ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the supreme...

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I n a move that may see fur- ther deterioration in relations between Pakistan and India, the Pakistan Army on Monday announced that ex-Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav has been awarded death sentence following a court martial in Rawalpindi for alleged ‘espionage and sabotage’ activities. The Pakistan Army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, on Monday approved the execution of Jadhav, triggering outrage in India as India sees Pakistan’s death sentence to Jadhav as a fresh provocation, indicative of the fact that Islamabad and the Pakistan Army are not inter- ested in improving relations with New Delhi. In an immediate retaliation to the Pakistani action, there is a strong possibility that India may not release about a dozen Pakistani prisoners who were to be repatriated on Wednesday. There is a feeling in the Government that it is not the right time for the release of the prisoners. These prisoners were to be released as part of the practice by India and Pakistan to repatriate nationals lodged in each other’s jail after they complete their sentence. Reacting strongly to the death penalty and the clandes- tine trial, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to his office in South Block and handed him a demarche saying such a sentence against an Indian citizen was a case of premeditated murder, as it was awarded without observing basic norms of law. Jaishankar added that the proceedings leading to the sen- tence against Jadhav were “far- cical in the absence of any cred- ible evidence against him.” The Foreign Secretary reiterated that Jadhav was not a spy, and he was kidnapped from Iran and brought to Pakistan. “Jadhav was kidnapped last year from Iran and his subse- quent presence in Pakistan has never been explained credibly. The Government of India, through its High Commission in Islamabad, has repeatedly sought consular access to him, as provided for by international law. Requests to that effect were formally made 13 times between March 25, 2016 and March 31, 2017. This was not permitted by the Pakistani authorities,” he said. He also expressed anguish over the secrecy of the trial, given the fact that India was constantly seeking consular access to Jadhav. “It is significant that the Indian High Commission was not even informed that Jadhav was being brought to trial. Senior Pakistani figures have themselves cast doubt about the adequacy of evidence. The claim in the Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) release that Jadhav was provided with a defending offi- cer during the so-called trial is clearly absurd in the circum- stances. If this sentence against an Indian citizen, awarded with- out observing basic norms of law and justice, is carried out, the Government and people of India will regard it as a case of pre- meditated murder,” the Foreign Secretary said in the demarche. The ISPR on Monday in a statement made from Rawalpindi said, “Indian RAW Agent/Naval officer 41558Z Commander Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel was arrested on March 3, 2016 through a Counter Intelligence Operation from Mashkel, Balochistan, for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan. Continued on Page 2 T he Centre is working on a secret “weapon” to disperse violent crowds in Jammu & Kashmir as an alternative to pellet guns used by security per- sonnel in the State at present. There is no word yet on what that crowd-dispersing technique will be. However, the Centre informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at Chandigarh. The disclosure came as part of the Centre’s submis- sion defending the use of pellet guns, which has been challenged in a PIL filed by the Jammu & Kashmir High Court Bar Association. The Bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar, Justices DY Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul asked the asso- ciation leaders present in the court to think with an open, unbiased mind and make suggestions within two weeks for remedying the situation in the Valley. The matter will be heard next on April 28. The lawyer body had charged the Army with com- mitting excesses and sought an end to use of pellet guns by list- ing the number of lives lost and the number of those grievous- ly injured. The Bench even gave the option of using lazer dazer, a non-lethal weapon that shines disorienting, nauseating bursts of intense green laser light into a target’s eyes, and foul smelling water as a non- lethal approach to dispensing the crowd. Attorney-General Rohatgi presented a report of the Ministry of Home Affairs informing how the situation in J&K is different from any other part of the country. He said that the options of chilli spray, lazer dazer, and foul smelling water were unlikely to succeed as pro- testors cover their face with cloth and sport sunglasses. He presented photographs of recent protests to show how protestors arm themselves with stones, grenades, acid bottles, Molotov Cocktails and petrol bombs to attack the security personnel and damage the armoured cars. EC defers Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll to May 25. M ohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Bar-at-law, arrived at Patna railway station on the morning of April 10, 1917 on way to Champaran. Accompanied by Champaran farmer Rajkumar Shukla, Gandhi wearing a long kurta, dhoti and turban made of home spun fabric got down Howrah-Delhi train wondering where to go since it is his first visit to Patna and he hardly knew anybody. Finding no way out, Shukla offered him to take to a famous wakil saheb (advocate). They hired a tonga, which dropped them at the entrance of a big house. It was the house of Rajendra Prasad but he was not there and the servant told them that sahib was out of station. Prasad’s munshi told them that wakil sahib was away to Puri. “I squatted on the veran- da outside but the servant did not allow me to fetch water from the well. Shukla persisted that he kindly allowed me to use the toilet but directed me to use the toilet outside. It did not hurt or anger me. The servant was following own dharma and ful- filling his duty towards his master,” said Gandhi. Shukla was highly embar- rassed over the treatment to Gandhi but had no other option. Gandhi suddenly remembered one of his classmates in London who had told him he lived in Patna. “It was Mazharul Haq and I last met him in 1915 in Bombay. Then he was president of Muslim League. He had invit- ed me to his house whenever I visited Patna.” Remembering Mazharul Haq, Gandhi scribbled a few lines on a piece of paper and asked Shukla to deliver it. As soon as Haq received the letter he hurriedly asked his driver to start the car and reached Rajendra Prasad’s house and brought his friend to his pala- tial house on Fraser Road. Gandhi told him that he was on way to Champaran to study the plight of the farmers who were coerced to plant indigo. Haq, how- ever, was not well versed about the legal position but knew that the farmers were sub- jected to great tyranny. He told Gandhi that the indigo planters had their headquarters at Muzaffarpur and that he should first go there. Gandhi decided to go to Muzaffarpur and recalled that one of his acquaintances Professor JB Kripalani was teaching in a college there. Continued on Page 2 Srinagar: Four terrorists were on Monday killed as Army foiled an infiltration bid in Keran sector in Kupwara dis- trict of north Kashmir. A Defence spokesman said that a group of terrorists tried to infiltrate from across the Line of Control in Keran sec- tor but troops foiled their bid. “The group was challenged by the soldiers triggering a gun- fight that continued through- out the night. The gun-battle ended on Monday,” an Army officer said. Detailed report on P7 London: By sentencing Indian national Kulbushan Jadhav to death, Pakistan’s military court system has once again showed how it “rides roughshod over inter- national standards”, Amnesty International said on Monday, questioning the secretive court’s ability to dispense justice. “The death sentence given to Kulbushan Jadhav shows yet again how Pakistan’s military court sys- tem rides roughshod over international standards,” Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director, Amnesty International, said in response to Pakistan military court sentencing Jadhav to death for alleged spying. Smelling T he students of the National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL) went on indefinite strike on Monday, demanding resignation of Vice Chancellor BC Nirmal and Registrar, removal of so called incompetent faculty and wanted streamlining the fund flow from the Government for University. They locked the main gate of NUSRL campus in Kanke as early as 8 am in the morning. Though students allowed the VC to have words with them for a short while, the conversa- tion couldn’t lead anyone to any- where as the students wanted to have words only with either the Chief Minister or with Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court who happens to be ex- officio Chancellor of NUSRL under the Act the institution was established. However, Nirmal who was sitting helplessly in his official car parked on other side of the road in front of NUSRL cam- pus, watching the entire move- ment of students, said that the students were being used by some of their ‘notorious’ seniors who had been punished for various reasons in the past inside campus. “Last year we had taken disciplinary actions against one Jagdish Bishnoi who was found guilty of misbehaving with teachers and one Anmol Deepak who was found guilty of what could be called eve- teasing. These students are now using existing brains of the campus to destabilise peace, harmony and name of the campus,” said Nirmal. On the other hand, protest- ing students have tossed grave charges in front of the University establishment, calling them ignorant administrators. “NUSRL established by an act passed by the State legisla- tive assembly in 2010 guaran- tees 50 percent reservation to domiciles of Jharkhand and rest is further reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Economically Backward Classes and Other Backward Classes (SC/ST/EBC/OBC). The University is one of the most expensive National Law Universities charging almost 2,00,000/- per annum and yet evidently it is riddled with lack of transparency in handling of funds, nepotism in appoint- ment of teaching and non- teaching members,” a press note issued on behalf of all 500 students participating in strike with no defined leadership stat- ed on Monday. None of the stu- dents appeared to divulge any- thing else claiming that press note was their official position. The students also said that their voices remained unheard and issues unaddressed since years. “We believe that the uni- versity having been estab- lished by the State act, it is the duty of the Chief Minister and the Chancellor to ensure that the promises are fulfilled,” said students. For the time being, the stu- dents have come up with demands like immediate resig- nation of the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar of the University, audit by any external agency in accordance with Entry 24 of the Schedule under the Act, complete overhaul of the admin- istrative staff, immediate release of the funds promised by the State and immediate setup of a University Review Commission under Chapter VII, Section 23 of NUSRL Act, 2010. Nirmal, however, admitted that fund related issues had kept the University worried from the time of its inception. “But we have tried our best that facilities related to the students and their studies not get ham- pered at any cost. We are work- ing on their demands like wi-fi in campus and other such issues which will be addressed soon. But I am sure they (students) are wrong at calling the faculty incompetent,” said Nirmal. Meanwhile, a notice in the name of the Vice-Chancellor called upon the students to withdraw the protest by evening, failing to which might attract strict actions against them. But students decided to violate the notice and kept the strike continue. U nlike several States, includ- ing West Bengal playing cat and mouse game, the Jharkhand Government has decided to fully abide by the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court branding liquor trade along highways as illegal. Highly placed sources in the Excise Department told The Pioneer that as many as 650 liquor shops had been shut down following the order that make it obligatory on the States not to renew the contracts of those operating within 500 meters along highways. “The decision has huge bearing on Jharkhand and on the revenue our Department generates. We have not renewed licenses of anything from 600 to 650 liquor shops that expired on March 31, in the light of the order. It is expected to cause loss to the exchequer of about 400 crore annually,” said a top official on Monday requesting anonymity. Ranchi and Dhanbad are the dis- tricts worst hit after the apex court ban. When asked whether the Department is looking for a way out, he denied, saying that intention of the Government is to adhere to the order in its letter and spir- it. “The Government has decided to abide by the order. We are not looking for any other way out. Though a for- mal letter to the Road Construction Department (RCD) has been sent inform- ing them about number of shops getting affected by this order,” he added. Similar sense prevailed with the RCD when its Chief Engineer denied having any intention to denotify the status of National or State highways across Jharkhand. “We have 26 NHs and 18 State Highways hav- ing length of around 2700 kms and 1200 kms, respectively in the State. The list of all such roads has been submitted to the Excise Department for their action. As of now there is no proposal to delist any such highway as municipal or rural road with us. In fact, we would be adding more roads in our highway kitty by the next year,” said Chief Engineer Ras Bihari Singh. Continued on Page 2

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Page 1: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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���������!�����������213�/14),

In a move that may see fur-ther deterioration in relations

between Pakistan and India,the Pakistan Army on Mondayannounced that ex-IndianNavy officer KulbhushanJadhav has been awarded deathsentence following a courtmartial in Rawalpindi foralleged ‘espionage and sabotage’activities.

The Pakistan Army chief,General Qamar Javed Bajwa, onMonday approved the executionof Jadhav, triggering outrage inIndia as India sees Pakistan’sdeath sentence to Jadhav as afresh provocation, indicative ofthe fact that Islamabad and thePakistan Army are not inter-ested in improving relationswith New Delhi.

In an immediate retaliationto the Pakistani action, there isa strong possibility that Indiamay not release about a dozenPakistani prisoners who wereto be repatriated onWednesday. There is a feelingin the Government that it is notthe right time for the release ofthe prisoners. These prisonerswere to be released as part ofthe practice by India andPakistan to repatriate nationalslodged in each other’s jail afterthey complete their sentence.

Reacting strongly to thedeath penalty and the clandes-tine trial, Foreign Secretary SJaishankar summoned Pakistan

High Commissioner AbdulBasit to his office in South Blockand handed him a demarchesaying such a sentence againstan Indian citizen was a case ofpremeditated murder, as it wasawarded without observingbasic norms of law.

Jaishankar added that theproceedings leading to the sen-tence against Jadhav were “far-cical in the absence of any cred-ible evidence against him.”

The Foreign Secretary reiterated that Jadhav was nota spy, and he was kidnappedfrom Iran and brought

to Pakistan. “Jadhav was kidnapped last

year from Iran and his subse-quent presence in Pakistan hasnever been explained credibly.The Government of India,through its High Commissionin Islamabad, has repeatedlysought consular access to him,as provided for by internationallaw. Requests to that effectwere formally made 13 timesbetween March 25, 2016 andMarch 31, 2017. This was notpermitted by the Pakistaniauthorities,” he said.

