Postnoon E-Paper for 26 November 2012 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012 HYDERABAD

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PG 31

ENGLAND DEMOLISH INDIA, WIN BY 10 WKTS

So much for India’s much-vaunted ability to play spin. After Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann dismantled India’s batsmen, bowling them out in their second innings for a paltry 142, it took Cook and Compton minutes to score the 57 required for victory. Back to the drawing board then?

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

GHMC WAR HEATS UP REPORT ON P5

32 PAGES

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

city events

RETRONOME

Catch Bangalore-based cover band Retronome perform live in the City. The band will be playing a mix of pop-rock and rock hits from the 70s, 80s, 90s and today at Hard Rock Cafe, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 on November 29, 9pm onwards.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

24°C

19°C

Clear with cloudy periods

Clear

Morning

Afternoon

24°C

31°C

Sunny with cloudy periods

Sunny

New Delhi Mumbai Max 23 Max 33 Min 13 Min 24 Sunny

A mix of cloud and sun

Chennai Max 30 Min 24

Bangalore Max 29 Min 17

A mix of cloud and sun

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES Kavuri Hills, Jubilee Hills When: Ongoing, Monday-Saturday 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2311 3709

SHOWS Third blind eye American alternative rock bland Third Blind Eye is performing live a Hard rock Cafe on November 28. Where: Hard Rock Cafe, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: November 28, 9pm onwards Contact: (040) 6463 6375

Convergance Convergence, an exhibition Of Paintings By Ananad Swaroop Manchiraju is being held at Muse Art Gallery, Tank Bund. Where: Muse Art Gallery, Marriot Convention Centre, Tank Bund When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2752 2999

U never know The play U never know being staged at Lamakaan on December 1 revolves around a teenager Jennings and her journey to heaven. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: December 1, 6.30pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329 The last Christmas The last Christmas is a large-scale production featuring live singing, dancing and acting, is the heartwarming story of Retired Gen Roy who recounts his seven favourite Christmases. Where: RNR auditorium, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: December 8, 9 and 10 11am onwards Contact: (040) 6515 7558

Exile in the wind A painting exhibition by Sisir Sahna is being held at Kalakrithi Art Gallery, Banjara Hills from November 28 to December 8 . Where: Kalakrithi Art Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 10 When: November 28 onwards, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 6656 4466

MASS GATHERING: The Muharram procession being held in Charminar on Sunday, November 25.

Documentary screening Alliance Française of Hyderabad is hosting Novembre: le mois du film

documentaire. On November 26 catch Chris Marker short documentaries at Alliance Francaise. On November 27 catch ‘Five broken cameras’ at Lamakaan and Tous au Larzac at Alliance Francaise on November 28. Where: Lamakaan,Banjara Hills, and Alliance Francaise, Banjara Hills When: November 26-28, 7pm onwards Contact: (040) 23 55 44 85

SHOWS Art exhibition An exhibition by artists such as Akbar Mohammad, Basuki Das 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

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

Gupta, Baskar Rao B, Kandi Narsimlu, Srikant Kohle, Shayamal Mukherjee is being held. Where: Gallery Space, Banjara Hills Rd No 10 When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 6554 1836 Palette scapes An exhibition of paintings on Acrylic on canvas by artist Nupur Kundu is being held at Shrishti Art Gallery Where: Shrishti Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills, Rd No 15 When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 2354 0023

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

Art show Symmetrics in the unknown, an exhibition of abstract paintings by 10 artists is being held at Iconart Gallery. The exhibition is on till December 6. Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: Ongoing, 11.30am onwards Contact: 98499 68797

Kashmiri Wazwan nights A Kashmiri food fest based on the Wazwan cuisine is being held. Where: The Square, Novotel, Cyberabad When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 66824422

Expressive art Alankritha Art Gallery presents an exhibition by Maredu Ramu, Nirmal Karmakar Nirmala Biluka and Palak Dubey. Where: Alankritha Art Gallery,

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

DINING

M ANIL KUMAR

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

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

City

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

SHOULD THERE BE STRICTER RULES FOR SCHOOL AUTOS? 87% 13%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

IS KCR’s TIRADE A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO HOG THE LIMELIGHT? A)

YES

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

Kidnapper’s kin dissappears Ratna Kumar’s wife and children have locked up their home and gone into hiding after he kidnapped a minor girl a few days ago. Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

“W

e gave so much respect to that man and yet he cheated us,” bemoaned the grieving parents of the 14-yearold girl who was kidnapped (or eloped) with Ratna Kumar, the 35-year-old married maths teacher from Sanatnagar a few days ago. The parents have not recovered from the daze. Her father, a labourer and mother, a maid at the same school where the teacher taught and the girl studied had never even in a dream thought a teach-

er of repute and old enough to be her father would snatch her away in such a shocking manner. Unable to bear the taunting and stigma, Kumar’s wife and two children have locked home and gone away. The wife is employed in a nearby hospital

and the children study in a public school in the neighbourhood. But for the past three days Kumar’s wife and children have not been seen. Enquiries with the police and neighbours revealed that the class X student was ensnared by

the teacher with the promise of tutoring her free of cost and providing financial help to her for further studies. The girl’s mother said, “We respected him and never thought he would do this dark deed. We want to trace our girl and get him arrested.” GVG Naidu, a local leader of a party who had taken initiative in staging protests against the teacher and the school told this paper neither the school management nor Kumar’s wife had cooperated when he, along with others, contacted them. Another man, Syed Hader Rahman, a neighbour who tried to get details about the teacher

from his wife was rebuffed by his wife, and later Ratna Kumar allegedly threatened to kill anyone intervening in his ‘family matters’. It is said that Kumar has been teaching for the past 12 years and he had a good reputation as a maths teacher. The girl seems to have been tricked into believing that he would help her, police said. Ratna Kumar had gone to her home at 8pm as usual for tuition. Her mother was away at that time. He sent her father out to buy a notebook. During his absence the two disappeared. Sanatnagar police are trying to trace him with the help of the mobile phone.

city MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

TRANSPORT

LAST YEAR... HERE Safety of children

CM to lay Metro foundation stone

ast year, we had reported how the City traffic police had banned carrying children on the fuel tanks of motorcycles and on footboards of scooters. After the drink driving campaign, the traffic police started cracking down on people riding three or more to a bike. Though the fine was earlier a paltry `100, the police decided to drag the offenders to court.

NOVEMBER 26, 2011

NUMEROLOGY

`50lakh is the amount the HRD ministry has recommended that all centrallyfunded technical institutes must earmark for student support services, including counselling.

I would give zero points to chief minister Kiran (Kumar Reddy) as he has done nothing to prevent the rise in crime against women in the State. Sandhya, woman activist

See page 6

THINGS WE LEARNT TODAY

The column that teaches everyone something new about the way the City functions.

Educational institutes are getting their act together. The government has realised that student suicides is a burning issue that must be addressed. With the Centre pushing for counselling services, there is hope that stressed students ﬁnd some peace.

More than just a postponement? The GHMC’s proposal to postpone the general body meeting is more about the Congress-MIM rift than a clash of dates with the Assembly session, say analysts.

Kiran Kumar Reddy will symbolically start the hydraulic cranes that will erect launching girders on to the Metro Rail pillars. The actual work will be done at night so as not to inconvenience commuters. N SHIVA KUMAR

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

hief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for Road Number 22 at the Uppal Metro Rail Depot. The chief minister will press the button and symbolically start the hydraulic cranes for erecting launching girders on to the Metro Rail pillars. However, actual lifting of the heavy launching girder and viaduct segments will be done only at night for safety reasons, after completion of all mandatory trial tests for a couple of days. The entire length of 72km Metro Rail viaduct is being constructed using precast segmental construction (PSC) method so as to minimise usage of the road space and inconvenience to road users and motorists during Metro Rail construction phase. A total of 900 PSC segments, each weighing around 34 tonnes are already precast and stacked at the massive Uppal pre-cast yard. Every day, around 10 segments will be cast. These segments will be brought in the night to the required Metro Rail location on low-bedded trailers. This night transportation is to ensure safety and avoid inconvenience to commuters. Exact road conditions, including the vertical profile and curves, are simulated in the casting yard while casting the segments. The box-type iron launching girder, which is 34m long (112 ft) and weighs around 300 tonnes, will be first erected on top of two pillars under stringent safe-

The entire length of 72km Metro Rail viaduct is being done using precast segmental construction (PSC) method so as to minimise usage of road space and inconvenience to motorists. ty and quality norms. Lifting the launching girder modules will be done using two hydraulic cranes, each carrying up to 150 tonnes. Viaduct segments, which

will be brought and kept between pillars at ground level, will be mechanically lifted and slung to the launching girders and moved to their respective positions with the help of launching tackles and hanger bars. Segments are then drymatched to fit into each other to check the correctness of the viaduct profile matching the road conditions and are then separated with the help of top trolleys. Thereafter, epoxy glue will be applied to the surface of the segments fitting into each other and all the segments will be joined together. On an average, there will be around 10 segments (three meters each) to

cover a span of around 31m (103 feet) between two pillars. Highstrength post-tensioning steel wires of required diameter will then be inserted through the ducts already provided in the match-cast segments binding all the segments together. These high-tension cables will be mechanically stressed (pulled with large force) from the ends to their design levels and locked with the help of hydraulic jacks, which will be a strong permanent arrangement. This process between two pillars will be completed within a week and the cycle will be repeated as the launching girder moves on to the next pillars.

NEWS BRIEFS

Chief minister gets a mixed report card. While the IT and ﬁlm industry were all praise for the CM, women and farmers were not happy with his two-year rule.

One killed in TDPCongress clash

Three arrested for adulteration of milk

Congress comes down heavily on MIM

Workshop on ‘Historic Hyderabad’ begins

Traders don’t even have two coins to rub together. Small change is a big challenge for traders, due to a severe shortage of minor denomination coins.

Metro work seems to be progressing smoothly. With the CM going to lay the Metro foundation stone, work seems to be well on its way.

45-year-old man was killed and 15 others were injured in a political clash involving TDP and Congress activists at Gollapalem village in Vizianagaram district on Sunday. The deceased has been identiﬁed as B Papa Rao. A small tiff in a tea stall had developed into a full scale clash between party workers, police said.

three-member gang that was involved in adulteration of milk was detained by the task force team of City police. The police seized adulterated milk, electric packing machines and other material from them. The prime accused, Nall Chandra Shekar, supplied milk to households and hotels and was assisted by two men.

he ruling Congress upped its ante against its one-time ally MIM Party. Congress general secretary G Niranjan came down heavily on the MIM and alleged that it was trying to instigate people by making provocative statements against the party. He demanded that State government immediately arrest MIM leaders including corporators.

one-day workshop on ‘Historic Hyderabad’, which aims at drawing representative stakeholders of the heritage in the City, began this morning at Jubilee Hall in Nampally. The workshop is being moderated by the project team (of IHCDS) constituting ofﬁcials from the World Bank, Cities Alliance and CEPT University.

city MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

GHMC

GHMC war heats up

Deferring the council meeting confirms the widening rift between the two uneasy partners in the civic body Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

he GHMC proposal to postpone the general body meeting scheduled to be held on December 1 has heightened tension between the two uneasy allies: the Congress and the MIM. While the reason for postponing is quoted as the two-day Assembly session from the same date, many read meanings into the move, saying that the two partners are ready to part ways after Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy lashed out at the MIM and Owaisi on Saturday. With the mayor’s endorsement the GHMC secretary, MSS Somaraju has written to the government seeking reschedule of the meeting owing to the two-day Assembly session, as the Council meeting cannot run without the mandatory presence of ex-officio members, some of whom are MLAs. “We are awaiting response from the government,” said Somaraju. Meanwhile, the happiest about the postponement seems to be the main Opposition, the TDP. The party floor leader, Singireddy Srinivas Reddy, is to go on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala in the first week of next month and the meeting would have clashed with his plan. “I’m happy if it is postponed for a week. I shall be able to raise important issues like property tax and sufferings of people if the general body meeting is held a few days later,”he said.The Congress corpora-

With the Mayor’s endorsement. the GHMC secretary, has written to the government seeking to reschedule the meeting owing to the two-day Assembly session, as the meeting cannot run without the ex-officio members.

tors whose representation to the CM raised speculation of the widening rift amongst the former allies was provided with ample time to chalk out the strategy. “As of now the general body meeting is most likely to be postponed. Hence, we shall be announcing the plan of action to be followed for the meeting,” maintains K Venkatesh, Congress floor leader. The Council meeting that was supposed to be conducted at least once in three months has not been conducted since May.

