English dc 22 01 2018

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THE LARGEST CIRCULATED ENGLISH DAILY IN SOUTH INDIA HYDERABAD

NATION

WEATHER Max: 30.1OC Min: 12.7OC RH: 42% Rainfall: Nil Forecast: Clear sky.

Morning mist/haze likely.

Max/Min temp. 30/14ºC

ASTROGUIDE Hemalamba: Uttarayana Thithi: Magha Shuddha Panchami till 4.20 pm Star: Purvabhadra till 7.04 am Varjyam: 5.04 pm to 6.44 pm Durmuhurtham: 12.49 pm to 1.34 pm; 3:03 pm to 3.47 pm Rahukalam: 7.30 am to 9 am HIJRI CALENDAR Jamadi-Ul-Awwal 4, 1439 AH PRAYERS Fajar: 5.47 am Zohar: 12.37 pm Asar: 4.29 pm Maghrib: 6.11 pm Isha: 7.22 pm SUNSET TODAY 6.06 PM SUNRISE TOMORROW 6.50 AM MOONRISE TOMORROW 10.18 AM MOONSET TODAY 10.33 PM

COUNTER

POINT

Hegde rakes up Dalit row with dogs barking remark

TIRUPATI, JAN. 21

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday arrested suspended Telugu Desam Andhra Pradesh Member of Legislative Council Vakati Narayana Reddy in Bengaluru for borrowing `200 crore from IFCI Bank allegedly with fabricated documents and not repaying it.

The CBI called Mr Reddy for an inquiry and arrested him after questioning. As the MLC had not repaid the loan, it had turned into a non-performing asset.

The bank had served several notices to his construction company, VNR Constructions, but they were returned as he had shifted from the location.

The bank then wrote to the CBI economic offences wing.

The CBI raided the MLC’s house and the offices of VNR Constructions on March 12, 2017.

The CBI found that the assets were exaggerated and the loan was taken by showing that VNR Constructions was making profits while in reality it was running in losses and had run up several debts.

Mr Reddy had also taken loans from many other banks.

Mr Narayana Reddy was elected MLC from Telugu Desam, but the party suspended him after the CBI raids.

LEGAL | TANGLE

KCR orders massive surveys ahead of polls ■ MP,

MLA performance to be analysed

CH.V.M. KRISHNA RAO | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has, for the first time, engaged three private agencies to conduct separate large-scale surveys on the performance of the TRS government, the party and the MLAs/MPs across the state.

In all the earlier surveys, there were around 250 to 300 respondents from each Assembly segment, which totals 35,000

■ Three agencies will survey 3,000 persons from each Assembly segment.

■ Each agency will survey 3.5 lakh in all.

■ Total sample to cross 1 million. respondents. This time, the surveys will gather opinions from 3,000 persons from each

Ready to cross border: Rajnath Some time ago, Pakistan had attacked and martyred 17 of our jawans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi consulted us on this serious issue and the Indian Army entered the Pakistani area and killed militants.

— RAJNATH SINGH Union home minister

Union home minister Rajnath Singh said here on Sunday that India would not hesitate to cross the border and attack the enemy if the need arose.

Speaking at a public meeting here, Mr Singh said: “Some time ago, Pakistan attacked and martyred 17 of our jawans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi consulted all of us on this serious issue and then the Indian Army entered the Pakistani area and killed the militants.”

He said India’s image in the world had now become “that of a strong nation, and the world was now aware that we can attack our enemies not only on our soil, but also in their territory” if they continue to target our jawans.

The home minister said while India wanted to keep friendly relations with all its neighbours, Pakistan was not “mending its ways”. He

said under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, the Indian economy was moving ahead at a fast pace and the country was emerging stronger. “Even global economists and experts accept this," he said.

The home minister’s statement comes a week after Indian soldiers carried out a retaliatory action against Pakistan, killing seven of its soldiers and injuring four others along the LoC in J&K’s Poonch district.

Assembly segment, taking the total sample to around 3.5 lakh for each survey agency and all the three agencies put together it will cross one million.

These three simultaneous surveys will gather information on the performance of various government schemes, such as whether they are reaching people or not, what more they need from the government etc.

■ Page 6: Crores to be spent on surveys

UNSC TEAM TO ASSESS PAK ON TERROR

Islamabad, Jan. 21: Amid mounting global pressure on Pakistan to act against Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and entities linked to him, a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) team will visit the country this week for an assessment of Islamabad’s compliance with the world body’s sanctions regime.

The two-day visit of the UNSC’s sanctions monitoring team will begin on Thursday. “The monitoring team of the UNSC 1267 sanctions committee will be here on January 25 and 26,” a senior Pakistani official was quoted as saying by Dawn.

The UN monitoring team’s visit is taking place amid pressure on Pakistan from the US and India with respect to the inadequate implementation of the sanctions on Saeed and entities linked to him.

However, Pakistani officials, insist that the trip is a routine visit. — PTI

No farming, no sop L. VENKAT RAM REDDY | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

The Telangana state government’s ambitious `8,000 per acre, per year, financial assistance for farmers from May this year may come with a rider.

The amount will be disbursed in two instalments of `4,000 each, for the kharif and rabi seasons.

However, not every one of the 71 lakh farmers will get the same amount because the government wants to take the average crop sown area as the benchmark. At least that is the recommendation of the government sub-com-

■ CJI

■ THE RABI crop is done in 56 lakh acres due to nonavailability of water. This means that more than half of the cultivable land will not be eligible for the financial aid. mittee. The total crop sown area is 1.42 crore acres. But it is only in the kharif season, in June, that there is full-scale cultivation.

The rabi crop, sown in October, is at just 56 lakh acres due to non-availability of water.

This means that more than half of the total cultivable land in the state will not be eligible for the financial assistance in the rabi season.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has to take a final call on this recommendation.

The burden on the state exchequer in the kharif season has been estimated at `5,731 crore. In the rabi season it will come down drastically to `2,238 crore as the cultivated area is less. The overall burden on the state government per year has been pegged at `7,969 crore.

■ Page 9: TS has no data on kharif, rabi farming

to bring transparency in work allocation

SC roster to be in public domain

New Delhi, Jan. 21: Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has examined suggestions from stakeholders to bring transparency in allocation of sensitive PILs to judges and is likely to bring in the public domain soon the system he is going to adopt for it, sources close to him said on Sunday.

They said that the listing of two petitions demanding an independent probe into the death of CBI special judge B.H. Loya before a bench headed by the CJI

Dimitrov sends Kyrgios packing at Australian Open

■ Justice Dipak Misra has held

deliberations with fellow Judges and also taken into account the suggestions of the Supreme Court Bar Association. A clear-cut roster system is likely to be followed in the apex court. manifests that all issues, including allocation of cases, raised by the four seniormost judges, are being considered. The Loya case petitions will come up

for hearing on Monday.

The sources said that Justice Misra has held deliberations with fellow judges and also taken into account the suggestions put

forth by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and a clear-cut roster system is likely to be followed in the apex court for allocation of cases.

“The apex court registry is very likely to upload on its website the decision of the CJI on allocation of matters. The system will be brought in the public domain as to who will hear what categories of cases,” a source said.

— PTI ■ Another report on Page 13

Vol. 81 No. 21 Established 1938 | 40

PAGES

| `4.00

■ Stage set for mini-election to Delhi Assembly

VOTER PULSE

DC CORRESPONDENT

DC CORRESPONDENT

13 16

SPORTS

deccanchronicle.com, facebook.com/deccannews, twitter.com/deccanchronicle, google.com/+deccanchronicle

LUCKNOW, JAN. 21

CBI ARRESTS MLC FOR BAD LOANS

I MONDAY I 22 JANUARY 2018

Narendra Modi

NO POPULIST BUDGET THIS TIME: MODI New Delhi, Jan. 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday indicated that the upcoming Budget will not be a populist one and said it’s a myth that the common man expects “freebies and sops” from the government.

In a TV interview on Sunday, he also pledged that his government will stay on the course of the reforms agenda that has pulled out India from being among the “fragile five” economies of the world to being a 'bright spot'.

Mr Modi stoutly defended his economic policies, saying demonetisation was “a very big success story” and that he was open to changes in the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) to plug loopholes and make it a more efficient “one-nation-onetax” system.

— PTI ■ Another report on Pg 13

Prez gives nod to axe 20 AAP MLAs DC CORRESPONDENT

They are trying to harass us by all means... They got CBI raids done at my office, but after 24-hour search they only found my four mufflers...”

NEW DELHI, JAN. 21

With President Ram Nath Kovind accepting the Election Commission’s recommendation to disqualify 20 MLAs of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for holding offices of profit, the stage is set for a mini-election in the nation’s capital as the election panel now has to hold byelections in these Assembly seats within six months.

Reacting to this development, senior AAP leader Ashutosh said: “The President’s order to disqualify the AAP MLAs is unconstitutional and dangerous for democracy.”

A notification issued by the law ministry on Sunday quoted the President as saying that in light of the opinion given by the Election Commission, the 20 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly had been disqualified.

In a blow to the AAP, the EC had on Friday asked the President to disqualify these 20 MLAs. “Having considered the matter in the light of the opinion expressed by the

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tosses a coin before a badminton match of the Assembly Sports Tournament on Sunday.

— PTI

ARVIND KEJRIWAL, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Kejriwal has lost the moral right to rule and he should step down after the disqualification of 20 MLAs of his party.

Election Commission, I, Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, in exercise of the powers... do here hold that the aforesaid 20 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly stand disqualified from being members of the said Assembly,” the notification said.

Once the Delhi Assembly Speaker declares 20 vacancies in the House, the AAP’s strength will come down from 66 to 46. But it will still have a comfort-

AJAY MAKEN, Congress able majority as the Opposition has only four MLAs. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal tweeted on Sunday: “There was some logic when God gave us 67 seats. The Almighty stood behind us in our every step. Otherwise we would have been nothing...

Just don’t stray away from the path of truth.”

■ Page 13: Kejriwal hits out at Centre

City

Pawan Kalyan says he will visit Kodagattu Hanuman temple today, announce his itinerary for state tour DECCAN CHRONICLE

Pawan Kalyan who opposed statehood has no right to visit Kondagattu temple — Ponnam Prabhakar Former Congress MP

DCM overturns on ORR, one killed Hyderabad: One person travelling in a DCM van was killed and four others sustained injuries when the vehicle they were travelling in overturned on the Outer Ring Road on Sunday. Police said that the driver lost control over the wheels while negotiating a curve on the ORR at Pedda Amberpet.

The victims are yet to be identified. A case of accidental death has been registered against the driver and the injured persons were rushed to a nearby private hospital, while the deceased was shifted to Osmania mortuary for autopsy.

GHMC to pull down illegal hoardings Hyderabad: The GHMC has decided to pull down all unauthorised hoardings in the city. As many as 333 hoardings in the city’s five zones have been identified as unauthorised. According to a GHMC official, an agency called Istaa Ads has been given the task of removing unauthorised hoardings in the city. The advertisement officer (ADO) will monitor the work and submit a report to the GHMC. The ADO will coordinate with the agency, deputy commissioners and the police authorities to carry out the enforcement operations without interferences from the public, miscreants, local leaders etc.

ONLINE FRAUDSTERS CHEAT MLC DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

A local MLC lodged a complaint with the cybercrime department after his account was wrongly debited with `35,000 by credit card scammers.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, MLC Ramachander Rao said that it started when he was expecting a new credit card. “I first received an SMS along with a reference number which stated that my card was going to be dispatched.

However, I got a call from a person claiming to be a bank official who asked me to give my credentials for confirmation. Once I told my debit card details, within minutes, `35,000 was deducted from my account,” said Mr Rao, adding that he immediately blocked the card and lodged a complaint with Hyderabad CCS. Accordingly, officials at Cybercrime registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC and started an investigation.

ARIMANDA EYES 2ND GUINNESS WORLD RECORD DC CORRESPONDENT

BURN FAT, NOT FUEL

■ An increase in land registrations of 70% was seen in ’17 S.A. ISHAQUI | DC

BRIEF

2

MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

NRIs line up to buy property around city PRICEY INVESTMENT

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

IN

PAGE

Hyderabad continues to be an attractive realty investment destination for NRIs from rich coastal districts who are lining up to own properties in and around the city.

Investors are keen to buy land on acre basis near the suburbs of the city as rates of individual plots have become very steep.

Land prices have shot up in last few months in areas surrounding the city, particularly in locations like Beeramguda, Nallagandla, Tellapur, Uppal, Chandanagar, Ramachandrapuram, Kothaguda, Madhapur, Kondapur, Hafeezpet, Miyapur, Kukatpally, Pragatinagar, Nagole, Tolichowki and Gachibowli.

Land prices have also increased in erstwhile villages like Gopanpally, Vattinagula Pally, Narsinghi Puppalaguda, Raidurg, Manikonda, Alakapur and Manchirevula which have now been merged into the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority limits.

According to realtors, the rate per square yard rose from `25,000 to `40,000 in just three months in these areas. In some areas, the rate for one square yard was as much as `50,000, and enquires for properties in these areas had increased tremendously in the last one month.

Areas like Nanakramguda, Manikonda, Gopanpally, Alakapur, Puppalaguda, Raidurg, Kothaguda, Madhapur and Hafeezpet have turned hot property in the realty market owing to their proximity to IT hubs.

Joint inspector general of stamps and registrations V. Srinivasulu said that there was 70 per cent increase in the land registrations in the state in December 2017 compared to the same time in the previous year. He said that in December 2016, demonetisation had a major impact on the realty sector. But since then there had been a considerable rise in land sales all over the states, particularly in erstwhile districts of Ranga Reddy, Medak and Hyderabad city.

According to Mr Srinivasulu, uncertainty among NRIs from US about their stay in that country was one of the reasons for the hike in land sales in the last two months.

`5,000

per square feet is the approximate rate of a flat in Kondapur, Gachibowli, and Kothaguda and Hafeezpet, according to realtors.

■ People are keen to invest in land in Vikarabad, Shankarpally, Ananthagiri, Singur and Sangareddy as the locations ares suitable for farm houses.

■ According registration department officials more than

8.5 lakh property transactions have taken place in the last two and a half months.

■ In December 2016, demonetisation had a major impact on the realty sector.

Buying land by acres to beat steep rates of plots DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Realtor Jay Prakash from Nallagandla area said, most of the buyers are interested in buying land in acres in areas like Sangareddy, Kandi, Ghatkesar, Ibrahimpatnam, Moinabad, Vikarabad, Shankarpally, Yadadri and Chevella which has led to a spike in land prices in these areas. Investors are interested in these areas as realty prices in and around the IT corridors have become exorbitant.

Mr Prakash said that one acre land in Mamidipally village of Medak district was selling for more than at `1 crore as the area is close to IIT. Rates have even gone up to a staggering `2 crore in Shankarpally and Mokilla villages for their proximity to ICFAI and other educational institutions.

A resident of Janwada village near Gandipet said, people were even buying lands which fall under GO 111 at higher

■ MORE THAN 300 properties are being registered every day for the past two months, says an official from Sangareddy resgistrar office. rates to build farm houses.

He said sprawling farm houses have come up in Shankarpally, Mokilla and Janwada villages in recent times. Four-laning of roads connecting Gandipet to Shankarpally also added to land price rise.

Realtor Mehamood Baig from Chandanagar said that rich folks from coastal districts, particularly West and East Godavari and Krishna districts, were of late showing interest on buying properties in Sangareddy, Zaheerabad and areas close to National Investment and Manufacturing Zone in Medak. He said buyers were paying `25 to `35 lakh per acre despite

NIMZ being at least 100 km from Hyderabad.

Narrating an experience with one buyer from West Godavari, Mr Baig said the person told him that he had encashed all his fixed deposits to buy land as he was afraid of losing money vis a vis Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill. A lot of prospective buyers he came across in the past one month had similar apprehensions, Mr Baig said.

Mr K. Rajvardhan Reddy, a property dealer in Sangareddy town, said that recently several real estate ventures had come up in Shankarpally, Nandigaon, Ravirala and Alamkhanguda areas looking to the prospect of good rail connectivity in the near future, with the proposal to extend MMTS service to Shankarpally.

An official in the registrar’s office of Sangareddy district said that more than 300 properties are being registered every day for the past two months.

SSC officers seek pension benefits COREENA SUARES | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Short Service Commission Officers (SSCO) of the Army, Air Force and Navy have sought from the Central government ECHS (Health Cards), monthly pension and canteen facility on par with the commissioned officers.

The one-rank-one-pension (OROP) joint campaign of the armed forces also lists allocation of funds for the benefit of the SSCOs. “We have devoted the prime of our youth to the armed forces, now the

■ ENTRY INTO the Services for officers is through different streams. Short Service Commission is offered for all three wings — Army, Navy and Air Force. government must also consider providing us benefits at par with the other personnel, said one officer.

The Association of SSCO is planning to file a PIL in the Supreme Court.

Major Shiva Kiran (retd.), an SSC officer said, “SSCOs are generally commissioned as officers between 20-23 years age group and given the prime

of their youth to the country, but today they are neglected a lot. They do not get pension, medical facilities etc., which the regular officers get. The SSCOs are now seeking the intervention of the government on issues like pro-rata pension, ECHS access and exservicemen status.

Another SSCO, Captain Maharaj Uppal Singh rep-

resenting the SSCO Association from New Delhi said, “It is over 51 years since the defence ministry has been recruiting SSCOs. When officers retire, they manage to get an employment but are denied status of an ex-officer. Even SSCOs who served the forces for 14 years are not given benefits, while permanent officers get all benefits. There are over 15,000 SSCO across three wings of the Indian defence forces who have served the nation but have not been given the status they deserve.”

Participants at a cycle rally called ‘Saksham’ organised by the IOC as part of an awareness campaign for gas conservation in the city on Sunday. The rally was flagged off at Necklace Road by MP Bandaru Dattatreya.

— DC

Women seek to reclaim safe spaces with #IWillGoOut INDULEKHA ARAKKAL | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

The hashtag #IWillGoOut has been trending online ever since it began two years ago with women across the country raising their voices for safety in public spaces. The walk for safety for the second year in a row was held on Sunday across different states. The participants were asked to mark the area they were walking on by leaving a message stating that they will go out in the public irrespective of time or space.

Many women in Hyderabad took to social media and shared photos of their drawings on roads. Seetha Vinod, a 23-year-old techie, said, “It is a movement that is essential to check the mentality that women should not step out after hours or should dress in a certain way if she wants to go out at night.

You cannot question the woman, instead question why she cannot walk in a public space without jeers following her?”

The march was held at Public Garden in Nampally. Varsha Bhargavi, an official from the child welfare department and the state coordinator for the walk, said, “A lot of school girls and even college students attended the walk and shared their views. A lot of families present there on a Sunday questioned us about the rising number of cases against women.” Last year saw many online campaigns supporting women like the #MeToo in which woman shared if they had been abused at some point in their life. A lot of women in Hyderabad shared the #IWillGoOut campaign.

Marches were also held in Bengaluru, New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur and other cities where women turned up in large numbers.

■ PARTICIPANTS were asked to mark the area they were walking on by leaving a message stating that they will go out in the public irrespective of time or space.

SAFETY VALVE margadarshaks

police from 400 trained cases 100 55 companies. routed

500

through marpeople gadarshaks. approached margadarshaks.

An IT employee can easily relate to the problems of another IT employee. So, we designed this programme. We visited companies and trained employees. We equip them with all the necessary skills BHARANI KUMAR AROLL, general secretary, SCSC ■ MAJORITY OF the people who approached margadarshaks were from the IT Industry like TCS, Wipro, HSBC, Infosys, Genpact, IBM, Tech Mahindra.

Margdarshak shows the way for techies NAVEENA GHANATE | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Margdarshak is catching up with women techies as they have reported issues related to domestic abuses and stalking. The initiative by the Society of Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC) has selected a few women techies and trained them to perform the role of a mentor or a margadarshak.

“Domestic violence is a common issue among women techies. Most of the cases are related to husbands assaulting wives and torture by inlaws. These days, there is an increase in cyberstalking. The victims come to us and we hear them. We later inform the SHE Teams or the local police,” said Mrs Padma Priya, a margadarshak who is also associated with Nasscom.

There is a mandatory internal compliance committees (ICC) at IT companies which deals with workplace harassment.