He also expressed anguish

over the secrecy of the trial,given the fact that India wasconstantly seeking consularaccess to Jadhav.

“It is significant that theIndian High Commission wasnot even informed that Jadhavwas being brought to trial.Senior Pakistani figures havethemselves cast doubt aboutthe adequacy of evidence. Theclaim in the Pakistan Army’sInter-Services Public Relations(ISPR) release that Jadhav wasprovided with a defending offi-cer during the so-called trial isclearly absurd in the circum-

stances. If this sentence againstan Indian citizen, awarded with-out observing basic norms of lawand justice, is carried out, theGovernment and people of Indiawill regard it as a case of pre-meditated murder,” the ForeignSecretary said in the demarche.

The ISPR on Monday in astatement made fromRawalpindi said, “Indian RAWAgent/Naval officer 41558ZCommander Kulbushan SudhirJadhav alias Hussein MubarakPatel was arrested on March 3,2016 through a CounterIntelligence Operation from Mashkel, Balochistan, forhis involvement in espionageand sabotage activities against Pakistan.

Continued on Page 2

���� 213�/14),

The Centre is working on asecret “weapon” to disperse

violent crowds in Jammu &Kashmir as an alternative topellet guns used by security per-sonnel in the State at present.

There is no word yet onwhat that crowd-dispersingtechnique will be. However, theCentre informed the SupremeCourt on Monday that the“weapon” is undergoing trial ina Government laboratory atChandigarh.

The disclosure came aspart of the Centre’s submis-sion defending the use ofpellet guns, which has beenchallenged in a PIL filed bythe Jammu & Kashmir High

Court Bar Association. TheBench of Chief Justice JSKhehar, Justices DYChandrachud and SanjayKishan Kaul asked the asso-ciation leaders present in thecourt to think with an open,unbiased mind and makesuggestions within two weeksfor remedying the situation inthe Valley. The matter will beheard next on April 28.

The lawyer body hadcharged the Army with com-mitting excesses and sought anend to use of pellet guns by list-ing the number of lives lost andthe number of those grievous-ly injured. The Bench even gavethe option of using lazer dazer,a non-lethal weapon that shines disorienting, nauseatingbursts of intense green laserlight into a target’s eyes, and

foul smelling water as a non-lethal approach to dispensingthe crowd.

Attorney-General Rohatgipresented a report of theMinistry of Home Affairsinforming how the situation inJ&K is different from any otherpart of the country. He said thatthe options of chilli spray, lazerdazer, and foul smelling waterwere unlikely to succeed as pro-testors cover their face withcloth and sport sunglasses.

He presented photographsof recent protests to show howprotestors arm themselves withstones, grenades, acid bottles,Molotov Cocktails and petrolbombs to attack the securitypersonnel and damage thearmoured cars.

EC defers Anantnag LokSabha bypoll to May 25.

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Mohandas KaramchandGandhi, Bar-at-law,

arrived at Patna railway stationon the morning of April 10,1917 on way to Champaran.Accompanied by Champaranfarmer Rajkumar Shukla,Gandhi wearing a long kurta,dhoti and turban made ofhome spun fabric got downHowrah-Delhi train wonderingwhere to go since it is his firstvisit to Patna and he hardlyknew anybody.

Finding no way out, Shuklaoffered him to take to a famouswakil saheb (advocate). Theyhired a tonga, which droppedthem at the entrance of a big

house. It was the house ofRajendra Prasad but he was notthere and the servant told themthat sahib was out of station.

Prasad’s munshi told themthat wakil sahib was away toPuri. “I squatted on the veran-da outside but the servant didnot allow me to fetch waterfrom the well. Shukla persistedthat he kindly allowed me to usethe toilet but directed me to usethe toilet outside. It did not hurtor anger me. The servant wasfollowing own dharma and ful-filling his duty towards hismaster,” said Gandhi.

Shukla was highly embar-rassed over the treatment toGandhi but had no other option.Gandhi suddenly remembered

one of his classmates in Londonwho had told him he lived inPatna. “It was Mazharul Haq andI last met him in 1915 inBombay. Then he was presidentof Muslim League. He had invit-ed me to his house whenever Ivisited Patna.”

Remembering MazharulHaq, Gandhi scribbled a fewlines on a piece of paper andasked Shukla to deliver it. Assoon as Haq received the letterhe hurriedly asked his driver tostart the car and reachedRajendra Prasad’s house andbrought his friend to his pala-tial house on Fraser Road.

Gandhi told him that hewas on way to Champaran tostudy the plight of the farmers

who were coerced toplant indigo. Haq, how-ever, was not wellversed about thelegal position butknew that thefarmers were sub-jected to greattyranny. He toldGandhi that theindigo planters hadtheir headquarters atMuzaffarpur and thathe should first gothere. Gandhi decidedto go to Muzaffarpur andrecalled that one of hisacquaintances ProfessorJB Kripalani was teachingin a college there.

Continued on Page 2

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Srinagar: Four terrorists wereon Monday killed as Armyfoiled an infiltration bid inKeran sector in Kupwara dis-trict of north Kashmir.

A Defence spokesman saidthat a group of terrorists triedto infiltrate from across theLine of Control in Keran sec-tor but troops foiled their bid.“The group was challenged bythe soldiers triggering a gun-fight that continued through-out the night. The gun-battleended on Monday,” an Armyofficer said.

Detailed report on P7

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London: By sentencingIndian national KulbushanJadhav to death, Pakistan’smilitary court system hasonce again showed how it“rides roughshod over inter-national standards”,Amnesty International saidon Monday, questioning thesecretive court’s ability todispense justice.

“The death sentencegiven to Kulbushan Jadhavshows yet again howPakistan’s military court sys-tem rides roughshod overinternational standards,”Biraj Patnaik, South AsiaDirector, AmnestyInternational, said inresponse to Pakistan militarycourt sentencing Jadhav todeath for alleged spying.

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The students of the NationalUniversity of Study and

Research in Law (NUSRL) wenton indefinite strike on Monday,demanding resignation of ViceChancellor BC Nirmal andRegistrar, removal of so calledincompetent faculty and wantedstreamlining the fund flow fromthe Government for University.

They locked the main gateof NUSRL campus in Kanke asearly as 8 am in the morning.

Though students allowedthe VC to have words with themfor a short while, the conversa-tion couldn’t lead anyone to any-where as the students wanted tohave words only with either theChief Minister or with ChiefJustice of the Jharkhand HighCourt who happens to be ex-officio Chancellor of NUSRLunder the Act the institutionwas established.

However, Nirmal who wassitting helplessly in his official

car parked on other side of theroad in front of NUSRL cam-pus, watching the entire move-ment of students, said that thestudents were being used bysome of their ‘notorious’seniors who had been punishedfor various reasons in the pastinside campus.

“Last year we had takendisciplinary actions against oneJagdish Bishnoi who was foundguilty of misbehaving withteachers and one AnmolDeepak who was found guiltyof what could be called eve-

teasing. These students arenow using existing brains of thecampus to destabilise peace,harmony and name of thecampus,” said Nirmal.

On the other hand, protest-ing students have tossed gravecharges in front of theUniversity establishment, callingthem ignorant administrators.

“NUSRL established by anact passed by the State legisla-tive assembly in 2010 guaran-tees 50 percent reservation todomiciles of Jharkhand andrest is further reserved for

Scheduled Castes, ScheduledTribes, Economically BackwardClasses and Other BackwardClasses (SC/ST/EBC/OBC).The University is one of themost expensive National LawUniversities charging almost�2,00,000/- per annum and yetevidently it is riddled with lackof transparency in handling offunds, nepotism in appoint-ment of teaching and non-teaching members,” a pressnote issued on behalf of all 500students participating in strikewith no defined leadership stat-ed on Monday. None of the stu-dents appeared to divulge any-thing else claiming that pressnote was their official position.

The students also said thattheir voices remained unheardand issues unaddressed sinceyears. “We believe that the uni-versity having been estab-lished by the State act, it is theduty of the Chief Minister andthe Chancellor to ensure thatthe promises are fulfilled,”said students.

For the time being, the stu-dents have come up withdemands like immediate resig-nation of the Vice-Chancellor

and the Registrar of theUniversity, audit by any externalagency in accordance with Entry24 of the Schedule under the Act,complete overhaul of the admin-istrative staff, immediate releaseof the funds promised by theState and immediate setup of aUniversity Review Commissionunder Chapter VII, Section 23 ofNUSRL Act, 2010.

Nirmal, however, admittedthat fund related issues hadkept the University worriedfrom the time of its inception.“But we have tried our best thatfacilities related to the studentsand their studies not get ham-pered at any cost. We are work-ing on their demands like wi-fiin campus and other such issueswhich will be addressed soon.But I am sure they (students) arewrong at calling the facultyincompetent,” said Nirmal.

Meanwhile, a notice in thename of the Vice-Chancellorcalled upon the students towithdraw the protest byevening, failing to which mightattract strict actions againstthem. But students decided toviolate the notice and kept thestrike continue.

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Unlike several States, includ-ing West Bengal playing

cat and mouse game, theJharkhand Government hasdecided to fully abide by thelandmark judgment of theSupreme Court brandingliquor trade along highways as illegal.

Highly placed sources inthe Excise Department told ThePioneer that as many as 650liquor shops had been shutdown following the order thatmake it obligatory on the Statesnot to renew the contracts ofthose operating within 500meters along highways.

“The decision has hugebearing on Jharkhand andon the revenue ourDepartment generates. Wehave not renewed licenses ofanything from 600 to 650liquor shops that expired onMarch 31, in the light of theorder. It is expected to causeloss to the exchequer of about�400 crore annually,” said atop off icia l on Mondayrequesting anonymity. Ranchiand Dhanbad are the dis-

tricts worst hit after the apexcourt ban.

When asked whether theDepartment is looking for away out, he denied, sayingthat intention of theGovernment is to adhere tothe order in its letter and spir-it. “The Government hasdecided to abide by the order.We are not looking for anyother way out. Though a for-mal letter to the RoadConstruction Department(RCD) has been sent inform-ing them about number ofshops getting affected by thisorder,” he added.

Similar sense prevailed withthe RCD when its ChiefEngineer denied having anyintention to denotify the statusof National or State highwaysacross Jharkhand. “We have 26NHs and 18 State Highways hav-ing length of around 2700 kmsand 1200 kms, respectively in theState. The list of all such roadshas been submitted to the ExciseDepartment for their action. Asof now there is no proposal todelist any such highway asmunicipal or rural road with us.

In fact, we would beadding more roads in ourhighway kitty by the next year,”said Chief Engineer Ras BihariSingh.

Continued on Page 2

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Page 2: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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In a road mishap, about adozen passengers were

injured, one of them seriouslywhen the bus they were travel-ling in overturned nearGiridhari Hotel at Chandil onthe NH-33 at Seraikela-Kharsawan district, on Mondaymorning. The bus Natarajwas coming to Jamshedpurfrom Ranchi as the mishaptook place at about 10 am.

The injured were rescuedby police and were rushed toMGM Medical CollegeHospital where nine passen-gers, including two womenwere released after first-aid asthey had sustained minorinjuries. Three of them wereadmitted.

As condition of one of thepassengers, identified as WakilPandey (42) was serious, theGovernment medical hospitalreferred him to the Tata MainHospital.

The remaining two injured,Jagdish Mahato (28) and ArjunBhagat (30) were admitted atthe medical college hospital.The duo sustained internalinjuries.

One of the injured said thebus was moving at a moderatespeed and all of a sudden acyclist came in the middle ofthe road. For saving the cyclist,the driver took an abrupt turnand next moment the vehicleoverturned.

A police team had come tothe rescue of the passengerswithin five minutes of themishap and arranged for quickshifting of them to the medicalcollege hospital.

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Scorching heat with soaringtemperature amid poor

power scenario puts life toughthis summer across Dhanbadand Bokaro districts. Peoplestayed indoors due to the siz-zling condition though themercury touched about 43degrees Celsius in duo districts.

The blistering wind makeseverything worse; also leads todistress, fully or partiallyamong the animals. But theanimals at Jawaharlal NehruBiological Park at Bokaro SteelCity are still feeling comfort-able, in spite of the mercuryreaches up to 41-42 degreeCelsius. The Zoo’s menu cardhas taken an organic turn withwater rich and summercoolants foods like watermel-on, sugarcane, papaya, greenmango, cucumbers and

bananas and many more tominimise the effect of sun-stroke for herbivorous, saidthe zoo authority.

With the new roughage-rich diet the zoo authorities areapparently confident that the ani-mals are ready to face the blaz-ing sun and scorching summer.

Moreover, to make thingsbetter for them giving the cooleffect from scorching heat spe-cial fabricated shades and waterpools, have been constructedin the big cages where lion,tiger, leopard, panthers arekept to keep the wild animalscool and feed them with regu-lar supply of drinking waterand early food before 10 am inthe morning.

