Postnoon E-Paper for 19 July 2012 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 HYDERABAD

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

students protest

Indian fashion industry has new entrants who are making waves in the fashion world. Here are some designers with their own labels who showcase their collections during Indian fashion weeks.

P22&23

FLASH Shruti Haasan has officially signed her second Hindi film. She'll soon be seen in Prabhu Deva's upcoming Hindi film, which is reportedly a remake of Siddharth, Trisha starrer Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana.

Darkness descends

‘no warning given’

P16&17

FLASH

The US ship that fired at Indian fishermen off the Dubai coast, killing one and injuring three, did not warn them, Dubai Police commander-in-chief was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Batman has no special powers: he does not fly, he has no superhuman strength and he certainly spins no web — he is just an ordinary man. Tomorrow The Dark Knight Rises releases. Here’s your guide to it.

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER N SHIVA KUMAR

P21

Gen Next Designers

OU students took out a chalo assembly rally to protest against T-men participating in the presidential elections. Fourteen students were arrested and taken to Nallakunta police station.

Shruti signs film

32 PAGES

WEATHER: CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS LIKELY; 23°C

JAGAN’S FREE... ...for one hour only

Hype, grapevine, tension and theatrics were all in good measure in the presidential election, which was held at the Assembly. Jagan’s arrival for voting was the high point of the day. REPORT ON P5

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

city events

Theatre on your mind?

If theatre is on your mind this week head to Lamakaan, Banjara Hills. The play The Park will be presented on July 22 at 5pm. The play written by Manav Kaull and directed by Firoze revolves around three men who visit a park. There reason for visiting the park is what the play describes.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

overnight

23°C

21°C

Cloudy with showers likely.

Cloudy.

Morning

Afternoon

24°C

27°C

Cloudy with showers likely.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 39 Max 32 Min 26 Min 27 Partly Cloudy.

Clear with chances of rain.

Chennai Max 36 Min 27

Bangalore Max 29 Min 20

Clear with cloudy spells.

Cloudy with chances of rain.

AROUND THE CITY YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES Saifabad When: August 16 onwards 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2323 1245

EXHIBITION Lepakshi Mela Lepakshi Craft Bazaar 2012 featuring artists from AP and other states is being held. The exhibition-cum-sale will be on till July 23. Where: Sri Kalyan Gardens, Miyapur Crossroads When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2323 5028

Monsoon mania Ramoji Film City celebrates the onset of monsoon with eight weeks of funfilled activities and entertainment with magic of cinema starting from July 1 to August 31. Monsoon Masti is an occasion for the entire family .Where: Ramoji Film City, Hayathnagar When: Ongoing, 9am onwards Contact: (040) 2341 2262

Pochampally mela Head to the Pochampally mela for handmade bed and home linen, dress materials, silk and cotton sarees. Where: Sri Sathya Sai Nigmagamam, Sri Nagar Colony When: Ongoing, 10am onwards Contact: (040) 2374 1450 Kanchi collections A saree exhibition by Kanchi weavers will be held on July 19 and July 20. Where: Taj Deccan, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: June 19 and 20, 12 pm to 3.30pm Contact: (040) 6666 3939

DINING

ART

ALL SET: Preparations are on in full swing in and around the City for Ramzaan. People can be seen setting up stalls N SHIVA KUMAR to prepare Haleem such as this one in Shalibanda. Where: Novotel Airport, Shamshabad When: Ongoing, 6.30pm Contact: (040) 6625 0000

When: Ongoing, Contact: (040) 6463 6375

Middle Eastern food fest Take a trip to the Middle East with the Middle Eastern Food Festival being held at Arena, Taj Deccan till July 21. Where: Arena, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: Ongoing, 7.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 6666 3939 Parantha festival Haldi at Novotel Airport is hosting a parantha festival titled Parantha Overload. The parantha festival on till August 15, offers a variety of paranthas in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian combinations.

Commissioner & Spl Officer

Helpline GAS BOOKING IVRS NO HP 9666023456 Indane 9848824365 BSNL Complaints HMWS & SB Complaints

198 155313

POLICE CONTROL ROOM Hyderabad 27852435 Traffic Control Room 27852482 DCP Traffic 23234065, 23243499F Pollution Control Board 23887500 ELECTRICITY General Complaints Breakdown Section

Burger fest HRC is hosting the Legendary Burger Festival. Sample a variety of burgers from around the world. Where: Hard Rock Cafe, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1

155333 23431178 23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

23262266 24166666R ENC 23225267 Engineering 23220418 MCH Tankbund 23225397 Emergency MCH Circle I&II 24525842 MCH Circle III 24736912 MCH Circle IV 23326975 MCH Circle V 23326976 MCH Circle VI MCH Complaints 1100 Head Office 23225397 IVRS CUM MANUAL ENQUIRY PHONE NUMBERS (TRAIN & RESERVATION) RAILWAYS Rail Nilayam 27833169, 27824216 Railway Information 131 Reservations 135 Recorded Information 1345 Enquiry (IVRS) 1331, 1332, 1333

Sizzler festival Love sizzlers? Head to Aditya Park Inn for the Sizzler festival. Sample a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian sizzlers. The festival is on till July 22. Where: The Promenade, Ameerpet When: Ongoing, 7pm onwards Contact: (040) 6678 8888

SHOWS Laugh riot Lamakaan, Banjara Hills will be showcasing the movie Superman of Malegaon by Faizi Ahmed Khana on July 19. Where: Lamakaan,

WATER SUPPLY Complaint Cell Sewerage Complaint Hyd. Water Supply HOSPITAL General Hospital, Sec-bad Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills NIMS, Director, Punjagutta Osmania General Hospital Railway Hospital, Lalaguda Apollo, Jubilee Hills Care Hospital, Banjara Hills Care Hospital, Nampally Care Hospital, Musheerabad Care Hospital, Sec-bad Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar

155313 23307328 23313163

27505566 23314095 23390933 24600146 27001134 23607777 30418888 30417777 30419000 30416666 39879999

BLOOD BANKS Blood Bank,Narayanguda Chiranjeevi Blood Bank Blood Bank Mediton Goal Red Cross, Vidyanagar ADRM Blood Bank Mythri Charitable Trust NTR Memorial Trust Care Banjara Hills

Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: July 19, 7.30pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329 French Film The French film Les Demoiselles de Rochefort will be screened at Alliance Francaise. The film revolves around the life of two young women. Where: Alliance Francaise, Marredpally When: July 20, 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2770 0734 Theatre festival The seventh edition of the multi-lingual theatre festival — Abhinaya National Theatre Festival will be held from August 16 to August 19. Where: Ravindra Bharathi,

27567892 23559555 23226624 27633087 27035588 27550238 30799999 30418296 30417445

AMBULANCES Apollo 23548888, 23607777 Kamineni 24022222 Medwin 23202902, 23204616 Smile Line Dental Hospital 23747979 Red Cross 27627973 Niloufer Hospital 23314095 Gandhi 23320332 AIRLINES

Scaffold to infinity An exhibition of constructivist wooden sculptures by senior sculptor and artist Aekka Yadagiri Rao are being displayed. Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: Ongoing, 11.30 am onwards Contact: 98499 6879

Living with the masters An exhibition of paintings by artistes such as Akbar Padamsee, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Ganesh Pyne, Jagdish Swaminathan, K G Subramanyan, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, S H Raza, Tyeb Mehta is being held. Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills, When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 6656 4466

Airport Director 27903785, 27906001 For Air India Flight Information Toll free (from any network) for IC Flights 18001801407 And for All Flights: 1800227722 Air India has revised its flight timings. For more information call (Toll free) 18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from other lines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in TOURISM OFFICES AP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54 Sec-bad 27893100 Dept of Tourism 23453110 India Tourism 23261360 AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999 UK VISA OFFICE VFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A, Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7

Beside Meridian School, Banjara Hills34. Working hours are from 8 AM to 1 PM And 2 PM to 3PM. MUSEUMS Salar Jung Museum AP State Museum Nizams Museum

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

Readers’ views

We invite you to write to us comments, suggestions, viewpoint or just about anything to feedback@postnoon.com or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500 033 or even by way of a call on 4067 2222

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

City

3 hurt due to misfiring in police training

Three trainees were injured when a weapon got misfired while policemen of the Fourth Batallion were being trained in firing in Warangal. The injured were rushed to MGM hospital where they are said to be out of danger. APSP authorities have ordered an inquiry into the accident.

SEX OFFENDER

GENDER BIAS

Birth of second daughter drives man to kill himself

Man held for showing porn to kids

MOHD SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

PIC FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE

Kishore was worried that he would not be able to meet dowry demands when his daughters were of a marriageable age.

n yet another sad story of gender bias, a young man, reportedly depressed at his wife delivering a second daughter hanged himself in his home in Neredmet on Sunday. B Ratna, the sister-in-law of the deceased, G Kishore Kumar, 27, informed the Neredmet police that Kishore was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his home in Sri Sai Nagar colony under the Cyberabad commissionerate and as far as she knew he was deeply upset at his wife Vijaya delivering a second daughter whereas he was fondly hoping for a son.

Kishore, a native of East Godavari district, had come to the City eight years ago. He was working in a hotel and had married Vijaya six years ago.

Two years back a daughter was born to them and now another baby girl had saddened him, kin said. It is said, Kishore was wor-

ried that he was a poor man and he would not be able to meet the dowry demands when his daughters attain marriageable age. However, sub inspector Nerdetmet M Veersam said no suicide note was found on Kishore. He was alone at home since his wife had gone to her native place for her delivery.

POSTNOON NEWS mohd.s@postnoon.com n Arabic Madrasa teacher and worker from Bihar, Mohd Osman, was on Monday caught while showing pornographic clippings to kids. He was thrashed and handed over to the Rajendranagar police. Osman was initially assigned the job of collecting funds from people and a few months ago he bolted with the `30,000 he had collected. When he returned he was reinstated with a rebuke. Osman, 27, joined madrascum-hostel Darur Ulai Siddiqi akbar at Indiranagar. According to a complaint by president Liyakath, Osman gathered the boys in a room and showed them the clippings. One of the boys tipped off the president.

city THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 LAST YEAR... HERE All are not equal

hat’s the ﬁrst thing that happens when you default a bill payment? The connection is suspended. At least for the common man. Last year we reported how some of the top government defaulters like the police department, department of municipal administration etc that caused the water board to amass arears to the tune of `400 crore went scot-free.

JULY 19, 2011

NUMEROLOGY

600

shops and 300 counters make up Jagdish market, once a thriving cellphone market, that is now losing out to big players and illegal activities by some newer entrants.

Half knowledge is no knowledge. These drains have caused unwanted problems and now we don’t have drinking water. We deal with a foul smell and garbage. Geetha, resident, KPHB See page 6

THINGS WE 5LEARNED TODAY The column that teaches everyone something new about the way the City functions.

Have you lost your mobile phone? Fuggedaboutit! Our City cops are brutally honest. One of our staffers lost her phone and when she went to report it, they did not even ﬁle a complaint, but ‘graciously’ said: “Forget about it.”

Our City’s ageing markets need some TLC. Like our story on Jagdish Market shows, our retail heritage must be preserved. Where else are we going to get those cracking deals.

SPOTLIGHT ON ABIDS

Jagdish market loses business to big players Old-timers claim, new players are tarnishing the market’s name by tampering with IMEI numbers, phone cloning and selling stolen or defective pieces ANUBHA K SINGH anubha.k@postnoon.com

bids is probably one of the oldest business areas in the twin cities. Dotted with several local market, the area’s importance has only risen over the years, thanks to its thriving shopping centres. One such market that Abids boasts of is Jagdish market. In fact, it’s the one place most people make a beeline for when they want to buy a cellphone at an affordable price. On any given day the market is chock-a-block with stores selling cellphones and related accessories. What had initially started as a market for watches and electronics soon turned into what is now touted as Asia’s largest cellphone market. It is said to be the largest grey market for selling the latest and some of the most expensive cellphones in the market. However, the market which once thrived on its cellphone business seems to have lost some of its charm, with bigger players entering the fray. “Earlier, mobile phones were a status symbol for many of us. But today it’s more of a need. Gone are the days when people bought the latest models of phones for the cheapest available price, as Jagdish market was known for it. Also the market earned a dubious distinction for various reasons and it ultimately affected sales in the area,” said Md Ameenuddin, a store owner in the area. “Another major reason for this dip in sales are the mushrooming mobile phone outlets and authorised dealers in the City. Many people now prefer buying a phone from the show-

The market was once a hub for all cellphone trading business

room or a bigger outlet as they give you option of paying in EMIs, good customer care service and guarantee period. People have started losing faith in Jagdish market products,”

Jagdish market’s claim to fame Number of shops

600

Number of counters

300

Other name Abids Shopping Centre Major brands Nokia, Samsung, Siemens, Motorola, Sony and chinese made mobile phones.

Ameenuddin adds. Ameenuddin had four shops in the market but due to the loss he was incurring he shifted his shops to Old city and is now just operating two mobile repair counters in Jagdish Market. He is not the only one to feel this way. Many others feel the pinch as private operators eat into their business and are now either shutting shop or merely operating service centres. However, there are still plenty of youngsters who turn to this market everytime they want to buy a new phone. There is always something for every kind of buyer here. Be it the latest phone or a chinese made phone, Jagdish market has it all.

