English dna 22 01 2018 by Mahesh Yadav

Q. Is AAP fair in blaming the Centre for disqualification of its 20 MLAs?

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Homicide! Workers were 20 AAP MLAs sacked in office of profit case locked in as blaze spread No escape route as shutter down, main gate locked

Mayor under fire on video remark New Delhi: North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Preeti Aggarwal was caught on video purportedly cautioning her aides not to speak about the building where 17 labourers died in fire, because its licence was with the civic body. The BJP leader had visited the spot to take stock of the situation. The mayor, however, termed the video fake. P3

Sakshi Chand sakshi.chand@dnaindia.net New Delhi: The firecracker packaging unit, where 17 workers were burnt to death in a massive fire on Saturday evening, was a frightening deathtrap with its shutter down and main gate locked from outside to ensure more labour and check theft, DNA has learnt. There was no escape route as the blaze ripped through the two-storeyed structure in North Delhi’s Bawana, multiple sources and workers said on Sunday. Only a small door, part of the main gate, was open, but it was too small to be of any help. “The lockdown was usual, primarily to prevent workers from stealing articles or shirking work,” said a surviving labourer. Chief Fire Officer GC Mishra also said that a charred body was found near the shutter, suggesting that there were efforts to open it. “Had the shutter not been down, it would have been an easy escape route,” he said. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijail said Principal Secretary (Home) will conduct a detailed inquiry into the tragedy. Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik also handed over the probe to the Crime Branch as the case “requires extensive investiga-

Relatives of Bawana fire victims wait outside a hospital in New Delhi on Sunday —amarjeet singh/dna tion and a detailed follow-up”. The warehouse’s licence was rejected in 2014. It started operating illegally a fortnight ago, sources said. The Delhi government said the warehouse was originally supposed to be a plastic goods factory. It was a grade-four fire that means it was not big. But explosions took place inside the cracker packaging unit that resulted in casualties. Eleven bodies were recovered from the first floor. Two bodies were recovered from the staircase, three on the ground floor and another in the basement. Eleven bodies have been identified. Doctors said the 11 identified had 30-40% burn injuries, while the others were completely charred. Turn to P4

inside Screams echo through alleys

Devastated kin look for bodies, answers Fareeha Iftikhar fareeha.iftikhar@dnaindia.net New Delhi: It’s 10:30 am. Rubeena is sitting outside BR Ambedkar Hospital’s mortuary in Rohini. The 17-year-old girl is with her father. She screams to meet her mother, who died in Saturday’s warehouse fire. “My wife Madina, 55, left behind two mentally challenged children — Rubeena and Feroz. She singlehandedly took take care of both. I don’t know what I will do without her now,” says Nasruddin, 65, as he bangs his head against a chair. Nasruddin and Rubeena were among hundreds of angry and grief-stricken people

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Blackened Bawana factory gathered at the hospital to identify or collect the bodies of their loved ones. However, there was no word from authorities on when the bodies will be handed over. Also at the hospital was Phoolmati, a resident of Metro Vihar JJ Colony, who lost her 18-year-old daughter in Turn to P4 the tragedy.

In blow to Kejriwal, Prez approves EC recommendations DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net

New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a crushing blow on Sunday as President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the Election Commission’s recommendation to disqualify 20 MLAs of Delhi’s ruling party for holding offices of profit. They include transport minister Kailash Gahlot. In the light of the opinion expressed by the Election Commission, the 20 members of the Delhi legislative assembly have been disqualified, a Union Law Ministry notification quoted the President as saying. There is no immediate threat to Chief Minister Kejriwal’s government as AAP has 66 seats in the 70-member Assembly. Its numbers will now be down to 46 that is well past the half-way mark of 35. But the actions demoralises the party that’s suffered a

(Right to left) Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Vice-President Hamid Ansari and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during Sankranthi celebrations at Vice-President House in New Delhi on Sunday —PIB/Twitter Report, P6

Advantage BJP as CPM says no to 2019 tie-up with Cong

Afghan security personnel outside Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul —AP Kabul: Gunmen in army uniforms who stormed Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel late on Saturday and battled Afghan Special Forces through the night killed more than 30 people and wounded many more, although the final toll of dead and wounded may still be higher. Wahid Majroh, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said that 19 bodies had been brought into city hospitals, with six identified as foreigners. However, a senior Afghan security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said the death toll was over 30 and might climb higher. The dead included hotel staff and guests as well as members of the security forces who fought the attackers. All five attackers were also killed, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said. The raid was the latest in a series of attacks that have underlined the ability of militants to mount high-profile operations. —Reuters

Kolkata: After a three-day brainstorming session, CPM’s Central Committee rejected its general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s line to tie-up with the Congress to fight the BJP in 2019. The decision could have far-reaching political ramifications when the BJP is resurgent and the Opposition a divided lot. A draft resolution was ratified and adopted by the CPM in its third meeting of the Central Committee on Sunday, nearly four months after deliberations over it started and continued through three Politburo meetings. While a party faction led

by Prakash Karat had a clear edge in the Central Committee meeting, Yechury, who strongly backed the idea of putting up a joint fight with the Congress against the BJP in the next general elections, later said that the party will have the final say on the draft political resolution. Sources within the party said it was put to consensus whether the party would fol-

New Delhi: The Centre has victimised AAP by declaring 20 of its MLAs disqualified, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said. He said the party will approach the High Court against this “extremely unconstitutional, unethical and biased decision”. “If required we will go to Report, P2 the Supreme Court.” number of electoral losses recently. Elections to these 20 seats will have to be held within six months. These MLAs had been appointed as “parliamentary secretaries” to assist ministers two years ago. Lawmakers cannot hold any post in the government that comes with perks or powers. The Kejriwal government had sought to shield the

MLAs by excluding the post from the ambit of office of profit laws. But then President Pranab Mukherjee did not approve it, and referred a private petition in the matter to the poll body. The poll body had asked the President to disqualify the 20 lawmakers last week. The MLAs moved the Delhi High Court on Friday, but did not get any interim relief. Turn to P4

OP Rawat to replace AK Joti as CEC New Delhi: Om Prakash Rawat has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), succeeding incumbent Achal Kumar Joti to the post, the Law Ministry said on Sunday. AK Joti is expected to hand over the reigns of the Election Commission to Rawat on January 23. Rawat, in adherence to the rule, has been appointed

as the 22nd CEC by President Ram Nath Kovind on the recommendation of the central government. Also, former finance secretary Ashok Lawasa has been appointed as the election commissioner. Joti’s tenure was marked by several high profile decisions, including some that created controversies. Report, P14

Mufti urges Modi, Pak to ensure J&K peace

DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net

Arshad Ali correspondent@dnaindia.net

Will move court against action: Kejriwal

HM warns Pak of more surgical strikes

Sankranthi Spirit

Kabul siege ends, more than 30 killed

Senior AAP leaders Gopal Rai (centre) and Dilip Pandey (right) address a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday —PTI

low Yechury’s line to tie-up with the Congress or, according to the Prakash Karat line, maintain equal distance with the BJP and the Congress. “In spite of being backed by Bengal, Tripura, a faction of Tamil Nadu and also ex-CM of Kerala, VS Achuthanandan, Yechury’s line was defeated 55:31, the draft resolution being ratified by Karat’s line which was backed by the entire Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and CITU lobby,” said a senior party member. He also said that after the defeat, Yechury expressed his desire to step down from the post of the general secretary. “What is the need for me to continue,” he was quoted as saying.

Lucknow: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh issued a strong warning to Pakistan on Sunday and said that India has shown it can carry out surgical strikes against its enemies on their soil. “A few months ago, Pakistan, in an act of cowardice, attacked and martyred 17 of our jawans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi consulted all of us on this serious issue, and the Indian Army entered the Pakistani area and killed militants,” Singh said at a public meeting here. The strong comments come at a time when Pakistan is repeatedly resorting to ceasefire violations, re-

DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net A woman sorts through belongings that were gutted in Pak firing —AP sulting in casualties on the Indian side. “India’s image in the world has become that of a strong nation and we have given a strong message to the world that we can attack our enemies not only on our soil, but also in their territory. India has developed this power,” he said.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti dubbed the situation on the borders as “Khoon Ki Holi” and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan to the make state a bridge for friendship and not a “Jung Ka Akhara”. “It is our bad luck that our state has become a reason for dispute between India and Pa-

kistan. For the last few days there has been firing on the borders. So many of our people have been martyred; our civilian and children have been killed. On both sides people of Jammu and Kashmir are being killed,” she said. She said it was painful that when people should be demanding schools and hospitals, they are asking for bunkers.

inside One more soldier killed at LoC P5

Army finds fresh China trouble spots Abhishek Bhalla abhishek.bhalla@dnaindia.net

New Delhi: The Indian Army has identified half a dozen potential flashpoints at the India-China border, after the Doklam standoff last year, which need enhanced tactful surveillance fearing Chinese activity that could trigger more confrontations. According to reviews done by the Army, these spots, mostly in the Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh sectors, could be trouble spots once the winter fades away. Sources said there are around 24 disputed zones between India and China, which

the indo-china standoff at doklam n India had confiscated equipment of a Chinese road construction team at the Arunachal border that had entered the Indian Territory on Dec 28 n The incursion took place near Bising village in Tuting area are acknowledged by both the countries. Nearly nine of these are categorised as “sensitive” as China does not recognise these as a disputed. “Some of these ‘sensitive’ places that China lays complete claim on and doesn’t accept as disputed are the places where face-offs can be

triggered after the weather opens up. We have identified 6-7 such spots,” said a government source. The 74-day standoff last year was triggered after Indian troops stopped Chinese road construction in Doklam — a region under dispute between China and Bhutan. It

was felt that road connectivity would give China direct access to the Siliguri corridor, giving them strategic advantage, which had to be stopped. Sources said the Chinese troops are currently around 600 metres back from the point of the standoff. Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, during his annual press conference on January 12, had said that Chinese People’s Liberation Army troops are still present in north Doklam. “Chinese tents, temporary toilets and observation posts still exist in Doklam at the site of faceoff. There is a possibility of Chinese movement again,” he had said. Turn to P4

Indian ‘tadka’ to spice up Davos meet Violence over ‘Padmaavat’ hits DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net New Delhi: The annual Swiss jamboree will begin in Davos on Monday. The evening will also see a ballet performance, while India will host the ‘welcome reception’ with the country’s “exquisite cuisine and age-old Yoga heritage as well as the spirit of a young, innovative New India”. Over 3,000 world leaders from business, politics, art, academia and civil society will attend the 48th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual

Meeting over the next five days where the Indian presence will be the largest ever with over 130 participants. WEF Chairman Klaus Schwab will declare the sum-

mit open with a welcome message on the meeting’s theme, ‘Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World’. It will be followed by honouring Bollywood superstar

Shahrukh Khan, Australian actress Cate Blanchett and legendary musician Elton John with the annual ‘Crystal Awards’ for their respective work towards improving the state of the world. The official sessions will begin on Tuesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the ‘opening plenary’, during which he is expected to pitch India as an open economy that is ready for investments from across the world and also as a major engine to drive the global economic growth.

Gujarat, bus services crippled DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net Ahmedabad: Protests against the release of ‘Padmaavat’ spread across the state in less than 24 hours, with Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal joining hands with Karni Sena. Additional police forces were deployed to ensure that the public was not inconvenienced. As roads were blocked in many places, traffic jams stretched a few kilometres

A damaged multiplex ticket counter in Ahmedabad —Reuters and commuters were left waiting for hours before the police cleared the blocks, allowing vehicles to get going.

As protestors resorted to violence and targeted public properties, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation suspended its services, leaving commuters stranded. Four organisations are leading the protests. Two groups Mahakal Sena and Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Yuva Morcha, too, joined the protests.

inside Women take out rally in Raj ‘Will bomb cinemas’

P14 P5

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in brief

Ban on use, sale of pet coke in NCR The environment ministry has banned the use and sale of imported petroleum coke in the National Capital Region (NCR), in the latest effort to curb air pollution. Cement plants functioning in the NCR, which use pet coke as fuel, will have to take permission from state pollution control board, a notification released by the ministry on Friday said. Even the industrial units allowed to use pet coke will not be permitted to store it for more than its three months consumption, it said.

Min inaugurates incubation centre Greater Noida: Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma inaugurated an incubation centre at a business school in Greater Noida. “Such initiatives are making the youth empowered to give back to the society than being in the queue,” Sharma said, while inaugurating the incubation centre at Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) last night. BIMTECH was selected as Atal Incubation Centre, a Government of India’s endeavour to promote culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, driven by Niti Aayog.

A cold Sunday for the Capital It was a cold morning in the national capital on Sunday with the mercury dropping to five degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal. However, later in the day, the temperature soared to a maximum of 25.8 degrees Celsius which is five degrees more than normal, a MeT department official said. There was no rainfall in the city and the humidity levels oscillated between 31 and 100 per cent, he said.

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Disqualified MLAs: Truth prevails, says Kejriwal AAP called the development as ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘dangerous for democracy’ DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which suffered a massive blow on Sunday with President Ram Nath Kovind approving the Election Commission’s recommendation to disqualify 20 of its MLAs for holding offices of profit, described the development as “unconstitutional” and “dangerous for democracy”. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, reacting a little late, tweeted that his party will continue to tread on the path of truth with the grace of almighty. Reacting sharply to the move, senior party leader Ashutosh said, “President’s order to disqualify AAP MLAs is unconstitutional and dangerous for democracy.” On Friday, the Election Commission (EC) apprised

A file picture of AAP MLAs at the Delhi High Court after the Election Commission recommended the disqualification of the MLAs the President that the 20 MLAs were liable for disqualification for holding offices of profit between March 2015 and September 2016. Petitioner Prashant Patel had opposed the appointment of AAP MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries, which, according to

him, was office of profit. However, the AAP maintained that none of these MLAs enjoyed any salaries or perks while holding the office. As per the rules, petitions to the President seeking disqualification of lawmakers are referred to the EC. The

poll panel takes a decision and sends its recommendation to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which is then accepted. The 20 MLAs disqualified include, Adarsh Shastri (Dwarka), Alka Lamba (Chandni Chowk), Anil Bajpai (Gandhi Nagar), Avtar Singh (Kalkaji), Kailash Gahlot (Najafgarh) -- who is also a minister -- Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar), Manoj Kumar (Kondli), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli), Nitin Tyagi (Laxmi Nagar), Praveen Kumar (Jangpura).Others are: Rajesh Gupta (Wazirpur), Rajesh Rishi (Janakpuri), Sanjeev Jha (Burari), Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar), Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar), Sharad Kumar (Narela), Shiv Charan Goel (Moti Nagar), Sukhbir Singh (Mundka), Vijendar Garg (Rajinder Nagar) and Jarnail Singh (Tilak Nagar).

Karni Sena vandalises toll plaza Advitya Bahl correspondent@dnaindia.net

the Rajput outfit reached the DND toll plaza from Greater Noida on Bikes, cars and started protesting by blocking the path. Later the protest got violent, few members of the outfit lost their cool and vandalised the toll plaza. “A commuter made a Police Control Room call. A team reached the spot and brought the situation under control but till then they had vandalised the booth. We have arrested 12 people from the spot and detained many others for creating nuisance and rioting. We will scan the CCTV footage and arrest more people. Extra police force has been deployed across the district to maintain law and order,” said Abhinandan, Circle Officer-1 (city), Gautam Budh Nagar.

Hundreds of members of the Karni Sena, a Rajput output from Gautam Budh Nagar, vandalised the Delhi Noida Direct Toll Plaza, demanding a ban over the release of Padmaavat movie in Uttar Pradesh, leading to a massive tail back of vehicles till south extension area on Sunday. There was a massive traffic jam on the road leading to Delhi from Greater Noida. Following the incident, police reached the spot and controlled the ruckus. Police have arrested twelve people of the outfit for rioting.\ According to the police, the incident occurred at around 2 pm when several members of

A vandalised toll booth seen on Sunday —DNA PHOTO Police said the outfit blocked and vandalised several other places in the district as well. Many commuters who were out to enjoy their Sunday were caught in the long traffic snarl caused by the protesting Karni Sena activists. Visibly angry at the poor handling of the pro-

testers, residents squarely blamed the police. Talking to DNA, Sonika Awasthi, a resident of Sector 37, “I was caught for more than an hour in the jam. I had made plans with my family to go to India Gate but the situation was a complete spoilsport. Not only this, it was so scary seeing all the vandalism happening right under the police’s nose. The citizens are not safe at all.” Karni Sena, the fringe group that has been at the forefront of protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film, Padmavaat, took out rallies and protest in Gurgaon against the same. They even blocked Sohna road and MG road. The same was seen at Ghaziabad also where people burnt effigy.

Road repairs harass locals

stretch of road in east Delhi’s Lakshmi Nagar’s Mangal Bazaar area has been dug up several times for repairs, however, nothing has been fixed, while people continue to suffer, says resident Vinita Arora. According to Arora, the road is dug up to repair sewers and electric cables. “Every few months, the agency working here says the work will be completed but they abandon the work and return several days later only to leave it incomplete again. At many times, they tell residents that the company doing the work left it mid-way and that the work is now being taken up by another company,” Arora said. This is only leading to harassment of those living in the neighbourhood and have to cross the stretch every day. Arora questions why civic agencies don’t fix accountability when they allot work to a company, as it is the people who have to face the problem every day.

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AAP announces ‘Delhi bandh’ on Jan 23 to protest against NDMC’s sealing drive

time for a selfie

Children take a selfie with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Wrestler Sushil Kumar during a Prize distribution function of Delhi Assembly Sports Tournament 2018 in New Delhi on Sunday —PTI

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will hold a day-long bandh on January 23 in the Capital to protest against the ongoing sealing drive by the BJP-ruled civic bodies and the Centre’s move to allow 100 per cent FDI in retail. Speaking to reporters after the party’s Delhi State Conference, senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said the BJP-ruled civic bodies were trying to snatch employment opportunities from people in the name of sealing business establishments.

“A large sum of money was collected under conversion and parking charges. The traders have neither received anything in return nor do they have any information about the money collected,” Rai said, demanding that the Centre stop levying these charges until the information is made public. “Our party cadres in all 70 constituencies will join traders unions to raise the voice against these issues on January 23,” he said. The party also announced that its Lok Sabha and Rajya

A file picture of the AAP office Sabha MPs along with other stakeholders will take part in a march to the Parliament on January 29 over the issue. Rai slammed the Con-

gress government for initiating 49 per cent FDI in retail which was followed by the BJP who spiked it up to 100 per cent. Asked about the Bawana fire incident, Rai said only an investigation would reveal who was responsible for it. “MCD issues licences in some cases and Delhi government also issues licences. Only the investigation will reveal who is responsible for the incident.” “A detailed probe by labour department has also been initiated”. —PTI

Hsg societies told to pay Sodomy case: C ourt refuses to quash man’s 3-yr term tax for common areas the verdict Advitya Bahl correspondent@dnaindia.net The East Delhi Municipal Corporation’s move to charge property tax from societies for the society office, common space, recreation hall, basement, reception, guard room and other common areas has not gone down well with the residents of Cooperative Group Housing Societies in Eash Delhi. And the latest notice from the corporation wants all societies to cough up arrears in the tax, thus calculated from the year 2004-05, citing different sections of the DMC Act for its demand. Residents are shocked, as the notice wants them to pay property tax on the open area from the year 2004-05 till the current year. The EDMC’s notice issued to societies reads, “Your attention is invited that you were required to submit your property tax return in respect of vacant land, super covered area of the building being in the capacity of owner or the occupier of the aforesaid property,” “It appears that you have probably failed to furnish the return of property tax without reasonable cause, which you were required to furnish under the 123A/123B of the DMC Act,” the notice said. At a meeting held on Sunday at Nirman Apartments in Mayur Vihar Phase I Exten-

unjust acts The EDMC notice wants housing societies to pay property tax on the open area from the year 2004-05 till the current year At a meeting held on Sunday, 22 group housing societies have condemned the act and described it as arbitrary and unjust

sion, members of 22 group housing societies of the neighbourhood condemned the act and described it as arbitrary and unjust. “It is a serious issue and we must all unite to fight it. EMDC has sent this notice without knowing the actual financial condition of the cooperative group housing societies in East Delhi. When most of the societies are facing a tough time maintaining societies due to financial crises, levying more taxes is unjust,” said Sanjeev Jayaswal, president of Nirman Apartments. The members pointed out that the guard rooms were constructed to provide some comfort to the security guards. Private security guards were necessary, as the government had failed to provide security to citizens, the members noted.

A Delhi court has refused to set aside a three-year jail term awarded to a man for sodomising a 20-year-old boy, saying no lenient view should be taken in such incidents which leave an “indelible mark” on the victim and affect his psychology. Additional Sessions Judge Suresh Kumar Gupta upheld the magisterial court order holding Kuldeep guilty under section 377 (unnatural offences/sodomy) of the IPC while dismissing his appeal. “The appellant (convict) has done carnal intercourse with the victim/complainant. He has satisfied his lust. Such kind of incidents leave

Additional Sessions Judge Suresh Kumar Gupta upheld the magisterial court order holding Kuldeep guilty under section 377 (unnatural offences/ sodomy) of the IPC while dismissing his appeal indelible mark for life in the mind of the victim. Such incidents even affect the psychological behaviour of the victim. “The appellant cannot take shelter under premise

that he is the sole bread earner of his family and his father is suffering from TB. To my mind, there is no ground to take lenient view. Trial court has rightly imposed the sentence on appellant. I do not

Residents struggle to walk on this stretch in East Delhi which is always dug up for repairs —Vinita Arora

find any merit in the appeal filed by the appellant. The appeal is dismissed,” the judge said. The court, while upholding the sentence of Kuldeep, relied on the testimony of the

victim and said it was “cogent, reliable and trustworthy”. It also said the medical report of the victim established that carnal intercourse was committed with him and rejected the convict’s contention that he was falsely implicated. The victim had no motive to falsely implicate the convict, the court said. According to the prosecution, on the midnight of April 24, 2011, the victim had gone out of his house in New Friends Colony in south-east Delhi in search of food when the convict forcibly took him to a room and committed unnatural sex. —PTI

Icy poop from plane addles Gurgaon village A rumble in the sky and a loud thud a few seconds later shook villagers in Fazilpur Badli yesterday, leaving them wondering what had happened. Rajbir Yadav was in a wheat field when a “large rock” made its way to the ground, forming a one-foot crater. Was it a missile, a bomb or a meteor? A terrified, befuddled Yadav sprinted to the village head, another villager, Sukhbir Singh, said. The news spread like wildfire and a few minutes later, a large number of the villagers had circled the frigid “rock”, which later turned out to be human poop. While the elders wracked their brains to make a good guess, the children brimming with curiosity declared it was a gift by the aliens. “It is a white, holy stone gifted by the aliens,” a child exclaimed. “Jaadoo” from the film “Koi Mil Gaya” had one, he said. Others conjectured it was a rare mineral or a celestial object, sneaked a few pieces into their homes and stowed them in the fridge, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Pataudi, Vivek Kalia told PTI. A team comprising officials from the Meteorological department and the National Disaster Management Authority found the “clestrial gift” the whole village was talking about the entire day was “blue ice”, a term used for frozen toilet waste leaking from aircraft, Kalia said. —PTI

Golf enthusiast retired JCO alleges discrimination by AEPTA Richa Banka Richa.banka@dnaindia.net

Prem Goswami

A retired junior commissioned officer (JCO), who served 24 years in the Army, has alleged discrimination after he was not allowed the membership at the Army Environmental Park and Training Area (AEPTA), Army Golf Course. Prem Goswami, a golf enthusiast, has alleged through his plea filed in the Delhi High Court that he was not given a membership by the AEPTA despite appearing for the aptitude test five times because they are following a policy of

not including the JCOs as its members. Goswami retired as a class II Gazetted Officer of the Army 18 years ago and has been struggling to get AEPTA membership. According to the plea filed through his counsels Setu Niket and Esha Majumdar, in 2009, Goswami being a golf lover and an ex-service personnel, enquired telephonically from the AEPTA, about the green fee that would be charged from him in case he would want to use the Golf Course. However, he was informed that PBORs (Personnel Below

I submitted all my documents. However, after a few days when I enquired about my membership card, I was told that I will have to appear in the exam again Prem Goswami, retired junior commissioned officer Officer Ranks) are not entitled to use the Golf Course. Following this, he made a representation to the then Golf Course captain. He was allowed to play by paying a green fee of Rs 150. Goswami travelled from Ghaziabad (his earlier residence) to Dhaula Kuan to play golf and simultaneously re-

quested for a membership of the AEPTA as it would also entitle him to play at other golf courses on a reciprocity basis, without charges/with minimum charges, including Noida Golf Course. However, this was denied and he again made a representation to the General Officer

Commanding. While speaking to DNA, Goswami alleged that at the sixth instance, he was congratulated over the phone and stated that I had cleared the exam. He asked him to deposit the money and fulfill the documental formalities. “I submitted all my documents. However, after a few days when I enquired about my membership card, I was told that I will have to appear in the exam again,” an angry Goswami said. However, the AEPTA submitted that it had stopped providing permanent membership since 1994.