Besides, water sprinklershave been put in cages andtanks are being filled dailywith cold water. The zooauthorities have also made spe-

cial medication arrangementsfor animals along with birds toprovide extra anti-stress med-ication to prevent them fromdehydration and stress.

“The Park is a centre ofexcellence which is also impart-ing education silently within aradius of 50 km.” said the parkauthorities. The zoo, which ismaintained by Bokaro steelplant, is the only place whereone can come and study a lotabout nature, plants and ani-mals within two hours of visit.Though, water worries havealready begun plaguing amongthe residents of the twin dis-tricts. Hard hit by depletedwater level, residents are forcedto buy water at any cost to savetheir lives. “Water has alreadybegun to be sold at �15 to �25per gallon in different parts ofthe districts”, said Vinod a res-ident of Chas in Bokaro.

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The Giridih Muffasil policearrested a 25 year old

youth on Sunday night forallegedly raped minor girl ina remote Dhanyadih villageunder the Mufasil, police sta-tion in Giridih. In his com-plaint to the police, the girl, sfather alleged that his daugh-ter was raped on April 9,when she out in night for toi-let, R.N. Chaudhary, officer-in charge.

According to reports, theincident took place atDhanyadih vi l lage ofSenadoni panchayat area,which is nearly 4 km awayfrom Muffasil police station.According to police officials,the accused, identified astempo driver namely RaviDas, a resident of thePaharpur village, caught theminor when she had gone to

relieve herself in the fields.The victim, s father told the

cops that auto driver wasallegedly coming in the fieldsat the same time the minorwent to the field .The culpritsaw the minor girl walking tothe field at 8pm on Sunday .Hewent ahead and forced himselfon her and took the victim toan isolated area and sexuallyassaulted her .He also threat-ened her with dire conse-quences if she reported thematter to anyone, they said.

Accused Ravi Das has beenarrested early this morning,Officer-in charge RNChaudhary said, adding thatthe victim was sent for medicalexamination .The accused hasbeen booked under IPC sec-tion 376 of IPC .He has beenjailed and further investigationis on. But Officer-in chargesuspected the culprit havingaffair with her.

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The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) onMonday held a bike rally

here from its office to the RajBhavan to protest the UnionGovernment’s reduction ofkerosene quota to the State.

The rally was led by Ministerof Food Supplies and ConsumerWelfare Sanjay Dasburma.Hundreds of agitators includingthose from the Biju Yuva JanataDal (BYJD), squatted before theRaj Bhavan and later submitteda memorandum to PresidentPranab Mukherjee through theGovernor demanding restora-tion of the full kerosene quota.

Later, speaking to media-persons, Minister Dasburmasaid he had met the concernedUnion Minister and written anumber of letters to him toincrease the kerosene quota,but in vain. This year, theCentre has allotted only 62,112kilolitre of kerosene to the

State, slashing the quota bynearly 36 per cent.

The people in the remoteareas and hilly terrains aredependent on this fuel. Besides,the Odisha police, the JagannathTemple and other institutions ofthe State are also among thebulk consumers of kerosene. So,the Centre should allot a min-imum of 40,000 kilolitre ofkerosene per month to theState, the Minister demanded.

Interestingly, while going to

meet the Governor, due to thehot and humid conditions,Dasburma, Law Minister ArunSahu, other BJD leaders andmany other party activists didnot join the bike rally and,instead, piled up into policevehicles and went to submit thememorandum. Bhubaneswar(Central) MLA Bijay Mohanty,city Mayor Ananta NarayanJena and many BJD MLAs andleaders were among otherswho joined the programme.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi would felicitate fam-

ilies of Odia freedom fightersduring his visit here.

He would honour the fam-ilies of freedom fighters, whosacrificed their lives in fightagainst the British rule. Hewould felicitate them on behalfof the country during a pro-gramme at the Raj Bhavan onApril 16, informed UnionMinister Dharmendra Pradhanon Sunday.

“The Centre’s decision tocommemorate the historicalPaika Revolt, the first freedommovement against the EastIndia Company of the Britishin Odisha, on the completionof its 200 years, is definitely aproud moment for the Odiacommunity. PM Modi wasrequested to honour the sacri-fice of freedom fighters duringhis visit to Odisha, Pradhan said.

Modi has agreed to felici-tate the great heroes of Odishafor their contributions to free-dom, he said.

Pradhan added that histo-ry has not recognised theimmense contributions of vet-erans like Raghu Dibakar,Lakhman Nayak, ChakhiKhuntia, Bauxi Jagabandhu,Veer Surendra Sai and NirmalMunda in the freedom strug-gle. By felicitating the familiesof these great heroes, Modiwould honour the Odia com-munity.

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From Page 1Anyway the decision to

notify or other way round lieswith the Cabinet where no suchproposal is pending or expect-ed to be brought. However,shifting of 600-odd shops func-

tional along the main arteries isyet to be accomplished.

“As per the SupremeCourt’s order all such shopshad to be shut down. We hadto renew their licenses whichwe have not done in the begin-

ning of the financial year. As faras their shifting is concerned,the owners are looking foroptions. Some are finding alter-nate places 500 meters awayfrom highways while manywould have to windup. Theprocess is still in transitionphase,” said Excise DepartmentSecretary Avinash Kumar.

Important to mention hereis that the Opposition partiesand several social organisa-tions have been raising liquorban issue in the State in thelines of Bihar. Insiders in theGovernment admit that theruling BJP was under intensepressure on this front.

“Since the Departmentlies with the Chief Minister,the message after not allow-ing any leeway to be foundwould go out loud and clear,”said a senior party leader.

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From Page 1Gandhi with Shukla

boarded a steamer to reachSonepur and caught a train toMuzaffarpur. Kripalani sawthe cable at 9 in the nightwhen he returned from theclub and had little time tomake arrangements for his welcome.

“How this distinguishedguest should be received andwhere should I put him up,”wonders Kripalani, warden ofa hostel attached to the collegeand living in a couple ofrooms. He spoke to his col-league Professor Malkani tomake some arrangement forGandhi’s stay.

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Page 3: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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/��������B���� ���������������� ����������������������������%2"1%� ����@ �B�� ��������� �A����� �6�������� ��/����� ��� ���� ��/����� �� �� ����#��������8+7:.7;� ��������� � ������ ��-��� ���� ���� ������� ��/����#� ��� � ����� � ������#����������79��)��������� �� ������A/!�� �� � ���#�������� �����/�������������������������//��A����B�������������������������������� ����� �� �������� � �������� ���� ��� ����

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The State Government’sprime objective is to enroll

all one lakh dropout studentsin schools where they can geteducation at par with the pri-vate institutions. Since childrenare not a vote bank so no onepays heed towards them.Therefore, the dropout ratehas been increased over theyears,” said CM Raghubar Dasduring the launch of State-level‘School Chalen ChalayenAbhiyan’ programme that aimsto enroll all the deprived kidsto school for achieving centpercent literacy rate.

“Commercialisation of

health and education sectorshas just benefited few people.From ensuring world classinfrastructure to recruitment ofteachers to completing electri-fication work in all schools by2018, the State Government iscommitted to provide all facil-ities to the school goers and forretaining them in schools.Work of bench-desk has beencompleted. Government hasplanned to create State of theart laboratories at high schools,”added the CM.

Adopting some majorstrategies to curtail the dropoutrate, concepts like zero dropoutpanchayats, ensuring 100 percent teachers and student pres-ence during school hours, 100per cent transition, proper uti-lization of funds given to eachschool management committee(SMC) and cleanliness aroundthe campus premises has beenincluded this year under thisflagship programme.

The programme initiatedin the year 2015 has managedto enroll around 3.5 lakh

dropout students in schools sofar. In Ranchi 4,078 children

are out of school. At present,nearly one lakh students falling

in different agegroup are out ofs c h o o l s .Elaborating theprogramme con-cept, from thisacademic sessionbesides admit-ting kids in class1 to standard 8,children in class9 and 10 will alsoget enrolledunder the pro-gramme. Underthe concept‘Shishu Sadan’ inprimary sectionkids who areabove four yearswill also beadmitted.

W h i l ea d d r e s s i n gS c h o o lMa n a g e m e ntC o m m i t t e e

members and teachers duringthe programme, the CM

instructed to deliver theirduties with utmost dedicationin the Santhal Paragana regionswhere the dropout rate is quitehigh in comparison to otherdistricts. “Creating awarenessamong the masses must beensured by the SMCs. Whilekeeping the track record, theSMC members must also try toaddress the issues. In the com-ing days more responsibilitieswill be given to the SMCs.Students must also be vigilantand take up the initiative towrite to the Government, ifthey are being deprived of

facilities,” said, Das. Focusing on worst pan-

chayats located in SanthalParagana belt and districts likeGumla, Chatra, Palamau, thedepartment of SchoolEducation and Literacy hasdemarcated 520 panchayatswhose performance is sub-standard. Under the ‘Zerodropout panchayat’ plan 2500panchayats will be declared‘Zero dropout panchayat’where no child is out of school.

“Adopting unique meth-ods, worst panchayats will betargeted on priority basis.However, so far 120 panchay-ats at different block after ver-ifying have been declared ‘ZeroDropout Panchayat’. Addingcomponents like road shows,distribution of school kits, edu-cational trips the department isall set to curtail the dropoutrate in other districts too,”said, Secretary, Department ofSchool Education and Literacy,Aradhana Patnaik.

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Ranchi Traffic Police willnow take action against

parents whose children will befound riding two wheelerswithout having valid licenses.

Taking a serious note of thedeath of three school childrendue to over speeding at AirportRoad on Sunday, Ranchi TrafficPolice has also formed squadsfor catching youths drivingbikes and also doing stunts.

“We have formed foursquads manned by traffic con-stables in each of them, whichwill not only catch the erringyouths on bikes but also calltheir parents for counselingand fine them after makingthem furnish a bond that suchan activity will not be repeat-ed again by their kids,” saidTraffic SP Sanjay Ranjan Singh.Action against the parents ofunderage youths found ridingbikes on the road will also betaken, he added.

Incidentally, three schoolstudents – Amit Vishwas,Harsh Kumar Sinha and AmanKumar Murmu, were killedafter their over speeding bikedashed with the divider nearthe Airport. Police said thatMurmu, who was riding thebike, lost control over the overspeeding bike and dashed onthe divider and the nearbyelectric pole leaving them seri-ously injured. They wereimmediately rushed to the hos-pital and were declared deadduring the treatment.

In addition to that, Ranjansaid that engineers of RoadConstruction Departmenthave also been asked to iden-tify sharp curves and turnsinside the city and mark themso that it becomes visiblefrom a distance.

“We have also asked themto broaden the road at the cor-ners or wherever it is requiredto avert such accidents,” saidthe Traffic SP.

Besides, a special cam-paign was started fromMonday in schools and collegeswhere Traffic officials talk tothe students directly and tellthem about the advantages offollowing traffic rules andwearing helmets.

“Today we are at Nirmala

College in Doranda where weare trying to communicatewith the students directly andmaking them aware about thetraffic rules by giving them cer-tain examples,” Ranjan said.

District Transport Officer(DTO) Nagendra Paswan wasalso was of the view that theparents must be strict in thisregard and should not get car-ried away with their feelingswhen it comes to providingbike to their children.

“As parents are directlyresponsible for providing bikesto their immature and under-age children, they must notallow them go out on bikes,”said Paswan. The districtadministration is also con-ducting awareness programmesthrough various mediums tomake people aware in thisregard, he added.

“Awareness programme allover Ranchi is also being con-ducted through FM Radio andthrough audio visual vehicles atvarious locations in Ranchi,telling people that traffic rulesmust be followed to avert acci-dents on roads and also appeal-ing people to wear helmetswhile riding bike,” Paswanssaid. In addition to that, allSchool administrations inRanchi have already been inti-mated to ensure that no studentbelow 18 years of age comes toschool on bike, he added.

“And if anyone found com-ing on bike in schools, theirparents must be called by thePrincipal who will do theircounseling so that they do notallow bikes to their children,”said the DTO.

Meanwhile, JharkhandHigh Court, while hearing aPIL filed by Dewan IndraneelSinha demanding similar traf-fic arrangement in the StateCapital as was done duringMomentum Jharkhand con-clave, taking strong note of theincident on Sunday, also askedthe Traffic SP to take propersteps for improving traffic sys-tem to avert such accidents.

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Cameras, tripods, handy-cams, expensive lenses kept

for display captivated the visi-tors’ interest on the concludingday of imaging expo 2017where quite a number of peo-ple visited the expo to gethands on experience about thetechniques involved in fashionphotography, wedding pho-tography, still photography toname a few.