■ MARGADARSHAK also deals with domestic issues and harassment women techies face at public places.

However, the scope of margadarshak is beyond that. It deals with domestic issues and harassment women techies face at public places. Besides, it also creates awareness and gives tips to file police complaints.

“An IT employee can easily relate to the problems of another IT employee.

So, while designing this programme, we visited companies and trained employees.

We equip them with all the necessary skills,” said Bharani Kumar Aroll, general secretary, SCSC. The next session of the margadarshak programme will be held at TCS on January 30. “The goal is to rope in as many margadarshaks as possible because a strong woman acts as a catalyst,” added Mr Aroll

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Arimanda Vijaya Sarada Reddy, secretary Holy Group of Institutions, will make attempt for a second Guinness Book of World Record for largest mindfulness lesson on Monday.

She earlier made it to the Guinness Book World Record on July 15, 2011, for soft skills awareness programme.

Mrs Sarada Reddy said, “This is an attempt to completely control the mind. In today’s fast-paced world youngsters need to have good ideas. The effort has been done earlier but it was attempted with 250 people and now I am going to attempt this with 400 people sitting in one area.”

■ She earlier made it to the Guinness Book World Record on July 15, 2011, for soft skills awareness programme.

ORAL | HEALTH

■ People

with bad teeth health are at an 80 per cent risk of developing colon, lung cancer

Clean mouths, gateway to a healthy living KANIZA GARARI | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

People with lack of teeth in the jaw line due to advanced age or bad teeth health are at an 80 per cent risk of developing colon cancer, says to a recent study.

Bad oral health leads to high risk of developing oral cancers and those of the lung, colon and pancreas, where the bacteria accumulate in the oral cavity leading to the growth of cancers cells in the organs.

Senior dentist Dr Sushil Kumar said, “Advanced gum diseases called periodontitis is caused by bac-

terial infection that damages the soft tissues and bone that support the teeth. If this is not attended to by patients the inflammation spreads in the gums and along the roots of the teeth. This is also found to destroy the ligaments and the supporting bone which leads to loss of other teeth and spread of the infection. For this reason, it is important to get the teeth examined in the annual overall health check-up so that any underlying conditions can be detected early.”

There are more than 700 different species of bacteria colonising a healthy

PREVENT TOOTH DECAY ■ Get your teeth checked in your annual health check-ups. mouth, most of which are completely harmless and live in harmony with their host. However, in the absence of sufficient oral hygiene and tooth cleaning, bacterial deposits

■ BRUSHING HELPS IN PREVENTING THE BUILD-UP OF PLAQUE AND BACTERIA WHICH CAN CAUSE TOOTH DECAY AND PERIODONTAL DISEASES. ■ Flossing helps clean the crevices where the brush can’t reach.

■ The tongue harbours bacteria too. Therefore, clean the tongue with a scraper.

build up next to the gums, forming a plaque, and the conditions become suitable for more dangerous bacteria to flourish.

These harmful bacteria along with lifestyle habits of smoking and drinking affect the colon and lungs.

■ Sugary and starchy foods can cause tooth decay as sugar reacts with the bacteria in saliva to form an acid that erodes the tooth enamel.

Oncologist Dr Sai Ram said, “Multiple studies have been conducted at the clinical level some of which have shown a very strong association while

others have not. Cases differ depending on eating habits and hygiene factors.

Cancers develop over a period of 10-15 years and hence there is a lot of scope for correction and following good prevention methods. Hygiene is a very important part of that.”

The continuous inflammation in the oral region is found to alter the gut bacteria causing immune disruption leading to colorectal cancer. Experts said that oral health impacts the overall health of a person and maintaining hygiene helps avoid accumulation of bad bacteria.

City

Nayani Narasimha Reddy sets foundation stone for police commissionerate at Ramagundam DECCAN CHRONICLE

TRS will rule the state for the next 10 years — Etala Rajendar TS minister

■ Harassment of student row takes an ugly turn

Elly school files case against kid’s father DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

IN

BRIEF

Minor fire at Mangalhat Hyderabad: A minor fire broke out in Rahimpura area of Mangalhat on Saturday.

According to the police, no casualities or injury was reported. The incident took place due to an electric short circuit, the police officials said. “The incident took place in the second floor of a building in Mangalhat on Saturday night. The fire erupted due to short circuit and destroyed a few properties,” said Inspector of Mangalhat. “One fire tender was called on the spot and it took about 30 minutes to douse down the flames,” added the official.

DC IMPACT: 51 ARCHITECTS GET NOTICE DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority has issued notices to 51 architects for submitting faulty plans to property owners to gain benefits under the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) and in gaining building permissions.

HMDA officials claimed that they will be blacklisted, if found guilty. This follows a report in these columns on January 16.

HMDA commissioner T. Chiranjeevulu said that it had come to their notice that the licenced architects were uploading incomplete or faulty layouts in order to get approval under LRS. Due to this, the HMDA had been rejecting applications.

He said the architects had been indulging in discrepancies whch was resulting in property owners having to do the rounds of the HMDA office.

TS HAS NO DATA ON KHARIF, RABI FARMING DC CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

The Telangana state government’s ambitious `8,000 per acre, per year, financial assistance for farmers from May this year may come with a rider.

The state government may also exclude uncultivated agriculture land from the scheme.

Agricultural land around Hyderabad that was purchased for real estate purposes has not been cultivated for long and will not be considered for the scheme.

Such uncultivated agricultural lands exist in villages surrounded by district headquarters and municipal corporations where there is a realty boom as the owners are keen on developing layouts on those lands.

Another problem the government has to solve is how it will distinguish farmers who sow crops in two seasons and those who do so only once.

“This is where the Farmers’ Coordination Councils appointed by government in each village will come into the picture and assist officials in identifying the eligible farmers for kharif and rabi,” said a source from the government.

“They will also assist in identifying uncultivated agriculture lands for exclusion from the sop,” the source added.

With the Chief Minister announcing that the government will present a special Agriculture Budget in the Assembly from this year, arrangements are being made to allocate `8,000 crore for the farmers sop alone.

The allegation of harassment of a Little Elly School student in Jubilee Hills took an unexpected turn with the school management filing a complaint against the father of the student.

The teacher, who filed the complaint, claimed that the father used foul language in front of other students. “The child's parents have ruined my mental peace by making me afraid to even teach in class,” she said.

She claimed that the boy’s father had come to the class after the child

■ THE TEACHER who filed the complaint, claimed that the father used foul language in front of other students and blamed him of ruining her mental peace.

■ MANAGEMENT stated that they asked the child be removed from their school because negotiations with the parents were not moving forward.

had slapped a girl. “He questioned us and said the child did not sexually abuse the girl student,” she said.

Two women on the staff alleged that the parent used foul language and threatened the teachers.

The parents of a fouryear-old student in Little Elly School had complained that their son was mentally harassed

by the management.

An official from the school stated, “We have over 50 students and are happy with the institution. This parent seems to have a hidden agenda but the truth is that we have never mistreated her child.”

The parents denied using foul language aginst the teachers or anyone from the school

The management also stated that they asked the child be removed from their school because negotiations with the parents were not moving forward.

The mother of the child says, “It is not a matter of a refund from the school, but where will my son join midterm?”

The couple has approached the child welfare department with details of the case.

Imitiaz Ali, the child protection officer, said that he has received a complaint from the parents on Saturday and will hear the school's side of the dispute as well.

Karni warns against Padmaavat screening

MLA FALLS SICK AT PUBLIC EVENT

ASIF YAR KHAN | DC

Hyderabad, Jan. 21: Qutubullahpur MLA Vivekananda Goud suddenly fell sick while attending a public event on Sunday.

Mr Goud, along with other leaders, were participating in the foundation laying ceremony of some developmental works worth `6.22 crore in Nizampet.

However, the MLA fell sick following a dip in his blood pressure.

He was immediately rushed to a nearby private hospital. He is said to be in a stable condition.

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

The Shri Rajput Karni Sena, a Rajput group, has threatened to stage a ‘peaceful protest’ outside the cinema halls if the film Padmavaat is released in the state. It has demanded that the state government ban the film to “uphold Rajputana sentiments” because it depicts the history of the Rajputs inaccurately.

The Supreme Court, it may be recalled, has ordered the film to be viewed in all states since it has been cleared by the Censor Board.

Thakur Ranveer Singh, president of the Rajput Karni Sena, Telangana, said he has written to the state government about banning the film. “About 15 lakh Rajputs live in the city and we urge people not to visit the theatres. We advise the managements not to screen the film and bear losses as people would not turn up to watch the movie,” he said.

“The government should understand our sentiments and ban the

POLICE GEARING UP FOR SECURITY AT THEATRES ASIF YAR KHAN | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Civil clothes police officers are likely to be deployed in theatres to prevent any trouble during the screening of the film Padmavaat.

There is a fairly large Rajput community in the state, but according to sources in the police, members are not supporting a violent response to the screening of the film.

Intelligence agencies say some persons might try to create trouble for political film,” said Thakur Vikas Singh, member of something called the Veer Kshatriya Rajput Sena, which together with the Akhil Bhartiya Rajput Samithi has also raised the same demand.

“We are determined to stall the screening of the movie but in a peaceful manner. There will no violence as damaging public property or pri-

gains. “If the movie is released, protection to theatres will be provided,” said a senior police officer.

Police personnel both uniformed and in civvies will be deployed inside and outside theatres screening the film and theatre managements will also increase security, he added.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.V. Srinivasa Rao reiterated that the police will provide protection to theatres if the government allows the release. vate property is against our principles,” said Thakur Vikas Singh.

The movie is being screened in over a dozen small theatres and multiplexes across the city on January 25. Though some BJP ruled states had declared their intent of banning the film, the Telangana government has so far remained silent on it.

■ THE MLA fell sick following a dip in his blood pressure.

PAGE

3

MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

Dy Mayor’s car flouts rules DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Deputy mayor Baba Fasiuddin’s car was spotted without a proper number plate, and its pictures were trending on social media on Sunday.

According to rules, nothing can be written on the regisration plates.

RTI activist C.J. Karira said, “If the first and second citizen of the city violate laws, how can they

OGH STAFF TEAM UP FOR NEW BLOCK DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Doctors, nurses, paramedical and administrative staff of the Osmania General Hospital have formed a joint action committee (JAC) to press for the construction of a new building.

The building plans were stalled due to an agitation by nurses in 2016. The JAC was formed to ensure that such individual protests do not take place, and to jointly demand the construction fo the new building.

The proposal for the new building was cleared in 2012 and `200 crore sanctioned. It was never constructed due to demands the the original building, a heritage structure, be protected.

Dr P. Naik, who heads the JAC, said, “There is a need for the new structure, which has been pointed out time and again.”

The old struture is in poor shapes, and parts of the false ceiling keeps falling off, even in the operation theatres. The second and third floors have been vacated.

Fancy designation on the car expect the citizens to follow the rules? Such violations are only meant to enhance their egos and show off

their importance.”

Asked about it, joint transport commissioner Dr V. Ravinder said if the vehicle was in violation of rules, it would be booked.

“Traffic rules are equal for all. We will definitly book challans against the vehicle”. Mr Fasiuddin said he had a temporary number plate on the vehicle just below the name plate. “The nameplate was given by the GHMC to all its vehicles,” he said

City

BJP Union minister of state for home Hansraj Ahir Gangaram tries to persuade Nagam to remain with party

— L. Ramana TS TD president

VULTURES ON PROWL

Women in distress lured into flesh trade ■ Agents entice women with jobs, money and visas ASIF YAR KHAN | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

IN

BRIEF

Drunk driver rams cab into divider Hyderabad: In yet another drink and drive mishap in Jubilee Hills, a cab driver suspected to be in an inebriated condition, dashed the road divider and went on to ram into an electric pole, bending it while it did so on late Saturday night in Jubilee Hills Road No. 45. Fortun-ately, nobody was hurt in the mishap. The private car is registered under the name of one B. Shivaprasad. “On Saturday night, the cabbie drove in a rash and negligent manner and dashed the vehicle into the road divider. The impact was such that the vehicle further went on and rammed into an electric pole, totally bending it,” said the official.

The cab has three pending challans, two for overspeeding and one for parking in a no-parking zone, amounting to `3,000. The driver of the car fled the scene after the mishap. Police has booked a case under relevant Sections of IPC and started an investigation.

RETD. COP FOUND DEAD IN RLY CULVERT DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

A 59-year-old retired head constable, who went missing from home more than a week ago, was found dead in a drainage canal under a railway culvert in the city. His family members identified the deceased as Ghouse Mohiuddin from the clothes he was wearing, police said.

Ghouse Mohiuddin, a resident of Shastripuram, had retired from the police department. He had been mentally disturbed for the past few months. He left home on January 12, but did not return.

Mohiuddin family members later lodged a complaint.

His body was spotted by a shepherd woman on Sunday morning when she was guiding her sheep on the other side of the track. The unidentified body was lying in a decomposed condition. Kacheguda railway police booked a case after a complaint was filed by the deputy station master.

“No injuries were found on the body. He might have accidentally fallen in the canal.

Investigations will proceed based on the autopsy report,” said a railway police official.

MOM’S LOVER RAPES MINOR DAUGHTER DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

In a shocking incident, a 22year-old daily wage earner raped a 15-year-old girl, with whose mother he had a relation. The suspect, Jayaveer, raped the girl twice in the past one month. The mother, who came to know of this, approached the Pahadishareef police on Saturday.

According to the police, the suspect hails from Madhya Pradesh and the victim’s mother is from UP. A year ago, they came into contact, which later developed into an affair.

The woman along with her daughter, 15 and son, 9, ran away from home, leaving her husband.

She reached Vijayawada along with Jayaveer. After staying there for two months, they shifted to Hyderabad eight months ago and were staying in a rented room at Sriram Nagar. While the woman and Jayaveer were working in a chocolate-making unit, the kids stayed at home.

A month ago, Jayaveer came home in the middle of work, found the girl alone and raped her. Later, he raped her again, Mr P. Laxmikanth Reddy, inspector, Pahadishareef, said.

Based on her mother’s complaint, a case under the Pocso Act has been registered.

“The girl is sent for medical examination and Jayaveer is absconding,” Mr Reddy added.

4

MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

DECCAN CHRONICLE

Mothkupally will face action if he does not rescind comments on TD merger with TRS

PAGE

In an alarming trend, organised human trafficking gangs are sending women, most of whom who hail from poor socio-economic backgrounds, from the state to foreign countries and are forced into prostitution.

The agents, according to women’s rights activists, are luring single women or those in distress with the offers.

“A sum of `2 to `3 lakh is paid to them apart from airfare and tourist visa. They are signed up on contract for a period of three months,” a source said.

Countries like Thailand, Malaysia, European countries, Middle East, including UAE, Australia and other countries are the destinations for traffickers. “The incidence is rising fast. Women are being lured through social media, and even those from middle class families are getting trapped,” said Padma Shri awardee Dr Sunita Krishnan of Prajwala.

After the contract ends, the women return to the country.

“Sometimes, they go to the destination country alone and find accommodation,” said Jameela Nishath of Shaheen Women Resource and Welfare Association, an NGO based in Old City.

Ms Krishnan said that the two Telugu states had the infamy of being the second worst in the country in human trafficking.

West Bengal tops the list.

“Initially, the gangs were involved in local activity, but with technology put use to boost the illegal trade, they are now in touch with agents across the world. The Telugu states are supplying more women than any other state,” a women activist said.

The women are taken abroad on pretext of jobs like house cleaners, beauticians and sales women. “In certain cases, the traffickers use tourist visas to send them abroad.

Before the expiry of the visa, the women are sent back to avoid the networks getting noticed by security agencies,” said MBT leader Amjedullah Khan.

“We do not come to know about the exploitation when women go voluntarily. Only when they come forward and report do we initiate action and follow it up,” a police official said.

SPURT IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING ■ National Crime Records

Bureau data indicates a nationwide increase of 20 per cent cases in 2016.

ACCORDING TO NCRB DATA, THERE WERE

8,132 6,877 human trafficking cases in 2017

IN TELANGANA

394 262 victims including 18 minors rescued in 2017

cases in 2015

THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CASES REPORTED IN: West Bengal: 44%

traffickers arrested in 238 cases

■ In 2016, 327 victims including 4 minors were rescued in Telangana ■ 245 traffickers arrested in 207 cases

Rajasthan: 17%.

Bill against human trafficking on anvil

FORCED LABOUR HIGHEST IN INDIA: REPORT

DC CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

A Bill proposing 10 years punishment for those engaging in human trafficking is on anvil and will be introduced in Parliament shortly. The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill is currently with a committee of group of ministers.

“A 10-year punishment for those engaging in human trafficking is proposed in the Bill, which also incl-udes bonded labour, sexual exploitation, pornography, begging and categorises them as heinous crimes. It will be placed in Parliament after the GoM clears it,” said Sunita Krishnan of Prajwala NGO. The Bill proposes the establishment of a national anti-trafficking bureau. The bureau will be entrusted with coordination, monitoring and surveillance of illegal movement of persons and its prevention. It will coordinate with authorities concerned and organisations in foreign countries for long-term intelligence for investigation of trafficking cases. The Bill details offences and issues pertaining to forced

labour or bonded labour by using violence, intimidation, inducement, promise of payment of money, deception or coercion. Also, it mentions trafficking after administering any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or alcohol, or for the purpose of marriage or under the pretext of marriage.

The aggravated form also includes trafficking for the purpose of begging or forcing those who are mentally ill or are pregnant to beg.

As of now, police use different Sections of IPC and other special laws to deal with cases of human trafficking. “Once the new law is passed, the police will be fully empowered to deal with the issue,” said NRI activist Bheem Reddy.

The Bill has stringent provisions for “buying or selling” a person, engaging in trafficking with the help of media, including print, internet, digital or electronic.

It stipulates a punishment of not less than seven years, which can go up to 10 years and a fine not less than `1 lakh.

It also has provisions for setting up anti-trafficking units and officers to provide relief and rehabilitation services to victims.

Animal waste dumped in an agricultural land in Hayathnagar.

Animal waste dumped in open field DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

The Hayathnagar police conducted raids on agricultural lands in Pasumamula village and found a huge dump of animal waste suspected to be used for manufacturing oil.

The police detained four persons for questioning and seized a DCM van used for transporting the waste and other equipment from the site.

Based on a tip-off, a police

■ The waste, transported

from city slaughterhouses, is processed at the agricultural land for making oil.

team along with a veterinary doctor conducted raids on the fields located on the outskirts of Pasumamula village and found huge animal waste.

Mr Narender Goud, Hayathnagar inspector, said that the animal waste is

OBITUARY

PAGDI

DC CORRESPONDENT India has the highest number of forced labour in the world, with about 18 million children and adults being victims of modern slavery, says a survey conducted by the Global Slavery Index 2016, published by the Walk Free Foundation.

The annual US C o n g re s s - m a n d at e d report on human trafficking placed India in the tier-2 category, which includes countries that have failed to effectively combat the problem. India has maintained its position at the tier-2 level since 2011. The report contends that India still did not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. In 2016, the report had noted that India had become “a source, destination and transit country for men, women and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking”.

Telangana itself has become not only a state sending trafficked woman to other countries but also an international destination.

Women from North Indian states and West Bengal were rescued in the city in the past.

Women from Tanzania, Azerbaijan, Nepal, Uzbekistan and Thailand too were rescued in the city recently.

reported to be transported from slaughterhouses in the city and processed here for making oil.

“After thoroughly inspecting the fields, we found machines used for powdering the animal waste and other materials used for manufacturing oil from the waste,” he said.

Cases will be booked against the suspects as per the IPC and action will be initiated against them, the inspector said.

JORALA NAGESHWAR RAO

Shri LALCHAND TILOKANI

(Retd. AO, Transport Commissioner's Office Khairtabad) Expired on: 21st Jan. 2018 Funeral procession starts from his Residence at Budwel, Rajendernager at 11:00 am today 22-01-2018 to Purana pool Samshaan Vatika.

Inserted by: FAMILY & FRIENDS Ph:+91 9989433487, 9885307757

Pagdi Ceremony of Shri LALCHAND TILOKANI on 22.01.2018 from 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM, at Sindhu Bhawan P. G. Road Secunderabad.