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locals demanD strict action against warehouse owners, say they shouldn’t be spared

Screams echo in metro vihar alleys

Fareeha Iftikhar correspondent@dnaindia.net

The silence of a Sunday afternoon was broken by the heart-wrenching screams of the residents of outer Delhi’s Metro Vihar JJ Colony when six ambulances arrived at around 1:30 pm. Painful wails echoed the narrow alleys with a hapless mother crying uncontrollably as her daughter’s body was brought in. A few metres away, a daughter stared into nothingness, as the corpse of her mother also arrived. At Holmbi Kalan area of Metro Vihar phase-II, 16-yearold Sanjana fainted as she saw people arriving with the dead body of her sister, Sonam. The 23-year-old is among the 17 people who died in a fire that ripped through a firecracker warehouse in north Delhi’s Bawana industrial area on Saturday evening. “Let me see my sister’s face for the last time,” cried Sanjana, as she regained her consciousness. She, however, fainted again when she saw the burnt face of her sister. “She was close to her sister. She had insisted her not to go to work on Saturday. But who knew what was in store,” says Sonam’s inconsolable aunt, Lakshmi. Few meters away, in a crumbling lane of Metro Vihar phase-I, four bodies arrived at the same time. “We have never witnessed this before. Four people from our area were charred to death and still, the authorities are passing the buck to each other,” rued Shankar, uncle of Baby Devi, a victim. Sitting outside the next house, was inconsolable Phoolmati, mother of Rita, 18, the youngest victim of the tragedy. “She has not uttered

Maken demands judicial probe Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken on Sunday visited the site of the tragic fire incident in Bawana that claimed 17 lives and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

He also questioned Delhi government agencies and said their role in the tragedy should be probed. “We demand a judicial probe. The role of DSIIDC and the pollution department cannot be investigated impartially in a magisterial inquiry.”

even a word since she has arrived from the hospital. She is motionless,” says Sukhmati, Rita’s aunt. Just a few steps ahead lies the body of Madina, 55, mother of two mentally-challenged teenagers. “Her children don’t even eat without her. How will they survive now?” says her husband Nasruddin,

surrounded by relatives and neighbours. Meanwhile, the locals demanded strict action against the warehouse owners. “They should be hanged in this alley where four dead bodies are lying because of their greed. They should not be spared,” shouts Shanta Devi, an octogenarian.

Relatives of Bawana fire victims mourn death of their loved ones. —Amarjeet Singh/DNA

CITU demands adequate compensation

Birthday party turns out to be blessing, 3 of family saved

Afsana Mukthar 42, Bulandshahr, UP

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on Sunday demanded adequate compensation for victims of the Bawana fire incident, in which 17 people were killed and two injured. The fire broke out in a firecracker storage unit in outer Delhi’s Bawana industrial area on Saturday evening. “The CITU demands adequate compensation for the families of the deceased and to those hurt in this horrible incident,” the trade body said in a statement. It said that an independent and time-bound inquiry should also be conducted, covering not only the causes of the fire and the safety measures in the unit, but also the role of the labour department and its officials. The responsibility of the officials concerned must be fixed and those responsible should be booked for culpable homicide, the CITU said. The trade union alleged that there was no mechanism to ensure the implementation of basic labour legislations, including ensuring safety at work. —PTI

Sakshi Chand sakshi.chand@dnaindia.net

Rita, 18, Holmbikalan, New Delhi

When Pooja (28) decided to take a day off from work to celebrate the birthday of her nephew on Saturday, little did she know that the party will be a blessing in disguise. Three members of the family, who worked in the doomed factory, thank their stars and the little birthday boy who turned out to be a guardian angel for them. “He came as God’s guardian for us. Had it not been for his birthday party, we would also have been charred to death on the fateful night,” said Manju Devi, Pooja’s mother. Pooja, a widow, her elder sister Sudha (35) and their cousin Bandhan (18) had started working at the factory only around three days back. Pooja, a mother of three had to take up this job as she had no other source of income. Her elder sister Sudha followed her. Bandhan’s name was removed from the nearby school, so he opted to work. “Initially, they said we are

Madina Nasrudin, 55, Holmbikalan, New Delhi

List of Deceased

Rajo, 65, Holmbikalan, New Delhi

Beby Devi, 40, Holmbikalan, New Delhi Sonam, 23, Holmbikalan, New Delhi Suraj, 20, Bawana, New Delhi Ravikant, 20, Ambedkar Nagar, UP Pooja, her sister Sudha, and their cousin Bandhan show their stained hands being hired to make stickers for a monthly wage of Rs 6,000 and more money would be given if we worked overtime. In fact, just in three days I worked overtime. The supervisor would teach us how to do the packaging of the colours and put them in a box ,” narrates Pooja. Sudha, on one occassion, while putting the colours in the packaging noticed it had explosive substance and informed the supervisor but he

asked her to continue working and not reveal it to others. The colour on their hands and necks was so strong that despite several showers the stains are still there. “My daughters are crying from the moment they got to know about the incident. Since most women worked there, they bonded strongly. I am happy for my family but I can’t control my tears thinking about others who lost their lives,” added Manju.

Ranjit, 26, Banka Vihar Pintu (not known) Devgarh, Jharkhand Sukhda, 42, Sitapur, UP Kusma, 47, Sitapur, UP Soni, (not known) Sitapur UP, Rohint, 19, Unnao, UP Sanjit, 19, Unnao UP

Mayor Preeti Aggarwal trashes viral video DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net A day after North MCD Mayor Preeti Aggarwal was caught on camera purportedly telling one of her aides “they could not comment on the licensing part of the Bawana factory, as it falls under the civic body’s jurisdiction,” she has trashed the video calling it “fake”. The video has evoked strong reactions with political parties getting into a war of words on Twitter, including top leaders like Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari. The video, which was recorded on Saturday evening, went viral and was retweeted by Kejriwal on Sunday. However, Aggarwal could not be reached for a comment. The three civic bodies in the Capital — North, South and East — are ruled by the BJP. However, the mayor reacting to Kejriwal’s tweet said, “Arvind Kejriwal by retweet-

Mayor Preeti Aggarwal —File ing the video has resorted to dirty politics and he should apologise for that.” BJP’s Tiwari also pitched in to support Aggarwal and called the video fake. “What can be more disgusting than this when Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal tweets a fake video. The license for this factory was being given by Delhi government and its Industries Department (sic),” he tweeted.

The Delhi’s BJP unit also came out in support of their mayor and issued a statement challenging the AAP government to describe what wrong has she said. “We challenge Kejriwal and his party to see the video and tell what wrong has she said? All that she has said that licence comes under MCD’s jurisdiction and we will check and then speak on it. What is wrong with it?” it stated.

Roop Prakash jumped to save Factory was operating without license: MCD his life; lost brother, 2 cousins Vatsala Shrangi vatsala.shrangi@dnaindia.net

Advitya Bahl correspondent@dnaindia.net Struggling in a hospital after escaping the jaws of the fire, Roop Prakash Singh is a broken man. While the 24-yearold managed to save his life by jumping from the ill-fated three-storey building, he has no clue how he will fend for his old parents back in Unnao in UP. Singh is yet to come to terms with the loss of his two cousins and younger brother to the same fire. Speaking to DNA from the hospital bed with a fractured leg, Singh says he doesn’t know whether to be happy for his survival or to mourn the death of his three family members. Recalling the horror, Singh said that 50 people worked inside the cracker warehouse. The incident could have consumed more lives but fortunately around 20 people had left on Saturday evening. “Usually all people do overtime but on Saturday evening, around 5:30 pm

Roop Prakash Singh says he is not sure should he be happy about his survival or loss in family some people left the factory. The mishap happened at around 5:55 pm. I was on the second floor and was heading down to the basement of the building for some work. All of a sudden, I heard loud cries. When I reached the first floor, I realised that a fire had broken out in the basement and ground floor. My three brothers - Rohint Singh, Sanjit Singh and Suraj Bihari - were working in the

basement. I thought about alerting them. As I reached the ground floor, I saw the fire spreading massively. Instead of alerting my brothers, I ran upstairs to save my life,” Singh adds. Singh tried to look for an emergency exit but soon realised that he was trapped. “Then I went to the third floor and broke the glass window, and jumped out. I broke my leg in the process,” says Singh. His 19-year old brother, Rohint Singh had just joined him last month for work trying to escape the tattered life of poverty. Now, he is no more and his dreams have become Singh’s nightmares. Officials at the Maharishi Valmiki Hospital said that Singh was brought to the hospital at around 7 pm. While the other survival, Sunita (45) who also had jumped to save her life was brought at around 11:30 pm. Sunita has a hip fracture and was referred to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital on Sunday morning.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation under which the firecracker factory in Bawana caught fire on Saturday, killing 17 workers trapped inside it, did not have a “working license”, a senior officer said on Sunday. The municipal corporation issues factory/trade license to these factories while the area is governed by the city government’s Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), which has developed the Bawana Industrial Area. According to the officials, the factory was functioning “illegally”, as no application seeking a license for the property was received since 2014 when an application was rejected for not having “complete formalities”. “It was only in 2014 that a person named Uma Mittal had applied online for a license, which was rejected,” a senior officer said. He added the factory had been lying shut for many years and it had recently come to the corporation’s notice that it got

Police guard the factory

It was only in 2014 that a person named Uma Mittal had applied online for a license, which was rejected. People crowd outside the firecracker factory where 17 persons were charred to death —AMARJEET SINGH/DNA functional around a fortnight ago. However, the officer maintained, that the monitoring of the license and if the property is running “legally” is the domain of the regulator, which is the DSIIDC in this case. “The factory not having a license is suspected to be either sub-let or rented out to another party. The DSIIDC is responsible to monitor the functioning

and the conditions of work inside these factories, developed and regulated by them,” the officer said. However, the DSIIDC in a preliminary report on Sunday stated that “at the time of allotment, the activity mentioned at the time of allotment for this particular factory was plastic goods in an area measuring 100 square meters.”

“The final reason for the tragedy will be ascertained following a complete inquiry, it has been informed that fire was reported due to an explosion of certain types of explosives/ firecrackers being packed at the site,” the report stated. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) chair-

Senior officer person, Bhure Lal last December had raised the issue of air pollution caused by industries running in Badli, Bawana, Narela and the DTU areas. Later, the EPCA had sought to know the total number of such industrial units operating in Delhi, but the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and the municipal agencies failed to respond .

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AAP’s strength in Assembly

Speak up

Then

Seats AAp BJP

Now

70 66

70 46

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Transport Min Kailash Gahlot among 20 AAP MLAs disqualified

The AAP govt had appointed 21 parliamentary secretaries soon after it came to power DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net Fresh trouble brewed for the Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday with the President Ram Nath Kovind approving the Election Commission’s (EC) disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs. The EC observed that the 20 legislators held office of profit, which was in violation of Constitutional norms. The AAP government had appointed 21 parliamentary secretaries soon after it came to power in 2015. One of the MLAs from Rajouri Garden resigned from the post to contest Punjab Assembly polls, bringing the number of PS to 20. The 20 disqualified lawmakers include popular faces like Alka Lamba, Kailash Gehlot, Adarsh Shashtri, Som Dutt, among others. Upholding the recommendation given by the top election body, the notification issued by the law ministry read, “Having considered the matter in the light of the opinion expressed by the 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.” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in the meantime, will continue to enjoy majority in the assembly, albeit with sig-

The Election commission will set a new precedence by the disqualifications. Rules are the same for everyone. The AAP will cry foul because it is in the wrong. Kejriwal should not call it a political witch hunt and bringing the role of the CEC under scanner is not ethical. He should resign on moral grounds. —Shariq Ali Khan, Dwarka

public. As he said, truth will prevail. Truth has prevailed. His MLAs held the office of profit in gross violation. —Shaurya Pruthi, Saket Our government is being targeted for the honest work we have been doing in the city for the past three years. BJP is unhappy with the successes of AAP in Delhi. The MLAs were not given an opportunity to present evidence with them. They have a lot to tell and prove that there was no office of profit case. It is unconstitutional and illegal. —Manish Sisodia, deputy chief minister I feel the AAP MLAs should have been given an opportunity to explain their stance. They have been shown the door all of a sudden. Unfortunately, the current politics is such that it is tough to decide what is the real truth. —Manan Kumar, Vikaspuri

I have never been in favour of the way AAP government has worked or tweaked rules to suit their interests. While these lawmakers may play the victim, truth is that they took the voter who brought them to power, for a ride. The CM must display some moral propriety and probity. He is answerable to the

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia come out of Election Commission office nificantly reduced numbers. The AAP rode home to power with 67 seats in 2015, which came down to 63. The party suspended cabinet minister Asim Ahmed Khan and later sacked Sandeep Kumar who got embroiled in a sex scandal. After sometime, Kapil Mishra, another legislator also rebelled against AAP. The Kejriwal government, which stares at by-elections on the 20 seats, will now have a majority of, still notches

No use of solar control black film in cars: HC The Delhi High Court has said that it would not allow the use of solar control black films in cars, which have been banned due to security reasons. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar also refused to strike down a law prohibiting use of black films for windscreens and side glasses of four wheelers, saying it was in “larger public interest”. It, however, said that it was neither passing any order nor was it inclined to give any relief on the plea seeking direction to authorities not to take any step against the petitioner for using solar control black film in his car as he was suffering from a disorder caused by ultraviolet (UV) rays. The court said there are technologies available, by which an individual, who is suffering from the rare genetic disorder caused by UV rays, can easily protect himself. “The decision to enforce the ban on the use of the tinted glasses beyond permissible limits is in public interest, so we are not going to interfere with it,” the bench observed. The bench has now fixed the matter for April 4, by when it has asked 30-year-old petitioner Vipul Gambhir, to file his rejoinder to the Min-

I support the decision taken by the EC. The AAP government was very much in the know of Constitutional rules yet it decided to go ahead with the appointments. They should keep their conscience clean before casting aspersions at others as is their trait. There is no way the 20 MLAs did not enjoy any perks that came with the post of parliamentary secretaries. —Poonam Gogia, Delhi Cantonment

istry of Road Transport and Highways’ reply opposing his demand. While citing the Supreme Court judgement in this regard, Advocate Farman Ali Magray, appearing for the ministry, submitted that there are alternative preventive measures that can be taken by such persons to protect themselves from UV rays. “Persons suffering from a rare genetic disorder caused by UV rays can use cream, sun-shed, protective clothing and other amenities available in the market,” the ministry said. The ministry was responding to the plea by Gambhir, who is suffering from xeroderma pigmentosum, a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder of DNA repair in which the ability to repair damage caused by UV light is deficient.—PTI

above the half mark of 35. The EC’s decision on Thursday led to crossfire of remarks from AAP and its arch rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party. AAP leaders minced no words in accusing the central government of arm twisting them and a larger conspiracy being hatched. In a sharp rebuttal, it trained guns at Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti for acting at the behest of the Narendra Modi government.

Reacting to the development, Kejriwal had tweeted, “The path of truth and honesty is marred by many obstacles, which is inevitable. But the universe and almighty conspires in favour of the righteous. Time is proof that truth always triumphs in the end because we are dedicated towards serving the nation and the society, and not our personal gains.” Meanwhile, clamour for

the CM to step down on ‘moral grounds’ grew across rival parties. Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken tweeted, “Kejriwal has no right to continue. Half of his cabinet ministers removed on corruption charges! 20 MLAs who were enjoying ministerial perks would be disqualified! Where is Lokpal? The MLAs and Ministers enjoying perks of power and foreign travelWhere is political probity?”

I think it is unfair to disqualify 20 MLAs. The MLAs should have seen it coming if the government had violated Constitutional rules. Nevertheless, as another by-poll is in the offing, the tax payer’s hard earned money will be spent on it. —Sagar Sharma, Badarpur

Expert speak

AAP fumes The EC’s decision on Thursday led to crossfire of remarks from AAP and its arch rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party AAP leaders minced no words in accusing the central government of arm twisting them and a larger conspiracy being hatched In a sharp rebuttal, it trained guns at Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti

Devastated families look for bodies, answers From p1 “Pata nahi kaise tadpi hogi meri beti. Mujhe awaaz bhi lagayi hogi usne. Mai nahi aa payi usko bachane. Ab mai use kabhi nahi dekh paungi,” she wails. Phoolmati’s daughter Rita was the youngest among the deceased. It was her second day at the warehouse. “She told me that it was a toy factory. Had I known the reality, I would have never allowed her to work there,” she says. Sitting next to her is

Mukhtar of Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district. The 40-something is here to collect his wife Afsana’s body. “I was not here when she had joined the warehouse. She wanted to support the family after I lost my job due to my ill health. I had never thought that the cost of my wife’s life was Rs 200 a day,” he weeps. At around 11 am, relatives of the victims quarrel with hospital staff for bodies. “We have been told that the Health Minister and the L-G are coming here. So, we have

to wait. How will their visit make a difference now?” asks Afasana’s sister Shabana. “We have to take our sister’s body to Bulandshahr. We have not told our old par-

Homicide! Workers were locked... From p1 Ten women were among the victims. Meanwhile, warehouse owner Manoj Jain, who had been arrested on Saturday night, was sent to one-day judicial custody. DCP Rajneesh Gupta said Jain was taken into custody after a brief interrogation as the police filed an FIR against him for negligent conduct and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. A forensic team reached the spot to investigate the reason for the fire, he said. “Jain runs the factory which he had taken on rent since January 1 this year,” said Gupta, adding that as per an injured labourer, packing of crackers was being done in the building.

‘strict action’

Forensic experts leave after collecting samples—PTI Delhi industries and urban development minister Satyendar Jain told reporters that a probe committee has been formed and strict action will be taken after the report is submitted. It took three hours for

Delhi industries and urban development minister Satyendar Jain told reporters that a probe committee has been formed and strict action will be taken after the report is submitted. It took three hours for the Delhi Fire Services to douse the fire with the help of 80 fire fighters the Delhi Fire Services to douse the fire with the help of 80 fire fighters, 16 civil defence employees and 13 ambulances from the Delhi Government’s Centralised Accident Trauma Services (CATS).

ents about her death. They still think she is alive,” she says. “We hopped from one hospital to another searching for Madina last night. Then, we got a call from police to identify a body at the hospital early in the morning. And, it turned out to be hers,” Nasruddin says. “But, now they are not telling us when they will release the body.” Half-an-hour later, a hospital staff comes shouting the names of the deceased.

The relatives were told to identify bodies for the last time. “What can be more unfortunate for a parent then seeing her dead child?” asks Kiren Devi. Six of the 15 identified bodies were brought to Metro Vihar JJ Colony at around 1pm. Four deceased were neighbours. “We have never witnessed such a heart breaking scene in our locality. The warehouse owner should be hanged. He should not be spared,” says Rajwati, a resident.

Army finds fresh China trouble... From p1 General Rawat had also said that a large number of guns, tanks and troop movement in other areas have also been observed. Army sources said there is no need for any troop mobilisation as the deployment all along the India-China border is more than adequate. Indian forces confiscated equipment including two excavators of a Chinese road construction team on the Arunachal border that had entered one kilometre into the Indian Territory on December 28. The incursion

took place near Bising village in Tuting area close to the border but there was no faceoff between the troops. The presence of Chinese workers in Indian Territory was noticed by some civilians on December 28 who informed the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). The ITBP brought alerted the Army and a joint patrol team ensured that the Chinese stop work and retreat. Sources said China could aggressively continue with such road constructions after the winter that could spark confrontations.

20 AAP MLAs sacked in office of profit case From P1 AAP leader Gopal Rai termed the disqualification unfortunate and said that the party will use all legal possibilities to get the notification cancelled. “We had hoped to go to the President asking him to give us a chance to present our case. AAP will knock the doors of the High Court and even the Supreme Court if need be”. Senior AAP leader Ashutosh said the President’s order was “unconstitutional and dangerous for democracy.” “Unfortunate that the President took the decision in such haste, without giving us chance to speak. It’s an act of the Centre using constitutional institutions. We’ve trust in judiciary. Doors of the High Court and the Supreme Court are open for us,” said Alka Lamba, one of the 20 disqualified AAP MLAs. AAP also attacked Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti, calling the recommendation his “parting gift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. The party said the official, who demits office on Tuesday, has a personal stake in the recommendation. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari welcomed the action, saying it has “protected” India’s democratic values.

No one can touch a woman Plaints against docs on rise, DMC received 234 in ’17 without her consent: Delhi court Cheena Kapoor cheena.kapoor@dnaindia.net

No one can touch a woman without her consent, a Delhi court said and termed it unfortunate that women continue to be victimised by “lecherous and sexually- pervert” men. The court’s observation came while awarding five years jail term to Ram for sexually assaulting a nineyear-old girl. Additional Sessions Judge Seema Maini awarded rigorous imprisonment to Uttar Pradesh resident Chavi Ram, who had inappropriately touched the minor at a crowded market in north Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar in 2014.

The court said a woman’s body is her own and it is she who has an exclusive right over it and all others are prohibited to touch her body, without her consent, for any purpose whatsoever. It also said that right to privacy of women does not seem to be recognised by men and they do not think twice, before making untoward advances or satisfying their lust by sexually assaulting helpless girls. “Such perverts, get a sexual kick by assaulting the women, oblivious to the rights of privacy of the female gender including a female child,” it

said. The court said that Ram being a “sexual pervert” deserves no leniency and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him out of which Rs 5,000 would be given to the girl. Apart from that the court asked the Delhi State Legal Service Authority to pay Rs 50,000 to the child. “In a free, fast progressing, technically-strong country like India, it is an unfortunate scenario that the female citizens, be it an adult or a small child, continue to be consistently victimised,” the court said. —PTI

The Delhi Medical Council (DMC) received 234 complaints against doctors in the Capital, in 2017 alone. Of these 74 complaints were decided, 82 were sent to the Disciplinary Committee, and four had to be settled through monetary compensation. While the complaints and medical negligence complaints against the doctors continue to rise in the Capital, in a written response to a question raised in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, J P Nadda called a report by the World Health Organiza-

Picture for representation tion (WHO) that claimed 57 per cent allopathic doctors as “erroneous”. The report ‘Health Workforce in India’ released by the WHO in 2016 pointed out that more than half of the doctors

in the country are fake. The minister, however, denied this and disregarded the report, despite the fact that the DMC received several complaints against doctors in 2017.

“We received at least 20 complaints every month last year. Based on the evidence, some of these complaints are accepted to be reviewed. The number of complaints has increased in the last few years,” said Dr Girish Tyagi, Registrar, DMC. As per the WHO report, 31 per cent of doctors in India in 2001 were only educated till secondary level while 57 per cent did not have proper medical qualifications. Based on a 2001 consensus, the report suggests that there are 80 doctors for every one lakh people in the country, but this number drops lower to 36 when all the Allopathic, Homeopathic, Unani and Ayurvedic doc-

tors, without degrees, are excluded. “The report is erroneous since MBBS is the minimum qualification for enrolment as a registered medical practitioner in a State Medical Register to practice medicine, and hence all registered doctors have medical qualifications. Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, prohibits a person other than a medical practitioner enrolled on a State Medical Register to practice medicine in a state. Since health is a state subject, the primary responsibility to deal with such cases of quacks lies with the respective state government,” said Nadda in his response.