For all amateur photogra-phers this golden opportunitywas utilised in learning tech-niques from experts who cameall the way from other States to

share their experience duringthe three-day photo expo organ-ised on such a huge scale for thefirst time here in the State.

The varieties of electronicgadgets displayed for the firsttime at an imaging expo organ-ised by Jharkhand PhotographyAssociation (JPA) witnessedthe participation of around 86renowned camera brands. Amagazine stall ‘SmartPhotography’ put up at the cen-tre received overwhelmingresponse addressing the curios-ity of public.

Jharkhand’s first everimaging expo organised atKhelgaon explored the latest

use of technology especially inthe field of still and video pho-tography while providing

p r a c t i c a lexposure tothe learners.B u d d i n gshutterbugsof the citygot a chanceto learn fromt h er e n o w n e dp h o t o g r a -phers whoshared theirexperienceand gavesome live

demonstrations to lens men.Coveted brands like canon,Nikon, Panasonic, Sony, JVC

registered their strong pres-ence and displayed their megagadgets ranging from �10,000to �5 lakh.

The technical sessions notjust focused on techniques andgadgets usage during the photoshoot but the photographerswere also given tips on how toexpand their business. Keepingthe fundamentals of businessdevelopment in mind,renowned wedding photogra-pher, Raju Sultania added thata photographer must be readyto face some initial loss duringtheir ventures and always beready to new explore newthings to add on to their skills.

“This is for the first timewhen some photography exhi-bition is organised in any smallcity. Earlier, such type of eventwas only organised by photog-raphers at metro cities. However,this major arrangement hasgiven opportunity to all such tal-ents to get knowledge about thelatest technique with practicalexposure under one roof. On allthe three days, two hours tech-nical session was organised forthe participants,” said, a mem-ber of organising committee ofJharkhand PhotographicAssociation Centre. On the con-cluding day, business of worth�5 cr was done at the expo.

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Taking a strong note over thedispute erupted in Ranchi

Municipal Corporationbetween Mayor Asha Lakraand Municipal CommissionerPrashant Kumar, the JharkhandHigh Court on Monday askedLakra to be present in theCourt physically on April 18.The division bench of ChiefJustice PK Mohanty and JusticeAnanda Sen were hearing a PILfiled by Dewan Indraneel Sinhaseeking judicial intervention tocurb breeding of mosquitoes inthe State Capital.

“The Court has askedMayor to be present physical-ly before it on April 18 whilethe Municipal Commissionerhas to file an affidavit on orbefore April 17 depicting in itthat how many projects inRMC are held up,” said peti-tioner’s Advocate RajivKumar. The dispute between

the RMC Mayor andMunicipal Commissioner wasput into the notice of theHigh Court while it was hear-ing the PIL filed by DeawanIndraneel Sinha on the issueof the outbreak of mosquitoesin Ranchi, added Kumar.

Meanwhile, in anotherdecision, Court of JusticeAnant Bijay Singh on Mondaygranted anticipatory bails toformer BJP Chief Tala Marandiand his son Munna Marandi ina case related to Munna mar-rying a minor girl. Their peti-tion was earlier rejected by alower court in Godda.

Munna Marandi has beenaccused of sexually exploiting agirl for over two years and thenmarrying another minor girl.The girl filed a complaint at acourt in Godda district allegingthat Munna Marandi exploitedher sexually for two years andhad promised to marry her, andthen went back on his word.

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��#����*����������������� ��)� �� ���� ���������������%������.����������)������� ������ ���������! ��� ���������� �$����������9 ������������������������������ �����#������� �� �� �������� ��� ������� ����%�����������1����:�������� �������9 ����� ��-����������)�����#������� � ���#���� �� �� ����#���� �������� � ����� ���(� ������������������� ����9 ������������������ ��)� � � ����� �������������������*��#���(��)�� ����� ���������(��� ����;������ ����������#�� ���� ���� /��������0������

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Anti-encroachment drive bydistrict administration in

Kanke Dam catchment areasunder Hehal Circle continuedthird day on Monday with pub-lic protest almost faded by now.Unlike previous days, instances

of forceful protest was least onthe day indicating that thelandowners appeared to haveconfessed their unlawful activ-ities of constructing house onprohibited lands. However, thepolice were provoked to applymild force at a few locationswith no grave injuries to anyone.

“House owners were foundvacating the houses and takinggoods to other places by thetime we arrived to resumedemolition drive at 9 AM in themorning in Hesag mouza. Wegot some 5 acres of land freedfrom those encroachers in the

day, many of whom had kepttheir muscles flexing since thetime they forcibly constructedtheir houses. But they all, 17 intotal, had sensed that we werenot there to stop until lastmarked house was demolished.We believe that we will finishthe task by Tuesday and will getentire area encroachment free,”said Hehal CO Anil KumarSingh who led demolition drivesupported by police personneland other forces.

Singh said that the admin-istration had identified around170 establishments on couple of

lanes leading to the dam fromKanke road including housesand shops and buildings.“Occupying over 40 acres of thedam, these constructions havenot only posed threats to thesecurity of dam, but had alsodefaced its natural beauty of thethis 60 year old dam. It is actu-ally surprising to know that noone stopped these buildings totake shape at very first place.We have written to theDrinking Water Department toensure that no such encroach-ment takes place in future,”Singh added.

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Page 4: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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Love ends sour for a UTprisoner Perwez Alam

who ran away from the sadarhospital prison ward on theintervening night of March 17and 18. The escapee wascaught at Babu Ghat bus standin Kolkata on April 8 by ateam of Palamu police wholooked and acted as bus pas-sengers but when the teamspotted Perwez it made nomistake. Perwez was broughtdown to Daltonganj on April9 and the same day he wasremanded in judicial custody.

At Babu Ghat bus standPerwez was to meet hisbeloved and she was there tooand the two Perwez and thisgirlfriend of him had noinkling that Palamu policehad almost zeroed in onPerwez and when Perwezwanted to shake hands withhis beloved there was thepolice team and Perwez hadno choice but to succumb

to law.SP Palamu Indrajeet

Mahatha confirming thisepisode said Perwez was onthe run from the night of hisescape from the sadar hospi-tal prison ward on the inter-vening night of March 17/18as Perwez went everywherelike Garhwa, Renukoot,Moghulsarai, Delhi KotaBareilly and finally in Kolkattahe was so caught by thePalamu police team. Perwezeven sought divine interven-tion at a holy shrine in Ajmer.

Mahatha further said ‘We were hot in pursuit ofPerwez. We informed theregional passport off iceRanchi to remain on alert ifany application for passportin the name of Perwez Alamcomes up there’.

SP further added ‘ Wealso wrote to land registrationdeed office to alert us ifPerwez comes there to sell offany of his landed property’

Banks too were issued

advisory in this regard he reiterated.

However Perwez ran outof luck for love reiterated SP.He said the girl was fromJharkhand living in Kolkatawith whom Perwez had thisillicit relation has been let offas she has just been entrappedin love by this Perwez a manof dubious distinction. Perwezfaces double murder chargesin Panki police station.

However SP Palamu camevery heavily upon the securi-

ty personnel and doctorofthe central jail Daltonganjwhere Perwez was a UT andhad escaped from the prisonward of sadar hospitalDaltonganj.

The SP said he had gotthis allegation that one secu-rity personnel DwarikaMunda had allegedly taken�3,000 for his escape whilethe jail doctor Hariom isalleged to have taken �6,000from Perwez for giving him afalse health ailment report

Mahatha added, “Theseare allegations. Police willdelve into it. So there is nojumping to any conclusionright now.”

The SP said ‘Perwez’swife was the first to rebukehim for jumping the prisonward in the sadar hospital.Perwez’s two sons also disap-proved of his doings. His twosons were taking religiouslessons in Kota and Bareiliwhere this fugitive fatherwent also’.

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Chief Minister RaghubarDas on Monday appeared

in Jamshedpur civil court intwo separate cases related toobstructing a Government ser-vant from discharging his dutyand violation of code of con-duct in the 2009 Parliamentaryelections.

The Chief Minister arrivedat the civil court at Humepipearea in Sitaramdera at around10.20 am and walked to thecourt of Sub-DivisionalJudicial Magistrate (SDJM)Ashok Kumar for recording hisstatement in connection witha case of April 24, 2007.

Das (then Jamshedpur East

MLA) along with 21 othershad been accused of forciblygetting five BJP activistsreleased from Kadma policestation.

The CM along with 21others accused in the caserecorded their statement beforethe SDJM Ashok Kumar undersection 313 of CrPC in con-nection with a case in Kadmapolice station where they wereaccused of forcibly releasingfive BJP activists Rajkumar

Rai, Sudhanshu Ojha, RajeshSingh, Bhubaneshwar Singhand Umesh Singh from Kadmapolice station. The next datefor the arguments in the casehas been fixed by the court onApril 25 this year. The ChiefMinister claimed in his state-ment that he was innocent andhad been implicated in thecase.

Incidentally, SudhanshuOjha and others had beenarrested by the police in con-

nection with a land dispute inShastrinagar and RaghubarDas apart from beingJamshedpur East MLA wasthe then State UrbanDevelopment Minister.

After this, the ChiefMinister went to the court ofthe Chief Judicial Magistrate,G. K Tiwary and recorded hisstatement in connection undersection 313 of CrPC for viola-tion of code of conduct caselodged in Bistupur police sta-tion by the district adminis-tration.

BJP legal counselDevender Singh informed thatthe Chief Minister recorded hisstatement along with five oth-ers in the case lodged inBistupur police station onMarch 3, 2009 where he hadbeen made named accused forputting up party banners andflags near Bistupur round-about for the visit of partysenior leader L. K Advani dur-ing the 2009 Parliamentarypolls in the State.

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Rift in Hazaribagh BJPbecame public on April 6,

when two groups organisedestablishment day programmeat two different sites. The offi-cial programme took place inBJP office i.e. Atal BhawanHazaribagh while those who aresaid to be annoyed with the cur-rent organisational structuresat in Bara Akhara Hazaribagh.

The party has taken it seri-ously and today the spokesper-

son of Hazaribagh Anil KumarSinha clearly stated that actionwill be taken against the defec-tors. If any worker has to say any-thing then he will be allowed toplace his grievance in partyforum but this type of activitywill be taken as anti-party activ-ity and an attempt to weaken theparty. He said that the officebearers of the organisationhave decided to take discipli-nary action against all thosepresent in the separate meetingcalled by a faction of workers.

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DC Vinod Kumar organisedsudden visit to the St Anne’s

Girls’ High School situated atPatra Toli. On the occasionKumar directed to assure qual-ity education and maintaincleanliness. After that Kumarreached to Govt ScheduledTribal School Kisko.

During the inspection ateacher Deepak Kumar wasfound absent without any infor-mation. For that Kumar direct-ed the DSE to take action againsthim. DC took stock of the con-dition of kitchen and the avail-ability of sports materials in the

school. Kumar instructed toprepare the foods with Gascylinder and make available thesports goods.

Then DC went to theKasturba Girls’ High schooland advised the students tostudy well. The students werealso suggested to inspire theirparents to construct toilet attheir homes. By education,health and cleanliness anyonecan make progress in his life.

On the occasion ITDAdirector Ravindra KumarSingh, DWO MadhumatiKumari, DSE Renuka Tigga,Bal Kishor Shahdeo, Rakeshand Sapna Singh were present.

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The Tati Jharia police sta-tion team of Hazaribagh

district has arrested twopoachers and has recovered adead body of hunted deer onNH100 on Sunday night.

According to our policesources the Tati Jharia PS teamwas searching the vehicles onNH100 last night. When theytried to stop an alto car num-ber JH 02AA 0684, it didn’tstopped and started runningaway from there. The policeteam immediately chased thecar and finally stopped it.

When the car was checkeda dead body of hunted deerwas found in its dicky. Policealso recovered a country madepistol and four cartridges fromthe persons boarded on the car.

After recovery of hunteddeer police arrested both thepersons who were identified asAmit Kumar Singh, clerk ofjudicial magistrate court and

Radhey Shyam Singh. Bothare residents of Kasturi Khapvillage of Katkamdagh block ofHazaribagh district. Police haslodged an FIR against both andon Monday they were pro-duced before the court fromwhere they were sent to JPCentral Jail Hazaribagh.

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Budding technocrats of theAdityapur-based NIT

Jamshedpur have developed asolar powered hybrid vehiclethat has won accolades at arecent national level competition.

Team Revanta, a 25-mem-ber team from NITJamshedpur in Adityapur wonfour awards and was beenranked in the top five institutesacross the country at theImperial Society for InnovativeEngineers (ISIE) organisedElectric Solar VehicleChampionship. The event heldbetween March 28 and April 2

was hosted by Vishnu Collegeof Engineering at

Bhimawaram, Andhra Pradesh.According to information,

Team Revanta won the Lightweight Award, runners up

award for endurance and alsoreceived the green mobility

award and an appreciationaward for E'lan—the electricand solar driven hybrid car.The team also won �20,000 asa cash reward.