ENERGY

SECM adopts strategies The energy conservation mission has adopted long and short term strategies in order to meet the growing power demand.

n order to meet the challenges of abnormal power demand, unprecedented shortage of fuel like natural gas, coal and low reservoir levels for hydel generation and also to bridge the gap between demand and supply to the maximum extent possible, the State Energy Conservation Mission (SECM) has adopted short-term and long-term communication strategies to make conservation a big success. The objective of SECM is to create awareness on energy conservation among the consumers by adopting various communication strategies which paves the way for considerable energy savings. Chief secretary and SECM chairperson Minnie Mathew, who is

The objective is to create awareness on energy conservation among the consumers by adopting communication strategies which paves the way for energy savings. going to review the communication strategies, directed that all departments have to implement energy conservation measures to achieve maximum energy savings in this critical juncture and to see that maintenance wings in all government buildings to follow action plan to minimise their energy

consumption. While discussing the scope and impact of energy conservation with CMD/APTransco Hiralal Samariya, CMD/APCPDCL G. Anantha Ramu and special secretary, energy department, Munindra, principal secretary, energy department M Sahoo said that SECM/power utilities must be able to tell the public about the consequences of the fuel crisis and explain about the significance of conservation of energy, which will benefit both society and sector. The entire nation is facing fuel crisis. According to Union ministry of power, more than 52 thermal power stations in the country are facing acute fuel shortage with less than a week's stock. NSS

POLITICS

Kiran, Jaipal rift resurfaces

ifferences between Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Union minister for science and technology S Jaipal Reddy came to the fore once again with the latter staying away from the launch ceremony of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project on Sunday. Annoyed over being ignored, Jaipal Reddy stayed away from the ceremony although being present in the City. Officials close to Jaipal Reddy said he was not formally invited to the programme by the CM. They said only Jaipal Reddy’s name was printed on the invitation card and an invitation was sent through a person. Jaipal Reddy expressed his displeasure over the chief minister ignoring him despite the fact that as the Union minister for urban development he played a key role in getting the mega project approved. Jaipal Reddy’s supporters pointed out that he was invited by the BJP government for similar ceremonies for the Bengaluru Metro Rail project. NSS

city MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

CM’S PERFORMANCE

Two jeers, two cheers for Kiran

As Kiran Kumar Reddy completes two years in office, his tenure as chief minister receives a mixed response from politicians and the public in general. But he seems to have a long way to go before he succeeds. INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

hile Babudom gave Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy’s two-year rule an abysmal ranking, the IT, film industry and police gave him a thumbs up. When it came to law and order, Kiran secured 7 points on a scale of 10. He also got a thumbs up for boosting the growth of the industrial sector, especially IT field and film industry. The IT industry had notched up a historical milestone when its exports crossed `50,000 crore-mark during 2011-12. The film industry too finally got rid of the contentious Value Added Tax.

The CM however could not protect himself from the wrath of women and farmer leaders for his ‘consistent failure’ in addressing their problems. During the last two years, the prices of fertilisers and seeds have recorded a multi-fold increase, crippling the lives of farmers. Continuous natural calamities like drought and cyclones and consequent debttrap have forced scores of farmers to commit suicides. During the last two years, the CM also failed in constituting a women’s commission despite High Court strictures. A woman activist who wished to be anonymous described Kiran as a ‘male chauvinist’ as he did nothing for the welfare of women who constitute 48 per cent of the population.

VOICES Pervaram Ramulu former DGP Law and Order in the State has been maintained well. The recent handling of communal riots with regard to Bhagyalakshmi temple issue is an example of it. There has been no rise in serious crimes like kidnapping, day-light murders, which are common in Delhi, Bihar and parts of Madhya Pradesh. It is a good sign for the State. Most importantly, There has been no sign of ISI and Naxalite activities in the State. But growing traffic has become a cause of concern. It can be solved by introducing Staggered Market Timings for commercial establishments and schools. Overall I would give him 6 points.

Tammareddy Bharadwaja Chairman,

AP Film Chambers of Commerce As far as the film industry is concerned, many good developments have taken place during Kiran Kumar Reddy's rule. Some of these include exemption from VAT, approval to release subsidy of `15 crore which was pending for several years, permission to computerise ticket sales and increase of base prices of tickets have been accepted by the CM. Our request to

Where does KKR stand (all out of 10) Law & Order

Managing Communal issues

Containing Marxist/Maoist troubles

Industry, IT

Electricity management

Police management

Addressing women, downtrodden issues

Redressing farmer problems

Managing social bodies

screen five shows a day has also been approved. This initiative would facilitate the screening of two low budget films during day time. What the CM needs is cooperation from his own party. I would give the CM 7 points out of 10.

K Ramakrishna,

prominent farmer leader When it comes to farmers, Kiran completely failed to fill their lives with a sense of joy. During his two year rule, he increased the prices of fertilisers for 12 consecutive terms. He also increased the prices of seeds without showing any mercy to farmers. The hike in prices of diesel further crippled the lives of farmers, who constitute more than 60 per cent of the State's population. Apart from this, natural calamities like drought and cyclones devastated the agriculture sector in the State. More importantly, the CM failed in preventing farmer suicides.

Dr B Chandravathi,

women representative and the youngest woman MLA The CM has failed to solve many glaring problems that women face. As per several reports, there has been an increase in crimes against women in the State. Female infanticide is also on the rise.

Pick

Despite this the CM did not convene a meeting with all women MLA of the house even once. The CM failed to constitute a woman’s commission, which has been defunct for many years.

Rajanna,

president ITSAP The two year rule of CM Kiran has been historical for the IT field. During the last two years, the IT and ITES crossed `50,000 crore (FY2011-12) for the first time in terms of the turnover. This represents a growth of over 15 per cent and the industry makes a significant contribution to the employment generation in the State. This speaks volumes about the CM’s performance.

Chukka Ramaiah, noted educationist

In the last two years the State had witnessed a drop in the standard of education. Enrolments of students in government schools have fallen. Another shocking development is that many government schools have closed down due to lack of students. Most importantly, more than

at the

60 per cent Muslim population from across the State are still deprived of education.

Sandhya,

prominent women’s rights activist I would give zero points to CM Kiran Kumar Reddy as he had done nothing to prevent the rise in crimes against women. The government bodies like National Crime Records Bureau’s reports revealed that AP had topped the list of crimes like, domestic violence, murders, rapes and kidnap. But nothing concrete has been done by the CM to prevent them. The State had promised to set up an emergency number four years ago. But the promise is yet to see light of the day. On this front, I would give him 2 points.

Jameela Nishat,

women's rights activist Atrocities against women — Samjoutha counselling center which was set up by the State to bring justice to victims of domestic violence turned into a male dominating centre. Instead of addressing problems faced by women, the police is taking complaints from men. Violence against women is common. The CM did introduce some pro-welfare programmes like pensions to women.

airport,

classifieds MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012 ‘RAIL FARE HIKE

CLASSIFIEDS INEVITABLE’

HEALTH/ CLINIC

outh Central Railway Employees’ Sangh president Raghavaiah has said that increase in Railway fares was inevitable. Speaking at a meeting at Nampally Railway Station on Sunday Raghavaiah said the Railway Board has taken a decision to increase the charges to improve the basic infrastructure. NSS

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RECRUITMENT

CURRENCY

Coin mafia makes money while traders squirm With the current shortage of coins, businesses are forced to cough up huge amounts as payment to brokers who take advantage of the situation.

M NAZIMUDDIN md.nazim@postnoon.com

t is a ‘small’ problem but a large one for the trader community. Severe shortage of the denomination of `1, 2, and 5 has convulsed the trader community in the twin cities. A prominent trader in Punjagutta told Postnoon the problem had worsened in the last few months and many commercial outlets have put up a ‘no change’ notice at their counters. Small businesses are the worst hit. Provision stores and pan shops used to offer chocolates in lieu of `1 but customers resent this. “I need some `5,000 small change every day but I am finding it difficult. The most in demand are coins `1, 2 and 5,” says the owner of a hotel which has branches across the City. Ali Raza, a restaurant supervisor, said, “Our requirement for small change every month is close to `15 lakh but brokerage charges for supplying small coins

CONFERENCE Resident welfare associations meet

he First National Conference of Resident Welfare Associations concluded in Hyderabad on Sunday. Hosted by Hyderabad’s United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations, the three-day national conference had over 100 representatives of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) from Delhi, UP, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states participating. A landmark decision was taken at the national conference to form a National Confederation of Resident Welfare Association and a national interim body comprising of representative was formed. Dr Rao Chelikani was elected as the chairman of the national interim body. A series of decisions were taken to form a national plan of action. A document on National Policy of RWAs and their role in urban management and participation was adopted at the end of the conference and the same will be presented to government of different states and the Union.

There is a well-established broker network that operates in the City. Around 15 brokers are always available outside the RBI building.

has gone up to 20 per cent! This means I get 80 paise for `1. How can we do business?” During Diwali the shortage of `5 coin and note was so much that people had to pay 40 per cent. Small change business has turned into a sort of mafia, he said. There is a well-established broker network that operates in the twin cities selling small change. Around 15 brokers are always available outside the RBI building. They decide the percentage to be charged. Thus small traders and public are held to ransom. If they spend the whole day before the RBI counter how will they run a business? So most traders pay the brokerage demanded. “I had made many trips to the RBI in the past couple of weeks but I don’t get change. The people at the counter ask me to come the next day and the ordeal is repeated,” says Ramesh T, a supermarket supervisor in Banjara Hills. Meanwhile, brokers outside RBI take advantage of the situation and rake in money.

LAW AND ORDER

Tension, clashes at Anjayanagar after demolition Tension prevailed in Gachibowli when the GHMC began to demolish some illegal structures. RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

ension and melodrama unfolded at Anjayanagar in Gachibowli today when the GHMC’s town planning wing began pulling down some illegal structures. People gathered and clashed with the police and the demolition squad, leading to a fracas. One of the occupants fainted, which resulted in heightening of tension. As the gathering grew in strength, the squad temporarily suspended the operation. However, the restless crowd surged ahead and the situation was going out of control when the police resorted to a mild lathi-charge. A group of young TDP activists who

led the protesting mob alleged that the GHMC and government were doing this just to recover the property for the sake of some big IT firms. “It is a deliberate ploy,” said Neelam Ravinder Mudiraj, an angry young activist of the TDP. Another activist Raju Yadav threatened to unleash a violent protest if the demolition continued. He said some IT companies are hand-in-glove with the GHMC. Officials have drawn up a plan to demolish some 40 structures on this stretch. Of them nine have obtained stay orders. In all 26 buildings had been demolished. Notices were issued three months ago. Officials said even those who got permission for ground plus one floor have built more violating rules.

Special

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

EDUCATION ARUNIMA RAJAN arunima.r@postnoon.com

lite campuses are fast turning into death traps. More and more starry-eyed students, pushed by ambitious parents and demanding tutors to prepare them for a ‘bright future’, are crumbling under pressure. Students’ suicides have become a topic of much concern for the government as well as educators. While policy makers have so far been debating, but doing little to remedy it, school and college managements have been wary about confronting the issue. But the grim statistics show that it is now time to act. According to a National Crime Records Bureau report, 5,877 student suicides were reported in 2006 and the number jumped to 7,379 in 2010. While the reasons may be many, the immediate challenge before teaching institutes is to balance academics with students’ and parents’ varied aspirations. A task force constituted by the Central Human Resources Development Ministry to study the increasing number of student suicides recently recommended that all centrally-funded technical institutions must ear-

mark `50 lakh a year for student support services, including counselling and activities to promote emotional wellbeing of students. Many of these institutions have taken this in the right spirit and some have even started to initiate measures. So, why should educational institutes offer student support services? The number of student suicides has been increasing each year, not to mention the increasing cases of stress, anxiety and depression. In every premier institute, young students are thrown into a highly competitive environment away from the comfort of their homes and loved ones. Some cope, while many struggle and ultimately succumb.

REACHING OUT Shamnad Basheer, ministry of HRD professor in IP Law at National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, argues that providing support services is the responsibility of college managements to ensure that students reach their full potential. “Robust support systems have to be built through peer networks that can provide emotional support. The college must appoint senior students as mentors who can shepherd young entrants. Most importantly, faculty

TEACHERS, DON’T LEAVE THOSE KIDS

ALONE! What is counselling?

n Counselling offers an opportunity to talk to someone who will listen without criticism, and who will keep what you say confidential. n Some people come to counselling because they need a friendly ear, or a different perspective on a problem (be it a relationship or a situation) n Counselling offers more than talking to a friend — the time is all yours to talk about what is important to you — and you will not have to face the person the next day in class! n Coming to counselling does not mean that you are crazy, but just that you have decided to explore new ways of dealing with what life is offering you, or that you know you would benefit from some support in dealing with things. n Counselling offers a safe space to put into words the thoughts and feelings that are inside you — and in doing this, gain some understanding and control over them. n Counselling is a very different process for each person and we encourage you to discuss with the counsellor what you need from the time.

