lennon’s repertoire. One is his futuristic anthem ‘Imagine’ which offers a vision of a world without national boundaries and without religion in which a brotherhood of man can thrive. He knows he is a dreamer but not the only one. That view is distinctly one of a tolerant, secular humanist. It’s not the view of a Trump or a Marine Le Pen or of cultural nationalists anywhere. It’s in fact the view of an accommodating, pro-European, secular centrist like Macron and all those of us who believe in liberal democratic pluralism. ‘Imagine’ doesn’t advocate rebellion; it calls for tolerance and inclusion. Macron’s resounding victory, and hopefully a victory before long for pluralists against cultural nationalists or advocates of ‘leitkultur’ in Germany, will stem the tide of extreme nationalism. That’s not to claim, however, that hard right nationalism is on the run. Ghia Nodia, an eminent Georgian intellectual, writes in the April issue of the Journal of Democracy that those of us who imagine an imminent demise of nationalism and the advent of a globalised era may be misunderstanding nationalism’s appeal, even misreading its history. Nationalism, right-wing and left-wing, is likely to remain a powerful political force in the foreseeable future. If ‘Imagine’ is an appeal against the exclusivity and intolerance of the hard right, the lyrics of Lennon’s ‘Revolution’ warn against the extremism and violence of the hard left. You say you want a revolution, yes, he knows you want to change the world; but when you talk about destruction you can count him out, says Lennon. To those who want a revolution but offer no realistic alternative to replace an imperfect democratic system, he says: “You say you got a real solution, well, you know, we’d all love to see the plan.” And if you want money for people who hate, “All I can tell you is brother you have to wait.” Such was Lennon’s nuanced take on life. So, while you might think all you need is love or you want to give peace a chance, a day in the life can be complex, Lennon knew.

A conspiracy theory, according to political scientists Uscinski and Parent, is defined by four characteristics: it is always about “(1) a group (2) acting in secret (3) to alter institutions, usurp power, hide truth, or gain utility (4) at the expense of the common good.” Since there is a lot in the modern world we do not understand, and some phenomena (say a political result) go against our preferences or even scare us, we tend to buy in to theories which do not make any sense. Take AAP. Its famous line “sab mile hue hain ji” (everyone is in it together sir) smacks of the conspiracy theory mode. We also had “nobody is letting AAP work in Delhi” and “Adani-Ambani control the government.” These theories did have takers, but unfortunately not enough to make AAP continue to win elections. When AAP began to lose it came up with its latest – “the EVMs are rigged.” It gave a demo of an EVM that can be

It is dangerous if we decide policy, or damage the credibility of important institutions such as the Election Commission, based simply on conspiracy theories. Every time you are presented with a conspiracy theory, stop and think first rigged, ironically with an EVM it had made itself. The demo was rigged to make it look like rigging, get it? Of course the demo didn’t prove anything, as it wasn’t an EC approved machine. Also, it didn’t show how large scale rigging can happen. We have a million polling booths in India. The machines don’t talk to each other. Hence, to rig these

machines, a voter in each booth will have to be assigned to manipulate the machines. If this is indeed happening on a large scale, how come nobody has ever come out and spoken about it? Presumably millions of BJP agents, backed by the Election Commission, are working silently on a grand hacking plan. But that doesn’t explain how AAP won 67 out of 70 seats in Delhi in 2015, or how BJP lost Punjab or Bihar. It also doesn’t explain how election results are largely in line with what people predict or analyse given the mood of the nation. And the demand to go back to paper ballots does not address the question: what will we do when paper ballots are rigged? Surely someone who can rig a million EVMs can also rig a paper election, isn’t it? Of course, such logical arguments are pointless for conspiracy theory lovers. On a quick Twitter poll on my page, 64% people believed Indian elections are fair and EVMs are not hacked. However, 21% people believe they are hacked, and another 15% are not sure. For such people, no logic will work. We can come up with paper trails in all constituencies to assuage fears (as is being planned as well), but even that will have limited effect. Unfortunately, the support AAP enjoys on such theories will not be enough for AAP to sail through. Performance, believe it or not, has begun to matter in Indian politics and right now AAP doesn’t seem to come across as a party that can perform. For us as individuals, we should be wary of theories that can’t be proven or are unlikely to be true. It is one thing to believe in aliens, as that is somewhat harmless. However, it is dangerous if we decide policy, or damage the credibility of important institutions such as the Election Commission, based simply on conspiracy theories. Every time you are presented with a conspiracy theory, stop and think first. Now did you know i lace the pages of my books with drugs, which is the reason people keep on coming to read them?

Why India shouldn’t sign on to more free trade agreements, except on really favourable terms Ajay Srivastava

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Imposing high import duties was the most repeated poll promise of President Donald Trump. A 45% import duty on products from China would reduce the trade deficit, promote manufacturing and create jobs in the US, Trump argued. But while team Trump has taken action against H1B visas and the like, one might wonder why nothing tangible has been done on the import duty issue so far. The answer is straightforward: the US has already surrendered its flexibility to increase import duty at the WTO. Any duty increase now will fall foul of WTO commitments. Water shortage is the most fundamental trade policy problem faced by the Trump administration. Water is a standard WTO term that signifies the flexibility available with the countries to increase import duty on a product. It is the difference between bound and applied duty of a product. Bound duty can be understood as the ceiling duty, crossing which would violate WTO commitments. So, if the

bound duty for a product is 40% and applied duty is 10%, water will be 30% and the country has flexibility to raise the applied duty from 10% to 40%. Higher the water, greater the flexibility available to a country to raise duty. Now, for the US, the water or the difference between bound and applied duty is less than 1% on most items. The EU, Japan, and most other developed countries have less than 2% water. China, a late entrant at the WTO, is the

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verything seems to get recorded these days. So when IPS officer Charu Nigam and BJP MLA from Gorakhpur Radha Mohan Das Agarwal got into a faceoff there this week, it too has made for a dramatic viral video. He is heard warning her against crossing limits, telling her to shut up, insisting he would only speak to her superior. She says she is also an officer. This could have been just another case of a politician browbeating a police officer or a man putting a woman in “her place”. Except, Nigam is also seen wiping a tear in the video. And this turned the conversation to the question of how a woman police officer so “weak” as to cry in public could do the “strong” work of maintaining law and order. Indeed the Department of Masculinity decrees that yelling and bullying are okay but crying is inappropriate at work. What it needs, though, is extensive reeducation. As Nigam herself has said, don’t mistake tears for weakness. That’s just as blind and bananas as the arrogance which demands that the woman police officer be invisible. The socialisation of men against “feminine” emotions is quite unhealthful for society. For women who feel embarrassed or defeated after shedding a tear or two at work, Gloria Steinem has great advice. Say, “This is how I get angry. I am crying because I’m angry. Because I am crying, I will live longer than you.”

Chad Crowe

Chetan Bhagat

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or the second time in seven years, India is on the threshold of introducing its first genetically modified food crop. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the environment ministry’s top technical body to examine safety of GM crops, recommended this week commercialisation of mustard. The final call is with the government. Given NDA’s promise of doubling farmers’ income as well as India’s dependence on import of edible oil, it must go with the recommendation. GM mustard, developed by a Delhi University team, has been through extensive safety trials. Last year, the entire dossier of safety studies submitted by the Delhi University team was placed in public domain for review. Given the sensitivity of the issue, the 26-member GEAC has gone the extra mile. It made sense as Bt Brinjal which was cleared by GEAC in 2010 was held back by the previous government, following a sustained campaign against it by groups opposed to the introduction of GM food. The government’s immediate challenge will be to deal with an ongoing Supreme Court hearing on the veracity of safety tests for mustard. Last year, government had told the apex court it would wait for court’s approval. Mustard is a winter crop which gives the government a window to prepare the ground for its introduction. The key to the introduction of GM mustard is NDA’s willingness to withstand pressure from multiple lobby groups, including Sangh Parivar elements. Beyond following safety protocols and being transparent there is nothing more that can be done on the regulatory side. It is important to keep in mind that Indian agriculture is in dire need of an increase in yields and should therefore be open to introducing new technologies. That’s why the government mustn’t succumb to ideological lobbying.

AAP’s argument on rigged voting machines is a classic instance of this political tactic

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Permit genetically modified mustard cultivation

THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

The Conspiracy Theory Itch

A thought for today Every major scientific evaluation of GMO technology has concluded that GMOs are safe for human consumption and are a benefit to the environment

Go With GM

OF IDEAS

China, a late entrant at the WTO, is the only developing country forced by the US to have an average of 0.1% water, or the difference between bound and applied duties

only developing country forced by the US to have an average of 0.1% water. Most developing countries, however, retain more water. For example, water is more than 30% for India on most industrial products. The number of products on which a country notifies

bound duties is called the binding coverage. The more products under binding coverage, the less flexibility there is on increasing duty. India has bound only 75% of tariff lines. For the remaining lines, it can raise tariffs to any level without violating WTO commitments. Its water problem made the Trump administration realise that it cannot impose high duties within the WTO framework. So an alternate strategy of bypassing the WTO if its rulings do not suit US interests is mooted. However, this would force other countries to do the same. Even though Trump blames China, Mexico, and South

Korea for the large US trade deficit and loss of jobs, business realities may force team Trump to change its stand again. The US consumer is critically dependent on China for the supply of most daily use products. Most Chinese goods will be cheaper even after the imposition of 45% tariffs because of high American wages. Duty increase will not lead to local manufacturing. Till last year, it looked almost certain that the three mega free trade agreements (FTAs) under negotiation would gradually morph into WTO-like institutions. With the US withdrawal under Trump two of these, the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) and

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the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are already dead. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) remains the only remaining mega FTA under negotiation. India is a high water country while China and Japan, the major RCEP countries, are low water countries. So today India can increase import duty on a product without violating WTO commitments, but China or Japan cannot. Signing of an FTA will take away our flexibility to raise duties on imports from these countries. This is because the import duties once reduced under an FTA cannot be increased, even if they are below the bound rates. Our other FTA partners like EU and Switzerland are also low water countries. In the coming months, we can expect the US to stop many imports on some pretext such as labour law violation and pressurise countries to reduce duties on products of interest to the US. For most developing countries, this may be the time to rejoice at the water advantage they have and not squander it by signing FTAs, unless quantifiable benefits are available. The writer is from the Indian Trade Service. Views are personal

Sacredspace Active Contemplation Those who are more adapted to active life can prepare for contemplation in the practice of active life, while those more adapted to contemplative life can turn to active work to become more apt for contemplation. St Thomas Aquinas

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Tantra As A Path To Enlightenment meditation techniques. Devi is the creative energy permeating the Universe antra literally means “to weave”. In and her nature is power, strength, a way, it implies “interweaving of and might. Bhairava is the infinite traditions and teachings as consciousness that embraces her. threads” into a text, technique or Spirituality and religion are mainly practice. On many spiritual and religious associated with the path of renunciation paths we encounter a choice: sexuality or and suffering and embrace many methods spirituality. Tantra gives a different including meditation, yoga, prayer, invitation: choose both simultaneously devotion and penance. These and bring the two together to create focus more on detachment from wholeness and fullness in your life. the materialistic world. The Tantra also provides methods and tantric approach is the path of techniques to attain enlightenment. As a transformation of our desires technique to get enlightened, tantra has into divine bliss. gained ground in Hinduism, Buddhism Tantra utilises all mundane and to some extent in Jainism also. Three things including breathing, major streams of influence over time have tasting, sleeping and even been Kashmir Shaivism, Tibetan tantra making love, for realising our and Taoism. Kashmir Shaivism is often nature. Yantras, mantras and thought of as the true root of tantra. mudras (postures), are used for In Kashmir Shaivism, Vigyan preparation and practice of tantra Bhairav Tantra, a popular scripture, is sadhana on the path of liberation. the conversation between Devi and Tantra uses deep awareness as one of Bhairava, containing 112 tantric its methods. Even sexual activity ought Kamal Jain

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to be engaged with whole awareness and meditatively, and continued practice would liberate one from it over a period of time and raise one’s base energy connected to swadhishthana chakra to a higher level of consciousness related to other chakras. Swadhishthana chakra is connected to sex energy and physical pleasures. These chakras are seven spinning whirlpools of energy points located along the spine. The aim of tantra is to reach the highest one, that is, the Sahasrara for enlightenment. Tantra is one of the rare spiritual paths that does not leave sexuality out but teaches that sexuality also can be a door to personal illumination. Awareness is the important thing during the practice. Over a period of time, tantra earned a bad name as it has been reduced to a ritualised form of sex in which tantric bliss is confused with sensual and

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orgasmic pleasure. Tantra is really about expanding our life’s inner horizon, not about narrowing it down to the level of salaciousness; it is not about equating the lust for multiple orgasms with spiritual bliss. Vajranatha has divided all teachings and practices of Buddhism into triyana, the three vehicles to enlightenment. To understand the difference between them, the example of deadly poison is used. When a Hinayana practitioner encounters on his path the poison of passions, he simply avoids contact with it, so he renounces worldly life and has no contact with pleasures. A Mahayana practitioner does not avoid contact with the poison, because he has the antidote in the form of meditation. A Vajrayana practitioner while encountering the poison does not avoid it, nor apply the antidote as he is not afraid of contact with that poison, because he knows how to transform energy through tantric sadhanas and uses it to obtain spiritual attainment.