Each team had to designand manufacture a single seat-ed solar racing car under ISIEDesign Restriction so as tocompete with other teams allover the country. This helps thestudents to face real-worldengineering design projects

and other related challenges.‘ELAN’-is the name of the

car they built. It stands for ener-gy, style, and enthusiasm, theperfect name for the perfect car.The whole build took up tothree months and costs a totalof 1.5 lakh INR.

Building an electric car isno walk in the park, months ofdedication and hard work hadto be put in. The main focus ofthe team was to make the caras light as possible, they usedmaterials that were light butstrong at the same time.Getting the parts delivered wasanother herculean task, themotors were ordered fromMumbai, the solar panels fromChina, the pipes from Kolkata

and only high-quality partswas used for the build of Elan.

The team members thatcontributed to this effort areGaurav Kumar Singh,VikrantAmrit,Indrajeet Kumar,RoshanR a m k r i s h n a n , S o u r a b hKumar,Ankesh Gupta,AmanGupta from 3rd years n selec-tive 10 students from 2nd year.

NIT spokesperson, DeepakChourasia said that each teamhas to design and manufacturea single seated solar racing carunder the ISIE design restric-tion so as to compete with otherteams all over the country.These events and competitionshelp students to face real-worldengineering design projectsand other related challenges.

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Page 5: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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Absence of Minister ofEnvironment and Forest

Anil Dave during the QuestionHour in the Rajya Sabha onMonday drew the ire ofChairman Hamid Ansari whoremarked he had not seen such"an extraordinary situation in"the last 10 years" and termedit was "most unusual." SeveralCongress MPs also said theGovernment was taking theRajya Sabha for granted.

HRD Minister PrakashJavadekar, who was present tofield the questions on behalf ofDave, and his colleague UmaBharti, apologised. Incidentally,this is the second time in this ses-sion that Ministers were not pre-sent to answer questions. Ansarihad last time also expressed hisunhappiness over it.

The latest situation arosewhen Congress memberMahendra Singh Mahra raised

the listed question on air andnoise pollution in Delhi andNCR. His party colleagueJairam Ramesh objected to theMinister's absence and said "ithas happened for the secondtime."

Ansari said it is the respon-sibility of the concernedMinister to be present in theHouse when a question relat-ing to his or her Ministry istaken up. "This is an extraor-dinary situation and I am surethe Minister of ParliamentaryAffairs will look into this andrespond," he said.

Among other issues raisedin the house, ruling NDA allyAkali Dal demanded that theExternal Affairs Ministry with-draw its statement rejecting amotion adopted by theLegislative Assembly of Ontarioin Canada last week termingthe 1984 riots "genocide."

Raising the issue, Akali DalMP Naresh Gujral said, "There

was a state-condoned massacreof innocent Sikhs." Congressmember Anand Sharma object-ed to the statement and demand-ed that it should be expunged. Inthe Lok Sabha, Akali Dal mem-ber Prem Singh Chandumajraraised the issue and criticised theExternal Affairs Ministry forrejecting the motion.

Narendra Budania(Congress) expressed concernover an Indian jawan, whohad raised the issue of qualityof food served to the forces,being shown as dead in socialmedia in Pakistan and otherforeign countries and said "thisis a serious issue. Our countryis being defamed."

Tapan Kumar Sen(CPM)claimed theGovernment was trying to pri-vatise public sector steel plantsand drew the attention of theHouse to strike call by theemployees of these factories onTuesday as a mark of protest.

���� 213�/14),

Claiming that theGovernment had

"unleashed" the CBI and EDagainst non-BJP ChiefMinisters, the Congress-ledOpposition raised a din in theRajya Sabha on Monday forc-ing two adjournments in thepre-lunch session. TheOpposition also charged theGovernment with ignoring"nepotism, corruption andmoney laundering" by someBJP-ruled States.

The House witnessed pan-demonium after DeputyChairman PJ Kurien refused tosuspend business for the day todiscuss the issue as demandedby Anand Sharma (Congress)who raised the issue soon afterday's proceedings commenced.Unwilling to accept the ruling,the Congress members rushedinto the well raising slogans.Kurien had to adjourn thehouse for ten minutes the firsttime and then for five minuteswhen the house reassembled.

Raising the issue, Sharmasaid bonafide decisions aretaken by elected ChiefMinisters and the StateGovernments for allotment ofland and there is no Statewhich is exception to this rule.Without naming anyone, hesaid the Central Government,in "blatant" abuse of authority,was using ED to target formerChief Ministers belonging tothe Opposition parties.Sharma was obviously referringto the attachment of propertiesbelonging to Himachal Pradesh

Chief Minister VirbhadraSingh and ED summoninghim in connection with analleged money-laundering case.

Charging the Governmentwith protecting the BJP ruledStates, he claimed land wasallotted for newspaper but theland use was converted tocommercial purpose in MadhyaPradesh while in Haryana acommercial organisation wasallotted land. "Government isprotecting the wrong-doings ofits own Chief Ministers" whoface accusations of "moneylaundering, nepotism and cor-ruption," Sharma said.

As Kurien said the notice onthe issue was not permitted,Leader of Opposition GhulamNabi Azad also alleged that theCBI and the ED were"unleashed" against non-BJPChief Ministers. Maintainingthat the "wrong-doings" of BJPChief Ministers were ignored,he said enforcement agencieswere "let loose againstOpposition Chief Ministers."The Chair, however, said thewrong doings of Chief Ministerscan only be discussed in therespective State Assemblies andnot in the Parliament.

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Avociferous Opposition onMonday demanded in the

Lok Sabha an FIR against BJPMP Tarun Vijay for his pur-ported racial remarks, even asthe Government asserted thatthere was no discrimination inthe country on the basis ofcolour, creed and religion.

The house was repeatedlyadjourned on the issue withCongress leader MallikarjunKharge demanding strict actionagainst Vijay as UnionParliamentary Affairs MinisterAnanth Kumar asked the former"not to create a divide". Kumarsaid the BJP leader has alreadyapologised for his mistake.

In his response, UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singhsaid India is a secular countryand there is no discriminationallowed on the basis of colour,creed and religion. "The indi-vidual has already said that hisremarks are indefensible," theHome Minister said quoting

Vijay. He (Tarun Vijay) hasalready apologised, there is noneed to raise any more ques-tions about it, said Rajnath.

This, however, did notsooth frayed tempers in theOpposition bench with theHouse proceedings adjournedthrice — once during theQuestion Hour and twice dur-ing the Zero Hour. Not satisfiedwith the Government response,Congress staged a walk outfrom the house.

Kharge wondered whetherthe people from South Indiawere not Indian citizens. "Iwant to know whether we areIndians or not... Are we not cit-

izens (of India)," Kharge saidduring Zero Hour.

Wanting to know whataction would be taken againstVijay who is "not an ordinaryperson", Kharge said he was aformer Rajya Sabha memberand has also written manybooks on BJP philosophy. Hesaid the BJP leader's remarkcould "divide" the country withStates asserting for their inde-pendence.

"FIR should be lodgedagainst him (Tarun Vijay). Hehas talked about breaking thenation. It is anti-national,"Kharge said.

Kumar said BJP is of theview that "we all are Indians.There is no difference on thebasis of colour. We all are one.Congress should not createdifferences. We are all togeth-er". Kumar went on quotingVijay saying he is an adoptedson of a Tamil woman and in2015 was seen holding a plac-ard showing great Tamil poetThiruvalluvar.

���� 213�/14),

The Opposition in the RajyaSabha on Monday attacked

the Government on theAadhaar scheme, saying it wasbased on unverified data andviolated the Supreme Courtorder that it should not be mademandatory for schemes whichare not linked to subsidies.

The members also raisedconcern over data integrityand privacy issues while attack-ing the Government for usingthe Aadhaar system to"exclude" the beneficiaries fordelivery of subsidies and claim-ing to have made hugeGovernment savings.

Congress leader JairamRamesh attacked theGovernment for violatingSupreme Court orders whichclearly outlined where to useAadhaar. Making it mandato-ry beyond subsidies is in grossviolation of the SC orders, hesaid.

Just before a short durationdebate on Aadhaar started in

the House, IT and Law MinisterRavi Shankar Prasad said theGovernment saved about�50,000 crore LPG subsidy dueto the linking of Aadhaar cardwith Jhan Dhan accounts.

Initiating the debate,Rajeev Chandrashekar (Ind)expressed concern over fakeaadhaar cards, data integrityand privacy issues and alsoexclusion of subsidies by mak-ing it mandatory. He said hewas not against the Aadhaarsystem but the risks and prob-lems need to be addressed bythe Government. TheGovernment should not take a"rigid position".

�����������213�/14),

Tasked to ensure that the135-kilometre Eastern

Peripheral Expressway is put inplace by the scheduled deadlineof July 2018, the NationalHighway Authority of India(NHAI) is facing a severe cashcrunch as the DelhiGovernment is not respondingto “several reminders” todeposit its share of �2,159crore in the Central pool.

The information aboutNHAI's repeated pleas fallingon deaf ears came as part of thelatest status report submitted bythe Monitoring Committeeheaded by Secretary, Ministryof Road Transport andHighways to the Special Benchof the apex court hearingDelhi's pollution matters.

Work on this project, esti-mated at a cost of �7,558 crore,is being given to five contrac-tors, who are simultaneouslyworking on six segments alongthe entire 135-km stretchbetween Kundli-Ghaziabad-Noida-Palwal. But on themoney part, the cost-sharingratio for the project worked outbetween Governments ofDelhi, Haryana and UttarPradesh in the ratio of 50:25:25has yielded in payment of only

�937.92 crore to the NHAI, theproject proponent.

The MonitoringCommittee's status report said,"NHAI has an additional fundrequirement of �2,892 crorefrom the Central Pool."Government of Delhi hasdeposited �653.50 crore only inthe Central Pool as against theirlatest share of �2812.62 crore.Accordingly, �2159.12 croreare pending since long on thepart of Delhi Government fordeposit in the Central Pool.The Government of Delhi hasbeen requested numeroustimes to deposit their pendingshare in the Central Pool."

As regards the other twoStates, Uttar Pradesh has todeposit �508.92 crore against itsshare of �1406.31 crore whileHaryana Government needs toutilise the amount from their

own resources to the tune of�1798.38 crore towards landacquisition. Haryana can claiman amount over and abovethis amount from the CentralPool on furnishing utilisationcertificate, the report by theCommittee said.

The other parallel project,the Western PeripheralExpressway, looks promisingand ready for completion byFebruary 2019, the Committeeinformed. The project manag-er - Haryana State Industrialand InfrastructureDevelopment Corporation(HSIIDC) informed the Courtthat the work on the Kundli-Manesar stretch is expected tocomplete by February 2019while work on the remainingManesar-Palwal section is com-plete and was thrown open forpublic use from July 15, 2016.

���� 213�/14),

The average level of noisepollution generally exceeds

the permissible limits in sevencities of the country, includingMumbai, Delhi, Kolkata,Chennai, EnvironmentMinister Anil Madhav Davesaid on Monday in a writtenreply in Rajya Sabha.

He said the Central PollutionControl Board (CPCB) in asso-ciation with its counterparts inevery State carries out monitor-ing of noise pollution in seven

metropolitan cities — Mumbai,Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai,Bangalore, Lucknow andHyderabad — through a net-work of 70 noise-monitoring sta-tions under National AmbientNoise Monitoring Programme(NANMP).

"The data from these mon-itoring stations indicate thataverage noise pollution levelsgenerally exceed the permissi-ble limits. The data includesnoise due to horns of vehicles,"Dave said.

Replying to another ques-

tion, he said while in fiscal2014-15, 6,161 trees were cut inDelhi, in 2015-16, 4,689 treeswere felled. The number oftrees cut in 2016-17 was 4,759.

The total number of treescut in these three financialyears was 15,609, he said,adding that Section 10 of DelhiPreservation of Trees Act, 1994(DPTA), prescribes that everyperson, who is granted per-mission under this Act to fellor dispose of any tree, will bebound to plant such numberand kind of trees in the area.

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������'����� 213�/14),

Activists fighting for dis-ability rights have pointed

out “gaping loopholes” in thedraft Rules of the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities Act,2016 alleging that the two con-travene each other andexpressed apprehension thatthe sector will continue toremain neglected despite tallpromises by the Governmentfor its empowerment.

For instance, said disabili-ty rights advocate SC Vasistha,while many sections of theAct that are applicable to estab-lishments (both Governmentand private), the Rules renderthem inapplicable to private

establishments. "Why privatesector has been left out," hequestioned.