Special

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

With student suicides becoming an indelible stain on the country, the HRD ministry is targeting IITs and other institutes of higher learning to make them accountable. Does seeing a counsellor mean I am ill? No, seeing a counsellor doesn't mean you are ill. However, where there are some symptoms of an illness — such as depression, anxiety — then counselling can be helpful. Counsellors will not treat you as a sick person, but rather as someone going through a bad time. What do I have to say in a counselling session? It doesn't really matter how you present your problem. You can say whatever you like. Sometimes there is silence; sometimes you might find yourself saying things you had not expected to say. The counsellor will help you explore the matter and will keep referring to you to clarify his/her understanding. Will the counsellor give me advice? Counsellors don't ever give advice of the "I'd leave that relationship if I was you" variety since the purpose of counselling is to help you make your own decision. They will never make a moral decision about the course of action you ought to take. They may sum up what they understand you have been saying so far, in order to help you move on and form a plan of action. They can offer pointers to how others have successfully dealt with common problems and may also make suggestions of the "have you thought of the following" variety. What will the counsellor think of me? Will I be judged? Many of our problems arise just because we are human. When something goes wrong, it is usually because we are pushing ourselves too hard; because we are in a muddle for reasons we don't fully understand or because we are suffering from some form of mental distress which is distorting our view of reality. Therefore judging clients is not helpful or relevant; you need to be supported in finding your own way out of the problem. Is counselling like psychiatry? Counselling bears little relation to psychiatry except that both deal with emotional and mental processes. Psychiatrists are trained doctors, who work largely through diagnosis of illness and then by prescribing a treatment — usually involving medication. Counsellors are normally non-medical professionals, who work by talking and encouraging you to find your own solutions. Counsellors can however recognise the symptoms of severe mental distress, and may suggest you consider medical help if this is appropriate.

members, who have considerable sway over these young minds, can provide guidance and support from time to time,” says Basheer. But, merely appointing a counsellor may not be enough. One must also ensure that the counsellor builds a good rapport with students to make them feel comfortable enough to speak to him/her. Given the way counselling is perceived in India, it may be a good idea to also have counsellors outside campus (though close by), so that students can approach them without worrying about being judged by their peers. The counsellors chosen must be ones that have a holistic approach to mental wellbeing and not those that are overly technical and narrow in their orientation, the professor adds. With students gathering from various parts of the country and with different family backgrounds, handling their problems can be quite mindboggling, opine managements. “From social network addiction to depression, we have to handle a whole range of problems. That’s why we have employed three counsellors on campus. There are plans to employ two more,” says Sharad Kumar Gupta, dean of student affairs at IIT Delhi. The student affairs’ committee of IIT-D has also tried to branch into other services like communication courses to help students with a heavy accent. “You have to remember that high IQ-exam crackers from different states study at IIT. So, the pressure to fit in and perform is much higher than in any other institute,” adds Gupta. Life of a student at most of the elite colleges is governed by strict codes of conduct. Pramod Kumar Verma, the student council chairman of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, admits that students often get so caught up in academic work that they don’t get time for extra-curricular activities. “A PhD student does not know when the course will finally get over. At times, it can even go on for eight years. It is extremely

Reasons students seek counselling n Stress management n Adjusting to school or university n Life transitions and change n Difficulties in relationships n Depression n Anxiety n Anger n Physical abuse n Sexual abuse n Emotional abuse n Rape/sexual assault n Thoughts of suicide n Eating and body image concerns n Self-esteem n Loss and grief n Sexuality n Sexual orientation n Gender identity n Trauma n Other feelings that cause discomfort difficult to organise even a fest with all the academic work,” says the 29-year-old student. Interestingly, the institute has not hosted a cultural fest for the last two years. To combat the stigma associated with seeking help, IISc Bangalore, recently launched an online counselling service for its students. Verma says the option to chat anonymously with a professional psychologist has received good response from the student community. However, the management of Christ University, Bangalore, which offers a wide variety of courses, has found face-to-face counselling more effective than online services. Father Abraham, pro vice-chancellor of the university, says that the stigma associated with seeking help is often the biggest hurdle. “We used to offer tele-counselling services for students. But we stopped it as there were not many takers. Currently, the institute provides four fulltime counsellors as well as 300 stu-

dent mentors,” he said. Institutes like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, rely on traditional Indian practices like yoga and meditation to tackle stress-related issues of students. “We have found that simple breathing techniques can help students handle their issues,” says CAK Yesudian, dean of School of Health Systems Studies at TISS. The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, has a two-week long mentorship programme for students who need academic support, even before they join PGP, their flagship programme. The budding managers also get an opportunity to interact with IIM-B alumni to understand the ethos of the institute.

SCHOOL STRESS Academic stress is not limited to colleges but also exists in schools. The Delhi Public School branches in Bangalore have roped in external agencies like Amelio, a childcare service provider, to counsel both students and parents. Instead of focusing purely on the next exam, the school offers students long-term plans like career guidance. The school also guides them to healthier diets during stressful exam season. Capt Unnikrishnan, managing trustee of Primus Public School, says that teachers act as gatekeepers and address various emotional and academic pressures of students. In fact, the curriculum of the school is designed in such a manner that students can easily approach teachers if they are reeling under pressure to perform. Unnikrishnan feels that for young, impressionable minds, support systems have to be subliminal. “We conduct special training programmes for our teachers to cater to the needs of students in a sensitive manner,” he says. The school also screens movies which inculcate the right value system in students. At the end of the day, the ball is in the educational institutions’ court. Where their interests lie – in their budget or the young lives left in their care – remains to be seen.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Business

RIL DENIES HOARDING GAS Reliance Industries has denied allegation that it is hoarding gas by keeping KG-D6 output low saying it was technically impossible to store gas in the KG basin fields, and sought appointment of independent international experts to verify its claims..

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Suite taste of success Ranjana Naik turned her failures into stepping-stones and created a successful service apartment business venture.

PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

Eventually, I quit the partnership. As I have invested all my savings, there is no other option but turn ventures successful. “The industry scenario is also facilitating a business opportunity in those days. It was the time when real estate

t is rightly said that failure is the first step to success. Ranjana Naik, a woman entrepreneur turned her failures into stepping stones and created a successful service apartment business venture, Swan Suites. Over time, the business has become synonymous with quality and service. Not only did she turn the sick business profitable but also acquired other loss-making properties and turned their fortunes around. “I am a science graduate and also did certificate course in corporate communications and PR at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans,” she tells about her education. She worked with many companies and gained experi-

Rising fortunes Established: 2006 Revenues: `45 lakh in 2009-10 Growth rate: 40-50 per cent in revenues and 30 per cent in adding room capacity Expected revenues: `10 crore in two years

As I have invested all my savings, there is no other option but turn ventures successful. I want to develop a franchisee model and expand all over the country. Ranjana Naik Owner, Swan Suites ence before venturing in to her own business. “I worked as a business development executive in Apex, an institute that teaches sales skills for students and professionals. After working with few other companies, I ran a call centre for Standard Chartered Bank. However, the economic

downturn in 2004, along with change in bank policies, made things difficult. This pushed me to start a service apartment business in Hyderabad with an investment of `20 lakh. This was a branch of a family friend’s business in Bangalore,” she explains. Although the business had

started well, it started suffering losses after a while. “As the head office was in Bangalore, there was no proper marketing campaign designed for Hyderabad. No strong research was done in the City before venturing in to business. It was very hard time with and all my savings were at risk.

owners were converting their existing vacant flats in to service apartments based on the need of corporates. Although, these services were offered at a low price, the quality is poor. “This has become a real business opportunity for us. We started offering quality service at similar price range of these real estate owners and started filling the gap. This became a burden initially, but we gradually increased the prices without compromising on quality,” she says. The business started in 2006 with 25 rooms had reached 140 rooms with different sizes. Offering quality and service for over 15,000 guests has slowly turned this small-scale business in to a local brand. “I want to use the brand name and develop a franchisee model and expand operations to all over the country. As part of the business tradition, I have plans to acquire sick properties and turn them profitable.” Ranjana also emerged as a Finalist in CNBC’s Emerging India Awards 2011 in the category of Women Entrepreneur of the Year. She is also helping other women as a mentor through Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

for

Eurozone ﬁnance ministers meet in Brussels today for the third time in two weeks for talks on unlocking the next slice of aid to debt-crippled Greece, which is in danger of running out of money. Greece has been waiting since June for a loan instalment of 31.2 billion euros ($40 billion), part of a 130-billion-euro ﬁnancial assistance package initially granted early this year. By the end of the year, Athens is also due to receive two more aid payments, worth 5.0 and 8.3 billion euros, in exchange for which it has pledged to implement a series of unpopular austerity measures.

NUMEROLOGY

is what US shoppers spent on the crucial Black Friday shopping day, for the first time topping a $1 billion in online sales in a single day.

DORTMUND IN PROFIT Defending Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund posted a record net proﬁt of 34.3 million euros ($44.5 million) last season, chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke announced on Sunday. Having been on the verge of bankruptcy in 2005, Dortmund, who have won the German league title for the last two seasons, enjoyed a turnover of 215.2 million euros for the 2011-12 season, up 42.1 per cent on the previous year.

THUS SPAKE

FDI is needed for the country's growth but it should be allowed keeping in mind the country's interests. SHANTA KUMAR, BJP LEADER

BSE 5638.05 `55.55 5,209.05 DOLLAR`55.14 17,179.95DOLLAR NSEPOUND `86.60 `89.00 POUND BSE NSE GOLD`32,620 10g SILVER `63,928 1kg

24C

GOLD `29,500 10g SILVER `53,000 1kg

EURO TALKS TODAY

98.90

33.65

Since our country is a union of states, we abide by its federal character and, therefore, are bound by the consensus on the issue, ANAND SHARMA, COMMERCE MINISTER

18557.11 50.54

ANAND SHARMA, 11.45 COMMERCE MINISTER

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

nation

MAN HELD FOR RAPING 2-YEAR-OLD A 23-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping a two-year-old girl in Delhi, said the police. Vijender lured the girl to his house on the pretext of playing with her. Vijender, who was planning to flee the city, was arrested Saturday from his house in west Delhi's Nangloi late Saturday night.

TERRORISM

CANDYMEN

Gritty Mumbai remembers 26/11

Vendors carry cotton candy in Siliguri.

CRIME

2 immolate themselves to stop cops BHUBANESWAR: Two men set themselves afire in Odisha in a bid to prevent policemen from entering their house as they investigated a crime, a family member said on Monday. Sheikh Sadique, 25 and his elder brother Sabir, 35 were upset that a police team was in their house in Balasore, about 200 km from here, to arrest them on Sunday in connection with an attack on a local resident. As soon as the police team entered the house, the duo allegedly poured kerosene and set fire to themselves. One the brothers died on the way to hospital, while the other died during treatment. "Though they were on fire, the policemen dragged them into the jeep without making any attempt to douse the flames. The police had come to arrest them even if they were innocent" Arzu Biwi, wife of Sabir, said. Police however refuted the allegation. "The policemen rushed them to hospital. The two were involved in criminal activities, and both had nearly 90 percent burns," police officer Tariq Ahemad said. IANS

AFP/ DIPTENDU DUTTA

NEWS BRIEFS Two held for killing roommate NEW DELHI: Two men were arrested here for killing their roommate, who had stolen contact details of a woman with whom the accused engaged in surreptitious chats, police said. Devender, 20, and Hevbi Lal, 24, were arrested from Kamla Market area for slitting their 24-year-old friend Rajpal's throat before dumping his body at Ramlila Ground, said additional commissioner of police Devesh Chandra Shrivastava. They killed Rajpal after inviting him for a liquor party, police said.

MUMBAI: Mumbai paused in its busy tracks on Monday to remember the 166 people who fell to the bullets of Pakistani terrorists during a 60-hour siege that began this day four years ago. Brief commemoration events were held at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, Oberoi Trident, Leopold Cafe and Nariman House, some of Mumbai's most loved landmarks that were targeted by the terrorists. The main function to remember the martyrs and victims of the terror strike, which began on November 26, 2008, was held at the Mumbai Police Gymkhana at Chowpatty where a permanent 26/11 memorial has been erected.

Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan, CM Prithviraj Chavan, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde laid wreaths and offered their homage. With them were Maharashtra home minister RR Patil, minister of state for home Satej Patil, police commissioner Satyapal Singh and other dignitaries who also offered floral tributes. The family members and relatives of the martyred policemen and other victims of the terror attacks as well as survivors were also present on the occasion. Five days ago, on November 21, Ajmal Amir Kasab, the sole surviving Pakistani terrorist caught alive, was hanged in a Pune jail. IANS

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Sirsa sealed after clashes SIRSA (HARYANA): Paramilitary forces were deployed in Sirsa Sunday to help Haryana Police maintain law and order in this Haryana town after violent clashes between followers of Dera Sacha Sauda sect and the Sikh community. The entire Sirsa town, around 300 km from state capital Chandigarh, has been sealed and no outside vehicles were being allowed in, district officials said. Services of state road transport buses to and from Sirsa have also been suspended.