TIMES BUSINESS THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI | SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

Yes Bank tanks 6% as RBI spots NPA under-reporting Central Bank Pegs FY16 Figure At 5% Of Loans, Not 0.8%

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad: Robust business from emerging markets and a reduction in expenses helped citybased pharma giant Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) post a 175% jump in net profit at Rs 338 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31. But a lack of new product approvals in the US market proved to be a drag on its overall FY17 performance, pulling down the yearly net profit by 39% to Rs 1,292 crore. Quarterwise, the 175% rise was over a net profit of Rs 123 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY16, and came despite an over 5% drop in total revenues

Q4 NET UP 175% during the quarter to Rs 3,499 crore from Rs 3,695 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. On a yearly basis, DRL’s profit plunged 39% from Rs 2,131 crore in FY16 on a 9% drop in total revenues to Rs 13,866 crore from Rs 15,248 crore in FY16. Commenting on the results, DRL co-chairman and CEO G V Prasad said, “FY17 has been a challenging year due to lack of new product approvals for the US market.” Prasad told mediapersons that the company is working on addressing the USFDA issues at its two units — Duvvada at Visakhapatnam and plant-3 at Bachupally in Hyderabad.

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Yes Bank said there’s divergence of Rs 4,177cr between the value of loans it had recognised as NPAs in FY16 and what RBI later identified Broking house reports point out that, according to RBI, there are similar differences at Axis Bank (NPAs at 4.5% instead of reported 1.78%) and ICICI Bank (7% and not 5.85%) too

ICICI Bank was down 1.2% at Rs 297. Stock market players said that since ICICI Bank and Axis Bank had disclosed these divergences in their analyst meets, the slide in their stock prices were not as severe as for Yes Bank. Explaining the divergence, Yes Bank said the outstanding gross NPA as of March 2017 includes one borrower with an exposure of just under Rs 912 crore, which is expected to be recovered in the

near term and there is no carry forward impact of the divergences that it has published. The bank has already made provisions of Rs 228 crore in respect of this account. “After duly taking into account provision impact of the divergences, the bank’s credit cost was 53 basis points (100bps = 1 percentage point) for FY17 and 19 bps for Q4F417,” it said. Credit cost refers to the percentage reduction in the bank’s margins

on account of defaults. The RBI’s new norms require that banks publish in their balance sheet differences, if any, between the bank’s bad loan numbers and the value of loans that RBI feels are in default. While banks usually end up providing for loans subsequently identified by the RBI, the divergence is a pointer to whether the bank’s provisions are in line with the RBI’s thinking. Banking analysts say investors will now await for the RBI’s audit results for banks to have a clear idea about the divergences between what the central bank reports and what the banks have declared. “Narrowing of these divergences will be key for contraction in their valuation gap to the private consumer banks,” the Credit Suisse report said. A report by Morgan Stanley, also on Yes Bank’s NPA disclosure, said investors will closely track this data at all banks, and “would also be concerned about potential divergence in F17 results as well (will be disclosed a year later)”.

WPI gets revised base year, new food index TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The government on Friday revised the wholesale price index (WPI) by shifting to a new base year of 2011-12 from 2004-05 and added a new WPI food index to capture the rate of inflation in food items. Revision of macroeconomic data is undertaken to reflect changes in the economy. The WPI series had undergone six revisions in the past. Apart from a new base year, the revision also includes change in the basket of commodities and assigning of new weights. Under the revamped data series, the number of items have gone up to 697 from 676. The data now has 199 new items and 146 items have been deleted and has quotations from 8,331 sources compared with 5.482 in the old series. In the new WPI series, prices used for compilation do not include indirect taxes in order to remove the impact of fiscal policy. This is in line with international practices and moves the WPI closer to the producer price index. Seasonality of fruits and vegetables has been updated to account for more months as these are now available for longer duration.

Output growth jumps from 0.7% to 5% after IIP revamp New Delhi: The Central Statistics Office (CSO) revamped the index of industrial production on Friday by shifting to a new base year, deleting items such as calculators, gutka and colour picture tubes, and inducting new items to better reflect changes in the industrial sector over the years. The base year was revised from 2004-05 to 2011-12. As a result, industrial output growth in 2016-17 rose a healthy 5% compared with 0.7% under the 2004-05 base year. In March, industrial output rose 2.7%, slower than the 5.5% growth posted in March 2016. As part of the overhaul of industrial output data, the new series has 809 items in the manufacturing sector. The CSO has added 149 new items such as steroids and hormonal preparations, cement clinkers, surgical accessories, prefabricated concrete blocks and refined palm oil while 124 products such as calculators, colour TV picture tubes and gutka have been deleted from the 2004-05 series, which had 620 items. To reflect the increasing significance of electricity generation from renewable sources, the statistics office has added data from this segment. A new category of infrastructure and construction goods has been added to the overall industrial data. The coverage of the mining sector has also undergone a change. Economists said the new series reflects the changes in the economy over the years. “This is much more realistic and more or less closer to the new GDP data,” Pronob Sen, former chief statistician said. But he called for faster revision to better capture the changes in the economy. TNN

Around 173 new items have been added under the manufactured products category, while 135 items have been dropped. Retail inflation slowed to its lowest level in five years in April, raising expectations of an interest rate cut by RBI. Inflation as measured by CPI rose 3% in April, slower than previous month’s 3.9%.

The government has also set up a technical review committee, which will ensure that the product mix keeps pace with changing structure of the economy. Under primary articles, new vegetables and fruits such as radish, carrot, cucumber, bitter gourd, mosambi, pomegranate, jack fruit, pear have been added.

ITAT to prioritise pending tax cases of salaried, senior citizens [email protected]

Mumbai: The Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) may soon give priority to hearings where the cases pertain to salaried taxpayers, senior citizens or non residents, provided these individuals do not have any income from business or profession. Appeals filed by or against individuals over 80 years, will also be given a priority in all cases, irrespective of their nature of income. Few other categories of taxpayers are also eligible for an ‘out-ofturn’ hearing (see graphic). An application requesting for an out-of-turn hearing can be made by the eligible taxpayer (irrespective of whether he has filed the appeal or is responding to the appeal filed with the ITAT by the I-T department) with the ITAT’s president, vice-president or senior member. The ITAT may also, of its own accord, take up appeals for hearing on an out-of-turn basis, if considered expedient and necessary. These provisions are part of the draft rules released on

EASING PAIN FOR LITIGANTS PRIORITY HEARING FOR... hCharitable institutions

HIGHLIGHTS h E-filing of appeals on the cards h Orders to be uploaded within 24 hours h Text alerts of orders and adjournments h Limiting number of adjournments to 5

Thursday by a committee that was set up to revisit the existing ITAT rules, which date back to 1963. “Normally, after having filed an appeal, it takes two years for the case to be heard by the ITAT. The proposal to introduce priority hearing, if implemented, will be very helpful especially to senior citizens, salaried and also charitable trusts,” says Gautam Nayak, tax partner, CNK & Associates. The ITAT, which is part of the law ministry, adjudicates I-T disputes and has the final say on matters relating to

Manipal to buy TTK’s stake in Cigna Health Boby Kurian & Mayur Shetty

covered in the taxpayer’s own case earlier by the ITAT

hSenior citizens, salaried taxpayers, nonresidents (provided they don’t earn business or professional income)

hCases where the disputed issue has been dealt with by ITAT, courts

hIndividuals above 80 years

hAppeals against revision or tax withholding orders

hCases where taxpayer has passed away

hIf undue hardship will be caused to the litigant by waiting for disposal of the matter

hCases where the disputed issue has been

facts. It is open to both I-T officials and taxpayers to approach the ITAT against an order by the I-T Appellate Commissioners. Given this, ITAT is a crucial institution for taxpayers to seek judicial remedy. The committee — chaired by Sunil K Yadav, R S Syal, vice-president (ITAT), and Pramod Kumar (ITAT member) — has looked into various aspects during the course of hearing, right from priority hearing, adjournments, e-filing of appeals, submission of additional evidence to digital updates for litigants.

Public can send their comments up to June 12. Keeping abreast of advancements in technology, draft rules provide that orders should be uploaded on the official website within 24 hours of their pronouncement, which will usher in better transparency. Taxpayers can opt to receive orders by email and get text alerts on phones about adjournments and pronouncement of orders. For full report, log on to www.timesofindia.com

SBI Life’s IPO for `6.5k cr may be largest in 7 years

TNN

Mumbai: The billionaire Ranjan Pai-spearheaded Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) is in advanced stages of a deal to replace TTK group in Cigna TTK Health Insurance, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Manipal will be the fourth healthcare group to get into health insurance. Apollo, Max and Religare were among the early promoters of stand-alone health insurance companies. Star Health and Aditya Birla Health are the only companies that do not have a healthcare business among the stand-alone health insurance companies. Manipal has been eyeing a health insurance for a while, and the deal to pick up TTK promoters’ majority stake fits in with stated plans to build an integrated healthcare services portfolio. Manipal Health Enterprises runs a chain of hospitals with about 5,000 beds to be among the top-five in the sector. When contacted, MEMG declined to comment. Bloomfield-based Cigna holds 26% in the joint venture, while the rest is with the Indian promoter TTK group. Although Cigna is a minority shareholder, the joint venture was hitherto run by the US insurer. The CEO Sandeep Patel is from Cigna. Cigna’s business is relatively small, but it is among the fastest growing and has recorded 54% growth in premium in FY17. The health insurer has been working on developing a series of bancassurance partnerships and has already tied up with Bank of Maharashtra and Andhra Bank for distribution. Cigna TTK recorded a loss of Rs 109 crore for the nine months ended December 31.

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DRL’s FY17 net drops by 39% on fewer US approvals

YES BANK Intra-day on BSE (`)

AXIS BANK Intra-day on BSE (`)

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Mumbai: Yes Bank stock tanked 6% on Friday after the lender revealed a divergence of Rs 4,177 crore between the value of loans it had recognised as nonperforming assets (NPAs) for the fiscal 2016 and what the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) later identified as default. In percentage terms, the divergence is substantial: As against the 0.76% NPA reported by Yes Bank in FY16, the RBI audit pegged it at 5% of loans. Broking house reports pointed out that along with Yes Bank, there was substantial divergence in NPAs reported by Axis Bank and ICICI Bank, too. “As per the RBI, at Axis Bank, NPAs were higher at 4.5% of loans (against 1.78% reported) and at ICICI Bank they were at 7% (5.85%). Detailed disclosures of NPAs will be available in their annual reports,” a report by Credit Suisse noted. These large divergences in NPAs were revealed in the RBI’s audit of these banks. In Friday’s relatively weak market, the Axis Bank stock lost 2.8% at Rs 503 while

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

MASAYOSHI SON-LED SOFTBANK TO INVEST $5BN IN CHINA RIDE-HAILING FIRM DIDI CHUXING

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SERGIO MARCHIONNE-LED FIAT CHRYSLER RECALLS 1.25M TRUCKS TO ADDRESS SOFTWARE ERROR

12% Stake Sale Could Value Insurer At Over `50,000Cr TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai/Mumbai: The initial public offer (IPO) for SBI Life Insurance, which aims to garner up to Rs 6,500 crore, could become the largest such offer in the country in almost seven years. On Friday, State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest bank, said it was in the process of appointing eight merchant bankers for SBI Life’s IPO in which its promoters — SBI and European insurance major Cardiff — are together selling 12% stake. This could value the life insurer at more than Rs 50,000 crore (close to $8 billion). In October 2010, PSU major Coal India had mobilised Rs 15,400 crore through its IPO, which is still the largest such offer in the country. Prior to that, Reliance Power had mobilised about Rs 11,700 crore when it went public in January 2008. Once listed, SBI Life would be the second listed life insurer in India. Last September, ICICI Prudential Life went public through a Rs 6,057-crore offer. SBI Life is expected to hire Axis Bank, ICICI Securities, Citigroup, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Kotak, SBI Capital Markets and JM Financial to handle the offer. Given that SBI Life is not seeking to raise fresh capital, the IPO will comprise an offer for sale of shares from SBI and Cardiff. The executive committee of the board approved a decision whereby SBI will divest around 8% of its hol-

ding, while Cardiff will sell around 4%. In December 2016, the bank had sold a 3.9% stake in the insurance company to private equity firm KKR and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings for Rs 1,800 crore, valuing the life insurer at Rs 46,000 crore. Following the stake sale to the private equity investors, SBI holds 70.1% while BNP Paribas holds 26%.