Inserted by: Shri Tarachand Tilokani (Brother) - Lal’s Kitchen World Shri Jaikishan Tilokani (Brother) - Poonam Stainless Steel Shri Madhavdas Tilokani (Brother) - Sri Anand Bartan Bhandar Tilokani Family, Children & Grand Children. Ph: 9291212478 (CA-1997)

PAGDI

(CA-1998) The dead in christ shall rise first I Thes-4:16

FIRST DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF

Shri LALCHAND TILOKANI

Pagdi Ceremony of Shri LALCHAND TILOKANI on 22.01.2018 from 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM, at Sindhu Bhawan P. G. Road Secunderabad.

Inserted by: Smt. Geeta L Tilokani (Wife) Mrs. Prerna & Mr. Vinod Sambhwani (Daughter & Son-in-Law) Mr. Vinod & Mrs. Mansi Tilokani (Son & Daughter-in-Law) Mr. Manish & Mrs. Ulka Tilokani (Son & Daughter-in-Law) & Grand Children. Ph: 9000510903 (CA-1997)

Mr. RAMOJI PURUSHOTHAM SILAS DOB: 24.01.1933 DOD: 22.01.2017 Remembrance & Thanks giving service on 22.01.2018 in Sahara States Club @ 6:30 PM Inserted by: Wife, Sons, Daughters, Daughters-in-Law, Sons-in-Law & Grand Children Contact No: 8660013233 - 9866132171 (L/1718/D00031)

7th ANNIVERSARY

“He that believeth in Lord, though he were dead, yet shall he live”. John 11:25

GEDDAM RAJU D.O.B: 23-11-1948

D.O.D: 22-01-2011

Inserted by: Family Members Ph: 8008152020 / 9885721020 (S/1718/D01168)

Migrant trafficking stuns cops PINTO DEEPAK | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

The arrest of five persons involved in cheating job aspirants to Gulf countries and later ‘sell’ them to local agencies has shocked the police and rights activists. In earlier incidents, job consultancies had tied up with agents and set up networks to lure vulnerable people with job offers in the Gulf, but this case has brought into light how migr-ants settled abroad for a long period are themselves exploiting the needy persons, most of them from known circles and villages.

Police said the recent case must be treated seriously and activists say that investigations must carry out to dig into the entire chain of persons involved, including government officials at any stage.

Trafficking people to Gulf countries under the guise of jobs is not a new phenomenon — it was done by organised agents who operated

POLICE PLANS CRACKDOWN ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

To crack the whip on human trafficking, the Rachakonda police is chalking out plans to nab the agents holed up in the Gulf countries in coordination with the ministry of external affairs. Though it’s a time-consuming affair, the police plans to unearth a major racket by this initiative. On Friday, the police arrested five job racket agents for trafficking aspirants from offices and made the victims believe that they had valid licences to send manpower abroad. In such incidents, cases were registered and their offices and consultancies were raided. It was relatively easy for the cops to keep a vigil on them and their activities. But in

to the Gulf countries.

A senior police official stated that they have already started talks with the ministry. “The ministry will coordinate with the embassies to nab the absconding suspects,” he said.

Another task before the cops here is to trace the suspects in AP. Around ten of them are absconding.

“We will send a list of the absconding suspects in AP to the AP police. They will further conduct the inquiry,” official said. this case, migrant workers settled in Dubai are operating their own networks and trafficking people.

“One person operates only in Kamareddy district, while the others have distributed the villages among themselves to scout for candidates. They have their

own strongly built network, which is quite difficult to track,” an official said.

M. Bheem Reddy from Pravasi Mitra, a Migrant Rights Organisation, said that the illegal trafficking was the result of lack of an adequate number of licensed agents in rural communities. Out of around 1,200 licensed agents in the country, more than 500 are located in Mumbai and the rest are distributed in other Metros.

The government only recently reduced the licence fee for authorised agents from an exorbitant `50 lakh to `8 lakh. “We welcome the move by the Centre to lower the fee as it encourages agents to regularise their business and not send people abroad illegally,” Mr Reddy said. “ Most of the time, the sub-agents who get a meagre commission are caught while the main culprits carry on business by employing other sub-agents,” he said.

7th DEATH ANNIVERSARY Most respectful homage to...

9th DEATH ANNIVERSARY

Late Sri K.G. SHASTRY (Advocate) DOD: 22-01-2011 Inserted by: Usha K. Shastry (Wife) and Family Members

Mr. D.P. SWAMY D.O.B: 12.6.1942 D.O.D: 22.1.2009 You will always remain in our hearts and we cherish your sweet memories.

Inserted by Wife - D. Nagamani Sons, Daughter, Daughters-in-Law, Son-in-Law & Grand Children

cmyk DECCAN CHRONICLE

cmyk MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

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5

Politics

Gaddar says 20 years after bid on life, there is no investigation, and he is still facing a threat DECCAN CHRONICLE

I will fast for two days to protest the Centre not announcing a railway zone for Vizag

IN

BRIEF

DATTATREYA SAYS NOT IN GUV RACE DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Former minister and BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya on Sunday said he was not interested in being made Governor, as is being speculated, and was keen on contesting again from the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency in 2019.

“I am not fit for the Raj Bhavan, only fit for the praja bhavan,” he said and added that he would be contesting again from his constituency.

Referring to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan’s praise of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on the rapid pace at the Kaleshwaram project, Mr Dattatreya said the Governor should have thanked the Centre for arranging finances for irrigation projects including Kaleshwaram.

He said the NDA government had given funds even for Mission Kakatiya and Mission Bhagiratha, which should have been mentioned by the Governor. He declined to comment on BJP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy threatening to quit the party, saying the state leadership was looking into the issue.

Parties gear up for IT war

TS staff union for new pay panel

■ Finalising social media strategy for campaign and apps for cadre

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

NAVEENA GHANATE | DC Telangana is becoming a virtual battleground for IT cells of political parties. Having a dedicated IT wing and making considerable noise on social media is becoming an important strategy for political parties.

The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are already putting in place social media convenors starting from polling booth level to the state level. IT wings in these parties are advancing on par with other wings.

TPCC in defining its social media strategy has come up with an app called Shakti to make sure there is two-way communication between the president and the karyakartas or party workers.

Nalamada Padmavathi Reddy, TPCC MLA and a member of the Shakti team, said, “Through this app, we will have a database of all our workers and every person is accounted for in a vertical and linear form of occupation. It is an assurance and freedom to a party worker that they can access PCC and a mechanism for the

Survey is key for tickets DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has, for the first time, engaged three private agencies to conduct separate large-scale surveys on the performance of the TRS government, the party and the MLAs/MPs across the state.

Second will be an assessment on the performance of the TRS party — whether it is active or not, whether the party leaders are visiting their constituencies, whether any change is required in party policies etc.

Third, the survey will party president to reach out to everyone using simple clicks. For all the constituencies, we are populating the data and are uploading onto the Shakti app.”

The BJP already has an app for its president K. Laxman, through which information regarding party affairs is disseminated till the booth level. “Verticalisation is

■ THOUGH KCR had earlier announced that 99 per cent of the present MLAs/MPs will be fielded again in the coming elections, the decision on party tickets will be made after the survey report comes in assess the performance of each MLA/ MP as to their functioning, tours of their constituencies, attending to the problems of people, whether they are capable of winning not yet there. The BJP IT cell is currently horizontal and through convenors, all issues that come to the notice of the parties are addressed,” said Venkat Ramana, convenor of the Telangana BJP IT cell.

While the TPCC is also deploying volunteers, starting from the booth level, and will soon come out with the strate-

DC CORRESPONDENT

DC CORRESPONDENT

DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD JANUARY 21

Shias have expressed concern over lack of representation of their community in the newly constituted State Haj Committee. They point out that despite clear rules, the state government had not nominated any Shia Muslim in the 16-member committee.

Mir Hadi Ali, president of a national Shia organisation, said that several rules were overlooked in the constitution of the new Haj committee.

“There is a provision to accommodate a Shia member in the Schedule III of the Act. This was not considered important while nominating the committee,” said Mir Hadi. He made a representation to Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali on the issue. “The deputy CM said he would look into the issue,” Mr Mir Hadi said.

Syed Ali Jaffery, founder secretary of Shia Companions, said they would challenge the GO in the High Court. “This is the second time in a month that our community is being overlooked in important committees,” he said.

gy and rules for them on social media, the BJP has already defined rules for its social media volunteers and is training them to replicate the Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat models. An IT workshop was conducted for the social media co-ordinators on Saturday regarding the Dos and Don’ts in social media in the presence of

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

WARANGAL, JAN. 21

SHIAS UPSET OVER HAJ PANEL

from the segment again or not.

Sources said crores of rupees are being spent on conducting these surveys. The survey reports are likely to reach the Chief Minister by January end. “Based on the reports, the Chief Minister will plan his strategy on government, party, and MLA/MP’s future performance. He had announced earlier that 99 per cent of the present MLAs/MPs will be fielded again in the coming elections, but now a decision will be made after the survey report comes in,” said a key source.

national IT cell convenor Amit Malviya.

“The BJP in Telangana will move forward in 2019 elections with focus on social media. The vikas agenda has to go to villages through social media. The BJP will spread message about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s achievements and welfare activities and highlight the failures of the TRS. Since there is one year for elections, social media convenors have to penetrate in a systematic way, based on the guidelines from the national IT cell,” said Dr Laxman.

Parties believe that using social media is important because they do not have their own channels. Ms Padmavati said social media cannot be ignored in today’s world. “The number of people in the age group of 18-30 watching TV is less. It is a very big percentage which certainly cannot be ignored.”

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has Facebook pages and twitter handles but they have been confined to one-way communication.

According to sources, they are yet to define their social media strategy, but will do so soon.

Congress says Guv is biased

VARAVARA: WHAT’S KCR AFRAID OF Revolutionary poet P. Varavara Rao on Sunday accused Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao of following a bad tradition by disallowing organisations to hold public meetings.

Speaking to reporters after he was arrested along with other activists, Mr Rao asked, “What is there to be afraid of (for KCR)? Why does he not want us to speak? We have shared the same stage during the Telangana agitation. We have so many memories. I do not understand why KCR is so afraid. We were only going to discuss the points of Warangal declaration. Why is such force being used against innocent students? Mr KCR is forgetting that we were able to achieve Telangana only because of the sacrifices of the students.”

Earlier, the police had arrested him to prevent the Telangana Praja Front from holding a rally and a public meeting despite denial of permission.

However, the police later relented allowed the meeting.

6

MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

ELECTORAL BATTLE

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

— K. Ramakrishna Former MP from AP

PAGE

OFF BEAT TS Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy bats while former MP V. Hanumantha Rao keeps the wickets during in the fifth Rajiv Gandhi International Under-19 20-20 Day-Night League Cricket Championship 2018 in Hyderabad on Sunday.

— DC

TS to focus on diagnosis DC CORRESPONDENT ADILABAD, JAN. 21

The state government will soon introduce Telangana Diagnostics Services at the district, area and primary health care unit levels as a preventive measure to control the spread of diseases.

The government wants to focus on preventive healthcare measures to detect ailing persons early so that they can be treated before the disease, especially such as cancer, turns worse.

Health minister C. Laxma Reddy said preventive measures such

as creating awareness among the people about health, vaccinations, early detection and treatment in the rural and tribal areas was the aim of the programme.

The government was planning to create health awareness programmes in local language for two months with Kalajatha teams.

He was speaking to this newspaper on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate new equipment at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences here.

Dr Laxma Reddy said the government intended to conduct screening

tests at government hospitals to spot those who were ailing early.

“The Telangana Diagnostics Services will be better than in corporate hospitals. It will be better than Vijaya Diagnostics,” the minister said.

Immunisation of children has increased to 95 per cent from 66 per cent, he said. The government is planning to convert semi-autonomous medical college-cum-hospitals into autonomous institutions so that authorities can recruit the doctors and other staff by themselves instead of waiting for the government nod.

Taking strong objection his comments praising Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and irrigation minister T. Harish Rao for the work at the Kaleswaram project site, Congress leaders on Sunday said they would complain against Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to President Ram Nath Kovind.

They accused the governor of being biased towards the TRS government.

TPCC working president Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, former minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu and former MP V. Hanumantha Rao, speaking to mediapersons said that it was unbecoming of the Governor to visit the site and heap praises on the CM and irrigation minister.

Mr Narasimhan went to the extent of changing their surnames after

Kaleswaram, the trio said.

“The Governor was highly biased towards the TRS government from the beginning and it touched new heights during his visit to the Kaleswaram project. We fear one day he might change the name of Raj Bhavan to TRS Bhavan,” they said.

They said the Kaleswaram project was an old one that was partly executed by the previous Congress government under the name of B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita Chevella project.

“The TRS, after coming to power changed its name into Kaleswaram project. For this, the Governor should have objected, which he did not,” they said.

They said the Governor was acting in a partisan manner by inducting TD defectors into the Cabinet and continuing with him instead of disqualifying them.

HARISH SEEKS APOLOGY FROM STATE CONGRESS DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Irrigation minister T. Harish Rao called Congress leaders a “frustrated lot” for taking on Governor E.S.L Narasimhan, who had praised the TRS government for the quick progress on the Kaleswaram project.

Speaking to mediapersons in Manthani in erstwhile Karimnagar district, Mr Rao said the Congress governments

had made no progress on the Pranahita Chevella scheme for eight years.

He demanded Congress leaders who spoke against the Governor to offer Mr Narasimhan an unconditional apology.

Referring to the allegations of corruption in the Kaleswaram project, he said the government was not following the Congress policy of providing mobilisisation advances to contractors to get commissions.

MONEY | MATTERS ■ Compared to AP, TS got a lot more funds from the Centre

Centre opens funds tap for Telangana S.N.C.N. ACHARYULU | DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Throughout last year, Telangana state has been at the receiving end of a tsunami of funds.

Compared with Andhra Pradesh, the state has been getting a lot more funds from the Centre.

Except for one or two schemes, the Centre has released funds as allocated in the budget. The Central government has allotted `21,631 crore to various schemes and institutions in the cur-

rent financial year and till the end of December 2017 the Centre has released `19,601 crore. In addition to this, the Centre has released about `9,000 crore towards centrallysponsored schemes.

The Centre has allotted more funds to the national-level institutions and schemes in Telangana state. For the Pradhana Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana scheme, the Centre has allotted `73.20 crore and released `69.20 crore. For Anganwadi services the Centre has

■ THE CENTRAL government has allotted `21,631 crore to various schemes and institutions in FY18.

Of this, it has released `19,601 crore till December. allotted `272.53 crore and all funds were released.

For the National Hydrology project, the Centre has allotted `16.57 crore and all funds were

released by the end of December 2017.

Under the urban rejuvenation mission the Centre has allotted `21.83 crore to TS and all funds were released.

For the Tribal Research institute centre has sanctioned `261.50 crore to TS and `256.80 crore released. Under universal Services Obligation Fund centre and AID to voluntary organisations working for the welfare of STs, the Centre has sanctioned `30 lakh, but funds did not release till December

2017. To support the national-level institutions, the Centre has allotted `18.37 crore and released `14.89 crore.

Under Special Assistance, the Centre has allotted `21.68 crore and released it too. For the Technology Development board, the centre has sanctioned `223 crore and released `194 crore.

Under the National programme of ‘mid-day meals’ in schools, the Centre sanctioned `154 crore and all funds were released to TS.

DC CORRESPONDENT Telangana employees unions demand that the state government constitute the 11th Pay Revision Commission (PRC) immediately to revise salaries and pensions. The 10th PRC was set up by the undivided AP government and its tenure will expire on June 30.

The unions argued that it take six months to complete the process, starting from setting up of the PRC to holding consultations with employees unions, study the issues and making recommendations.

They said since only five months were left for the 10th PRC tenure to end, the government should constitute the new commission

without delay. Employees urged government to declare interim relief (IR) for this year in case there was a delay in setting up PRC. The employees had last got a pay hike on June 2, 2014, when the state was formed. This was on the basis of the recommendations of the 10th Pay Revision Commission, set up in 2013 by then Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.

The 10th PRC had recommended a 25 per cent fitment (basic pay hike) in 2013 but was not implemented due to bifurcation related issues.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced a 43 per cent fitment, as a token of gratitude for the role played by employees during the agitation.

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City

Naidu asks TD leaders to be restrained in their criticism of Centre on pending AP issues DECCAN CHRONICLE

Deplorable no one is seeking justice for AP. NDA will listed only if TD quits alliance — Sivaji Actor

IN

BRIEF

COPS IMPOSE TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

The traffic police has imposed restrictions on motorists in connection with the visit of Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu from Monday to January 24.

The restrictions will be on these routs at the following timings: Monday, 8.15 pm to 9 pm and Wednesday 7.05 am to 8.30 am: Begumpet airport to Banjara Hills Road No. 12 via PNT junction, HPS, CM’s camp office, middle of the Panjagutta flyover, NFCL, KBR Park, Orissa island Tuesday 9 am to 10 am and 10.45 am to 11.45 am Banjara Hills Road No. 12 to Sardar Patel Hall, Keshav Memorial Education Society, Narayanguda, via Orissa island, NTR Trust Bhavan, Nagarjuna Circle, Panjagutta flyover, Monappa island junction, Yashoda Hospital, Raj Bhavan, Necklace Rotary, NTR Marg, Telugu Talli statue, Liberty, Himayathnagar Y junction, road under Narayanguda flyover.

SPL OFFICERS TO OVERSEE MERGERS DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

The state government appointed special officers to oversee the merger of gram panchayats with urban local bodies.

With gram panchayat elections round the corner, the government has decided to merge major gram panchayats with urban local bodies which are within 5 km and have a population of more than 15,000.

GHMC chief city planner S. Devender Reddy has been appointed as special officer for Mahabubnagar, JogulambaGadwal, Wanaparthy and Nagarkurnool districts. MA&UD director (planning) for Ranga Reddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Vikarabad districts, director of town and country planning K. Vidhyadhar for Adilabad, Kumarambheem-Asif abad, Macherial and Nirmal districts.

ADMA P. Anuradha has been appointed as special officer for Karimnagar, Jagtial, Peddapally and Rajanna-Sircilla districts, MEPMA additional director L. Vandan Kumar for Khammam and Badradri districts, Warangal RDMA D. John Samson for Nizamabad and Kamareddy districts.

GHMC health and sanitation additional commissioner N. Ravi Kiran has appointed for Nalgonda and YadadriBhuvanagiri districts, finance wing additional commissioner D. Jayaraj Kennedy for Medak, Sangareddy and Siddipet districts and Hyderabad RDMA Shahid Masood for Warangal (urban), Warangal (rural), Jangoan, Jayashankar-Bhupalpally and Mahbubabad districts.

They will submit suitable proposals to the government to take an appropriate decision by avoiding legal complications. They will meet with collectors and submit proposals on gram panchayats that are to be merged with the ULBs. MA&UD officials said about 30 gram panchayats will merged with GHMC. Apart from Manikonda and Shamshabad, the gram panchayats expected to become part of the city include Nizampet, Bachupally, Pragatinagar, Puppalguda, Kokapet, Vattinagulapally, Narsingi and Manchirevula.

Officials said that out of 8,684 gram panchayats, about 35 per cent will either be merged with ULBs or transformed into independent local bodies.

■ THE GOVERNMENT has decided to merge major gram panchayats with urban local bodies which are within 5 km and have a population of more than 15,000.

For Sitarama, TS to cut 2.5L trees ■ Clearance nod to hit flora, fauna, wildlife RAVINDER SESHU I DC KOTHAGUDEM, JAN. 21

The government has secured the state 1 clearance to acquire some 3,800 acres of reserve forests for the Sitarama lift irrigation project, affecting the flora, fauna and wildlife of Bhadrari-Kothagudem district.

The forest is rich in biodiversity with 1,939 species of plants, 165 of bird, 103 mammals, 21 species and 13 amphibian species.

The district has dense teak forests along the banks of the river Godavari, from Pinapaka to Burgumpahad mandals. Nallamaddi, yegisa, rose wood, narepa, and bamboo flourish as well.

To accommodate the canal of the Sitarama project, about 2.5 lakh trees and plants will be destroyed. Many of these trees are a hundred years old. It is estimated that 2.5 lakh trees will die.

Environmentalists say it will take over 1,000 years to

re-grow a similar project.