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CBI registers 22 cases against PNB officials Bhopal: The CBI on Saturday registered 22 cases against Punjab National Bank (PNB) officials, including the chief managers of four branches of the bank in Bhopal and Ujjain. On Saturday, the CBI conducted simultaneous raids in Bhopal and Ujjain branches of the PNB for alleged fraudulent disbursement of loans and credit limits to different private parties, dealing in coal business between 2011 and 2016.—ANI

2 killed as tempo falls off bridge Jaipur: Two persons were killed and 13 others injured when their tempo fell off a bridge in Banswara district of Rajasthan early on Sunday, a police officer said. The accident occurred when the tempo was on its way to Kherwa from Pipalkhoont, said Jawahar Lal, the sub inspector of Khamera Police Station. The driver lost control over the vehicle and it fell off the bridge from a height of nearly 15 feet, Lal said.—PTI

Didi’s tribute to Rash Behari Bose Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday remembered revolutionary leader Rash Behari Bose on his 73rd death anniversary. An unsung hero of India’s struggle for Independence, Rash Behari Bose played a key role in the Delhi Conspiracy Case (attempted assassination on the British Viceroy, Lord Hardinge), the Banaras Conspiracy Case and the Ghadr Conspiracy at Lahore.

One more soldier killed as India, Pak trade fire

Death toll from ceasefire violations on LoC, border in past 4 days rises to 12 DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net Srinagar: Death toll in the border flare-up has mounted to 12 in four days after another soldier and a civilian were killed on Saturday, even as Pakistan army resumed crossborder shelling on the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district. Signalman Chandan Kumar Rai, who was manning the forward post on the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district, suffered grievous wounds during Saturday afternoon’s firing. He was immediately shifted to the military hospital where he breathed his last. Colonel NN Joshi, defence spokesman at Northern Command Headquarters, said Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing from small arms and automatics, other than mortar shelling in Mendhar sec-

Border hamlets deserted as over 40K people escape Pak shelling. —pti

50 hurt in 4 days Death toll in the ceasefire violations on LoC and International border has climbed to 12 since Wednesday night, and more than 50 people have suffered injuries and thousands have fled their homes to escape firing.

tor. Their aggression was met with strong retaliation, he said. “In the exchange of fire, however, Signalman Chandan Kumar Rai was grievously injured. He succumbed to his injuries at the Military Hospital,” he said. Hailing from Village Nade-

sar in Chandelier district of Uttar Pradesh, Chandan Kumar Rain, 25, is survived by his father Satya Prakash Rai. The civilian was killed after Pakistan Rangers shelled civilian areas in Kanachak sector of international border of Jammu division. DCP Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Rajouri, said heaving shelling has started in different areas along the LoC. Sepoy Rai is the fourth soldier to have been killed in the last 48 hours in hostile firing. Border Security Force (BSF) Head Constable Jagpal Singh of 173th battalion and a Lance Naik Sam Abraham of the army were killed were killed on the onternational border and LoC respectively in cross border firing on Friday. Sepoy Mandeep Singh was killed on Saturday on LoC. A BSF spokesman said the border was almost calm except the firing of shells in Arnia sector.

Lucknow: With only three days left for the release of Padmaavat, the All-India Kshatriya Yuva Mahasabha has threatened to plant bombs in multiplexes and cinema halls that release the controversial movie on January 25 in Uttar Pradesh. Making a mockery of a recent Supreme Court order, the organisation’s state president Bhuvneshwar Singh and general gecretary Sukhbir Singh warned of blowing up multiplexes and cinema halls if they dared to show Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film, despite the green signal from Censor board and the apex court order. Singh appealed the Modi government to bring an ordinance to stall release of the film or else face civil war-like consequences all over the country. “We will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to ban the release of the film on January 25 by bringing an ordinance in view of the Supreme Court order,” the leaders said, warning of consequences before general polls. Both the leaders have also appealed to all Kshatriya MPs and legislators to resign and support their fight against the release of the film, which might cause “ir-

Yuvraj Shrimal correspondent@dnaindia.net

Jaipur: With a week left for the three bypolls in Rajasthan, All India Congress Committee general secretary and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot kicked off the campaign in Bhilwara’s Mandalgarh assembly constituency, seeking votes for party candidate Vivek Dhakad. He also held rallies in the rural belt, appealing to voters to support the party. Gehlot will next be touring Alwar on January 23, and Ajmer on January 24-25, as per campaigning schedule. He distanced himself from actively campaigning on Jan-

Rajasthan Congress leaders sachin Pilot and Ahok Gehlot uary 10, by which time all party candidates had filed their nomination papers. He was present in the rallies held on the day of filing nomination papers. In the last 10

days, though, he did not tour the bypoll-bound constituencies and visited other areas like Bikaner and Sikar. As campaigning enters its final leg with polling sched-

uled to take place on January 29, Gehlot plunged into campaigning. In Mandalgarh, he attacked the Raje government for its alleged failures. RPCC chief Sachin Pilot, who has been actively campaigning for two fortnights, toured Ajmer and took potshots at the ruling BJP on various issues ranging from “misrule” to party’s campaigning strategy, claiming that Congress would be victorious in the three seats of Ajmer, Alwar and Mandalgarh. “PM Narendra Modi is sensing defeat in Ajmer, Alwar and Madalgarh. So despite being a star campaigner, he is not seen canvassing,” said Pilot.

Will protect CBFC chief: Raj govt Jaipur: Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria on Sunday said the state government will provide all protection to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Prasoon Joshi during the Jaipur literature festival amid protests against Padmaavat’s rePrasoon Joshi lease. “We will provide all possible protection Joshi needs from us. It is our duty to maintain the law and order,” the minister said after Rajput Karni Sena’s threat that Prasoon Joshi will not be allowed to enter the state. reparable damage” to their pride. “Our fight will be from the streets to Parliament. We will boycott and oppose Kshatriya MPs and legislators in next elections if they did not oppose the release and resign,” said Singh. The UP government has been silent over the threat and violent protest by different groups over the film.

New Delhi: A parliamentary panel, concerned that large parts of Naxalite-hit districts have no mobile network coverage, plans to ask the government to urgently bridge the digital gap in the country. The Standing Committee on Finance, in a draft report on transformation towards a digital economy, noted that urgent and earnest efforts were required to vastly improve the quality of telecom services in the country. ..the quality of telecom coverage in the country is unevenly distributed, as 95 per cent, 75 per cent and 60 per cent population is covered by the 2G, 3G and 4G

spectrum respectively, the draft report added. In some troubled areas hit by left wing extremism, there was no network at all, it said, and called for efforts to help people on the margins reach out to the rest of India. Digital transformation

of the economy is not possible without basic 2G mobile services and state-run firms such as BSNL should play a more active role in it, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said last month at the panel’s meeting, where the draft was discussed. The committee has called for efforts by both central and state governments, along with industry, to improve the quality of telecom coverage so that the vast digital divide could be bridged. The report also emphasised that the Universal Services Obligation Fund should be fully deployed, particularly with public sector telecom firms. —PTI

of arms and men

Indian commandos of the first batch of the Jammu Kashmir Armed Police take part during a passing out parade at the Sheeri training centre, some 60 km northwest of Srinagar, on Sunday. —AFP

Over 130 babies born in 4 years of ‘Jiyo Parsi’ scheme New Delhi: Over 130 babies were born since the government launched the ‘Jiyo Parsi’ scheme in 2013 to address the Parsi community’s declining population, says a foundation associated with implementation of the initiative. The Parzor Foundation is implementing the scheme, launched by the then UPA government, along with the Union minority affairs ministry. The population of Parsis plunged from 1.14 lakh in 1941 to 57,264 in 2011. The average of Parsi children born annually over the last two decades was around

AI planes will ferry security men in JK, NE New Delhi: Air India aircraft will be hired by the home ministry to facilitate travel of personnel of central armed police forces, Intelligence Bureau and the NDRF serving in remote areas of the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir from home and place of postings, an official said. Rs 109.84 crore has been sanctioned by the ministry to offer the air services to the security personnel during the first seven months of 2018 by hiring the AI planes. Priority will be given to those personnel availing the facility for the first, second and third time respectively and those going on temporary duties, subject to availability of seats, a home ministry official said. Air services were introduced a few years ago by the ministry for limited sectors but the scheme has now been expanded with new sectors, enhanced frequency and aircraft with more seats. The Air India is expected to deploy its narrow-body jet Airbus A319 which has around 144 all-economy seats. —PTI

App for reporting roadkill will help curb wildlife deaths DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net New Delhi: Next time you spot a wild animal mowed down on a highway or a rail track, you can report it on mobile app ‘Roadkills’, a citizen science initiative that aims to build a database on wildlife killed on roads, railways and along canals. It will also redflag danger spots for the animals, thereby helping in reducing their mortality rate. The app by non-profit Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT), launched on Sunday, will allow people to upload photos of the wildlife deaths and tag their precise location. “Lakhs of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians in total are killed annually on roads and rails. It’s a herculean task to collect this data. The app can be used to record this vital data,” said Dr Anish Andheria, president, WCT. The data collated from users would be plotted on a map and uploaded on a website. WCT hopes it would help in reducing wildlife mortality

Gehlot raises Cong’s bypoll pitch ‘Violence against

Padmaavat release: ‘Bridge digital divide in Naxal-hit areas’ Outfit threatens to blow up UP theatres DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net

200, according to Shernaz Cama, director of Parzor, a project that aims to reverse the downward trend with the government’s help. “In such a backdrop, if you compare the number of children born in the last three years (131) under the scheme, then it is a proportionately a good number,” Cama said. She attributed the sharp decline in the birth rate in the community — located mainly in Maharashtra’s Mumbai and parts of Gujarat — to socio-psychological reasons. These include Parsis having late or non-marriages, its

A poster for the scheme members marrying with people outside the community and also many couples not willing to have babies.

Demographically speaking, 31 per cent of the Parsis are aged above 60 years and 30 per cent are unmarried. “Parsi women are very highly educated. They do not wish to marry till they finish their education. So, there are late marriages. Once a couple has a late marriage, their fertility automatically goes down (biologically),” Cama said. The total fertility rate (TFR) of the community is 0.8, that is, a Parsi woman in her total child bearing age has less than one child on an average. “And that’s a serious problem,” Cama added.

To counter the situation, the ministry and the foundation have adopted a multiprong approach of advocacy, medical and financial assistance to couples seeking help under the scheme. “We are advocating and counselling people to get married at the right age. We are even pushing couples to have a second child, for that is important from the point of view of health of their family. “Our counsellors are available 24x7. They have been de- stressing people whenever they are under stress,” Cama said. —PTI

women a concern’ New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind said on Saturday that violence against women was a major concern, adding government and society should find ways to deal with it. While addressing the women achievers here at Rashtrapati Bhawan, President Kovind said, “Violence against women is a major concern and government and society should find ways to deal with this. Women of the country can strengthen and develop rural India. Women in India are breaking traditional barriers and growing day-byday.”� The President also said, “Women have to become an inspiration for the rest of the world. India is the only place where women are safe, and in India, now women are flying fighter jets and they are progressing despite several challenges.”� He also stated, �”I received the opportunity to appoint a woman governor just yesterday.” Former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel has been appointed the governor of Madhya Pradesh.� President Kovind today felicitated exception-

HRD Min visits Bengaluru lake that caught fire Bengaluru: Union Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday visited Bengaluru’s Bellandur lake, which had been on fire, to take stock of the situation. “Those who were in power never worked for the lake. This lake has now turned into a sewage tank,” Javadekar said. The lake caught fire on Saturday and was later doused. A cooling operation was conducted on Sunday. According to media reports, residents living on the Yemlur side of Bellandur spotted Prakash smoke in the Javadekar lake, known to be full of chemical effluents and construction debris, around noon on Friday. Shortly thereafter, flames started rising. The lake, according to the Karnataka Lake Development Authority, is the largest of the 262 lakes and accumulates about 40 per cent of the city’s sewage. The cause of the fire is being attributed to locals burning the grassy land near the lake to get a fresh crop to feed their cattle. —ANI

The President was addressing women achievers in the Capital

Women have to become an inspiration for the rest of the world. India is the only place where women are safe. They are flying fighter jets and progressing despite challenges. Ram Nath Kovind, President al women achievers who were the first to set a milestone in their respective fields. As many as 112 women were selected to be honoured by the President after an extensive research process by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. —ANI

A tiger was recently run over by a car and identify areas where wildlife face the maximum threats. The data would help suggest spots where government agencies can build underpasses, overpasses and wildlife crossings for safe passage. The app’s launch comes after five elephants including a pregnant one were killed by a speeding train near Balipara in Assam on December 17. In the second incident, Bajirao, an 8-year-old tiger from Bor sanctary was killed on the Nagpur-Amravati NH-6. “Wildlife mortality is often underreported. We hope Roadkills helps in planning infrastructure better and devising win-win solutions,” said Milind Parkiwakam of WCT.

Scientists slam anti-Darwinism statement New Delhi: 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 school and college curriculum, terming any such move as a “retrograde step”. Reacting to Singh’s statements, the scientists of three science academies of India, which were not named, have said that “there is no scientific basis for the minister’s statements”. “Evolutionary theory, to which Darwin made seminal contributions, is well established. There is no scientific dispute about the basic facts of evolution,” the scientists have said in a statement issued by them. “An important insight from the evolutionary theory is that all life forms on this planet, including humans and the other apes, have evolved from one or a few common ancestral progenitors,” the statement said. Singh has on Saturday said that Darwin’s theory was wrong as our ancestors have nowhere mentioned seeing an ape turning into a man. “Darwin’s theory is scientifically wrong. It needs to change in school and college curriculum,” he said. —PTI

Bengal BJP banks on Puja to reach out

Women celebrate Saraswati Puja—File Pic Arshad Ali correspondent@dnaindia.net Kolkata: Buoyed by its success in organising Ram Navami events, West Bengal BJP is all set to organise Saraswati Puja across the state, as per the instructions of party president Amit Shah, senior party leaders said. “Celebration of Saraswati Puja would be one of the best ways to build a connect with the people in general. Our highest leadership has instructed us to hold the event across Bengal,” a senior state BJP leader said. He said organising the puja had been the brainchild of former TMC Rajya Sabha member Mukul Roy, who defected to the BJP last year. “The puja has been one of the strongest tools of TMC to develop a connect with the common people, and BJP is

trying to exploit that area as well,” he added. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh confirmed the celebrations. “Besides being a religious festival, Saraswati Puja is part of the culture of this state, and so, this year we have decided that it will be celebrated in a big way by us,” Ghosh said. He said instructions have been sent out to party leaders right down to the grassroots level that they should collaborate with clubs and local organisers of Saraswati Puja. Party national secretary Rahul Sinha said, “It is occasions like these that we need to reach out to the people. It will help in increasing our popularity.” The move comes as the state is headed for panchayat elections this year, and the Lok Sabha elections next year.

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After strike by TN transport staff, now public have taken to streets against bus fare hike.—File pic

Protests against bus fare hike in TN Chennai: Protest demonstrations were held by public on Sunday in parts of Tamil Nadu against the steep hike in bus fares announced by the State government. A group of villagers near Dindigul staged a roadroko against the hike and wanted the government to immediately withdraw the same. The protesters said the new fare took away a chunk of their meagre income.

Train hits truck in Jaipur, 1 injured Jaipur: A dumper-truck driver was injured when his vehicle collided with a moving train at a railroad crossing near Jodhpur in Rajasthan on Sunday. The incident occurred when the dumper carrying sand was crossing an unmanned railway crossing near Banar. The moving train Marudhar express- hit the dumper which left the driver critically injured and the vehicle completely damaged, a Railway Police officer said. —PTI

Raj family of 4 commits suicide Jaipur: A police constable along with his wife and two children committed suicide at their house in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district on Sunday. Gena Ram (38), his wife Santosh (35), daughter Sumitra (22), and son Ganpat (20), all hanged themselves in their house in Bagrasar village in the wee hours, police said. —PTI

If Kalam was space scientist, Modi is social scientist: Prez

DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net

Ahmedabad: President Ram Nath Kovind urged graduating students of Gujarat University to learn from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former President APJ Abdul Kalam. Addressing the students at the convocation, Kovind said, “Both (Kalam and Modi) have many similarities. Both came from humble backgrounds yet rose to great heights. Kalam was so poor he sold newspapers to fund his college education. We all know about our ‘chaiwala’ PM. I am sure none of the graduating students here had to ever sell tea. None of them had to face the sort of difficulties that these two

Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the doors of the 21st century for today’s generation by bringing in various initiatives, such as ‘Digital India’ and ‘Start Up India’

Anandiben Patel, Governor-designate of Madhya Pradesh, calls on President Ram Nath Kovind at Gandhinagar Raj Bhavan, Gujarat on Sunday. —PTI leaders experienced.” Calling one a space scientist and another a social scientist, Kovind urged the students to rise so high in life that they would surpass the achievements of

these two leaders. The President expressed pleasure at the fact that the number of women gold medalists were almost double than that of men. “We have 87 girls who are gold medalists

Ram Nath Kovind, President against 49 boys. I have seen this trend not just in Gujarat but all across the country, in other universities too. If this continues, soon it will be men who will be demanding reservation and not women,” the

president said. Kovind praised Centre’s initiatives such as Start-Up India, Digital India, etc. and told the students that they have helped opened more windows for them. In all, 56,159 students have graduated from different disciplines from the University; the highest number of students, 25,903, passed out from the commerce faculty. Governor OP Kohli, who was also present at the event, said there was a need for universities in the country to collaborate with each other and with universities abroad. Stressing on the need for research, he reminded the varsity that its duty was not just transmitting knowledge but to create knowledge as well.

Haryana govt faces Sabarmati Riverfront in Guj flak over rape cases to stretch to 32.2km soon New Delhi: The Congress party on Sunday questioned the BJP-led government in Haryana over the poor law and order situation in the state and termed Haryana as the “rape capital of India”. Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev said, “Why is the Prime Minister silent on the issue. In the days to come, he will address the nation through his Mann ki Baat programme. As the Prime Minister, what are the steps he has taken to ensure the security of girls and women? This is the very party (BJP), that asked for the resignations of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit when the Nirbhaya rape case took place in December 2012.” “Haryana is looking like a

6 cases in 6 days Haryana has seen at least six cases of alleged rapes in as many days The rape incidents were reported in Jind, Fatehabad, Gurugram and Panchkula. rape capital of India. Chief Minister Khattar should be preventing such incidents rather than getting involved in making such political statements,” she added. She said, “Rather than giving a one time Rs. 4 lakh to the victim’s family, the state government should give a job to one of the family members.” Another party member, Kumari Shailaja said that we have demanded imposition of President’s rule in Haryana.—ANI

‘Rahul will lead Cong to victory in 2019’ New Delhi: The Gujarat poll outcome has instilled the belief in Congress workers that the BJP can be defeated, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said on Sunday and exuded confidence that the party would emerge victorious in the 2019 general elections under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. Patel, who had won the Rajya Sabha election from Gujarat last year in a close contest, also said the poll verdict in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state was a “moral victory” for the Congress as the BJP, which had talked about getting 150 seats, was wrapped up under 100. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed so many meetings and used all sorts of tricks from bringing Pakistan...to even saying that someone in Pakistan wants me to be the chief minister, but failed to polarise the voters,” Patel said. “Gujarat poll results have boosted the morale of Congress workers, not only in Gujarat but all over India, and given them the belief that the BJP can be defeated,” the 68-year-old leader said. The Assembly election outcome would definitely help the Congress party in the 2019 elections, he said. “The way Rahul Gandhi has campaigned in Gujarat, his hard work and the way he drew huge crowds were very encouraging and helped us

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We are prepared to take the support of like-minded parties, but it is too early to talk of alliances.

Gargi Raval gargi.raval@daindia.net Ahmedabad: The showpiece of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development talk – Sabarmati Riverfront — is all set to extend its length. Right now, it has an average 11km on each side, covered under the first phase of the project. After the announcement of deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, civic chief Mukesh Kumar made a provision of Rs 850 crore for the second phase of the riverfront, while announcing a draft budget for the 2018-19 fiscal. The iconic Riverfront of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has an existing length of about 11km on the eastern and western bank of the Sabarmati River. An addition of 5km will be made on each side. AMC has also consulted the Army authority as some part of the land is

expansion plans Provision of Rs 850 made for construction of retaining walls and promenade Expansion proposed from Dafnala to Indira bridge and from torrent power house to Indira bridge

For representation going to be in the Cantonment area at Shahibaugh. Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the AMC, has already invested Rs1,152 crore for the first phase of the project. This is the place where most Amdavadis love to spend time, where events and festivals are taking place at large. “We are extending the project now. We have already initiated the expansion permis-

sion from the Army. Now the state government will also allot us with land. In the total of 101 acres of land, the western side has 57 acres and the eastern side 54,” said Pravin Patel, standing committee chairman of the civic body. Patel added that the estimate also includes RCC roads on both sides. General manager of SRFDCL Jagdish Patel said the design of the proposed extended park will be slightly different.

Sehore (MP): Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh, who is on ‘Narmada Parikrama’ yatra since the last four months, is worried about the plight of the revered river due to illegal sand mining, and wants urgent measures to ensure its revival. The 70-year-old former Chief Minister and his wife Amrita started ‘parikrama’ (circumambulation ) of the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh as a “religious and spiritual” exercise. Singh said the Narmada is the “oldest” river in India and advocated its revival. “Rampant illegal sand mining with machines is being done in the river. Roads have been built in the bed of the river,” he said. To back his claim, Singh pointed at temporary roads that have come up for sand excavation in the Narmada at Babri area in Narsullaganj tehsil of the Budhni constituency represented by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. “Such is the worrisome condition of Narmada - the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh,” he said. “The flow of the Narmada is much reduced. Water from the dams constructed on it should be released at regular intervals to maintain the flow,” said Singh, who embarked on the yatra on foot on

govt claims The BJP government in MP is spending around Rs 4,000 crore to rejuvenate the river. The govt claims to have planted 6.50 cr saplings last year on the banks of Narmada and now plans to plant 8.5 cr. September 30 from Narsinghpur district. His Narmada yatra is likely to conclude by March-end after covering a distance of more than 3,000km. “The state government should launch a crackdown on the illegal mining in the river,” he demanded. During his march, he is often handed petals and sweets. Long-bearded priests of temples on the sides of the river come running when they see Singh in their midst. They address him ‘Raja Sahab’ and his journalistwife `Rani Sahiba’ and request them to visit their temples to pay obeisance. “The water in the river has become brackish and unfit for drinking, especially before the Narmada flows into the Arabian Sea in Gujarat,” the former CM said as he is greeted by the Hindu faithful with “Narmada Har” chants during the yatra.—PTI

Digvijaya Singh during ‘Narmada Parikrama’ (Pic from Singh’s FB account)

CPM leader urges Kerala CM to drop case on Assembly violence

foggy start

A labourer rides a bicycle through farm land to work in the fields during a foggy morning in Kolkata on Sunday. —AFP

T h i r u va n a n t h ap u r a m : CPM leader and former MLA V Sivankutty has written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking withdrawal of a case registered against him and five others in connection with the “unprecedented” violence witnessed by the state assembly in 2015. Sivankutty today said he had written to the chief minister seeking withdrawal of the police case against him and 5 other LDF members and a similar letter had also been sent to Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan. According to the Marxist leader, the case should be

CPM leader V Sivankutty withdrawn as it was “politically motivated” and it was up to the chief minister to take a decision. The Kerala Assembly had witnessed unprecedented

and ugly scenes on March 13, 2015 as opposition members tried to prevent then Finance Minister KM Mani, who was facing allegations in bar bribery scam, from presenting the budget. Some opposition members had destroyed the Speaker’s podium, hurled his chair and engaged in a scuffle with the watch-and-ward staff. Following the unruly happenings inside the assembly, a case was registered against six LDF MLAs under the Prevention of Destruction of Public Property Act, criminal trespass and mischief causing damage.—PTI

Ahmed Patel, Congress leader

Pondy CM accuses TN of not releasing water Festivals promoted

win the seats we finally did,” said Patel. The BJP won 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly, its tally dipping from 115 in the last elections. Had the BJP not “used their gimmicks”, they would have been defeated in Gujarat, Patel claimed. He said the Congress was constantly improving and would do well in the upcoming state elections this year. The “young and dynamic” Rahul would lead the Congress to victory in the 2019 —PTI polls, he held.