EIGHT MANAGERS The IPO will be an offer for sale of shares from SBI and Cardiff as the insurer does not plan to raise fresh capital The board has cleared a plan for SBI to divest around 8% of its holding, while the other promoter Cardiff will sell about 4% SBI is looking at roping in 8 merchant bankers for handling the planned SBI Life IPO

The private life insurer had posted a net profit of Rs 955 crore for FY17 — a jump of 11% over Rs 861 crore in FY16. According to numbers released by IRDAI, SBI Life has reported new business premium of Rs 10,145 crore for FY17 — up 42% from Rs 7,106 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. This gives the company a market share of 20% among private life insurers and a 6% overall share. Since BNP Paribas has not exercised its option to increase stake, the headroom available for foreign shareholders can now be used to market the issue to foreign institutional investors.

NTPC floats `2,000-crore masala bond issue on LSE [email protected]

London: Curries have always found favour in the UK. It seems that preference is now extending to all things ‘masala’ — or more precisely, masala bonds. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) saw listing of these bonds worth Rs 7,000 crore in two days. If it was surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari launching Rs 5,000 crore worth of NHAI bonds on Thursday, it was power, coal, renewable energy minister Piyush Goyal’s turn on Friday to kick off trading of papers worth Rs 2,000 crore from India’s biggest generation utility, NTPC. Masala bonds are rupee-denominated papers issued by Indian corporates in overseas markets to raise funds. Unlike foreign currency-denominated bonds, where the borrower takes the currency risk, investors bear the risk in case of masala bonds. The bond floats from NTPC and NHAI have raised the total offering by Indian corporates in the UK market to $6 billion, LSE chief executive Nikhil Rathi told TOI. “India is moving out of the old ways and moving into transparency, equal opportunity for all... Our effort is to create an environment where it makes it easier for everyone to work and do business,” Goyal told investors at a Ficci roundtable before launching the NTPC bond issue. “We are making sure that India doesn’t settle for secondbest and leapfrogs with best technology available in the world. So, when you look at India, look at the scale... in the long run rupee will be a currency with most stable exchange rate. We are on growth path and we want you to be our partner in that growth,” Goyal said.

IMF, Eurozone say need more time on Greek debt relief deal Bari (Italy): The International Monetary Fund and Eurozone government lenders need more time to reach an agreement on debt relief for Greece because the Eurozone is still not sufficiently clear in its intentions, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said on Friday. Top Eurozone officials and Lagarde met on Friday on the sidelines of a G7 finance ministers meeting in the Italian port city of Bari to discuss debt relief which the Eurogroup of Eurozone finance ministers promised in May 2016, under strict conditions. “We will carry on working on this debt relief package. There is not enough clarity yet. Our European partners need to be more specific in terms of debt relief which is an imperative,” Lagarde told reporters on entering the G7 talks. The Fund has made debt relief for Greece a condition for its participation in the latest bailout for Athens, the third one since 2010. Several Eurozone governments, led by Berlin, want the IMF to participate for credibility reasons even though they disagree with the need for debt relief. German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, also at the meeting in Bari, asked if

“We will carry on working on this debt relief package. There is not enough clarity yet. Our European partners need to be more specific in terms of debt relief which is an imperative,” says Christine Lagarde he would be prepared to ease the conditions for debt relief, said: “We are prepared to stick to what we have agreed in May 2016. That is the basis on which we are working ... I am still in favour of getting a solution, at least a political solution, in the Eurogroup on the 22nd of May.” IMF WANTS DEBT RELIEF DETAILS The IMF believes that debt relief, or at least a clear promise of it now, is needed to restore investor confidence in Greece, especially if the country, which has public debt of 180% of GDP, is to return to market financing next year. But Germany and other northern European countries say that if Greece has a high primary surplus long enough, it may not need any further debt relief, especially that the existing very cheap

Eurozone loans are already saving the country’s government eight billion euros a year, or 4.5% of GDP. The IMF and the Eurozone are therefore debating for how many years Athens is to keep the primary surplus at 3.5% of GDP, with views ranging from 2-3 years to 10 years — with the upper figure seen as completely unrealistic by the IMF. Berlin is wary of committing to debt relief upfront, fearing it would leave lenders with no leverage over the Greek government which has often failed to deliver on promised reforms in the past. Germany, which faces elections in September, also believes that a decision on debt should only be taken at the end of the bailout in 2018, when the latest economic data is known. But the IMF wants more

details now. For example it wants to know by how many years the euro zone could extend Greek loan maturities, even if described only as a possible range. “Debt relief measures don't have to be calibrated to the last decimal or delivered before the end of the programme,” the IMF official said. But promises would have to be quantified with detail going “well beyond” measures previously offered. “They need to have numbers on what are the potential measures, to show that these potential measures really entail a game changer as far as debt is concerned,” the official said. Waiting until 2018 for the latest numbers, as Germany wants, will not change the need for debt relief, the official said. “However the world changes, I can assure you the IMF debt sustainability analysis in 12 months will not show that debt relief is not needed. For sure debt relief is needed,” he said.Officials said however both the Eurozone and the IMF were determined to reach a deal by May 22 and were constructive in their discussions, going beyond a mere restating of positions, even though a lot more work had to be done to reach a deal. REUTERS

Deficit supply of rubber in Q4: ANRPC TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kochi: World supply during January to April 2017 was short of demand by 466,000 tonnes, according to preliminary estimates, said Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC). “Despite a deficit supply, natural rubber prices have moved along a falling trajectory from February 2017 onwards largely due to factors external to the sector. Crude oil prices sharply fell from February 2017 due to rising US shale gas output and reported failure in the effective implementation of the production curtailment pro-

Despite a deficit supply, natural rubber prices have fallen from Feb 2017 onwards largely due to low crude oil prices gramme agreed among OPEC members and major non-OPEC oil producing countries. Low crude oil prices keep sentiments down at Shanghai rubber futures and physical markets often follow suit,” said the report from Nguyen Ngoc Bich, secretary-general, ANRPC. “World supply, including ANRPC member countries

and non-ANRPC countries, in 2017 is anticipated at 12.771 million tonnes, up 5.7% from the previous year. World demand in 2017 is anticipated at 12.817 million tonnes, up 1.8% from the previous year. The anticipated 5.7% rise in supply in 2017 is after a 1.4% fall recorded in the previous year (2016) and 0.5% average annual fall recorded during the three years from 2014 to 2016. But, the anticipated 1.8% rise in demand in 2017 is over and above a 3.5% increase in the previous year (2016) and 2.8% average annual increase recorded from 2014 to 2016,” said the report ‘Natu-

ral Rubber Trends and Statistics’ from ANRPC. “Total mature area in ANRPC member countries which account for about 90% of the world supply, is estimated to have expanded by 168,000 hectares in 2016 and 385,000 hectares in 2017. These figures are after accounting considerable extent of rubber trees which were either discarded or perished across countries in response to unfavourable prices or other reasons. Moreover, substantial acreage of mature trees still remains untapped in Malaysia, India and a few other producing countries,” the report said.

TIMES GLOBAL

A GOOD GARDEN MAY HAVE SOME WEEDS — THOMAS FULLER

THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI | SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

RARE HARRY POTTER PREQUEL HANDWRITTEN ON POSTCARD BY JK ROWLING STOLEN IN ENGLAND

FRENCH PREZ MACRON PICKS BULLFIGHTER TO BATTLE FAR-RIGHT IN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS

Ransomware cyberattack Trump to Comey: Better hope hits 12 nations across world there are no ‘tapes’ of talks AFP

Dutch court rules boy can refuse chemo

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judge in the Netherlands has ruled that a 12-year-old boy, identified only as David, does not have to undergo chemotherapy if he does not want it. The ruling came on Friday after the boy’s father asked a judge to order the treatment. The boy’s mother supported her son in his decision to oppose the chemotherapy. The court in Alkmaar said in a statement that the chemotherapy was part of treatment for the boy following the successful surgical removal last year of a brain tumour.

Small blast in Rome, no injuries: A rudimentary explosive device exploded between parked vehicles outside a post office in Rome on Friday, causing no injuries but damaging a car, police said. A preliminary investigation indicated that the blast likely was “a demonstrative act, showing that it could be done,” Rome police official Massimo Improta told reporters.

Congo death signals new Ebola outbreak: A person in Democratic Republic of Congo who died of a haemorrhagic fever has tested positive for the Ebola virus, signalling the start of a new outbreak, the health ministry and the WHO said on Friday.

sa May’s office said she was monitoring the situation. Among the many other institutions that were affected were hospitals and telecommunications companies across Europe, Russia, Asia and beyond, according to MalwareHunterTeam, a security firm that tracks ransomware attacks. Spain’s Telefónica and Russia’s MegaFon were among the targets. Attacks were being reported in Britain and 11 other countries, including Turkey, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, with the majority of affected computers in Russia. The computers all appeared to be hit with the same ransomware, and similar ransom messages demanding about $300 to unlock their data. The attack on the National Health Service seemed perhaps the most audacious of the attacks, because it had lifeor-death implications for hospitals and ambulance services. Tom Donnelly, a spokes-

man for NHS Digital, the arm of the health service that handles cybersecurity, said in a phone interview that 16 organisations, including “hospitals and other kinds of clinician services,” had been hit by a cyberattack. Officials later updated that number to at least 25. “It is still ongoing,” he said. “We were made aware of it this afternoon.” The service’s digital arm said in a statement that the attack involved a variant of ransomware known as Wanna Decryptor. The user is asked to pay a ransom to unlock the computer. It has become an increasingly prevalent problem. Last year, a LA hospital paid $17,000 after such an attack; earlier this year, hackers shut down the electronic key system at a hotel in Austria. On social media, several images circulated showing computer screens bearing a message that the user could not enter without first paying a $300 ransom in Bitcoin. Many doctors reported that they

Chidanand.Rajghatta @timesgroup.com

Washington: A frustrated President Trump escalated feuds with his critics, detractors, and even dissed his own aides on Friday as Washington descended into internecine warfare and political bloodletting over alleged Russian involvement in US politics. In an extraordinary series of tweets on Friday morning, the US President warned that the former FBI director James Comey — a man he fired earlier this week — “better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” The warning, widely seen as a threat, came after Comey’s FBI associates leaked to the media that Trump had sought a pledge of loyalty from the ousted director in a one-onone dinner, and that Comey rejected the demand. Comey reportedly said he could offer only “honesty” and that he was not “reliable” in the conventional political sense, angering Trump, whose campaign has been under investigation for its ties to Russia during the elections. Trump then asked him if he could pledge “honest loyalty”, to which Comey is said to have replied: “You will have that.” By Trump’s account, narrated in an interview to NBC, Comey sought the meeting to ask to continue in his job, although FBI directors are appointed to a 10-year term and Comey is only in his third year. But the Comey version, according to associates, is that Trump summoned him to the

Again, the story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign was fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election The Fake Media is working overtime today! As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!.... Maybe the best thing

to do would be to cancel all future “press briefings” and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy??? When James Clapper himself, and virtually everyone else with knowledge of the witch hunt, says there is no collusion, when does it end? China just agreed that the U.S. will be allowed to sell beef, and other major products, into China once again. This is REAL news!