/095 Rs.1 9/: e c i 4 r Pr Rs.5 Cove r Price: : 50% g e f n f i O l Sav Tota

Row over Thackeray memorial MUMBAI: The controversy over a memorial for late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray continued on Sunday with party leader Manohar Joshi insisting on Shivaji Park here as the location and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan citing problems in doing so. At a function in Nashik on Sunday, Joshi reiterated that the memorial must be constructed at Shivaji Park, the venue of Thackeray's Dussehra rallies for 46 years and where he was cremated at a public funeral November 17.

A FRESH NEW POINT OF VIEW You can also call or email us at:

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

World

ISRAEL’S LIKUD SAYS PRIMARY TO CONTINUE Voting in Israel’s ruling Likud party primary is to continue for a second day after computer glitches disrupted Sunday’s polling, the party confirmed Sunday. Earlier, Ofir Akunis, considered a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed the news.

CRISIS IN CAIRO

Egypt erupts again

President Mohamed Morsi said the sweeping new powers he has assumed are only temporary and called for dialogue, as clashes claim one life. HAITHAM EL-TABEI Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Morsi’s constitutional declaration on Thursday, allowing him to issue decisions and laws unchallenged, triggered a wave of protest and has set him on course for a showdown with Egypt’s judges, whom he is due to meet on Monday in a bid to defuse the crisis. Clashes between supporters and opponents of the president, outside a Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Damanhour, saw one Islamist killed and 10 people wounded, a doctor at the hospital in the Nile Delta town told AFP. Witnesses said the clashes, in which protesters hurled petrol bombs and stones, followed three days of unrest there, with Morsi’s opponents trying to storm the Brotherhood office. Several offices belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party have been torched since Thursday’s announcement. “The death of this young Islamist and the fires targeting the party’s offices show that certain people are trying to lead the country towards chaos,” the party’s president Saad Al Katatni said on his Facebook page. Last week’s constitutional declaration states that Morsi can issue “any decision or measure to protect the revolution,” which are final and not subject to appeal. The announcement has sparked charges that he is taking on dictatorial powers. In a move to assuage his critics, Morsi is to meet the Supreme Judicial Council on

THE STONES ROLL AGAIN

The Rolling Stones rocked London on Sunday, thrilling a 20,000 crowd with the first of five concerts to mark their 50th anniversary. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood were joined by their original bass player Bill Wyman at the O2 Arena as the ageing rockers performed their first major concert for five years. Lead singer Jagger made light of criticism of the ticket prices for the sold-out gig.

NUMEROLOGY

250

is the number of child sex abuses faced by a catholic brother who has fled New Zealand for Sri Lanka before his extradition could be secured.

‘MORSI GO’

‘SORRY’

An Egyptian man (right) walks over a graffiti reading “Morsi Go” on Sunday at Egypt’s landmark Tahrir square in Cairo. AFP/MAHMOUD KHALED

Protesters (above) throw branches on a bone fire as they clash with Egyptian riot policemen at Simon Bolivar square. AFP/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA

Monday, after his justice minister Ahmed Mekki held preliminary talks with the council, the president’s spokesman Yasser Ali said. The president on Sunday emphasised the “temporary

nature” of the new measures, which would apply only until a new constitution is adopted and elections held, and which “are not meant to concentrate power,” but devolve it to a democratically-elected parlia-

ment. The measures were also “deemed necessary in order to hold accountable those responsible for the corruption as well as the other crimes during the previous regime and during the transitional period.”

Catalan leader says will have to share power

Two dead in landslide as floods hit Panama

French right close to collapse after talks fail

US aims to keep 10,000 troops in Afghanistan

BARCELONA: Catalonia’s leader Artur Mas said Sunday he will have to share power as he ﬁghts for greater sovereignty for the rich Spanish region after voters slashed his majority. Mas’s majority in the regional parliament fell in favour of leftist parties which, like him, favour a referendum on self-rule, ofﬁcial results showed.

PANAMA CITY: Panama declared three disaster areas on Sunday after two people were killed in landslides triggered by torrential rain. “I have just seen the people who were killed and spoken with their families. This is more serious than people thought,” President Ricardo Martinelli said in a posting on Twitter.

PARIS: France’s main right-wing opposition party was close to collapse on Monday after talks failed to resolve a bitter leadership dispute and an ex-prime minister vowed to take the battle to the courts. The contested leadership vote has thrown into turmoil ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP, still reeling from its loss of the presidency.

WASHINGTON: The US aims to keep around 10,000 US troops in Afghanistan after formal combat operations in that country end in 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported late Sunday. The plan was in line with recommendations presented by General John Allen, commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan.

NEWS BRIEFS

The Australian government on Monday made a parliamentary apology to victims of abuse in the military and set up a compensation fund after hundreds of claims of rape and sexual assault. Defence Minister Stephen Smith also established an independent taskforce to individually assess each allegation uncovered by a report commissioned by the government last year. The taskforce will be able to refer appropriate matters to police for formal criminal investigation, while offering victims help in accessing counselling, and other services.

What are the attractions to London as an international investor? What makes it a great place to live? It’s because you have a stable system where it is very largely uncorrupt. Boris Johnson Mayor of London

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Technology GREAT GIFT IDEAS

Microsoft Surface

Price: `28,000+

PROS

n Impressive build quality n Bright display with low glare n Solid performance and battery life n Full-sized USB port n Touch Cover enables fast text input

PROS

n Excellent keyboard n Good port selection n Wide viewing angles n Useful tools for businesses

Lenovo ThinkPad Twist Price: `50,000+

CONS

n Short battery life n Performance trails without an SSD n Some trackpad issues

BOTTOM LINE

Lenovo updates a triedand-true form factor with Windows 8, a bright IPS display and an excellent keyboard. However, longer battery life would have made this a better choice for road warriors.

CONS

n Limited app selection

BOTTOM LINE

Microsoft's Surface with Windows RT is a great tablet for those who need a strong dose of productivity with their mobility.

805mn

THE POWER OF 5 Price: `17000+

PROS

Apple iPad Mini Price: `30,000+

PROS

n Beautiful, thin and light design n Stellar battery life n Bright, clear display n Sturdy construction

CONS

n Innovative, comfortable controller n Backward-compatible with last-gen Wii n Off-screen play fundamentally changes console gaming

n Too wide for some n Pricier than many 7inch alternatives

CONS

The iPad mini isn't just an Apple tablet made to a budget. This isn't just a shrunken-down iPad. This is, in many ways, Apple's best tablet yet.

BOTTOM LINE

n Incredibly short battery life on GamePad n Slow, antiquated UI n Confusing social functionality

BOTTOM LINE

REVIEWS FROM EGADGET.COM

Nintendo's Wii U is full of promise, but it may have launched prematurely. Longtime gamers will want to snap one up immediately, but mainstream users should wait a few months before diving in.

PROS

n Rich display n Best-in-class stills and video performance n Incredible value at $100

Apple and Samsung seem to be hell-bent on destroying each other. Samsung ﬁled a request that the iPad Mini, the fourthgeneration iPad, and the ﬁfthgeneration iPod Touch be included in a California case set to go to trial in 2014. According to CNET news, Apple responded last night by asking that several more Samsung devices, including the Galaxy Note 2, the Galaxy S3 with Android 4.1, and the Galaxy S3 Mini, be covered by the case. At this rate, we’ll have to dust off our land lines. Oh! The Horror! Of course one nerdy reader pointed out to us that there are other tech companies around. Really? Where?

NUMERO UNO

Wondering what to buy that special person this festive season? Look no further than these five awesome gadgets that will have any self-respecting geek drooling with joy.

Nintendo Wii U

APPLE VS SAMSUNG 2

Nokia Lumia 920 Price: `10,000+

CONS

n Some softness in photos n Device feels unwieldy n App selection still lacking

BOTTOM LINE

It's Nokia's greatest Windows Phone yet, remixed for AT&T. The Lumia 920 packs a superb screen with great visibility and sensitivity, but the camera gives a mixed performance.

If you were sick of people prancing around like demented mules doing Psy’s Gangnam Style dance then you’d better stop reading now. GStyle has dethroned Justin Bieber’s equally vacuous Baby as the mostwatched YouTube video of all-time. In less than five months the Korean’s video has racked up more than 805 million views. Take that, kitten playing piano!

TABLET POWER Just as we sounded the death knell for the desktop, it looks like we’re going to have buy a new gong for laptops too. For the ﬁrst-time ever, it looks like tablet sales are going to outstrip laptop sales over an entire quarter. According to NPD DisplaySearch, 18.7 million tablets were shipped in October, towering over the 16.9 million laptops. The Microsoft Surface (see main article) is set to be the mostsought-after tablet, while the Alienware M18X leads the laptop ﬁeld in sheer beauty and brains.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Comment An actor is something less than a man, while an actress is something more than a woman.

HEALTHY, WEALTHY AND WISE

THE HUMAN CONDITION Dean Williams

esterday the TV movie Liz & Dick made its debut in America. The movie focuses on the tumultuously passionate relationship between actors Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It is often said that Burton and Taylor’s passion often walked the fine line between insanity and depravity. Their roaring fights would often end up in a naked tangle of limbs on their living room floor where anger would give way to a lust that can only spring from the loins of a very dark love. Before she met Burton, Liz Taylor maintained that the only man she ever loved was third husband Mike Todd (incidentally Todd died while they were still married, making him the only husband she never divorced). But after she met Burton her world was immersed in his Welsh drawl. Their harddrinking dramatics played off each other, and the sparks were both dazzling and dangerous. The critics have panned Liz & Dick. Matt Roush of TV Guide said: “[It’s] a TV-movie so laughably inept it doesn't deserve to be on a first-name basis with anything resembling humanity.” But how could anyone, apart from the true characters, capture a love so brilliantly intellectual, yet so carnally mortal. But it is a diary entry of Burton’s that sums up their relationship like no film ever could: “I'm afraid we are temporarily out in the cold, and fallen stars. What is remarkable is that we have stayed up there for so long.” The writer is the editor of Postnoon.

DECODING HEALTH RESEARCH HARD TALK

Richard Burton Actor

An affair to remember

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS

India’s response to the Chinese passports depicting Arunachal Pradesh and AKsai Chin by issuing passports with maps including both regions as Indian territories is perfect. Reply in kind: that’s our policy.

PK Surendran

here comes an age and stage in one’s life when many of the things around you don’t matter much. You have seen those passed their prime and hurtling towards the dusk hardly bother to frequently comb the hair (or mop the dome) or powder the face as they in their preening, prowling years. One is not even finicky in dress though exceptions exist. Health is a different area. Everyone, especially the seniors, are worried about their health, and it is no wonder health care is immune to recession. But what worries me the most is the wayward ways of health research bodies that come out with contradictory and atrocious results often, perplexing the poor consumer. What vexed me recently was the bewildering stance on afternoon nap. “It makes you cheerful, alert, happy,” says a chirpy report from Berkely. “Sleep is needed to clear the brain’s shortterm memory storage,” says another sage from Paris. “It helps longevity...” thus goes the paeans on after-lunch nap. Damn me! I soon heard counter-noises from other corners. “Feeling sleepy after eating is a sign of diabetes.” Well, well. I searched the Net for more. It gave me reasons aplenty why feeling sleepy immediately after eating is a sign of ill health. Now, I, a man of 58 summers, began the habit of getting my 120 winks much before the scientific people began ladling out their distasteful reports. And let me tell these jokers that each body has its own rhythm and

chemistry and there is no universal law that applies to all except that a body of flesh and blood can’t do without three things: food, sex, and sleep. How many hours or when to sleep is one’s own concern. But the research devotees would not allow us in peace. A few years ago there was a fierce controversy in Kerala on the advisability of using coconut oil for cooking as it is ‘rich in saturated’ fat. Well, over-eating, not-working current generation faithfully shifted to other oils including the exotic Olive oil that costs a bomb. But, fortunately, I stuck to the good old coconut oil and it never harmed me all these years.

A while ago, my friend who is in his early ‘fifties began to eat a lot of ladies finger as it is supposed to be an aphrodisiac. After a while I asked him the result. He uttered profanities at his advisers. His performance in the bedroom was as average as ever. I asked in undertone if his wife too had taken the same remedy. He said she has been eating this veg for years and had been enjoying a sound sleep rich in snores! And so it goes on. Red meat is supposed to be healthy one day, and poison on another. A peg a day keeps the doctor away. “Nay!”screams another, “Alcohol is a dangerous potion.” “Jog for health,” says one, “save your energy,” says another. The list of forbidden foods changes constantly. And then, one friend, who worked with a large firm in the US dropped a damning hint. “Look, you simpletons swallow all the pills they ladle out. You know, many industries promote research only to substantiate their claims such as coffee industry would finance a research on caffeine’s ‘efficacy’ in preventing the heart doing tap dance. The next day would come out another report: how tea happens to be antioxidant.