N SHIVA KUMAR

What’s more people also come here to sell second-hand or stolen phones. The market also prides itself on being able to unlock phones that have been bought outside the country and are locked for certain SIM card providers. Yet, the sharp decline cannot be ignored and old timers blame it all on the younger ones, who they say are tarnishing the market’s name. “The market is losing its status because of the new comers. Many youngsters are opening counters and carrying out illegal work like tampering of IMEI numbers, phone cloning, selling defective parts, selling stolen phones in box with a seal,” said, Ayub Khan, proprietor, Khan Electronics.

The President may be a titular ﬁgure, but not so the polls to elect them. Jagan out on a voting jaunt, the nation’s politicos up in arms about the next prez, you’d think 2014 was already here.

Prohibitory orders around Assembly today

HC stays judgment against Abu Salem

Residents find foetus by the roadside

Woman’s body found in decomposed state

The City stinks and no one cares! From HMDA to Ameerpet, the City’s drains runneth over. So what is the GHMC doing? Sweet nothing it would seem.

Water shortage again! You’d think we were 3rd World. Another water shortage hits City, so much for progress.

NEWS BRIEFS ith a view to maintain public order and tranquility, City police commissioner Anurag Sharma, has prohibited all kinds of assembly, meeting or procession that can disturb peace and security within a two kilometer radius of the Assembly in connection with Presidential election. It is effective for 24 hours from 6am on July 19.

igh Court today stayed the CBI court ruling against underworld don Abu Salem scheduled for today in a fake passport scam. The CBI court had posted the judgment on the case for today. Abu was brought to the CBI court last week. He is lodged in a Mumbai jail. Abu’s lawyer had approached the HC for a stay on the pronouncement.

olice of Bhawaninagar on Thursday found a foetus of a male baby on the roadside at Kumar Wadi in the Eddibazar area. Some passersby, horriﬁed by the sight of the human foetus informed the police who shifted the remains to the Osmania Hospital mortuary for post mortem and disposal. A case has been registered.

ahmooda Begum, 60, a resident of Venkatapur was found dead under suspicious circumstances today, Pahadisharif police said. The incident came to light when neighbours reported a foul smell. The police found the woman’s decomposed body. Enquiries revealed she was living with her cousin who left her two months ago.

city THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

High drama marks prez poll NUMEROLOGY

Hype, grapevine and tension were all in good measure in the presidential election at the Assembly. Jagan’s coming for voting was the high point of the day

Here’s a break up of the strength of all the political parties

N SHIVA KUMAR

INKESAHF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

155 17 7 3 1 4 17 84 1

n an interesting and exciting presidential election today full of drama, many bunked and many bonged. While the Congress, YSRC, MIM and BJP besides the lone Lok Satta MP had been engaged in the presidential voting in the Assembly, the opposition TDP, TRS and CPI stayed away. By 11.30 am some 30 per cent voting had been completed, the chief electoral office said. But, suddenly, buzz spread that four TDP MLAs and one MLC had turned up at the Assembly with an apparent intention to vote despite the party diktat. However, three vanished soon after and two remained. Of them, Chinnam Ramkotaiah declared that he would vote. This created a sudden uproar in and outside the Assembly. Rumours were flying thick and fast and many sent out their theory to the media persons waiting outside as to who the ‘rebel’ MLAs of the TDP would vote for. Sources, claiming to be close to the party, floated a whisper that more are likely to come from the bicycle camp as the vot-

Congress

YSRCP

MIM

BJP

CPM

Jagan and Mopidevi step out to cast their vote

ing goes on till 5pm. Meanwhile, despite a ban of the gathering of four or more people for a two kilometre radius

N SHIVA KUMAR

around the Assembly in view of the voting, a tense situation prevailed as the riot police took position to prevent a reported

protest procession by the OU JAC. Meanwhile, news of YSRC chief Jaganmohan Reddy coming to vote generated much excitement. The news of incarcerated minister Mopidevi Venkatramana and Jagan leaving the Chanchalguda prison by 12pm stirred a sudden rush of energy in and outside the Assembly. Police, marshals and functionaries, were all seen visibly tense and in a state of flux.

CPI

TRS

TDP

Lok Satta

ADMINISTRATION

Mantri-babu cold war rages unabated POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

he recent outburst of minister TG Venkatesh on the functioning of IAS officers seems to be taking its toll on the already-crippled governance. Venkatesh, while addressing a meeting in Kurnool district, had called upon people to gun down bureaucrats, who fail to discharge or ignore their duties. The comments made by the minister triggered a row with IAS officers formally lodging a com-

plaint with Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Chief Secretary Minnie Mathew. But the CM did not give any assurance to the IAS officers over taking action against the minister. The stand-off between the ministers and bureaucrats has lately amplified the fear of delay in processing of files by IAS officers citing rule book. After the arrest of senior IAS officers like BP Acharya and Y Sri Lakshmi, it has become a norm for the babus to strictly follow the rules while giving their approvals.

Pick

One such example is returning of files of HMDA Commissioner Neerabh Kumar Prasad seeking clarification after clarification on building projects. According to sources at CMO, about 2,000 files are still pending approval. In fact, in the past also, many ministers like K Jana Reddy had expressed their displeasure over non-clearance of files. IAS Officers Association vice-president Prashanth Mahapatro and general secretary Raymond Peter met the CM and submitted a copy of the resolu-

at the

tion passed by the body condemning Venkatesh’s statement. The officers’ body had earlier met the CM against alleged discrepancies in CBI’s investigations in three major cases, including the Jagan case. “The minister made some comments and the officers fought back. We better leave the issue at this stage,” a source close to the CM remarked. The source also pointed out that the CM had issued a statement urging ministers to maintain restraint while making public statements.

airport,

city THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 CIVIC

Drain water stagnation woes for KPHB residents In order to provide relief to residents from stagnant water, storm water drains were to be laid. But the incomplete work has now added to the residents’ growing list of problems. SUDESHNA KOKA sudeshna. k@postnoon.com

PHB (Kukatpally Housing Board) colony, the largest residential colony in Asia, has the biggest set of civic worries. They are not troubled by the absence of facilities but by the additional work which was started but left incomplete. As a precautionary measure the GHMC dug up roads to build storm water drains at Phase 3. However, the work was left half done and this has created new problems. Now the drain water gets mixed with the rain water and gets stagnated. There is no channel for the water to flow out. “There is no doubt that during the rainy season water would enter our homes. However, this new line which aimed to solve our problems has now created additional trouble. Now the water clogs and there is a pool of stagnant water. Mosquitoes breed in this water and cause diseases,” fumes Krishna V, media professional. While digging up the storm water drains the GHMC workers by mistake broke the drainage water pipe and the drinking (Manjeera) water pipe. Now not just the drain and rain but the drinking water too is contaminated. “Our drinking water is black in colour and has a foul smell. The drain water got mixed with drinking water.

Facts about Kukatpally n Asia’s largest residential colony. n Has the City’s best educational institutes with some the oldest like JNTU. n Hosts leading FnB and shopping outlets such as CMR, RS Brothers, Chandana Brothers and Chennai Shopping Mall, Reliance and Brand Factory.

Other such areas in the City with similar problems n Picket n Old Bowenpally n Padmarao Nagar n Ameerpet n Krishnagar

There are hundreds of families here. We don’t have drinking water and there are mosquitoes, foul smell and garbage. Geetha resident, KPHB Colony Nothing can get worse than this. Now we order drinking water. Instead of spending on doctors we are taking precautionary measures,” said Honey Jeeva, resident. Right next to the water-clogged area is the GHMC play ground where children are at a high risk of danger. “Children come here and play. This new water clogging problem is certainly a threat. Mosquitoes have doubled ever since then,” said G Raju, watchmen of the playground. The waste collected from underground has also not been cleaned. It’s been lying like that since the last 15 days. “We have complained to the GHMC but all our complaints fell on deaf ears. Now we are planning to take pictures of the area and go and meet the mayor personally. We have tried every other method but all our efforts were in vain. Now, this is our last resort,” said Raj Reddy, Colony Association, president. The corporator on the other hand is under the impression that all is well and the storm water drains are functioning normally. “Phase 3 has severe problems as the rain water would enter their home. After 25 years we got a sanction to construct the drains. But this is a new development. I was thinking that the work is completed and the drains are functioning normally,” said the Dandamudi Sobhanadri. Geetha, a resident fumes, “Half knowledge is no knowledge. These drains have caused unwanted problems. There are hundreds of families living here. Now we don’t have drinking water and there are mosquitoes, foul smell and garbage. This shows how incompetent our government is.”

An open drain in KPHB Colony

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city THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 CLASSIFIEDS FABRICATION

CIVIC

Neglect raises a stink The residents of Vasavi Colony in Picket have been suffering from clogged drains and stagnant water. Officials promise immediate action to address the issues Md NIZAMUDDIN feedback@postnoon.com

Replace bridge to solve drainage woes

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2012

LONDON OLYMPICS

DAYS TO GO

ith the problem of clogged drains each year, several houses in Vasavi colony, Picket get inundated when there is a heavy downpour. As authorities have overlooked the grim situation for several years, the residents rue about the persistent problem in the locality. They demand desilting of drains to avert inundation. A bridge on the eastern side of the locality is very narrow and appears to be more than 50 years old. The populace point out the narrow openings under the old bridge that get clogged whenever it rains. One of the reasons pointed out by the people is garbage dumped in the nallah by almost every other household. “Last year, the magnitude of inundation was such that almost half of my building was under water. Most of my household items were damaged,” recalls DV Rao, who is working for an NGO. He points out the markings formed by the inundation on his walls inside the house. “This is what happens during the rainy season every year,” laments Rao. According to him, the authorities intervene at the time of trouble, but do not solve the problem com-

The inundation of the area with drain water is causing a problem for the residents in the area. Garbage, mosquitoes and clogged drains are proving to be causes. Residents believe that solutions to these problems would include replacing the old bridge or increasing the height of the existing bridge in Vasavi Colony to allow drain water to ﬂow unobstructed. The residents are also demanding that there should be a fencing near the nallah.

pletely. “It will be better if the authorities take this seriously before it is too late,” he demands. Some locals have a different solution for this persistent problem. Increasing the height of bridge near Vasavi colony will make way for the drain water, similar to the bridge at a nearby location. “There was no need to increase the height on this side, as the real problem persists with this side of the drain,” says Praveen Kumar, a local Moreover, the residents demand installation of fencing at least at few points, where a nallah intersects the road. They believe that this would stop locals from dumping garbage into the nallah. The blockage caused by throwing

This nallah filled with garbage is causing many problems

garbage into the drains is one of the major source of pollution and sometimes diseases. “Look how pigs are feeding from the plastic covers thrown out by people. The clogged water will also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes”, points out Suresh Yadav, a businessman in the area. Many citizens are of the opinion that the situation may not improve until this old bridge

WATER

oday, parts of the City will face a 24-hour water shortage due to the junction works and repair of leaking canals at the pumping main, Peddapur Phase. The 24-hour shutdown of the Manjeera Phase 3 is going to affect a list of areas within the City. Regretting the inconvenience caused, the HMWS&SB in their press release stated there will be 20 mgd shortage at Lingampally balancing reservoir, 10 mgd at Hydernagar reservoir and 10 mgd at Khanapur balancing reservoir. The Lingampally balancing reservoir consists of three working divisions that will be affected today. Three O&M (operations and maintenance) divisions will be affected by a short-

decays itself and paves way for the construction of a new bridge. However, the officials point out that the entire area is under supervision. “I shall take note of the situation in the Vasavi colony and will take up the matter in the meantime. As for the fencing of the nallah, a proposal will be forwarded in the board meeting”, said ward member, Secunderabad Cantonment Board, M Anuradha.

TELANGANA

Water ‘holiday’ hits City POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

N SHIVA KUMAR

age of 20 mgd. Two divisions under Khanapur master balancing reservoir will be affected by a shortage of 10 mgd. Mehdipatnam, Karwan, Bhoiguda, Old Mallepally, Golconda and Kakatiyanagar

and Alabanda will be affected under divisions 3 and 4. The water supply will be cut owing to the junction works on the newly laid 1200 mm pipeline at channel number 420 and 430 near Velemella village. These works were undertaken as part

Areas to face water holiday n (O&M) division number 6 — Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Erragadda, Yellareddyguda, S.R Nagar, Fatehnagar and Sanathnagar. n O&M Division number 7 — Prakashnagar, Hussainsagar Pump house, Srinivas Nagar and Bhoiguda section . n O&M division number 9 Balanagar, Moosapet and parts of KPHB colony. n Four divisions will be affected working under the Hydernagar

Master Balancing reservoir. 9,11,13,15 O&M divisions will be affected respectively. n O&M division number 9 — Bhagyanagar, Kukatpally Housing Board. n O&M division number 11 — Jagadgirigutta, Shapurnagar, Chintal, and Adarshnagar n O&M division number 13 — Alwal municipality and parts of Malkajgiri. n O&M division number 15 — Miyapur.

of the finishing works of the ORR. Also, maintenance work on leakages in the 1600 mm pumping main at Peddapur Phase 4 has made the 24 hour water supply cut inevitable. Despite the press release and the early announcements made about the cut in water supply, people in the affected areas are uninformed about it. Residents and business establishment owners were taken aback by surprise about water supply being affected for 24 hours. “I have not heard about this. We will make arrangements to stock up water for one day now that we know about this,” says Mallick Hussain, a cafe owner. Whether this is going to be A one-off incident or gradually develop into a routine needs to be seen. Adhar Sinha, managing director of the HMWS&SB was unavailable for comment.