White House fumes after Moscow releases Trump meeting photos

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he Donald Trump administration was left red-faced on Thursday after the Moscow surprised it by releasing pictures of a closed-door meeting between the US president and Russia’s top diplomat. The White House is facing criticism for a possible security breach after it allowed a Russian news service photographer into the Oval Office. A senior administration official acknowledged that the White House had been misled about the role of the Russian photographer, who was actually employed by a state-run news agency. The photographer had told the White House that he was Lavrov’s official photographer. AGENCIES

White House and the FBI director found it impolitic to decline the invitation. It was one of a barrage of leaks in the US media about the inner workings of the Trump White House, laying bare the insecurities of a President besieged by reports of his aides’ ties to Russia — dismissed as “fake news” by Trump. The newly-elected President, only four months into his term, has himself repeatedly jumped into the fray, getting

personal with everyone from stand-up comedians who have eviscerated him with jokes to lawmakers, journalists, and even his own staff, in a daily barrage of tweets. Furious with his communications setup because of its inability to project a coherent message (partly because he himself changes track so often), Trump tweeted on Friday that “Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future “press briefings” and hand out

IS bomber targets Pak lawmaker’s convoy, 25 killed Omer Farooq Khan

TNN

Islamabad: At least 25 people were killed and around 40 injured after Friday prayers when a powerful blast hit a convoy of the deputy chairman of Senate, Pakistan’s upper house of parliament, in the southwestern Balochistan province. Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the bombing. The group’s Amaq news agency said abomber in an explosive vest carried out the attack, which was condemned by a former local IS affiliate. The blast took place in the town of Mastung, about 50km south of

Balochistan’s capital Quetta, as convoy of Abdul Ghafoor Haideri was exiting the seminary. Haideri, a member of Jamiat Ulema Islam, a right-wing Sunni Islamist political party that is part of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s coalition government, sustained minor injuries in the attack, while his driver was killed. “I am alive, Allah has saved my life. It was all very sudden. Broken pieces of the windscreen hit me. I am injured but safe,” Haideri told a local TV station on phone. Ghazanfar Ali Shah, a police official, said that the convoy appeared to have been hit by a suicide bomber.

Security officers inspect the crime scene after a bomb exploded next to a convoy of a senator in Mastung on Friday

Alimonies should not guarantee previous standard of living: Court Rome: An Italian court said divorce settlements should no longer guarantee spouses their previous standard of living but rather ensure they were financially independent. The appeals court ruling could bring an end to the huge settlements seen in some break-ups, such as the 1.4 million euros a month that former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has to pay his ex-wife, Veronica Lario. On Wednesday, the court ruled in a case brought by the ex-wife of Vittorio Grilli, a former economy minister. But rather than backing her request for more alimony, judges said times had changed and the approach to divorce needed to be updated. The judges said that get-

Reuters

REUTERS

Briton gets $584m as divorce payout

A COSTLY AFFAIR: Former Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi pays ¤1.4 million a month to ex-wife Veronica Lario. The Italian appeals court ruling could bring an end to such huge settlements

British court on Thursday ordered a Russian billionaire to pay his wife $584 million in a divorce settlement. According to a Sky News report, the award — which amounts to 41.5% of the Surrey-based couple’s “marital assets” — could be the biggest ever in Britain. The judge also prevented the couple from being identified. IANS

ting married was “an act of freedom and personal responsibility”, that it should not be seen as “a definitive settlement” and that alimony should not be based on any previous “standard of living”.

In this context, it said courts needed to review the work prospects of a separated spouse and simply safeguard their future “economic independence or selfsufficiency”. REUTERS

Eyewitnesses told TV channels that sustained firing followed the bombing. “When the firing stopped, we saw bodies everywhere,” said Salahuddin, a seminary student. Television footage from the spot showed severe damage to several vehicles and motorcycles. Emergency was declared at hospitals in Mastung and Quetta. Dr Sher Ahmed, the district health chief in Mastung, said at least 25 people died and another 37 were injured. He added that condition of 8 to 10 among the injured, who were hit by pellets and shrapnel, was critical. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazulr Reh-

AROUND THE WORLD

Houston: A Muslim family’s reunion in a Texas town turned ugly after a man at a beach allegedly hurled racial abuses and told them “Donald Trump will stop you”. Fourteen members of the family were on a week-long reunion in South Padre Island when the man, who was identified as Alexander Downing, of Waterford, Connecticut, approached them at a beach. Downing was recorded in a viral video screaming obscenities and phrases like, “Donald Trump will stop you,” to the Muslim family on the beach, San Antonio ExpressNews reported. He was arrested last week and was charged with public intoxication. PTI

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NYT

Richard Sandomir

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Besides GI Joe, Weston helped develop the cartoon series ‘Thundercats’

able to replicate the success of the Barbie doll. From Elliott Handler, a founder of Mattel, he had learned that a popular product could spawn a big, continuous business, like Barbie’s outfits and accessories. “Stan, you’ve got to sell them the razor,” Weston said, recalling Handler’s advice. “Then you can sell them a lot of blades.” After trolling the Encyclopaedia Britannica for a subject that might yield Barbieesque success, he alighted on the men of the United States military, who wore many uni-

forms, wielded numerous weapons and drove various vehicles (read: accessories). For his pitch to Hasbro, he mounted paraphernalia from military branches and flags on yellow cardboard, according to a 2012 article by his brother, Jay, in The Huffington Post. At a second meeting, Weston brought mock-up figures of a soldier, a Marine, a pilot and a sailor using small, flexible wooden models that he had purchased in an art supply store. “You will make a fortune with these,” Donald Levine, a

man has condemned the attack and said that it was not the first on the party. “A number of our companions have been martyred in this attack, but we have to continue to work for this country and Islam,” he said. Militant group Lashkar-e-Jangvi Al Alami, which has jointly carried out attacks with IS in the past, including a bombing at a shrine in Baluchistan in November, condemned Friday’s suicide attack, spokesman Ali Bin Sufyan said. Sufyan said the two groups have now split due to “policy changes”, but did not elaborate on what changes had taken place. (With agency inputs)

Trump will stop you: Muslim family told

Stan Weston, creator of GI Joe action figure, dies tan Weston, whose concept for a military action figure became the heroic GI Joe, one of the most popular toys ever produced, died on May 1at his home in Santa Monica, California. He was 84. His daughter, Cindy Winebaum, said the cause was complications from surgery. In 1963, Weston was a successful licensing agent who represented properties and personalities. When he approached the Hasbro toy company, he believed he might be

@REALDONALDTRUMP AT WORK

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WORLD DIGEST

Britain’s National Health Service were warned about the ransomware threat earlier on Friday. Among the other institutions that were affected were hospitals and telecommunications firms across Europe, Russia, Asia

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London: An extensive cyberattack struck computers across a wide swath of Europe and Asia on Friday, and strained the public health system in Britain, where doctors were blocked from patient files and emergency rooms were forced to divert patients. The attack involved ransomware, a kind of malware that encrypts data and locks out the user. According to security experts, it exploited a vulnerability that was discovered and developed by the National Security Agency. The hacking tool was leaked by a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers, which has been dumping stolen NSA hacking tools online beginning last year. Microsoft rolled out a patch for the vulnerability last March, but hackers took advantage of the fact that vulnerable targets — particularly hospitals — had yet to update their systems. The malware was circulated by email; targets were sent an encrypted, compressed file that, once loaded, allowed the ransomware to infiltrate its targets. Reuters reported that employees of Britain’s National Health Service were warned about the ransomware threat earlier on Friday. By then, it was already too late. As the disruptions rippled through hospitals, doctors’ offices and ambulance companies across Britain on Friday, the health service declared the attack as a “major incident,” a warning that local health services could be overwhelmed by patients. Britain’s health’s secretary, Jeremy Hunt, was briefed by cybersecurity experts, while Prime Minister There-

could not retrieve their patients’ files. NHS Digital added, “At this stage we do not have any evidence that patient data has been accessed.” It said that the NHS did not appear to have been the main target of the attack. The National Cyber Security Center, an arm of the GCHQ, the British electronic surveillance agency, said it was investigating the attack. “We are aware of a cyber incident, and we are working with N.H.S. Digital and the National Crime Agency to investigate,” it said in a statement. As of 3.30 pm, 16 organisations within NHS England had reported being affected, the statement said. (It did not immediately appear that the NHS systems in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland had been hit.) According to the BBC, hospitals in London and Nottingham, the town of Blackburn and the counties of Cumbria and Hertfordshire had been affected. In the town of Blackpool, doctors had resorted to pen and paper, with phone and computer systems having shut down. Less was known about the scope of the attacks in Spain and Portugal, which affected companies like Telefónica. Spain’s national cryptology center said it was dealing with “a massive ransomware attack” affecting Windows systems used by various organizations, without naming them. Later on Friday, Portugal reported a similar attack. Several employees of MegaFon, one of the largest cellphone operators in Russia, said its systems were attacked on Friday by malware like that used against the NHS, the news website Meduza.io reported. NYT NEWS SERVICE

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Dan Bilefsky & Nicole Perlroth

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Hospitals Across Britain Affected; Leaked NSA Hacking Tool Used

Prez Threatens To Cancel All Press Briefings

Hasbro executive, told Weston, according to the article. In a letter to Levine , Weston said that a “complete military package” could be developed around “rugged-looking scale dolls for boys complete with military wardrobes, military headgear, military weapons,” and armed service insignia, combat medals and flags of the world GI Joe was a breakthrough: a boy’s doll, in battle dress, with accessories that kept fans hungry. Manufacturing of the figures, 12 inches tall, began in 1964. NYT

written responses for the sake of accuracy???” By way of explanation for the conflicting versions given out by the White House on the Comey firing, Trump said, “As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy,” while once again accusing the “fake media” of projecting the story that there was collusion between the Russians and Trump campaign which was “fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election.” Trump himself threw his aides and surrogates into confusion by changing the reason they cited for his firing. In the NBC interview, Trump said he would have fired Comey regardless of what the the attorney general’s office said. The smoke and mirror surrounding the charges and countercharges did not contain the story that the FBI appears to believe that there is a prima facie case of the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia that requires investigation, and that Comey had sought additional resources for it. Comey’s successor and associates have indicated that they intend to pursue the case regardless of Trump’s views, while infuriating the White House by expressing support and loyalty to the fired chief. Amid this very public breakdown of trust, the President has sought to be personally absolved of ties to Russia, repeatedly pointing out that he has been giving a clean chit. On Friday, the White House released a letter from two tax attorneys for Trump claiming that his only income from Russian sources in the last 10 years came from fees for hosting the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and sales of a mansion, condo units and golf games to Russians.

Indian woman asks Pak court for security on journey

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n Indian woman who has sought refuge at the Indian mission in Islamabad petitioned the Islamabad HC on Friday to provide security for her journey back to Delhi and to issue duplicate travel documents which were allegedly stolen by her Pakistani husband. Uzma’s lawyer, Malik Shah Nawaz Noon and first secretary to the Indian High Commission Piyush Singh filed a petition stating that her husband Tahir Ali deceived her , and stole her passport. PTI

AP

Caitlyn plunges in most popular baby names list year after Caitlyn Jenner announced her new name and gender, the popularity of the name Caitlyn plummeted more than any other baby name, according to Social Security’s annual list of the most popular baby names. In fact, the four names that dropped the most were all variations of the same name: Caitlin, Caitlyn, Katelynn and Kaitlynn. Experts said the drop in popularity is not solely due to the fact that Jenner is transgender. In general, they said, parents don’t want to give their children names that might attract controversy.

Qaida quiz in Yemen has AK-47 as top prize: al-Qaida has started reaching out for recruits in Yemen by handing out quiz sheets, with an AK-47 assault rifle as top prize, residents and media said. Militants have been touring the southwestern city of Taiz in the build-up to the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, putting up posters of the contest, residents reported. They encourage people to pick up the sheets from group members. Most of the questions focus on the organisation’s interpretation of Islam.