When the forest department hands over the 3,800 acres of land, it will cut down all the plants and trees on the land.

The ecological balance, bio-diversity conservation, conservation of soil and moisture, regulating the water flow, green house gas mitigation, sequestering carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere will all be adversely affected by the action of the state government.

The justification is the

`10L AID TOO MEAGRE: KAWAL VILLAGERS

State tiger census begins from today

It will take over 1,000 years to re-grow a similar project.

L. VENKAT RAM REDDY I DC

DC CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Relocation of villagers from the Kawal tiger reserve has hit the compensation hurdle. Forest officials have decided to relocate residents of two villages in the first phase and nine in the second. A total of 23 villages have been identified for relocation.

Villagers are strongly opposing the `10 lakh compensation being offered to each household, calling it very meagre.

They want a house and a job apart from the monetary compensation.

The reserve is spread over 350 sq km covering the districts of Adilabad, Asifabad, Mancherial and Nirmal.

It is one of the two tiger reserves in Telangana state.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has proposed to shift villages from the core area in a bid to reduce human interface, hoping that the measure would lead to an increase in tiger population.

The state has stepped up efforts to relocate villages in a phased manner following sighting of two tigers in Nirmal district last month.

Villagers expressed anger over the state government fixing a uniform compensation to affected families without taking into consideration the value of their houses, extent of land they own and their livelihood.

The first tiger census in the state will begin on Monday.

The Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society has launched a “citizen volunteers” programme in collaboration with the forest department to count tigers in the Telangana forests till January 29.

Volunteers will survey tigers and other animals, as well as the condition of the forests, through what are technically called “sign surveys” and “line transect surveys”.

The census will be conducted in Kawal and Amrabad tiger reserves

DC CORRESPONDENT Residents of Symphony Park Homes at Beeramguda have complained to the Pollution Control Board about dark smoke and bad odour in the air after a large stock of rubber tyres caught fire in a factory in the locality on last Thursday .

This comes at a time when residential colonies in Hyderabad have been complaining for some time against industrial emissions and stench emanating from factories operating close to the city.

Symphony Homes resident Rakesh S. said, “The fire broke out at 2 am on Thursday and was not doused off till evening.

This occurs quit frequently which we keep bringing to the notice of the authorities. We have reported of burning of rubber waste earlier also.”

Another resident, Mr Gaddam Rakesh Reddy,

and Pocharam, Eturnagaram and other wildlife sanctuaries. The entire forest area of 25,000 square kms will be covered.

A. Shankaran, OSD Wildlife, said, “We have too many beats in the forest area and were short of staff and therefore, we decided to recruit volunteers to help us. We got an astonishing response from youngsters.”

Some 3,000 forest beats have been marked out, and two people have been assigned to each beat.

Forest officials, NGO volunteers, students of the Telangana Forest Academy, and animal trackers are all involved in the census.

THE SAFARI STARTS ■ IN THE first few days, carnivore trails marked in each beat will be followed. There are three trails of five kilometres each.

■ AN EXPERT in animal behaviour is assigned to each beat who will know how to behave in case of a sighting.

■ VOLUNTEERS WILL look for footprints, claw marks, droppings and even keep an ear out for the call of the animals.

■ TIGERS ARE the focus of the survey but other predators and even co-predators such as jungle cats, sloth bears, hyenas, and wolves will be noted down carefully as will prey such as deer, hare, langurs.

■ THE LAST few days of the survey will be a transect walk i.e. a 2-km walk during which direct sightings of animals will be recorded.

Poor air quality irks residents HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

benefits the project will bring to the area — it is expected to irrigate 6.74 lakh acres including creation of irrigation potential of 3.28 lakh acres in Khammam and BhadradriKothagudem districts.

The state government has to pay `350 crore to the central forest department as compensation.

It must also acquire and hand over the same extent of land to the forest department, and the forest department is supposed to plant trees on that land.

■ RESIDENTS HAVE been complaining about the industrial emissions in city from quite sometime. tweeted to minister K.T. Rama Rao, saying, “Our neighbourhood has become hell and we are unable to breathe because of polluting industries, fire accidents and tyre burning. We are fighting for clean air (sic).”

The comment was retweeted by many. Some said officials must step in fast to avoid Hyderabad air pollution levels to become as bad as Delhi.

He tweeted back that he would ask the PCB to react swiftly and told his office to coordinate with pollution board in the matter. TSPCB officials said that they has not received complaints about the burning of rubber waste but would still look into the matter.

TECHIE’S TWEET GETS SWIFT RESPONSE FROM KTR DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Overflowing drains are a common sight in Cyberabad. Upset with the problem of overflowing dirty water near Hitech Theatre, Madhapur, software engineer Shiva Shankar took to Twitter to bring the problem to the notice of minister K.T. Rama Rao. Responding to the tweet, the minister tagged the official Twitter accounts of the GHMC commissioner and sewerage board managing director, and wrote: “Visit personally as soon as possible to resolve” (sic).

Following this, GHMC west zone commissioner Harichandana Dasari said the drain was being remodelled at Harijan Basthi, which was causing the sewage flow on the roads. An official from the Sewerage Board visited the site and spoke to Mr Shiva Shankar.

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MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

FAITH MATTERS Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and his wife Anna attend the Sunday mass at the St. Mary’s Basilica in Secunderabad along with Polish Ambassador Addam Burakowski.

The envoy later visited Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur, and interacted with Polish students who are on an exchange programme, and Indian students. Mr Faiz Khan, secretary and treasurer of the Hyderabad Public School Society, presented him a painting by an HPS student.

City

Uttam Kumar Reddy writes to Congress leaders, asks them to oppose PR Act amendments DECCAN CHRONICLE

Naidu is behind demand of BJP leaders to sack Narasimhan as he spoke of corruption — Ramachandraiah AP Congress leader

BRIEF

Officials gear up to provide free WiFi Khammam: After Khammam was selected among five towns in TS where Internet would be available free of cost, KMC commissioner Sandeep Kumar Jha has been asked to prepare the project including proposals to make that happen.

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

In order to protect property owners from unscrupulous architects, the state government has decided to provide ready-made building plans on approved layouts. This will help property owners acquire building permissions online.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation will provide the building plan suitable to the plot size.

The owners can choose from different model sketches each offering a unique shape and size.

The idea is to protect owners from middlemen.

It has come to the notice of the government that licensed technical persons — architects — have been not submitting plans as per norms, which was leading to a rejection and resubmission of applications, a GHMC source said.

Because of this, property owners have not only been making the rounds of licensed technical persons to get the right building plan but also paying them whopping amounts multiple times.

A senior GHMC official told this newspaper that during Phase-I, the urban local bodies will provide ready-made building plans only for approved layouts. If the property owners select any of them, it will make for speedy disposal of online building permissions as they are drafted by town planning experts.

This would also save

NAVEEN KUMAR I DC

■ Two-wheeler taxis riders need a commercial licence ANUSHA PUPPALA I DC The Regional Transport Authority seized four two-wheelers of appbased cab aggregators as their riders did not have a commercial driving licence, on Friday.

Any driver running a taxi should have a transport category licence, and this includes twowheelers. RTA officials have recieved complaints that cab aggregators are employing two-wheeler taxis without the riders having such a licence.

A commercial light motor vehicle licence

■ HMDA and GHMC will provide the building plans suitable for different plot sizes.

■ PROPERTY owners can select these plans for quicker online approval.

■ INITIATIVE by civic bodies intended to protect property owners from unscrupulous middlemen.

APPROVED ■ PRE-A layouts will be first offered in Hyderabad the time and money of property owners.

“Most plots in a layout will usually be in a maximum in four to five sizes, and many have similar plinth area and set back requirements,” the officer said. The urban local bodies will provide about five plans which will suit different plot size, he said.

The GHMC official said that the method of providing pre-approved ready-made plans had been implemented in the Indore Municipal Corporation and had yielded good results.

The urban local bodies in Telangana state will adopt a similar method for approved layouts during Phase I. It will later be extended to unapproved layouts and plots of land which are in the land regularisation scheme (LRS) during Phase-II the official said.

This move has been taken in order to prevent fake documents, license of the licensed architects and structural engineers.

GHMC to employ 2K transgenders DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 20

In a first, the GHMC will to employ about 2,000 transgenders as part of their social uplift effort.

The transgenders will be hired on on outsourcing basis and will be deployed for Swachh Survekshan to keep the city clean in the first phase. Later they would be recruited to various GHMC wings based on their educational qualifications.

Most of the persons were post-graduation but unemployed.

Mayor Bonthu Rammohan said the corporation was even contemplating allocating about 500 2BHK houses to ensure their social uplift.

They would be recruited into zone wise enforcement teams to be constituted in February.

The mayor said the GHMC was planning to set up an independent enforcement and disaster cell to address complaints and grievances related to demolition of unauthorised constructions, encroachment of

MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Civic body to offer plan for buildings MADDY DEEKSHITH I DC

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Bike taxis seized, riders Legality of using bikes for goods delivery is unclear didn’t have valid papers HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

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■ GHMC has hired transgenders on outsourcing basis and will be deployed for Swachh Survekshan to keep the city clean in the first phase. footpaths, sealing of premises and undertaking relief work during disasters.

The cell would have multidisciplinary teams from engineering, town planning, health, sanitation, fire department, Sewerage and water board, southern discom and police.

The corporation was planning to write to the government to depute adequate number of police officials and staff.

He said the cell would be headed by an additional commissioner or an senior police officer and would monitor complaints and grievances and guide zonal teams. It would handle important legal cases, demolitions and disaster management works in coordination with other departments.

■ RTA OFFICIALS have recieved complaints that cab aggregators are employing two-wheeler taxis without the riders having such a licence. includes permission to drive a two-wheeler, car or jeep for commercial purposes.

This has to be renewed every three years unlike regular driving licence which has a longer validity. For renewal, medical tests such as eye check

up of the drivers are carried out as well. Besides, public transport vehicles should have yellow number plates.

Joint transport Commissioner (IT wing) C. Ramesh said, “Uber allows hiring two-wheelers under the name Uber Moto through the app.

These riders must have a transport category licence.”

Mr Ramesh said the RTA had seized four twowheeler taxis this week because the riders did not have a commercial driving licence. The penalty for the offence is `1,000.

He said the city had agencies which provide two-wheelers as taxis.

He said notices had been served on such firms and cab aggregators to strictly follow the norms while employing two-wheeler taxis.

Joint transport commissioenr K. Panduranga Naik said, “The government gve permission for twowheeler taxis last year, but the riders should have a valid commercial driving licence and yellow number plates.”

Cab aggregators, were not available for comment.

Thousands of youths work as delivery boys have a better chance of keeping their jobs if they own a twowheeler. Opinion is divided on whether it is illegal for one to use a private vehicle for commercial purposes or not.

A senior official from the transport department said that using a private vehicle to deliver goods and services from shops and restaurants is illegal. Joint commissioner of transport J. Pandurang Naik said it was

■ TRANSPORT department official said that using a private vehicle to deliver goods and services from shops and restaurants is illegal.

a punishable offence under Section 66 of Motor Vehicles Act. “The use of privately registered two-wheelers for commercial purposes has been going on for sometime now but it is not taken as a serious offence.

There have been drives in

the past to stop the practice,” said an official.

However, an official of the transport department said the Central Motor Vehicles Act needed to be amended if the two-wheeler riders are to be penalised for carrying goods.

He said the law only addressed the use of twowheelers to carry paying passengers.

“We penalise the vehicles when they are parked in noparking areas, said senior traffic police officer Adimurthy. “There is no classification of offences for such vehicles.”

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MIND POWER ANNE FRANK WINSTON CHURCHILL

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The final forming of a person’s character The price of greatness is lies in their own hands responsibility DECCAN CHRONICLE

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MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

22 JANUARY 2018

As LoC flareups go on, no sign of any solution

Gokul Gopalakrishnan

B

etween Thursday and Saturday last week, 11 Indians died as a consequence of Pakistan’s ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border in the Jammu region.

Six of these were civilians from border villages, three were soldiers from the Army and two from the BSF. The Indian response was quick and robust, from what the government has revealed. Civilians and soldiers have died on the Pakistani side, though numbers are hard to ascertain. Typically, Pakistan tends to hide the number of Army deaths by inflating civilian casualties.

For the past two years, ceasefire violations have been a running story which appears to have no end in sight. Official figures indicate well over 800 truce violations by Pakistan in 2017, approxfour times the number in 2016.

With just over a imately The two countries appear to have settled into year to go, the the syndrome of war by other means, if we Narendra Modi gov- exclude deaths caused by Pakistani firing and ernment too shelling, and the Indian retaliation, as being not appears in no mood war. Routine diplomatic protests are lodged by to work for diplo- both countries, knowing these would be regardwith scepticism by the other side. matic solutions with edFrom the time he assumed office, Prime Pakistan, and is Minister Narendra Modi appeared to get on well permitting the with Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, who gave the security forces impression of responding positively to the steps to take the lead taken by India. Mr Modi even went uninvited on at the sector level Christmas Day 2015 to Mr Sharif’s home near Lahore to wish him on his birthday. But suddenly there was a rupture after the terrorist attack on the Pathankot airbase on New Year’s Day 2016. Since then, it has been all downhill.

Last year Mr Sharif was removed as PM through a court order, and most observers saw the hand of the Army in this. The Army is in complete command in Pakistan as of now, although political lightweights of Mr Sharif’s party are running the government after their mentor’s departure from the scene. Pakistan’s Army brass has little interest in working for any normalisation of ties. The men-in-khaki thrive in our neighbouring country by creating a sense of fear of India among the populace, and extolling militarism. This is a reason why the period after the Pathankot attack has seen rising terrorist activity in Kashmir, besides an expanding of trouble on the Line of Control and the international border.

With just over a year to go, the Narendra Modi government too appears in no mood to work for diplomatic solutions with Pakistan, and is permitting the security forces to take the lead at the sector level. The idea seems to be to convey to the Indian public that our forces are hitting the Pakistanis hard. Perhaps the expectation is that the impression of acting tough against Pakistan will bring electoral dividends. This is possibly the longest period of stasis in India-Pakistan ties.

Spoiling Trump’s party

A

t a time US President Donald Trump was planning to celebrate completing a year in office, his party got embroiled in a bitter political fight with Democrats, leading to the federal government shutting down before the weekend, with thousands of workers on unpaid holiday as Senate Democrats blocked a stopgap deal that the House of Representatives passed. The depth of the fallout isn’t just that US troops based overseas can’t watch the weekend NFL games as US Army channels are shut. The issue goes deeper, and has to do with the big fight over Mr Trump’s immigration policies. As the main parties wrangle over the shutdown, lakhs of people took to the streets in Los Angeles and New York denouncing the Trump administration, in a virtual repeat of the first Women’s March that greeted his election as President.

Immigration issues are at the heart of the problem, and the Republicans’ anger doesn’t cut much ice as they had done the same to Barack Obama, forcing a government shutdown in 2013. In the sense, the Republicans are reaping what they sowed. Mr Trump accused Democrats of prioritising illegal immigrants over US citizens, but while the “Dreamers” may have been brought to America as children, they have lived there most of their lives. While the possible terror links of West Asian refugees may have given Mr Trump a handle to put sweeping curbs in place, the plight of eight lakh-plus Dreamers might draw far more sympathy in America.

Mr Trump’s shifting position hasn’t helped matters. Any credible deal to resolve the shutdown may depend on Mr Trump yielding ground on measures like deporting people.

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Reading the tea leaves as fiscal 2019 looms...

Sanjeev Ahluwalia

T

he four years since 2014 have been chock-abloc full of fiscal and financial reforms. India needs a rest from such frenetic reforms. It’s time to take a deep breath, consolidate and pull all the loose strings together.

One hopes that fiscal 2019 is devoid of breaking news, dull as ditchwater but fulsome in terms of outcomes.

The most successful reform of the Narendra Modi government has been the restoration of fiscal stability. The Union government’s fiscal deficit is down to the targeted 3.2 per cent of GDP in fiscal 2018, from a high of 6.5 per cent in fiscal 2010, post the 2008 financial crisis. The revenue deficit has similarly trended down to 1.9 per cent of GDP. Consumer price inflation has been tamed at sub four per cent. This achievement burnishes the credibility of the government’s fiscal management.

Significantly, fiscal discipline was enforced despite a reduction in the net tax resources.

The 14th Finance Commission had enlarged the share of state governments from fiscal 2015, in the divisible pool of Central taxes, to 42 per cent from 32 per cent. State government expenditures have consequently increased rapidly.

State governments now collectively spend 87 per cent more than the Union government (Mishra and Singh, NCAER 2017) compared to just six per cent more in 2011. Some of the increase was due the UDAY scheme for restructuring electricity utility by state governments absorbing their debt of around `1.4 trillion, in 2016 and 2017. The collective state government fiscal

deficit ballooned from less than two per cent in 2012 to nearly 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2016.

Tax receipts have been a traditional fiscal Achilles heel. Union government tax receipts are near stagnant at around 10 to 11 per cent of GDP. State governments additionally collect six to seven per cent of GDP as taxes. But there is a silver lining now. The Goods and Services Tax is likely to disrupt this placid tax regime, because it introduces positive incentives for paying taxes via the tax credit provisions. Honing the multiple GST rates to the specificities of India’s political economy will remain an ongoing exercise. Once the tax revenue stabilises, the government could consider reducing the multiple tax rates, thereby harnessing the efficiency gains of simplification.

Direct tax collection over the first three quarters of 2017 grew at 18.2 per cent over the previous year, versus a target of 15.7 per cent, courtesy the clampdown on cash transactions. India’s direct tax rates are not extortionary. There is little scope to provide tax breaks. In fact, existing tax breaks could be ended, like those for capital gains on equity held for just one year. The stock markets are defying gravity. So, this is a good time to tax capital gains.

Doing so also aligns with reducing inequality. A common, rules-based, capital gains regime across asset classes is required. The current tax rate on long-term gains, other than equity, is 20 per cent. Short-term gains are taxed at the applicable income-tax rate.

The case for taxing capital gains at a lower rate than income, is sound — it provides an incentive

to take risk and invest.

Inflation indexation of the capital gains and a common tax rate of say 10 per cent — across asset classes, would be eminently sensible.

India spends very little on education and health.

While throwing money at either is not guaranteed to improve services, low allocations are a serious constraint. More fiscal space could become available for social sector spend, if private investment and management could do the heavy lifting in infrastructure and manufacturing.

State-owned enterprises are strewn across transportation, telecommunications, power, coal, oil and gas, steel, metals and other minerals. Nearly all could usefully be privatised and the capital receipts utilised more gainfully in core sovereign areas. But India’s political economy has, for long, enshrined the perks and patronage, derived from public ownership of industries, as the fruits of being in power.

What about the quality of expenditure? Capital expenditure lagged, and revenue expenditure surged during the period 2010-11 to 2014-15. Under the Modi government this trend has reversed.

Capital expenditure has increased from a share of 12 per cent till 2014-15 to 14 per cent. Simultaneously, the Central revenue deficit has decreased from 3.1 per cent of GDP in fiscal 2014 to 1.9 per cent in fiscal 2018.

But private investment has dried up from fiscal 2016. Plagued by 14 per cent of stressed loans,

The FM is fiscally bound this year, not least because the GST is performing below expectations. He should admit that the economy needs breathing time, before the numerous reform steps deliver results.

banks focused on damage control adversely hitting new lending. The “twin balance sheet problem” of banks and their defaulting borrowers needs faster summary resolution for results.

Solutions must be found for alleviating poverty — one-fifth of our citizens remain poor and another one-fifth are vulnerable to poverty from shocks. Inequality is increasing. This reduces aggregate demand in the economy. Demonetisation and the attack on corruption has subdued consumption and investment, till businesses adjust to the new operational constraints.

There is a general expectation of sops from Budget 2018-19 in view of the impending elections.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley is sure to resist this temptation. However, he might be tempted to withdraw subsidy benefits from urban areas, where incomes are higher and employment more easily available.

The subsidy burden on food, cooking gas and fertiliser is an unsustainable two per cent of GDP — principally because it is badly targeted and inefficiently spent.

Rural distress and poverty far exceeds that in urban areas. Indeed, entrepreneurial rural folk access urban areas for employment, medical help and higher education. In rural areas, a phased switchover to direct cash transfers for BPL families is required. This will stimulate rural markets, provide flexibility to the beneficiaries and reduce the dead weight loss of high transaction costs.