TRS threaten to stall Assembly

RS leader and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao today warned that they would stall the Assembly proceedings if the government failed to solve the problems of the Telangana Road Transport employees. Harish Rao was addressing the Telangana Mazdoor Union (TMU) workers, who stormed the Bus Bhavan at RTC crossroads on Wednesday demanding that the management regularise services of contract employees. The TRS leader demanded that the management regularise services of 21,000 contract employees and provide jobs to the kin of the employees, who died on duty. He also wanted the APSRTC management to pay double salary to the employees, who worked on two shifts continuously. NSS

GUIDE TO OUR NEW WEEKDAY DESIGN We believe all innovation should be open source. So here’s our new design... fonts and all. Aurora GreatLakesNF

Gisha Carbon Block

GreatLakesNF

Haettenschweiler Charlotte Sans Bold LET

Gisha PetitLatin

Haettenschweiler Gisha

Palatino

Zurich BdXCn BT AvantGarde Bk BT Gisha Lisboa LF Zurich BdXCn BT

ITC Avant Garde Gothic Demi

Gisha ITC Avant Garde Gothic C 46, M 41, Y 57, K 9 C 1, M 3, Y 19, K 0 C 18, M 16, Y 41, K 0 C 52, M 43, Y 40, K 6 C 69, M 17, Y 69, K 2 C 44, M 36, Y 37, K 2 C 28, M 13, Y 11, K 0

REDESIGNED BY MADHAVA B KULKARNI Welcome to Postnoon’s new weekday design. Why did we do it, well the answer’s rather simple: Every product must undergo a constant evolution. A few months ago we redesigned our Saturday and Sunday editions, and believed that the time had come for our weekday editions to undergo a similar transformation. We, however, wanted to make sure that the weekday and weekend editions bore a look that kept each distinctive. We wanted the busyness of the Monday to Friday editions to slowly give way to the cleaner lines of Saturday and Sunday. But that busyness also had to be elegant, like a well-dressed person running around multi-tasking. Green, the dominating colour of the redesign is a highly underrated hue. Ask someone what image is conjured by the colour and they will say ‘parrot’. But green is far more refined than that. It’s also the colour of luscious olives, the rain-drenched tapestry of a rainforest. It is vibrancy epitomised, and we hope that has come through on today’s pages. One of the redesign’s paramount aims was to make the Postnoon experience a more pleasurable and informative experience.

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

nation

bio-toilets to prevent track corrosion

With the twin objectives of preventing corrosion of tracks and providing odourless toilets to passengers, railways are replacing existing ones with bio-toilets. Rail corrosion costs railways more than `350 crore every year.

VIOLENCE AT MANESAR PLANT

FOOD SECURITY REVIEW

FIR lodged against 60 Maruti workers: Police GURGAON: The Police have lodged an FIR against about 60 workers, including union leaders at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar plant, where one person was killed yesterday in a clash between workers and the managerial s—aff. The company has in the meantime said the plant will remain closed. “The management has given some names of union leaders. An FIR has been lodged against around 60 workers,” SHO Manesar Om Prakash told PTI. A case under sections of murder, attempt to murder, causing grievous injuries and damage to properties and other different sections of Indian Penal Code has been registered against the workers, he added. When asked if any arrests have been made, he did not comment but said “some workers have been detained” without specifying details. “The workers who instigated the violence and committed the crime have been identified and will soon be arrested,” Prakash added. Worker sources said they would not be going for work till the government intervened and all the culprits were arrested. The company had said yesterday violence broke out in the evening when a worker beat up a supervisor on the shop floor. However, the employees union said “objectionable remarks” by the supervisor against an employee triggered the violence. The company had said yes-

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday reviewed food management in the country with senior Cabinet colleagues in the wake of a deﬁcient monsoon and the likely demand on stocks due to the proposed National Food Security Bill. According to sources, the PM reviewed the food stocks’ position and the shortage of storage space given a record 257 million tonnes crop production expected this year. Defence minister AK Antony, home minister P Chidambaram, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and food minister KV Thomas attended the meeting.

NUMEROLOGY

`1,216

Damaged vehicles following clash between workers and management employees at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant on Wednesday. PTI

Sabha, the Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies make up the electoral college. The run-up to the Presidential poll saw its twists and turns with key UPA ally Trinamool Congress ﬁrst declaring its opposition to Mukherjee only to take “the painful decision” to back him. Besides the UPA and its four supporting parties — SP, BSP, RJD, JD(S) — NDA members JD(U) and Shiv Sena as also the CPI(M) and Forward Bloc have declared their support for Mukherjee.

terday in a statement that “workers at the plant turned violent, attacking and injuring executives and managers in the office premises. At least 40 managers and executives are injured, and have been rushed to hospital. The attackers also set fire to property and damaged facilities”. Labour unrest is not a new phenomenon in Manesar plant which mainly produces Swift. The factory had witnessed three such instances last year causing a total production loss of about 83,000 units.

Opposition to RTE takes Keep DNA report secret, bizarre turn in Karnataka ND Tiwari tells court

Lakshmi Sehgal suffers cardiac arrest, critical

US court reserves order in anti-Sikh riots case

Bangalore: Opposition to the Right to Education has taken shocking turns in Karnataka after a school cut off locks of hair of four students and a school head compared admission under the RTE to sewage ﬂow. The government has issued notices to the schools.

Kanpur: Captain Lakshmi Sehgal, 97, who was part of Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army, was admitted to a hospital here today following a cardiac arrest, family sources said. A team of doctors has been appointed to monitor her health condition, they said.

New York: A US judge has reserved his orders on submissions by the Congress party that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case ﬁled against it by a rights group here be dismissed as the Manhattan court does not have jurisdiction over the case.

Polling underway for presidential election NEW DELHI: Polling today began in Parliament House and state capitals for electing a new president in a race that appears clearly in favour of UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee, who faces PA Sangma sponsored by some Opposition parties. Brisk polling was witnessed in the early hours. As many as 4,120 MLAs and 776 MPs with a total vote value of 10.98 lakh votes are eligible to cast their ballot in the 14th Presidential election. Members of the Rajya

PTI

NEWS BRIEFS New Delhi: Veteran Congress leader N.D. Tiwari on Wednesday urged the Delhi High Court to keep the report of his DNA test conﬁdential till the conclusion of the hearing in a paternity suit ﬁled by a man claiming to be Tiwari’s biological son.

is the price of Maruti shares after losing eight per cent on morning trade following the clashes at its Manesar plant yesterday that left one person dead.

ANGRY ANNA

Accusing the government of conspiring to split his team, Anna Hazare said he will not hold talks with the Centre any more on Lokpal, in the wake of leak of reports of his meeting with law minister Salman Khurshid recently.

No one is breaking Team Anna. You [media] don’t break it... no one is breaking Team Anna Salman Khurshid Union law minister

nation THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 RAJESH KHANNA: 1942–2012

Twinkle, twinkle very big star! How we wonder where you are The cult status he enjoyed for five years left him with a lifetime of hope. He believed he would regain stardom and did his best with some memorable performances through this fight. SYED SHOAIB shoaib.s@postnoon.com

ajesh Khanna’s eulogy can only be one of superlatives. To think of a super duper star dying before 70 of cancer could make you cringe for words. Yet, remember his life pattern, much like his film characters, was on the rebound and his obit will read like an elegy. Fondly called Kaka, the actor is hailed as India's first superstar after 15 consecutive solo superhits between 1969 and 1972, a record that remains unbroken. Born as Jatin Arora in Amritsar on December 29, 1942, he was adopted and raised by foster parents. It was his uncle who changed his name from an uncommon to a common name when he decided to join films. Khanna lived in Thakurdwar near Girgaon and attended St Sebastiana’s Goan High School in Girgaon, along with his friend Ravi Kapoor, who later took the stage name Jeetendra. The former MP from New Delhi constituency is survived by estranged wife Dimple Kapadia and daughters Twinkle and Rinke, sons-in-law Akshay Kumar and Samir Saran and grandchildren. His rise to a Bollywood superstar reads like a racy script.

As a struggling actor in Mumbai, Rajesh Khanna won the All India Talent Contest organised in association with Filmfare, beating over 10,000 contestants in 1965. Later, at the peak of his career, Khanna, would be mobbed during public appearances as fans kissed his car, which would be covered with lipstick marks. They lined the road, cheering and chanting his name. Female fans sent him letters written in blood. Rajesh began his career with Aakhri Khat in 1966. He became a superstar like no other with his

Aradhana also saw the resurgence of Kishore Kumar, who became the official playback voice of Khanna and they delivered a number of hit songs. work in hits like Aradhana, Do Raaste, Safar and Anand. Though the actor got his first break in Chetan Anand's Akhri Khat, and followed it up with a few films including Asit Sen's Khamoshi, it wasn't until his double role in Aradhana in 1969 opposte Sharmila Tagore that a star was born.

File photograph, taken on January 25, 2012, shows Rajesh Khanna as he waves on arrival at the 7th Apsara Awards ceremony in Mumbai. AFP/ STR/ FILES

Through the early 1970s, films like Kati Patang, Safar, Ittefaq, Aan Milo Sajna and Haathi Mere Saathi consolidated his superstardom. During this phase, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anand remains one of the actor's most memorable performances. Khanna, music composer RD Burman and singer Kishore Kumar were a team most sought after in the early ’70s. Between Aradhana in 1969 and Prem Kahani in 1975, Rajesh enjoyed god-like status. Rajesh Khanna’s romantic persona in songs like Mere sapno ki raani, O mere dil ke chain and Roop tera mastana made many young women's heart slump. Kaka’s predecessors Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar broke hearts in their time no doubt, but the hysteria connected with Khanna was unsurpassed. Aradhana also saw the resurgence of Kishore Kumar, who went on to become the official playback voice of Khanna; the actor-singer duo delivered a number of hits subsequently. After Aradhana, Haathi Mere Saathi (1971) became the biggest hit and also the biggest grosser ever till then. Khanna appeared in 163 feature films of which 106 had him as the solo lead hero and 22 were two-hero projects.

He won three Filmfare Best Actor awards and was nominated for it fourteen times. He was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement award in 2005. Despite his heartthrob status, Khanna played a variety of roles — the terminally ill Anand, a chef in Bawarchi, a lonely husband in Amar Prem, and a psychiatric patient in Khamoshi. Khanna

The women who made it into his life His enigmatic personality not only charmed his fans but also led him into relationships with three Bollywood actresses in their heydays — Anju Mahendru, Dimle Kapadia and Tina Munim (now Ambani). Dimple split from the actor in 1984. Though they lived separately, the couple never completed divorce formalities. Fashion designer Anju was not on talking terms with him for over 17 years. His Souten co-star Tina Ambani) starred with him in ﬁlms like Fiffty Fiffty, Bewafai, Suraag, Insaaf Main Karoonga and Adhikar.

mingled with the best talents of his time, be it directors, actresses and composers. Hema Malini, Shabana Azmi and Asha Parekh included. Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz became his leading ladies in many films including Amar Prem and Aap Ki Kasam.

Directors like Shakti Samanta, Yash Chopra, Manmohan Desai, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Ramesh Sippy worked with Khanna. His films' music made them more memorable, with the trio of composer RD Burman, Kishore and he working together in more than 30 films. The commercial success of his films declined during 1976– 78. After 1978, Khanna starred in critically acclaimed films such as Amado, Phir Wohi Raat, Dard, Dhanwan, Avtaar and Agar Tum Na Hote. Though Rajesh Khanna's popularity declined with the rise of the angry young man — Amitabh Bachchan — the star continued to deliver hits well into the 1980s with films like Souten, Dharam Kanta and Maqsad. He eventually moved on to do older and character roles and enjoyed box-office success with Avatar and Swarg. Though Khanna appeared in a B-grade film recently, it was a commercial for Havells Fans directed by R Balki that brought him back to the limelight, earlier this year. That final wave from his Mumbai residence, like the address to his fans, will haunt us for long!

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

World

Flight school security measures still flawed

More than a decade after hijackers trained by US flight schools used passenger jets as deadly weapons in the September 11 terror strikes, a report says flight school security measures remain flawed and called these security weaknesses “completely unacceptable” and “extremely disturbing.”