FB deletes abortion pill group’s page: Facebook has censored the page of an organisation that helps women obtain abortion pills, citing its policy against the “promotion or encouragement of drug

MATCH MADE IN GYM: Combination photos show (top) Ronnie Brower before and after losing 458 pounds. Ronnie’s four-year fitness regime earned him the admiration of Andrea Masella (before and after), who was on her own quest to lose weight at the same gym. Having formed a bond around the shared mission, the couple is getting hitched in New York, celebrating their new lives and all they’ve lost together, a combined 578 pounds use”, the media reported. Women on Web, which is based in Amsterdam, helps connect women with doctors who can provide abortion pills if they live in countries where abortion access is restricted, the Guardian reported.

NZ plans to save birds by killing rats: New Zealand has set itself an environmental

goal so ambitious it’s been compared to putting a man on the moon: ridding the entire nation of every last rat, possum and stoat. The idea is to give a second chance to the distinctive birds that once ruled the nation. Scientists are talking about it in military terms: choking off pests on peninsulas and then advancing the front lines from there.

TIMES SPORT

THE TIMES OF INDIA, KERALA, SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

I HAVE BEEN DELIVERING FOR MY DOMESTIC SIDE PUNJAB IN ODI AND T20 IN DEATH OVERS. THAT HAS HELPED ME IN THIS FORMAT. WITH THE HELP OF YUVI (YUVRAJ) AND ASHISH NEHRA, IT CAME OUT REALLY WELL

IT SHOWS WE ARE HUMANS AND CAN’T WIN EVERY GAME. AS I SAID WE KEEP IMPROVING. WE HAD SORT OF A DISMAL PERFORMANCE AGAINST SUNRISERS (HYDERABAD). WE HAVE BOUNCED BACK PRETTY WELL ON A GOOD WICKET. WE FOUGHT

— Siddharth Kaul | Hyderabad

— KIERON POLLARD | MUMBAI

PUNE FALL SHORT Pts

NRR

Mumbai

13

9

4

18

+0.810

Kolkata

13

8

5

16

+0.729

Pune

13

8

5

16

-0.083

Hyderabad 13

7

5

15

+0.565

Punjab

13

7

6

14

+0.296

Delhi

13

6

7

12

-0.514

Gujarat

13

4

9

8

-0.361

13

2

10

5

-1.454

DELHI WIN BY SEVEN RUNS AS PLAYOFF BATTLE HEATS UP TNN

Bangalore

*Updated till Delhi-Pune game

GALLERY

Former stars to coach Aussie next generation Former Test stalwarts Jason Gillespie, Brad Haddin and Chris Rogers will share coaching duties for Australia A’s tour of South Africa in July and August, Cricket Australia said on Friday. Gillespie, who oversaw Yorkshire’s back-to-back titles in 2014-15, will lead the coaching staff with support from former Australia wicketkeeper Haddin and top order batsman Rogers, who both retired after the 2015 Ashes defeat in England. Australia A will play the South African and Indian A sides in two four-day matches and a one-day tri-series.

No need to press panic button, says Pollard: IPL table-toppers Mumbai Indians might have suffered back-to-back defeats after securing a play-off berth, but there was no need to press the panic button, said West Indian Kieron Pollard. Mumbai Indians lost by seven runs on Thursday night to Kings XI Punjab in a high-scoring game in Mumbai. “It shows we are humans and can’t win every game. As I said we keep improving. We had sort of a dismal performance against Sunrisers (Hyderabad). We have bounced back pretty well on a good wicket. We fought,” said Pollard, who blasted an unbeaten 50 in 24 balls for a lost cause. “(But) there is no need to panic. We will keep our heads high. We have qualified and the first step in every tournament is qualification. We have not taken our foot off the gas.”

Younis denies reports of becoming Afghan coach: Former Pakistan captain and batting stalwart Younis Khan has rejected reports that he is set to join the Afghanistan national team as coach after retiring from international cricket following the third Test against the West Indies. The chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board Atif Mashal had stated on Thursday that Younis, 39, had agreed to coach the Afghanistan team. But Younis made it clear that he had not accepted any coaching offer from Afghanistan. “This was something that was discussed three years back and it has been revived again. But at present time I have not accepted any coaching offer. After I retire I will decide about my future assignments but presently coaching Afghanistan is not among them,” he said.

ACTION TODAY INTERNATIONAL AUTO: F1 - Spanish GP, Qualifying 5.25 pm (Live on Star Sports Select HD2) CRICKET: West Indies vs Pakistan, 3rd Test, Day 4, 7.30 pm (Live on Ten 3, Ten1HD FOOTBALL: EPL - Manchester City vs Leicester City, 4.50 pm; Sunderland vs Swansea City, 7.20 pm; Stoke City vs Arsenal, 9.50 pm (Live on Star Sports Select HD1); Middlesbrough vs Southampton, 7.20 pm (Live on Star Sports HD2); German League - Werder Bremen vs Hoffenheim, 6.45 pm (Live on Star Sports HD1); FC Augsburg vs Borussia Dortmund, 6.45 (Live on Star Sports HD4); Leipzig vs FC Bayern Munich, 6.45 pm (Live on Star Sports Select HD2) GOLF: PGA Tour 2017 - The Players Championship, 11.30 pm (Live on Neo Sports) TENNIS: ATP 1000 Madrid Open, 7.30 pm (Live on Ten2)

NATIONAL CRICKET: Gujarat vs Hyderabad, 4 pm; Kolkata vs Mumbai, 8 pm (Live on Sony Six, Sony ESPN, HD)

& AGENCIES

half century of the season to take Delhi to 168 for eight. Nair (64 off 45) and Rishabh Pant (36 off 22) set the platform for Delhi before regular fall of wickets pushed them back a bit. Delhi, going against the trend, chose to bat after picking a side comprising eight Indians and three foreigners, becoming the second team to do so this season after Gujarat Lions. Captain Zaheer Khan said at the toss that his players were "looking to express themselves" after already being out of the play-off race. However, it was another wobbly start for Delhi, who lost Sanju Samson and last match's hero Shreyas Iyer to be nine for 2 in third over. Samson was out to a brilliant direct hit by Ben Stokes while Iyer tried to slash a back of length ball off Jaydev Unadkat only to edge it back to Mahnedra Singh Dhoni. Nair and Pant then got together and took the attack to the opposition. No boundaries were scored in the first three overs but they made up for that by smashing five fours and six in the next three. Both batsmen looked in cracking form. Offie Washington Sundar was taken to the cleaners in his first over with Nair collecting two fours on the leg side before Pant hit a flat six to get going. Similar treatment was meted out to Pune's star all- rounder Stokes, who went for 13 in his opening over, courtesy three crisp hits from Nair.

New Delhi: Rising Pune Supergiant, after losing opener Ajinkya Rahane (0) in the very first ball of their chase, failed to overcome the initial hiccups as they went down by seven runs against Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League match here on Friday. Chasing 169 for a win, Pune were in big trouble after losing openers Rahane and Rahul Tripathi (7) cheaply. But with experienced campaigners Steve Smith (38), Ben Stokes (33) and Manoj Tiwary (64) rising to the occasion with the bat, Pune steadied the ship but a batting collapse in the final overs saw them losing the match. After the loss to Delhi, they now must hope that Gujarat Lions lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. If that happens, the result of the match against Kings XI on Sunday does not matter. Their net run rate is quite poor at -0.083. If the Sunrisers lose to Lions on Saturday, the game against Kings XI in Pune on Sunday afternoon becomes a shoot out for the play-offs . Needing 25 runs from the last over, Tiwary welcomed Delhi’s Australian pacer Pat Cummins with two towering sixes but Cummins had the last laugh as he bowled Tiwary for 64 in the final ball of his over. MS Dhoni, former Pune skipper, failed once again as he was run out for just five. Earlier, Karun Nair struck his first

Chance for Hyderabad to seal play-off berth [email protected]

Kanpur: Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will have everything to play for when they take on Gujarat Lions in their final league encounter at Green Park stadium. Sitting on 15 points from 13 games, a win on Saturday will be enough for them to make the playoffs. Even if they lose, they qualify for the eliminator. But, for that to happen, they will have to hope for Kings XI Punjab to lose to Rising Pune Supergiant in Pune on Sunday. For Gujarat Lions, there is no such positive story as they are already out of the playoffs with eight points from 13 games. Coming from a comfortable seven-wicket victory against table-toppers Mumbai Indians, Hyderabad have the firepower to make things count at the Lions’ second home. In skipper David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan, they have the two leading run-getters in the side. Wearing the Orange Cap, Warner has so far scored 535 runs in the tournament and would like to continue in the same vein. He and Dhawan, who has collected 450 runs, have provided the side solidity at the top. With Yuvraj Singh, unable to make things count, the middle-order has looked a bit fragile. Despite that, they had the courage to replace the consistent Kane Williamson with Mohammad Nabi in the last match. That paid dividends as the Afghan all-rounder stifled the Mumbai batsmen by giving away just 13 runs in his four overs. Gujarat, on the other hand, have nothing to play for except pride and at best can become party-poopers for Hyderabad.

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SCOREBOARD Delhi: S Samson run out 2, K Nair c Unadkat b Stokes 64, S Iyer c Dhoni b Unadkat 3, R Pant c Christian b Zampa 36, M Samuels c Dhoni b Christian 27, C Anderson st Dhoni b Sundar 3, P Cummins b Stokes 11, A Mishra no 13, M Shami c Stokes b Unadkat 2, S Nadeem no 0, Extras: 7; Total: (for 8 wkts in 20 overs) 168 FoW: 1/3 2/9 3/83 4/117 5/124 6/140 7/162 8/166. Bowling: J Unadkat 4-0-29-2, S Thakur 3-0-35- 0, W Sundar 3-0-23- 1, B Stokes 4-0-31-2, A Zampa 4-0-29-1, D Christian 2-0-18-1 Pune: A Rahane b Khan 0, R Tripathi c Pant b Khan 7, S Smith lbw b Nadeem 38, M Tiwary b Cummins 64, B Stokes c Anderson b Mohammed Shami 33, MS Dhoni run out 5, D Christian lbw b Mohammed Shami 3, W Sundar no 5, Extras: 6; Total (for 7 wickets in 20 overs) 161 FoW: 1-0, 2-36, 3-74, 4-125, 5-134, 6-138. Bowling: Z Khan 4-0-25-2, M Shami 4-0-36-2, S Nadeem 3-0-21-1, A Mishra 3-0-26-0, P Cummins 4-0-35-1, M Samuels 1-0-12-0, C Anderson 1-0-4-0.

EFFORT GOES IN VAIN: Manoj Tiwary

Mumbai will hope they Battle for top-2 haven’t peaked too soon finish in Kolkata W Jacques Kallis

e let ourselves down a bit during the last game after bowling and fielding tidily. It was a game we should have won and the best thing I can say is that, nine times out of ten we probably would have. But Punjab had an outside chance of getting into the play-offs through the back door and they must be given credit for the way they have fought for victories against us and again against Mumbai. It’s that time of year again when fans spend hours looking at the league table working out all the permutations for play-off places. I was never the best in my class at math so I stick to cricket and trying to help win games. Basically, I think we’ll need to lose by about 70 runs against Mumbai on Saturday to have a chance of not featuring in the play-offs but as I have said for the last ten days, our focus is on finishing in the top two and a victory is likely to make that hap-

pen. Winning the IPL requires peaking at the right time. That does not mean that you take it easy at the beginning or in the middle – intensity is required for every game – but the best teams, with a bit of luck, are able to find their best collective form and fitness in the final week. Mumbai are proven winners so I’m sure they won’t be too worried about recent results but it’s easier said than done putting a game out of your mind after conceding 230 and they will hope they haven’t peaked too soon. But it’s generally a good wicket at the Wankhede and everyone can have a bad day. Nonetheless, we’ve had a couple of useful debriefs after both games and have taken so-

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me important lessons and notes which, hopefully, will help us during the play-offs. We had a tremendous KKR Charity Golf Day at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club a couple of days ago at which our CEO, Venky Mysore, prevailed to take first prize against some very determined opposition (you won’t find an uncompetitive cricketer on a golf course!). We hold the event every year and the satisfaction increases with each one that the KKR family is able to contribute to those who are less fortunate, particularly with their health. This year the money raised went towards paying the bills of cancer patients in the community and several other local charities. GAMEPLAN/HAWKEYE

In Punjab’s resurgence, Saha finds his mojo [email protected]

Mumbai: He has successfully replaced MS Dhoni behind the stumps in India’s Test team, even staving off stiff competition from Parthiv Patel recently, but Wriddhiman Saha doesn’t even get talked about when you discuss who could be Dhoni’s heir apparent in limited overs. While he’s arguably the best ’keeper in the world, doubts still persist about Saha’s ability to chip in with the bat on a regular basis in

the shorter formats. His wiry frame doesn’t even give one the confidence that he can come up with the big hits that Dhoni, and most modern-day great ’keeperbatsmen are known for. Coming into this must-win game against the Mumbai Indians for Kings XI Punjab, the 32-yearold’s best moment in IPL-10 had been a brilliant catch which the 32-year-old took after running all the way to the boundary behind him to send Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Mandeep Singh packing. There have been occasions, though, when Saha has shown that he can take an attack to the cleaners.