The finance minister is fiscally bound this year, not least because the GST is performing below expectations. He should frankly admit that the economy needs breathing time, before the numerous reform steps deliver results. In the meantime, keep breathing, if you can.

The writer is adviser, Observer Research Foundation

Prospect of a hung House is growing in Pakistan

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hat happens if none of them can form a government? Not a majority government, not a coalition government, not even a minority government — just no government at all. In a House of 342, what if nothing adds up to 172 — not even just to elect a PM and let us all be done with the hell that the run-up to the election has become. It’s a question that’s been buried in the regionalisation and fracturing of the electorate over the past decade or two.

There are regional — provincial — templates. In Balochistan and KP, minority governments and an array of nobodies have been cobbled together at various points to put up a chief minister and a wobbly government.

Once upon a time in Punjab, a handful of votes were used to grab the chief minister’s

slot. But it’s not clear that any of that could work in the Centre.

In the tawdriness and ridiculousness and whining that politics here has been reduced to and reduced itself to, we may well be stumbling towards finding out what happens when no one can form a government. Sift through the possibilities.

Nawaz could win again, but to actually win he needs to win big in Punjab. While fighting with the boys and the courts. It’s a kind of win already that he’s not considered the underdog. But parliamentary maths is of the hard kind.

It would be a miracle on Constitution Avenue if Nawaz were to carry the N-League to a parliamentary majority. And then immediately we’d be caught in the wretchedness of trying to figure out how long the boys would tolerate the sit-

Cyril Almeida View from Pakistan uation. Or Imran and the ultra right could crawl to a coalition majority. But that would be very messy and a whole lot of iffy.

The most likely immediate electoral utility of the mainstreamed types and ultra-right options is to hold other parties back, not actually pick up a bunch of seats for themselves.

Realistically, a PTI-right-wing

coalition would need to be somewhere in the region of an 80-20 split. Can the PTI really surge to 80 per cent of the way to a majority in the NA? Never say never in an engineered outcome, but it would still be a slog for the PTI to get that far.

There is another possibility for the PTI: the existing religious parties combined with electoral chaff from Balochistan and Sindh plus the new ultra right. Throw in some version of the MQM. That would probably reduce the coalition share the PTI would need to govern credibly to roughly 50 per cent, but at that point there’d be so many different moving parts that stability would be hard to fashion. Even with the most determined of support from the boys.

Finally, there’s the PPP hanging on to its dominant position in rural Sindh and

using that base to become a junior coalition with the largest party, probably the NLeague. But for the same reason an IK-Zardari alliance would be inherently unstable, a Nawaz-Zardari coalition would challenge political logic.

A splintered Parliament could also theoretically produce an alliance of inconvenience — N-League, PPP, JUIF, MQM, etc — each having a different reason for seeking democratic continuity. But you’d be crazy to put any money on that particular configuration surviving long.

Which leaves us with a final possibility: what if none of them can get to 172?

It’s not hard to see how that could happen.

The N-League already needs to win big to win and any NLeague seat suppression by the boys could push it well

below the 100-seat threshold.

And the gross incompetence of the PTI, on display once again this week, means that even significant electoral massaging by the boys to help out the PTI could also leave it well short of the 100-seat threshold. Throw those two things together, toss in a few other reasonable possibilities, and we could end up somewhere we’ve never been before: a Parliament with no government.

And that may end up opening the door to the ultimate dream: pausing the system.

No government after an election technically means a fresh election. There’s not much constitutional confusion in that. But no government after an election would land us in a different political environment.

By arrangement with Dawn

LETTERS ON HIGH GROWTH One cannot agree with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao that the Centre is not encouraging high-growth states.

Without the Centre’s help, no state can register high growth. If the Centre were to assist states with high growth, what about those with low growth rates?

Much of the development is in Hyderabad, and some of the schemes the government has introduced is a waste of taxpayer money.

Shivangi Patel Hyderabad

MOHAN BABU RIGHT Former MP Mohan Babu’s statement that 95 per cent of politicians are rascals, who cheat the people, is sustained by the report 600 graft cases lie incomplete (Jan 20). The government has ignored many cases till the corrupt official retires with a hefty pension. The claim by the government that it will not tolerate corruption is hogwash.

A.R. Mahendra Hyderabad

PLOT AGAINST AAP It was not right of the Election Commission to recommend the dismissal of 20 AAP MLAs. They have stated that they have not earned any salary as parliamentary secretaries. How does their appointment become a violation of the office for profit Act. This seems to be a conspiracy to topple the government.

P.R. Ravinder Hyderabad

THE KOHLI ROW Indian cricket captains like Nari Contractor and Nawab Ali Khan Pataudi were highly respected for the dignified way they carried themselves. In contrast, Virat Kohli was fined for “poor on-field behaviour”. What a shame to Indian cricket, he should be removed as captain. The behaviour of the captain is the most important aspect of the game and brooks no exemption, whatever the situation.

T.M. Uday Shankar Hyderabad We are proud of Virat Kohli for winning the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year. A lot of credit for this achievement must go to his fitness. He has become only the second Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar to reach the 900-point mark in the ICC rankings.

A. Hammad Hyderabad

THANKS, CAPTAIN Kudos to Capt. L. Panduranga Reddy (retd) for the information that the original name of Hyderabad was Chichulam, a village on the other side of the Musi.

Hyderabadis should not live with the misunderstanding that the old name of the city was Bhagyanagar S.M. Arif Hussain Hyderabad

PUNISH KARNI SENA The Karni Sena holding out threats despite the Supreme Court striking down the ban on Padmaavat is extremely dangerous, and it needs to be punished. The silence of the government makes it appear that it has the support of the BJP. The threat of BJP MLA Raja Singh is quite alarming.

Khaizar Hussain Hyderabad

Every Monday the best letter of the week wins `300. Email your letters to info@deccanmail.com, editor@deccanmail.com, or fax them to 27805256. You can also send them to Editor, Deccan Chronicle, 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad-500 003. Letters without full address will not be considered for the prize.

Word SPY JAPPENING RESET GENERATION Of, or relating to, stylish designs Young people who, when a situation becomes difficult or and products from Japan burdensome, quit and start over again in a different situation DECCAN CHRONICLE

Oped

Aakar Patel

Y

ou are a revolutionary leader and you are revolutionising India. You are catapulting this magnificent state into the future,” Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week. What could he possibly mean? My dictionary defines revolution as “involving or causing a complete or dramatic change”.

Usually the change a revolutionary seeks is a sort of insurrection against the established order, particularly the state. Since Mr Netanyahu is calling the India state magnificent (it would be fascinating to know why he thinks it is), it is safe to assume that he’s not referring to Mr Modi’s attempts to overthrow that order.

So what could he possibly be reaching for? I don’t really know, and don’t want to speculate. For a moment let us set aside the fact that Mr Netanyahu is here to sell

Littering is an eyesore and at the most an aesthetic irritant. It is not a national crisis like sanitation is (38 per cent of our children are stunted at age two, giving them no chance of a fulfilling intellectual and physical life).

He gave the mantra of ‘Na gandagi karenge, Na karne denge’.”

In the introductory note Mr Modi uses the words clean, cleanliness, litter and littering 21 times. The words “toilet” and “sanitation” appear once, in the line that Mr Modi “has simultaneously addressed the health problems that roughly half of the Indians families have to deal with due to lack of proper toilets in their homes”.

This is almost an afterthought, perhaps because it was an extension of earlier programmes and, therefore, uninteresting to Mr Modi.

Littering is an eyesore and at the most an aesthetic irritant. It is not a national crisis like sanitation is (38 per cent of our chil-

REPORTERS’ DIARY

‘KABHI GUSSA, KABHI PYAR’ THE “MOOD SWING” noticed in Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in two public functions last week had made headlines. The chief minister had taken everyone by surprise when he received a delegation of agitating ad hoc teachers in his “characteristic style” with respect and affection, while joining the state-sponsored Ekatm Yatra kicked off last fortnight to retrace Adi Shankara’s journey in Babai, Madhya Pradesh on January 18. For the tight slaps he gave to one of his personal security guards for annoying him at an election rally in Sardar Nagar, Dhar district, barely five days before the Babai incident, were still fresh in public memory. Mr Chouhan lost his cool and gave two punches in the face to the cop when the latter was found “unwittingly” ramming him repeatedly after himself being pushed by the surging crowd at the rally. The incident caught in a video camera had gone viral later, causing acute embarrassment to him. The chief minister, however, clarified at another public function that he had merely put the cop aside when the latter tried to block people from meeting him at the rally. He was however found in a completely different mood, refusing to be provoked by a similar situation at his Babai event. He rather patted the cheek of a representative of teachers’ delegation, Jitendra Bairagi, very affectionately when the latter submitted to him a memorandum demanding regularisation of their services, and said in his inimitable style: “Karunga re sab karunga (a colloquial expression peppered with warmth and love, promising to oblige).”

The transformation noticed in him at Babai was truly amazing, a member of the delegation observed. He was, of course, referring to the “slapgate” controversy involving Mr Chouhan.

MINISTER GOES HOT AND COLD ANUPAMA JAISWAL, a first-time minister of state for basic education in Uttar Pradesh, has landed herself in hot soup and that too in this freezing winter. The minister pompously announced that “every child in a government school” would get a sweater this winter.

After making the announcement, the government realised that it could not find a suitable supplier who could provide 1. 54 crore sweaters at one go.

When journalists started questioning the minister, Ms Jaiswal again declared that she would not wear a sweater herself until every child received one.

While the children continued to freeze in the cold, the minister was also forced to go without a sweater because she found that TV channels were following her wherever she went.

As the temperatures dipped, Ms Jaiswal set up heaters in her office to keep herself warm, but the p r o b l e m remained when she had to attend programmes outside.

Finally, the children have started g e t t i n g sweaters and the minister is also wearing hers.

THE NYT CROSSWORD 66 In a short while 67 Country hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics 68 Lefties 69 Notre Dame setting DOWN

ACROSS 1 Home to Santa’s workshop 5 Popular outdoor clothing brand, with “The” 9 Minnesota N.H.L. team from 1967 to 1993 14 Ruler over Valhalla 15 As dumb as ___ of rocks 16 American of Japanese origin 17 Mandatory: Abbr.

18 Gusto 19 Change for the better 20 Fraternity “T” 21 Dog that needs a muzzle, say 22 Novelist Charles with an appropriate

surname 23 Volunteer’s phrase 25 Largest known asteroid 27 Giving over 29 Part of the brainstem 33 How most movies are released after theatrical runs 34 Send off, as an online order 36 Remunerates 37 What Friday has, unlike any other day?

38 Dividing line 41 Subj. for Bill Nye 42 Candlemaking supply 44 Like Christmas sweaters, stereotypically 45 Prefix with party or venous

47 Queen in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” 49 ___ Way (Roman road) 50 Calf-length pants style 52 Iowa’s largest export 53 Language group of central Africa 56 Harsh 58 Anarchist’s aversion 61 Eponymous Dr. Alzheimer 62 Young muchacho 63 New York’s ___ Field 64 Scrabble 1pointer (but a Words With Friends 2-pointer) 65 Years on the Yucatán

1 Affluent Connecticut town 2 Theaters of antiquity 3 Food restriction before and after surgery, maybe 4 Demise 5 Disconcerting 6 Aid in mischief 7 Sine’s reciprocal, in trig 8 Hand or foot 9 Caught 10 “Pencils down!”

11 Like Edward Lear’s Owl and Pussycat 12 Tear apart 13 U.N.’s location in Manhattan 21 Burglary, in police shorthand 24 Kind of engineer: Abbr.

26 Certain tow job

27 Interstate 5’s locale 28 Listless feeling 30 Bringing up the rear 31 Stretchy sportswear material 32 Resident of China or Japan, but not India or Iran 34 Pea with a thick, rounded pod 35 Chess-playing movie villain 39 Bon mot 40 Make fun of 43 Capable of being touched 46 Network with news at the top of each hour 48 Revulsion 49 Bridging 51 1986 rock autobiography 53 Area of longtime contention 54 Choir part 55 Pinot ___ 57 Plenty, once 59 Huge amounts 60 Eurus, in Greek mythology 63 One waiting at the airport?

dren are stunted at age two, giving them no chance of a fulfilling intellectual and physical life).

But Mr Modi’s focus and his messaging was on littering, because what he was reaching for was a change in the individual Indian citizen’s character, which he saw as needing behavioural change; an internal transformation. This is reformation of the sort that is usually done by spiritual and religious leaders. It is not in the domain of popular politics.

One can similarly understand the motivation for eccentric actions like demonetisation through the same instinct of social reform. Indians must be weaned off black money and the way to do this is by forcing behavioural change and taking away their cash. Whether or not this is ultimately effective; whether or not it affects millions negatively; whether or not people will actually die from this slashing policy stroke; all of that the experts can quibble over later.

Mr Modi must act and so he will force (compel) people to do the right thing, or that which he considers right. This is the reform of the father figure, which in many ways Mr Modi has become, given the nature of his popularity and where it springs from.

Bollywood director Madhur Bhandarkar recently wrote a

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MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

Insanitation is national crisis arms to a customer susceptible to flattery.

However, it is very true that in one way, Mr Modi is seeking to bring about revolutionary change in the established order.

What is this change? I would say it is reform, but not in the way the word is generally used.

Let me illustrate this by looking at one of Mr Modi’s signature initiatives: Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan. Readers will remember how it was launched: with the Prime Minister taking a broom and cleaning public spaces, and encouraging others to do the same and tweet about it. His website explained the purpose of Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan: “A clean India would be the best tribute India could pay to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150 birth anniversary in 2019… While leading the mass movement for cleanliness, the Prime Minister exhorted people to fulfill Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a clean and hygienic India. Mr Modi himself initiated the cleanliness drive at Mandir Marg Police Station in Delhi. Picking up the broom to clean the dirt, making Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan a mass movement across the nation, the Prime Minister said people should neither litter, nor let others litter.

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piece (“When a Prime Minister turned social reformer”) referring to the same aspects. He wrote: “There are several examples which show how our society is undergoing a major transformation. Initiatives like taking yoga to the masses, banning the use of red beacons to end VIP culture, special schemes for divyangs and sensitising people to their needs, ending the formality of getting forms/certificates attested by gazetted officers, exhorting people to prepare their own manure through composting — these may look like small initiatives but their impact is massive”.

Whether this is what the Prime Minister of India should concentrate on is not something I want to look at here. The point is that this societal change is what he is drawn to. Sometimes he recognises that he may have approached the issue wrongly or hastily.

Today the Swachchh Bharat websites, including the one for urban centres, list the toilet and sanitation numbers front and centre and there is little if anything about littering.

In his reply to Mr Netanyahu’s praise, Mr Modi said, “I have a reputation for being impatient to get results and so do you.” We should expect that his attempts to reform us will continue.

Warm Welcome Awaits Tito NEW DELHI, JAN. 21 President Tito’s visit to India this week and his exchange of views with the Prime MInister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, are expected to contribute to the promotion of bilateral co-operation and common efforts on international plane for furthering peace in the world. A warm and friendly welcome awaits the Yugoslav leader when he arrives here on Monday, accompanied by Madam Jovanka Broz Tito and a high-level delegation of advisers.

President Tito come to New Delhi in the course of his current tour of some Asian and African countries.

YEARS AGO IN This will be fourth visit to India. His earlier visits were undertaken in 1954, 1959 and 1966, the last in connection with the tripartite meeting between President Nasser, President Tito and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Marshal Tito’s talks in New Delhi will be of great significance as he will be meeting President Nasser in Cairo before retuning to Belgrade.

Both UAR (Egypt) and India have been deeply concerned at the developments in West Asia arising out of the Israeli aggression against Arab countries. Both the countries have also been striving their best to bring about a lasting solution at the area. — PTI

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Both UAR (Egypt) and India have been deeply concerned at the developments in West Asia arising out of the Israeli aggression.

Movies

Pierce Brosnan was contractually forbidden from wearing a full tuxedo in any non-James Bond movie from 1995-2002 DECCAN CHRONICLE

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MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

OUR CRITIC’S RATING Outstanding ★★★★★ | Great ★★★★ | Good ★★★ | Okay ★★ | Poor ★ | Truly Terrible TT

A film filled with authentic touches Darkest Hour (U/A) 128 min CAST: Gary Oldman, Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn, Kristin Scott Thomas DIRECTOR: Joe Wright RATING: ★★★★

RICHARD ROEPER

F

ive months ago we had the privilege of seeing Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, a magnificent work about the daring evacuation of the British Armed Forces that seemed to be hopelessly trapped by the Germans in the spring of 1940.

Dunkirk told the story from three points of view, which were essentially land, sea and air.

Although not officially affiliated with Dunkirk, Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour serves — and serves very well — as a prequel, told from a fourth point of view.

That of Winston Churchill.

Most of Darkest Hour takes place in the days and weeks just prior to the events of Dunkirk and focuses on the Prime Minister’s desperate efforts to formulate a plan to save those British troops, even as his opponents are saying Hitler has already won and it would be expedient to enter into peace talks with Mussolini’s Italy.

First, though, we meet Churchill just before he is to replace Neville Chamberlain as PM.

It’s morning in the Churchill household — a spacious and rambling and ever-so-slightly weathered townhouse bustling with activity. As Churchill rumbles and grumbles awake, like a giant bear shaking off a deep slumber, it’s as if a piece of vintage newsreel footage has started rolling.

We know this is Gary Oldman beneath the Oscar-level makeup and the padding. And yet within the first minute or so, we forget it’s Oldman and we marvel at one of the most authentic and memorable portrayals of Churchill in the long, the very long history of television series and movies about arguably England’s most important 20th-century figure.

Oldman’s Churchill is a commanding presence as a public speaker and an occasional charmer when he wants to be, but he’s also a heavy smoker, an even heavier drinker, a short-tempered bully and someone almost incapable of the simplest of social graces.

Little wonder Lily James’ Elizabeth Layton, the latest in a revolving door of personal secretaries, is so intimidated she goes flying down the stairs within hours of starting the job.

(Circumstances bring her back, and this time she stays.)

Little wonder many of Churchill’s enemies consider him reckless and dangerous and unfit to lead the country. Little wonder King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) doesn’t even try to hide his disdain for Churchill each time they meet. The king winces at the man’s voracious

appetite, his day drinking, his bluster and bravado.

The only one to stand up to Churchill on a regular basis, to calmly put him in his place even as she reminds him of his potential for greatness, is his wife, Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas in a finely nuanced performance). When the room is cleared and it’s just Winston and Clementine and the weight of the world on Winston’s shoulders, it’s Clementine who gives him the strength to take on the task.

Director Wright and his creative team do a masterful job of taking us into the underground bunker/war room where Churchill and his military advisers — and scores of support personnel — are holed up, collecting top secret intelligence and keeping on top of the evermore-bleak war effort and mapping out strategies. From time to time we’re taken into the heart of the war itself, as when we see a regiment sent on a diversionary mission that is almost certain to result in their own deaths.

Wright favours overhead shots that begin in close-up and rise up, up and up, painting a devastatingly effective picture of the sacrifice made by hundreds so that hundreds of thousands might live.

The more intimate set pieces are just as visually arresting, whether Churchill is meeting with the king at Buckingham Palace, in a cubbyhole and on the phone with FDR, or riding the train with an astonished group of citizens, asking their opinions on what he

should do. (Although that latter scene represents the one time in the movie we go from sentimental and inspirational to hokey.) Darkest Hour is filled with authentic touches, large and small.

Most authentic of all is Oldman’s perfor mance as a flawed but deeply passionate man who summoned all of his courage, all of his oratory skills and all of his love for Britain at just the right moment, because the very thought of even one red Nazi banner hanging from a building in London was something he could not, would not tolerate.

Oldman can go as big as any actor on the planet, and he certainly plays to the rafters at times, but so did Winston Churchill.

There’s a great physicality to the performance.

Sometimes Churchill is so tired and defeated he can barely ascend a staircase; on other occasions he’s so filled with fire he practically runs through the streets, and his aides struggle to keep up with him.

As played by Oldman, Churchill has perhaps never seemed greater.

Or more human.