Vasistha also alleged thatthe draft Rules are silent on

protection from 'misuse' ofSection 3(3) which states that"no person with disability shallbe discriminated on the groundof disability, unless it is shownthat the impugned act or omis-sion is a proportionate meansof achieving a legitimate aim."

Agreeing with Vasistha, DrSatendra Singh, AssociateProfessor of Physiology at GTBHospital, said that this clausegives unfettered power to theimplementing agencies to dis-criminate against persons withdisabilities, on the pretext ofserving a "legitimate aim".

Singh, who is afflicted withpolio knows better. He had toface discrimination on thesame interpretation and it was

only after four-year struggle,the government had to unlock1700 posts for doctors with dis-abilities in the CGHS.

The 3.3 clause leaves "legit-imate aim" open to the subjec-tive interpretation of thebureaucracy, pitched inVasistha adding that it is likeproviding escape route to jus-tify the subjective action of abureaucrat against a different-ly-abled person.

The activists have alsoexpressed unhappiness at theway the power of the ChiefCommissioner of Persons withDisability has been reduced toa recommendatory body, leav-ing the persons of disabilitycompletely unprotected.

Vasistha also felt that theRules if approved in the presentform would lead to inter-sec-toral fight among the disabledpeople given that while num-ber of category of disabled hasincreased from seven to 21, thepercentage of post for reserva-tion has not increased corre-spondingly.

The Civilian WelfareFoundation, an NGO workingfor rights of disabled sportsper-son has rued that there is nomention in the Rules to ensureparticipation of the personswith disabilities in sportingactivities. The activists havesought immediate correction inthe Rules before they arefinalised and notified.

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���� 213�/14),

Lok Sabha on Monday passedthe Bill on amendments to

Motor Vehicle Act with stringentprovisions to ensure safety andtraffic besides a legislation toaccord constitutional status tothe National Commission forBackward Classes. HRDMinister Prakash Javdekar intro-duced Bill to permit 15 IIITsaward degrees and another Billseeking to amend the Right toEducation Act to allow elemen-tary teachers time till 2019 to get

acquire minimum qualificationsas mandated under the 2010 law.

The bill to amend MotorVehicles Act introduced byTransport Minister NitinGadkari received support fromopposition parties and passed byvoice vote. All efforts would bemade to eliminate corruption inthe sector, Gadkari said whilereplying to a discussion on theMotor Vehicle (Amendment)Bill 2016, claiming that "nobogus driving lincenses wouldbe made and there would be notheft of the vehicles once there

is e-governance.""Once we (BJP) complete

five years, we would be able tosave 50 per cent lives lost dueto road accidents. We are work-ing towards it," Gadkari said.

The bill to accord constitu-tional status to the NationalCommission for BackwardClasses was approved by the LokSabha even as the Oppositionexpressed apprehensions that itwould impair the power ofstates. The ConstitutionAmendment bill, which requirestwo-thirds majority for passage,

was approved by the Housewith 360 members voting infavour and two against. Termingit as "historic" bill, Social Justiceand Empowerment MinisterThawar Chand Gehlot said itwould promote the welfare ofthe OBCs. The Minister assuredthe House that the bill, whichhas similar provisions as in caseof SC and ST commissions, willnot curtail the powers of statesin any way.

Javadekar introduced theIIIT (Public-PrivatePartnership) Bill, 2017, which

seeks to declare 15 functionalIIITs, set up under public-pri-vate partnership mode, as insti-tutions of national importance.He also introduced the billseeking to amend the Right toEducation Act to allow ele-mentary teachers time till 2019to get acquire minimum qual-ifications as mandated underthe 2010 law. As per the exist-ing Act which came into effectfrom April 1, 2010, these teach-ers were to acquire minimumqualifications within five yearsby March 31, 2015.

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���� 213�/14),

The Election Commissionwill soon convene an all-

party meet to discuss the issueof reliability of electronic vot-ing machines (EVM). Theassurance came after a delega-tion of 16 opposition parties onMonday urged the EC to revertto the paper ballot system,claiming the faith of the peo-ple in the EVMs has “eroded”.

Earlier, the Commissionalso discussed the unprece-dented election-day violenceand poor voter turnout in thebypoll to the Srinagar LokSabha seat. It is learnt that theCommission had ignored theadvice of the Home Ministrywhich had said atmospherewas not conducive to hold thepolls. Immediately after theannouncement of schedule forthe byelections on March 10,the Home Ministry had sent astrongly-worded letter to theCommission saying there was

no prior consultation with itregarding the bypolls inSrinagar and Anantnag con-stituencies. While polling inSrinagar was held on Sunday,byelection in Anantnag will beheld on Wednesday.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Monday said it willhear on April 13 the pleas chal-lenging the use of EVMs inelections without equippingthe machines with voter veri-fied paper audit trail (VVPAT).A bench headed by ChiefJustice JS Khehar refused togive separate hearing to a pleafiled by former SP lawmakerAtaur Rehman who soughtelections with EVMs equippedwith VVPAT.

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��� "�"�� ������ 213�/14),

Ameeting of expandedNational Democratic

Alliance (NDA) that included33 allies of the BJP, on Mondaypassed a resolution to worktogether to succeed in 2019under the leadership of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

Leaders of 33 BJP allies,including the new friends it haswon over in Goa and North-EastStates, attended the meeting atPravasi Bharatiya Kendra aheadof election to the top constitu-tional posts of the President andVice-President due this year. Themeeting was held under theChairmanship of Modi, saidSenior BJP leader and FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley.

Shiv Sena chief UddhavThackeray (with whom BJPhas not been in the best ofterms), Jammu & KashmirChief Minister MehboobaMufti, Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister Chandrababu Naiduand Former Punjab ChiefMinister and Shrimoni AkaliDal head Prakash Singh Badalattended the meeting.

Seen as a show of strengthafter BJP's major victories in fourStates — Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur— where it installed itsGovernments, the dinner was anexercise to consolidate backingof all its allies in the Presidentialpoll. While President PranabMukherjee would demit hisoffice in July, Vice-PresidentHamid Ansari, elected twice,would retire in August, this year.

The NDA gathering, thesecond such comprehensivemeeting since 2014 electionwin of the BJP-led-alliance,also assessed political scenarioin the country ahead of 2019polls. BJP President Amit Shah

and several Cabinet Ministersattended the meet.

The allies who attended themeet also included UnionMinisters Ramvilas Paswan andUpendra Kushwaha besidesJitan Ram Manjhi from Bihar,Union Minister Anupriya Pateland Om Rajbhar from UP,besides a host of allies fromKerala, Tamil Nadu and otherStates attended the meeting.

These apart, Sajjad Lonefrom Kashmir, RamdasAthavale, Raju Shetty andMahadev Jankar fromMaharashtra, Vijai Sardesai andSudhir Dhavalikar from Goa,PC Thomas and Vellappallyfrom Kerala and Sikkim ChiefMinister Pawan Chamling alsomade their presence in the meet.

Total number of votes inelectoral college for President'selection stand at 10.98 lakh withthe majority mark to be around5.49 lakh votes. (The total valueof MLA votes is 5,49,474 and thetotal MP votes is 5,49,408.) TheNDA is estimated to be runningshort of around 17,000 votes.

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Page 6: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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Political and administrativeuncertainty stares at Tamil

Nadu following the late Sundaynight decision by the ElectionCommission of India to coun-termand the by-election to theRK Nagar Assembly seatscheduled for April 12.

The commission’s decisionto countermand the bypoll wasbased on reports submitted bythe special observers deputedby the commission and detailsfurnished by the Income TaxDepartment on the raids andseizure of money and docu-ments pointing to large scaledistribution of cash to bribe thevoters.

The local media is full ofreports about a documentallegedly leaked from theIncome Tax officials whichstates that an amount of �89crore meant for distribution inthe constituency was routedthrough Chief MinisterEdappadi Palaniswamy andmembers of his Council ofMinisters.

“Though AIADMK(Amma) presidium chairmanKA Sengottaiyan has issued astatement refuting the charges,it is not convincing,” said NKalyanasundaram, politicalcommentator.

The ECI decision to cancelthe by-election has come as amajor setback for the AIADMK(Amma) Government rulingthe State. In a 29-page order itissued on late Sunday night, thecommission stated that thesearch and seizure by theIncome Tax authorities at theresidences of Health Minister

C Vijayabhaskar and others hadresulted in unravelling a hugeand systematic design to dis-tribute money to voters inorder to bribe them to influ-ence their voting behaviour.

The commission has saidin its order that the decision torescind the bypoll was neces-sitated after the findings of var-ious observers deputed by thecommission and the detailsfurnished by the Income TaxDepartment about the kind ofmoney and documents seizedduring the raids.

“The Income Tax authori-ties have also informed thatrecently several complaintswere received indicating thatDr C Vijaya Baskar is the mainperson involved in bribing thevoters in RK Nagar Assemblyconstituency. Some loose sheetswere found with his accountantSrinivasan indicating distribu-tion of �89 crore to a numberof politicians for further dis-tribution among the voters.The premises of Rajendranwere also searched after receiv-ing information from a Centralagency that a huge amount ofcash was brought there in aparticular vehicle for distribu-tion in RK Nagar Constit-uency,” said the ECI order.

Kalyanasundaram said thecurrent situation remindedhim about the chaotic daysimmediately after the death ofAIADMK founder MGRamachandran which ulti-mately led to the imposition ofPresident’s rule in Tamil Nadu.“The Election Commission’sstatement that it could notprevent the flow of moneydespite deploying 61 surveil-lance teams instead of the rou-tine six teams is proof that thelaw and order in Tamil Naduhas broken completely,” hesaid.

While the ECI report is asgood as a chargesheet againstthe AIADMK(Amma), it is byand large silent aboutAIADMK (PTA) and theDMK.

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Amid a complete shutdownin Kashmir valley against

the killing of eight anti-electionprotesters during bypoll for theSrinagar-Budgam Lok Sabhaconstituency, the uncertaintylooms large over the conduct ofpolls in Anantnag scheduled onApril 12 besides possibility ofre-poll for violence-hit pollingstations of Srinagar. OnMonday, the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party candidateand Chief Minister MehboobaMufti’s brother Tasaduq Muftiappealed to the ElectionCommission of India (ECI) topostpone the elections in thebackdrop of the large scaleviolence.

The Chief Electoral Officer(CEO) Shantmanu held adetailed meeting with the rep-resentatives of political partiesfor their feedback on holdingor deferment of Anantnagbypoll. He said that the opin-ion was divided amongst thepolitical parties with rulingPDP seeking postponementwhile the opposition NationalConference-Congress combineadamant to hold the election asper the schedule.

Shatmanu said that he hassubmitted a report to the ECIand final call would be taken inNew Delhi.

Sources said that ChiefSecretary Bhir Raj Sharma hasseparately sent the Govern-ment’s feedback on the groundsituation to the ECI. The Stateadministration, sources said, isnot in favour of holding theelections in the backdrop ofhappenings on April 9.

Earlier, in the day, rulingPDP candidate for AnantnagTasaduq Mufti appealed to the

ECI to defer the polls. “I appealECI to postpone the elections.There is no favourable atmos-phere for the elections,” hesaid at a press conference.“The situation is continuouslychanging and we must makeamendments accordingly,” hesaid.

He however said that hewould contest the polls if theECI decides on continuingwith the poll schedule. Muftisaid the State Government hasalso communicated to the ECIto postpone the elections.

On the unprecedentedboycott in Srinagar Consti-tuency, Mufti conceded thatdemocracy has not functionedproperly in Jammu andKashmir. “You cannot forcepeople to vote or not to vote,”he said.

The NC Working Presidentand former Chief MinisterOmar Abdullah describedMufti’s statement as indict-ment of Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti.“@MehboobaMufti Tassaduq’sstatement is an indictment ofhis sister @MehboobaMufti'’sGovernment & its abject fail-ure. How can the BJP not seethis?” Omar tweeted shortlyafter Tasaduq’s press confer-ence.

He said in case the polls aredeferred, Mehbooba Muftimust resign and Governor’s

rule must be imposed inJammu and Kashmir.

“EC is well within its pow-ers to postpone or counter-mand Anantnag election but ifso @MehboobaMufti mustresign & Governor should takecharge,” Omar said.

Sources said that the CEOdiscussed postponement of elec-tions and re-poll in SrinagarConstituency at various pollingstations. Dozens of EVMsremained unaccounted as theyhave been looted by the anti-election mob, who ruled theroost in most of the poll-boundareas in Budgam district.

Eight youngsters werekilled and scores of otherswere injured in a campaign bythe security forces against theanti-election protesters.

Meanwhile, the Valleyobserved complete shutdownagainst the killings as shops,business establishments,schools and offices remainedclosed while the public trans-port was off the roads.

Following the killings, theJoint Resistance Forum led byseparatist leaders Syed AliGeelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooqand Yasin Malik called for twoday shutdown.