Three years back, he slammed a brilliant hundred in the IPL final in Bangalore against the Kolkata Knight Riders which went in vain. Earlier this year, with Patel snapping at his heels as he strived to come back into the Test team after recovering from an injury, the Bengal gloveman cracked a match-winning double hundred for Rest of India against Gujarat which contained six sixes. Patel, ironically, watched that knock from behind the stumps. On Thursday night at the Wankhede Stadium, Patel again saw Saha strike clean hits. Asked to suddenly open the innings by the Kings in another must-win

game for them in place of Manan Vohra after a barren spell in the middle-order, (he had failed to score a 50 in 12 games), Saha cracked an unbeaten 93 (55b, 11x4, 3x6) — a knock which proved to be the difference in a thrilling seven-run win over the Mumbai Indian in a highscoring match. “We’ve thrown him up and down the order, been a little harsh on him, but he’s been superb,” complimented Kings XI skipper Glenn Maxwell later. One thought that the Kings would struggle after Hashim Amla’s departure while opening the batting, but Saha seems to have filled that void.

Archiman.Bhaduri @timesgroup.com

Kolkata: In a month-and-halflong tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL), it’s important to finish well irrespective of how a team starts. Both Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, who face off in their last league encounter at Eden Gardens here on Saturday, started their campaign well but still have unfinished business at the fag end of the round-robin league stage. Mumbai, with 18 points, are assured of a playoff berth, while Kolkata (16 points) are well placed to grab one. No team, however, is guaranteed a top-two finish, and that is what all teams are targeting. The top two will clash in Qualifier 1 with the losers getting a second chance to make the final via Qualifier 2. As things stand, four teams — Knight Riders, Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab — are in contention for three playoff berths. Kolkata’s advantage is that fate is in their own hands. Victory will almost certainly seal a top-two finish for them, while they could go through even in the event of a loss, but only as the third or fourth team. Ditto for table-toppers Mumbai, as defeat could push them to third place if Pune win their remaining two matches. In that respect, Saturday’s game is a must-win tie for both teams. Gautam Gambhir and his boys must have realised that nothing can be taken for granted after Kings XI Punjab snatched a thrilling win against Mumbai on Thursday to keep breathing down their neck. But it’s important for the teams to ignore all mathemati-

cal possibilities and focus on their cricket only so that they can get a positive result. Kolkata’s batting, which was thought to have got a leg up after opener Chris Lynn returned from injury, looked unsettled in their last match against Punjab. And this, after Lynn and Sunil Narine put up the highest power play score (105/0) in IPL history, in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Both openers can’t be expected to fire on all cylinders from the word go every day. It might be prudent for in-form skipper Gambhir to return as opener and anchor the innings from one end. Kolkata have missed a consistent finisher this season, though their strength is that somebody or the other stands up to be counted in a situation of crisis. Mumbai’s batting got a boost with West Indian Lendl Simmons settling down well in the opening slot as Jos Buttler’s replacement in the last three matches. They can be dangerous with Simmons, in partnership with Parthiv Patel, giving them a flying start and the likes of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya finishing off strongly with their power hitting.

IPL retention policy: Teams want ‘right to match’ option Indranil [email protected]

New Delhi: A ‘right-to-match’ option could be the only hope left for IPL teams to retain their big stars if the governing council sends all the players back to the auction pool without retention. Sources said prominent Indian cricket board (BCCI) members are firm about sending all the cricketers back to the auction. However, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad are in fa-

vour of having the option of matching cards, which permits team owners to retain players by matching their auction price. Sources said that both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, who have the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma respectively, want retention of their big players. But Kings XI Punjab's co-owner Priety Zinta told TOI a couple of weeks back that BCCI had told all teams that all players would be back in the auction pool without

Sources said that both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, who have the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma respectively, want retention of their big players retention. However, the two teams who will be joining the league after serving their two-year

suspension — Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals — have a different take. CSK promoters are keen to get their old players like MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, but the other teams are against the idea of the Chennai-based franchisee getting any undue advantage. IPL sources confirmed that CSK promoters are even open to the draft system which was given to two new teams Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions. However, IPL hasn't given

any assurance to CSK and it is understood that the two-time IPL champions may have to start from the scratch at the auction. Rajasthan Royals, however, won’t mind going through the auction process. Sources also said that some of the top Indian cricketers are also backing the idea of retention. Whether the IPL GC will take this into account or not remains to be seen. Sources also said that a few board members have also floated the idea of 12 teams in IPL

with two groups playing on a league-cum knockout basis. However, BCCI may not be in a position to increase the number of teams from eight to 10 or even more because the there isn’t any window to accommodate those extra matches. Even broadcasters aren’t keen to have more than eight teams and with India scheduled to play the 2019 World Cup in England right after IPL, it won’t be easy for the IPL GC to go beyond the existing eight-team IPL.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

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Mourinho Vows To Keep Team Fresh For Final

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Manchester: Manchester United survived a sizeable scare to reach their first Europa League final after a nervy 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo on Thursday completed a 2-1 aggregate victory. Jose Mourinho’s side will play a youthful Ajax team in the final at Stockholm’s Friends Arena on May 24, when they can complete their trophy collection and — perhaps more importantly — book a place in next season’s Champions League. Ajax advanced to their first European final in 21 years despite a 3-1 defeat to Lyon in France, the Dutch side progressing 5-4 on aggregate. Marouane Fellaini’s 17th-minute header put United 2-0 up on

UP TO THE TASK: Marouane Fellaini scores for Man United against Celta Vigo at the Old Trafford on Thursday

EUROPA LEAGUE

UNITED, AJAX IN SUMMIT CLASH central defenders. United’s season would have effectively been over had they gone out. Instead they have a chance to add a second big trophy to the League Cup. Whereas Ajax’s season finishes on Sunday, United still have three league games to play and Mourinho said he would have no qualms about making sure his players are in top shape for the trip to Sweden. “Obviously now Ajax think about the final,” he said.

SNAP SHOTS

Yuki crashes out in semis Yuki Bhambri’s campaign ended at the Karshi ATP Challenger after a semifinal defeat at the hands of Egor Gerasimov in Uzbekistan on Friday. The 273rd-ranked Indian lost 1-6, 4-6 to his Belarusian opponent in 61 minutes. “It was a bad day in office,” Yuki said after the match.

Navratilova urges players to lay off Sharapova: Former world No. 1 Martina Navratilova has urged players to stop focusing on Maria Sharapova after the Russian’s recent return from a 15-month doping ban. Sharapova’s comeback has garnered widespread interest with current and former players offering their opinions on the 30-yearold, including men’s No. 1 Andy Murray and Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, who labelled the Russian “a cheater”. “I think it’s time for the players to lay off Maria. She made a huge mistake, paid dearly for it, ‘done the time’ and now let’s play ball,” Navratilova, who won 18 Grand Slams during a glittering career, tweeted on her verified account.

Valderrama may join Maradona in Kolkata: Come September, Colombia soccer legend Carlos Valderrama may be seen in action with Argentine great Diego Maradona in Kolkata to kick-off a football carnival less than a month before the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Having already confirmed Maradona’s visit to the city on September 19-20, the organisers on Friday said they were now trying to bring Valderrama also.

Popular Car Rally today: Popular Car Rally 2017, with more than 25 teams vying for titles in various categories, will be flagged off at Marine Drive, Kochi on Saturday. The rally which is making a return after a ten-year gap will cover more than 300 kilometers and will get over on Sunday evening. Apart from the FMSCI Cup, the much-awaited rally will have competitions in four other categories too. The rally will see some quality drivers like Adith KC, Younus Ilyas and Prem Kumar in action. The two-day event will cover more than 300 kilometers which includes riding on public roads and on closed roads. North Zone bowled out for 185: Ananthu Anil bagged four wickets to help South Zone bowl out North Zone for 185 in first innings of the U-19 Inter Zone Cricket Match at Thalassery on Friday. In reply, South Zone scored 79-3 in 22 overs and trail by 106 at the end of first day’s play. Brief scores: NZ: 185 all out in 67.1 overs (Sachin MS 55, Vignesh 35; Ananthu Anil 4-33) vs SZ: 79-3 in 22 overs (Ananthakrishnan 23; Ajinas 1-17) Idukki win by seven wickets: Idukki defeated Thrissur by seven wickets in the U-23 EWomen’s Inter District cricket match at KCA Ground, Thodupuzha on Friday. In another match, Palakkad beat Ernaklulam by 10 wickets. Brief scores: Thrissur: 60-9 in 30 overs (Sayoojya Salilan 25; Jiya Joy 3-8) lost to Idukki: 61-3 in 12 overs (Malavika Sabu 15; Anjana NR 1-13); Ernakulam: 41 all out in 18.2 overs (Devika B 16; Alka A Suresh 4-1) lot to Palakkad: 42-0 in 8.2 overs (Chaithanya J 27, Anjitha Vijayan 5)

(semifinals; second leg): AT MANCHESTER Manchester United 1 (Fellaini 17) drew with Celta Vigo 1 (Roncaglia 85). United win 2-1 on

Lacazette’s two goals in less than two minutes. The hosts continued their attacking play in the second half. After Ajax player Donny van de Beek hit the crossbar, two substi-

aggregate. AT LYON Lyon 3 (Lacazette 45-pen, 45+1, Ghezzal 81) bt Ajax 1 (Dolberg 27). Ajax win 5-4 on aggregate. FINAL At Stockholm on May 24.

tutes managed to cut the deficit in aggregate to one goal for Lyon with nine minutes remaining, as Rachid Ghezzal headed Maciej Rybus’ leftwing cross into the net.

eicester City might break their last summer’s transfer record to strengthen their squad as they are keen to improve next season, interim manager Craig Shakespeare said ahead of the Premier League club’s trip to Manchester City on Saturday. Leicester spent over 55 million pounds ($70.71 million) to buy strikers Ahmed Musa, Islam Slimani and midfielder Nampalys Mendy after their title winning 201516 campaign and Shakespeare said that it could happen again.

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erman referee Felix Brych has been picked to officiate the Champions League final between Juventus and Real Madrid. UEFA announced its choice Friday for the game in Cardiff, Wales, on June 3. UEFA also named Damir Skomina of Slovenia to referee the Europa League final between Ajax and Manchester United. That game will be played May 24 in Stockholm.

Every game is a priority for us, says Kompany must win. Every game is priority for us and we approach every game in that way. There’s been some criticism of City this year for not winning a trophy... I’ve been part of teams here who have been able to win trophies but never a team that has been able to control a game and dominate a game like we do now. Unfortunately, we lost a little bit of the edge we had before in some matches. But that’s something we can recover, especially when I

see the talent that is on the pitch. Could Gabriel Jesus be the difference against Leicester? Well, you can see he’s hungry for goals. But he’s not alone. Last time David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne both scored and Raheem was shooting on sight. When you look at those personalities I see us having advantages over any squad we’ve had before at this club. I’m objectively positive about the future.”