Tedious, sloppy, stupid junk A

The Commuter

By arrangement with Asia Features

An illogical, pirated Needlessly convoluted, copy of Shutter Island annoyingly pretentious SUPARNA SHARMA

Vodka Diaries (U/A) 118 min CAST: Kay Kay Menon, Raima Sen, Mandira Bedi, Sharib Hashmi, Rishi Bhutani DIRECTOR: Kushal Srivastava RATING: ★

I

magine a painting by a master you like.

Koi bhi. Mona Lisa. Starry Night. The Scream. Hussain’s horses in an agitated sprint. Frieda Kahlo’s self-portrait with a monkey on her shoulder…

Now imagine it on the wall of your living room.

Now imagine coming home one day and finding it replaced by a copy made with crayons by your neighbour’s toddler.

I exaggerate, of course.

But if you liked Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island (2010), chances are you will react to Kushal Srivastava’s Vodka Diaries as you will to the hideous, crayon painting on your wall.

Vodka Diaries is a very bad, very poor, often-incoherent and illogical pirated copy of Shutter Island.

It takes the basic concept of the film, but uses it in a half-witted plot that is populated with annoying and stilted characters who speak to each other only in filmy dialogues, in scenes that are so stiff that you could hang your wet pyjamas to dry on them.

This despite the fact that Vodka Diaries stars Kay Kay Menon and Mandira Bedi.

Menon is usually good, sometimes he is amazing. Bedi is always cute and earnest. Here, however, it seems that Menon and Bedi are bound to a challenge to outdo the other in overacting.

V

odka Diaries begins with ACP Dixit (Menon) and his wife Shalini (Bedi) returning from a holiday to their home in Manali. As usual, she’s writing poetry, and he, having fixed himself a drink, is trying to make some kind of joke about the soft-soft emotions of poetry as opposed to the toughtough realities of crime.

These two things — literature and crime — are doomed to remain in a sweaty union throughout the film. Where there is one, the other soon appears.

A girl is murdered and the investigation leads Dixit and his assistant Ankit (Sharib Hashmi) to a club, Vodka Diaries, where hormonal youngsters are gathering for some big party night.

In the party sits a strange character. Roshni Banerjee (Raima Sen), a femme fatale in a sequin dress, utters only suggestive lines with her teeth clenched, lips pursed and is soon on a long drive with a horny guy who, incidentally, knew the dead girl.

Soon, horny guy winds up dead too, dangling from a tree, upside down.

At the party, meanwhile, two other men are chasing after two hot babes, ignoring their own girlfriends.

Soon they end up dead as well. One frozen, one stuffed in the little fridge cabinet in a hotel room.

Then Roshni makes a threatening call to Dixit and Shalini disappears.

But next day, all the dead people Dixit was investigating, are fully alive and functional. He meets them one by one, asking them how they became undead. Both confused by this whole dead people coming alive business, and irritated with their aappagal-ho-kya expression, he goes slightly bonkers. As does the film.

We, meanwhile, are too pissed off with the film to care about who lives of dies.

T

he thing with Shutter Island was its errie atmosphere, the fear that stakled us as we watched it, and a plot that seemed smarter than us.

Here we have none of that. Instead we get Ms Bedi’s very strange attempts at acting where she doesn’t know what to do with her hands and face, so she keeps using her palms to cup her face. While Menon happily stars in his very own hamfest.

Not their fault, I guess.

The many bottles of vodka that the film’s writer (Vaibhav Bajpai) and director obviously consumed while working on this project was not shared with the lead actors. Their irritation shows.

My Birthday Song (A) 96 min CAST: Sanjay Suri, Nora Fatehi, Zenia Starr, Pitobash DIRECTOR: Samir Soni RATING: ★

I

t’s quite easy to make some sort of coherent head or tail of My Birthday Song if one were to just go over the scenes and recall the moment where guilt hit Rajiv Kaul (Sanjay Suri). Or why Kaul, the ad agency guy who has a sweet wife, a lovely farmhouse, is happy to cheat, loses it.

But unlike in several psychological thrillers, where that moment of revelation accompanies an almost audible, impressedwith-the-director’s-cleverness “aha”, here all you feel is exhausting irritation because the writer-director Samir Soni’s film is needlessly convoluted and so annoyingly pretentious that you want the whole thing to be bleeped out of your memory.

M

y Birthday Song opens with a claustrophobic frame in the chamber of a doctor. It’s been a year since Kaul’s 40th birthday and still, he tells her, he is unable to sleep.

The film then goes into flashback, to that rainy night in Delhi when Kaul’s 40th birthday party, that his wife Ritu (Zenia Starr) could not attend, was underway.

The party was boring. His friends, the food, the conversation was boring him. Things perked up only when he spotted this young, slender, sexy thing in a tight dress.

Sandy (Nora Fatehi) is not really a person as written by Soni. She is a cliche, a banality.

Like all temptresses, she stands alone and stares out of party, through the window, as if scanning the outside for something that would bore her a little less, all the while mentally swaying in admiration of her own hotness.

But then eyes lock.

And when Sandy feeds Kaul a slice of his birthday cake, her fingers move like slow, caressing wipers on his lips — a gesture that is

suggestive enough for the two to make a chal-sex-kartehain pact aankhon-aankhon mein.

Though she is a guest of a guest, she stays back. And as they get talking, it seems Sandy knows Kaul from before, but he can’t recall kab, kahan.

Soon they are in bed for some one-on-one action which she seems to be enjoying. But then she spots something that makes this whole going-down-on-eachother-business seem like a very bad idea. But before she can utter a word, things fall, glass shatters and an accident occurs.

Here on things get decidedly bizarre.

Next morning, to Kaul’s bafflement, the scene of action, with blood, shattered glass and more, simply ceases to exist, making him wonder if he imagined it all.

There is no trace of Sandy or any hanky-panky. There are, however, clues that peck at Kaul, telling him that a very bad thing did happen last night.

But soon his birthday day begins again. Ritu calls to say she can’t make it, a friend calls to say he’s bringing a guest, Sandy, to Kaul’s birthday party, and then, Kaul, still baffled, rushes to tell Sandy not to come to the party.

But then the same accident occurs again…

Kaul’s life and the film are now in a hysterical loop, where every day is the same day, the day of his birthday, and it begins with a clean slate except for some reminders that jo dikhta hai woh satya nahin hai.

w, come on, guys. It’s like you’re not even trying. Over the years, the talented and pulp-friendly director Jaume ColletSerra and the one and only Liam Neeson have teamed up for a number of action thrillers with plausibility-stretching plots.

Unknown. Non-Stop. Run All Night. Death Blow.

Fine, so that last title is from the Seinfeld Movie Universe and not the ColletSerra/Neeson Movie Universe, but if and when somebody does make a film titled (U/A) 105 min Death Blow, CAST: Liam Neeson, Vera almost any plot Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, attached to it is Jonathan Banks, Elizabeth likely to be more McGovern, Sam Neill believable and DIRECTOR: Jaume less predictable Collet-Serra than this tedious, RATING: ★ sloppy and downright stupid junk.

Granted, with a title such as The Commuter and a setup that has Neeson on a train where bad things are happening and he’s the only one who can put a stop to it, we’re not expecting a docudramastyle thriller during which we’ll keep nodding our heads and thinking: Sure; that could happen. It’s supposed to be a diverting, Bmovie, grab-the-popcorn and forget-the-postholiday-blues slice of entertainment. Got it.

But virtually every big twist and every major reveal in The Commuter is telegraphed well in advance, and from the moment the train leaves the station and the story really begins to kick into gear, we find ourselves rolling our eyes about every 10 minutes, until the last few scenes, where we have to keep a firm grip on the armrests and tell ourselves to stay put and ride out the ridiculousness of the insanely dumb finale.

How bad is this thing? Even the obligatory (and repeated) hand-to-hand combat sequences are so amateurishly staged it feels like we’re watching a poorly shot training video (“So You Want to Fight Like a Stunt Man?”). And rarely has breakaway glass been so obviously... well, breakaway glass.

The first 10 or 15 minutes of The Commuter are actually pretty cool. In Groundhog Day fashion, we see the morning routine of Michael McCauley (Neeson), a 60-year-old former cop for the NYPD (gee, wonder if that will come into play?) who for the past 10 years has been selling life insurance in the big city.

Every morning at 6, Michael awakes in his home in Tarrytown, New York, to the sounds of all-news New York radio station 1010 Wins, checks to make sure his high school senior son (Dean-Charles Chapman) is up and at ‘em, and gets a ride to the train station from his loving wife (Elizabeth McGovern). Once Michael’s on the train to Grand Central Station, he exchanges small talk with the familiar faces he sees every morning and evening. Director Collet-Serra films these sequences with economy and style, letting us get to know and like Michael and his tight-knit family.

And then one evening, it all unravels.

Michael is on his way home after a particularly rough day when a mysterious woman calling herself Joanna (Vera Farmiga) sits across from him and makes him an offer that at first sounds like a hypothetical but quickly grows all too real.

Let’s just say Michael is given the opportunity to make a quick score when he needs cash more than he’s ever needed it in his life, and all he has to do is one little thing. But that one little thing sets off a chain reaction resulting in bloodshed and conspiracy theories and madness on that train, with maybe a dozen passengers possibly involved in the deadly, highstakes game.

Joanna exits the train early on, but she seems to have eyes and ears everywhere, and she’s constantly in touch with Michael, reminding him of the grave consequences he’ll be facing if he doesn’t follow the plan all the way through. (The details of Joanna’s grand scheme are handed out to us in dollops, and with each new piece of information, one can’t help but think that for a mastermind, Joanna has gone to extremely complicated lengths to carry out a mission that could have been executed in a dozen simpler, more straightforward ways.)

Many ridiculous things happen on the train.

Michael gets involved in fights and shootouts, and on occasion finds himself underneath the train or running alongside the train or pushing someone off the train. It’s amazing how many shots are fired and how much brutality takes place before the passengers just a car or two away become aware of Michael’s very rough day.

The train is filled with stereotypes and caricatures, from the wisecracking, would-be womaniser of a young conductor to the nervous nurse to the jerky Wall Street guy to the student with a nose ring and pink hair to the oldtimer named Walt contemplating retirement to the suspicious-looking meathead Michael has never seen on the train before. Any one of them could be the mysterious person Michael has been tasked with finding; any one of them could be working with Joanna and looking to kill Michael.

Not a single one of them, nor Michael, nor anyone else, is capable of saving this movie from itself.

— RR

I

t’s not a bad plot for a psychological thriller.

But under the guidance of Samir Soni, this thriller turns stupid pretty soon.

His film is not interested in any characters, only in what it thinks is a clever ploy to confuse the viewer and keep them guessing.

Each one — the husband, the wife, the temptress — is one-dimensional and mouth lines that come with the packaging of these cliche characters.

The temptress talks of cheating her way though NYU, the wife loses it on hearing of her husband’s latest frolic with another woman, and the husband is just staring at things — broken frame, dead girl, and the I-card he draws out of Sandy’s bag.

Worse, more pretentious characters drop in randomly to say meaningless, annoying crap.

Given the scenario, it’s not fair to expect the actors to liven up the proceedings.

Nora Fatehi is pretty, and is stellar when she’s playing dead.

Soni, who has written and directed My Birthday Song, is so in love with his own creation that he wanted his presence to be felt throughout. So the doctor’s prescription pad we see in the beginning has S. Soni written on it. And he makes a fleeting appearance in a scene, running into a baffled Sanjay Suri.

Suri, a limited actor who seems very lost here, should have told him then and there, “Bhai, dimag ka dahi ho raha hai.”

— SS

Nation

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says strength of Sangha is not to scare or dominate but to make India “Vishwa Guru” DECCAN CHRONICLE

POLL

Both the BJP and CPM are responsible for political violence in Kerala. They should share the responsibility for loss of lives

■ Move highlights differences between Yechury and Karat

Scientists reject ‘anti-Darwinism’ New Delhi: Indian scientists on Sunday disputed Union minister Satyapal Singh’s remark that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution of man was “scientifically wrong”, saying that his statement was made without any scientific basis. They have also opposed the minister’s call for a change in curriculum, terming any such move as a “retrograde step”. Singh, the MoS for HRD, had said that Darwin’s theory of evolution was wrong as our ancestors have not mentioned seeing an ape turning into a man.

New UP DGP takes charge tomorrow New Delhi: The Centre on Sunday relieved CISF chief O.P. Singh for his cadre Uttar Pradesh, where he is expected to take over as the new director general of police.

The appointments committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued an order allowing a home ministry proposal for “premature repatriation” of Singh, a 1983-batch IPS officer. According to official sources, Singh, 59, is expected to take over as the Uttar Pradesh DGP on Tuesday.

FUTURE CJIs HOLD TALKS WITH MISRA New Delhi, Jan. 21: Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has examined suggestions from stakeholders to bring transparency in allocation of sensitive public interest litigations to judges and is likely to bring in the public domain soon, sources close to him said on Sunday.

SCBA president Vikas Singh said there was a demand from the bar to follow the roster system of allocation of work prevalent in the Delhi High Court.

“We are quite hopeful that the CJI is going to accept our suggestions and all misunderstanding can be resolved,” Mr Singh said.

During the press conference, the four judges — Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M.B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph — had raised various issues, including the allocation of important and sensitive PILs, and questioned the manner in which the CJI was allocating them to a particular bench.

The PILs in the Loya case was one of them which was being heard by a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra who later recused himself from it.

Sources said that some of the judges who are the future CJIs — Justices S.A. Bobde, N.V. Ramana, U.U. Lalit and D.Y. Chandrachud — have been holding parleys with the CJI to resolve the crisis that hit the judiciary after the January 12 presser. They also said that the judges who have been having talks with the CJI for bringing the house in order were also not happy that the four senior most judges went public with their grievances.

VALLEY | CRISIS

O.P. RAWAT APPOINTED NEW POLL CHIEF

DC CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, JAN. 21

BRIEF

■ J&K

The CPM central committee, at a meeting in Kolkata, on Sunday rejected a resolution moved by its general secretary Sitaram Yechury and backed by its influential Bengal unit, for a political understanding with the Congress.

With this, the battle has now shifted to the party congress to be held in Hyderabad in April, where an alternative resolution may be moved by at least 12 state units reiterating the need for a broader political understanding with the Congress in order to defeat the BJP in 2019.

The “tyranny of the majority”, which the Left party has accused the BJP of practising in the Lok Sabha on many occasions, came back to haunt the CPM as its central committee defeated the resolution moved by the Bengal faction led by Mr Yechury by a margin of 55-31, virtually closing the door for any political understanding with the Congress ahead of the 2019 general election.

The central committee instead adopted the draft put forward by Mr Yechury’s arch-rival, former general secretary Prakash Karat.

Interestingly, though Mr Yechury or his so called Bengal faction was hugely outnumbered by Mr Karat’s Kerala faction at the central committee as well as the politburo earlier, at the party congress the two sides would have almost equal representation. The party congress has roughly 600 members.

2 MARATHON RUNNERS END UP IN HOSPITAL DC CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI, JAN. 18

The 15th edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2018 turned out to an unfortunate day for two half-marathon participants, who ended up in the hospital owing to health issues.

Sources said Pramod Singh Girase, 45, suffered a cardiac arrest, while Sukesh Kabra, 46, suffered a brain stroke that paralysed the left side of his body. They are being treated at the trust-run Bombay Hospital.

Several other runners complained of muscle cramps, dehydration, minor injuries and exhaustion.

However, if compared to the figures of last year, the number of injured participants was less. A total of 2,300 runners this year suffered from health problems, 200 less than the last year’s number. Last year, 15 runners had suffered from dehydration. This year, the number dropped to six.

MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

DC CORRESPONDENT with agency inputs NEW DELHI, JAN. 21

Om Prakash Rawat was on Sunday appointed the next chief election commissioner, the Union law ministry said, a day before the present incumbent Achal Kumar Joti demits charge.

Former finance secretary Ashok Lavasa was also appointed as an election commissioner to fill up the vacancy that would have arisen in the three-member Election Commission after Joti’s retirement on Monday.

Sunil Arora is the other commissioner in the poll body. Rawat will take over as the CEC on January 23, a law ministry notification said.

His tenure will end in December this year and Arora, the senior most commissioner after the CEC, is expected to take over as the head of the poll panel.

An EC or CEC has a tenure of six years. But if he turns 65 before that, he demits office.

Born on December 2, 1953, Rawat is a former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer. His appointment will come into effect from the day he assumes office, a law ministry statement said here.

Rawat also served as secretary, department of public enterprises in the ministry of heavy industries.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury addressing a press conference after the party’s three-day central committee meeting in Kolkata on Sunday.

— PTI

Karnataka polls no cakewalk for BJP YOJANA GUSAI AND SREEPARNA CHAKRABARTY | DC NEW DELHI, JAN. 21

Contrary to expectations, it would not be a cakewalk for the BJP in Karnataka where the saffron party is trying to wrest power from the Congress, party feedback suggested.

In a redux of the Gujarat battle, both BJP and Congress seem to be heading for a tough contest in the southern state.

While the Congress, which is in power, is battling anti-incumbency, it is not going to be a cakewalk for the BJP either as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to be on a resurgent mode from the past 7-8 months.

Though the BJP top brass has managed to contain the issue of factionalism, only the results of the Assembly elec-

■ AT PRESENT, Congress holds 129 seats, BJP 44, and Janata Dal (Secular) 39 seats in the 229member Assembly. tions will prove whether or not declaring party stalwart B.S. Yeddyurappa as the chief ministerial candidate was a good decision, sources said.

Though Mr Yeddyurappa is a prominent face of the Lingayats, a numerically strong community, Mr Siddaramaiah is also playing the caste card shrewdly this time Another issue, which the saffron poll managers have been closely monitoring, is that of how the Dalit vote bank will react to the spurt in anti-Dalit incidents in the country under the BJP led NDA rule.

BJP mayor ‘admits’ holding licence of burnt factory New Delhi, Jan. 21: The Bawana fire tragedy triggered a political blame game here, which played out in tweets, videos and media statements, as the AAP and the BJP engaged in a war of words, while the Congress sought a judicial probe into the incident that claimed 17 lives.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal retweeted a video clip, that emerged hours later after the incident. In the video, North Delhi mayor Preety Agarwal is allegedly heard whispering to one of her aides, “iss factory ki licensing hamare paas hai, isliye hum kuch nahi bol sakte (the licensing of the factory is with us, hence we can’t say anything)”.

Agarwal, however, claimed the video that was “being made viral was “fake” and sought apology from the Chief Minister.

“Arvind Kejriwal by retweeting the video has resorted to dirty politics and he should apologise for that,” she said and also posted on her Twitter handle. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari also backed

KEJRIWAL HITS OUT AT CENTRE DC CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, JAN. 21

With President Ram Nath Kovind accepting the Election Commission’s recommendation to disqualify 20 MLAs of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party for holding offices of profit, the stage is set for a mini-election in the nation’s capital as the poll panel now has to hold byelections in these Assembly seats within six months.

Addressing a gathering in Najafgarh on Sunday, Delhi Chief the mayor. “What could have been more worse than CM Arvind Kejriwal retweeting an untruthful video at a time when 17 people have died in a tragedy,” he tweeted. He also visited the site of fire in Bawana and demanded a judicial probe into the incident. On the tweet, he also claimed that the factory, where the fire

Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “They are trying to harass us by all means... They got a CBI raid done at my office, but after a 24-hour search they only found my four mufflers. Our MLAs were arrested.”

He added, “The L-G had called 400 files of our government (pertaining to decisions taken in two years), but they did not find anything against us. When they did not find anything against us, they today disqualified our 20 MLAs.” occurred, was of the Delhi government and its “licence was given through industry department.”

AAP’s Delhi unit’s chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj hit back at the BJP, saying the MCD (which is ruled by the BJP) is responsible for giving permission for constructions.

— PTI

TWO MONTHS AFTER IT FIRST OFFERED SECURITY CONSULTANCY TO SCHOOLS, CISF EXPERTS HAVE BEGUN A EXERCISE OF AUDITING SOME BIG NAMES IN MUMBAI, HYDERABAD AND KOLKATA ■ The trigger

for this exercise was the Sept. killing of a Class II student of the Ryan International School in Gurugram, who was found dead in the school bathroom.

STANDARD DEAL ■ The Central Paramilitary Force, that is mandated to guard major Indian civil airports, has received over `15 lakh of the government prescribed service fee for this service.