DAMASCUS UNDER FIRE

RUMOUR MILL

200 killed in Syria as bloodbaths continue

In another incident, an explosion, blamed on a bodyguard attending a meeting of security chiefs at their Damascus headquarters that killed three of Basher alAssad’s top brass, prompted the White House to say Assad was ‘losing control’. DAMASCUS: More than 200 people, mostly civilians, were killed on Wednesday in violence across Syria, including 38 in Damascus where armed rebels are pressing an all-out offensive, a monitoring group said. At least 214 people — 124 civilians, 62 soldiers and 28 rebels died in one of the bloodiest days of a 16-month revolt against President Bashar alAssad’s regime, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday, revising an earlier toll. The figure did not include the three members of Assad’s inner circle who died in a Wednesday bomb attack on security headquarters in the heart of the capital. Among victims in Damascus were residents killed in shelling by regime forces of the Qaboon, Kfar Sousa and Al-Kaddam neighbourhoods, as well people felled by sniper fire and in clashes between rebels and regular soldiers in the Rokn Eddin and Al-Hajar Al-Aswad neighbourhoods, the Britain-based watchdog said. Violence has engulfed Damascus since the rebel Free Syrian Army on Monday announced the launch of Operation Damascus Volcano “in response to massacres and barbaric crimes” committed by Assad’s regime. The FSA claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s security

Daoud Rajha

Assef Shawkat

Hassan Turkmani A Lebanese man (above) fires into the air during celebrations in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood in Lebanon after Syrian defence minister General Daoud Rajha (from top right), Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat and General Hassan Turkmani were killed in a suicide attack in Damascus. AFP

headquarters bombing which killed Defence Minister General Daoud Rajha, Assad’s brotherin-law Assef Shawkat and General Hassan Turkmani, head of the regime’s crisis cell on the uprising, state media said. The Observatory’s toll reports cannot be independently verified. The watchdog has estimated more than 17,000 people have been killed in violence since the revolt broke out in March 2011. Meanwhile, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and international envoy Kofi Annan called on the

UNSC has grave concerns over Lebanon

he UN Security Council has expressed “grave concern” about cross-border attacks on Lebanon from Syria. The 15-nation council issued a statement late Wednesday calling for respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty following a bombing that killed three top ofﬁcials close to Bashar al-Assad. Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have ﬂed across the border in recent months and the Lebanese army has moved troops to the Syrian frontier.

Security Council to take strong action on Syria ahead of a vote Thursday on a Western-backed resolution calling for sanctions. Russia and China are expected to veto the resolution at the 15-nation council despite mounting global concern over Syria after a Damascus bomb attack killed three close associates of President Bashar alAssad. Ban said there was an “extreme urgency” for action to make government and opposition forces halt the violence.

NEWS BRIEFS Mexican minister for Four charged with terror Taiwan, China should mobile app to fight crime offences in Britain join hands on isle row

US executes mentally-ill man despite protest

Thousand Oaks: Mexico’s interior minister Alejandro Poire suggested Wednesday that a mobile software app could help crack down on the country’s crippling drug-related crime. He was speaking at a conference hosted by search giant Google in California.

Washington: Texas executed a convict on Wednesday, despite proof of a mental disorder developed in his childhood. Yokamon Hearn, a 34-year-old African American, was sentenced to death at age 19 for killing a white man in a carjacking.

London: British police on Thursday charged four people with terrorism offences. Metropolitan Police charged three men from London with preparing for acts of terrorism and one woman with possession of a document likely to be of use to a terrorist.

Taipei: A majority of people in Taiwan and China hope the two sides can work together to resolve a long-running territorial row with Japan on islands in the East China Sea, a survey said. The islands have long been a source of friction between Taiwan and China.

Tom Cruise’s lawyer condemned as “grotesquely false” Wednesday a report that the Hollywood star had abandoned his six-year-old daughter amid the shock of his wife’s divorce bombshell. Attorney Bert Fields said a cover story in Life and Style magazine, with the strapline “Abandoned by Her Dad,” was clearly designed to make money on the back of falsehoods about the A-list actor and his daughter Suri.

NUMEROLOGY

$20

billion

is the amount that Chinese Prez Hu Jintao said that his country would offer in new loans to Africa. Hu was speaking at Beijing forum on cooperation with the continent.

THUS SPAKE

It would not surprise me if there was intention to assassinate me. There is nothing new from that [opposition] camp. That is the work of cowards.” VOREQE BAINIMARAMA, FIJI STRONGMAN

Access [to treatment for Aids] is not universal. We still have a problem with access in Asia, in Eastern Europe, Central Asia so we need to redouble the effort. Michel Sidibe UNAIDS ofﬁcial

world THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 JAPAN’S SEASON SWING 1) A man dressed as a Disney character uses a hose to spray water onto guests on a hot day at a special summer attraction called “Summer Oasis Splash” at Tokyo Disney Sea in Urayasu, suburban Tokyo on July 18, 2012. Tokyo’s temperatures climbed over 30 degrees celsius as Japan’s meteorological agency

THEY WON’T CHANGE

Boy Scouts of America reaffirms ban on gays

WASHINGTON: The Boy Scouts of America have reaffirmed a ban on openly gay members and leaders after a secret review, citing the preferences of its conservative-leaning rank and file, US media reported. Prominent members of the century-old organization — which counts nearly four million adult and youth members — have called on it to overturn the longtime ban and rights groups have stepped up protests in recent years. However, the US Supreme Court approved of the ban in 2000 — saying private groups have the right to decide their own membership criteria — and scouting officials say the policy enjoys widespread support among members. In a statement to the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, the BSA said an 11-member committee representing “a diversity of perspectives and opinions” had unanimously recommended upholding the ban after carrying out a two-year review. The organization declined to identify the members of the panel, but said it “included forthright and candid conversation and extensive research and evaluations — both from within scouting and from outside of the organization.”

announced that Japan’s rainy season had ended on July 17, Tuesday. YOSHIKAZU TSUNO 2) Workers recover a bridge over the Kumanoue River in Ukiha, Fukuoka prefecture on July 18, Wednesday. Last week Japan was pounded by rains which claimed about 28 lives. KAZUHIRO NOGI

Japan stays high on whisky More than 300 whiskies vied for ‘2012 World’s Best Whiskies’ honours.

apanese whisky continued its dominance of World Whiskies Awards this year; with Suntory scooping one of the top titles and Nikka securing the blended malt title for the fourth year running. For the first time a South African blend, Three Ships, took the title

of World’s Best Blended Whisky. More than 300 whiskies battled during three intensive blind tasting rounds for the coveted titles of the ‘2012 World’s Best Whiskies’. Judges for Whisky Magazine’s independent editorial panel were drawn from the

best drinks journalists and retailers across the world, with industry representatives made up of master blenders, distillers and brand ambassadors in the final round. The World Whiskies Awards is the annual selection of the very best whiskies internation-

ally. This year entries have been received from: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, USA and Wales. Categories are based upon the commonly held whisky groupings, which define both the style and the process of whisky and whisky production: single malt, blended, blended malt, grain, American and whisky liqueurs. Organised by Whisky Magazine, this annual competition selects, awards and promotes to consumers and trade the ‘World’s Best Whiskies’. The competition is open to proprietary bottlings only, and is chaired by Rob Allanson, Editor of Whisky Magazine, and exists to inform and educate consumers throughout the world about whisky. Chairman of the judges, Rob Allanson, commented: “The competition featured some eye-opening whiskies and the judging panel had a hard time separating the good from the very good. My congratulations go to the winners, the judges’ exacting standards mean that the winners are truly the greatest whiskies in the world.”

THE WINNERS ARE World’s Best Single Malt Whisky Yamazaki 25 Years Old

World’s Best Blended Whisky Three Ships 5 Years Old

World’s Best Blended Malt Whisky

World’s Best Single Malt Whisky

Taketsuru 17 Years Old

Yamazaki 25 Years Old

World’s Best New Release

World’s Best Whisky Liqueur

Black Bull 40 Years Old

Dunkeld Atholl Brose

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

Business

SBI raises rates on Nre deposits

State Bank of India has raised interest rates on Non-resident External (NRE) rupee term deposits for tenors ‘3 years to less than 5 years’ from 8.75 per cent to 9 per cent on deposits of less than `15 lakh.

BLOW FOR RIM

MOTORCYCLES

Bike biz set for big vroom PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

Premium brands

arley Davidson, Triumph, Ducati, BMW are some of the premium brands offering premium bikes at much higher price with powerful engines. Banjara Harley-Davidson was the ﬁrst showroom in the country and is offering bikes from 800 cc-1600 cc at a price range of `6 lakh to `42 lakh. It is not just youngsters but people around 40 years are also buying these vehicles with their sheer passion towards the brand and quality. The company is offering mostly cruiser bikes, which are even comfortable for long rides. The services for these bikes are offered at customers’ doorstep and spares them the hassle of travelling.

he City has changed over years. People started recognising brands from Audi to Rolls Royce and enjoying the pride of owning these products. Many global two-wheeler brands like Harley-Davidson, DSK Hyosung, Kawasaki (Bajaj Probiking) had their presence in the City and few others are on their way to start their showrooms here. Many of the two-wheeler brands are trying to offer different types of premium bikes like Sports, Street and Cruisers. The brand name, style, strong design, sheer accelerating power and feel of the bike are some of the factors that attract customers to these bikes. The bikes have engine power from 250 cc to 1600 cc and have a price range from `1.5 lakh to `42 lakh. The premium bikes market is not limited to tier-1 cities. There are lot of passionate youngsters from tier-2 and tier-3 cities who are purchasing these bikes. Passionate motorbike lovers from across the state like

OZ MEDIA

Shirish Kulkarni, director, DSK Motowheels

Vijayawada, Vizag, Karimnagar are coming to the City to buy these bikes “We are going to launch our showrooms in Vijayawada and Vizag in another two-three months and has plans to expand our showroom network to all potential district head quarters in next six months. Around 30 per cent sales are generated from the upcountry market. We even managed to sell ST7 (`7

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

lakh) bike in Amaravati, a small town in Maharashtra and are seriously focusing on the tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” said Shirish Kulkarni, director, DSK Motowheels. Talking about the customers, he said, “Young professionals, entrepreneurs aged below 35 years are the main target customers for our bikes. Even IT people who earn more than `50,000 a month are also pur-

chasing these bikes,” There is huge potential for 250cc bikes with sales touching around 80,000 units every year. Kawasaki Ninja, Honda CBR are the major players and GT 250 R is the recent joiner to take the pie in the segment. The company has plans to manufacture GT 250R indigenously in another two years to bring down the costs by 30-40 per cent.

SOCIAL NETWORKS

Fairfax gives Rinehart ally board seat

FBI, FB warned on facial recognition

SYDNEY: A friend of Australian mining mogul Gina Rinehart was on Thursday handed a seat on the board of ailing media firm Fairfax following a drawn out row between the company and its biggest shareholder. Jack Cowin, the founder and chairman of Competitive Foods Australia, which runs fast food outlets including Burger King franchise, joined Fairfax as an independent director. “Our discussions with Cowin over recent months have made it clear that he has considerable value to add to the company,” Fairfax chairman Roger Corbett said. Cowin is a close friend of Rinehart, the world’s richest woman and Fairfax’s biggest shareholder with a 14.99% stake.

WASHINGTON: A US Senate hearing Wednesday highlighted concern over the growing use of facial recognition technologies, both for law enforcement use and in big social networks like Facebook. Senator Al Franken, who chaired the hearing, said the expansion of such biometric tech-

AFP

BSE NSE

Senate panel raises concerns over possible abuse nologies poses concern over privacy and civil liberties. Franken said that in law enforcement, the use of facial recognition “will catch crimi-

nals,” but “could come at a high cost to our civil liberties” if police use the systems to target “innocent civilians” or political rallies. He also expressed concern that facial recognition used by Facebook to “tag” members could be abused by divulging information that its members do not want made public. AFP

GOLD `29,500 10g 84.83 SILVER `53,100 1kg 5,242.15 DOLLAR`55.41 25.85 POUND `86.74

17,269.28

for

Australian airline Qantas said on Thursday it was ditching the BlackBerry for Apple’s iPhone after strong demand from staff, deepening woes for troubled Canadian maker Research in Motion. Qantas said it was switching 1,300 employee phones from RIM’s BlackBerry to the popular Apple device after workers expressed a preference for the iPhone. The change will also result in “cost savings”. RIM had reported a $518 million quarterly loss last month

NUMEROLOGY

`127

is what a US subsidiary of Japan’s Mizhuo Bank and three former employees will pay to settle a suit over financial fraud.

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

Comment If you believe the doctors, nothing is wholesome; if you believe the theologians, nothing is innocent; if you believe the military, nothing is safe.