Sources said clashes erupt-ed between youth and securi-ty forces in Natipora area ofSrinagar, south Kashmir’sKulgam and Ganderbal.

����'���� B!�),

Kerala’s Malappuram LokSabha Constituency, where

former Union Minister late EAhamed won in both the elec-tions held since its formationafter delimitation in 2009, isknown as Kerala’s MuslimLeague country and not manyexpect Wednesday’s by-electionto produce any big change.However, the CPI(M)-led LDFand the BJP were confident that'Malappuram has changed' withthe campaigning came to anend on Monday evening.

For the Muslim League,second biggest constituent ofthe Congress-led UDF, the

bypoll is a battle of prestige. Forthe Left, it is an opportunity toprove that its popularity has notwaned due to the failures of itsten-month-old Government.The BJP, which had scoredmerely 5.61 per cent of the totalvotes polled in 2014, wants to‘surprise’ everyone.

“You will see the BJP work-ing wonder this time. TheLeague fortress will crumble.Our vote-share will soar,”claims BJP candidate N Sreepr-akash. “Everybody says theMuslim League is unbeatable inMalappuram. But the truth isthat Malappuram is changing,”Sreeprakash, who was the BJPcandidate here in 2014 also, says.

Not less confident is youngLDF candidate MB Faisal of theCPI(M). He is also banking onthe theory that Malappuram ischanging and the MuslimLeague is ‘no more the bigchoice’ of the voters in theConstituency. He goes furtherto claim that the choice inMalappuram is ‘between secu-larism and communalism,between corrupt UDF andLDF’s good governance.’

But such claims do notworry Muslim League candi-date and former State MinisterPK Kunhalikutty at all. Theconcern of Kunhalikutty, cur-rently MLA from the VengaraAssembly segment falling with-

in Malappuram Constituency isnot victory - he does not haveany doubt about it - but it isabout how immensely he couldincrease the winning margincompared to the 2014 election.

Ahamed, whose deathnecessitated the bypoll, hadwon the seat in 2014 by beat-ing CPI(M)’s PK Sainaba by amargin of 1,94,739 votes and bybagging 51.29 per cent of thetotal polled votes. He himselfhad won the 2009 election bybeating CPI(M)’s TK Hamzaand his winning margin thenwas 1,15,597. In 2009, the BJP’svote-share was a mere 4.61 per-cent but this climbed to 64,705in 2014. But Hamza, who had

scored a surprise win in theManjeri LS seat, which laterbecame Malappuram, in 2004for the Left, believes that sur-prises does happen — like inhis own case — in elections.“Malappuram is set to see arepeat of 2004. Cracks havealready appeared in the MuslimLeague fortress,” he says.

The outcome of the bypolldoes not have any crucial polit-ical significance in the nation-al or State level though State CPI(M) secretary KodiyeriBalakrishnan had at the verybeginning of the campaign saidit would effectively be a reviewof the performance of the LDFGovernment.

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After fixing a record 80 lakhtonnes target for wheat

purchase from farmers andannouncing farm loan waiver,the Yogi Government has nowdecided to purchase potatoesdirectly from the farmers toprevent distress selling. Anorder in this regard was issuedon Monday.

In the first phase, Agricu-lture department will purchaseone lakh tonnes of potatoes ata price of �487 per quintal.Potatoes would be purchasedthrough State agencies likePCF, UP Agro and NAFED.

State BJP general secretary

Vijay Bahadur Pathak said thatthe party had promised topotato farmers that it wouldprovide relief to them.

“This decision is an exten-sion of that announcement.This time there is bumperpotato crop forcing farmers tosell their produce for peanuts.To ensure that farmers got agood remunerative price fortheir produce, the Governmenthas decided to purchase pota-toes directly from them. TheBJP Government is a pro-farmer Government and willdo whatever is required forthem,” Pathak stressed.

The BJP leader alleged thatthe previous Samajwadi Party

Government did nothing forpotato growers leading to dis-tress sale by them.

The State Government hasalready announced purchase of80 lakh tonnes of wheat fromfarmers this season with 40lakh tonnes to be procured inthe first phase.

Similarly, in the Farm LoanWaiver Scheme, around 83lakh farmers would be bene-fited who had taken loans up to�1 lakh. The Government willspend over �36,000 crore forthe waiver.

Pathak said that the UPGovernment is strengtheningthe mandis and ensuring aquick transparent system.

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Prominent Gandhians haveexpressed concern over the

present overall situation in Indiaand said only the Gandhian ide-ology and philosophy couldeffectively counter the hatred,intolerance and violence. Theywere huddled here on Mondayto mark the beginning of thecentenary of Gandhi’sChamparan Satyagraha.

Setting the tone of thethree-hour long discussion atthe newly constructed GyanBhavan in Patna, ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar saidthe Gandhians should work outan agenda for strengthening thesecular and social fabric of thenation and to remove the fearand hatred created in the soci-ety. “In such a vitiated atmos-phere only the Gandhian val-ues and thoughts can bring

positive change,” he said andadded that those having nofaith in Gandhi and his ide-ologies were chanting name ofGandhi because his name sells.The CM also vowed to beginmovement against social evilslike child marriage and dowryafter a successful campaignagainst liquor. F

Former West BengalGovernor and Mahtma’s grand-son Gopal Krishna Gandhisaid Bihar had been showinglight in the darkness but nowthere was darkness in the lightand hoped that once againBihar would show the light. Hewas highly critical of theforcible compulsion of Aadhaarnumber and warned that itmight turn a dangerousweapon and could be mis-used. He was equally critical ofthe acquisition of land forindustrial houses by bringing

ordinances. “A real Gandhianis one who follows his ideaswithout taking his name,” hesaid.

Retired judge Chandrash-ekhar Dharmidhikari in ascathing attack on the CentralGovernment said a broomcould clean the garbage on thestreets but what about the filthin the hearts. “Today those peo-ple enjoy more respect whobreak law,” he said and askedthe people not to make Gandhia God and let him remain ahuman being.

Others who also spokeincluded Medha Patekar,Sachchidanand Sinha, PrernaDesai and Subba Rao. BiharDeputy CM Tejashwi PrasadYadav and Education MinistryAshok Chaudhary, GandhiShanti Pratishthan, New Delhipresident Kumar Prashant con-ducted the session.

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Enthused with the landslide victory in Uttar PradeshAssembly elections, the BJP has drawn up an elaborate pro-

gramme to celebrate the centenary birth anniversary of party’sideologue Deen Dayal Upadhaya in a big way.

The first programme would span over a fortnight fromMay 10 to 25 in which around 20,000 dedicated workers wouldcamp in 13,000 sectors in the State to highlight the ideologyof the party. They will also popularise the programmes of theCentral and State Governments.The party has also constitut-ed an eleven-member Deen Dayal Upadhaya Janam ShatabdiCommittee which includes Deputy CM Keshav PrasadMaurya and Ministers Rampati Shastri and Sunil Bansal.

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No. A-42018/30/2016-Estt-I

Government of IndiaMinistry of Social Justice & Empowerment(Department of Social Justice & Empowerment)

Shastri Bawan, New Delhi- 110001

e-Procurement Tender NoticeOnline e-Tender is invited under Two-Bid system

from eligible bidders for the selection of suitable agencyfor outsourcing of services of Multi Tasking Staff inthe Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.The tender document along with terms and conditionsetc. is available on the web-site www.socialjustice.nic.inand http://eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app. However, itis mandatory to apply the tender through e-tender-ing portal http://eporcure.gov.in/eprocure/app for bid-ding prospective.

The last date for submission of bid through theaforesaid website is on 03.04.2017 (15.00 Hrs.).Theundersigned reserves the right to accept or reject thetenders without assigning any reason.

-Sd/-davy 38101/11/0004/1718 Under Secretary(Admn)

Page 7: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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Four unidentified infiltra-tors were killed in north

Kashmir’s Keran sector as theArmy foiled first infiltration bidfrom across the Line of Control(LoC) after a prolonged winterpause. The slain infiltrators aresuspected to be Pakistaninationals who carried auto-matic weapons to augmentmilitants operating in theValley.

Defence sources said theinfiltrators were killed inTilapathra forest in Dudniyalarea of Keran sector in northKashmir’s Kupwara district,around 150 kilometres fromSrinagar. They said the groupof Ultras was sneaking into thisside of LoC during the nighthours when their movementwas noticed by the troops

guarding the fence that dividestwo parts of Kashmir Kashmir.

“The group was challengedby the soldiers triggering a gun-fight that continued through-out the night. The gun-battleended Monday morning withthe killing of four infiltrators,”an army officer said.

The security forceslaunched a massive combingoperation in the area to find outif there were some survivinginfiltrators in the area.

The infiltration bid hadminimised in the northKashmir region, home to a vaststretch along the LoC inBandipora, Kupwara andBaramulla districts during theharsh winter season. The LoCarea is mostly forested and thetraditional passes remainblocked in winter due to accu-mulation of snow.

The militants operating inKashmir are desperately look-ing for replenishment of theirarsenal as they face dearth ofweapons and logistics. Themilitants have increased attackson security forces with an aimto snatch rifles.

However, the Army saysthat the counter-infiltrationgrind has been robust to thwartthe infiltration bids. ArmyCommander Lt Gen D Anbuand commander of Srinagarbased XV corps have frequentlyvisited the forward areas to takestock of the situation.

Estimates say that around112 infiltrators managed tosneak into Kashmir duringlast year during the bids dou-ble in number. Though most ofthe bids were foiled, the yearrecorded the highest number ofinfiltrations since 2012.

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Congress legislator fromAhmedabad Gyasuddin

Shaikh on Monday sought dec-laration of cow a national ani-mal and a national law banningcow slaughter.

“A law banning cow slaugh-ter was brought in by Chiman-bhai Patel-led Congress Govern-ment in the State and imple-mented strictly. However, theBJP in last 22 years of its rule hasfailed to bring in an effective lawbanning cow slaughter. It hasonly brought about two amend-ments and failed to effectivelyimplement the law,” Shaikh saidin his Press statement.

The statement by Shaikhcomes soon after the ruling BJPGovernment in Gujarat

amended the Gujarat AnimalPreservation Act on March 31,that makes cow slaughter pun-ishable with life imprisonment.The Bill, passed in theAssembly without the pres-ence of Opposition, also makescow slaughter, transportation ofcow a non-bailable offence.

He hit out at the BJP, stat-ing that it was merely trying topolarise the electorate in viewof forthcoming Assembly pollsin the State. “I support the banon cow slaughter and mydemand is that the ban shouldbe extended nationally… Withthe BJP Government at theCentre and many States, who isstopping the BJP from declar-ing cow as national animal andbringing in a stricter law againstcow slaughter?” Shaikh said.

He also called for initiatingstrict action against what he calls‘anti-social’ elements involvedwith smuggling of cows. “Thishas caused tremendous eco-nomic loss to several poor com-munities as cowherds… Thepolice too need to be careful asat times it announces of havingcaught cow meat without wait-ing for FSL report. This alsohurts sentiments of majoritycommunity,” he added.

Shaikh claimed that he hadalready issued a public appealto Muslim community to desistfrom getting involved withcow slaughter or its consump-tion. “I have been rearing fourcows and serving them for lasteight years. Cow is a pious ani-mal and should be above pol-itics,” he added.

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Satyam Babu, who spenteight years in prison, met

the Krishna District Collectoron Monday and sought succourfor his poor family. SatyamBabu was acquitted by theHyderabad High Court inAyesha Meera rape and murdercase. He met the official alongwith the representatives ofDalit organisation to seekGovernment assistance. Hedetailed how his family had tosuffer immensely while he wasimprisoned.

District Collector AhmadBabu directed the officials toallot a house to the family andprovide a job on contract basisto Satyam’s brother. “We willprovide all the possible assis-tance under the Government

rules,” he assured Satyam Babu.Meanwhile, the State

Government is consideringreopening of the Ayesha Meeracase in which the High Courthas passed stringent remarksagainst the State police forfalsely implicating a Dalit youthwhile the real culprits remainedat large. A decision in thisregard is expected soon afterState police chief K SambasivaRao returns from Israel. Afterhis return, the Chief MinisterN Chandrababu Naidu wasexpected to take a decision inconsultation with the AdvocateGeneral.

Already the Dalit organi-sations along with otheractivists are holding protestdemonstrations demanding

action in the matter and arrestof the real culprits. The studentcommunity has also taken tothe street on the issue.

Meanwhile, State MinisterD Umamaheshwar Rao, whohails from Vijayawada, saidthat his party always held theview that Satyam Babu wasinnocent. “The then CongressGovernment had tried to shieldthe politically connected cul-prits and our party had foughtagainst it,” said UmamaheshwarRao, assuring that theGovernment will take all thepossible measures to bring theculprits to the book.

“Now that the High Courthas given its verdict, it is theresponsibility of the Govern-ment to take action,” he said.