TAILEND

A quarter century ago, when I was working in Surat, a friend and neighbour practised the ‘safe period’ technique as ably advised by his doctor friend. This he adopted as he was a devout Catholic who believed abortion or operation was bad morally and religiously. I would not go into details as much of it is unprintable. But after nine months the result was out: another girl. Cursing the humanity, he stopped the efforts altogether. My advice to you is live life king size.

EDITORIALS The day’s yours as much as it’s ours Viva Vettel

eing different is tough. The majority always finds ways to isolate the minority and clamp them with rules that stifle them, making existence impossible. It looks for flaws, and differences, and try to bring them in line. It’s even tougher for those born different. In Delhi, the pride parade happened yesterday. This is the fourth since 2008. The first one had just 35 in number, but they were pure manifestations of bravery and courage; a time when being gay was a huge crime, to the one billion that make our country, they came out from the dark and declared in broad daylight what they are, without a care for what might follow. The world is getting to be okay with accepting gay people but it’s sad its happening at a snail’s pace. And it’s quite a fantastic subject still from which comedy may be conjured in movies. We ‘the normal’ laugh but amid the laughter we forget that there may be among us who cringe in shame and are further cornered in their minds and the world because of what they are. But the different must never cower and run for cover. Do not shy away. Come out, come out, come out from the dark. The day’s yours as much as it’s ours.

READERS’ VIEWS

hat destiny holds for Baby Schumi, no one knows, not even he, but he is writing it and going by what he has done yet, it looks a glorious one. Mayhap he may surpass many of the greats by the time he’s done racing. In some ways he reminds us of another who held the triple title record before him who loved racing in the rain.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

campus

CREATIVE HANDS

Attend the Make your own organic jewellery, exhibition and workshop at LaMakaan on December 2. The event will held from 2.30pm onwards.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Putting health first

COLLEGE FEST

Street Cause Gold organised a health camp at three locations in the City that saw more than 1,000 people turning up at the event.

Crescentia Students of St Francis College are gearing up for Crescentia, a fest organised by business management students in the college. The fest will be held on December 6 and 7 and will have 11 representatives from10 different colleges in the city participating in it. Business quiz, business management round where the best manager will be picked are some of the events that will held.

COLLEGE OF THE WEEK

St. Xavier’s

St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, is a Roman Catholic college in the Jesuit tradition. The college is named after Francis Xavier, the 16th century Spanish Jesuit saint. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Arts, science and commerce. It has spawned several research institutions within its campus such as Blatter Herbarium. At one point it was rated as the best college in India for Arts and second best college for Commerce and Science.

AMY ROSE THOMAS amyrose.t@postnoon.com

imes have changed and so have the college students. They are leading the pack when it comes to bringing about change in the society. Working for the underprivileged is something many of these students indulge in during their free time. And unlike their elders, they have taken upon themselves to change lives. There are many non-profit organisations that are popular among college students in the City and one such is Street Cause Gold which is a result of a collaborative effort between college students and corporate employees. The latest health camp that this NGO organised on November 23 saw more than 1,000 people turn up at the event. Camps were organised at three different locations includ-

ing Shivrampally in Shamshabad, Begum Bazar and in Banjara Hills. A pass-out from DVR Engineering College, Satish Reddy, who was one of the organisers at the camp, says, “We roped in general physicians, ENT, eye specialists and dental experts for the camp. One day before the camp, we went around the colonies to spread the word about the event. We went door to door and handed out pam-

phlets but were still surprised at the turnout. We had almost 1,000 people coming for the check-ups.” According to TCS employee Bharani Kumar, who was one of the volunteers at Shivrampally, it was mostly women who came for the check-up. “We had a lot of women suffering from backaches coming in droves for the event. It was arranged from 9 am to 1.30 pm and we had people flowing in

throughout the time. There were many serious cases too — a person who had broken all his teeth and a woman with a severe stomach ache had come for check-up. I was assisting patients from one counter to the other,” he says. Apart from check-ups, awareness classes were organised on diabetes, health, hygiene and yoga. Gopi Pabbisetty who is pursuing his MBA from Great India B-school says, “In Begum Bazaar, we organised the checkups at Bhansila Balaka Vidyalaya. We also conducted health and hygiene and yoga classes for students. Yoga sessions were conducted so that students won’t be stressed out during the exams. We gave away gifts to the students who attended the camp after the event. For the Begum Bazaar camp we had almost 800 people attending it. “

TRENDING...

Math Monkey: Math Game Time has dubbed Math Monkey the “educational Angry Birds for kids.” This app is geared toward younger students, but if your basic math skills are rusty, it’s a fun and engaging way to build them back up for only $2.99.

MyFitnessPal: Stay healthy despite the junk food, late-night study-session pizza, and cafeteria food by tracking what you put in your body with the MyFitnessPal app (Free). Add friends to support each other's healthy-living efforts.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

spotlight

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

Put on your dancing shoes and head to Firangi Paani where DJ Shafi will take you on a high like never before.

KISMET NIGHTS

GROOVY NIGHT

Party peeps headed to Kismet where DJ Candice was behind the console, playing the latest tracks. Spotted were Taseem, Aziz and others. 7

1 Aziz, Satwant 2 Sonia, Moin 3 Darani, Avani 4 Mike, Taseem 5 Rupasree 6 Sameera, Hana 5 Pearl 6 Umar, Zoheb

Khan, Aryan 5 Nicole 6 DJ

Candice

Search on for the star Eight girls from Andhra Pradesh were shortlisted at the semi-final audition of Search For Vatika Star. The winner of the contest would be featured in the next advertisement of Dabur Vatika Oil.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

health

END TO AIDS IN SIGHT, SAYS UN REPORT As the numbers infected with incurable human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) keeps falling, experts are hopeful that AIDS could be eradicated in future due to better access to drugs that can both treat and prevent it, according to a UN report.

SEPTICAEMIA

Toxic intruders in the blood Savita Halpannavar’s death brought to the forefront many issues but also highlighted septicaemia, a complication which ultimately led to her death. PREVALENCE ANISHAA KUMAR

Dr Shivraju says, “It is more common in elderly or those whose resistance is low such as diabetics, smokers, cancer patients. It can happen even in children.” The prognosis of septicaemia depends on its severity and the person’s immunity, so if the person has a mild form but has low immunity, the effect can still be severe. Mortality due to septicaemia may occur if treatment is not provided on time. Dr Shivraju adds that many times patients suffering from cancer or a stroke ultimately die due to septicaemia.

anishaa.k@postnoon.com

he death of the young Indian, Savitha Halpannavar, in Ireland shocked people the world over. The young Indian had suffered a miscarriage but was denied an abortion. Later on, she died of septicaemia and multi-organ failure. Septicaemia is a collective term for an ailment in which organisms enter the blood stream. The term refers to toxins in the bloods. According to Dr Shivaraju, senior consultant physician, KIMS, “Septicaemia is an infection caused by bacteria, virus or fungus. It occurs when a localised infection (a lung infection, bone infection etc) spreads into the blood stream. Once it enters the blood stream, it starts

Who is at risk of septicaemia? n

Sepsis in pregnant woman

he Savita Halpannavar incident highlighted the concept of septicaemia in pregnant women. It can occur during: n Possible infections post an abortion n Surgeries for pregnancy/delivery n Infection following vaginal delivery n A partial miscarriage, or missed miscarriage. If pregnancy remains in the uterus even after miscarriage and become infected.

to affect the other organs in the body.”

SYMPTOMS Talking about the symptoms of septicaemia, Dr Shivraju says, “The symptoms generally include high fever, breathlessness, low urine output, low BP, rising pulse rate, etc. One or more such symptoms may be present in the patient.” The other symptoms could be shock, confusion and red

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF Wiser WISER helps users recognise unknown substances and learn what to do in the event of exposure to those substances.WISER's features include a map of the incident, a visual representation of a substance's effects on the human body, and profiles that identify the app user's role.

spots on the body. The effect of septicaemia can be of various kinds. Dr Shivraju explains that it could be mild sepsis (inflammation of the body), septic shock (decreased tissue perfusion resulting in ischemia and organ dysfunction), sepsis with multiorgan dysfunction (altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis) etc. The treatment, effect and prognosis of each kind will vary.

HOUSECALL Reflex sympathetic dystrophy Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) involves a malfunction of the nervous system that causes pain (often intense and unrelenting) and sensory abnormalities. There may also be abnormal blood flow and sweating in the affected area, problems with movement of the muscles and changes in the structure of the tissues.

TESTING AND TREATMENT Talking about diagnosis, Dr Shivraju mentions that a blood culture is usually advised. Apart from this, the other tests that may help come to a diagnosis may include urine culture, CBC etc. Treatment for septicaemia stresses on treating the infection. Emphasis is on treating the problem early so as to prevent further organ damage and spreading of infection to other parts of the body.

DID YOU KNOW?

Very young people and elderly people. n Anyone who is taking immunosuppressive medications. n People who are being treated with chemotherapy. drugs or radiation therapy. n Patients who have no spleen. n Patients taking steroids (especially over the long term). n People with long-standing diabetes, AIDS or cirrhosis. n Someone who has very large burns or severe injuries. n People with infections such as pneumonia, meningitis, cellulitis, urinary tract infection and a ruptured appendix. Source: http://www.webmd.boots.com/a -to-z-guides/sepsis-blood-poisoning-or-septicaemia?page=2

PIONEERS

Your body has iron

David Edmund Kuhl

Your body has enough iron in it to make a nail 3 inches long. If one would actually taste blood, one would realise that it has a slightly metallic taste. This is due to the high levels of iron in the blood. If you were to take all of this iron out of the body, you would have enough to make a small nail.

David Edmund Kuhl is an American scientist specialising in nuclear medicine known for his pioneering work in positron emission tomography. He obtained his MD from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1955. He developed a new method of tomographic imaging and constructed several tomographic instruments. These imaging techniques were further developed in 1970.

health MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

BREAST CANCER

BREAKTHROUGH

‘1.3 mn overdiagnosed for breast cancer in US’ According to a study, more than a million women have received unnecessary cancer treatments, due to routine mammograms that detect even harmless tumours. WASHINGTON: More than a million US women have received unnecessary and invasive cancer treatments over the last 30 years, thanks to routine mammograms that detected harmless tumors, scientists said. The results throw new doubt over the effectiveness of an already controversial cancer screening tool that is aimed at detecting tumors before they spread and become more difficult to treat. To reach the one million figure, researchers compared the number of breast cancer cases detected at early and late stages among women over 40 between 1976 and 2008. Their analysis showed that, since mammograms became standard in the United States, the number of early-stage breast cancers detected has doubled — in recent years, doctors found tumors in 234 women out of 100,000. But in that same period, the rate of women diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer has dropped just eight percent — from 102 to 94 cases out of 100,000. “We estimated that breast cancer was overdiagnosed — i.e., tumors were detected on screening that would never have led to clinical symptoms — in 1.3 million US women in the past 30 years,” authors Gilbert Welch of Dartmouth Medical School and Archie Bleyer of the Oregon Health and Science University, wrote in a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine. “We estimated that in 2008, breast cancer was overdiag-

nosed in more than 70,000 women; this accounted for 31 per cent of all breast cancers diagnosed,” they added. These women likely received major medical interventions — including surgery, radiology, hormone therapy and chemotherapy — that ought only to be used when absolutely necessary, the authors stressed. They also concluded the significant drop in breast cancer deaths can be best explained by the improvement in treatments, rather than the early detection through mammograms. The research adds to other work published in recent years that throw into question whether mammograms ought to

These women likely received major medical interventions that ought only to be used when absolutely necessary, the authors stressed. be performed regularly. One often cited study, done in Norway, showed that regular mammograms reduce the risk of death from breast cancer by less than 10 per cent. Another study — which compared European countries where mammograms became

routine in the 1990s with ones where they became common in the 2000s — concluded that the screening tool did not lessen the number of deaths at all. Earlier, in 2009, a group of independent experts commissioned by the US government revised its recommendations for when and how often women should get mammograms. The group said most women should wait until age 50, and go every other year for the screening. A separate article, also published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, argued that, despite the risk of false positives and overdiagnosis, women should begin getting mammograms at age 40. AFP