■ The CISF’s security A CISF contingent

CISF audit has began at these schools ■ Oakridge International Schools in

Hyderabad ■ Podar Education Network in Mumbai ■ St Xavier’s in Kolkata

MODI ASKS PAK RESIDENTS TO FIGHT POVERTY

Bengaluru, Jan. 21: Union minister Anantkumar Hegde on Sunday denied having made any anti-Dalit remark and criticised the Congress for “deliberately trying to sully” his image on the issue.

“It has been misinterpreted. I haven’t made any such remark against Dalits. The Congress is deliberately trying to damage my image by alluding the remark to Dalits,” the minister of state for skill development entrepreneurship said over phone from New Delhi.

Hegde had stirred a hornet’s nest while addressing a function at Ballari on Saturday when he reportedly said, “We are stubborn people. When dogs bark on the road, we don’t care.”

Hegde clarified that the remark was made against the “so-called intellectuals” who were critical of his political stand on various issues.

Dalit protesters had blocked Hegde’s car on Saturday and raised slogans against his remarks last month on changing the Constitution and secularism.

At a function in Karnataka in December last year, Hegde had reportedly said people should identify themselves by their religion and “those who, without knowing about their parental blood, call themselves secular, they don't have their own identity... they don’t know about

DC CORRESPONDENT with agency inputs

A villager looks at his charred motorbike after shelling by the Pakistani forces, at Jora Farm village, on Sunday. — PTI with sounds of mortar bombs and rattle of automatic weapons booming in the area. In the hamlets,

devastation is visible all around — blood stains on the floor, broken windows, injured animals and splin-

■ IN DECEMBER last year, Union minister Anantkumar Hegde had reportedly said people should identify themselves by their religion and “those who, without knowing about their parental blood, call themselves secular, they don’t have their own identity... they don’t know about their parentage.” their parentage.”

He had also reportedly said “we are here to change the Constitution and we'll change it. The minister had to tender an apology in the Lok Sabha after a nudge by the Speaker, but he said his speech at a function in Karnataka was ‘distorted’.

Actor Prakash Raj, who is a big critic of saffron leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flayed Hegde for his remark on Dalits.

He also demanded that senior BJP leaders ask Hedge to resign from his post.

— PTI

At a time when heavy shelling is on between Indian and Pakistani security forces at the border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to reach out directly to the people of Pakistan, asking them if they wanted to fight unitedly with India against poverty, illiteracy and illness instead.

The comment, made by Modi to a TV channel on Sunday night, is being seen by observers as a strong signal from him directly to the Pakistani people that the current hostility and shelling on the border is not India’s policy but rather a retaliation to the aggression and unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan’s rulers.

In his first comments on the judicial crisis, Modi said the government and political parties must stay out of it while expressing confidence that the judiciary will sit together to find a solution to its problems.

Speaking on GST, Modi said he is open to more changes in the GST to plug loopholes and make it a more efficient tax.

Modi said his slogan of ‘Congress-free India’ is about ridding the country of the “Congress culture” which he termed as casteist, dynastic, corrupt and involving total control over power.

Members of the Karni Sena protest against Padmaavat at Katargam in Surat on Sunday. Bus services in northern part of the state had to be suspended, following violent protests by Rajput community members. In Madhya Pradesh, the government is set to to file a review petition in the Supreme Court challenging its ruling to the lift ban on the film.

— PTI

PAK SHELLING CONTINUES ALONG LoC Jammu, Jan. 21: Pakistan troops violated ceasefire for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday by resorting to heavy shelling along the International border (IB) and LoC in three sectors of Jammu and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, an Army jawan, injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Saturday night, succumbed to injuries on Sunday, raising the death toll in the border firing in Jammu and Kashmir since Thursday to 11, police said.

“Pakistan rangers

NEW DELHI, JAN. 21

PADMAAVAT ROW

residents say atmosphere along border is reminiscent of 1965, 1971 wars

ter marks on the walls.

Some families that had initially decided to hold on to their homes have finally decided to move after intense shelling.

After heavy cross-border shelling for over two days, 80-year-old Yashpal and his family finally decided to leave their home along the India- Pakistan border on Saturday.

On Friday night, the situation got worse and two shells hit our house and damaged it, he said.

“It had happened during the 1965 and the 1971 wars.

Such large number of mortar bombs had not since fallen in Arnia,” he said.

— PTI

audit provides advise to schools as to where to install CCTV cameras, where to deploy security staff, how to check access control, how to train their security staff and install emergency response gadgets.

Don’t care when dogs bark: Hegde

40,000 abandon villages to escape Pak shelling R.S. Pura (Jammu), Jan. 21: The bustling settlement of Arnia and a chain of border hamlets along the IndoPak border now wear an empty look, with over 40,000 villagers abandoning their homes to escape heavy shelling by Pakistani forces.

Arnia town, with a population of 18,000, resembles a ghost town with only a few people left each in its adjoining hamlets to take care of animals and guard homes.

Farming, schooling, cattle rearing and everything else on which border dwellers survive have come to a halt due to the shelling episodes.

Villagers at the forefront of Pakistani shelling say they feel they are in a war zone

13

CISF SECURITY AUDIT AT HYD SCHOOLS

CPM rejects Yechury’s plan for Congress pact

— Ghulam Nabi Azad Congress leader

IN

FEVER

PAGE

resumed (shelling) along IB in Kanachak sector of Jammu tonight. They have been mortar shelling and it is being replied back,” a BSF spokesman said.

Pakistan has resumed heavy shelling along LoC in Bhawani, Karali, Said, Numb and Sher Makri areas of Rajouri district on Saturday evening, DC, Rajouri, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said.

In Akhnoor, Pakistani forces resorted to firing along the Line of Control, police officials said. Troops are carrying out retaliation, they said.

— PTI

U.P. GIRL ACCUSED OF STABBING SEEKS PROBE AMITA VERMA | DC LUCKNOW, JAN. 21

The 11-year-old girl, accused of stabbing a Class I student in a school in Lucknow, has now sought a CBI inquiry into the incident.

The girl, who addressed a press conference here on Sunday, claimed that the school officials were falsely implicating her and were planting evidence against her.

She said that she was with her classmates when the incident ocurred and this can be verified. She said that she was attending the computer class when some teachers came and made

the boys and girls line up and frisked them.

“The teachers then picked up four girls who had short hair and noted down our details.

After I reached home, some teachers came and started interrogating me. It was only a day later that I saw the news on TV channels and realised what had happened,” she said.

The girl, who is now out on bail, said that she was strip-searched the following day in school and one of the teachers even chopped her hair.

“I was taken to the boy and I heard him saying that he doesn’t recognise me,” she claimed.

World

Former US President John F. Kennedy’s silk scarf may fetch $6,000 at auction DECCAN CHRONICLE

Trump is the elected President of the most powerful democracy and a country that also happens to be our closest ally — Boris Johnson, British foreign secretary

IN

BRIEF

Extended exam time helps females London: An extended time limit for completing maths and computer science exams at Oxford University have had a positive impact on the grades of female students.

Extended durations for exams have been introduced by the mathematical and computer sciences departments at the university in response to a growing gender gap, especially in final year exams. Students were given longer 105 minutes instead of 90 minutes to complete exams for the first time last year “with no change in length or difficulty of questions” and the university said it has noted better results among women since that change.

In a first, ISIS bride arrested in UK London: A British woman who married and gave birth under the Islamic State regime in Syria has become one of the first so-called jihadi brides to be arrested on her return to the UK, a media report has claimed.

The 27-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested at Heathrow Airport under terrorism laws when she landed from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, earlier this month. Her two-year-old son, whose nationality remains unclear, has been taken into the care of the state.

TERROR ATTACK

Taliban storm Kabul InterCon, gun down 6 ■ 5 Afghans and 1 foreigner killed in 12-hour battle Kabul, Jan. 21: Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul and killed at least six people including a foreigner, sparking a 12-hour battle that left terrified guests scrambling to escape and parts of the building ablaze.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the six-storey Intercontinental Hotel on a hilltop overlooking the Afghan capital.

People trapped at the top of the building tied bedsheets together and climbed over balconies to escape the overnight assault. One lost his grip and fell in dramatic television footage by Afghanistan’s Tolo News station, which also showed black smoke and flames billowing from the top of the hotel.

Special forces were lowered by helicopters during the night onto the roof of the landmark 1960s building, with Afghan security forces killing four attackers in the hourslong assault, the interior

SUSHI-LOVER DISCOVERS 5FT TAPEWORM

California: A California man’s daily sushi habit ended in a trip to hospital with a stomachchurning item to show doctors: a 5ft tapeworm that “wiggled” out of his body. Fresno doctor Kenny Banh said that he was skeptical when the man came for treatment.

Afghan security personnel stand guard as smoke rises from the Intercontinental Hotel after an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday. Gunmen stormed the hotel in the Afghan capital on Saturday evening, triggering a shootout with security forces, officials said.

— AP ministry said.

“Five Afghans and one foreigner have been killed,” interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said on Sunday, adding around

150 people were rescued including more than 40 foreigners.

“The body of the foreigner, a woman, was recovered from the sixth floor as the last attacker

PAGE

14

MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

America lawmakers try to end shutdown stalemate Washington, Jan. 21: US lawmakers will launch a last-ditch bid on Sunday to end a budget impasse before hundreds of thousands of federal workers are forced to start the work week at home with no pay.

The impact of the shutdown that began at midnight on Saturday has been largely limited so far, closing sites like New York’s Statue of Liberty, but the effect will be acute if the stalemate runs into Monday.

Republicans and Democrats have traded bitter recriminations over who is to blame for the failure to pass a stop-gap funding measure by a January 20 deadline, a year to the day since Donald Trump took office as US President.

Highlighting the deep political polarisation, crowds estimated to number in the hundreds of

The sign at the Ellis Island ferry cue informs visitors that there was no access to the island or to the Statue of Liberty, due to the government shutdown, on Sunday.

— AP

thousands took to the streets of major US cities Saturday to march against the President and his policies.

Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell on Saturday set a key vote for a funding measure for 1

am (0600 GMT) on Monday, with both houses of Congress set to reconvene on Sunday.

“I assure you we will have the vote at 1 am on Monday, unless there is a desire to have it sooner,” he said in a statement.

was being killed,” he added. An official with Afghanistan’s spy agency put the number of wounded at eight, while the interior ministry said six.

— AFP

Sikh asked to untie turban Ottawa, Jan. 21: A Sikh man was asked to remove his turban by a woman in a Canadian club who threatened to “rip” off the head covering and heckled him with racist remarks, according to a media report.

Jaswinder Singh Dhaliwal was playing pool with friends at the Royal Canadian Legion, a Canadian ex-service organisa-

tion that includes people who have served in military, when the management approached the group and asked him to remove his patka as it was its policy to remove any headgear out of respect for the veterans, CBC News reported.

However, religious garments are exempted from the legions policy banning head coverings.

The incident took place on Wednesday at Tignish town in Canada’s Prince Edward Island.

A video of the incident shows a woman threatening to “rip” off the head covering in response to being filmed and a patron at the bar making an obscene gesture while saying the garment must be removed because “it is the law”.

— PTI

UNIFIED VOICE Protesters, part of a 5 lakhs strong crowd, during the Women’s Rally on the one-year anniversary of the first Women’s March, when millions marched around the world to protest US President Donald Trump’s inauguration and show solidarity for women’s rights, in Los Angeles, California on Sunday.

— AP

BUSINESS BIZ

BRIEFS

Call drops issue is telco-specific: COAI New Delhi: COAI has said call drops are a result of operator churn and difficulty in getting approvals for installing infrastructure and operator-specific issues on service quality are not “emblematic” of the whole industry. The comments come at a time when spurt in call drops has once again come under the telecom department’s gaze. COAI DG Rajan Mathews said the problem is confined to geographical pockets and some companies. — PTI

ComMin: Remove SEZ sunset clause New Delhi: The commerce ministry has pitched for continuation of tax incentives being enjoyed by units in SEZs with a view to boost shipments and job creation, a government official said.

In a letter to the finance ministry, the department of commerce has also asked for removal of minimum alternate tax on SEZs. In the Budget FY17, Arun Jaitley had stated that the income tax benefits to new SEZ units would be available to only those units which commence activity before March 31, 2020. — PTI

VIRTUAL COINS

Bharatcoin talk gathers pace ■ IRS official says speculation is rife about India getting own ‘bitcoin’ RAHUL CHHABRA | DC NEW DELHI, JAN. 21

The speculative frenzy and the extreme volatility of cryptocurrencies has set the alarm bells ringing in the corridors of power with the government issuing several warning the investor about the pitfalls of dealing in digital currencies.

At the same time, there is some talk about India minting its own indigenous cryptocurrency — speculated to be called Bharatcoin — in the near future.

Putting this speculation in perspective, Rachna Singh, a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) official, said: “The research arm of the Reserve Bank of India has published a white paper called Applications of Blockchain Technology which has recommended the use of blockchain technology for minting currency and monitoring financial transactions.”

Ms Singh claims that the idea of minting cryptocurrency is not new.

Countries like Canada

Manufacturing of pan masala to attract cess DC CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, JAN. 21

With the Centre concerned about tax evasion, the GST Council is looking to start levying cess on some commodities like pan masala at the manufacturing stage itself.

The Council is looking at the possibility of levying the cess at the manufacturing stage based on the production capacity as against the current practice of imposing it on supplies made by the manufacturer.

This proposed amendment to the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017, would be deliberated upon by the

Council later this month.

The compensation cess would be levied on commodities at the presumptive capacity of production declared by a manufacturer to the GST authorities.

It is likely to be broug-ht during the Budget session. This proposed amendment to the Act would be deliberated upon by the council in its meeting.

According to sources, some 40 recommendations of the law review committee were also accepted by the Council last week and amendments will be moved during the second half of the Budget session, after consultations were over.

Ambivalence in treatment of bitcoins and the absence of a regulatory framework has made Bitcoins and its technology a haven for ransom-seekers and money-launderers. Our current fears related to Bitcoins and Altcoins are based on experiences that show that these digital currencies are being used for nefarious purposes.

— RACHNA SINGH, Senior IRS official and the Netherlands are experimenting with minting their own cryptocurrencies — CADcoin and DNBcoin.

Whether this recommendation will translate into reality is anybody’s guess. “Digital currency is the new buzzword in global financial circles,” she says.

Last Diwali saw Bitcoin, the famous one among digital currencies, scale unprecedented heights touching $6,000. After Diwali, it gained further

■ Ms Singh emphasizes the need for a globally accepted regulatory framework for virtual currencies which will discourage heists or frauds and also create a redressal forum for the unwary and gullible investor.

height. It has come a long way from its 30 cents worth in January 2011.

Expressing her views on the currency of the future, Ms Singh says that “the blockchain technology that powers virtual currencies has significant advantages that cannot be shrugged aside.”

“This technology allows the recording of all financial transactions in a distributed public ledger which cannot be tampered with because of an in-built security proto-

col,” Ms Singh says.

“Also, this self-regulating system does away with the need for a trusted intermediary like a bank. It is a novel way to maintain the protocol and discourage fraud by incentivising participants with a reward of 12.5 bitcoins and transaction fee. It is a great socioeconomic innovation.”

No wonder then that the mainstream acceptance of Bitcoins is growing by leaps and bounds. It is accepted by more and

more e-commerce sites.

ATMs that exchange bitcoins for dollars have been set up in San Diego and Vancouver. Bitcoin futures are now being traded at Chicago Board Options Exchange.

Goldman & Sachs have offered to trade in bitcoin derivatives for their clients. “Although Bitcoins have been around for almost a decade, initially the technology was of interest only to cryptographers and developers. Investors were not really interested in bitcoins. This is why there is no regulatory framework in place for cryptocurrencies yet,” says Ms Singh.

According to her, most countries have an ambivalent attitude towards Bitcoin — is it an asset or a currency? The US treat it as an asset. The EU, on the other hand, imposes GST/VAT on payments in Bitcoins for services rendered. “This ambivalence in treatment of Bitcoin and the absence of a regulatory framework has made Bitcoin and its tech a haven for money-launderers,” says Ms Singh.

Centre may tweak slabs: Study New Delhi, Jan. 21: The government is likely to tweak income-tax slabs and rates in the upcoming Budget to bring down the burden on individuals, while there is unlikely to be any change in the current taxation of dividends, according to a survey by tax consultant EY. In a pre-budget survey by, a wide majority of 69 per cent of the respondents felt that the threshold limits for taxation would increase further in order to boost disposable income in the hands of the people.

About 59 per cent of the respondents were of the view that multiple outdat-

69% of the

respondents felt that the threshold limits for taxation would increase further in order to boost disposable income in the hands of the people.

ed deductions would be replaced with a standard deduction in order to reduce the tax burden of employees.

The survey includes the views of 150 CFOs, tax heads and senior finance professionals and was conducted in January.

24% of the

respondents feel that with a view to lowering the overall burden on the corporate sector, the government may lower the rate to 10%.

About 48 per cent said they expect the finance minister to lower corporate tax rate to 25 per cent, but the surcharge would continue.

Most of the respondents (65 per cent) do not anticipate a change in the current taxation of dividends

at this stage.

About 24 per cent of the respondents feel that with a view to lowering the overall burden on the corporate sector, the government may lower the rate to 10 per cent.

“The pre-Budget 2018 EY Survey with business decision makers reveals a consensus amongst India Inc for stability and consistency in tax policies and a moderate tax structure. There seems to be little expectation of any major direct tax overhaul after the transformative introduction of GST earlier in the year,” EY India national tax leader Sudhir Kapadia said.

— PTI

Investors help IPOs make a strong start DC CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI, JAN. 21

Encouraged by the strong performance posted by a majority of IPOs in 2017, the primary market has managed to carry forward its winning momentum in 2018 as well with the two IPOs that were launched in the current month witnessing robust demand from all categories of investors.

The `423 crore IPO from air conditioner manufacturer Amber Enterprises was oversubscribed 165 times with the portion received for institutional investors getting subscribed 175 times.

The portion reserved for high net worth investors (HNI) was oversubscribed 519 times while the quota set-aside for retail investors was subscribed 11.65 times.

On the other hand, the `299.21 crore IPO from Newgen Software Technologies was oversubscribed 8.25 times with the portion set aside for institutional investors seeing an over subscription of 15.62 times. The HNI portion was subscribed 5.52 times while the retail portion saw an over subscription of 5.18 times.

Experts said that the impressive performance showed by the IPOs during the last year coupled

■ THE IMPRESSIVE performance showed by the IPOs in 2017 coupled with a rally in the secondary market since the beginning of the new year have raised expectation regarding the postlisting gains, say experts. with a strong rally in the secondary market since the beginning of 2018 have raised investors expectation regarding the post-listing gains.

The 30-share Sensex has soared 1,454.75 points or 4.27 per cent in January till date to trade at a record high of 35,511.58, while the broader 50share Nifty has gained 364 points or 3.45 per cent to close at 10,894.70 during the same period.

Last year, 36 companies tapped the primary market raising as much as `67,000 crore from the public.

Out of it, 66 per cent are still trading with a huge premium over their issue price with seven companies generating a return of over 100 per cent since their listing.

WANT TO SHARE MY VISION FOR INDIA’S FUTURE: MODI New Delhi, Jan. 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he will share his vision for India’s future engagements with the international community during his Davos trip, as he sought “serious attention” of world leaders on existing and emerging challenges to the global systems.

A day before his visit to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, Mr Modi said

India’s engagement with the outside world in the recent years has become “truly and effectively multi-dimensional covering the political, economic, people to people, security and other spheres”.

In a series of tweets with ‘IndiaMeansBusiness’ hashtag, he said, “At Davos, I look forward to sharing my vision for India’s future engagement with the international community.”

— PTI

Cricket

South Africa’s Temba Bavuma is not available for selection for the final Test against India after fracturing his right finger DECCAN CHRONICLE

So proud of the guys. I thought Jos Buttler was probably the difference between the sides, certainly with the bat.

— Eoin Morgan England captain after their series victory over Australia in the 3rd ODI

T20 SIRAJ IS AMONG MARQUEE PLAYERS FOR LEAGUE TELANGANA

Hyderabad: Marquee players of the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s Telangana T20 League were allotted to teams by draw of lots at the Gymkhana grounds on Sunday. The 10 franchisees were allotted six players each, ranging from Ranji Trophy to Under 16 for next month’s Super League matches.