OLYMPIC FEVER

oday in unlikely music news: a popular singer might be dating the Supreme Leader of North Korea. In recent weeks, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, who was recently named marshal of the military, has been photographed at public events standing next to a mystery lady — a short-haired, attractive woman with an unknown identify. Last week, North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper ran a photo of Kim and the woman, but didn’t identify her. The “mystery lady” has also made front-page news in South Korean media, according to the Associated Press. With much speculation being made about her identify, South Korean intelligence sources told the Daily Telegraph that the woman is Hyon Song Wol, the former lead singer of a music group called the Bochonbo Electronic Music Band. According to The Telegraph, the band is responsible for a number of major pop hits in North Korea, the most popular song being a 2005 tune called “Excellent Horse-Like Lady.” Sources told The Telegraph that Hyon and Kim had been together for 10 years, but were ordered to break up by his father, dictator Kim Jong Il. Hyon went on to marry a soldier and have a baby. Now that Kim Jong Il has died, Kim and Hyon may have started hanging out again. But there haven’t been any reports about what happened to Hyon’s husband or her baby, The Telegraph said. GLOBAL POST

PEOPLE MAY DIFFER, BUT I HAVE WHAT IT TAKES But... Seriously

Lord Salisbury British politician

Kim reunited with old flame after father’s death

High-flying thoughts

Hello readers of the hallowed ‘Comment’ page. I will be your guide, your mentor, and all-round busybody. I will say many things, few may even mean something, but on the whole, I’ll ramble. After all, sitting up here in the clouds...it gets one thinking. Who am I? What do I want? Find out....

Ajay Hotchandani

here are very few things that can put a stop to war and a sandwich eating competition isn’t one of them. Though it would be good to see countries like India and Pakistan finally settling their ongoing war by holding several rounds of highly publicised sandwich eating competition i.e. chutney and cucumber sandwiches would be one of them, I don’t think the United Nation security council has quite come around to my idea just yet. However, fortunately for the rest of the world, the Olympics are one event that is known to have led to ceasefire so that the games may go forth. As a kid, I remember watching it and right after would be running around, imagining I had won a gold medal. What I enjoy about sporting events of this magnitude is that it inspires hope and creates dreams. As a kid growing in up in Belize, I believed that I could have won a medal in fencing and wrestling the same day, if I were given the chance. Now I am older and — some can argue — a bit wiser to realize that there is no way in hell I’m winning a medal anytime soon.

Here are some of the events being hosted at the 2012 Olympics: n Archery – There is a very good chance I’ll shoot myself in the foot with the arrow. n Athletics – I don’t think sitting on the sofa qualifies me as athletic. I checked, wearing athletic clothing and sitting on the sofa still doesn’t qualify you as being athletic. n Badminton – I don’t like playing a sport where the sporting equipment reminds me of an emotionally unstable psychiatric patient, all over the place! n Boxing – Unless my opponent falls asleep, I’m pretty sure the girls will be able to make me cry. n Canoe/Kayak - I’ll get disqualified for using a motor. n Equestrian – I accidentally shot my horse when I was in the archery competition. n Gymnastics – Jumping on the sofa, however the clothes make me look fat n Handball – Hand in and down my pants…is that the same thing? n Hockey – I rather use the ice to keep my drinks cold. n Diving – Unless someone is pushing me off of the platform, there is no way I’m jumping 30ft (10m) into the pool. I don’t care what the price of gold is, I’m not

Now I am older and — some can argue — a bit wiser to realize that there is no way in hell I’m winning a medal anytime soon. doing it. Synchronized Swimming We might not do a bad job on the ‘synchronize drowning’ part. n Water Polo – Trying to get a ball into a net on dry land is hard enough. n Taekwondo – Is a Korean word for “it hurts really bad when they hit you”. n Tennis – If the matches lasted only 5 minutes I might n

have a shot at not passing out from exhaustion. n Table Tennis – I think you have to be Chinese to win this, or at least own a tiny little tennis racket. n Shooting – My best shot at winning a medal. My fingers are super-strong from all the videogames I’ve been playing. n Triathlon – Eat, sleep, play videogames! I’m bringing home the gold on this one. n Weightlifting – The sport defined by picking up a heavy object only to put it back in the same place. As you can tell, I’m not the most athletic person, but I think with training and the right mental attitude I can probably locate the TV remote and watch true athletes inspire the world.

EDITORIALS Global warming and climate change: Need we more proof?

here is a debate that is a close second to the one over the existence of god when it comes to inconclusiveness: global warming. Experts have been rowing over it since ever and just like the existence of god, this has split the world into two groups: one claims there is global warming, the other denies it. Despite several palpable changes that are atmospheric, climatic and seasonal, the dispute still carries on. The US — one of the biggest offenders — is the place where most of it happens. Developed countries try to impose emission cuts on developing ones and the latter demand that the former do something about it ﬁrst. As the world bicker about the global warming and its existence, an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan broke free from Greenland’s massive Petermann Glacier, which could speed up the march of ice into northern waters, scientists said on Wednesday. Mind you, this is the second time in less than two years that the Petermann Glacier has calved a monstrous ice island. Need we more proof?

READERS’ VIEWS

Why we love... Nelson Mandela

f the word militant has ever been used in a positive context, it is in reference to Nelson Mandela, who turned 94 on Wednesday. Jailed for 27 years for his antiapartheid activities, he went on to become the president of South Africa at 76. If never letting up hope is a lesson one can learn from this feat, then in the way he conducted himself through this tenure and beyond, one gets to know the meaning of an untainted politician — a term that we live a lifetime yearning to realise.

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

tELEVISION

Back for more

Fox Entertainment recently announced that it has picked up Glee for a fourth season, New Girl for a second and Raising Hope for a third. The news comes a month ahead of Fox's upfront presentation to advertisers.

HIT & MISS, SEASON 1

CLASSIC TV

She's a hit man

Sky’s mini series Hit & Miss, about a transsexual killer, is not the most thrilling show on TV. But it certainly has its moments. PADMINI C padmini.c@postnoon.com

The X-Files It drew us in with its haunting title track and tantalising tagline: The truth is out there. For kids growing up in the 90s, The X-Files was their introduction to the world of alien sightings, conspiracy theories and the FBI team of Mulder and Scully. The popularity of The X-Files stems from the fact that it was a conspiracy buff's ultimate dream. It also introduced one of the most memorable female characters on TV in Scully. The X-Files was the ﬁrst hit TV series to feature realistic autopsies, now a norm with shows like CSI and Bones. But best of all, it made us examine our beliefs and wonder what was really out there. So go on, watch The X-Files; you know you want to believe.

n all honesty, if you looked up the plot of Hit and Miss, chances that you will never watch it. The story revolves around Mia, an assassin, paid to kill ruthlessly and efficiently. But here comes the twist, Mia is a pre-op male-to-female transsexual. There’s more. Her exgirlfriend (from when she was a man), has died and has named Mia the legal guardian of her four children, one of whom Mia has fathered. Bewildered? You are not the only one. Watching Chloe Sevigny as Mia, clad in a shapely ink blue dress, telling her eleven year old son Ryan (Jorden Bennie) that she is his father, makes for the one of the most bizarre scenes you are like to see on TV in modern times. Speaking of, while Mia is touted to be the killing machine, there’s actually very little killing involved. At least, in the pilot. Excepting of course, a couple of random hits which she executes with little emotion. Frustratingly, at this point there are no motives provided.Who are these people she has killed? Why did she kill them? How did Mia become a mercenary? Given her looks, she might as well have been a model. There are no answers, just more and more questions. And that is another thing. “I am a woman stuck in a man’s body,” Mia tells Ryan, her son, begging him to understand. But it is hard to comprehend for

DID YOU KNOW... Who’s Chloe? The “It girl” of the ‘90s, Chloë Stevens Sevigny's debuted with Kids (1995) but gained serious critical and commercial recognition for her ﬁrst mainstream role in the critically lauded Boys Don't Cry (1999). She acted in American Psycho (2000), Party Monster (2003) and Brown Bunny (2003).

Ryan, or for us. By no stretch of imagination, does Sevigny look, seem, act or feel like a man. The harder she tries, the less convincing it is. From what we’ve seen, Hit and Miss is not thrilling, but neither will it send

Behind the Scenes Hit & Miss was born when Paul Abbott combined "two series that shouldn't ﬁt together". One about a transsexual mother-of-ﬁve, the other about a hitman. The idea went to writer Sean Conway, whose research involved "strange Google lists detailing sex changes and hand guns." Sky lapped it up.

you into a coma. The end of the episode, for instance, when Mia beats the abusive landlord into a bloody pulp, the inherent savagery and righteousness of the action has you cheering for her even without realising it. And it

is moments like those that saves the show from becoming ridiculously camp and over the top. Otherwise, the dialogue is grim the tone weary, and the landscape bleak, in a way only English productions can be. And that it came from Paul Abott, creator of Shameless and State of Play is no surprise. Bottomline? Hit and Miss is disturbing and bizarre at times, nuanced at others. But it pushes the boundaries of your comfort zone and for that alone its worth a watch.

Dexter, Dexter

T-Bag, Prison Break

A former timepiece restorer who always desired to be special, Sylar becomes a serial killer, targeting other evolved humans to steal their brains and gain their abilities.

By day, Dexter is a forensic blood spatter analyst with theMiami Metro Police Department while by night he turns into a sociopathic serial killer who targets other killers.

Fellow prisoner of Michael Scofield at Fox River State Penitentiary, T-Bag is one of the most villainous members. Incest, rape, murder, there is nothing TBag is not capable of.

is the number of Emmies Fraiser, an American sitcom which started in 1993 won. It ran for 11 seasons and ended in 2004.

TV TALKIES

Episodes of Hit and Miss can be found online.

Tv’s five most watchable killers

Sylar, Heroes

Mike, Breaking Bad

Sydney Bristow, Alias

"I assure you I could kill you from way over here if it makes you feel any better." What more needs to be said about innocuous and grizzly cleaner, Mike.

International spy recruited straight from college, trained for espionage, Sydney Bristow is one woman you don't want to mess with.

“Open your brain tank, bro, ’cause here comes some premium 91octane knowledge. There’s three rules of cheating: 1. It’s not cheating if you’re not the one who’s married. 2. It’s not cheating if her name has two adjacent vowels. 3. And it's not cheating if she’s from a different area code. BARNEY STINSON, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

I choose to believe that the white light people sometimes see... they're all just chemical reactions that take place when the brain shuts down.... There's no conclusive science. My choice has no practical relevance to my life, I choose the outcome I ﬁnd more comforting.... I believe that this isn't simply a test." DR GREGORY HOUSE, HOUSE MD

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

spotlight DEEPAK DESHPANDE

Where’s the party tonight?

Ladies and gentlemen, look no further. This is your one-stop guide to the hottest party destination in town. We tell you where you should be tonight. Have a blast with DJ Vijay and Shafi at Firangi Paani

FASHION FIESTA

FASHION FORWARD: SPOILT FOR CHOICE As a part of their on-going 3rd anniversary celebrations, Spoil on Wednesday saw a runway night featuring designer Shravan Kumar’s latest designs.

Comedy Central Bharathi Cement’s Clean Comedy show featuring Dan Nanian had the audience in splits at the Novotel on Wednesday.

DEEPAK DESHPANDE 1

Ladies, Go Bag ‘Em Who says the rainy season is a fashionista’s nighmare? Certainly, not Usha and Aarti Badruka, who have just unveiled their latest collection of clothing, clutches and jewellery at Orange Feathers. The collection is said to be inspired by people's emotions, bodies, and lifestyles.

2 3

Ravinder Reddy and JC Pavan Reddy and seen enjoying a quiet moment

Sunila Yeti, Deepa Gupta & Aanchal Ashu & Bharathi Tammanah

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

health

Low birth weight impair girls' learning ability

Lower birth weight and poor diet in childhood can lead to poor learning and behaviour in children, particularly girls, according to a new study. Girls with lower birth weight experienced a greater inability to learn and weaker overall competence than girls of normal birth weight, research found.

MOUTH ULCERS

What a bother Fruit and Yogurt should be eaten

Reduce the consumption of meat and citrus fruit

Eat foods rich in vitamin B complex

Mouth ulcers in most cases are not a matter of concern although they may be painful and may make it difficult to swallow Avoid alcohol, vinegar, coffee, dairy goods and sweets

Avoid sugar, salt and too much oil

Anishaa Kumar anishaa.k@postnoon.com

ome-made food after ages, Leena couldn’t contain her excitement. But as she took her first bite, she felt a sudden pain inside her mouth. Closer examination revealed an ulcer. “Oh no, an ulcer,” she grumbled. Many of us suffer from ulcers on a regular basis. At some point of time in our lives we have all suffered from mouth ulcers. Mouth ulcers refer to sores in the mouth that are usually white on the inside and have a red lining outside. Dr Aftab Ahmed, senior physician, Apollo Hospital, Secunderabad, explains, “Ulcers can be of two kinds, namely benign and malignant. The malignant ulcers are the ones that are cancerous. When it comes to benign ulcers, the most common ulcers are aphthous ulcers. They are small, shallow and painful and may occur on the lips, tongue or the inside of the mouth. These types of ulcers may make it difficult for the person to even swallow food.” Aphthous ulcers may occur due to various reasons. Dr Aftab says that the reasons could include stress, anxiety, minor injury to the inner lips, vitamin B Complex deficiencies etc. These

NAEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

HOUSECALL

DID YOU KNOW?

ulcers may occur frequently and is seen quite commonly among students during the exams. The other causes for ulcers may be bad dental hygiene, food allergies and hormonal imbalance. Aphthous ulcers are not harmful and usually come down within a week. Treatment includes mouth washes and sometimes vitamin B complex supplements. Dr Aftab says, “Another kind of benign ulcer that is commonly seen are ulcers due to infections. In such a case anti-viral drugs may be prescribed. They are harmless and usually go away within a week’s time.” Many a times these ulcers can also be cancerous. Such ulcers are known as malignant ulcers. Malignant ulcers occur on the sides of the tongue and are large in size. Dr Aftab says, “They are usually not painful and have an irregular growth. If a person notices these large ulcers which do not go away within a week than they can suspect that it may be malignant.” Malignant ulcers are more common in people who smoke or chew tobacco. When it comes to foods that should be avoided when you suffer from ulcers Dr Aftab suggests that one should avoid spicy and oily food. The other foods that should be avoided include sweets and citrus fruits. Yogurt, foods rich in B Complex and fruit such as apples are suggested for people who are suffering from ulcers.