Your manager has taken a lot of stick for this season’s lack of success. Is that fair? It’s normal, someone that’s been successful that many times, you have one season where it’s not going your way and people want to focus on it - that’s what creates news. I can say he’s really special. It has not come off this season but there’s no doubt that, with the right amount of time he’s capable of delivering extremely good things. I’m very ex-

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anchester City have just three games remaining to clinch a place in the Champions League as the Premier League season comes to an end. They face Leicester at home knowing nothing less than three points will be good enough to keep them on track. So captain Vincent Kompany says now is the time for City to show their true potential… Vincent, can you definitely still make the top four? Of course. There is no doubt that we’ll get the job done. We’re ready for these final games. It could give City a massive advantage if you won against Leicester City? But in our heads it’s not about looking at one game as

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Terme Luigiane, Italy: Retirement-bound Francesco Totti said he remains focused on helping Roma secure a top-two finish despite the prospect of watching from the bench when they bid to stop Juventus securing the Serie A title on Sunday. The 40-year-old Totti ended months of speculation over his future by confirming this week he is ready to work alongside sporting director Monchi when he hangs up his boots at the end of the month. Known as ‘Il Re di Roma’ (King of Rome) for the best part of a career spent entirely with Roma, Totti will be given a farewell worth of royalty when they host Genoa on his swansong on May 28. Despite a decidedly underwhelming end to a storied career, Totti says he remains committed to the cause. With a seven-point lead on Luciano Spalletti’s hosts and three games remaining, Juventus need just a point at the Stadio Olimpico to secure a record sixth consecutive ‘scudetto’, and the first trophy of a targeted treble. AFP

RESULTS

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“Their league finishes on Sunday and they will have 12 days to prepare for the final and we have three League matches to play.” Lyon, having lost the first leg 1-4 last week, had no other option than attacking from the first minute, only to see their fragile defence broken down by Ajax in the 27th minute, when Kasper Dolberg beat Lyon goalkeeper. Resilient Lyon made a strong comeback late in the first half with their top scorer Alexandre

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aggregate, but Celta hit back late on through Facundo Roncaglia, who was then sent off along with United’s Eric Bailly following a centre-circle shoving contest. “We suffered until the end and it was open until the last second,” United manager Mourinho told BT Sport. Mourinho will have to do without influential centre-back Bailly, whose suspension leaves Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Daley Blind as United’s only available

FREEKICKS

Madrid: Novak Djokovic moved into the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters on Friday without hitting a ball as Kei Nishikori withdrew citing the recurrence of a wrist injury, tournament organisers said. The world number eight missed the Barcelona Open late last month due to the injury.

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MADRID OPEN Nishikori is now also a major doubt for the Rome Masters next week with 10 days to go until the start of the French Open. "I will plan to play Rome, but we'll see." said the Japanese. "I cannot promise to play or pull out right now. "(The) French is more important." Djokovic will either renew his rivalry with Rafael Nadal or face Belgium's David Goffin in the last four on Saturday. In the Women's Madrid Open defending champion Simona Halep cruised back into the final for the third time in four years with a 6-2, 6-3 over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova.

Lewis fastest in practice Barcelona: Lewis Hamilton set the pace in Spanish Grand Prix practice on Friday as Formula One world champions Mercedes responded to the challenge of Ferrari with aerodynamic upgrades and consistently quicker times.

SPANISH GP With the championship finely balanced after four longhaul races, Mercedes turned up at the Circuit de Catalunya with a car whose revised features drew appreciative and apprehensive murmurs around the paddock. It appeared to be to triple champion Hamilton's liking, with the Briton on top of the timesheets in the morning with a best lap of one minute 21.521seconds and then fastest again in the afternoon in 1:20.802. His times were respectively a mere 0.029 and 0.090 quicker than those of Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third in both sessions but cut his morning deficit of nearly a second down to 0.310 after lunch. REUTERS

Halep during her semifinal match against Sevastova

Halep also thrashed the world number 22 two weeks ago in Stuttgart and there was never any danger of an upset as the Romanian reeled off five straight games to close out the opening set. Sevastova hinted at a fightback early in the second as she got out to a 3-0 lead. But Halep, who is also into the semi-finals of the women's doub-

les with compatriot Irina-Camelia Begu, showed no signs of lacking in energy as she bounced back in emphatic fashion to win the last six games for the loss of just 14 points. Halep will face on form Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic or Svetlana Kuznetsova in Saturday's final. AFP

Punjab played fearless cricket in last few games Sunil Gavaskar

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s the league stage is coming to a close, the matches are getting tighter and tighter. There have been some heart-stopping finishes and some nail biting ends as teams scramble to qualify and also finish in the top two. Even the Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions who had no chance to qualify played a terrific match which was decided with one ball left. Then the next day Mumbai Indians almost overhauled the mountain of runs that the Kings XI had put up. Kings XI have played fearless cricket over the last few games and so have given themselves a great chance to qualify. They and the Delhi Daredevils have contrived to lose matches they were coasting in and so now find themselves playing the kind of fearless desperate cricket that this format demands. The defending champions Sunrisers too have

lifted their game and they know that if they win their game against Gujarat Lions they qualify for the playoffs. The pitch at Green Park, Kanpur has been terrific with ball coming on to the bat quite nicely and the fast outfield gives value for your shots. The Hyderabad team will be once again looking for Warner and Dhawan to give them a good start. What they have not yet got right is their bowling options and this is where they will have to be clever . In Kolkata, both teams will be looking to regain the winning feeling after having come close but missing out in recent games. How Mumbai tackle Sunil Narine with both bat and ball will be crucial. Gambhir may come back to open the batting along with the powerful Chris Lynn and hoping that Uthappa, Pandey and Yousuf will once again find their mojo.

cited about the future. So what’s the key to getting the best out of them in future? They’ll need help from the more experienced players. I’m sure we can drive them on to perform at that level more and more. But for the future of the club, it’s exceptional to have these players in the team.” You’ve had a terrible season with injuries, are things ok now? I’m good. For me, the inju ry story is done now. I am play ing, I am happy. I’m just glad to be able to contribute. I think my level has been good since I came back and I work hard to be able to perform at the same level. I’ve fought so hard to be back. But my motivation has always been high and I’ve never doubted myself. TCM

Nadal, Murray, Djokovic back ‘World Cup’ Barcelona: Spanish footballer Gerard Pique's idea of a weeklong men's tennis world tournament rivalling the Davis Cup has received support from leading players Andy Murray, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Pique was at the Madrid Open earlier this week, reportedly to discuss a 16-team knockout tournament with ATP Tour chief Chris Kermode. It would potentially replace the former World Team Cup event on the ATP calendar that was played from 1975 to 2012 ahead of Roland Garros. "I think that it's a really exciting idea. If it comes off, I think it would be a very, very good thing for tennis," Murray , told reporters. "I think there's still a lot of things that need to be worked out before it potentially happens, but I think it would be a very good thing." Nadal also came out in support of his compatriot's initiative. "I know from a long time there was a group that wants to create a World Cup that would be a great and very interesting tournament to compete in," the 14-time grand slam champion said. World number two Novak Djokovic, however, warned Pique in his dealing with the "complex" structure of the sport's governing bodies. "The tennis world is complex...there are many different governing bodies and many different associations that have the control over certain aspects of the game or tournaments," the 29-year-old Serbian said. "The schedule is also quite complicated." REUTERS

Wenger aims to silence critics with Euro push Stoke-on-Trent: There is nothing Arsene Wenger relishes more than confounding his doubters and the Arsenal manager will know on Saturday whether he has a strong chance of doing so once again. Wenger's side travel to Stoke having boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League - a task that looked a lost cause just a few weeks ago - by winning 2-0 at Southampton on Wednesday. That left Arsenal in fifth place in the Premier League, three points behind Manchester City in the slot directly above. City will have played their home game with Leicester City by the time Arsenal kick off at Stoke, but a Gunners victory is sure to stoke up the pressure on Liverpool, who are currently in third. Jurgen Klopp's side are four points better off than Arsenal, but crucially have played one fixture more than City and the Gunners, and are at West Ham on Sunday. But while Wenger cannot wait to say 'told you so' to his critics Gunners defender Shkodran Mustafi is still concerned his team may have left it a little too late. "I wish we found that before," he said of Arsenal's recent revival. "But now we have three games and we have to give everything to try and get everything out of all the games. Hopefully at the end we'll reach our goals." Arsenal will finish the campaign with home games against relegated Sunderland and then Everton, but first they must focus on ending their poor run at Stoke. Although they have not won there since 2010, losing on four of their eight visits, Wenger's men will be hopeful of ending that sorry sequence so long as Alexis Sanchez is in the team. The Chile star scored at Southampton to being his Premier League goal tally for the season to 20, and 14 of those have been in away games. "I think it will give us hope, because if we keep the pressure on the other teams, maybe they will have an unlucky game or drop points somewhere," Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech said. "We need to make sure we are ready to take advantage of that. We concentrate on our games, we go game-by-game and we have to win all of them to give ourselves a chance. Then we will see what happens." Arsenal will be facing a Stoke side with just one win from their last nine games, yet City manager Mark Hughes is confident his players will rise to the occasion. "It's going to be a good atmosphere, it always is when Arsenal come to town," Hughes said. "Saturday is our last home game as well and we will want to end with a positive result and performance, so we need everybody behind us and hopefully cheer us to a victory. AFP

‘I am trying to have less bad days’

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arbine Muguruza is the talented Spanish tennis player who shocked the sport this time last year when she defeated Serena Williams to win the final of the French Open, in Paris. The 6ft tall right-hander has been tipped to replace Williams as world No.1 while the American takes time off to have a baby.But Muguruza, who was runner-up at Wimbledon the year before, has been hampered by a series of injury problems since her breathtaking success on the French clay at Roland Garros, last Spring. Here the 23year-old talks about her battles with fitness, her French Open success, how she relaxes away from the tennis court and hopes for the rest of the year ahead.

Injuries mean you have played fewer matches on clay than some of your rivals as we get nearer the French Open. How will that damage your chances to defend your title? I'm not concerned about whether I have played more or less matches on clay, because it's a surface where I have played a lot. I am not even looking forward to Roland Garros right now. I won it, but there's Rome, Birmingham,

Wimbledon ... there are a lot of other tournaments ahead too! My priority is to stay fit and start every tournament at the top of my game.

Was there a reaction to your success in Paris, in that you found it hard to stay at that very high level? I’ve been in the situation before where you win a lot of matches, and then suddenly, you know, you lose. You're like, ‘Oh, I thought I was going to win.’ What I'm trying is, you know, to have less bad days in the year. Doesn't matter whether it is Paris or not Paris. I mean, for the entire year.

What do you think about Sharapova’s return? She ended her ban and she deserves a second opportunity. She is one of the best players and that's why all the tournaments wants her.

Who will replace Serena Williams as world No.1? Everybody’s dreaming about being No.1. All the players want to be the No.1player. I’m not thinking this way, I decided to keep my focus and win matches and tournaments, but of course I would be very happy to be No.1. Many of us are playing well, but no one can dominate as Serena did. TCM

WI slide to 97-3 against Pak Roseau (Dominica): Legspinner Yasir Shah took all three wickets as the West Indies slipped to 97-3, trailing Pakistan by 279 runs after the third morning session of the third test on Friday. When Shah rooted out Kraigg Brathwaite, lunch was called, and the Pakistanis would have dined in a good mood. The West Indies resumed on 14 without loss from overnight and still struggled to score. Pakistan fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Abbas conceded

less than two runs an over, and the batsmen went after Shah, who took some time to settle after he was introduced in the ninth over of the day.

THIRD TEST But Shah also induced the most mistakes. Kieran Powell was first to go, teased by Shah into mishitting to Azhar Ali and out for 31 from 82 balls. New man Shimron Hetmyer lasted only four overs, caught behind down the leg

side after a video review. Hetmyer made 17 off 18 balls. Shai Hope joined opener Kragg Brathwaite, and the latter looked unbreakable on sentry duty. But he was beaten by turn and gave wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed a second straight catch. Brathwaite was out for 29 after 123 deliveries, only one of them a boundary. Hope was 15 not out, and Shah, who took 8 and 9 wickets in the previous two tests, had 3-49 already in the series decider. AP

THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017

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TIMES SPORT

BAGAN, BFC THROUGH Sanjib Das

Sony Nets Equaliser In 1-1 Draw As They Face EB In Semis Nilesh.Bhattacharya @timesgroup.com

Cuttack: It’s official now: The second semifinal of the ongoing Federation Cup will be a Kolkata derby. The match-up was confirmed after defending champions Mohun Bagan came from behind to draw 1-1 with Bengaluru FC at the Barabati Stadium on Friday. BFC, who survived some anxious moments despite taking an early lead through Alwyn George, will take on I-League champions Aizawl FC in the first semifinal.