Puducherry: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Sunday accused the Tamil Nadu government of not releasing water from Veedur dam for farm use in the union territory. Puducherry has a share in the water from Veedur dam in Villupuram district in that state under an inter-state agreement inked in 1961, he told media here. Narayanasamy noted that an agreement was signed by the two governments in 1961 to share water from Veedur dam to meet the irrigation requirements of farmers in

Pondy CM V Narayanasamy Mannadipet constituency in the union territory. The deal ensured availability of water for Puducherry for 175 days to enable farmers here to get water for cultiva-

tion on an extent of 1400 hectares from the dam, he said. “The release of water for Mannadipet block was stopped this year.. Our plea is that the agreement should be enforced by the Tamil Nadu authorities,” he said adding a letter would be shot off to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu seeking immediate release of water in keeping with the provisions of the agreement. Veedur dam is situated in the catchment areas of Varaha river and Thondiaru in Villupuram district and had been a source of irrigation for farm lands in Mannadipet

constituency in Puducherry. “Besides, Tamil Nadu government was ignoring the Union Territory’s share of 6 tmc feet of water released into the Cauvery basin by the Karnataka government,” Narayanasamy alleged. On AIADMK’s demand that Congress and DMK MLAs should step down from the posts of chairmen of the PSUs and Parliamentary Secretary to CM, he said “The MLAs belonging to Congress and the DMK were appointed chairmen of the PSUs or Parliamentary Secretary to CM —PTI in the past.”

Now, Gauseva Ayog initiates cow tourism in Gujarat Ahmedabad: While Asiatic lions remain one of the biggest tourist attractions in Gujarat, the humble cow is set to become the newest draw for travellers in the state. Authorities have initiated a ‘cow tourism’ project to promote and popularise bovine rearing in the state. It has been introduced by the Gujarat State Gauseva Ayog. People interested in understanding about cow rearing and various other aspects, such as making products using cow urine and dung, are taken to a two day trip of some of the best-kept cow shelters as well as desig-

Digvijaya wants new lease of life for ‘oldest’ river

govt priority Protection of cows has become a priority in Gujarat after the state govt last year introduced a tough law against cow slaughter with a provision for life sentence. Apart from cow tourism, the Ayog is undertaking many other initiative to encourage people to rear cows.

For representation nated ‘gauchars’ (grazing land), said Gauseva Ayog chairman Vallabh Kathiria. “Cow tourism is a step to-

wards making people understand the economic benefits of keeping cows. Most people are not aware that we can

earn good income by preparing some basic products, such as bio-gas and medicines, using cow dung and urine.

“Cow tourism is all about combining the religious aspect with the economical aspect attached with the cow,” Kathiria said. While cow urine has several medicinal and disinfectant properties and its extract is used in making organic phenyl and soap, cow dung serves as a raw material for producing bio- gas, fertiliser and for making incense sticks, he said. “Under this project, we arrange a two-day tour of the shelters doing a commendable job in not only keeping the cows in good condition but also making money by preparing cow dung and

urine-based products. “In a short span of introducing this project, we have arranged several such trips across the state,” he said. Apart from cow shelters, grazing land (gauchars) are also included in the itinerary. One of the most popular destinations as far as gauchar goes is Dharmaj, a village near Anand, said Kathiria. “Preparing a guachar is also an art and one such grazing land has been prepared at Dharmaj. People, who are concerned about the well-being of cows, take ideas from such model gauchar during the trip and implement them at their village.—PTI

social values: Modi

PM Modi at Sankranti celebrations at Vice President’s house on Sunday. PTI New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that Indian festivals have for centuries promoted national and social values, and have been an occasion for people to pass these on to younger generations. He made these comments in a brief address at ‘Sankranti Milan’ organised by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. Many other dignitaries, including Naidu’s predecessor Hamid Ansari, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, BJP president Amit Shah, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, besides several Union ministers, were present on the occasion. Modi said Indian festivals are connected with nature and are in harmony with rural culture and farmers’ life. Addressing the gathering,

Naidu said festival ‘Makar Sankranti’, dedicated to the Sun and symbolising the beginning of its northward journey, is celebrated with different names all over the country, according to an official statement. He said the festivals of ‘Makar Sankranti’ and ‘Pongal’ symbolise the happiness that comes with a good harvest and is a celebration of a positive transformation in people’s lives. The vice president said it is also an occasion to revitalise our lives through prayers and reverence for rivers and all living beings. “This is the only festival which marks the start of new season called by so many names, and in every culture the food prepared is essentially ‘khichdi’,” he added.—PTI

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Women browse through books at a stall at 41st Chennai Book Fair on Sunday.—PTI

Online lottery racket busted Noida: The Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force (STF) busted an inter-state online lottery racket and arrested 15 people from Noida on Saturday. Raids were conducted in various locations of Agra, Sultanpur, Allahabad and Noida. The mastermind of the inter-state online lottery is a native of Allahabad, police said.

Jawan accidently shoots himself Patna: A Bihar Military Police jawan, deployed as a night guard at the official residence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accidentally shot and injured himself with his rifle, police said on Sunday. The incident happened in Patna on Saturday night, the police said. The jawan, identified as Pujan Guru, accidentally shot himself with his service rifle while he was on duty outside the chief minister’s official residence. The jawan was admitted to the ICU of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), the city SP said. —PTI

8 killed as MUV collides with truck Dumka (Jharkhand): Eight persons were killed and another was seriously injured when their MUV collided head on with a truck in Dumka district on Sunday. Seven of the deceased were going from Dumka to Deogharin the neighbouring district to appear for the Staff Selection Commission Examination while the eighth one is the driver of the vehicle. —PTI

Centre to auction 8 more Left sees red in Tripura over film ‘Lal Sarkar’ mineral blocks in 3 states So far, a total of 88 mineral blocks have been notified by 9 states for auction New Delhi: The government has identified eight more mineral blocks with a cumulative reserve of 1,133 million tonnes (MT) in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to be auctioned by mid-march. So far, a total of 88 mineral blocks have been notified by 9 states for auction, of which 33 blocks have been successfully auctioned with an estimated revenue of Rs 1.28 lakh crore over the lease period to the states. Of the eight mines, six are of lime stone — five in Rajasthan and one in Chhattisgarh, one of iron ore and the remaining one is of graphite & quartz — both in Jharkhand. Five of the limestone blocks in Rajasthan — four in Nagaur district and one in Jaisalmer — will be put under hammer on February 7, while the Chhattisgarh mine in district Baloda will go for e-auction on March 12, as per the mines ministry. The remaining two iron ore and graphite & quartz blocks will be auctioned on March 14. These mines have a cumulative reserve of 1,133 million tonnes of limestone, iron ore and graphite & quartz.

amended rules Each round of auction went on for a minimum of three months, which saw many blocks getting annulled time and again. A minimum of 3 bidders required in the first attempt to auction.

33 blocks have been successfully auctioned with an estimated revenue of Rs 1.28 lakh crore over the lease period to the states — Reuters (file) Of these eight blocks, only one limestone block in Chhattisgarh is reserved for clinker and cement plants, while there is no end use reservation for the remaining, the ministry said. The ministry, meanwhile is also contemplating at setting up special purpose vehicles (SPVs) that will acquire necessary project clearances, including environmental, for the mineral blocks before bidding, a move that may add pace to the auction process, an official said.

Mines Secretary Arun Kumar had said last month that recent changes in bidding rules are expected to lead to wider participation and a smoothening of the process. “We had rounds of discussions and have brought out the amendments in auction rules which we feel will go a long way in smoothening the process,” he has said. So far, 33 mineral blocks have been auctioned and revenue to the states estimated at Rs 1,28,000 crore over the lease period.

However, under the amended rules, states have the flexibility of allocating the block in round-2 itself even if there are less than 3 bidders.

This fiscal, so far 12 mineral blocks have been auctioned, which brought a revenue of Rs 48,000 crore over a lease period of 50 years to the states. Almost 30 blocks will be put up on auction in January 2018, which is the highest in a month since the auction route was adopted for allotment of the mineral blocks. Prior to the changed guidelines, the process of auction used to get scrapped if there were less than three bidders and this process was carried out for at least three rounds. —PTI

Ongoing tourist taxi stir posing threat to Goa’s tourism industry Panaji: With the strike by taxi operators in Goa entering the third day on Sunday, the tourism industry is worried about facing a backlash from travellers. The tourist taxi operators in Goa are on a strike since Friday to protest the state government’s rule making it mandatory for their vehicles to have speed governors. The BJP-led government has refused to exempt the tourist taxi operators from installing speed governors citing a Supreme Court order. Taxis without the speedlimiting gadgets will not be issued fitness certificates by

impact showing The impact of the strike has already started showing on the tourism industry, a major revenue earner for the government. Goa is currently witnessing peak tourist season. the Transport Department from February 24, it has said. Several tourists who arrived in the state were stranded at the airport for hours together as their holiday package included pick-up and drop facility.

In the absence of tourist taxis, hotels have failed to arrange for any transport for their guests, who have to manage on their own to reach their destinations. A few tourists complained of over-charging by autorickshaws and other transport services which are doing a brisk business due to the strike. “The strike will affect the industry in the long run as a lot of people are going back from Goa with bad memories of being fleeced or over-charged,” said Savio Messiah, President, the Travel and Tours Association of Goa. —PTI

New Delhi: The ruling CPM in Tripura is seeing red over a Hindi feature film called ‘Lal Sarkar’ which the party believes is a part of the BJP’s electoral campaign in the state ahead of Assembly polls. Scheduled to be released in the first week of February, ‘Lal Sarkar’ — or the Red Government — is about a documentary filmmaker who discovers the alleged wrongdoings of the Left Frontruled government in the northeastern state. Producer and writer Susheel Sharman held that the film had nothing to do with the BJP or the February 18 Assembly polls, but was based on facts. “I have used my own money to make this film. The BJP has nothing to do with it. It is a commercial film, but based on facts,” Sharman said. The CPM, however, insisted that the BJP was behind the film and questioned the timing of its release. “In every constituency they have brought vehicles with big screens. Why are they releasing the film in February, just before the elections? The producer may not say so, but the BJP is behind it,” CPM Tripura state secretary Bijan Dhar said. The BJP denied it was in any way connected with the

BJP president Amit Shah in Tripura —file Photo

It’s completely untrue that the BJP is behind the film. But if the film shows the truth about the Tripura government, I welcome it. Sunil Deodhar, In-charge of Tripura BJP film. “It’s completely untrue that the BJP is behind the film. But if the film shows the truth about the Tripura government, I welcome it,” said Sunil Deodhar, in-charge of Tripura BJP. Sharman, however, said BJP Member of Parliament

showcasing skills

Army personel perform acrobatics on their bikes as they take part in a rehearsal ahead of the forthcoming Republic Day parade in Kolkata on Sunday —AFP

‘Pak hasn’t forgotten Crores join hands, back Nitish’s anti-dowry campaign enmity with India’ Vithika Salomi vithika.salomi@dnaindia.net

Guwahati: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said India has forgotten all enmity against Pakistan but same is not the case with the neighbouring country. Addressing a gathering of RSS ‘swayamsevaks’ in NorthEast here, days before three states of the region go to polls, the RSS chief said India will survive as long as Hinduism thrives. “Struggle took place. Pakistan was born. ‘Bharatvarsh’ forgot the enmity with Pakistan from August 15, 1947. Pakistan has not forgotten it yet. This is the difference between Hindu nature and other nature,” Bhagwat said at the rally. Bhagwat said all ancient civilisation such as Mahenjodaro, Harappa and our culture developed in places which are now in Pakistan. “Why didn’t Pak tell (India) to take another name since every thing of ‘Bharat’ has emerged from here. So we are ‘Bharat’ and you take any other name. “They did not say this and rather wanted to separate from the name ‘Bharat’. Because they know that with the name ‘Bharat’, Hindutva comes in. And Hindutva is there, so is ‘Bharat’,” he said.

Mohan Bhagwat at the rally —PTI The RSS chief said that despite its diversity, India was united because of Hindutva. “We have internal unity based on Hindutva and that is why India is a Hindu Rashtra. “Others talk, but do not behave. India teaches others with its own behaviour. The world names this nature of ‘Bharatvarsh’ as Hindutva. That is why the people of ‘Bharatvarsh’ are called Hindu,” he said. “If the people of India forget the Hindutva sentiment, their relation with the country also gets snapped,” he added. Bhagwat said that during the formation of Bangladesh, the country did not merge with India despite having similarities with it because of lack of Hindu sentiment. —PTI

Patna: Nearly four crore of the Bihar’s 11 crore population stood hand in hand on Sunday, forming a human chain that stretched almost 14,000 kms across the length and breadth of the state in support of eradication of dowry and child marriage, a social awareness campaign launched by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on October 2 last year. The chain commenced

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar among others at the human chain —DNA with CM Nitish, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi and their cabinet colleagues and senior

bureaucrats at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, where it was in shape of Bihar’s map. Nitish

released balloons with the slogan ‘Na Dahej Na Baal Vivah’ to mark the commencement of the event at 12 noon. From here, four branches of the chain were taken out in four different directions extending on the national and state highways and other sub-routes in the 38 districts of the state. Speaking to media after the 30-minute event, Nitish said the campaign to stop dowry and child marriage will continue. “This is just a manifes-

tation of people’s resolve and I am satisfied at the response,” he said and added that he will also review how fruitful the campaign has been. On January 21 last year, a similar human chain of 11,500 km in length and comprising 3.11 crore people was formed in Bihar in support of prohibition and de-addiction. “The official figures on participants will be available only by Monday as data from the panchayat level has to be collected,” said a top official.

Babul Supriyo had sung a song for free for the film. “One of the songs has been sung by Babul Supriyo. He has not taken any money for the song. He treats me like his younger brother. We share a personal relationship that has nothing to do with the BJP,” Sharman said. The producer added the film was to have been released last month. “We had planned the film almost two years ago. The film was supposed to have been released in December 2017, but post-production work took a lot of time,” he said. “Nobody in the country knows about the things which are happening in Tripura,” the producer said. —PTI

Avalanche threat in J-K, cold conditions prevail in North New Delhi: Severe cold conditions continued unabated in northern parts of the country today with an avalanche warning being issued for 15 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, including two in the Ladakh region, which is experiencing extreme temperatures. The situation was no better in Himachal Pradesh, with the mercury in high-altitude areas in the state hovering between minus 12 and minus 18 degrees Celsius. The Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) has warned of a low-danger level 1 and level 2 avalanche in the districts, with the Jammu and Kashmir government asking people to take precautionary measures. The warning has been issued for areas in the higher reaches of Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Udhampur, Anantnag, Kulgam and Budgam for the next 24 hours, an official in Srinagar said. Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.1 degrees Celsius while Kargil continued to be the coldest place in the state at minus 20.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday night, a Meteorological (MeT) Department official said. —PTI

FIR against 3 suspended Saharanpur cops NGT orders ‘intensive Saharanpur (UP): Three police personnel have been booked in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district for refusing to take two wounded teenagers to a hospital allegedly because they did not want blood stains in their vehicle, a senior police officer said on Sunday. The delay led to the death of Arpit Khurana and his friend Sunny, both aged 17. The two were on their way home on Friday night, when they lost control over their motor-bike and it crashed into a pole in Beri Bagh area. Saharanpur SP (City) Pra-

left to die The suspended cops had refused to take two wounded teens to hospital.

For representation bal Pratap Singh said the trio was booked under IPC section 304 A (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). A departmental inquiry has also been initiated against

The cops allegedly didn’t want blood stains on their vehicle, and the delay resulted in death of the teenagers. the accused policemen, he said. On the basis of a complaint by an eyewitness, the FIR was registered against the policemen at Janakpuri

police station late Saturday night. Locals rushed to the scene and pulled the teens out of a drain they had fallen into after the crash. The teenagers were seriously wounded, the SP said, adding that the residents then informed the police on the ‘Dial 100’ service. They said the policemen who reached the site refused to take the wounded persons in their vehicle to a hospital. The Dial-100 service has been initiated by the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure better policing. —PTI

survey’ of UP rivers New Delhi: The NGT has ordered “intensive survey” of the Kali, Krishna and the Hindon rivers in western Uttar Pradesh and directed the inspection of 316 industries which are allegedly polluting the water bodies. The order comes after a plea filed by an NGO alleged that 50 villagers have died of cancer in western UP. A bench headed by acting Chairperson Justice U D Salvi constituted a committee comprising officials from the Central Pollution Control Board

(CPCB), state pollution control board, UP Jal Nigam to jointly inspect and carry out survey of the rivers and groundwater in six districts in the western part of the state. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was hearing a petition filed by NGO Doaba Paryavaran Samiti head C V Singh, a retired scientist of Haryana Pollution Control Board, who has alleged that due to the consumption of contaminated groundwater more than 50 villagers have died of cancer in western UP. —PTI

Dolphins spotted at Olive Ridley Tourists to get a taste of big fat Bengali weddings nesting site in Odisha’s Ganjam Berhampur: The Rushikulya river mouth off Ganjam coast in Odisha, famous for mass nesting of endangered Olive Ridley turtles, has attracted quite a few dolphins too, a forest official has said. Forest personnel sighted the dolphins belonging to different species in the sea from Purunabandh to Prayagi during a census conducted on Friday. The dolphin census was carried out by the forest departent in the 54-km coastline off Ganjam. Twenty-six dolphins of two species - 15 humpback dolphins and 11 bottlenose dolphins - were sighted,

For representation said divisional forest officer (Berhampur), A K Behera. “Of the 26, nine were found between Purunabandh and Prayagi, the rookery of the Olive Ridley turtles,” he said.

Between Prayagi and Nua Boxipalli, 11 dolphins were sighted and six were found in the stretch fro Markandi to Pati Sonepur. Last year too, some dolphins were sighted off the Ganjam coast. “The coast houses different species of the sea mammal,” said the DFO. “We will submit a report to the government for the conservation and protection of these dolphins soon,” he added. The Purunabandh-Prayagi area is famous for the mass nesting of millions of Olive Ridley turtles. —PTI

Kolkata: The West Bengal government is planning to promote theme-based packages for foreign tourists who wish to know about the culture and traditions of the people here. Besides jazzing up the Durga Puja celebrations — which happen to be a major crowd puller — the state tourism department is preparing a ‘bridal tourism’ package to showcase the rituals of Bengali marriages to the foreigners and seek their participation in the event. “The bridal tourism package will offer foreigners a chance to witness the colourful rituals of a Bengali marriage. They will find it interest-

catching on

West Bengal ranks fifth among Indian states in terms of foreign tourist arrivals, ahead of Rajasthan, Goa and Kerala. The tourism sector of West Bengal has created around 5,00,000 jobs over the past few years.

For representation ing as they are not accustomed to anything like this three-day long gala at Bengali homes,” West Bengal Tourism Minister Gautam Deb said. The nitty-gritty of the

package, such as ways to connect the tourists to the households where marriages would be held, are being chalked out at the moment, Deb said. The guests will be able to

witness from close quarters the ‘haldi’ or ‘gayey halud’ ceremony (turmeric smearing), exchange of garlands, and sindur daan (vermilion ritual). The tourists will also get a

taste of the lavish Bengali spread at the weddings and the reception ceremonies, he said. At a recent meet with travel operators from different parts of the globe, including the US, the UK, Russia and Australia, the minister had promised unique experiences for the tourists. “Bengal is a sweet destination. We will offer our guests wonderful experiences,” he told them. The state tourism department is currently working on a plan to offer a diverse portfolio of niche products cruises, adventure, wellness, medical and education besides homestays. —PTI

NEW DELHI I MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

daily news & analysis

Gutted in apathy

opini n

Fire tragedies have become routine affairs

he devastating blaze at a firecracker factory on the outskirts of Delhi will become another piece of data, or just a footnote, in the history of criminal negligence. It wouldn’t matter that 17 people, all of them were workers in the factory, lost their lives in the mishap. In a routine gesture of taking action, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, no different from his counterparts elsewhere in India, has ordered a probe, biding his time till the dust settles down. After all, people dying for no fault of their own is too insignificant an incident for the government to crack the whip. North Delhi Mayor Preeti Aggarwal’s insensitive remark caught on camera sums up the official attitude. She is keen on saving her own skin because the factory fell in her jurisdiction. Aggarwal is part of the system that looks away from violations because the owners of factories and establishments know how to bribe their way through. Corruption, at an institutional level, is so endemic that no amount of resistance – in the form of legislation or citizen movements – can make a noticeable impact. Understandably, official response, in terms of taking tough actions against those issuing permits and licences, is tardy and haphazard, and in most cases just an eyewash. In the wake of the Mumbai fire tragedy on December 29, five civic officials were suspended as a face-saving gesture. Since then, only four people have been arrested, of which one is a fire official who had issued a fire no-objection certificate to the rooftop resto bar from where the blaze had originated. Our cities are dangerous places to live in. Delhi is a tinderbox, so to speak. No lessons were learnt from the Uphaar Cinema fire in 1997 in which 59 people suffocated to death and many more were critically injured in the stampede. A probe into the mishap had revealed how corruption facilitated the violations of fire code norms. Yet, 20 years later, in the wake of the Mumbai tragedy, it was revealed that most eateries in Khan Market and Hauz Khas, the upscale party hubs in the national capital, do not have fire licences. Mumbai, the city of sky-kissing towers and sprawling slums, is in a disadvantageous position. Not many fire engines have the ladder to reach the top floors of high-rises. In the city’s slums, a minor spark can lead to a huge conflagration, given the nature of the construction. Temporary structures of bamboo and wood with inflammable substances inside is a textbook case for disaster. The Mumbai civic corporation, when it deigns to carry out a fire audit in residential and commercial establishments, turns it into an opportunity to seek bribes. Let’s accept the harsh truth. The people who died in the firecracker factory were poor. Their lives didn’t matter. How many of us remember that 12 workers died of asphyxiation in a Mumbai snacks factory just 10 days before the Kamala Mills tragedy? In India, public memory is notoriously short, and this amnesia has been a blessing for civic authorities.

No, minister!

Satyapal’s take on Darwinism no laughing matter

ome politicians wear their ignorance like a badge of honour. Satyapal Singh, the Minister of State for Human Resource Development is one such man. His “PhD in chemistry from Delhi University” notwithstanding, the Union minister has challenged Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution on the grounds that “nobody has seen an ape turn into a man”. Will someone please tell Singh that evolution isn’t like instant coffee or pizza but a slow, gradual process involving millions of years. In his seminal work titled On the Origin of Species, Darwin had proposed in 1859 that “organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable physical or behavioural traits. Changes that allow an organism to better adapt to its environment will help it survive and have more offspring”. Over the years, this theory of evolution by natural selection was supported by evidence from a wide variety of scientific disciplines, such as palaeontology, geology, genetics and developmental biology. Ironically, the survival of the fittest theory has undergone some modifications in politics, where the toughest and the most ignorant currently rule the roost. It’s a fact, as Singh claimed, that there is a lot of literature available on the Internet that claims to challenge Darwinism. Had they contained a grain of truth, the world would have sat up and taken note immediately. In an age, where information travels faster than light and halftruths are peddled as gospel, Singh should have been a little more circumspect. After all, he’s an educated man. The former Mumbai top cop can’t resist triggering a controversy. Last time, he had set tongues wagging with “how many boys will marry a girl who goes to her wedding in jeans?” remark. This time, the media has devoted considerable time and energy to showcase his ignorance. Singh should thank Darwin for that.