PIONEERS

SlimKicker

Colitis

Fruits make aspirin

Benjamin Rush

Desperate to lose weight? You can use SlimKicker. The app helps you track your nutrition intake, join in weight-loss and ﬁtness challenges, track the number of healthy calories you consume and what’s more, it also offers diet tips and recipes. The app also lets you lose weight in a social setting, competing with other people.

Colitis is a digestive disease. It is a swelling of the large intestine. The causes could range from infections, inﬂammatory disorders, lack of blood ﬂow to past radiation. The main symptom of the disease is swelling of the colon. Other symptoms include pain, tenderness in the abdomen, depression, large amount of weight loss, fatigue, bloating or bloody stools. Colitis is treated through the use of antibiotics or surgery.

Eating fruits and vegetables may help the human body make its own aspirin. Findings from the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry indicate that study participants who received benzoic acid, a substance in fruits and vegetables, could make their own salicylic acid, the key component that gives aspirin its properties.

Rush founded the ﬁrst public dispensary in Philadelphia and became one of the earliest doctors to characterise insanity as a medical condition rather than the inﬂuence of evil spirits. He served as Surgeon General in the army. Later he became a professor of chemistry, medical theory, and clinical practice at University of Pennsylvania. He was responsible for ending an epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia in 1793.

health THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 HEALTHY LIVING

Living on the seaside is healthier, says study Researchers also took into account the way that age, sex and a range of social and economic factors, like education and income may vary Life by the beach

n Vitamin D According to health experts, the sun is a wonderful source of Vitamin D. Compared to some supplements, you directly absorb doses of fat-soluble secosteroids through sunlight exposure for considerable amount of time. If you want to get the most out of the sun’s UV rays, take a morning walk down by the shore for 30 minutes between 6am to 8am. n Swimming Who doesn’t love a good swim? This is a very good form of fitness workout, especially if you want to improve your muscle groups and respiratory system. This is because the activity involves the use of major body parts such as the arms and legs. In addition, swimming entails proper inhalation and exhalation. This allows you to improve you cardiovascular fitness. n Jogging The shift of the sand provides a good traction for your feet and legs. Therefore, your lower muscle groups get a good workout as you jog. You can just imagine the exercise your body is obtaining just by running or walking barefoot on the beach. SOURCE: WWW.FRAOUTPROPERTIES.COM

LONDON: Living on the seaside could help us in leading a healthy life, suggests a British study which found individuals living near the coast tend to be healthier than those who set up home further inland. While analysing data from the 2001 census, British scientists compared how healthy respondents said they were with the fact how near to the sea they lived, Daily Mail reported. Researchers from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, part of the Peninsula College of Medicine at the University of Exeter, observed that on average, the closer we live to the sea,

There is strikingly little evidence of how spending time at the coast can affect health and well-being. Ben Wheeler Study lead author the more likely we are to report good health. Their analysis also showed that the link between living near the coast and good health was

strongest in the most economically deprived communities. They also took into account the way that age, sex and a range of social and economic factors, like education and income, vary across the country. The results show that, on average, populations living by the sea report rates of good health more than similar populations living inland. Study lead author Ben Wheeler said, “We know that people usually have a good time when they go to the beach, but there is strikingly little evidence of how spending time at the coast can affect health.” GLOBAL POST

Doctor’s corner Dr Divya T Sudarshan

Weight control is the key

y mother was diagnosed with osteoarthritis. She has been on the heavier side and so have I. She worries I might mirror her health ailments and keeps asking me to drink milk and take calcium supplements and lose weight. Does it really work that way? Osteoarthritis tends to run in families, indicating a hereditary factor. A number of studies have shown that there is a greater prevalence of the disease among siblings and especially identical twins, indicating a hereditary basis. Up to 60 per cent of osteoarthritis cases are thought to result from genetic factors. The most common symptom is pain and swelling. Creaking and stiffness of the joints can also occur after long periods of inactivity. It is usually diagnosed by xrays, arthrocentesis and arthroscopy. Most people usually try conservative measures like rest, exercise, diet control with weight reduction, physical therapy and occupational therapy, and mechanical support devices, such as knee braces. In fact, even modest weight reduction can help to decrease symptoms of osteoarthritis of the large joints, such as the knees and hips. Medications are used to complement physical measures. As for calcium supplements and milk, they don’t usually help in osteoarthritis, they’re good for osteoporosis which is basically porous bones. But there are certain medications available for cartilage which your doctor can prescribe in osteoarthritis. Since you are only 26 don’t live in fear! Take control of your weight, start exercising, dieting and meet a doctor for some medication or direction.

The writer is a gynaecologist and obstetrician practising at Happy Women Clinic. You can write in to her at happywomenclinic@gmail.com

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

Entertainment

It’s over, admits Mancini

Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, insisted on Wednesday his team cannot win the Premier League title because of Manchester United's superior

SHRUTI HAASAN’S RETURN TO BOLLYWOOD

Shruti Haasan signs Prabhu Deva's film S

hruti Haasan has officially signed her second Hindi film. She'll soon be seen in Prabhu Deva's upcoming Hindi film which is reportedly a remake of Siddharth, Trisha starrer Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana. Girish Taurani, son of Bollywood producer Kumar Taurani of TIPS Industries, is going to reprise Siddharth's role in the film. The film is likely to go on floors in September this year. Confirming the news, Shruti Haasan tweeted, “Busy busydays ahead all set to start two new projects yay :) (Sic).”Samantha was approached for the film however, she opted out citing lack of dates. Post the success of Gabbar Singh, Shruti Haasan suddenly became hot property in Telugu. Despite getting several lucrative offers, she turned down nearly every film she was approached for before accepting Ravi Teja starrer Balupu. Her Bollywood career didn't quite take off on a promising note with Luck and Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji. However, this upcoming Prabhu Deva's film might change everything since the director is on a high post the success of Rowdy Rathore and the icing on the cake is that it's there make of a blockbuster Telugu film. On the other hand, she'll also be seen in Bejoy Nambiar's latest TV series MTV Rush. Looks like the pretty actress is having the time of her life these days.

CINE BITES

Vishnu Manchu gets stuck in Los Angeles

ishnu Manchu was in for a big shock recently. “Arrrgh! My airline called me now and told me the ﬂight 2 India is overbooked and I can't leave LA today! I dunno now what to do!this is crazy! am going to the airport and will pick up an argument with them! Waaahhhhh! I wanted to go bcd to Ari and Vivi!(sic)” the actor rued on Twitter.

SVSC is not a remake of Karan Johar’s K3G

il Raju has quashed rumours that Srikanth Addala's upcoming film Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu is loosely based on K3G. The film starring Venkatesh, Mahesh Babu, Anjali, Samantha and Prakash Raj is a family drama which narrates the story of the bonding between two brothers and their father. The film is likely to release towards the end of the year.

Allu Arjun's advice to Sirish: “Don’t be like me”

llu Arjun had some wise words to share with his younger brother Allu Sirish, who's all set to make his debut in Radha Mohan's Gouravam. “Thats the 1st advice Bunny gave me :You wont have an identity, if u try 2b like me. Look within, discoverur own strengths, be original. (sic),” Sirish posted on Twitter. The ﬁlm is currently being shot in Mysore.

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

fashion

supermodels at London Olympics

Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss are among some of the fashion industry's big names reportedly set to take to the stage for the London Olympics closing ceremony. Famed British couturiers including Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton and Stella McCartney are set to dress the models..

KANIKA SALUJA FOR ANAIKKA

Kanika started her career in fashion as a jewelry designer. Last season she forayed into the field of womenswear by translating the sensibility of a jeweler onto clothes she designs. Full-length dresses, self draped trousers, short skirts were all very heavily embellished with metallic beading. With a growing high profiled client list of actresses, musicians and socialites, it will be hard to miss her work in the succeeding seasons.

ABHIJEET KHANNA FOR 'RISA'

A designer with a focused vision backed with skills is always a front runner. Abhijeet’s creations are unique and he has a style of his own. He has a clear direction and follows it through every collection, no matter if his outfits are displayed always on the runway or not.

PAYAL KHANDWALA Payal took a break from her fashion design career by dabbling in art but is back to designing now. Her last collection, ‘Play,’ called out for all the daring women to join her army of strong women. Her strong sense of design enabled her to mix features of soft drapes with masculine tailoring on gowns.

Gen Next THINLES CHOSDUP AND NIRAJARA ADHYA

This duo’s latest collection is inspired from the culture of Ladakh. Designer Thinles Chosdup, who hails from Ladakh, has cofounded the label with Nirajara Adhya. Their collection is titled “Koslak” which means ‘clothes’ in Ladakhi. The highlight of their work is that they use traditional fabric and print giving the outfits a modern feel.

ANKITA CHAUDHRY FOR SAAJ

Not shy of using vibrant colors, Ankita’s designs always incorporate a riot of neon. Ankita believes that “Colors are the route and the portrayal of happiness” which is clear in her portrayal of ready to wear womenswear. Her sensibility seems to be influenced by the 80s punk mixed with pop princess style. Saaj is a few seasons old but this label is bound to find its voice even more clearly over time.

BATMAN’S stylish makeover

BATMAN is set to get a Giorgio Armani makeover, with the label creating bespoke tailoring for the comic hero's alter-ego, Bruce Wayne. The designs will appear in Christopher Nolan's highly-anticipated Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises..

Surabhi Chauhan feedback@postnoon.com

CHANDRANI SIINGH FLLORA

Chandrani launched her eponymous label Chandrani Siingh Fllora in 2006. She made her national runway debut with her Autumn Winter 2009-10 collection at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in New Delhi. The designer tends to not follow the popular trends using vintage fabrics and silhouettes. Her designs stand out from actual vintage as she mixes various fashion era influences into one collection. Her collection ranges from padded shoulders and double-breasted vests to flowing gowns and brocade trousers.

ROMA NARSINGHANI

Roma designs for the woman who reflects her personal lifestyle. Urban, traveler and innovative is how she describes her clientele. The draped dresses and separates are not too complicated in design and aim to stand out from the common high-street shop purchases.

SHAGUFTA QUMAR

22&23

Handbag designer Shagufta showcased his collection at Mumbai’s Lakme Fashion Week last season. Titled as ‘Moksha’ – The pursuit of inner peace’, the collection is abstract, artsy and traditional. Though most women would agree that their handbag collection shapes their inner peace, Qumar’s idea is more obvious with zen like motifs and prints displayed onto the bags. With totes, duffels, big clutches, sling bags, this label makes fashion for different luggage needs of women.

Designers Indian fashion industry has new entrants who are making waves in the fashion world. Here are some designers with their own labels who showcase their collections during Indian fashion weeks NIKHIL THAMPI

New designer on the fashion block, Nikhil Thampi showcased both men and womenswear at the Lakme Fashion Week. Using ombre shades on draped fabrics for both sexes, the designer evidently envisions collective trends for both men and women. He displayed longdraped shirts, button less waist coats or single button jackets and bylong brown wool tunic for men. While, draped gowns, layered net white/grey topand skirt and ombre color sari included his womenswear collection.

ISABELLE MITTAL

Designer Isabelle Mittal’s last collection under her label ‘Izi Atelier’ was inspired by Greek as well as Indian wear and was titled ‘Love and War’. It was about juxtaposition; bringing together polar opposites, structure and drapes. She designs easy-to-wear garments like gowns, jackets, dresses, blouses, jumpsuits and skirts.

Entertainment THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

Chai Time

Thought of the day

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. Mark Twain

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

SUDOKU How to play kakuro Kakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku in some ways. But is also suitably different. The key question: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, well here are the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers. However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column referenced by the number. Within each collection of cells — called a run — any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once. Let’s have an example to explain this concept more clearly: In the image above, which shows a section of a kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. This means that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on... So, how do you work out the actual combination? Well, this is done through elimination and cross-referencing. For instance, as you work out the answers for other kakuro clues, this will naturally limit the valid combinations, and hence the answer for this particular run. Note the second cell in row two — it contains two numbers, 30 and 11. The 30 refers to the vertical run underneath the number 30 and the 11 refers to the two cells to the right, horizontally, of the number 11.