FEDERATION CUP

Begaluru FC players celebrate their goal over Mohun Bagan on Friday

The tournament lived up to its expectations with the top-four finishers in I-League making it to the knock-out stage here. Both semifinals will be held on Sunday. The semifinalists from Group B were yet to be identified when Bagan and BFC took the field. BFC needed a draw to advance while a win would have given them the top spot. On the other hand, Lajong FC — who had killed DSK Shivajians’ hopes with a thrilling 3-2 win in the day’s earlier match — were praying for a Mohun Bagan win. That would have seen three teams finishing their group engagements with three points each and the North-East side going through on better goal difference.

BFC began on a bright note, opening their account in the 11th minute. Alwyn, released by Harmanjot Singh Khabra from the right, took Subhashis Bose’s challenge in his stride and beat Debjit Majumdar with a powerful angular shot. Bagan backline was shaken again six minutes later, but this time the woodwork came to their rescue as Sunil Chhetri was left cursing his luck. Bagan responded through skipper Katsumi Yusa on the half-hour mark, but he headed straight into Amrinder, while Sony Norde failed to take advantage of a loose ball inside the BFC box. Sony, who tormented BFC’s defence throughout the game, was, however,

not to be denied after the break. The equaliser came in the 50th minute. Kean Lewis relayed the ball to Sony on the left flank. The Haitian went on a mazy run, outsmarting and outpacing three BFC players on the way before unleashing a low powerful drive from 25 yards out. It gave Amrinder no chance.

Lajong’s valiant fight in vain A10-man Shillong Lajong scored in added time to beat DSK Shivajians 3-2 in their last Federation Cup group match, reports Sudeshna.Ghosh. It is a pity that Lajong’s fight went in vain as they were knocked out of the tournament. With the temperature — 37

Aizawl have carried their confidence

degrees but with a real feel of 47 — gradually dipping, players began to find their agility and chances began to be created at both ends. The first goal, however, was more like a gift to Lajong as a mix-up inside the Shivajians box led Lajong’s sole striker on the day in absence of the injured Aser Dipanda Dicka, Alen Deory, to glide the ball into the goal. The equalizer for Shivajians eventually arrived in the 64th minute. Barraso sent a free-kick into the box and the newly-substituted Holicharan Narzary dribbled past two defenders to shoot the ball into the top corner of the Lajong goal. It was, however, not long before Lajong regained their lead and it came through a goof-up by Shivajians skipper Subrata Paul in the 68th minute. Deory sent a cross into the box from the right that the goalkeeper could not hold on to and Redeem Tlang did not miss the chance to rush in and shoot the rebound for their second goal. In the 74th minute, Kaith found Chhangte charge towards the box and brought the striker down with a tackle outside the box and referee Pranjal Mukherjee sent the goalie off. With ten men on the field, Lajong had to replace strike-spearhead Deory for substitute ’keeper Phurba Tempa Lachenpa. It was then that Narzary scored a splendid goal from 30 yards out in the 86th minute. In the 93rd minute, Samu el Lalmuanpuia, who had been impressive throughout the game, found himself in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper with no defender in sight and shot the ball home for the victory.

BENGALURU GUNG-HO ABOUT ISL SLOT Marcus.Mergulhao @timesgroup.com

Panaji: Bengaluru FC appear determined to join the Indian Super League (ISL) after missing the bus in 2014. The former I-League champions and India’s most successful club in the last four years picked up the invitation to bid (ITB) document on the first day itself making their interest in the franchise-based league evidently clear. “We have picked up the document today so the intent is definitely there,” Mandar Tamhane, chief technical officer at the club, told TOI on Friday. According to sources, Bengaluru FC will now go through the document and evaluate their options. “Bengaluru picked up the document early because they wanted to study everything in detail. If they decide to go ahead and submit the bid, they will need some time to put everything together,” said a source who is closely tracking the development. Bengaluru FC had picked up the invitation to bid document prior to the launch of the ISL in 2014 but differences cropped up between the JSW-owned club and the organizers. Bengaluru wanted to be part of the ISL but, according to sources, did not submit the complete bid document. Sources said Bengaluru FC will submit their bid document only if they receive assurances from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that ISL participation won’t rob them of the chance to play in Asian competitions, particularly the AFC Champions League playoff and AFC Cup. “For Bengaluru FC to participate, ISL must get recognition from AFC,” said the source. Bengaluru FC’s wish may actually come true.

ISL clubs may get AFC Cup slot Marcus.Mergulhao @timesgroup.com

Panaji: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) may not be averse to allotting an AFC Cup slot to winners of the Super Cup, a competition that will involve four ISL franchises. AIFF and IMG-Reliance officials have held talks with the AFC during the Congress in Bahrain early this week and are confident that the governing body for football in Asia will have no objections if one guaranteed AFC Cup slot is reserved for the Super Cup, which will replace the existing Federation Cup. The Super Cup will be an eight-team competition involving four top teams each from the ISL and I-League. According to sources, the I-League will continue to remain the premier football competition and the winners will automatically qualify for the AFC Champions League play-off. “We will get to know about the actual allocation only later this month. We have asked for three slots: one AFC Champions League play-off and two for the AFC Cup,” said AIFF general secretary Kushal Das, who attended the meeting in Bahrain. “Let’s wait and see what the AFC decides. Whatever the AFC decision, we will discuss and find a way forward. The AFC has not rejected our proposal for an additional slot (from existing two to three) or given any (other) assurances. We will know only on May 24,” he said .

Puyol to hand first ticket to Bagan legend’s descendant

Bagan writes to AFC for status quo Kolkata: Mohun Bagan Club, on Friday, wrote to Asian Football Confederation general secretary Dato Windsor John urging him to reserve the AFC Champions League qualifier and AFC Cup slots for the I-League winners and runners-up respectively. “In our meeting with AIFF president Praful Patel earlier this month, he had said that I-League will remain the official league of the country. Accordingly, we have written to the AFC general secretary that the winners and runners-up of the I-League should get the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup berths,” said Bagan general secretary Anjan Mitra. It was learnt that East Bengal too are contemplating writing to the AFC on similar lines. TNN

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Kolkata: In another tribute to the historic 1911 IFA Shield-winning Mohun Bagan team, the local organising committee (LOC) of the Fifa under-17 World Cup has decided to hand over the ceremonial first ticket for the event to Gouri Bhaduri, a descendant of Shibdas Bhaduri who was the captain of that Mohun Bagan side. The ceremonial ticket would allow her family to attend any match across the six host cities. Gouri, grand daughter-inlaw of Shibdas Bhaduri, will be handed over the ticket by Barcelona legend and Spain World Cup winner, Carles Puyol, and Union sports minister Vijay Goel at a programme in New Delhi on Monday. Puyol, who is expected to arrive on Monday, will also grace the launch of the ticket sales for the under-17 World Cup on Tuesday at 19.11hours (IST). Fifa has specially chosen the time to honour Mohun Bagan’s win over East Yorkshire Regiment in 1911 IFA Shield final which is an important landmark in the history of Indian football.

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But the maturity which Khalid Jamil’s boys have shown has been commendable. They have carried their confidence into the tournament and that was on evidence when they scored winners in the later stages of their games. The character has been so much unmistakably synonymous with the Club and it won’t be easy to prey them down. In comparison, East Bengal haven’t been that impressive so far. They stay gasping for some consistency upfront and they need it in the next game itself. In terms of creativity and scoring, they have a lot of work to do. But at the same time you need to remember that they are already in the semis and once the teams are there, their approach is bound to change. Going into the semis, East Bengal’s strategy will be simple – they will intend to keep it tight in defence and not concede at any cost. (TCM)

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HE Hero Federation Cup is a knock-out tournament and has its own charm with its fair amount of surprises. The format of the tournament always gives that fair chance to all teams and hence, the weaker teams always fancy their chances — looking out for that one mistake from their rivals which can strike exit bells. However, despite some moments of anxiety, Aizawl FC and East Bengal have sailed smoothly into the semifinals, and I believe the actual game begins from here. On the surface, connoisseurs may not be willing to read much into Aizawl FC’s performance so far. But you need to remember that the Hero I-League and the Federation Cup are poles apart. Here in Cuttack, Aizawl

FC don’t enjoy the support of their home crowd and most importantly have been drawn out of their comfort zone playing in entirely different climatic conditions. They came on the back of some widespread celebrations and not having much experience of wearing the crown, there was always that danger of being complacent and not being able to sustain the pressure and the momentum in the process.

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK Bhaichung Bhutia

Silver for Sakshi, Vinesh New Delhi: Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik settled for the silver losing to Risako Kawai of Japan in the women's 60kg category, while Vinesh Phogat (55kg) also fell short in the final at the Asian Wrestling Championships here on Friday. In the 69kg category, the new girl on the block Divya Kakran also settled for the silver medal after going to Japan's Sara Dosho 0-8. Many hopes of a gold were pinned on Sakshi. But the Indian came a cropper in the final as Rio Olympics gold medallist Kawai hardly broke sweat as she outplayed Sakshi 10-0. Competing for the first time in women's 60kg category after moving up the weight division from 58kg, Sakshi never looked in contention. Right from the start, the Japanese player took a solid 4-0 lead by throwing the Indian to the edge of the mat and then a few seconds later she made it 10-0 to claim the gold medal. "It was a bad day, but I hope I will do better in future tournaments," Sakshi said after the match. The bronze medal went to Avaulum Kassvmova of Kazakhistan, who defeated Uzbekistan's Nabira Esenbaeva 13-3. Vinesh Phogat, the third of the four Phogat sisters, seemed struggling on the mat and lost her gold medal match to Japan's Nanjo Sae 4-8. It was a poor start by Vinesh as at one point she was trailing 0-4. But in the last few minutes,

ASIAN WRESTLING the Indian grappler, who was competing in her first international competition post a careerthreatening knee injury, tried to bounce back and she was also successful as the 22-year-old snatched four points. But with the clock ticking, Vinesh failed to step up to the occasion and her opponent Sae proved superior in the dying minutes to clinch the gold medal. "It is difficult to come back to the mat after having such a serious injury. But it was good experience. I am happy with the silver " Vinesh said. In the 69kg category, Divya lost to Sara Dosho 0-8. It was a fine start by the promising Indian grappler but after a few seconds Divya gave away two points and Doshu made it 4-0 within a minute. The next three minutes saw numerous attacks by Divya. The Indian grappler tried many leg attacks but she failed. Witnessing that, the Japanese player started counter-attacks and as a result Dosho bagged two more points to make it 6-0 in first four minutes. Soon the Japanese took two more points when she pinned down Divya to clinch the gold. In women's 48kg category, Ritu Phogat settled for the bronze medal in the 48kg category. Ritu got a walkover by China's Yanan Sun, who pulled out of the match owing to an injury. IANS

Customs to write apology letters to shooters? [email protected]

Pune: Two days after Indian shooters were made to wait for 12 hours at the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi for clearance of their guns, the Customs department seems to be taking effort to build the bridges with the international shooters. It is learnt that the Customs will be sending letters to all 17 shooters who were made to wait at the airport on their return from Czech Republic and Cyprus. It had happened for the first time that Customs had

Customs will be sending letters to all 17 shooters who were made to wait at the airport on their return from Czech Republic and Cyprus made the shooters to wait for so long 'on arrival' and perhaps, if the letters are issued, it will be a first of its kind too. “The National Rifle Association of India got calls from a senior Customs officer asking for mailing addresses of the shooters. They perhaps

want to send personlised letters to all the shooters for the inconvenience caused to them,” NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia told TOI. When TOI contacted the Customs department to get more clarity, a senior official informed that the matter has been escalated to the highest level. “I won’t be the right person to comment on it, as the matter has gone to the higher authorities,” he said. When contacted, the Customs commissioner Sanjay Mangal was not available for a comment.

Vol. VI Issue No.86 Registration No. KERENG/2012/45830. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., by Sunil Unnithan at Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., 4th Floor, Imperial Trade Centre, M G Road, North End, Cochin - 682035 and printed by him at Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd, XII/13 F, Manjummal, Eloor, Udyogamandal.P.O, Ernakulam District, Pin code-683 501; The Mathrubhumi Ptg & Pbg Co Ltd., Survey No.: 314/5, 7, 8, Edakuni Village, Trikkur, Nenmanikara Panchayath, Trichur - 680306; Sanathanapuram, Punnapra (N), Paravur Village, Alappuzha - 688003. Regd. Office: Dr Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Mumbai - 400001. Editor: Manoj K. Das -responsible for selection of news under PRB Act. © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

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