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Come rain, snow or sunshine Do not believe in Donald Trump’s scornful dismissals; climate change is at our doorstep By invitation Vandana Vasudevan

s Republic Day approaches, I think of several parades on Rajpath which I have attended swathed in sweaters and walking through the morning mist to find our seats. The weather was an important factor to be considered in the decision to go to and see the parade live, or curl up at home in front of the TV. I suspect this year coping with the cold is not going to be difficult. If you live in the north and strike up a conversation about the prevailing winters with anyone who is, say, above 35 years of age, you will hear a lament about how the winters are just not what they used to be. Growing up in Delhi in the 1980s, winter was always from Diwali to Holi, ie, beginning in October and going right upto end March with January being utterly cold. Anecdotally, NCR residents are appalled at how the winters have shortened. Barely has one gotten out the woollens and it is time to pack them up again as the temperatures are too high even before Holi to warrant wearing woollens. Even in the two months which can still be called winters — December and January — one needs much less than before. Heavy coats and jackets lie untouched as one can usually get by with a single sweater. Our drawing room talk is in consonance with what professional meteorologists are saying. A study by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, that examined changes in temperatures across India from 1950-2005 found that while maximum temperatures showed an upward trend, minimum temperatures are also rising, across seasons. In other words, all temperatures seem to be rising, which explains why summers are becoming unbearable and winters are barely felt. Documentary filmmaker Jalalud din Baba, who has made award-winning films on how climate change affects his homeland of Kashmir, mentions in an interview that he met a cherry farmer up in the mountains who told him that, for several years, it was not snowing in Kashmir like it should in January and February. But in the spring, there is sudden snowfall, adversely affecting the harvest of cherries, almonds and apples. Saffron, the kesar we put in biryani and desserts, is the delicate stigma of a bush that is well suited to the state’s climate, grown in Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar. This year Kashmir had the lowest saffron productivity in the past 50 years because of insufficient rainfall. Bizarre weather is all around us if we even casually observe cities which we are connected to through family or visit frequently on work. Chennaiites

Kashmir suffers due to bizarre weather conditions. This year, the state had the lowest saffron productivity in 50 years because of insufficient rainfall will tell you how the rainy season in the city was always between October and December but in 2017 in the end of October there was heavy downpour, flooded streets and Chennai residents were bracing themselves for a repeat of the horror of 2015. In one week, the city received 74 per cent of its expected rainfall for the season! Some observers are cautious and use words like “climate variability” instead of climate change, while others are convinced that Chennai’s erratic rainfall in the past decade or so indicates that something is amiss. Some weather buttons are getting wrongly pressed at the wrong time. Extreme Rainfall events called EREs, which Chennai-ites have witnessed in recent years, have also shown a threefold increase in occurrence over central India according to scientists from Pune’s Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, whose findings were published in the prestigious journal Nature. There are many instances we can observe of uneven rain distribution even within a local geography along with wide variations in intensity. Parts of Greater Noida received barely any rain

QUOTE HANGER Kapil Sibal @KapilSibal Minister dumps Darwin’s theory: “ ..ancestors ..” never “ saw an ape turning into a man.” But today we see men turning into apes! Dr David Frawley @davidfrawleyved The anti-Hindutva Hindus have been excusing jihadis, raising the charge of saffron terror, supporting Communists & ignoring missionary targeting of Hindus. P. Chidambaram @PChidambaram_IN Govt cuts borrowing by Rs 30,000 crore, but ONGC will borrow Rs 30,000 crore to pay govt for HPCL shares. It has the same effect.

last monsoon while the neighbouring town of Noida, 25 kilometres away was getting soaked. On a state-wide scale, eastern UP was flooded while rain in western UP was patchy. In September, heavy rains and strong winds lashed bajra and vegetable crops which were ready to be harvested. Be-mausam ki baarish may be inspirational for a poet but wreaks havoc in farmers’ lives. There are two separate issues here. One is about how erratic weather, unseasonal rain and extreme climatic events are becoming observable even to lay people. Climate change experts agree that most of the climatic variations observ-

able over the past 50 years is because of human activity and the usual suspects of deforestation, urbanisation and industrialisation. The other issue is about how cities are adversely impacted because of these variations. It is clear that world over, loss to life and property due to floods, droughts, cyclones, cold and heat waves are increasing steeply since the last decade of the twentieth century. But the jury is still out on whether this is because more such extreme weather events are occurring or due to increased vulnerability of cities and towns whose infrastructure is struggling to meet the needs of a growing population. Climate science moves slowly, observing phenomena for several decades before venturing to make a link between cause and effect. Forget the Paris agreement, Rio conference and Trump’s scornful dismissals and just look around you. The lived experience of people seems to point to the fact that climate change is at our doorstep, affecting us in our own lifetimes. The writer is the author of the book Urban Villager: Life in an Indian satellite town

slowburn

Syrian children die in freezing cold

Taslima Nasreen @taslimanasreen Goons decide what writers should write, what artists should paint, what filmmakers should make. Fanatics decide what people should eat, drink or wear. Free speech? Just some words!

hen 12 Syrians, including two children, undertook a journey to escape the harsh realities of the war, it was an act of ultimate desperation. They froze to death in search of a better life. While drawing the world’s attention to the tragedy, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report on Saturday also warned that more could be trapped along the route. “More children could be among the dead as residents in the area and the Lebanese authorities continue to look for people who are reportedly trapped in the mountains in freezing temperatures and snow,” it said. The tragic incident occurred near the border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. Though UNICEF has been distributing blankets, warm clothes, and fuel to help families cope with the harsh winter in Syria and other countries in the region, it is hobbled by lack of funds. Till now, UNICEF has received only half of the funding needed for winter response, and if urgent funding is not received, it will not be able to reach nearly 800,000 children with winter assistance. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians – entire villages according to several sources – have been risking their

“It was a quite difficult race as there were a lot of people (casual participants in other noncompetitive events) on the road. It was difficult to concentrate. It was difficult to get water also.” —Amane Gobena, winner, slams Mumbai Marathon organisers

lives since the civil war broke out. As developed countries cut aid packages as part of fiscal prudence, they put a huge question mark over the lives of a section of humanity. To tide over a mammoth crisis, international aid organisations need huge financial support.

Australian women march for global cause

he women of the world, divided by geographies, are united for a common cause. Thousands of Australian women rallied in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne on Sunday to express their solidarity with the international Women’s March movement calling for reform of sexual assault laws and a change of culture. The previous year had witnessed a tsunami of responses with the #MeToo campaign attracting millions of women from all walks of life voicing their protest and disgust against sexual predators who exploited their positions of authority. Similar marches are also happening across the United States and Europe.

Dr NC Asthana

egarding the alleged use of the so-called armour-piercing 7.62x39mm bullets by the terrorists in the recent Lethpora, Pulwama encounter in which 5 CRPF personnel were martyred and the resulting brouhaha over a supposedly new threat dimension, there are compelling reasons to strongly suspect that it is a hoax rooted in abject ignorance of the whole science and engineering of weapon systems in general and bullets in particular. True armour-piercing bullets have to have cores of extremely hard and dense material like tungsten-chrome alloy, tungsten carbide, manganesemolybdenum steel or depleted uranium. No other material would penetrate RHA steel or ceramic armour. Contrary to popular misconception, the notorious Teflon coating on KTW AP bullets (the so-called ‘cop killer’ bullets) did not help in penetration of Kevlar-based soft body armour in any

way — it was just a simple device to protect the rifling of the barrel from excessive erosion due to the hard core of the bullet. The core of a true AP bullet is so hard that aircraft mechanics on US airbases have used the bullet of the .50 BMG as pick punches in the past. The media and the lay people deriving their knowledge from Internet forums of the uninitiated and similar unauthentic sources are talking of a steel core bullet as if it were something new or extraordinary. It is not so. The steel cores commonly used in 7.62x39mm bullets are made of mild steel, not the hardened steel. The MHA specifications for the BP jackets also speak of resistance to 7.62x39mm mild steel core bullets. There is nothing new in it. Mild steel cores with or without a little lead cladding have been extremely common since the 1940s. The reason is simple. Mild steel cores are way cheaper than using lead-antimony alloy. They are not armour-piercing by

REUTERS

Hoax of armour-piercing bullets fired by ignorance

any chance and, in fact, their lethality on human bodies is a little less because they do not deform like lead. The Chinese firm Norinco is, in

fact, known since ages for its very cheap mild steel core bullets. Using manganese-molybdenum steel would increase the cost dramati-

cally and defeat the very USP of low cost. In fact, even the jacket engaging the rifling is made of mild steel which is copper washed to prevent corrosion and save cost. This is mistakenly thought to be a copper jacket! The rather illogical US Federal classification in respect of the Nornico bullets is based on materials and bullet design rather than on its ability to penetrate armour. It is due to such intrinsic illogicalities in the definitions that the Obama administration’s proposed ban on the M855 5.56mm ‘green tip’ bullets had to be eventually dropped in the face of fierce opposition from citizens keen on liberty. At least 23 different makes of the 7.62x39mm bullets are available in the international market. Not one of them is mass-produced as AP bullet. It is possible to make AP bullets in any calibre, though the ballistics would have to be sacrificed, it has to be custom-made because mass production would not be economical. Any

reason to suspect custom-making becomes an entirely different and very serious matter. While a laboratory analysis of the bullets recovered is supposedly pending, I must caution against placing undue trust in the analysis. The Indian labs are known neither for knowledge nor for integrity. The instances of the totally botched up laboratory analyses of the samples of Maggi; the so-called PETN in UP Assembly; CD of the Anara Gupta case; and description of arsenic sulphide as explosive capable of derailing trains are some of the glaring examples of how they fumble and bungle. The lab findings often seem to cater to the popular notions prevailing about a certain thing. It would be better to carry out some systematic scientific testing of our own BP jackets and BP materials for their resistance first before jumping to any conclusion about AP bullets. The author, an IPS, is DGP (Modernization), Kerala

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in brief

Ash plumes rise from the volcano on Kadovar Island, Papua New Guinea —AP

Papua New Guinea volcano erupts again Syndey: An island volcano in Papua New Guinea erupted again Sunday, sending plumes of steam and ash into the air. Thousands of people have been evacuated from islands surrounding Kadovar Island off the South Pacific nation’s north coast since the volcano there began erupting on January 5.

Rally against the name ‘Macedonia’ Thessaloniki: Greeks in the northern city of Thessaloniki gathered on Sunday for a protest against the use of the word “Macedonia” in any solution to a row between Athens and Skopje over the name of the former Yugoslav republic. It will be the first big protest in Greece since the two countries agreed this month to renew efforts to settle the 25-year old dispute.

Woman given death for joining IS Baghdad: An Iraqi court said Sunday it had condemned to death by hanging a German woman of Moroccan origin after finding her guilty of belonging to the Islamic State jihadist group. She was sentenced for providing “logistical support and helping the terrorist group to carry out crimes,” said court spokesman Abdel Settar Bayraqdar.

Turkish troops enter Syria in operation against Kurds Ankara, in seeking to oust the YPG, risks increasing tensions with ally US

Istanbul: Turkish ground troops entered Syria on Sunday to push an offensive against Kurdish militia as rocket fire hit a border town in apparent retaliation. Turkey on Saturday launched operation “Olive Branch” seeking to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara considers a terror group. But the campaign risks further increasing tensions with Turkey’s NATO ally the United States -- which has supported the YPG in the fight against Islamic State jihadists -- and also needs at least the tacit support of Russia to succeed. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said troops crossed into the YPG-controlled region in Syria at 8:05 am, the Dogan news agency reported. Turkish artillery and war planes pounded YPG sites around Afrin and total of 153

Lavrov, Tillerson discuss situation

Turkish artillerys shell the People’s Protection Units (YPG) positions near the Syrian border targets, including YPG refuges and weapons stores have now been hit, according to the army. The state-run Anadolu news agency said the Turkish troops, whose number was not specified, were advancing alongside forces from the proAnkara rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and were already five kilometres (three

Tensions mount ahead of Rohingya relocation Gungdum: Tensions mounted on Sunday at refugee camps in Bangladesh holding hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims over an operation to send them back to Myanmar, from where they have fled following a military crackdown. Dozens of refugees stood holding cloth banners opposing their transfer as United Nations Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee visited camps along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border over the weekend. Some refugee leaders said Bangladesh military officials had threatened to seize their food ration cards if they did not return. Under an agreement

signed last week, Myanmar is set to receive Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh at two reception centres and a temporary camp near their common border starting on Tuesday and continuing over the next two years. The refugees refuse to go back unless their safety can be guaranteed and Myanmars grant their demands to be given citizenship and inclusion in a list of recognised ethnic minorities. They are also asking that their homes, mosques and schools that were burned down or damaged in the military operation be rebuilt. —Reuters

UK school forced to reverse ban on hijab London: One of the UK’s leading state-funded schools which had hit the headlines as one of the first to impose a ban on the hijab for girls under eight has been forced to reverse its decision after widespread criticism. St Stephen’s School in Newham, east London, had been planning to extend the ban to girls under 11 but has chosen to withdraw the plans. “The school’s uniform policy is based on the health, safety and welfare of our children. The school has taken the decision to make changes to this policy with immediate effect and this follows on from conversations with our school community,” the school said in a statement.

Germany’s SPD backs coalition talks with Merkel Berlin: Germany’s centreleft Social Democrats voted Sunday to begin formal coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, bringing Europe’s top economy a step closer to a new government after months of deadlock. At a special party congress in the western city of Bonn, 372 out of 642 party delegates backed SPD chief Martin Schulz’s push to approve a preliminary coalition deal painstakingly hammered out with Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc. The thumbs-up will come as a huge relief to Merkel, staving off the threat of snap polls or the unappealing prospect of leading an unstable minority government. It also means a reprieve for Schulz who had staked his political future on a “yes” vote, despite initially rejecting another stint as Merkel’s junior coalition partner. —AFP

SPD chief Martin Schulz

“We will work with our school community to continue to review this policy going forward in the best interests of our children,” it adds. Arif Qawi, the chair of governors of the school who had recently called on the UK government to take a firm stand on young children wearing the hijab and fasting during Ramadan, resigned from his post. —PTI

Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson discussed the Syrian conflict in a telephone call, in particular ways to bring stability to the country’s north, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday. —Reuters miles) inside Syria. An AFP correspondent on the southwestern edge of the Afrin region saw a warplane bombing the western outskirts of the area early on Sunday. A small unit from a Turkish-backed rebel group was manning a monitoring point on a hilltop overlooking several Kurdish-controlled villages below. —AFP

France asks Turkey to act with restraint Paris: France has asked Turkey to act with restraint in Syria, French Foreign Minister JeanYves Le Drian said on Sunday after speaking by phone with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. “France calls on Turkish authorities to act with restraint in a difficult context, with the humanitarian situation deteriorating in several regions of Syria as a consequence of the military actions of the Damascus regime and its allies,” Le Drian said in a statement. —Reuters

Kinhasa: At least five people were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, the UN said, as the authorities cracked down on a banned protest against President Joseph Kabila. Witnesses said security forces fired live rounds and tear gas in Kinshasa to disperse demonstrators who gathered after Catholic church leaders called for a mass peaceful demonstration against Kabila’s 17-year rule. In all, the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO said at least five people were killed in Kinshasa and 33 others injured nationwide, while 69 people were arrested.

Demonstrators kneel and chant slogans during a protest in Kinshasa on Sunday—Reuters A 16-year-old girl died after shots were fired from an armoured vehicle at the entrance to a church in the Kitambo area of the capital, Jean-Baptise Sondji, a former minister and govern-

A balloon is tied to a child’s push chair during the Tamborrada on the Day of San Sebastian, in which people dressed as Napoleonic era soldiers and cooks perform in the Basque coastal town of San Sebastian, Spain —Reuters

pence in mideast Pence is on a tour of Middle East that concludes in Israel. In Egypt, he said Washington would support a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians if the two sides agreed to it

Jordan’s King Abdullah

Loosen grip on economy, Revolutionary Guard told Dubai: Iran’s supreme leader has ordered the Revolutionary Guard to loosen its hold on the economy, the country’s defence minister says, raising the possibility that the paramilitary organisation might privatize some of its vast holdings. The comments this weekend by Defence Minister General Amir Hatami appear to be a trial balloon to test the reaction of the idea, long pushed by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate. Protests over the country’s poor economy last month escalated into demonstrations directly

challenging the government. But whether the Guard would agree remains unclear, as the organization is estimated to hold around a third of the country’s entire economy. Hatami, the first nonGuard-affiliated military officer to be made defence minister in nearly 25 years, made the comments in an interview published Saturday by the state-run IRAN newspaper. He said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered both the country’s regular military and the Guard to get out of businesses not directly affiliated to their work. —AP

Islamabad: Amid mounting global pressure on Pakistan to act against Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and entities linked to him, a UN Security Council 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 UN Security Council’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 increasing 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. Saeed was listed under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008. On Friday, the US State Department said it has told clearly to Islamabad that Saeed is a “terrorist” and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. —PTI

Pence was in Amman on the second leg of a threecountry tour that concludes in Israel. In comments delivered in Egypt, he said Wash-

ment opponent, told AFP. Sunday’s bloody crackdown comes three weeks after a similar march on New Year’s Eve ended in deadly violence, during which organisers said a dozen people were killed. “An armoured car passed in front of the church. They began firing live bullets, I protected myself,” Sondji, who is also a doctor, said by telephone. “A girl who was at the left side door of the church was hit by a bullet,” he said, adding that she was already dead when she was taken by taxi to hospital. —AFP

N Korea delegates arrive in the South for inspection Seoul: North Korean delegates arrived in South Korea on Sunday to prepare for cultural performances during next month’s Winter Olympics, in the first visit by Pyongyang officials to the South for four years. Television footage showed seven officials led by Hyon Song-Wol, the leader of the North’s popular Moranbong girl band, crossing the heavily-fortified border by bus before arriving at Seoul train station about an hour later. The stony-faced officials, surrounded by hundreds of Seoul police officers, then boarded a train to the eastern city of Gangneung, where one of two planned concerts is due to be held. Hyon, a star singer and also the leader of the 140-member Samjiyon Orchestra chosen to visit the South, left the station in Gangneung without talking to throngs of journalists. After months of high tensions over the North’s missile and nuclear tests, the neighbours agreed this month that North Korean athletes, cheerleaders, artistic troupes and other delegates would attend the Games beginning in the South’s ski resort of Pyeongchang on February 9. The International Olympic Committee on Saturday endorsed the deal, saying the North would send 22 athletes in sports ranging from figure

Not all in South happy about hockey team Seoul: South Koreans seem generally happy they’ll see the North Koreans at their Olympics, but aren’t as pleased about sharing a team with them. The agreement between the war-separated rivals to field a unified women’s ice hockey team at February’s Winter Olympics has triggered a debate in South Korea, where there’s no longer strong public clamour for reunification or for using sports to make political statements. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the unified team would provide a “historically grand moment” once it appears on ice. —AP skating to short-track speed skating. “It marks the opening of the door towards peaceful coexistence and peaceful cooperation forged through sports,” Seoul’s sports minister Do Jong-Hwan, who attended Saturday’s meeting, told reporters on returning to Seoul. —AFP

Hyon Song Wol, head of North Korea’s Samjiyon Orchestra arrives at a railway station in Gangneung, South Korea —Reuters

‘Democrats ‘complicit’ in murders by immigrants’

baby’s day out

told Pence at the start of the talks in the royal palace. Jordan lost East Jerusalem and the West Bank to Israel during the Arab-Israeli war in 1967.

UNSC sanctions monitoring team to visit Pakistan

At least 5 dead in DR Congo protest crackdown, says UN

‘East Jerusalem must be capital of Palestine’ Amman: Jordan’s King Abdullah voiced concern on Sunday over a decision by Washington to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying East Jerusalem had to be the capital of a future Palestinian state. In remarks during talks with US Vice Mike Pence in Amman, the king said the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a two-state one. “The US decision on Jerusalem... does not come as a result of a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” the monarch

ington would support a twostate solution for Israelis and Palestinians if the two sides agreed to it. Last month’s endorsement of Israel’s claim to Jerusalem as its capital by President Donald Trump drew universal condemnation from Arab leaders and widespread criticism elsewhere. It also broke with decades of US policy that the city’s status must be decided in negotiations with the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. —Reuters

Washington: US President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on Saturday issued a new video ad calling Democrats “complicit” in murders committed by illegal immigrants, during a government shutdown partly triggered by an impasse over immigration. The Trump campaign released the ad, titled “Complicit,” on the anniversary of the Republican president’s inauguration. It focuses on an undocumented immigrant, Luis Bracamontes, charged in the 2014 killings of two police officers in Sacramento, California. The man’s lawyers had questioned his sanity but a judge found him mentally competent to stand trial, according to a report last week in the Sacramento Bee. “Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants,” the ad says. The new ad is likely to anger Democrats and immigration advocates and could inflame tensions over the issue on Capitol Hill, where Democrats and Republicans were working through the weekend to reach an agreement that would reopen the government. A news release announcing the ad blamed Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for the shutdown,

In New York, Statue of Liberty shuts down

Library of Congress posts a sign letting people know it is closed due the shut down of the government on Saturday in Washington —AP

prez’s campaign “Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants,” Trump’s campaign ad says. It is likely to anger Democrats and immigration advocates

accusing him and Democrats of “holding lawful citizens hostage over their demands for amnesty for illegal immigrants.” Schumer’s spokesman said in an email, “This is a shameless attempt by the president to distract from the Trump shutdown. Rather than campaigning, he should do his job and negotiate a deal to open the government address the needs of the American people.” —Reuters

New York/Washington: Tourists who came to Battery Park in lower Manhattan hoping to catch a ferry to the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor got an unpleasant surprise on Saturday, learning the must-see destination was closed because of the US government shutdown. The National Park Service announced on Friday afternoon that it would close the historic statue and nearby Ellis Island to visitors if Congress failed to reach a funding deal by midnight. Apparently, not everyone got the word. “If they knew it was being shut down, they should have told us,” said Amparo Mendez, 17. The Argentine exchange student came to Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan with a friend, having purchased tickets online last week to visit the statue and Ellis Island. “We came with the notion to see the Statue of Liberty, and it’s not the same to see it from here,” said her 16-yearold friend, Brunella Pettoroso, looking out at the majestic, green-tinged statue, a symbol of American democracy. —Reuters

The juice startup that is putting Mali in a bottle Mali: Scarlet hibiscus petals infuse their flavour in a giant pot of liquid, where green leaves picked from the west African kinkeliba shrub also swirl. With a pinch of ginger and some baobab fruit, the concoction is ready to be tasted. Aissata Diakite’s juices are part of an all-natural health startup which the 28-year-old Malian launched in December, blending traditional flavours with an engineer’s eye for detail. The idea of launching a range of entirely natural fruit juices using locally sourced products from the African savannah came from her childhood in Mopti, a region in central Mali through

which the Niger River flows. And it was there, while studying agribusiness in France, that the project came to fruition. “When I was a student, I used to come back to Mali on holiday and I would drive through rural agricultural areas to meet the farmers, to understand the seasons and how to manage the off-season,” she explains animatedly. And last month, she launched her line of “Zabbaan” juices after meeting prospective buyers at the “Invest in Mali” forum. The business takes its name from the zaban -- or saba senegalensis, a shrublike tree native to the Sahel

Aïssata Diakité, founder of Zabbaan Holding juices —AFP region which grows predominantly on riverbanks and in woodlands, whose fruit and leaves are highly prized.