Particles protect from nerve disease SYDNEY: Nano particles could prevent the immune system from attack of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a finding. MS affects any area of the brain, optic nerve, and spinal cord, damaging the myelin sheath, which protects the nerve cells, slowing down or halting exchange of nerve signals. The symptoms vary from mild limb numbness to paralysis and blindness. “This finding could potentially be used to halt autoimmune diseases, such as Type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, and immune-mediated diseases, such as food allergy and asthma,” said Nicholas King, professor at the University of Sydney Medical School, Nature Biotechnology reported. “We still have many experiments to do to confirm this but our research is a genuine coup which promises to make an impact on a range of illnesses,” said King, who co-authored the study with Stephen Miller, professor at Northwestern University, US. “Till date immuno-suppressant therapy to control MS has had varying success but has always been a doubleedged sword,” said King. “When you suppress the immune system you remove the ability of the body to fight off infectious organisms and destroy emerging cancers,” added King. The researchers injected small myelin proteins attached to tiny particles, into the bloodstream of mice. The particles travel to the spleen where they are taken up by cells called macrophages. Once taken up by the macrophages, the ultimate effect of these tiny particles is to suppress the immune response to the myelin proteins directly. IANS

MENTAL HEALTH

‘LUNAR CYCLE DOESN’T TRIGGER INSANITY’ TORONTO: Scientists have punctured the popular myth that links lunar phases with psychological instability — a belief surprisingly shared by doctors and nurses. Researchers led by Genevieve Belleville, professor at the Universite Laval’s School of Psychology, Canada, examined

the link between lunar phases and the numbers showing up at emergency rooms. But they found nothing to substantiate the belief. Researchers evaluated patients who visited emergency rooms at Montreal’s Sacre-Coeur Hospital and Hotel-Dieu de Levis between March 2005 and April 2008, the journal General Hospital

Psychiatry reports. They focused specifically on 771 individuals who showed up with chest pains for which no medical cause could be determined, according to a Laval statement. Psychological evaluations revealed that a sizeable number of these patients suffered from panic

attacks, anxiety and mood disorders, or suicidal thoughts. Using lunar calendars, researchers determined the moon phase in which each of these visits occurred. Their analyses revealed no link between psychological problems and the four lunar phases. IANS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Entertainment

ADIVI SESH ROPED IN FOR BALUPU Adivi Sesh, who was last seen in a negative role in Panjaa, is playing an important role in Ravi Teja’s upcoming film Balupu. Shruti Haasan is the lead actress and Gopichand Malineni is directing it.

LEADING LADIES GET THEIR DUE

CINE BYTES

ARE FEMALE-CENTRIC FILMS BACK IN VOGUE?

With rumours taking shape that Trisha might soon be seen in a female-centric film, we track the changing winds.

he success of Anushka starrer Arundhati, back in 2009, was like a breath of fresh air in Telugu film industry and for a moment it seemed like the phenomenal rise of fame of some of the actresses like Anushka would herald a new wave of female centric films. However, it didn’t happen. There’s no denying that Telugu film industry has always been a male dominated industry, but there has been instances over the past few decades where the likes of Savithri, Vijayashanti, Soundarya have carried the entire film on their shoulders. In early 2000s, the number of female centric films began dwindling rapidly and except a handful of films like Anukokunda Oka Roju and Mantra, there were rarely any films which would have inspired directors and actresses to attempt female centric films. Almost four years since Arundhati’s release, things look a little different and far more encouraging for female centric films. UTV is in serious discussions with several leading actresses in Telugu and Tamil to remake Vidya Balan starrer Dirty Picture and Kahaani. Every now and then, names of Anushka and Nayanthara have been quoted in reports related to both those films, but no official announcements have been made. Meanwhile, as many as six upcoming Telugu films, which are in various stages of production, have women in pivotal roles. Among them Gunasekhar’s upcoming film Rudramadevi (3D) has grabbed a lot of eyeballs already. Anushka is playing the lead role in this film and Gunasekhar has claimed that it would set new standards in Telugu cinema in terms of production. Shriya Saran will soon be seen as a princess in Roopa Iyer’s upcoming bilingual film Chandra. The film’s shooting has already been wrapped up and it might be dubbed in Telugu. Last week, reports emerged that Priyamani too has signed a film, to be directed by Prem Arya, in which she’s playing a warrior princess. The latest buzz is that Trisha has agreed to act in a female centric film to be produced by M S Raju. Kumar Nagendra’s upcoming ensemble film Gundello Godaari has Lakshmi Manchu and Taapsee in lead roles and much of the film’s buzz has been about their presence, apart from its premise. Apart from these four films, there’s Pooja Gandhi starrer Dandupalayam, which is a Telugu dubbed version of a Kannada film Dandupalya. Earlier this month, Veena Malik signed a Telugu film titled Nagna Satyam which is supposed to be a female centric film. It’s still a million dollar question whether all these films can make a difference in the way characters are written for actresses, but it’s a positive sign and everything depends on their box office performance, if the trend has to survive.

Gunasekhar heads to Germany

unasekhar ﬂew to Germany recently for the test shoot of his upcoming 3D ﬁlm Rudramadevi. Anushka is playing the titular role. Impressed with the technology available in Germany, Gunasekhar has decided to take the help of German technicians. Ilayaraja is scoring the music and Ajay Vincent will be the cinematographer.

Dhamarukam off to a good start

agarjuna, Anushka starrer Dhamarukam is off to a good start at box office. Directed by Sreenivas Reddy, the film collected a share of close to Rs 4.5 crores on its opening day itself and the collections were steady over the weekend. Devi Sri Prasad has composed the music for the film.

First look of Backbench Student unveiled

he first look of Madhura Sreedhar’s upcoming bilingual film Backbench Student was unveiled recently. Mahat Raghavendra, Piaa Bajpai and Archana Kavi are playing the lead roles in this romantic film. Currently, the film is being shot in Vizag. Sunil Kashyap is composing the music and PG Vinda is the cinematographer.

Entertainment MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

ALL PRAISES FOR ZOYA

CINE BYTES

any filmmakers wish to work with Kareena Kapoor, but she has her eyes set on one director — Zoya Akhtar, who has scripted the actress’ forthcoming film Talaash. “I am grateful to the directors who have cast me and that means a lot. (There are) Actors that I have worked with double times, so I consider myself lucky. But I personally love Zoya’s (Akhtar) work. She is a wonderful filmmaker. I would love to work with Zoya,” Kareena told IANS. Earlier, reports indicated that Zoya was working on a script and intended to cast Kareena and her cousin, actor Ranbir Kapoor in the movie. However, to this, Kareena said: “She is wonderful. I hope things fall in place. I think Zoya is writing a script, (but) nothing is concrete right now.” Meanwhile, Kareena believes the “audience has become very sharp and they are liking different films.” IANS

Bollywood awards rigged: Abhay Deol

aking a dig at the numerous Bollywood awards, actor Abhay Deol said, “Talk to any actor off record and he will tell you, you either go because you are winning an award or you go because you are getting paid. Otherwise, you don’t go,” Abhay said during an interactive session at the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here. IANS

Sonakshi tries Kathakali during shoot

fter matching tough dance steps with ace choreographer Prabhudheva in “Oh My God!”, actress Sonakshi Sinha recently challenged herself with some Kathakali steps on the set of Dabangg 2. The 25-year-old tried some steps of the classical dance form while shooting for the song Dagabaaz re from the movie. IANS

THJ mints crores at the box office

“J

Kareena wants

TO WORK WITH ZOYA AKHTAR

ab Tak Hai Jaan” (JTHJ), continues to mint money. The romantic saga has earned Rs.101.26 crore at the domestic box ofﬁce in 11 days since its release. The movie, featuring SRK, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif, released on 2,500 screens on the auspicious occasion of Diwali, Nov 13. Made on a budget of `50 crore, the ﬁlm has surpassed the `100 crore mark. IANS

Entertainment MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

ANIMAL LOVER

CINE BYTES

Miley Cyrus

gets pig for 20th birthday

Gangnam Style Dethrones Justin Bieber’s Baby

outh Korean star PSY’s hit single Gangnam Style has replaced Justin Bieber’s Baby as the “most viewed music video (and overall video) of all time on YouTube, according to YouTube’s Trends blog. Gangnam Style now has 808 million views, while Justin’s Baby has just 804 million. Baby” had held the top spot since July 2010.

Katherine Heigl celebrates birthday

atherine Heigl chose to celebrate her birthday weekend with Black Friday shopping. The Ugly Truth star, who turned 34 on Saturday, decided to indulge in the post-Thanksgiving tradition of bargain deals at US retail outlets. People reports that Heigl and husband Josh Kelley were spotted in Beverly Hills buying wrapping paper and toys.

Ashton and Mila spend Thanksgiving together

iley Cyrus has been given a pig to celebrate her 20th birthday. Nora the pig was sponsored by Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to thank the Hannah Montana actress for her generous support of animal charities.

Cyrus tweeted: “Thank you so much for saving Nora in honour of my bday :) please send photos of the little cutie.” When she received the picture of the pig, she replied: “Oh my pigggggyyyyy! She is so cute I can hardly stand ittttttt!!!!” The 20-year-old added: “She looks so happy yay.”

Peta announced that it had sponsored the pig “as a birthday gift to Miley Cyrus in recognition of her compassion for all animals as well as the kindness she inspires”. The singer and actress, who is engaged to The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth, encouraged her fans to support animal charities for her birthday.

She tweeted: “Thank you to all my fans who donated to @starkeyhearing @SpotRescueDogs for my birthday :) y’all topped it again best bday present by far! Cyrus is reportedly celebrating Christmas with fiance Hemsworth in Australia. She appeared in US sitcom Two and a Half Men in October.

shton Kutcher and Mila Kunis went out to dinner in Rome last night. They ventured to the Trastevere neighbourhood for a meal at Checchino Dal 1887, and seemed to have the whole place to themselves. Ashton even left with a decorative plate commemorating their visit. Ashton and Mila are enjoying an extended getaway in Italy, where she’s shooting for The Third Person.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

This is your time and it feels normal to you, but really, there is no normal. There's only change and resistance to it and then more change. Meryl Streep

KAKURO

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 refer-

QUICK CROSSWORD

enced 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.

Play & Win

voucher from VENKEY’S VEG Restaurant, Nampally

SCRIBBLING PAD

Please send in your filled-in entries to Postnoon, #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033. The winners will be announced on this page in Sunday’s edition.

Play & Win voucher from VENKEY’S VEG Restaurant, Nampally

SUDOKU

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

ACROSS

Play & Win

Play & Win voucher from VENKEY’S VEG Restaurant, Nampally

1 Typical Kuwaiti 5 One standing in front of a king 9 Keeper of a house of ill repute 13 Pull-down item 14 Crosswise to a ship’s middle 16 Petri dish contents, sometimes 17 Await approval 18 Like close sidekicks 20 Heavy hammer 22 Backing for plaster 23 Midway guess 24 36-inch units 26 Tested the weight of 28 Church or college bigwig 31 Romanov ruler 32 Depend (with on) 33 Wife of a raja 35 Best-seller list entry 39 Respites for the road-weary 40 Deep-sea diver’s gear 42 Winged god of love 43 Watery castle barriers 45 ‘Narc’ suffix 46 Tide of minimum range 47 Be on the payroll 49 West Point or

Annapolis 51 She’s the dearest 54 Gull-like birds 55 Give-go link 56 Big shindig 58 Like some cuisine 62 Hang with a close associate 65 Very small amount 66 Descartes or Coty 67 African peninsula 68 Ready for the operating room 69 Verbalised 70 ‘Let it be,’ to a proofer 71 ‘By the ___ token ...’

DOWN

1 Roadie’s loads 2 Rod’s associate 3 ‘Green Gables’ girl 4 Method of pairing off for safety 5 Certain wall decorators 6 Org many lawyers belong to 7 Things to draw from 8 Spaced-out org? 9 It may make a ewe turn 10 Metal tag on a shoelace 11 Use inefficiently, as time 12 Forest nymph of

mythology 15 Old wives’ tales 19 Bread grain 21 Gangster’s sidearm 25 Church official below a priest 27 Long-lasting associations 28 Light haircut request 29 Western Nevada city 30 Wrist bone 31 Leg bones 34 Bolt attachment 36 Natural air conditioner 37 Good farm soil 38 See from afar 41 Certify, as a college 44 Fat-nosed antelope 48 Fannies 50 Member of a pantry raid 51 Prefix for ‘brewery’ 52 Bottom check box, often 53 Loa or Kea lead-in 54 Insulting gibe, eg 57 Hi’s mate, in the comics 59 ‘... ___ lender be’ 60 Short newspaper piece 61 Part of Batman’s garb 63 Legendary jazz singer Torme 64 Scot’s word of denial

Chai Time MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 27-11-2012

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Mother's health will be alright. Blood relatives will get good career opportunities and their lifestyles are set to improve. Friends will help you in time for your growth. Minor worries and tensions they will disappear. A tough financial time ahead.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

All hurdles in the way of achieving goals will be resolved and you will be fortunate enough to get all work completed as per plans. Avoid arguments for the time being as it might lead to legal issues. Misunderstanding with relatives likely.

Govt sops likely for businessmen. Govt-related works will end favourably. Businessmen will see a flourishing time. A bright chance for some to buy a house or land. Couples look cordial and more affectionate towards each other.