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 ‘Poison’ plant 6 Abandons bachelorhood 10 Ending where neither side wins 14 A Muse or dryad 15 Bump up against 16 Absurdist art movement 17 ‘Sweeney Todd’ prop 18 Cutthroat 20 Mixes smoothly 22 ‘Cheers’ accountant 23 Angry feeling 24 Chanel of fashion 26 Comparatively cashless 28 2007 Boston-based mystery 32 White House nickname, honest 33 ‘Code’ lead-in 34 Flippant 38 One with pants on fire? 40 Aunt Jemima product 43 Drifting ice sheet 44 Fanny pack feature 46 Who Seth begat 48 Grp. with a famous journal 49 How a book is usually read 53 Baby’s enclosure 56 ‘King ___’ (Elgar cantata) 57 Real estate buy 58 TV screen-measuring unit 60 Full of mischief 64 Utter 67 ‘Saturday Night Fever’ dance genre 68 Nicholas I was one 69 Cookie many take apart 70 Brilliance of performance 71 All dried up 72 Change the decorations of 73 Scout accomplishments

DOWN

1 About one in three Bosnians 2 1,500-mile Eurasian chain

3 Labyrinth 4 ‘ASAP!’ 5 Andalusian city 6 A big spender may flash one 7 Bard’s black 8 Manatee lookalike 9 Audiophile’s acquisition 10 Banned bug killer 11 Diameters halved 12 ‘O Come Let Us ___ Him’ 13 Transaction at a racetrack 19 Sounds from the flock 21 Surgical souvenirs 25 Word in old wedding vows 27 Fall on ___ ears 28 Square dance partners 29 Sad item, for short 30 A stone’s throw away from 31 More quick to the helm 35 Belgrade resident 36 Unspecified quantity 37 Planetary revolution 39 Off-color 41 ‘Do ___ others as you ...’ 42 ‘His Family’ author Ernest 45 Arrive unexpectedly 47 Burned with liquid 50 Peddler 51 Performance extension 52 Home’s counterpart 53 Most novels have them 54 Wingless, bloodsucking insect 55 Floral perfume 59 With color 61 Guernsey, eg, in the English Channel 62 Fish with an elongated body 63 ‘Get your red-___!’ 65 A verb for you 66 ‘Not a moment ___ soon!’

Chai Time THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 20-7-2012

As per Hindu panchang thiruvaikumar@yahoo.co.in, 040-27177230 / 9177596118

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Family will support your suggestions and decisions strongly. Financial gains through parents likely. Your love towards spouse will increase and both of you look cheerful. Be careful in financial transactions as losses and disappointment likely.

Journeys undertaken by businessmen will be successful and yield the best results. Keep away from speculative deals. Enemies might create trouble; be careful as a conspiracy is possible against you. Be careful while driving.

You will be benefitted financially from friends or relatives abroad. Your self-confidence level will be at its high but at the same time, your concentration at work is far from less. Do not loose your cool and keep patience till situation changes.

QUICK CROSSWORD FRED BASSET

Take your own decisions and execute work on your own to avoid disappointment. Joyful trip with family likely. Investments made in the past will appreciate handsomely. Important plans that were held up will resume and progress well.

Employees need to be cordial with superiors and colleagues. Expenses are likely to soar, which will upset you, though you are financially capable to meet the situation well. Health needs to be taken care of. Avoid speculative deals.

Financial position will be strong as money comes from multiple sources. Comforts are set to increase. Employees might be entrusted with important responsibilities and chances of elevation too. Parents, blood relatives will extend support.

All work undertaken will be completed successfully which will work as a moral booster. You will be happy as all heldup work will resume and go smoothly. Your social status is set to increase. Good news is on the cards. Friends will help.

Be careful in food habits as there are chances of stomach disorder. Strictly avoid junk or outside food. Avoid clashes completely with business partners as they might spoil future prospects. Govt sops likely to come through.

New techniques adopted by employees at workplace will yield better results. Journeys will be frequent but prove beneficial. Be sure of your plans to achieve targeted goals and ensure that they are carefully planned to avoid misfiring.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Four of Wands – You have enormous faith in a person or thing. It may be wise to have a back-up plan, just in case. Or, you might be deeply disappointed.

LEO:

Justice – A close family member may be travelling or away from you for some time and you miss this person a lot. Use all forms of communication to stay in touch.

LIBRA:

STONE SOUP

Page of Cups – You may be put in an uncomfortable situation where you have to deal with something unfamiliar to you. Don’t worry, you’ll work it out fine.

SAGITTARIUS:

Two of Swords – Physical fitness needs attention. If you are a smoker or have any habit that adversely impacts your lifestyle, you need to stop right now.

TAURUS:

Three of Pentacles – Some events are happening that are not completely to your advantage. You’re nervous about the outcome. Don’t be.

CANCER:

Ace of Pentacles – Interesting and exciting ideas come to mind. You want to execute them all. But take one day at a time and one idea at a time.

VIRGO:

The Hanged Man – You will be able to see things that others may not. It is not the best feeling, though, because you have to explain situations based on instinct.

SCORPIO:

The Lovers – You’re in the mode of being a family person. You want to set aside all your career and other responsibilities and be there for your immediate family.

CAPRICORN:

The High Priest – You may think that others don’t take you too seriously. You’ll discover that you’re wrong. They may not want to show they respect you.

SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Ten of Swords – You’re all worked up because you’re not sure what kind of journey is up ahead. You’re tense about something and it will show up different ways.

NUMBER GAME

– You may have become too intimidating to a person – so intimidating that it affects your work and life in some way. You have to tone down.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: The Emperor

INK PEN

Avoid extending financial assistance to anyone. Businessmen need to be alert as enemies will hatch a conspiracy to create majors. Never lose your cool and pay them back in the same coin. You have to struggle to earn required income.

for 20-7-2012

King of Wands – You’re feeling lazy and want to spend the week doing a whole lot of nothing. The weekend is almost here. Relax and take it easy.

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

Be careful while expressing opinions as there are chances that you will be misunderstood and give chances for controversies. You will keep enemies on tenterhooks and they will be inactive. Legal issues will go completely in your favour.

SUDUKO

Self and mother's health needs to be taken care of. Peaceful atmosphere will prevail at home. Be in good harmony with colleagues who will extend help which will benefit you financially. Be flexible with the staff working under you.

Boggle RAT MOUSE GERBIL BEAVER HAMSTER Vol: 1, No 367 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon.com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211

2012 LONDON OLYMPICS

60 59

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

DAYS TO GO

DID YOU KNOW...? n

58 57 56

The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown. Such competitions are still part of the Scottish Highland Games, where the implement used is a steel or lead weight at the end of a cane handle.

LEGENDS OF THE SPORT Olga Kuzenkova (born October 4, 1970) is a Russian hammer throw athlete. She is the first woman to throw the hammer more than 70 meters. Olga won the gold medal during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Four years earlier, she won the Silver medal at the Sydney Games. Olga also won the gold at the 2005 World Championships.

Yuriy Sedykh (born June 11, 1955) is a retired Soviet/Ukrainian athlete who represented the USSR, specialising in the hammer throw. In 1973 he became a member of the USSR National Junior Team. He won gold medals at the 1976 Olympics and 1980 Olympics in Moscow and took first at the 1986 Goodwill Games.

HAMMERING AWAY

54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47

As of 2011 the world record for the women's hammer is held by Betty Heidler, who threw 79.42 metres (260 ft 7 in) in Halle, Germany on 21 May 2011. The men’s hammer throw record is held by Yuriy Sedykh, who threw 86.74 metres (284 ft 7 in) at the European athletics championships in Stuttgart, West Germany on 30 August 1986. n While the men's hammer throw has been in the Olympics since 1900, the women's came in 1995. n

46 45 44 43 42 41 40

TALLY 2008

39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31

USA 7 RUSSIA 6 JAMAICA 6

9 5 3

7 7 2

The medals are for all the athletic events at the 2008 Games

MEDAL EVENTS August 5 Men's Hammer Throw August 10 Women's Hammer Throw

HAMMER THROW: In the Hammer throw event, athletes must throw the hammer as far as possible. The head of the hammer is a metal ball attached to a wire with a handle on the end, weighing 4 kilograms for women while it weighs 7.26 kilograms for men. The hammer throw athlete starts in a throwing circle, with the head of the hammer allowed to rest on the ground. Wearing a glove, the athlete rotates in the circle up to four times before releasing the hammer. The distance the hammer travels is measured from the front of the throwing circle to the point where the head of the hammer first touches the ground, which

THE LINGO Throwing circle The round area within which shot-putters, discus and hammer throwers must stay when throwing their respective projectiles. Hammer The hammer is a heavy metal ball attached to a wire cable which is attached to a handle, used for the hammer throw. must be within the lines of the throwing sector. All throws are taken from within a throwing cage, to protect officials, spectators and athletes.

COMPETITION FORMAT

In all throwing events, athletes start with a qualifying round. Throwing in turn, each athlete gets three attempts to achieve a qualifying distance, decided by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Technical Delegates. Once all throws have been completed, all athletes who have achieved the qualifying distance go through to the final. If fewer than 12 athletes achieve the qualifying standard, the best 12 athletes go through. In the final, athletes have three initial throws, with the top eight after the first three rounds then having a further three throws. The athlete who performs the longest throw is the winner. In the event of a tie, ath-

letes’ second-best throws are compared, followed by their third, and so on

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Throwing events are not just about brute strength, but also about technique. Each throw has several aspects to it, such as the hold, the runup or the turn, as well as the throwing action itself.

BREAKING THE RULES

The throws can be invalid if, for instance, if the point of the javelin doesn’t touch the ground first but some other part does. The athletes could also be penalised for infringements such as stepping out of the front of the runway. They can also be penalised if they step out of the throwing circle.

HISTORY OF THE HAMMER THROW

ammer throwing, which is a event of track and field that was turned into a sport many centuries ago in Ireland, England and Scotland. This sport was known to go back to the days of Tailteann games in Tara,

Ireland around 2000 D. C. At that time there was known to be a Celtic hero by the name of Cuhulanin who was said to have grabbed hold of a chariot wheel by its axle and threw it to a distance that no mortal man could ever do. This was a legend and also

a part of hammer throw history. The sport of hammer throwing existed throughout the middle ages and right up to the 18th century where this event was considered a regular sport in track and field competition in the counties of

Scotland, England and also Ireland. At that time the hammer was made of forged iron and there was no classification for its weight. The handles for this object were made of wood and were about three to three and a half feet in length.

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

DAYS TO GO

TEAM GEEKS TO KEEP TAB LONDON: It's the hidden face of the London Olympics: while the athletes compete, thousands of technicians will run the most connected Games in history while dealing with the threat of cyber attacks. The 2012 edition is expected to produce almost one third more data than the 2008 Games, all going to systems that will deliver results not just to Olympic venue scoreboards but to the rest of the world. "The London Games will be the most connected gam-es in history," said Patrick Adiba, executive vice presid-ent of Atos, the technology company leading a group of six firms dealing with the Olympics. "We have calculated there will be about eight billion devices connected to Internet by the time of the Games including smartphones and tablets: more than the number of human beings on earth," he added. "So it means that we'll have a huge amount of data to be processed and a huge amount of people accessing it and enjoying the Games. That will be what makes London very different from previous Games." The consortium will be responsible for around 9,500 computers, 1,000 network and security devices and 900 servers for the Games. They will have undergone 200,000 hours of test-

ing in the run-up to the biggest challenge they will ever have to face. Looking after them is an army of 3,500 technicians making sure that the system transmits flawlessly, unhindered by possible cyber attacks, hacking incidents or merely technical breakdowns. According to US networking giant Cisco, which as one of Atos's partners has among other tasks been responsible for installing 1,800 Wi-Fi stations for the Games, the information network must cope with 30 percent more data than Beijing. The task is massive: to transmit in real time — or at least in the space of 300 milliseconds, which is the limit of human perception —

We have calculated there will be about eight billion devices connected to Internet by the time of the Games including smartphones and tablets Patrick Adiba, Executive VP, Atos competition results from the "Olympic family" to Internet sites, the media and broadcasters. They will also supply security passes for the Olympic site. All systems have been duplicated to prevent brea-

kdown jeopardising the Games. Preparations started in 2008, in offices at Canary Wharf, where Atos set up its technological laboratory, equipped with hundreds of computers. To guard against all eventualities, each sporting discipline has gone through 9,000 different scenarios from the most likely to the most implausible. "Some problems are technical, others much less so: for example we can simulate a power cut or a computer crash, but we also have to think about a traffic problem which stops our staff getting to work on time. Our people have to expect the unexpected," Adiba said.

Nataliya overcomes tragedy, seeks gold KIEV: The 2008 Olympic heptathlon champion Nataliya Dobrynska, the main rival to British star Jessica Ennis, is making her quest for gold in London just months after the tragic death from cancer of her husband and coach. On March 9, Dobrynska danced with joy in the Istanbul arena, celebrating her world indoor title and a new world indoor pentathlon record which made her the first woman ever to score over 5,000 points.

But just 15 days later, her husband Dmitry Polyakov, who was also her personal coach, died of an aggravating cancer at the age of 47. "He suffered from a sarcoma for almost the last two years," Dobrynska said. “He didn't want anybody to know about his illness except the people closest to him and we kept it secret. He was a strong man and didn't want to be an object of anyone's pity." "I want to dedicate my last win at the world championships to him,” she said.