The forum was not for the fainthearted: Mali is struggling with a jihadist insurgency across large swathes of

its rugged terrain -- including Diakite’s home region -which are currently being patrolled by several international military forces. “Coming to Mali today is an act of faith,” admitted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in a speech at the forum’s opening. Nonetheless, investors pledged some 34 billion CFA francs ($63 million, 52 million euros) to an array of businesses, from solar energy to cement and packaging. The forum was not for the fainthearted: Mali is struggling with a jihadist insurgency across large swathes of its rugged terrain -- including Diakite’s home region. —AFP

sciTe h

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Maharashtra police step up fight against piracy sites Mumbai: The Cyber Cell of the Maharashtra Police has started a ‘digital crime unit’ that works towards systematically eliminating websites that upload pirated content. The initiative, the first of its kind in the country, has been launched under the directives of the home department. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sudhir Shrivastav said representatives of the Motion Picture Association of America had sought the intervention of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis into stopping uploading of pirated content related to the entertainment Industry. “Their contention was that uploading pirated content, including that of Hollywood and Bollywood, on the Internet causes them losses worth billions of dollars annually,” Shrivastav told PTI. He said the chief minister then referred the matter to the Home department, which subsequently asked the Cyber Crime Cell of the police, headed by senior IPS officer Brijesh Singh, to come up with a solution. Singh, who is also the Director General of the state’s publicity department, said contents from the entertainment industry like movies, music albums and books, softwares are regularly uploaded on the Internet. Their owners suffer massive losses when their content is not purchased, but its pirated version is uploaded, he said. —PTI

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Automated ocean pollution Commercialise ISRO’s Li-ion battery: Panel system to begin in April `100-cr project, India’s first, is put together by INCOIS under the Centre Kolkata: India is all set to have its own automated ocean pollution observation system this year which will help keep a tab on ocean pollution levels apart from offering insights on how the marine system is changing, a top scientist has said. According to SSC Shenoi, director, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), the system will become functional by April this year and the cost of the project is estimated to be at Rs 100 crore. INCOIS is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Shenoi said that the new ocean data acquisition system, called automated moorings, will do away with the present practice of collecting water samples from sea and studying their pollution levels thereafter. “This is for the first time India will have such kind of system. In the US you will find it. This is a very effective system in getting the data about the ocean pollution. We will use those data to under-

stand the quality of water,” Shenoi told PTI. He added that the new system will be foolproof. The project will begin from April once it gets a final nod from the government, he said. Shenoi said it will help in monitoring the pollution level of the ocean water and the impact of climate change. “There are reports that the water is becoming anoxic and it could change the marine sytem. These are suspicions and there is nothing concrete. So, this will give us

THE BENEFIT Automated moorings, the new ocean data acquisition system will provide data that will help scientists monitor pollution level of ocean water and the impact of climate change on the marine system a clear picture and help us in the long run,” he said. Anoxic waters are areas of sea water that are depleted of

dissolved oxygen. It will also provide data that will help scientists to understand how the marine system is changing. Shenoi said sensorequipped buoys will be placed in six coastal areas of the country. The sensors, placed at the bottom of the buoys, will be attached to the sea bed so that they are not washed away. The moored ocean buoys will be placed in coastal areas of Digha (WB), Goa, Mumbai, Kochi, Vishakapatanam and Chennai, he said. —PTI

New Delhi: A panel headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha has recommended the commercial use of ISRO’s lithium-ion battery technology under the ‘Make In India’ initiative for electric vehicles, official sources said. The Committee of Secretaries also recommended that the Power Ministry should initiate “requisite power tariff and access policies” for enabling the development of charging infrastructure, in consultation with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and others concerned. Official sources told PTI that the panel has firmed up the strategy for increasing use of zero emission vehicles to lower India’s dependence on oil imports and improve the ambient air quality. The panel, they said, has advised that “ISRO may consider transferring” its lithium-ion battery technology used in electric vehicles to interested parties on a “nondiscriminatory basis for commercialisation with Make in India condition”, after obtaining the approval of the Space Commission and other authorities. In October last year, Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat

‘Sahapedia’ to document ancient maritime trade Kochi: Sahapedia, an initiative towards digitisation and research on the traditional art forms of India, will document ancient maritime trade which flourished in Peninsular India, resulting in crosscultural exchanges. The online interactive resource on the country’s art and culture will carry out extensive research on the subject that had a phenomenal impact on the tangible and intangible heritage of the region before documenting it, according to a release here today. The documentation,

We studied the London metropolitan police’s ‘PIPCO’ unit and, accordingly, started a digital crime unit to study online piracy Brijesh Singh, Senior IPS officer

WHAT IS SAHAPEDIA

Sahapedia is the digitisation and research on India’s traditional art forms; an online interactive resource on the country’s art and culture, it will carry out extensive research which will be held at places ranging from Fort Kochi, Mattancherry Muziris/Kodungalloor, Kollam and Kozhikode in Kerala to Tamil Nadu and other parts, aims to unearth information, layer

by layer, it said. It will be a resource created by a team of researchers in collaboration with experts and institutions, and a platform for registered users from all over the world to contribute content on areas pertaining to their interests, the release said. “We work with scholars and collaborate with institutions, both in India and abroad, for material in the form of articles, images, video interviews and documentaries,” Sahapedia Executive Director Dr Sudha Gopalakrishnan said. —PTI

Meteorites brought 4 platforms that are changing infotainment water in first 2 mn yrs New Delhi: The importance of good content has seen a rapid surge in the recent past, with platforms looking to cut out competition through this. With apps being increasingly used to generate content, developers are look-

ing to mould their platforms in a way to cater to the infotainment segment, rather than just focusing on information or entertainment. Here are four apps with a content-driven approach: —ANI

Instagram

Boston: Water may have been brought to our planet by meteorites during the first two million years of after the birth of the solar system, a study has found. Since elements such as water and carbon are essential ingredients to life on Earth, researchers are keen to know when they arrived on our planet. “We’re looking at as many meteorite parent bodies as possible right now to figure out where they were in the early solar system and how much water they had,” said Adam Sarafian, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. Angrite meteorites formed in the inner solar system extremely early, roughly 4.56 billion years ago. At that point, the Earth was likely still just 20 per cent of its current size, while Mars, which formed more

quickly, was probably close to its current size. Scientists are not sure how quickly Mercury and Venus were formed. During this time, the inner solar system was a hot and dry place. Protoplanets and asteroids had molten surfaces and, when in magma, even an element such as carbon, which has a boiling point of 4,800 degrees Celsius is considered to be a volatile. It has therefore been unclear when delicate, lowboiling-point elements such as water came aboard, particularly as the hydrogen required to make water molecules would have been boiled away by the high temperatures. Researchers measured a common mineral in basaltic meteorites, called olivine, for the volatile elements hydrogen, carbon, fluorine and chlorine. —PTI

It is a simple way to capture and share moments. Follow your friends and family to see what they are up to and discover accounts from all over the world that are sharing things you love. Join the community of over 500 million people and express yourself by sharing all the moments of your day.

OLX

Provides an easy way to buy and sell things around you. Hailed as India’s largest classified marketplace, OLX also offers best available deals and process on various commodities in your vicinity.

It is a brokerage-free property search portal that connects owners and customers directly with each other by eliminating the middleman. People can post their requirement and connect directly with tenants, rather than paying an enormous free to brokers to help house-hunt.

playing along

AI algorithms Fed with this data, AI algorithms will get to work, determining what the clients’ habits are to lure them back again by offering a tailor-made experience. If the algorithm knows that when you come to the hotel with your wife, you don’t eat at the restaurant but order room service, it will propose a special room menu with a bottle of champagne

Van Gogh in the digital frames hanging on the walls. “Technology will allow us to know what the client needs before he even knows he wants it,” says Alvaro Carrillo de Albornoz, head of

Spain’s Hotel Technology Institute, which promotes innovation in the sector.

Tracking guests Some hotels already offer such experiences at a more

basic level. But the room prototype put on show by French technology consultancy Altran, aimed at luxury hotels, has incorporated cuttingedge speech recognition technology, allowing for instance a guest to order a pizza in 40 languages.

Virtual reality Manufacturers of virtual

In October last year, Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat had said India has to set up large lithiumion batteries manufacturing plants to become a global player in electric vehicles technology market. At present, lithium-ion battery is not manufactured in India on a commercial basis and the country has to depend on imports from Japan or China.

had said India has to set up large lithium-ion batteries manufacturing plants to become a global player in electric vehicles (EVs) technology market. At present, lithium-ion battery is not manufactured in India on commercial basis and the country has to depend on imports from Japan or China. To curb vehicular pollution and bring down the Rs 7 lakh crore annual crude oil import bill, the government is emphasising the need for vehicles run on alternative fuel, including electric vehicles. Government’s think-tank Niti Aayog has also come out

with a vision document on electric vehicles. The meeting of the Committee held on January 8 to discuss the “strategy to scale up transformative mobility for uptake of zero emission vehicles and ancillary technologies” was attended by secretaries from nine departments, Niti Aayog CEO, representatives from the Department of Space and Cabinet Secretariat, sources said. The panel also made a case for an empowered mission under Niti Aayog for overall policy formulation and for driving the programme to boost uptake of zero emission vehicles, the sources said. —PTI

E-tattoo can control devices remotely Berlin: Scientists have developed ultrathin electronic skin tattoos that can help control virtual and physical objects with mere hand gestures. The extremely thin, almost invisible foil that sticks to the palm of the hand like a second skin, have sensors which provide people with a “sixth sense” for magnetic fields. These sensors will enable people to manipulate everyday objects or control appliances both in the physical world and in augmented or virtual reality with mere gestures, similar to how we use a smartphone now. Researchers demonstrated that the ultrathin, compliant magnetic field sensors in combination with a permanent magnet are able to sense and process body motion in a room. “Our electronic skin traces the movement of a hand, for example, by changing its position with respect to the external magnetic field of a permanent magnet,” said Canon Bermudez of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Germany. “This not only means that we can digitise its rotations and translate them to the virtual world but also even influ-

USE YOUR SKIN The extremely thin, almost invisible foil, have sensors that provide people with a “sixth sense” for magnetic fields. These sensors will enable people to manipulate everyday objects or control appliances both in the physical world and in augmented or virtual reality with mere gestures ence objects there,” said Bermudez, lead author of the study. Using this technique, the researchers managed to control a virtual light bulb on a computer screen in a touchless way. To achieve this result, they set a permanent magnet in a ring-shaped plastic structure emulating a dial. —PTI

Soon, smartphones to help search for rare cosmic rays

Women hold smartphones during a rehearsal at the Orchestre national de Lille (national orchestra of Lille) in the French northern city of Lille, where the public can interact with his mobile phone —AFP

This social entertainment network not only brings user-generated channels where one can post their photographs and videos but also updates on the latest trends in beauty and fashion.

NoBroker

AI, virtual reality make inroads in tourism sector hotel room automatically adjusting to the tastes of each guest, virtual reality headsets as brochures: the tourism sector is starting to embrace new technologies, hoping to benefit from lucrative personal data. In a prototype of the hotel of the future on display at Madrid’s Fitur tourism fair, receptionists have disappeared and customers are checked-in via a mirror equipped with facial recognition. Once the client is identified, the room adapts itself automatically to all demands made at reservation: temperature, lighting, Picasso or

ROPOSO

A push for E-VEHICLES

reality (VR) headsets are also jumping onto the bandwagon. “We’re in a completely pioneering phase,” says Marcial Correal, head of the Spanish association for virtual travel agencies, who is promoting this tool to tourism professionals as the brochure of the future, without too much success so far. —AFP

Moscow: Scientists have developed a new algorithm that can allow smartphones to help analyse the mysterious ultra-high energy cosmic rays that emanate from supernovae and black holes. Cosmic rays are constantly entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Among them are ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) whose properties remain somewhat of a mystery to scientists. They emanate from supernovae and black holes, and, upon interacting with air particles, form cascades of secondary particles with lower energy. These are known as Extended Atmospheric Showers (EAS). Scientists have calculated that, with a detector with a surface area of one square kilometre, it is possible to detect approximately one event in 100 years. For a full study, a surface area the size of a small European country would be required. Researchers from the Laboratory of Methods for Big Data Analysis (LAMBDA) at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Russia instead proposed using a distributed mobile phone network to detect ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECR). They have devel-

CATCHING THE RAYS Scientists have developed an algorithm for constructing convolutional neural networks that can be used with conventional mobile phones Mobile phone cameras use technology similar to that in particle detectors and can detect extended atmospheric showers oped an algorithm for constructing convolutional neural networks that can be used with conventional mobile phones to record the muons making up these atmospheric showers. Mobile phone cameras use technology similar to that in particle detectors, and hence they are able to

Volunteers are asked to install the application on their smartphones and leave the phone, with the camera facing down, overnight The smartphone scans megapixel images at a speed of 5-15 frames per second and sends the necessary information to the server detect EAS. The particles interact with the CMOS camera and leave traces of weakly activated pixels, which can be difficult to distinguish from interference and random noise. Experiment volunteers are asked to install the application on their smartphones and leave the phone, with the camera facing down, overnight, so that normal light does not fall on it. The smartphone scans megapixel images at a speed of 5-15 frames per second and sends the necessary information to the server. Scientists expect signals from the interaction of cosmic rays to occur in less than one of the 500 image frames. —PTI

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PM asks CMs to address challenge of Tuberculosis Asks them to monitor indicators like case notification, treatment success, etc New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to all chief ministers, asking them address the challenge of tuberculosis in a mission mode and review the progress of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) at least every quarter. He urged them to closely monitor key performance indicators such as case notification (including from private sector), treatment success rate and active case finding. He said tuberculosis is the biggest killer among all infectious diseases and about 29 lakh new TB cases are reported every year. About 4.20 lakh people, mostly poor, die annually due to TB, leaving lakhs of children orphaned. Economic loss on account of TB in India is about Rs 20,000 crore per annum, Modi wrote in the letter. “We cannot allow such human tragedies, for a disease which is treatable and for which drugs and diagnostics are available in the pub-

Mission mode Urges CMs to review progress of Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) every quarter About 4.20 lakh mostly poor people die annually due to tuberculosis, leaving lakhs of children orphaned

File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi lic health care system,” the letter read. The PM wrote the government was committed to eliminating TB by 2015, five years ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals for which the health ministry was implementing the RNTCP with “new vigour”. The RNTCP has taken several new initiatives like daily regimen, universal drug susceptibility testing, active case finding in vulnerable

groups and cross reference between HIV and TB cases to help us address the challenge posed by TB, he wrote. “It is incumbent upon us to address this challenge in a mission mode. I request you to kindly reveiw the progress of the programme at least every quarter and closely monitor key performance indicators like case notification (including from private sector), treatment success rate, active case finding and HR

vacancy,” he said. The government is planning to give Rs 500 a month to tuberculosis patients, irrespective of their income level, to help them buy nutritious food and compensate them for travel expenses until they are cured. The Expenditure Finance Committee has approved the proposal and sent it to the Mission Steering Group, a health ministry official had said earlier. —PTI

Tips to exercise your way to a thinner belly London: For people who have a busy work and social life, fitness and exercising may be a task, but according to experts finding time to keep fit doesn’t have to be a workout in itself. According to experts, doing these quick and easy fitness tips daily may help those who are struggling to find time to workout. A trainer, Mollie Millington told the Daily Star, Hitting the gym when you get home is key. I know once I sit down on the couch, I will struggle to get up again”. He listed down five easy exercises that a person can do without hitting the gym: Before a workout, a person should try doing a warm-up session by doing 20 stars jumps. 1. Press ups: If you want to keep it easy for yourself, stand up against a wall and push yourself away from the wall and repeat. However, if you re feeling strong and willing to challenge yourself, try it on a stable desk or counter as decreasing your upright angle will make it more difficult. 2. Hamstring curls: This exercise is important to in-

quick steps According to experts, finding time to keep fit doesn’t have to be a workout. Doing quick and easy fitness routines may help those who are struggling to find time crease muscle and strength in your legs and glutes. Sit on a chair or step, drop your bum off of the edge and lower yourself down and back up again. Use your heels to ‘walk’ around the room (drag yourself forward by digging heel into the ground and bending the knee to move chair forward). 3. Tricep Dips: Tricep curls

are the ultimate workout to lose fat in your arms. To make it easier bend your knees when performing this move. Use a stable chair or step, drop your bum off of the edge using your arms to lower yourself down and back up again. To make this harder, straighten your legs. 4. Wall Sit: Sit with your back against a wall and knees at a 90-degree angle. The longer you hold it, the harder it is. But if you really want to step up your game, hold something heavy, like a ream of paper or books to make it more challenging. 5. Side Plank: Doing a normal plank is the best way to slash belly fat, but if you want to see your obliques pop out then try a side plank. Place one hand on a stable/desk counter and reach the other hand up in the sky. You can make this more challenging by raising the top foot off the ground or bringing the upper hand around the front to wrap around the waist and then back up to the sky — ANI again.

Restoring blood flow to brain Now, a more effective smallpox vaccine Washington D.C.: A study has recently suggested an explosive evolution of techniques can restore blood flow to areas of the brain endangered by stroke or clogged arteries. More recently, physicians have begun using minimally invasive endovascular techniques. Endovascular techniques do not require invasive open surgery. The physician employs catheters (thin tubes) that are guided through blood vessels to the brain. From the tip of

the catheter, the physician deploys stents or other devices to restore blood blow. According to Loyola University Health System researchers, last 50 to 60 years have witnessed an explo-

se uality @hiyer’s timeline

LOVE AND EQUALITY, BEYOND BORDERS The queerness of the Mumbai Queer Pride Month spread a little on the Marathon track too, with me donning the hat of the jury of the costume round of Tata Mumbai Marathon, one of the biggest sporting events of the country that raises crores for important causes, thanks to the efforts of their philanthropy partner United Way Mumbai. Last year, my mom and aunt walked with a banner that spoke about equality for the LGBT community. Probably someday, we will actually have the marathon looking like a mini pride march. I am excited about it already. Sunday 21 Jan 2018 also was when flashmob was organised. Flashmob is an important event in the pride month not just because of the public advocacy opportunity but also because it builds a very strong bond between people who participate in the flashmob. Kam, who is the lead choreographer, has been working hard in nurturing the flashmob team as one would nurture a family. This group is a formidable force for equality where everyone lifts each other up. This week I also visited four colleges, I was at Wilson, Churchgate, Sophias, Breach Candy, National College, Bandra and at IIT Bombay. The students in each of these colleges were extremely friendly and they opened their minds to the idea of people from different genders and sexualities. I hardly could play “spot the homophobe” as everyone was pro equality and pro LGBTQ. They did have some doubts about transgenders. The world is getting better by the day. Besides selfies and insta videos, the fact that many questions got answered, made all these events a great success.

Toronto: Scientists have created a synthetic horsepox virus that could lead to development of a more effective vaccine against smallpox. The discovery demonstrates how techniques based on the use of synthetic DNA can be used to advance public health measures. Researchers from University of Alberta in Canada produced an infectious horsepox virus, which they synthetically reconstructed using a published genome sequence and DNA fragments manufactured entirely by chemical methods. The team went on to show that the

sive evolution of techniques geared at restoring blood flow to compromised regions of the brain. Senior author Camilo R. Gomez said, “The chances a stroke patient will have a good outcome are two to three times better now than they were 10 to 15 years ago . They added that these endovascular techniques have “amplified the dimensions of care for many patients whose therapeutic options were previously limited. —ANI

‘GDP estimates lower due to malnutrition’

Shot in the arm —Thinkstock synthetic horsepox virus could provide vaccine protection in a mouse model of poxvirus infection. “This application of synthetic DNA technology has the potential to revolutionise

how we manufacture complex biologicals including recombinant viruses,” said David Evans, professor at University of Alberta. “These methods advance capacity to produce next- generation vaccines and offer special promise as a tool for constructing the complicated synthetic viruses that will likely be needed to treat cancer,” said Evans. The synthesised horsepox virus is the largest virus assembled to date using chemically synthesised DNA. Horsepox — an equine disease caused by horsepox virus — is not a hazard to humans. It is closely related to

IMF chief pitches for 2018 to be made “the year for women to thrive”

Harish Iyer The coming week is even more exciting. On Jan 24, at the Canadian Consulate, we will have Karim Ladak reading out from his book The Cosmopolitan Nomad. Karim has been travelling across the world which includes nations where being gay is illegal, all of which he has documented in this book of his. Canada is perceived as one of the best nations for celebrating LGBTQ diversity. It would be interesting to know from a local about how it really is. Probably he could tell us more about truth, illusion and delusion. I am sure the country would have its own unique challenges for the LGBTQ community. Karim plays a very important part in Indian LGBTQ history. There was a time when people didn’t speak so openly about LGBTQ rights. It was Karim who opened his house for parties and discussions. He still identifies as an Indian. Georgraphies and boundaries divide us. Love unites us. And since we are close to the season of love on 14 Feb, love should be in the air. Love karaa, bhandan nakko!

Write to sexualitydna@ gmail.com to tell us how you feel about this column. speak up

a long way to go In some countries, women have limited property rights, while in others, husbands have the right to prevent their wives from working

Workers at the venue of the World Economic Forum in Davos —Reuters 21 per cent of the overall participation at the meeting to be attended by over 3,000 world leaders including from politics, business, art and culture, academia and civil society. “The need for greater respect and opportunities for women is becoming an ever more prominent feature of the public conversation,” Lagarde and Solberg said while asserting that the challenge of female empowerment is firmly on the agenda at the WEF Summit this year.

Washington D.C.: Turns out, flu doesn’t need coughing or sneezing for transmission. According to a new study, it was revealed influenza virus, commonly known as flu, can be transmitted via breathing, against all notions of contamination by exposure to droplets from coughs and sneezes. University of Marylandled study published some new pieces of evidence about airborne transmission. The study “Infectious virus in the exhaled breath of symptomatic seasonal influenza cases from a college community” noted large quantities of infectious virus researchers found in exhaled breath from people suffering from flu. Dr. Milton, M.D., MPH, professor of environmental health in the University of Maryland School of Public Health and lead researcher of this study said, “We found that flu cases contaminated the air around them with infectious virus just by breathing, without coughing or sneezing . He added, “People with flu generate infectious aerosols (tiny droplets that stay suspended in air for long) even when they are not coughing, and especially during the first days of illness. So when someone is coming down with influenza, they should go home and not remain in the workplace”. —ANI

New Delhi: Nearly four per cent of India’s GDP is estimated to have been lost due to malnutrition, an ASSOCHAM-EY joint paper noted. Furthermore, about 55 per cent of non-pregnant women and 58 percent of pregnant women are anaemic.

Gender parity can boost India’s GDP by 27%: WEF New Delhi: Raising women’s participation in the labour force to the same level as men can boost India’s GDP by 27 per cent, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde and Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg have said in a joint paper. Pitching for 2018 to be made “the year for women to thrive”, the two leaders said “time is up for discrimination and abuse against women” in the paper published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ahead of the Genevabased organisation’s annual summit in Swiss ski resort town Davos. Lagarde and Solberg are among the all-women cochairs of the annual confab this year, beginning today. Indian social entrepreneur Chetna Sinha is also among the co-chairs for the annual summit that will be attended by 70 heads of government from across the world, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. Women would account for

vaccinia virus, the virus that was used as a vaccine to eradicate human smallpox 40 years ago. While there have been no cases of naturally occurring smallpox since 1977, it remains a concern to public health agencies. Current smallpox vaccines are used to protect first responders and military service members but are rarely used except in special circumstances. Due to the toxicity of most modern smallpox vaccines, Canada and the US have long discontinued immunising whole populations, as was the policy prior to smallpox eradication. —PTI

Flu may be spread just by breathing

They said giving women and girls the opportunity to succeed is not only the right thing to do but can also transform societies and economies. “The economic facts speak for themselves: raising women’s labour force participation to that of men can boost GDP, for example, by as much as 9 per cent in Japan and 27 per cent in India,” the two leaders wrote. Quoting IMF research for listing myriad macroeco-

Besides legal obstacles, there are barriers related to combining work and family life, education, and access to finance nomic benefits, they said reducing gender gaps in employment as well as in education can help economies diversify their exports, while appointing more women onto banking supervision boards can challenge cozy groupthink, thereby supporting greater bank stability and financial sector resilience. Besides, tackling gender inequality can reduce income inequality, which, in turn, can drive more sustainable growth. —PTI

‘End violence against women’ Pope Francis on Saturday urged Latin America’s faithful to fight rampant violent crime against women including murder, while holding mass in Trujillo, Peru’s largest northern city. “I wish to invite you to combat a plague across our Latin American region: the numerous cases of violent crimes against women, from beatings to rape to murder,” the visiting pontiff told thousands in Trujillo’s main colonial-era square. Half of the 25 countries with the greatest number of murders of women are in Latin America, according to UN Women. In Argentina, the pope’s homeland, there were at least 254 murders of women in 2016 that authorities think were gender-related, which helped spark the online campaign #NotOneMore murder. “There are so many cases of violence that stay silenced behind so many walls,” Francis said, arousing cheers from the crowd. “I’m calling on you to fight against this source of suffering including legislation and a culture that rejects every type of violence.” The northwestern city Trujillo is still struggling to

Pope Francis in Peru —Reuters rebuild after deadly devastating floods one year ago. More than 130 people were killed across Peru between January and April 2017 in heavy rains, floods and landslides fueled by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which also left at least 300,000 homeless. Hardest-hit was Peru’s northern coastal region. Francis acknowledged that many families still could not rebuild their homes after the floods — then warned of the “storms” of organized crime. The high crime rate means fewer educational and work opportunities, preventing young people “from building a future with dignity,” Francis said. The mass took place on a stretch of beach in Huanchaco, a town in Trujillo some 560 kilometers (350 miles) north of Lima. —AFP

Lebanon campaigns Female empowerment marches march on for more women mins Beirut: Lebanon is campaigning to get at least five times more women elected to parliament this spring in its first vote in nearly 10 years, the country’s first women’s affairs minister says. It is a daunting task for a Middle Eastern country that may otherwise look like one of the most liberal in the region. Despite a relatively free press, diverse religious groups and women in prominent positions in the business world and the media, Lebanon ranks surprisingly low when it comes to female representation in politics, and politicians have failed to

act on a movement to institute a quota for women in parliament. “Keeping women from public life is not only a loss for women. It is a loss for the parliament,” Minister of State for Women’s Affairs Jean Oghassabian told The Associated Press. “The main obstacles are mentality, a philosophy of life, and this needs time,” he said. There are only four women in the outgoing parliament elected in 2009, a flimsy 3 percent of its 128 lawmakers. It was a drop from 2005, when only six women were elected. —AP

St. Petersburg: Demonstrations in support of female empowerment are scheduled in cities across the country Sunday, a day after hundreds of thousands of people across the globe marched, chanted and protested. Marches are scheduled in several cities, including Miami, Melbourne and Munich. On Saturday, many not only supported women’s rights, but also denounced President Donald Trump’s views on immigration, abortion, LGBT rights and women’s rights on the anniversary of his inauguration. The 2017 rally in Washington, DC, and hundreds of similar marches, created solidarity

voicing out

Women march in Washington —AP for those opposing Trump’s views, words and actions. Millions of people around the world marched during last year’s rallies. Participants on Saturday talked about the news avalanche of politics and gender issues in the past year. They said they were galva-

Demonstrators on Saturday denounced Trump’s views with colourful signs and even saltier language nised by the #MeToo movement, which has been credited as countering widespread sexual abuse and misconduct. Critics of the week-

end’s marches said the demonstrations were really a protest against Trump. Meanwhile, Trump on Saturday tweeted that it was a “perfect day” for women to march to celebrate the “economic success and wealth creation” that’s happened during his first year in office. “Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months,” the Republican wrote. —AFP

Monday January 2018

New delhI www.dnaindia.com

GOLF

Shiv Kapur finishes tied-23rd after a disappointing three-over in the fourth and final round at Singapore Open in Sentosa. Sergio Garcia of Spain went on to clinch the title with a five-shot victory

BALL GAME

Perera halts Sri Lanka’s losing run Thisara Perera starred with bat and ball as Sri Lanka ended their recent dismal run by beating Zimbabwe by five wickets in the tri-nation ODI tournament in Dhaka on Sunday. Perera claimed four wickets to lead an inspired Sri Lankan bowling attack that limited Zimbabwe to 198 all out before his unbeaten 39 helped the islanders to chase down their target in 44.5 overs. Brief scores: Zimbabwe 198 all out in 44 overs (B Taylor 58, A Cremer 34; T Perera 4/33, N Pradeep 3/28, L Sandakan 2/57) lost to Zimbabwe 202/5 in 44.5 overs (K Perera 49, T Perera 39*, D Chandimal 38*, K Mendis 36; ; B Muzarabani 3/52) by 5 wickets

Bavuma ruled out of final Test South African batsman Temba Bavuma was on Sunday ruled out of the third Test against India owing to a fractured ring finger. Bavuma suffered the injury while playing for Cape Cobras in a domestic One-Day tournament this past week, and is expected to be out for three to four weeks. Bavuma did not feature in either of the first two Tests against India. But Bavuma will remain a part of the South Africa Test squad, with the selectors opting not to name a replacement batsman.