A happy atmosphere will prevail at home. All efforts you put in will bring desired results. Employees will feel happy as both colleagues and superior will be cordial. Children might put you in embarrassing situation but handle is gently.

Old problems might resurface. Financial position too looks bleak and you will solve this to some extent with the help of friends and wellwishers. But avoid raising huge and fresh loans. Be careful in your talk and commitments.

Mother's health needs to be taken good care of. Income through spouse might be discontinued for the time being. Employees will get good recognition and also pay hike. Businessmen will do well and flourish. Politicians, be responsible.

You will be alright now and totally relieved from health issues. Businessmen might get a good opportunity to make investments abroad and do well. Ancestral property might bring a steady income. Politicians will be in the limelight.

Health problem likely; need to take care. Important and vital decisions may be postponed for sometime. Chances of health problem for father; take care. Some might get robbed or lose valuable; be alert. Good turning point likely in business.

Held-up work will resume and end as per expectations. Unmarried persons are likely to get married shortly. Work done within time will bring you good gains. Businessmen will get promising opportunities and make decent gains.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Two of Pentacles – Work-life balance has gone off-kilter. You need to work a little more to gain that balance. Stop working after office hours and go home to family.

LEO:

Death – This is not the card of physical death. So don’t worry. It means change, renewal and regeneration. You will be forced to get used to a new environment.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

The World – There are times when everything seems to be going right, and you have all that you need. Yet, you feel as though something is missing. Worry not.

SAGITTARIUS:

Two of Swords – You’re getting into desiring the extremes and that gets you stuck in a rut. Make some compromises and toe the middle path for a change.

TAURUS:

Three of Wands – The wait is over. The project you’ve been eyeing is yours and things move at a rapid pace now. You’re confident of working on it successfully.

CANCER:

Eight of Wands – You’re feeling lucky because you get what you need at this point in time. Being at the right place at the right time brings immense amount of luck.

VIRGO:

The Wheel of Fortune – What goes around comes around. It’s difficult to live life wondering what consequences your actions will have. But pay attention anyway.

SCORPIO:

The Tower – There are changes happening around you. The sooner you accept them, the better. Get rid of any self-doubt as it will only get you down.

CAPRICORN:

The Magician – Intuition is heightened. You’re at the right place at the right time and things move along well. It might be a good time to ask for a raise.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Ten of Wands – You’re overburdened by someone else’s (and your own) expectations. Release the pressure; think differently; act confidently and march ahead.

NUMBER GAME

rds – Gauge the requirement in a particular situation and act accordingly. Does it require you to be intellectual or emotional? Go with the flow.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Page of Swo-

POOCH CAFE

Surprise marriage proposal for some, and marriage is certain. Benefit through opposite gender likely. Comforts are likely to improve. Businessmen need to struggle a lot to achieve planned targets. Politicians might face a setback.

for 27-11-2012

Five of Swords – Someone may try to put a spoke in the wheels to derail your plans. Don’t get emotional about anything and don’t let your guard down any time.

NON SEQUITUR

Unexpected financial fortune likely. Those jobless are likely to get good offers and promising career opportunity. Health needs attention. Some might have intentions to take a wrong route to get work done, which should be avoided.

SUDUKO

Businessmen will get increased profit margins. Employees have bright chances for elevation and pay revision. Held-up marriage talks will resume and marriage will take place soon. Good turning points likely that will make you cheerful.

Boggle TAN PINK WHITE BLACK INDIGO Vol: 2, No 130 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

Entertainment MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012 CINE BYTES Michelle Obama brings home Christmas tree

ichelle Obama and daughters Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, welcomed a Christmas tree to the White House on Friday. The 19-ft. Fraser ﬁr arrived on a red and green wagon drawn by two Clydesdale horses. The tree will be displayed in the White House’s Blue Room and the First Lady will select and supervise the decorating as per tradition.

Twilight movie topples Skyfall

s Americans ﬂocked to the cinema last week over the Thanksgiving holiday, early ﬁgures showed the latest Twilight movie knocked the James Bond blockbuster Skyfall from its perch atop the US movie charts. In the end Bond was no match for a teen action heroine called Bella.

I tried to look like Jennifer Lopez: Scherzinger

inger Nicole Scherzinger says she once sported a “horrible” blonde style because she wanted to look like Jennifer Lopez. The 34-year-old decided to copy Lopez and change her long, dark locks but it had disastrous results. “I dyed my hair blonde once and it was horrible. I was in my early 20s and trying to look like J-Lo. It didn’t work,” contactmusic.com quoted Scherzinger as saying. IANS

A STAR’S WISH

LADY GAGA spends Thanksgiving with sex-abuse victims

inger Lady Gaga spent Thanksgiving Day with Peruvian girls who have been sexually abused and currently live at a shelter in the poor Lima neighbourhood of Lurin. The US singer gave a concert Friday in the Peruvian capital on her tour of South America, but the evening before, went to the Infant Jesus of Prague home. The institution provides shelter for 45 girls aged 2 to 13 who have been victims of sexual violence. The singer showed up with her makeup artist, wearing a green wig and dressed for comfort in a flowing orange blouse and long black skirt. Lady Gaga met the children at the home, shared their afternoon snack and entertained them with a few songs, according to local media. On her Born This Way Ball tour, the American singer had already engaged in other charitable activities before her concerts, as in Brazil, where she visited destitute kids from a slum. IANS

sports

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

FORMULA ONE

Curtains down on Schumacher’s career

After 307 races, few drivers are without the bruises to show as proof of their scraps, making him ‘probably the best F 1 driver of all time’. SAO PAULO: Michael Schumacher bade an emotional farewell to Formula One on Sunday after finishing seventh in the Brazilian Grand Prix, bringing down the curtain on his controversial, colourful career. After 21 years, seven drivers’ championship triumphs and 91 victories, the 43-year-old recovered from an early puncture to score points in his final outing with the Mercedes team. In an incident-packed race, Schumacher fell to the back of the field in the opening laps but climbed to sixth before being passed by title-bound fellowGerman, and good friend, Sebastian Vettel. “I think it’s a nice ending,” he said. “I’m finishing off and he’s (Vettel) clinching his third title. I’m very proud of him, he’s a good friend of mine. “My emotions are under control at the moment, maybe later having a drink and hugging the mechanics it’ll become more sentimental but I’m looking forward to life after Formula One now. “It’s been a pretty big challenge in this race because obviously I had the puncture and was at the back again... It took some memories back to 2006 when the same thing happened to me. “Luckily I have the nature of not giving up and always trying to find a solution, and it worked out. In a way it does remind me of 2003 when I had a similar

Fact-file Name: Michael Schumacher Date of birth: January 3, 1969 Place of birth: HuertHermuehlheim (Germany) Nationality: German Height: 1.74m, Weight: 75kg Team in 2012: Mercedes-AMG Website: www.michael-schumacher.de

CAREER HONOURS World champion: 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Number of Grands Prix raced: 307 Debut in F1: Belgium 1991 First win: Belgium 1992 Last win: China 2006 Last Grand Prix: Brazil 2012 Victories: 91 Podiums: 155 Pole positions: 69 Last pole position: Monaco 2012 Best laps: 77 Points scored in F1: 1,566 (49 in 2012) World championship finishes: 1st (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004), 2nd (1998, 2006), 3rd (1992, 1996, 2005), 4th (1993), 5th (1999), 8th (2011), 9th (2010), 13th (2012).

struggle and just managed by a point to win the championship.” He smiled as he looked back on his thrilling fight with 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus during the race. “People are here to see a show, so you might as well put one on,” added Schumacher. “Give it a go and give it the maximum. I was having a go, and at certain moments you need to accept that there isn’t the space and admit defeat.” He added that he had enjoyed his “second career”. “It’s been a beautiful time. Lots of exciting moments we shared, and lots of tough moments. The most incredible thing in a way is that I felt a lot of support in these last three years and they have been the most difficult years for me. But the fans have always been behind me.” For Schumacher’s fans, as in 2006 when he first retired, there was an air of disappointment about his exit from the sport because it came not by choice, but circumstance. When he retired after the Brazilian Grand Prix six years ago, it was because Ferrari had made clear they were signing Raikkonen from McLaren. This time around, it was another McLaren driver, Lewis Hamilton, who had to be accommodated by the German’s departure as Mercedes build for the future. AFP

Triple-top Vettel wins third world title

SAO PAULO: Sebastian Vettel (right) became the youngest triple champion in Formula One history on Sunday when he finished sixth behind the victorious Jenson Button in a tumultuous Brazilian Grand Prix. The 25-year-old German, who was involved in an opening lap collision, made light of the damage to his Red Bull car as he fought through the field in a dramatic race run in treacherous rain-swept conditions at the Interlagos circuit. Vettel’s only title rival, twotime champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso, finished a fine second after a courageous drive for Ferrari, but it was not enough

Angry Hamilton blasts not so incredible Hulk SAO PAULO: Lewis Hamilton blasted Nico Hulkenberg on Sunday after the Force India driver sent the former world champion crashing out of the Brazilian Grand Prix on his ﬁnal day behind the wheel of a McLaren. The 25-year-old German lost control as he attempted to squeeze into the lead on lap 55 of the 71lap race and rammed into Hamilton’s McLaren. Hamilton’s car was damaged beyond immediate repair and, after returning to the garage, he was greeted with a standing ovation by the team.

to overhaul a pre-race 13-point deficit as his German rival won the crown by just three points. The race was littered with accidents and incidents and ended behind a Safety Car with Vettel bringing his car home in the rain in tears, unable to respond to the screamed congratulations from Red Bull team chief Christian Horner. Vettel became only the third driver in history to win three successive titles, equalling the feats of the great Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio and his own childhood idol Michael Schumacher, who finished seventh for Mercedes in his final race before retiring.

Alonso’s Ferrari team-mate, local hero Brazilian Felipe Massa, drove brilliantly to finish third ahead of Australian Mark Webber in the second Red Bull and German Nico Hulkenberg of Force India. “We lost communication at the start but Sebastian stuck at it. He drove with determination,” said Horner. He just never gives up. After the first lap spin I thought that was it because we knew Fernando would be on the podium. But he got back to the top six, the rain came, we went to inter (tyres) and then slicks. “It was maximum stress throughout the race, but Seb stayed cool,” he added. AFP

sports

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

HONG KONG OPEN

SOUTH AFRICA IN AUSTRALIA

Lee loses to Long

SA close in on draw

It was a triumphant night for China, which won in every category of the tournament.

HONG KONG: China’s Chen Long (right) put on a display of explosive athleticism to beat Malaysian world number one Lee Chong Wei in the final of the Hong Kong Open on Sunday, as Chinese players stormed to a clean sweep. With thousands of spectators cheering him on, second-seeded Chen won 21-19, 21-17 against the Olympic silver medallist, who was the tournament’s top seed but ended the men’s singles final looking exhausted. “I didn’t think that I would win, but I thought I had the ability to beat him so the results are pretty good,” said Chen, who was fresh from victory last week in the China Open. But the result was a bitter disappointment for Lee, who had defeated Chen in the semi-finals of the London Olympics in August. “I just come in and try, and enjoy the Hong Kong Open... I got to the finals, which is good,” said a tired-looking Lee, who is seven years older than 23-yearold Chen. “These past few days, I don’t feel that well after competing,” he said, adding that he would rest for a while after the tournament. In the women’s doubles, controversial Chinese pair Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli lost to compa-

triots Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei, 22-20, 14-21, 21-17, in a spirited contest which lasted for one hour and 13 minutes. Spectators cheered on the players during the closely-fought match, with games sometimes lasting more than 10 rallies. “I feel today, the both of us, we are feeling a bit tired, and I have some injuries”, Yu said, adding that it affected her ability

OLYMPIC COMMITTEE India’s IOC member backs out of election NEW DELHI: Elections to the faction-ridden Indian Olympic Association (IOA) took a dramatic turn on Sunday when a leading candidate for the president’s post withdrew from the race. Former trap shooter Randhir Singh said he opted out after the International Olympic Committee (IOC), of which he has been a member since 2001, threatened to suspend India unless the elections are conducted according to the Olympic charter. The IOA has been directed by a Delhi court to hold the December 5 elections as per the government’s sports code, while the IOC wants the

Indian body to abide by the Olympic charter that favours autonomy. Randhir, who serves as the secretary-general of both the IOA and the Olympic Council of Asia, said he could not go against the wishes of the IOC. “The IOC has made it clear that these elections would not be recognised by them and India faced disaffiliation if the polls were held under the government’s sports code,” Randhir told reporters in New Delhi. “As an IOC member, I cannot go against the institution to which I belong and that’s why I am withdrawing my candidature,” he added. AFP

to run during the game. Yu and Wang were were among eight players disqualified from the London Olympics for attempting to drop round-robin games in a bid to secure a favourable quarter-final draw. Yu said she would retire shortly after being disqualified, but resumed playing at the China Open after being cleared by sporting authorities. AFP

ADELAIDE: South Africa raised hopes of salvaging a fighting draw against Australia in the second Test by batting through to tea with the loss of just one wicket on the final day Monday. Faf du Plessis (right) and Jacques Kallis were stonewalling Australia’s efforts with a stoic partnership on an unthreatening Adelaide pitch to reach 212 for five. The Proteas had lost just the wicket of AB de Villiers on the final day and were proving obstinate resistance as Australia sought a seriesleading victory ahead of the Test in Perth from Friday. At tea, Du Plessis, playing in his debut Test, was unbeaten on 94 off 277 balls with Kallis, unable to run freely because of hamstring trouble, not out 38. Peter Siddle got the initial breakthrough when he bowled de Villiers with one that nipped back to take offstump shortly after lunch. De Villiers faced 220 balls for his stoic 33 with not one boundary in his study of concentration, putting on 89 runs for the fifth wicket with du Plessis in 68 overs. Siddle bowled with typical gusto to help make up for the absence of injured fast bowler James Pattinson, who has been ruled out for the rest of the home Test season with a side injury.