Lemaitre hopes to be sprint master PARIS: Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre is hoping he can gatecrash the expected Jamaican and American hold over the sprints at the Olympics — so long as he doesn't go to sleep in the blocks. The 22year-old two-time European 100 metres champion and 2010 200m victor has yet to decide whether he will compete in both sprint distances or focus solely on the 200m. However, he gave a pretty clear hint after running the third fastest time of the year in the event of 19.91 in the 200m at last weekend's London Diamond League meet. "Normally I will run the 200m, yes," said Lemaitre. "I will probably give the 100m a miss. Unless there is a change of plan, where Pierrot (Car-raz his coach) is eager to put me into the mix (for the 100m). Maybe at the next Games (2016) I will do both." However, Lemaitre, who became the first white sprinter to break the symbolic 10sec barrier in 2010 and whose fastest time is 9.92sec, will go to London without the pressure of being the man to beat in either sprint. AFP

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Britain puts more troops on standby LONDON: Britain

has drawn up contingency plans to deploy another 2,000 troops for the London Olympics after a private security firm said it could not provide enough guards, a minister said on Wednesday. Sports minister Hugh Robertson said that the government would ensure security giant G4S would foot the bill for any further use of service personnel to guard the Games, which start on July 27.

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

sports THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 LEPCHENKO WINS

INDIA’S TOUR TO SRI LANKA

India’s Colombo caper CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA: Varvara Lepchenko upset South African eighth seed Chanelle Scheepers 6-4, 6-2 to reach her third quarter-ﬁnal of the season at the WTA hardcourt event here. Lepchenko reached quarter-ﬁnals this season indoors in Memphis in February and on the blue clay of May's Madrid Masters, where she lost to Agnieszka Radwanska. The American broke Scheepers three times and advanced as the South African sailed a return long.

NUMEROLOGY

1–0

Was the final scoreline as Man Utd beat AmaZulu in a pre-season game before 50,000 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. The scorer was Federico Macheda.

THUS SPAKE

It’s a very crucial part of my career. If I am going to pick another [trainer] I need [one] who's going to take me where I want to be and not make mistakes. Boxer Amir Khan, on changing trainers

India must firstly win back the respect of other cricketing nations. The downward slide on the cricketing ladder has raised questions whether India are really a top cricketing nation. Twelfth Man Babu Kalyanpur

ndia will be seeking an uplift in their cricketing fortunes in all varieties of the game as a new season gets underway in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan mission will be a big test. In familiar conditions and with a full strength side, India will have to strike the right notes to undo the wrongs of the days gone by. It is hoped that the long break would have cleared the minds of the players. With the distractions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) now out of the way and the money bags safely secured, the time for real business begins over a crowded calendar. India must firstly win back the respect of other cricketing nations. The downward slide on the cricketing ladder has raised questions whether India are really a top cricketing nation. There is no doubt that India are among the best in the world. But to be at the top, a proper mindset and mastering all aspects of the game is essential. The fitness of the players will come into question after this break. With many of the star players now on the wrong side of 30, their ability to last out the busy schedule will be under scrutiny. Fielding will be in focus. Many of the ageing stars have not really credited themselves in the field recently. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be keeping his fingers crossed that the players have used to break to get fitter. Sri Lanka will be no pushovers. They have been improving steadily under the astute captaincy of Mahela Jayawardene. The struggles of the recent past seem to have disappeared. The top order has been firing

Pak series schedule will be tough: Dhoni

Dispute settled

CHENNAI: Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today said that the short series against Pakistan later this year would be a bit tough for the players because of the hectic schedule but added that they would have to be ready and do well against their arch-rivals. Asked about the three ODI and two Twenty20 Internationals against Pakistan in December-January, Dhoni said, "We are professional cricketers. The series will have to be played and we have to get ready for it. Sentiment does not play any part since we are taught to be professionals on ﬁeld. It will be a bit tough because of the hectic schedule but we have to do well against Pakistan also," he said.

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene admitted that the central contracts dispute with their cricket board has been amicably settled. "We were able to settle the matter very satisfactorily. Contracts will be signed tomorrow," Jayawardene stated. He said the dispute was over a few minor matters.

and the lower middle-order contributing handsomely. All-rounder Thisara Perera will be the man to watch. He struck a rich vein of form with both ball and bat against Pakistan. The only problem for Sri Lanka is that they experiment too much with the squad and this may work to India’s benefit. The Sri Lankan bowling attack is strong, particular the faster variety. Lasith Malinga poses the biggest threat. He is a fine bowler whose round arm action slings in deadly yorkers. The Lankan paceman is a bit out of form

which can be capitalised upon. However, Nuwan Kulasekara troubled the Pakistan batsmen recently and is on top of his game. Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka’s spin option, is clever, miserly and bowling at its best. India’s batting line-up both and the top and the middle is very strong. If the rustiness of the break rubs out, then Sri Lanka will be in for it. It will be interesting to watch the progress of Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary and hopefully one if not both will get a chance. Rahane did well in the IPL

and if he succeeds, it will be good for India’s future not only in ODIs but also Tests. Irfan Pathan gets another chance to prove his credentials. He is showing improvement with the ball. But where is that pace which made him so deadly at the start of his career? Spinners Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma can also establish themselves. And the Sri Lankan pitches will offer them some spin. India’s Captain Cool is sure to turn on the heat on Sri Lanka, Rain Gods willing. There is so much at stake for Indian cricket.

sports THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 ROAD TO BRAZIL: FOOTBAL WORLD CUP 2014

LIN ON THE KNICKS

Brazil 2014 ‘under control’ FIFA has for months complained about delays in renovation or construction of stadiums as well as infra projects for the first World Cup in Brazil since 1950. RIO DE JANEIRO: The World Cup which Brazil will host in 2014 is “under control”, the head of the country’s organising panel said Wednesday, voicing optimism about progress in lagging infrastructure projects. “I am very optimistic, everything is under control and I am sure that we will organize a fantastic World Cup,” Ricardo Trade, the executive director of the Cup’s local organizing committee, said in an interview with AFP. “We are monitoring the [infrastructure] works 24 hours a day and I can assure you that the stadiums will be ready on time,” he added at the committee’s headquarters in Rio. Since Brazil was picked as host of the World Cup in 2006, its relations with the Football’s world governing body FIFA have been at times rocky. The South American giant plans to spend $13.7 billion to build or modernise stadiums, airports, road and public transport for the mega-event. But FIFA has for months complained about delays in renovation or construction of stadiums as well as infrastructure projects for the first World Cup in Brazil since 1950. In addition, costs for temporary installations such as space for fans, the media and guests were not factored in, which will drive up overall costs. According to an official document released in May, 40 percent of the infrastructure projects have not yet begun. “Currently, we have other

NEW YORK: Jeremy Lin conﬁded to Sports Illustrated that he would have liked to remain a New York Knick, but mostly he’s relieved his NBA future with the Houston Rockets is clear. “Honestly, I preferred New York,” Lin said in an interview posted on Sports Illustrated’s website on Wednesday — a day after the Knicks conﬁrmed they wouldn’t match the Rockets’ offer. That decision had Lin headed to Houston as a free agent.

NUMEROLOGY CONTROL POINT: Ricardo Trade, executive director of the local organisation committee for the FIFA WC World Cup Brazil 2014 shows the games’ control room in Rio de Janeiro. AFP/ANTONIO SCORZA

JUST THE NUMBERS

1950

was the last time Brazil hosted a football World Cup. It was won by Uruguay, who beat Brazil 2–1 in the deciding match. It was also when the trophy was referred to as the Jules Rimet Cup.

$13.7bn

Is the amount Brazil plans to spend to build or modernise stadiums, airports, road and public transport for the mega-event. Costs for temporary installations were not factored in.

priorities. We continue to monitor work on the stadiums, but the issue is no longer whether or not they will be completed as scheduled. “We are already looking into the operational phase, how transit around the stadiums will be organised, where the officials and the media will be housed,” Trade said. Local press reports said authorities have now decided to shelve some projects which will not be ready by 2014, including a tramway in Brasilia. FIFA recently scaled down its expectations and conceded that there was no need for “an entirely new country for the World Cup”. Since May, the Brazilian federal government has stepped in,

We monitor work on stadiums, but the issue is no longer whether or not they will be completed.

by appointing representatives on the executive committee, “which further tightens a longstanding relationship,” Trade said. “The government is now closer to us, which is fundamental to finance most the works,” he added.

Nürburgring heads into bankruptcy from the EU after extensive renovation work but were told by the EU that no decision on a bail-out would be made until at least July 30. Nürburgring Automotive, the company that manages the circuit, says it has reached a deal

with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to continue staging races on alternate years with its sister track at Hockenheim. The deal would see Bernie taking over promotion for the race, covering all the costs and pocketing any revenue.

THUS SPAKE

Ricardo Trade, Executive director

FORMULA 1: GP TRACKS IN CRISIS BERLIN: Germany’s iconic Formula One track, the Nürburgring, is $16 million in debt and is poised to enter administration, the circuit’s majority shareholder disclosed. The circuit’s owners had been counting on financial aid

4–2

Was the final scoreline as European champions Chelsea opened their tour of the United States with a win over the Seattle Sounders. Romelu Lukaku scored two first-half goals.

The ‘Green Hell’ The old Nürburgring track was nicknamed ‘The Green Hell’ by Jackie Stewart and is considered one of the most demanding purpose-built racing circuits in the world.

I want to thank Paris SaintGermain for the great work they’ve done. I’m very happy to be here. It’s a big step in my career, another dream come true. PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic talking to fans in Paris

sports THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012 TOUR DE FRANCE

Wiggins tightens his grip JUSTIN DAVIS Agence France-Presse LUCHON: Bradley Wiggins of Britain took another step towards securing his maiden Tour de France crown after a 16th stage won in stylish fashion by Frenchman Thomas Voeckler on Wednesday. Yellow jersey holder Wiggins repelled a number of attacks by Vincenzo Nibali on the fourth and final climb to come over the finish with his Italian rival and Sky teammate Chris Froome around seven minutes behind a triumphant Voeckler. Defending champion Cadel Evans of BMC finished nearly 12 minutes behind Voeckler and nearly five minutes behind Wiggins’ group after being dropped for good on the Col du

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler won Stage 16 of the premiere event.

Overall leader’s yellow jersey, British Bradley Wiggins drinks in the 197km and 16th stage of the 2012 Tour de France on Wednesday. AFP/ JOEL SAGET

Peyresourde. It means the Australian drops from fourth overall to seventh at 8:06 behind Wiggins and virtually ends his bid to defend his 2011 title.

He has been replaced in fourth by Lotto team leader Jurgen Van den Broeck (5:46), with Spaniard Haimar Zubeldia in fifth at 7:13 and American

BRITISH OPEN GOLF

Sunshine brightens prospects for Open Oldest of the four major championships in professional golf is hopeful of conducive weather on its eve.

Golfers practice for the British Open in northwest England, on Wednesday. AFP/ PETER MUHLY

JIM SLATER Agence France-Presse LYTHAM: Sunny skies finally greeted golfers at Royal Lytham and St Annes on Wednesday as weather forecasts on the eve of the 141st British Open called for dry conditions throughout the tournament. More rain was expected overnight, the latest drenching in a deluge of wet weather that has seen record levels of rainfall

soak the northwest of England this summer, creating dense rough, penal and thick, for wayward shots. “The champion on Sunday I doubt will have won from the rough,” said Royal and Ancient Golf Club chairman Peter Dawson. “There’s a premium on hitting fairways this week. If you stray a long way off you are going to be penalised.” There’s no thought of allowing lift and clean rules for muddy balls and all of the 206 formidable pot bunkers scattered across the 7,086 yards of the par-70 links layout are expected to be dry and ready to test golf’s greatest. Tiger Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the all-time record of 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, seeks his fourth British Open crown and his first major title since the 2008 US Open on the wellbunkered tract. “The bunkers are staggered differently here,” Woods said. “There are some forced carries where you have to force it and then stop it or try and skirt past them. You can’t just either lay it up or bomb over the top.” Woods, who has three US PGA titles this season, will try to add his name to a list of Open champions at Royal Lytham that includes Bobby Jones, Gary Player, Tony Jacklin and Seve Ballesteros.

teammate Tejay Van Garderen in sixth at 7:55. Evans started trailing on the Col d’Aubisque, came over the summit of the penultimate climb with a 45secs deficit to Wiggins and then fought to get back on before the final climb to the summit of the Peyresourde. Not long after the road started rising, however, the Australian lost touch with Wiggins’ group when a turn of pace by Van den Broeck’s teammate Jelle Vanendert split the group and just proved too much.

INDO-PAK CRICKET

Money not the issue, say Pakistan KARACHI: Pakistan cricket chiefs on Wednesday dismissed reports they had sought a share of revenues from their planned tour of India later this year — the arch rivals’ first series in five years. The priority was to revive cricket with India and money had not been a consideration, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told AFP, revealing talks had been going on behind the scenes since last year. India announced on Monday they will host Pakistan for a short series of three one-day internationals and two Twenty20s in December-January, ending a five-year deadlock sparked by the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. AFP