Shouldn’t have played SL: Bhajji Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said India’s home series against Sri Lanka served little purpose ahead of the gruelling tour of South Africa. “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.

Simons lauds India bowling unit Indian pacers are taking more wickets abroad than ever before, leaving the team’s former bowling coach Eric Simons so impressed that he equated them with their pace counterparts from South Africa. “South Africa’s bowling attack, in these conditions, is much more vaunted but in both Tests, India’s bowling has kept them to nearly the same scores and created chances of victory.,” the former bowling coach said.

‘BCCI has helped us more than PCB’ Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Shafiq Stanikzai said the BCCI has played a bigger role in the rapid rise of the game in the strife-torn nation than PCB. “Since we moved to India, we have achieved big. We were associates and playing in a lower tier when practising in Pakistan. Since we moved to India we are performing well. We have reached a stage where we are playing with the best,” Stanikzai said.

on the tube (all Live) Star Sports 1 14:20 & 18:20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Star Sports 2 20:00 I-League: Churchill Brothers vs Indian Arrows Star Sports Select 1 08:20 New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st T20I Sony Ten 1 05:30 NBA Sony Ten 2 & Sony Six 05:30 & 13:30 Australian Open Sony ESPN 14:00 Big Bash League 19:00 Pro Wrestling League

Veer Marathas thrash Delhi Sultan 4-2 to inch closer to a semifinal berth in the Pro Wrestling League

Rafa digs deep into grit reservoir In season’s first big test, off-colour world No. 1 overcomes stiff challenge from Schwartzman in 4 sets to enter quarterfinals Melbourne: Top seed Rafael Day after upset ORDER fplay Nadal was rattled by a feisty challenge from Diego Rod Laver Arena win, Paes-Raja Schwartzman but held firm Morning session (5.30am) to fend off the Argentine 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 and reach his duo makes exit 17-M Keys (USA) vs 8-C Garcia (FRA) 10th Australian Open quar-

terfinals on Sunday. In an often breathtaking clash laden with sumptuous shot-making, the Spaniard was rocked by the hard-hitting Schwartzman who broke him three times to claim the second set at Rod Laver Arena. But the 16-time Grand Slam champion responded with typical grit, bolstering his defence to blanket the 24th seed’s firepower to book a match with Marin Cilic. After three cakewalks in the previous rounds, the three-hour 51-minute workout was timely, said Nadal, who came into the tournament with some queries over a knee injury. “This is the first big match that I played in 2018. One match like this probably helps. That’s confidence for myself, that’s confidence I can resist for four hours on court at a good intensity,” said Nadal. The victory ensured Nadal will retain his world No. 1 ranking. Nadal had seen off his first three opponents without dropping a set but it was soon clear at Rod Laver Arena that Schwartzman was cut from a different cloth. The 5-ft 7-inch Argentine virtually needed a step-ladder to reach the bounce of Nadal’s top-spin bombs but he was all over the Spaniard’s serve from the get-go. He grudgingly surrendered his own first, though, allowing Nadal to wrap up the first set in 45 minutes. After six breaks of serve in the second set, the fireworks continued in a frenzied tiebreak, which Schwartzman won. The left-hander resumed with renewed vigour to break Schwartzman to love and after roaring to 5-2, he claimed the third set. The momentum was now all with Nadal. He broke again quickly, and then simply bided his time before wrapping things up. —Reuters

H Su-wei (TPE) vs 21-A Kerber (GER)

M Fuscsovics (HUN) vs 2-R Federer (SUI) Evening session (1.30pm) 14-N Djokovic (SRB) vs C Hyeon (KOR) 20-B Strycova (CZE) vs 6-K Pliskova (CZE) Margaret Court Arena Morning session (5.30am) 1-L Chan/A Hlavackova (TPE/CZE) vs 14-H Chan/K Srebotnik (TPE/SLO) 25-F Fognini (ITA) vs 19-T Berdych (CZE) V Golubic/N Stojanovic (SUI/SRB) vs 5-T Babos/K Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) 1-S Halep (ROM) vs N Osaka (JPN) Indians in action Hisense Arena: 16-D Sharan/R Ram (IND/ USA) vs 1-L Kubot/M Melo (POL/BRA) Show Court 3: 10-R Bopanna/E RogerVasselin (IND/FRA) vs 7-O Marach/M Pavic (AUT/CRO) Live on: Sony Six & Sony Ten 2

seedwatch Men’s singles (Rd 4): 1-R Nadal (ESP) bt 24-D Schwartzman (ARG) 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3, 3-G Dimitrov (BUL) bt 17-N Kyrgios (AUS) 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(4), 6-M Cilic (CRO) bt 10-P Carreno-Busta (ESP) 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6(0) 7-6(3), K Edmund (GBR) bt A Seppi (ITA) 6-7(4) 7-5 6-2 6-3 Women’s singles (Rd 4): 2-C Wozniacki (DEN) bt 19-M Rybarikova (SVK) 6-3 6-0, 4-E Svitolina (UKR) bt D Allertova (CZE) 6-3 6-0, C Suarez Navarro (ESP) bt 32-A Kontaveit (EST) 4-6 6-4 8-6, E Mertens (BEL) bt P Martic (CRO) 7-6(5) 7-5

Spain’s Rafael Nadal hits a return against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman during their fourth round match in Melbourne on Sunday —AFP

n zone

Dimitrov knocks Kyrgios out in gripping encounter

No. of Australian Open quarterfinals Nadal has entered, becoming equal second with Stefan Edberg for most quarterfinal appearances in Melbourne. Federer leads the list with 14

Bulgaria’s world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov won a gripping four-setter to knock Australia’s big hope Nick Kyrgios out on Sunday. Dimitrov downed the 17th seeded Kyrgios 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(4) in 3hr 26min and will face Britain’s Kyle Edmund in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Dimitrov stepped up his campaign after a couple of indifferent wins in the earlier rounds to avenge his defeat to Kyrgios in the semifinals of this month’s Brisbane International. He won all three tiebreakers in a charged night match atmosphere on Rod Laver Arena before a capacity home crowd willing their player on. “Playing against Nick is always tricky, two weeks I lost against him,” Dimitrov said. “He was serving and playing unbelievable and he fought really hard. It’s one of those matches that you have to be locked in and try to get any opportunity you have,” he added.

did you know? Ra-

fael Nadal’s entry into the quarterfinals has ensured that he will keep his world No. 1 after the Australian Open, even if Roger Federer defends the title

Grigor Dimitrov (left) has a word with Nick Kyrgios after his victory on Sunday —Reuters

Rahane has extensive workout as India get back to business Rocking The Rainbow Test series

INDIA IN South Africa Johannesburg: After a three-day break, Team India got back to business at the Wanderers, with a practice session on Sunday that lasted under four hours. Having already lost the three-match series 0-2, the players enjoyed three days off, taking time to visit various safari and theme parks in and around Johannesburg. On Sunday, they were back to sweating it out in the nets, and the biggest takeaway from the training session was Ajinkya Rahane’s extensive workout. Rahane, who was left out of the playing XI for the first two Tests, batted along with captain Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya in three adjacent nets. It might be an indication of the middle-order for the upcoming third Test, with the out-of-form Rohit Sharma likely to face the axe to get Rahane back in. While the all-rounder opened up with some big hits, both Kohli and Rahane looked solid against pacers. When they batted, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami even bowled with new Kookaburra balls. Murali Vijay, KL Rahul,

100

Buttler ton gives Eng series win BCCI/twitter

wrestling

FOOTBALL

Star striker Sergio Aguero scores a hat-trick as Manchester City restored their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a 3-1 victory at home against Newcastle United

(L-R) Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik and Jasprit Bumrah on Sunday

Have listened to SA demands: Curator Unlike at Centurion, the Wanderers pitch promises to provide ample assistance to the fast bowlers, although a lot of grass had been shaved off the pitch on Sunday. “I have listened to the demands of the South African team and prepared this pitch accordingly. There won’t be any spin available here, but there will be ample pace and bounce for which this ground is well known. There will also be some lateral movement on account of the grass,” Wanderers chief curator Bethuel Buthelezi said about the pitch for the third Test starting Wednesday. Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli and Rahane all had double stints in the batting nets. Wile Vijay, Rahul and Pujara batted, Kohli and Rahane watched from outside before taking up turns against pacers and throwdowns again. Dinesh Karthik later batted in tandem with Kohli, while Rahane finished up with throwdowns from assistant coach Sanjay Bangar. In what could be more of an indication, Rohit and Shi-

khar Dhawan were among the last group of batsmen to take strike. Patel batted ahead of Karthik in the roster order, and worked on facing the short ball, with Pandya assisting him with throwdowns from a shortened distance. On practice wickets, Rahul, Vijay and Pujara took first strike against the duo of Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini, who arrived at the team hotel late on Saturday evening. —PTI

Sydney: A scintillating century from Jos Buttler brought England a 16-run win and a ODI series win against Australia in Sydney on Sunday. The hosts, set 303 to win by England after winning the toss and choosing to bowl, were always struggling in their chase and eventually managed only 286/6. The result gave England an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match ODI series, a remarkable turnaround after Australia had trounced them 4-0 in the Ashes Tests. —AFP Brief scores: England 302/6 in 50 overs (J Buttler 100*, C Woakes 53; J Hazlewood 2/58) bt Australia 286/6 in 50 overs (A Finch 62, M Stoinis 56, M Marsh 55, S Smith 45; A Rashid 2/51) by 16 runs.

No. of matches Marin Cilic won in Grand Slams with his four-set win over Pablo Carreno Busta in Round 4

SSquote

I think you can tell my confidence is high. I tried a tweener today and it went in

Melbourne: After a stunning win in the second round, veterans Leander Paes and Purav Raja on Sunday suffered a straight-set defeat at the hands of the Colombian pair of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the prequarterfinals to bow out of the Australian Open. The unseeded Indians were beaten 6-1 6-2 by their 11th seeded opponents in a contest that lasted one hour and nine minutes at the Melbourne Park here. The Indian pair shocked the formidable fifth seeds Bruno Soares and Jamie Murray in the round but their game were not up to the mark on Sunday. Paes and Raja failed to capitalise on any one of the five break points — two in the first set and three in the second — they got in the match while the Cabal-Farah duo converted four out the 10 they had. The Colombian duo broke the Indian pair twice in both the sets to easily grab the match and make it to the quarterfinals. Paes and Raja, who won two Challenger level titles to close the 2017 season, were playing in their second Grand Slam together. At the 2017 US Open, they fell in the second round.

Bopanna, Babos win Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna and his Hungarian partner Timea Babos marched into the mixed doubles pre-quarterfinals with a straight-sets victory in their last-32 clash. The Indo-Hungarian pair brushed aside the duo of Ellen Perez and Andrew Whittington 6-2 6-4 on the Margaret Court Arena The duo will face USA’s Vania King and Croatia’s Franko Skugor in the second round. —PTI

did you know?

—Carolina Wozniacki, after playing a between-the-legs shot for first time in a tour-level match

Leander Paes has not made it to the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam since the 2016 French Open, where he and Marcin Matkowski lost to Mike and Bob Bryan

Pant cracks 4th straight half-ton for Delhi; Mumbai beat Jharkhand Kolkata: Rishabh Pant cracked a fourth successive fifty-plus score to lead Delhi’s eight-wicket rout of Tamil Nadu while Baroda, Mumbai and Punjab also secured wins in their respective Super League matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy here on Sunday. Veterans Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh dug deep into their wealth of experience as star-studded Punjab held their nerves to pip Karnataka via eliminator in a Group A match. In the Group B fixture, Pant made a mockery of the 146-run chase as his 33-ball 58 saw Delhi cruise home with 5.4 overs to spare.

STARWATCH Shreyas Iyer: 6 (11b), Mumbai vs Jharkhand Yuvraj Singh: 29 (25b, 5x4) & 1-017-0, Punjab vs Karnataka Harbhajan Singh: 33 (19b, 5x4, 1x6) & 4-0-27-1, Punjab vs Karnataka Rishabh Pant: 58 (33b, 7x4, 3x6), Delhi vs TN Gautam Gambhir: 21 (21b, 2x4, 1x6), Delhi vs TN Washington Sundar: 4-0-32-2 & 10 (9b, 2x4), TN vs Delhi For Mumbai, Siddhesh Lad and Aditya Tare made useful 40s as they beat Jharkhand by 13 runs in another Group A encounter. —PTI

Brief scores: Mumbai 170/5 in 20 overs (S Lad 46, A Tare 45, S Yadav 33*; S Surwar 2/35) bt Jharkhand 157/7 in 20 overs (V Singh 81, S Tiwary 32; A PArkar 2/32) by 13 runs; Karnataka: 158/7 in 20 overs (A Joshi 40*, CM Gautam 36; B Singh 3/21) tied with Punjab 158/9 in 20 overs (M Singh 45, H Singh 33, Y Singh 29; S Aravind 4/32), Punjab win in one-over eliminator; Tamil Nadu 145/7 in 20 overs (V Shankar 57*, B Aparajith 45, K Khejroliya 4/26) lost to Delhi 146/2 in 15.2 overs (R Pant 58, N Rana 34*; W Sundar 2/32) by 8 wickets; Baroda 149 all out in 20 overs (V Solanki 26; S Ghosh 3/37) bt Bengal 132 all out in 19.5 overs (S Goswami 58; K Pandya 3/14, L Meriwala 3/26) by 17 runs

Need support of all 15 players: Shaw

Prithvi Shaw

Queenstown: Having finished the group stage with three impressive wins, India are the firm favourites to lift the ICC U-19 World Cup title and captain Prithvi Shaw said he needs support from all his players in realising the dream. India take on Bangladesh in the quarterfinal on Friday. India opened their Group B campaign with a 100-run victory over Australia and then completed 10-wicket victories over Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe, while also

PLAYING TODAY

9th Place Play-off: Canada vs Papua New Guinea; Namibia vs Zimbabwe

trying out their players. India captain Shaw and Manjot Kalra opened the innings in the first two matches while they opted for Harvik Desai and Shubman Gill against Zimbabwe. “Our first eleven is still not fixed. It’s a team game and we need the support of all 15 players throughout the tournament,” said Shaw.

Shaw is impressed with left-arm spinner Anukul Roy who has grabbed 10 wickets so far in the tournament. “Our spinners know how to take wickets, even in the powerplay. Anukul takes wickets whenever we need them and he knows how to control the situation, understands what I need him to do,” Shaw said of Roy. —PTI

sP rt

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Bloodied Ronaldo nets brace in Real Madrid rout Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice but had to leave the pitch with his face covered in blood as Real Madrid eased their domestic crisis by hammering Liga strugglers Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 at home on Sunday to reclaim fourth place in the standings. The stumbling La Liga champions recorded their biggest win of the season in all competitions. Stopwatch: Real Madrid 7 (Nacho 32, 88, Bale 42, 58, Modric 68, Ronaldo 78, 84) bt Deportivo 1 (Adrian 23)

Mena, Santosh impress at Dakar Rookie Oriol Mena finished seventh while his Hero Motorsports teammate and top Indian biker C S Santosh became the first and the only Indian rider to have finished the Dakar Rally thrice. More significantly, he achieved his best performance, finishing the rally at 35th position dished out a memorable show in the gruelling Dakar Rally which concluded in Cordoba (Argentina) on Sunday. Spaniard Mena impressed everyone and finished at an outstanding seventh position in his debut Dakar Rally..â&#x20AC;?

Kerala teams post win in basketball Kerala teams had a good day, posting wins in the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sections on Sunday in the 68th Senior National Basketball Championship in Chennai. While the men beat Odisha 84-66 rather comfortably, the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team, the defending champion, enjoyed an easy 62-34 win over Madhya Pradesh, both in Group A games. In the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s section, defending champion Uttarakhand scored a comfortable 77-55 win over Rajasthan in Group A.

PNB beat Canara Bank to lift title Punjab National Bank (PNB) defeated Canara Bank 2-0 in the final to win the eighth Hockey India (HI) Senior Men National Championship 2018 (Division B) in Imphal on Sunday. In another match, Central Secretariat beat Bengaluru Hockey Association (BHA) 10-1 to finish finish third. The scores remained 0-0 at the half-time, but it was PNB who broke the deadlock in the 38th minute when Sukhjeet Singh found the back of the net to give his team a much deserved 1-0 lead.

Haryana girls win hockey title Hockey Haryana emerging as the champions after defeating Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 6-1 in the final of the 8th Hockey India Sub Junior (Women) National Championship 2018 (A Division) in Hisar on Sunday. In the Bronze Medal match, it was Hockey Gangpur-Odisha who edged past Sports Authority of India (SAI) 4-2 in a thrilling match.

Day of Ethiopian road runners in Mumbai Dekissa clocks 2:09:34s to win Mumbai Marathon; Gobens takes womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prize; Thonakal, Sudha finish first among Indians Taus Rizvi r_taus@dnaindia.net Mumbai: Having run six marathons before, Ethiopiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Solomon Deksisa came to Mumbai with one aim â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to win the $4,05,000 Mumbai Marathon. And it took just 2 hours, nine minutes and 34 seconds to achieve his target of winning the coveted gold medal in the overall men on Sunday morning which he proudly wore after the event. While he could not better his personal best of 2:06:22 achieved in the Rotterdam Marathon in 2016, the victory in Mumbai gave Deksisa an immense pleasure coming under difficult conditions and rough, narrow, turning and twisting streets of Mumbai. Deksisaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s compatriot Shumet Akalnaw reached the finish 16 seconds behind him at 2:10:00 while the third place went to Kenyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Joshya Kipkorir who clocked 2:10:30. It was a double delight for Ethiopia as the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s title too went to them with Amane Gobena clinching the gold in 2:25:49. The winners of both overall menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s categories will return home richer by $42,000. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I expected to win,â&#x20AC;? said an elated Deksisa with the help of his translator Getaneh Tessama who is also his coach. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is my first win in Mumbai and will motivate me to participate in other races,â&#x20AC;? he added. Deksisa looked at ease for most part of the race, but there was also a stage when the tiredness gripped him, especially, while running uphill in areas of South Mumbai on return. Once crossed Chowpatty, the champion runner upped his pace leaving others behind. The route before the finish had a lot of twists and turns, thanks to metro work, but that did not affect his pace as he ran with full focus looking behind if his competitor Shumet was anywhere close. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shumet was behind me and was close and I was worried. So I did not realise about the turns in the last 700m. When the pacemakers dropped out the plan was to come ahead (of the rest),â&#x20AC;? a relived Deksisa said. Meanwhile, Shumet was both happy and disappointed to come second. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I prepared for the race well. Happy that I came second but disap-

ff the field this day that year January 22, 1988

1 2

Heavyweight History is made IThe bout between Mike Tyson and Larry Hokmes was billed as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Heavyweight Historyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and was contested for the WBA, WBC and IBF Heavyweight Championships. The 38-year-old Holmes, former heavyweight champion, had retired but he returned to ring and took on 22-year-old Mike Tyson. But the younger fighter won the fight (TKO in four rounds) held in Atlantic City.

twitter trail

australian open Adam Papageorgiou@PapageorgiouMBO: Rewatching the Kyrgios-Dimitrov #AusOpen ending. The passion is great, but Kyrgios needs to chill. And he needs a body language coach. Send in your answers to sportsdna@gmail.com. Names of the first 10 winners will be published tomorrow

Taus Rizvi r_taus@dnaindia.net

Mumbai Marathon Indian elite men gold medal winner Gopi Thonakal (centre), silver medal winner Nitendra Singh Rawat (left) and bronze medal winner Srinu Bugatha during prize distribution â&#x20AC;&#x201D;hemant padalkar/DNA

From slippers to sports shoes Taus Rizvi r_taus@dnaindia.net

Ethiopiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Solomon Deksisa, who eventually won the race, tries to stay ahead of compatriot Shumet Akalnawm who finished second and Kenyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Joshua Kipketer, who came third, during Mumbai Marathon on Sunday

Full Marathon

Overall men Place Name Country Timing 1. Solomon Deksisa Ethiopia 2:09:34 2. Shumet Akalnaw Ethiopia 2:10:00 3. Joshua Kipkorir Kenya 2:10:30

Overall women Place Name 1. Amane Gobena 2. Bornes Kitur 3. Shuko Genemo

Indian men Place Name 1. Gopi Thonakal 2. Nitendra Singh Rawat 3. Srinu Bugatha

Indian women Place Name 1. Sudha Singh 2. Jyoti Gawate 3. Parul Chaudhary

Timing 2:16:51 2:16:54 2:23:56

Country Timing Ethiopia 2:25:49 Kenya 2:28:48 Ethiopia 2:29:41 Timing 2:48:32 2:50:47 2:53:26

Elite women winners Amane Gobena (C), Bornes Kitur (L), Shuko Genemo; (below) Indian women winners Sudha Singh (C), Jyoti Gawate (L) and Parul Chaudhary â&#x20AC;&#x201D;hemant padalkar/DNA

Half Marathon Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place Name 1. Pradeep Singh 2. Shankar Man Thapa 3. Deepak Kumbhar

Timing 1:05:42 1:06:40 1:06:54.

pointed that I could not complete it in time and could not run faster,â&#x20AC;? said Shumet.