McLaren to join Proteas

hevrolet Knights allrounder Ryan McLaren has been called into the South African tour squad as cover for several injured players ahead of this week’s final Perth Test against Australia, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said on Sunday. All-rounder Jacques Kallis has an injured hamstring and paceman Vernon Philander missed the current second Adelaide Test with a lower back complaint.

Australia need to win the three-Test series against the Proteas to take the world number one ranking from SA. The Proteas have scored just 135 runs on the final day off 67 overs up to tea.

RANJI TROPHY

Hyderabad captain P Akshath Reddy (L) and number three batsman GH Vihari both scored centuries to take the host’s score to a fighting 237 for 1 at lunch on the third day of their Ranji match against Mumbai’s score of 435 in their first innings at N SHIVA KUMAR the RGIS in Uppal in the City.

sports

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

ENGLAND IN INDIA

Walloped at Wankhede! The strategy of the Indian think tank to play to their strength and doctor pitches to suit spin boomeranged because of their inability to tackle the England spinners.

Gautam Gambhir who provided the only resistance to England bowlers in India’s second innings is out leg before wicket to Greame Swann after scoring 65 runs.

G APARNA SAI

in Mumbai

MUMBAI: In one of their most shoddy performances in Tests in the recent past, India fell to a humiliating 10 wickets defeat after being bundled out for a paltry 142 in their second innings of the second Test match against England played here, today. Kevin Pietersen walked away with the match of the match award, beating the England spinners, who put up a splendid show of cricket. England, needing only 57 runs to win this Test, reached the target with 35 minutes for the morning session to come to an end. With this victory, England levelled this four match series 1-1. Alastair Cook and Nick Compton helped their side coast to safety with the former unbeaten on 18 and the latter scoring a quick-fire 30 off 28 balls, an innings which included four fours and a six. Earlier, India failed to create an impact in their second innings as they seemed threatening at no point of time. Gautam Gambhir was India’s lone warrior scoring

65 before being trapped in front of the wickets by Graeme Swann. Adding to their overnight score of 117 for seven, India could manage only 25 more runs in the morning session losing the remaining three wickets in less than an hour. Harbhajan Singh could not last more than two overs in the morning while a lazy shot from Zaheer Khan had Matt Prior take a simple catch to send the batsman back for one. England’s spinners, Swann and Monty Panesar dismantled the India batting line-up, sharing 19 wickets among themselves, which also happens to be the first instance that English spinners claimed so many wickets since 1958. They took complete advantage of the turning wicket, and with a good pace, applied the required brakes on their opponents run chase. Earlier, on Sunday, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen scored centuries each to swing the match in their side’s favour. Their splendid show and small contributions from the others saw England gain a lead of 86 runs, a number which one thought India could easily sur-

Dhoni to ask for similar pitch in Kolkata MUMBAI: India’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has insisted that he would ask for a similar track as that in the Wankhede Stadium for the third Test match which is scheduled to be played in Kolkata from December 5 to 9. Dhoni who addressed a press conference after India’s 10 wicket defeat against England in the second test, said that he would still ask for a similar kind of pitch. “For the next match, we will ask for a similar kind of a wicket. All the bowlers bowled well but Monty was the only exception. So we would still want a similar wicket and the composition of the team would be decided after seeing the Kolkata pitch,” said Dhoni. pass. Unlike England’s spinners, their Indian counterparts did not perform in the same manner. But for Pragyan Ohja, the other bowlers failed to create an impact; not just failing to pick quick wickets but also guilty of giving away easy runs. But the tide turned completely in favour of England as India lost the wicket of Virender Sehwag with only thirty runs on the board. Soon, Cheteshwar

Pujara fell for six, a performance in total contrast to that in the first innings. Sachin Tendulkar was the next to take the long walk back to the pavilion, once again falling for a mere 8 runs. His dismal performances in the recent past at the international level have raised questions about his retirement plans. Virat Kohli, Yuraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin followed suit with India’s score reading 110 for seven. With England showing that they can be good on the sub-continent wickets, India would have to pull up their socks in order to salvage their pride and win the remaining matches. Butt of jokes after loss (side heading… to be included in the copy itself) After theis loss, the Indian cricket team and captain were made the butt of jokes on many social net-working sites. While some laughed and made fun about India’s pathetic display of cricketing skills, there were others who said that “only one change needed to be made in the team and that was removing Dhoni from the side”

SRINIVAS SETTY

Scroreboard India vs English 2nd Test India 1st innings 327 All out England 1st innings 413 All out India 2nd innings (overnight score ) G Gambhir lbw b Swann

V Sehwag c Swann b Panesar

CA Pujara c Bairstow b Swann

SR Tendulkar lbw b Panesar

V Kohli c sub (JE Root) b Swann

Yuvraj Singh c Bairstow b Panesar

MS Dhoni*† c Trott b Panesar

R Ashwin c Patel b Panesar

Harbhajan Singh c Trott b Swann

Z Khan c †Prior b Panesar

PP Ojha not out

Extras (b 6, lb 3) Total

9 (all out)

142

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-52, 3-60 Bowling:

Anderson

MS Panesar

GP Swann

18.1 6

England 2nd innings AN Cook* not out NRD Compton

18 not out

Extras (b 8, lb 2)

Total (0 wickets)

Bowling:

R Ashwin

3.4

W 0

PP Ojha

Harbhajan Singh

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012

sports

FORMER CHELSEA MANAGER SEXTON DIES Former Chelsea and Manchester United manager Dave Sexton has died at the age of 82, the Football Association announced on Sunday. Sexton won the FA Cup with Chelsea in 1970, three years after taking charge, before leading them to their first European trophy, European Cup Winners’ Cup.

PREMIER LEAGUE

LA LIGA

Chelsea hold Man City It left City in second, a point behind leaders Manchester United, and Chelsea in fourth, a point below West Bromwich Albion. JON WEST Agence France-Presse LONDON: Rafael Benitez (right) was given a toxic welcome by Chelsea supporters as his first match as manager ended in a 0-0 draw at home to Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday. The Spaniard became a hate figure at Stamford Bridge in the previous decade when he was in charge of Liverpool, where he made a number of comments about Chelsea that were deemed unforgivable by a section of the Blues support. Yet just how strongly the majority of those present for this match felt about him was a surprise, as Benitez’s name was loudly booed by thousands of supporters as soon as it was mentioned by the on-pitch announcer. It only stopped when news that former Chelsea manager Dave Sexton had died was conveyed. There was a minute’s applause in Sexton’s memory but afterwards the home fans sang in praise of Roberto Di

Abramovich was in the stands for this game, watching impassively as usual, and it was noticeable that no chants were aimed directly at him. The best chance went to City, with David Silva heading over after Pablo Zabaleta had picked him out in the box with a cross from the right eary in the game.

Results on Sunday

Matteo, the man sacked to make way for Benitez, who was soon also told that he was “not wanted here”. Placards with ‘Rafa out’ were also held up for the benefit of the television cameras. Less eyebrow-raising was the restoration of Fernando Torres to the Chelsea starting line-up, after he was dropped

Hotspur sink Ham LONDON: A virtuoso performance by Gareth Bale (right) and a brace of goals from Jermain Defoe saw Tottenham Hotspur beat West Ham United 3-1 on Sunday to end a run of three league defeats. Defoe opened the scoring on the cusp of half-time with an excellent individual effort, with Bale doubling Spurs’ lead in the 58th minute before Defoe tapped home his second goal. Andy Carroll’s first West Ham goal provided consolation for the visitors, who face Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in their next three games. The victory took Andre Villas-Boas’ side above West Ham and Swansea City into seventh place, level on points with north London rivals Arsenal and five points below the Champions League places.

for the 3-0 Champions League defeat at Juventus that prompted Di Matteo’s dismissal. Torres enjoyed the most productive spell of his career under Benitez while they were together at Anfield, and there were rumours Di Matteo was fired for defying a directive from owner Roman Abramovich that Torres had to play.

Rodgers’ return to Swansea ends in draw GRAHAM CLUTTON Agence France-Presse

The game at White Hart Lane also marked the return of referee Mark Clattenburg, who was the fourth official in his first engagement since he was cleared over allegations he racially abused Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Swansea 0 Liverpool 0 Southampton 2 (Lallana 34, Ramirez 60) Newcastle 0 Chelsea 0 Man City 0 Tottenham 3 (Defoe 44, 64, Bale 58) West Ham 1 (Carroll 82) Results on Saturday Aston Villa 0 Arsenal 0 Everton 1 (Naismith 12) Norwich 1 (Bassong 90) Man Utd 3 (Evans 64, Fletcher 68, Hernandez 72) QPR 1 (Mackie 52) Stoke 1 (Adam 26) Fulham 0 Sunderland 2 (Gardner 73, Sessegnon 87) West Brom 4 (Gera 30, Long 44, Lukaku 81pen, Fortune 90) Wigan 3 (Gomez 58, 68, 90) Reading 2 (Morrison 35, Al Habsi 80-og)

SWANSEA, UK: There were no goals but no shortage of goalmouth action as the return of Brendan Rodgers produced a lively 0-0 draw between Swansea City and Liverpool on Sunday. The former Swansea manager saw his Liverpool side fashion half a dozen genuine opportunities against a Swansea team who were equally inventive. In the end, it was a case of close but not close enough as the sides shared the points at the Liberty Stadium. Thankfully, the pre-match handshakes passed without incident, too. Swans captain Ashley Williams criticised Liverpool striker Luis Suarez in a

book that was released this week but he shook hands with the Uruguayan prior to kick-off. The early exchanges belonged to Swansea, with Pablo Hernandez and Michu posing one or two problems for a Liverpool side who came into the game as one of the division’s under-achievers this term. That said, it was Liverpool who had the first genuine opportunity. Suarez was foiled by Chico Flores and, when the ball broke to Raheem Sterling, the 17year-old scuffed his shot. A Glen Johnson header from a Steven Gerrard corner sailed harmlessly over, before Pepe Reina was called into action to push aside a smart strike from Wayne Routledge at the other end.

Messi gets to 82 goals as Barça stay clear DERMOT LEDWITH Agence France-Presse MADRID: Lionel Messi (above) struck twice as Barcelona won 4-0 at Levante on Sunday to remain three points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga. Messi’s goals were both laid on by Andres Iniesta who also hit the target himself before supplying Cesc Fabregas for the fourth. The Argentine’s brace means he now has 82 goals in 2012, just six short of German legend Gerd Mueller’s all-time calendar record set in 1972. He also tops the La Liga charts for the season with 19 goals.

Leading scorers after Sunday’s matches Messi (Barcelona) 19 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 12 Falcao (Atletico Madrid) 11 Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao) 8 Hemed (Mallorca), Higuain (Real Madrid), Negredo (Sevilla) 7 Baptistao (Rayo Vallecano), Oscar (Valladolid), Postiga (Real Zaragoza), Ruben Castro (Real Betis) 6 Aspas (Celta Vigo), Martins (Levante), Piti (Rayo Vallecano), Soldado (Valencia), Vela (Real Sociedad), Villa (Barcelona) 5 El Arabi (Grenada), Fabregas (Barcelona), Manucho (Valladolid), Molina (Real Betis), Pizzi (Deportivo La Coruna), Riki (Deportivo La Coruna), Saviola (Malaga), Turan (Atletico Madrid), Verdu (Espanyol) 4

Atletico had earlier beaten Sevilla 4-0 to keep pace at the top and go eight points ahead of city rivals Real Madrid in third who had lost 1-0 at Betis on Saturday. Barca’s win increases their gap over Real Madrid to 11 points, but coach Tito Vilanova does not see the league as being won so early in the season. “The league is not over, we’re only a third through and Atletico are three points behind us. There is a lot to play for,” he said.