International Mohammed Siraj went to Mahbubnagar MLR Royals while left-handed batsmen Tanmay Agarwal and B. Sandeep will turn up for Khammam Tiraa and Medak Mavericks respectively.

THE TEAMS

■ Adilabad Tigers: Mir Jaweed Ali, Neeraj Bist, T. Ravi Teja, Hitesh Yadav, N. Anirudh, Sagar Chourasia. Standbys: E. Sanketh, Ratan Teja, Soman Sathvik.

■ Hyderabad-Srinidhian Thunder Bolts: KSK Chaitanya, M. Ravi Kiran, Chandan Sahani, N. Sandeep Goud, MSR Charan, T. Rohan. Standbys: Pabba Nilesh, Parachuri Maneesh, V. Sahasra.

■ Mahbubnagar MLR Royals: Mohd Siraj, B. Chandra Sekhar, Ajay Dev Goud, G. Aniketh Reddy, N. Thakur Tilak Varma, Ilyaan Sathani. Standbys: Navar Anirudh Reddy, C. Rakshaan Readdi, K. Anirudh Raj. ■ Medak Mavericks: B. Sandeep, Praneeth Raj, M. Abhirath Reddy, Ambadi Jayasuriya, M. Samith Reddy, T. Santosh Goud. Standbys: H. K.Simha, Yash Kapadia, Bhagath Varma.

■ Nizamabad Knights: Akash Bhandari, P. Praneeth Reddy, Y. Shravan Kumar, Tanay Tyagarayan, Aarish Zaidi, Divesh Singh. Standbys: Rajamani Prasad, Rishab Baslas, Ezaz Ali Rehman.

■ Nalgonda Lions: Sumanth Kolla, Sudeep Tyagi, A. Ashish Reddy, G. A. Shashidhar Reddy, A. Varun Goud, K. Kritik Reddy. Standbys: Karthikeya Kak, Tejadhour, Udaya Simha Reddy.

■ Karimnagar Warriors: A. Vamshi Vardhan Reddy Amol Shinde, T. P. Anirudh Srivatsava, K. Nitesh Reddy, Buddhi Rahul, P. Govind Kaustub Rao. Standbys: Mir Omer Khan, G. A. Vineet Reddy, B. Revanth.

■ Khammam Tiraa: Tanmay Agarwal, K. Rohit Rayudu, Alankrit Agarwal, Junaid Ali, Trishank Gupta, D. Sai Sragvi.

Standbys: Ashish Kamshetty, Kavin Gupta, T.V.S. Narayan.

■ Kakateeya Kings: Yatin Reddy, Himalay Agarwal, Mohd Muddasar, Mohit Soni, P. S. Chaitanaya Reddy, Standbys: C. H. Rakesh, Akhilesh Reddy, N. Sathwik Reddy.

■ Ranga Reddy Risers: M. Radha Krishna, P. Akshat Reddy, P. Saketh Sai Ram, Mehdi Hassan, Shaik Sohail, Y. Sai Varun. Standbys: G. Sampath Gaddamidi, P. Shivanand M. A. Shanmukha.

PAGE

15

MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

BACK TO BUSINESS ■ Team India will look to salvage some pride in the 3rd and final Test at Johannesburg Johannesburg, Jan. 21: Looking to salvage pride in the third Test beginning here on Wednesday, team India got down to business at the Wanderers on Sunday with a practice session that lasted just under four hours.

India had lost the first Test in Cape Town by 72 runs, and then were beaten in the second match at Centurion by 135 runs to surrender an unassailable lead.

The players enjoyed three days off after that hurtful loss, taking time to visit various safari and theme parks in and around Johannesburg.

On Sunday, they were back sweating in the nets, in a bid to end this series with their heads held high as the world's no.1 Test ranked side.

Noticeably, skipper Virat Kohli, who had a fiery press conference in aftermath of the Centurion loss, was in a jovial mood as he chatted around with his teammates and local net bowlers during practice.

After a customary warmup game of football, the players got down to working on their skill sets.

Fielding coach R Sridhar was the first to put in a serious shift, with Parthiv Patel, KL Rahul and

India didn’t gain from SL series Dinesh Karthik flanked by Hardik Pandya (left) and Jasprit Bumrah take a breather during a training session at the Wanderers on Sunday.

— BCCI

Ajinkya Rahane working together as the slip cordon. Later, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik joined in as the trio moved to batting nets. On practice wickets, Rahul, Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara took first strike against the net-bowling duo of Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini, who were confirmed arrived at

the team hotel late on Saturday evening. The nets were arranged as pacers, throw-downs and spinners respectively, and Pujara duly smacked the local spinner for what can only be described as two sixes.

Vijay and Rahul also opened up in the spinbowling nets, and hit a few big shots. Prominently,

Vijay hit Ravindra Jadeja out of the park and then was bowled the very next ball, with a bit of cheeky banter between the two.

R Ashwin bowled to them in the same nets as well. Rahul suffered a blow to his left knee during the first stint and put an ice pack on it. He batted again though, shrugging off any worries for the

moment.

Interestingly enough, Rahane — left out of the playing XI for the first two Tests — padded up next and lined up along with Kohli and Hardik Pandya in what could be the suggestive middleorder in the upcoming third Test. The all-rounder opened up with some big hits as per his natural style of play.

— PTI

Kolkata, Jan. 21: Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is of the opinion that India’s home series against Sri Lanka served little purpose ahead of the gruelling tour of South Africa.

India have already lost the series and are staring at a whitewash against the Proteas. Questions have been raised about India’s preparation for the tour and Harbhajan gave his perspective.

“Look I believe the last Sri Lanka series at home served little purpose. We hardly gained anything out of it. Rather a few players could have gone to South Africa early. If not Dharamsala could have been a great place for preparation,” Harbhajan said on the sidelines of the Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

“Its high altitude, cooler weather, seam movement along with bounce would have given them ideal preparation before a tough assignment like South Africa.”

There has been a raging debate about Ajinkya Rahane's omission from the first two Tests but Harbhajan feels that there is no guarantee that things would have been different had Rahane played. “I was checking a few stats. Under Virat, Ajinkya's average is less than 40 over 30 Tests. Also last one year he didn't score that many runs.

“What if Ajinkya played and India were down 0-2, then would we have said that please bring Rohit.

One needs to understand the captain's point of view also,” Harbhajan opined.

— PTI

Hyderabad Under 14 side finish 2nd best in South DC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 21

Members of the Hyderabad Under 14 cricket team pose after finishing runners-up at the South Zone championship in Kottayam, Kerala.

Hyderabad drew their last league match with Tamil Nadu to emerge runners-up in the South Zone Under 14 cricket tournament held in Kottayam, Kerala.

Andhra emerged champions with 18 points while Hyderabad tallied 14.

After making 252, Hyderabad hit back at Tamil Nadu through N. Rishith Reddy who took 5 wickets while conceding 30 runs to bowl the opposition out for 117 on the second day. Forced to follow-on, TN were 90 for 2

in their second innings.

BRIEF SCORES

■ South Zone Under 14 tournament: Hyderabad 252 in 80 overs (Sunkari Dheeraj 51, Rishikesh 61, Syed Azeezuddin 27, Mayank Gupta 49 n.o, P. Vignesh 4/75, Akki Shravanth 2/70) drew with Tamil Nadu 117 in 52.4 overs (Badrinath 56, N. Rishith Reddy 5/30) & following on 90 for 2 in 30 overs (Badrinath 38, Sibi Yenthal 32).

Points: Hyderabad - 3, Tamil Nadu - 1.

■ South Zone Under 23 OneDay League: Hyderabad 111 in 32.1 overs (T. Ravi Teja 41, Fanoos F 2/24, Sijomon Joseph 3/17, Harikrishnan 2/3) lost to Kerala 112 for 1 in 25.5 overs (Rohan S. Kunnummal 51, Anand Joseph 28, Darly S. Ferrario 28). Points: Kerala - 4, Hyderabad - 0.

Games

Hamburg reluctantly fired their popular coach Markus Gisdol on Sunday with the club placed second from bottom of the league DECCAN CHRONICLE

It was a great battle.

Of course, I feel little bit tired, but I was able to keep fighting until the end.

— Rafael Nadal after defeating Diego Schwartzman in the Oz Open fourth round

SHORT

TAKES

Anand suffers defeat vs Kramnik Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands: Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand’s quest for a record sixth title suffered a setback as he slumped to a shock defeat against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the seventh round of the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament, here.

Having done quite well so far, Anand went for unwarranted complications against Kramnik who was at his best to match his opponent.

The loss proved costly as Anand slipped to joint sixth spot from his overnight joint second position.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan stretched his lead to a full point after his third straight victory in the tournament.

Top rated Magnus Carlsen was stretched but eventually converted a full point against Yifan Hou of China, the highest ranked woman player.

With six rounds still to come, Mamedyarov is sitting pretty on 5.5 points out of a possible seven and is now followed by Anish Giri of Holland, Wesley So of United States, Carlsen and Kramnik who all have 4.5 points each.

Anand, on four, shares the sixth position along with Sergey Karjakin of Russia.

The other Indian in the masters — B. Adhiban played out a draw with Maxim Matlakov of Russia to inch his tally up to 1.5 points.

— PTI

Bagan blank EB in Kolkata derby Kolkata: Criticised for being profligate inside the 18-yard box, Dipanda Dicka stepped up his game when it mattered the most with two brilliant goals, as Mohun Bagan outclassed East Bengal 20 in a much-anticipated I-League derby here on Sunday.

Written off in the run-up to the high-voltage fixture because of their prolonged slump, a beleaguered Mohun Bagan found a star in Dicka, who showed his predatory skills with a couple of volleys out of top drawer as East Bengal’s hopes of winning the league almost went up in smoke.

Mohun Bagan jumped two places to be fourth in the standings after their dominating finish and they have 16 points with a match in hand against East Bengal, who slipped to third with 19 points from 10 outings.

It was a match that Mohun Bagan should have won by a bigger margin had Nikhil Kadam and Akram not bungled clear opportunities. — PTI

BELGIUM EDGE PAST INDIA IN FINAL Tauranga, New Zealand: India went down fighting to Belgium 1-2 in a thrilling final match of the first leg of the Four Nations Invitational tournament at the Blake Park here on Sunday.

Tom Boon (4th minute) and Sebastien Dockier (36th) found the target for Belgium while Mandeep Singh (19th) was India’s lone goal scorer.

Belgium were quick to get off the block as they won a penalty corner within three minutes of the game but Loick Luypaert’s drag flick was superbly rendered ineffective by India’s first runner Chinglensana Kangujam.

Almost immediately, India had a great opportunity to score as a dribbling Dilpreet Singh made a beautiful turn at the top of the circle to dodge a Belgian defender. He then sliced the ball across to Lalit Upadhyay who had positioned himself in front of the post but sadly he could not get a nudge on the ball.

Belgium, meanwhile, mounted pressure on India with a goal through Boon in the fourth minute. — PTI Regd. No. H/SD/509/2018-20 Printed and Published by O. Thomas on behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited printed at Deccan Chronicle Press situated at Plot No. 9 Alwal Village, Vallabh Nagar Taluk, Malkajgiri Mandal, Ranga Reddy Dist. Telangana.

RNI Registration No. 3081/1957.

Editor: A.T. Jayanti

PAGE

16

MONDAY | 22 JANUARY 2018 | HYDERABAD

AUSTRALIAN OPEN ■ Nadal beats Schwartzman to enter quarters

Dimitrov sends Kyrgios packing Melbourne, Jan. 21: Rafael Nadal battled through a huge test to make his 10th Australian Open quarter-final Sunday as Grigor Dimitrov ousted Nick Kyrgios to join him and Caroline Wozniacki kicked into full gear.

On an overcast and muggy day at Melbourne Park, the Spanish world number one was up against his most dangerous opponent yet in pocket-rocket Diego Schwartzman, one of the smallest men on tour.

The Argentine 24th seed endeared with his astonishingly powerful groundstrokes before Nadal prevailed 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3 in almost four hours on Rod Laver Arena.

It kept alive his push for a 17th Grand Slam title and also ensured he will remain number one when the new rankings come out after the tournament.

He will play sixth seed Marin Cilic for a place in the semi-finals after the Croat beat Spanish 10th seed Pablo Correna Busta 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/3).

The win was Cilic’s 100th at a Grand Slam.

“I have played great tennis from the first round against tough opponents and now I am really looking to the next match, it will be definitely be a big challenge,” he said of the Nadal clash.

Ordinarily Nadal, as the top seed, would have top billing on Rod Laver in the evening, but not with local star Kyrgios in action.

The maturing Australian 22-year-old pushed world number three Dimitrov close in a hugely entertaining four setter before succumbing 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4). His

RESULTS Men’s singles 4th round: Marin Cilic (CRO x6) bt Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP x10) 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/3); Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x3) bt Nick Kyrgios (AUS x17) 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4); Rafael Nadal (ESP x1) bt Diego Schwartzman (ARG x24) 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3; Kyle Edmund (GBR) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

Women’s singles 4th round: Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) bt Anett Kontaveit (EST x32) 4-6, 6-4, 8-6; Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x2) bt Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK x19) 6-3, 6-0; Elise Mertens (BEL) bt Petra Martic (CRO) 7-6 (7/5), 75; Elina Svitolina (UKR x4) bt Denisa Allertova (CZE) 6-3, 6-0.

LIVE on TV Australian Open on Sony Ten 2, Sony Six Belgium’s Elise Mertens en route to her 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over Petra Martic of Croatia on Sunday.

— AFP reward is a showdown with Briton Kyle Edmund, who reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final with a 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 win over Italy’s Andreas Seppi.

PLAY AGGRESSIVE World number two Wozniacki turned on the style in her match to take another step towards a maiden Grand Slam title.

The assured Wozniacki, a semi-finalist in 2011 who has never quite lived up to the hype in the majors, annihilated 19th-seeded Magdalena Rybarikova 63, 6-0 in her most impressive performance to date.

Her easy passage sets up

a last-eight clash with gritty Spaniard Suarez Navarro, who battled back from a set and 4-1 down to shatter the hopes of 32nd seed Anett Kontaviet.

The Estonian had been bubbling with confidence after despatching French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the third round, but nerves got the better of her.

The Spaniard, who has made the quarter-finals in Melbourne twice before, most recently in 2016, credited her fightback with a conscious decision to be more aggressive.

“My team all the time they say (to) me, play aggressive, play aggres-

5.30 AM ONWARDS sive. That’s I think what I did,” said Suarez Navarro, one of the few who still uses a one-handed backhand.

Looking ahead to Wozniacki, she added: “I know how she plays. I know how tough she is. It will be a really interesting match.”

The 37th-ranked Elise Mertens also made the last eight, becoming the first Belgian since Kim Clijsters in 2012 to get so far in Australia. She posted a straight-sets win over Croat Petra Martic and will now play either fourth seed Elina Svitolina or Czech qualifier Denisa Allertova.

— AFP

Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov celebrates his 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4) win over local boy Nick Kyrgios in their Australian Open fourth round match in Melbourne on Sunday.

— AP

No. 1 Axelsen wins Malaysia Masters Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 21: World number one Viktor Axelsen of Denmark defeated Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 21-13, 21-23, 2118 in a gruelling match to win the Malaysia Masters final on Sunday.

Top-seeded Axelsen was pushed to the limits in the see-saw battle in the capital Kuala Lumpur, eventually seizing his maiden 2018 title after 72 minutes of play.

The Dane faced a gutsy Nishimoto, who had scalped higher ranked opponents in his gallant run, including world number two Lee Chong Wei in the first round.

Axelsen took the lead with a comfortable 21-13 first game win with his cross court smashes, but Nishimoto rallied back to level the tie 23-21.

The Japanese kept a stellar defence against the attack minded Axelsen in the decider, but the lanky Dane’s deadly net play proved the difference for 21-18 victory.

Axelsen, who won the world title in 2017, is hoping that he will be able to repeat that form this year.

“The conditions here were really tricky, in the past I have had a few upsets in windy conditions. It’s a big win for me,” said Axelsen,

who ripped off his shirt and threw it into the crowd in celebration.

In the women’s singles, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon edged Taiwanese top seed Tai Tzu Ying 21-16, 14-21, 24-22.

— AFP THE RESULTS

■ Men’s singles final (x denotes seeding): Viktor Axelsen (DEN, 1) bt Kenta Nishimoto (JPN) 21-13, 21-23, 21-18.

■ Women’s singles final: Ratchanok Intanon (THA, 5) bt Tai Tzu Ying (TPE, 1) 21-16, 14-21, 24-22.

■ Men’s doubles final: Fajar Alfian/ Muhammad Rian Ardianto (INA) bt Goh V. Shem/ Tan Wee Kiong (MAS) 14-21, 24-22, 21-13. en’s doubles final: Kamilla ■ Wome Rytter Juhl/ Christinna Pedersen (DEN, 3) bt Chen Qingchen/ Jia Yifan (CHN, 1) 22-20, 21-18.

■ Mixed doubles final: Tang Chun Man/ Tse Ying Suet (HKG, 2) bt Zheng Siwei/ Huang Yaqiong (CHN, 5) 19-21, 22-20, 21-18.

Aguero nets thrice as City raze Newcastle London, Jan. 21: Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as Manchester City restored their 12point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 win at home to Newcastle United on Saturday.

City’s 30-match unbeaten run in the league, which spanned two seasons, came to a dramatic end with a 3-4 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield last week.

But their return to winning ways here had manager Pep Guardiola proclaiming his side needed 10 more victories to be crowned champions.

Their advantage at the top of the table had been cut to single figures, for a few hours at least, when second-placed Manchester United beat Burnley 1-0 earlier on Saturday.

Normal service resumed in the day’s late kick-off, though, with Aguero glancing in Kevin De Bruyne’s cross in the 34th minute to open the scoring at the Etihad.

The Argentina striker then converted a 63rd-

VICTORY FOR VILLARREAL AS REAL OUT OF TOP 4 Madrid, Jan. 21: Villarreal moved above Real Madrid and into the top four in La Liga after a 21 win over Levante on Saturday that piled more pressure on the struggling champions’ coach Zinedine Zidane.

Valencia had two players sent off as they fell to a shock 1-2 defeat at lowly Las Palmas, while Atletico Madrid gave leaders Barcelona the chance to pull 11 points clear after only drawing 1-1 with Girona.

A 26th-minute penalty from Manu Trigueros and Real youth product Denis Cheryshev’s first league goal in nearly two years saw Javier Calleja’s side, who beat Real at the Santiago Bernabeu for the first time ever last week, move up to 34 points, two ahead of Real.

— AFP minute penalty awarded after Raheem Sterling tumbled in the box following a tug by Javier Manquillo.

But struggling Newcastle scored against the run of play four minutes later when a rare lapse saw Jacob Murphy sprint through and finish in composed fashion.

Aguero, however, put the result beyond doubt when City’s all-time leading goalscorer completed his 11th hat-trick

for the club seven minutes from time following a superb run and pass from Leroy Sane.

“We needed it (this win) after last week,” Aguero told BT Sport.

“It’s a long season though and we’ve not won anything yet.”

‘Didn’t panic’ Guardiola added: “We need 10 more wins to be champions...It was important how we reacted at 2-1, we didn’t panic.”

— AFP

Viktor Axelsen of Denmark poses with his medal after defeating Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the men’s singles final at the Malaysia Masters badminton tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

— AFP

Paes-Raja bow out, Bopanna advances Melbourne, Jan. 21: Veteran Leander Paes and Purav Raja on Sunday crashed out even as Rohan Bopanna and his Hungarian partner Timea Babos outplayed their opponents to progress to the pre-quarterfinals of the Australian Open, here.

While Paes and Raja suffered a 1-6, 2-6 defeat at the hands of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia in the men’s doubles pre-quarterfi-

nals, Bopanna and Babos edged past the Australian pair of Andrew Whittington and Ellen Perez 6-2, 6-4 in the mixed doubles first round.

The fifth seeded IndoHungarian pair of Bopanna and Babos looked dominant from the start breaking Whittington’s serve in the very first game.

They will face USA’s Vania King and Croatia’s Franko Skugor in the second round.

— PTI