Gopi wins On the eve of the D-Day the Indian men â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gopi Thonakal and Nitendra Singh Rawat had kept a target of 2 hours and 13 minutes to reach the finish line. However, the duo faced similar issues like others as the duo clocked 2:16 for a 1-2 finish with Gopi finishing four seconds ahead of Rawat with the finally timing being

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place Name 1. Sanjeevani Jadhav 2. Monika Athare 3. Juma Khatun

Timing :26:24 1:27:15 1:27:48

2:16:51s. The third place went to Andhra boy Srinu Bugatha who finished at 2:23:56. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was running for the record. The pace setters were slow too. The timing also depends on the climate too which became hotter in the latter stages,â&#x20AC;? said Gopi. Now his aim is to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia. For Rawat, it was still satisfying especially running a full marathon after Rio Olympics due to hamstring

injury. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was good especially coming after a long time.â&#x20AC;?

Sudha triumphs The Indian womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s category saw Sudha Singh crash but after crossing the finishing line to finish on top with the timing of 2:48:32 with Jyoti Gawte (2:50:47) and Parul Chowdhary (2:50:47) following her at second and third respectively. The Indian gold medal winners won Rs 5,00,00 while the runners-up went home with a purse of Rs 4,00,00.

Jamshedpur rally to overcome Dynamos Jamshedpur: Jamshedpur FC staged a remarkable recovery after being two goals down as they upstaged the Indian Super Leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bottom-placed side Delhi Dynamos 3-2 in a five-goal thriller here today. Delhi started this Hero ISL clash on the front foot thanks to a brace from Kalu Uche in the 20th and 22nd minutes. But Jamshedpur FC never gave up. First, Tiri (29th minute) pulled a goal back before half-time and in the second session Yumnam

Kitt Ellison @ChristEllison: A Brit in the quarter finals of the #AusOpen and his name isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t @andy_murray đ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x2030; Come on @ kyle8edmund - you got this!!

Athletes slam organisers, call it â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;difficult marathonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Aadesh Choudhari/DNA

hot on heels

Goa beat Kerala

Jamshedpur FC and Delhi Dynamos players in action on Sunday â&#x20AC;&#x201D;PTI

Â&#x201E;Â&#x201E;FC Goa cemented their position in the top four with a comfortable 2-1 victory over Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday.

ceived the ball on the left wing and picked up the striker with a pin point cross in the box. Jamshedpur FC goalkeeper, Subrata Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desperate dive couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t save it from entering the nets. Two minutes later, Delhi were two up in an almost identical move. Sekar again turned provider and Uche was again on hand to head the ball inside the net. Lillianzula Chhangteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ball put Sekar free on the left flank and the midfielder put the ball in for Uche, who was left unmarked inside the box to score his second on the night. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;PTI

Raju made it 2-2 in the 54th minute. It was then left for substitute Trinandade Goncalves to score the match winner for the hosts in the 86th minute. The three points have lift-

ed Jamshedpur FC to the fifth spot on the points table with 16 points from 11 matches. Kalu Uche gave the visitors the lead with a header in the 20th minute of the game. Nandhakumar Sekar re-

Anand plays out a draw against Svidler in 8th Rd

Belgium beat India in first leg final

Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands): Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand played out a draw againt Peter Svidler of Russia in the eighth round of Tata Steel Masters underway here. Looking for his sixth record title here, Anand took his tally to 4.5 points out of a possible eight and now needs to score at least two wins in the remaining five rounds to be in with a chance to win the title. The leader, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan met his nemesis in Anish Giri of Holland who cut the huge margin in points. After his victory, Giri joined Mamedyarov in lead on 5.5 points. They were also joined by top rated Magnus Carlsen of Norway who put it across Gawain Jones of England. Vladimir Kramnik of Russia signed truce with Wesley So of the USA and the two now share the fourth spot on five points apiece while Anand and Sergey Karjakin of Russia remained joint third on 4.5 points apiece. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;PTI

Mumbai: India once again failed to get past Belgium, going down 1-2 in a thrilling final match of the first leg of the Four Nations Invitational hockey tournament at the Blake Park in Tauranga, New Zealand, on Sunday. Young Mandeep Singh was Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lone goal-scorer, while Tom Boon and Sebastien Dockier were on target for Belgium. The hosts were quick to get off the blocks, mounting pressure on India with a goal through Boon in the fourth minute. With three seconds to go for the first hooter, India won a penalty corner but Rupinder Pal Singhâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fierce hit to the right bottom of the post was saved by a Belgian defender at the baseline. India overcame a slow start in the second quarter, and in the 19th minute, Rupinder intercepted a Belgian long pass to find Manpreet Singh in the midfield who sliced the ball into the

Manpreet Singh (left) in action against Belgium on Sunday â&#x20AC;&#x201D;HI center of the circle. Mandeep was quick to react, beating goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch to push the ball into the post to give India the equaliser. Meanwhile, Sreejesh made an excellent save in the 21st minute when Thomas Briels took a shot on goal as both teams went into the half-time break in a stalemate. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;PTI

Mumbai: Srinu Bugatha had never seen sports shoes before joining the army, three years back. His childhood was spent playing around in slippers at his hometown Vijayanagram in Andhra Pradesh. On Sunday, despite a thirdplace finish in the Indian menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s category of Mumbai Marathon, his first every run in full marathon, he was a dejected man. For, he could not finish within a time that he had fixed for himself. Bugatha bagged the bronze medal with the timing of 2:23:56s and will walk home with a purse of Rs 3 lakh. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It feels good and comfortable to wear sports shoes,â&#x20AC;? he says when asked how did he feel after wearing them for the first time. Sports was accidental for this 12th class drop out. He got into the Army and there he was introduced to running. He became a cross country runner with three national medals and also runs in 5,000 and 10,000 metres races. Sundayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marathon was a test of his capacity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I expected to win. But I wanted to clock 2:15 or 2:14. I had practiced a lot for the same and

had worked very hard for the event in Dharamshala. I ran 50 kilometres every day,â&#x20AC;? said Bugatha. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is not my event, I just wanted to test my capacity and see how much I can run.â&#x20AC;? A regular in the half marathon, Bugatha had missed out on six to seven races. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had suffered a hamstring injury and so, had missed out. Before that I ran half marathons week after week,â&#x20AC;? he said. Bugathaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father is a farmer. He did not tell them that he would be coming on TV, thus they were not aware. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell them,â&#x20AC;? said the shy runner, who however, loves attention. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love it when people clap for me. Hence, I am hungry to achieve something.â&#x20AC;? Bugatha has eyes set on Asian Games. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have ran 25 kilometres in 1 hr 17 minutes, 10,000m in 29min and 5,000m in 14 min. I am looking to qualify for the Asian Games,â&#x20AC;? said Bugatha, who works in Madras Engineering in Bengaluru. However, his lone-term aim is to get into marathon so that he can compete in 2020 Tokyo Olympics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To get qualification in 10,000m or 5,000m in Olympics is difficult, but in marathon the chances are high. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see.â&#x20AC;?

I love it when people clap for me. Hence, I am hungry to achieve something. This is not my event, I just wanted to test my capacity and see how much I can run Srinu Bugatha, Marathoner

Mumbai: Many professional athletes, including international and Indian, stepped on to the field to better their preious best or with aim to win at the Mumbai Marathon on Sunday. However, as the clock ticked, the runners were in for a disappointment. The athletes complained of disturbances by fellow runners (participants dream run and half marathon) and lack of water facilities at different stages of the race. The overall womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winner Amane Gobena of Ethiopia, who finished with timing of 2:25:49, was the first to slam the organisers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a quite difficult race as there were a lot of people (casual participants in other non-competitive events) on the road. It was difficult to concentrate,â&#x20AC;? said Gobena at the post-event media conference. Gobena finished first in 2:25:49 and was well ahead of defending champion Bornes Kitur of Kenya who clocked 2:28:48 to finish second. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had prepared very well for the race. We (She and Kitur) were together for the first 25 kms, and after 25 kms I knew I was going to win. At one point, I thought I will break the course record, but as I said there were a lot of people (on the road) and temperatures were also rising, So I had to slow down,â&#x20AC;? said Gobena. He also expressed disappointment for not receiving water at three different stages of the race. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At 5, 15 and 30 km marks it was difficult to get water. There were many corners (due to construction work for Mumbai Metro),â&#x20AC;? she said. They were unhappy with unclear streets, thanks to metro construction work. Bornes Kitur, who finished second, agreed with Gobena. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Construction work was a problem. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The last km was difficult as there were a lot of corners,â&#x20AC;? said the Kenyan runner.

Sanchez â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;arrives at Man United training groundâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

H Mkhitaryan and Alexis Sanchez Manchester: Alexis Sanchez arrived at Manchester Unitedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s training ground ahead of his expected move from Arsenal on Sunday, reports said, as his swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan edged closer. Earlier, the Chile international posted a video on Instagram, apparently showing him walking across an airstrip towards a private jet following reports that he was due in northwest England for a medical. Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daily Telegraph newspaper said Sanchez had been pictured arriving at Unitedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Carrington training complex to complete his move from the London club, widely expected to be finalised on Monday. Sky reported that Mkhitaryan would have a medical in London on Sunday. Chileâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sanchez, 29, is set to become Unitedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best-paid player, with some reports putting his salary at ÂŁ400,000 ($554,000) per week, prompting a warning from former England boss Steve McClaren that his high wages could create dressing-room disharmony. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wage parity is very important to players. Yes, they find out â&#x20AC;&#x201D; at all levels â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and if someone is paid a lot higher than others that can cause a problem,â&#x20AC;? he said. Sky Sports News showed Armenian international Mkhitaryan, also 29, at a central London hotel on Saturday evening alongside agent Mino Raiola. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;AFP

Mohun Baganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dipanda Dicka tries to score against arch-rivals East Bengal during the I-League Derby in Kolkata on Sunday

Dicka stars as Bagan beat East Bengal 2-0 Kolkata: Criticised for being profligate inside the 18-yard box, Dipanda Dicka stepped up his game when it mattered most with two brilliant goals, as Mohun Bagan outclassed East Bengal 2-0 in a muchanticipated I-League derby here on Sunday. Written off in the run-up to the high-voltage fixture due to 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 Bengalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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. The Cameroonian struck the first one with a snap volley in what was one of the fastest goal of the season in the opening minute while the second one (34th) was a treat

Mohun Baganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dipanda Dicka celebrates a goal on Sunday

Today I will dedicate the win to Sony Norde. The win was very important for the team. I must say that the second goal was my personal best Dipanda Dicka to the eyes as his acrobatic volley thundered into the back of the net. This was East Bengalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second loss of the season and both have come against their bitter foes, the first being a 0-1 defeat on December 3 in the first-leg. Emotional scenes were witnessed in the embattled Mariners camp as the greenand-maroon fans sported masks of Sony Norde, their injured star I-League winning striker, who has decided to part ways.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;PTI

second front page

I hope they don’t just (play tennis) because we don’t need another 25 years on tour. If there’s going to be anything in sports or somewhere in finance or business, I’ll be incredibly supportive of them —Roger Federer on his children

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snapshot

‘Won’t spare fat cats who line their pockets’

Students may get Rahul to rake up farmer issues edu loan interest The real agenda is MP elections BJP to change plan subsidy directly strategy and counter-strategy

after Dalit upsurge

DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net

British PM Theresa May In the spring, we will set out tough new rules for executives who try to line their own pockets by putting their workers’ pensions at risk an acceptable abuse that we will end

Too often we’ve seen top executives reaping big bonuses for recklessly putting short-term profit ahead of long-term success. Our best businesses know that is not a responsible way to run a business and those who do so will be forced to explain themselves

The state also has a role to play when things go wrong and companies fail, as Carillion did last week

Not by bailing out the directors with a blank cheque – it will be the shareholders of Carillion, not taxpayers, who pay the price for the company’s collapse

The state can and should help to rebalance the system in favour of ordinary working people. By this time next year, all listed companies will have to reveal the pay ratio between bosses and workers. They will also have to explain how they take into account their employees’ interests, giving unscrupulous employers nowhere to hide.

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi plans to hold a rally on farmers’ issues in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, where elections are due this year end. Sources say that Congress is keen to rope in other leaders from Opposition parties for the rally as well and the Congress president has also talked to rebel JDU MP Sharad Yadav in this regard. As party vice president, Gandhi had visited the farmer agitation hit regions of the state in June last year after the Mandsaur farmer protests and met family members of the farmers killed allegedly in police firing. Yadav belongs to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh and has

Siddhartha Rai siddhartha.rai@dnaindia.net

Rahul Gandhi has plans to hold a rally in MP and is keen to rope in BJP’s rivals been in the forefront in organising “Saanjhi Virasat Bachao (Save Composite Culture) conferences in states. The lull that was there in such meetings due to Gujarat assembly polls will be over now as Opposition leaders plan more such conferences in near future. In his conversation with Gandhi some days ago, Yadav is learnt to have told the Congress president that the programme could be the best medium to bring all hues of

Opposition parties together on a stage and it’s time the Saanhi Virasat programme was again started. Gandhi is learnt to have expressed his agreement. Yadav has also held deliberations over it with CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh chief and Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar. Yadav met Ambedkar in the national capital on Sunday. Full story: www.dnaindia.com

New Delhi: The BJP may have been out to appropriate Dalit icon BR Ambedkar, the recent Dalit upsurge in Maharashtra has prompted the saffron party to go the extra mile. The government is now eyeing to harness Babu Jagjivan Ram’s legacy to its pantheon. Among other positions, Ram served as the deputy prime minister and was the father of Meira Kumar, senior Congress leader and the first woman speaker of Lok Sabha. Social justice and empowerment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot has writ-

Sterling Group received largesse even after default DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net The Sandesara Group, under CBI and ED scanner for defaulting more than Rs 5,300 crore in bank loans as also bribing three senior income tax officials, was the cynosure of all eyes till agencies started chasing it. It has now emerged that not only was the group, accused of defrauding banks since 2010, which has a strong presence in Gujarat, close to top leaders of several political parties, it continued to get government largesse in the shape of subsidised land till about three years back.

Sources say the CBI and ED have in their possession documents to prove that the Group, which runs Sterling Biotech, Sterling SEZ, Sterling Ports, Sterling Energy and PMT Machines, among others, continued to do business with the BJP’s Gujarat government till last year. In June 2014, the State Government’s Gujarat Maritime Board entered into a concessional agreement with Sterling Port for development a greenfield port at Dahej in Bharuch district. The project was to cost about Rs 4,060 crore over a period of 10-12 years. To help it develop the project, the company was

‘leading engg firm’

Image for representation awarded a 30-year concession. So much so that in the last three years, the Gujarat government has acquired over 100 hectares of land for the company. Incidentally, in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, the port being developed by the

Even though the ED has made arrests on the premise that PMT Machines Ltd was used to launder loans, the Vibrant Gujarat 2017 brochure calls it a leading heavy engineering firms company was showcased as a big achievement. Investigators are looking into the issue of how and at whose orders Sterling SEZ, incorporated in 2006, was granted several hundred acres of land at Jambusar to develop a SEZ. Company’s

OP Rawat to take over as CEC from Joti DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net New Delhi: Om Prakash Rawat has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), succeeding incumbent Achal Kumar Jyoti to the post, the Law Ministry said on Sunday. AK Joti is expected to hand over the reigns of the Election Commission to Rawat on January 23. Rawat has been appointed as the 22nd CEC by President Ram Nath Kovind on the recommendation of the central government. Also, former finance secretary Ashok Lawasa has been appointed as the election commissioner. Joti’s tenure was marked by several high-profile deci-

ten to Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar to include five places associated with the life of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, designated as ‘holy places of pilgrimage’ by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government and called the ‘Panchteerth’ (five places of pilgrimage) in the curriculum of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). “We are exploring the possibility of including study material regarding Babu Jagjivan Ram and his life in the school curriculum, in books such as NCERT, and the curriculum in states. We have requested the same to states,” said Gehlot. Full story: www.dnaindia.com

Knowing new CEC An 1977 Batch IAS officer, Rawat had retired as secretary to the Govt of India, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Department of Public Enterprises on December 31, 2013 on superannuation sions, including some that created controversies. The EC under his tenure had nullified two votes of Congress rebels in favour of BJP during the Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat, which ensured that Congress candidate Ahmed Patel won his seat by a whisker. Three days before his retirement, the election

Om Prakash Rawat commission took a decision to disqualify 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs. As the commission consists of two commissioners besides the CEC, Sunil Arora is the second election commissioner along with Lawasa. Rawat, who will take over as the CEC this week, is a

retired Indian Administrative Service officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre (Batch 1977). Prior to his appointment as Election Commissioner of India, he had retired as Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Department of Public Enterprises on December 31, 2013 on superannuation. In 1993, in his first stint at Centre, Rawat served as Director/Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry. During this tenure, he was deputed to South Africa in May, 1994 as United Nations election observer to oversee maiden elections in the country post-apartheid.

promoters are alleged to be close to several top leaders of BJP and Congress. Incidentally, while the promoters are currently absconding, sources in the agencies say a Gulfstream aircraft used by the promoters travelled to the US from a West African country in December last. Sources in the agency say a detailed dossier has been prepared about the links of the promoters with various government functionaries and politicians. The several foreign trips undertaken by them along with senior officers of Gujarat government are also under the scanner.

Kritika Sharma kritika.sharma@dnaindia.net New Delhi: The Ministry of Human Resource Development is in the process of amending its scheme meant to pay interest on education loans for students from the economically weaker section. Instead of transferring the money to a bank’s account, the sum could directly be credited to the student’s account to maintain greater transparency and reduce the number of outstanding loans, official sources told DNA. The government pays the interest amount on education loans for students whose annual family income is not more than Rs 4.5 lakh per annum. Senior officials in the ministry have been trying towards revamping the Interest Subsidy Scheme as the number of outstanding education loans has been on a continuous high for the last many years. According to a study conducted by Professor Jayadev M from the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, the unpaid loans has been rising at a rate of 12 per cent since 2008. As per the data compiled by the Indian Banks’ Association, the total outstanding education loans at the end financial year 201617 stood at Rs 67,678.5 crore. The ministry has been increasing its budget under the subsidy scheme. While it allocated Rs 1,100 crore in 201314, the amount rose to Rs 2,081 crore in 2014-15 and Rs 2,130 crore in the next fiscal. There was a slight dip in allocation in the 2016-17 budget when the amount was Rs 1,950 crore.

Members of historical military clubs in Soviet army uniform participate in a World War II battle reconstruction during a military show marking the 75th anniversary of the battle that broke the Siege of Leningrad near Kirovsk, about 30 km east of St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday—AP

Maha leads the way in building toilets

Blast kills 4 at Vadodara chemical plant

Women take out rally against Padmaavat

New Delhi: Maharashtra has constructed the maximum number of individual household toilets under the Centre’s flagship Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) scheme, followed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, according to official data. Till November last year, as many as 42.72 lakh household toilets have been constructed against the target of 66.42 lakh, recording an achievement of nearly 64 per cent. The government launched Swachh Bharat Mission in October 2, 2014 with an aim of eliminating open defecation, manual scavenging and scientific management of municipal waste by October 2, 2019. The Centre is focusing on construction of toilets to make the cities open defecation free by 2019. Till November last year, Maharashtra constructed 6.33 lakh individual household toilets, while Gujarat built 5.60 lakh and Madhya Pradesh 4.93 lakh. The BJP is in power in these states. According to revised guidelines in October last year, the states have to contribute a minimum of Rs 2,667 towards individual toilets to match the central

Vadodara: At least four workers were killed and nine others injured on Sunday in a blast at a chemical plant on the outskirts of Vadodara, a senior official said. The blast at a chemical plant of the GSP Crop Science Pvt Ltd led to a huge fire in the premises, a police official said. The blast occurred around 5.30 am in the filter plant of the company, located in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation area at Nandesari. “Four of the firm’s employees were killed in the mishap,” Vadodara district collector P Bharthi said. The injured victims were admitted to different hospitals, she said. Two of the injured were reported to be serious, said the collector. “We have ordered an inquiry into the mishap.” The cause of the blast was not immediately known. The firefighters took around two hours to douse the blaze, a police official said. The machinery and equipment in two plants of the company were damaged in the incident. The firm’s units located in the surrounding areas were asked to shut down, a fire brigade official —PTI said.

Women from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh took out a huge rally in Chittorgarh to protest release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmaavat. The Swabhiman Rally saw hundreds of protesters brandishing swords and raising slogans against the film. The rally was organised by the Jauhar Kshatrani Manch, Karni Sena and Jauhar Smriti Manch. The rally started from the ‘jauhar stal’, the place where the 13th century Queen Padmini had committed jauhar and ended at the ‘jauhar jyoti

A toilet block in Bandra, Mumbai

The progress Till November last year, Maharashtra constructed 6.33 lakh individual household toilets, while Gujarat built 5.60 lakh and Madhya Pradesh 4.93 lakh. share of Rs 4,000 per beneficiary. For north eastern and Himalayan states, the central share is Rs 10,800 for construction of each household toilet and state’s share is Rs 1,200 per beneficiary. For UTs with an elected government, the Centre will contribute Rs 4000, while the UTs share will be Rs 1,333 per beneficiary. For UTs without an elected government, the Centre will contribute 100 per cent funding of Rs 5,333 per household toilets. —PTI

‘No compromise’ The protesters said they will not back down on their demand for a nationwide ban on Padmaavat They said they have also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Women during Sunday’s rally mandir’, a temple to commemorate the three jauhars that have taken place across different centuries in Chittorgarh. On the way they met cinema hall owners and tied raksha bandhan to them and

urged them to not exhibit Padmaavat. They also gave a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SDM Chittorgarh seeking Euthanasia (ichchaa mrityu) if the film is not banned.

Even as money is being given to banks on time, the outstanding amount has been on the rise. We think it would be better to directly transfer the amount to the students’ accounts Source in HRD Ministry The amount might go up again in the coming budget, sources said. “Even as the money is being given to banks on time, the outstanding amount has been on the rise. This is the reason we think it would be better to directly transfer the amount to the students’ accounts. There is a possibility that the banks use the pool of money and loan it to further earn interest on it,” said a source in the ministry. A note regarding the proposed change in the scheme has already been moved in the ministry. The Planning Commission’s report (2011) suggests that to reach the targeted higher education gross enrolment ratio of 30 percent by 2020, at least 20 percent of the enrolled students should have access to educational loans.

Call drops telco-specific, asserts COAI

Reliving wwii

Sangeeta Pranvendra sangeeta.pranvendra@dnaindia.net

Image for representation

Speaking to DNA Nirmala Rathore, general secretary JKM said, “We will not compromise on our demand for a nationwide ban on Padmaavat. The cinema hall owners in respect of of the rakhi we tied to them have promised us that they would not release the film in their theatres.” “We have written a letter to the Prime Minister and demanded that either the film be banned or grant us sanction for ichcha mrityu. If both these demands are disregarded we will go ahead with our plan of jauhar,” said Devendra Kanwar of Karni Sena.

New Delhi: Industry body 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 and Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan is planning a meeting with operators soon to convey concern over call quality. Apex industry body Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) Director General Rajan Mathews said the problem is confined to geographical pockets and some companies. It should not be seen as industry-wide problem, he said. “Obviously there are some companies that have gone out of business and not investing. If you are customer of these companies, you’ll see some challenges because towers are being shut down or not being maintained. To say its emblematic of whole industry is not fair,” saod Mathews. As an aggregate, these issues could be driving the overall averages down for the —PTI industry.

BJYM will salute Netaji through blood donations Siddhartha Rai siddhartha.rai@dnaindia.net

Image for representation

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s clarion call of ‘Give me blood and I will give you freedom’ rather too seriously and literally, with its youth wing kicking off a blood donation drive across the country to commemorate the birth anniversary of the freedom fighter. The aim of the drive, according to functionaries of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva

Morcha, led by Poonam Mahajan, is to create a directory of ‘swayamsevi raktdata’ or ‘volunteer blood donors’ from across the country. The organisational facet of the exercise is to associate youngsters with the organisation via the ostensibly neutral and humanitarian cause of blood donation. The youth wing of the Centre’s ruling party is keen on creating a directory of one lakh donors from every state by January 23, which is the birth anniversary of Netaji.

“For carrying out the campaign we are organising blood donation camps across the country and recording the names of those who are joining the drive voluntarily. The data collected will be sent to the Central office by January 31 by way of emails from all states,” BJYM functionary Jayram Viplav told DNA. The donation drive started on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on January 12. Full story: www.dnaindia.com