This was in sharp contrastto the stand taken by theVijaywada Police Commissi-oner Gutam Sawang that thepolice might file an appealagainst the High Court verdictacquitting Satyam Babu.

Other police officials said that they are still studyingthe judgment and will take a decision on the basis of legal advice.

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The Kerala Police havearrested two more opera-

tives of Base Movement, con-sidered as an Al Qaeda-inspired outfit, in connectionwith the low-intensity explo-sion that took place at the dis-trict collectorate complex inMalappuram on November 1last.

N Abu Backer, said to bethe chief of the BaseMovement, and his aide AAbdu Rahman were taken intocustody from their rentedhouse in Madurai, Tamil Naduon Sunday evening and werebrought to Malappuram earlyMonday morning, according tothe police. They were arrestedon the basis of informationextracted by the NIA duringthe interrogation of five mem-bers of the outfit it haddetained earlier in connectionwith the blasts at Malappuramand Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.It is said that it was Abu Backerand Rahman who had formed

the Base Movement in associ-ation with Abbas Ali, who wasnabbed earlier by the NIA.

A low-intensity improvisedexplosive device fitted to therear of a car parked at the dis-trict collectorate compound inMalappuram had exploded onNovember 1 last. Nobody wasinjured in the explosion.

The agencies had learnedthat the same group was behindthe blasts that had occurred in2016 at Malappuram onNovember 1, Chittoor on April7 and Mysore on August 1.

According to the police,Abu Backer had been involvedin several disruptive opera-tions in Madurai and Theni inTN. A pamphlet, titled ‘In theName of Allah / The BaseMovement,’ recovered fromthe Malappuram blast site hadreferences to alleged humanrights violations including thekilling of Mohammad Akhlaqover the beef controversy inDadri. The pamphlet also con-tained harsh criticisms againstthe Indian State and courts.

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Questioning the contents oftalks between Narendra

Modi and Mamata Banerjee theLeft Front and Congress onMonday wondered whetherTeesta would be used to waterdown investigation into theNarada and Sharada scams.

While the Trinamool lead-ers said during her talks withthe Prime Minister, the Chief

Minister put forth a number ofissues including her demand of�10,000 crore for the State.

CPI(M)’s Md Salim saidthere was an attempt to useTeesta water to dilute theNarada probe.

“The meeting gives rise toquestions whether attempt ismade to barter away Teestawater with Narada probe,”Salim an MP from Raiganj said.

Congress MP and its

Bengal unit president AdhirChowdhury echoed his viewssaying “It is TrinamoolCongress’ ploy to delay theTeesta treaty” so that the Centrecan be pressurised to dilute theinvestigation process intoNarada and chit fund scams.

However TrinamoolCongress MP Sukhendush-ekhar Roy wondered, whetherthese leaders were presentwhen Mamata spoke to the

Prime Minister, or else howcould they come to know aboutthe contents of the meeting.

Mamata Banerjee had beenconstantly resisting the signingof Teesta-water-sharing pactwith Bangladesh, a key diplo-matic issue between the twofriendly nations and an inter-nal political issue for visitingBangla Prime Minister SheikhHasina.

A senior BJP leader in

Bengal said the people of theState should rest assured of thePrime Minister’s strong intentto fight out corruption.

“Once he has taken it up,he will take it to its logical con-clusion,” he said adding Modi-Mamata talks will have nobearing in CBI action inNarada or Sharada cases.

Echoing party MP KailashVijaybargiya he said, “Soonhalf of Mamata Banerjee’s

Cabinet will be in jail for theirinvolvement in the variousscams.”

After its landslide victoryin Uttar Pradesh elections, theBJP in Bengal has seen atremendous surge which isseen by the swelling numbersin the saffron rallies includingthe ones being organised by theRSS and the Hindu JagaranManch during RamnavamiDay.

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The failure of monsoon andsevere drought for three

consecutive years has resultedin Karnataka rationing waterfor drinking and irrigationpurposes. Having just 4 tmc ofwater left in the Cauvery basinreservoirs, the Governmenthas taken a very harsh measureof water rationing which willcreate hardship to the peoplehere. The IT city of Bengaluruhas to bear the brunt of thewater rationing.

Speaking to media inBengaluru on Monday,Karnataka Water ResourcesMinister MB Patil said thatwith optimum utilisation andjudicious use of water, alongwith proper planning and coor-dination, the Department willensure that water is supplied toall. He also said that if wateris rationed, it will be availabiletill June.

The Minister said “Wehave severe drought inKarnataka and this is for the third consecutive year. Ourpriority is that the cities or the multi village schemes ortowns where we are supplyingwater from our dam is notaffected.”

Appealing to farmers tostop using pumpsets, headvised them to use water

judiciously as the water levelsin almost all the reservoirs isjust enough to meet the drink-ing needs.

However, he said that withoptimum utilisation of wateralong with proper planning andcoordination, the departmentwill ensure that water is sup-plied to all.

According to the data,there is a total of 7.748 tmc inCauvery reservoirs - KrishnaRaja Sagar, Kabini, Harangiand Hemavathi.

The Minister said com-bining Krishna Raja Sagar andKabini, water availability is 4.7tmc, and the water requirementof Bengaluru city is 800 cusecsper day.

“For the next 60 days, wehave to give 800 cusecs per day.BWSSB requires 6,000 cusecs,but we have calculated trans-mission losses and in betweenmulti village schemes. Hencefor giving 800 cusecs for 60days upto June 15, we require4.1 to 4.5 tmc and what we haveis 4.7 tmc. So we can manageuntil then,” he said.

On rationing of water, hesaid the Water ResourcesDepartment would coordinatewith all the departments anddistrict administration and asa team effort they will try toensure that there is efficient useof water.

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Mumbai has a potential ofgenerating of 1,720 MW

of solar energy across rooftopson residences, educational insti-tutions, commercial buildings,Government buildings andindustry, according to a studyreport prepared by the NationalCentre for PhotovoltaicResearch and Education(NCPRE) at IIT Bombay andfour other organisations.

The five organisations —NCPRE, the Centre for UrbanScience and Engineering (C-USE) at IIT Bombay, theObserver Research Foundation(ORF), Bridge to India andInstitute of Electric andElectronic Engineers (IEEE)Bombay section — have comeup with this assessment intheir report on “Estimatingthe Rooftop Solar Potential ofGreater Mumbai".

Secretary of the Ministry ofNew and Renewable Energy

(MNRE) Rajeev Kapoorreleased the report at the IIT-Bombay on Monday.

In an effort to assess thesolar rooftop potential of GreaterMumbai, and to simultaneous-ly develop a methodology thatcould be used anywhere in thecountry, the five organisationshad come together.

The team employed a vari-ety of inputs and techniques,including GIS mapping of allstructures in Mumbai, ward-by-ward division, existing landuse (ELU) maps of BMC and3D mapping to discount areascovered by shadowing. Thecomputer-based analysis wassupported and verified by sitevisits to some locations (con-ducted by student volunteers),and discounting of 'weak' struc-tures which would not supportsolar panels.

During its study, the teamused only open-source soft-ware. The methodology adopt-ed by the study team is applic-

able to all urban places in Indianand can provide a framework forassessing the locations requiredfor the proposed 40 GW rooftoptarget. "Given the detailedmethodology presented in thereport, a similar study could bereplicated in urban and semi-urban areas across the country,an IIT spokesperson said.

The 40 GW solar powergeneration forms a part of theNational Solar Mission of theGovernment of India envisagesan ambitious target of 100 GWof solar energy to be installedin the country by 2022. Thiswould not only provide a greenand clean source of energy forthe country and provide accessto electricity in remote areas butalso enable India to meet itscommitments made at COP-21in Paris.

In this study, the entire workwas done by 120 students from12 engineering colleges underthe mentorship of research schol-ars from IIT-Bombay.

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Lucknow: The Bahujan SamajParty (BSP) would stagenationwide protest on Tuesday,to observe first `Black Day'alleging tampering ofElectronic Voting Machines(EVM) during the recent con-cluded Assembly elections both

in Uttar Pradesh andUttarakhand. The protest willbe organised at every districthead-quarter on Tuesday butParty is concentration to cele-brate Bhim Rao Ambedkarbirth anniversary on comingFriday in a big way. PNS

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Page 8: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

The controversy raisedby Bahujan SamajParty leader Mayawatiand Delhi ChiefMinister Ar vind

Kejriwal about the credibility ofelectronic voting machines(EVMs) following the massivevictory of the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) in the recently heldUttar Pradesh Assembly electionhas once again raised the ques-tion as to whether thesemachines are tamper-proof.These doubts and accusationsare not new. They had beenraised over the last decade bymany political parties includingthe BJP, but some significantdevelopments in recent yearshave weakened the argumentsagainst the deployment of thesevoting machines.

Among them are: Successfuldeployment of these machines inseveral national elections duringthis period without any seriouschallenge to their efficacy andcredibility; the remarkable end tobooth-capturing after thesemachines were introduced; judi-cial pronouncements that do notsupport a return to paper ballots,but encourage introduction ofVoter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail(VVPAT) to put an end to all con-troversies; and the ElectionCommission of India’s (ECI)determined efforts to introducethe paper trail in national elec-tions at the earliest.

But, before we address thesubstantive issues vis-à-vis votingmachines, we also need to askwhy there was no ruckus aboutdeployment of voting machinesafter the election to the DelhiAssembly in February 2015. Inthat election, Kejriwal’s AamAadmi Party won a mind-bog-gling 67 of the 70 seats in theAssembly. The BJP bagged theremaining three. Kejriwal’s partysecured 54.34 per cent of thevotes, but 95.71 per cent of theseats, whereas the BJP secured32.19 per cent of the votes but justfour per cent of the seats. Theseresults showed a complete dis-junction between vote-share andseat-share and would surely havemerited a protest, because onerarely sees such a one-sided elec-tion. But, strangely, there were noDoubting Thomases at that time!Therefore, those who feel noth-ing was amiss in Delhi in 2015have a rather weak case vis-à-visUttar Pradesh 2017.

The ECI thought of a moreefficient method of voting viaEVMs way back in the 1980sbecause of rampant booth-cap-

turing, violence and destructionof ballot papers etc in elections.The commission first thought ofthis revolutionary idea when SLShakdhar was the Chief ElectionCommissioner and KGanesan,the Secretary of the ECI. Theydecided to take the risk of intro-ducing the machines on anexperimental basis, even thoughthe election law did not providefor the use of machines to recordvotes. Some polling booths inParur Assembly constituencyin Kerala were chosen for theexperiment in 1982.

This legal infirmity was cor-rected with an amendment tothe Representation of the PeopleAct, 1951, in March 1989. Priorto this amendment, the electionlaw only spoke of ballot papers.Consequent to this amendment,Section 61A incorporated theidea of a voting machine andexplained that “voting machine”means any machine or appara-tus, whether operated electron-ically or otherwise, used forgiving or recording of votes; andany reference to a ballot box orballot paper in this Act or therules made there under shall,

save as otherwise provided, beconstrued as including a refer-ence to such voting machinewherever such voting machine isused at any election.

Following controversies andaccusations that EVMs could bemanipulated, the electionCommission agreed in principlein 2010 to introduce the VoterVerifiable Paper Audit Trail(VVPAT). This results in thegeneration of a paper slip bearingthe name and symbol of the can-didate for whom the vote is cast,apart from the recording of thevote in the control unit in themachine. This system ensuresgreater transparency in that itenables the voter to see that hisor her vote has gone to the can-didate of his or her choice.

It also provides an alternatesystem to count the votes polled,in case of a dispute. In otherwords, one need not rely whollyon the numbers dished out by thecontrol unit in the machine. Aprinter is attached to the ballot-ing unit and kept in the votingcompartment. It is visible to thevoter for seven seconds througha transparent window. The

Election Commission usedVVPAT for the first time in a by-election in Nagaland in 2013.

The use of EVMs has beenchallenged before many HighCourts and even before theSupreme Court in recent years.But the judiciary is not con-vinced that the machines can bemanipulated. On the other hand,many High Courts have giventhe EVMs the thumbs-up. TheECI has summed up some of thejudiciary observations on itswebsite. For example, theKarnataka High Court has saidthis invention was undoubted-ly “a great achievement... and anational pride”. The MadrasHigh Court ruled out any pos-sibility of tampering of themachines. It said the EVMscannot be compared to person-al computers. The program-ming of computers had no bear-ing with the EVMs. The DelhiHigh Court asked the ECI toconsult all parties and developa VVPAT system that would puta final end to all doubt.

The Supreme Court has alsodirected ECI to introduceVVPAT in phases and asked theGovernment to provide fundsfor the purpose. The commis-sion is keen to introduce thepaper trail in all constituenciesduring the next Lok Sabha elec-tion in 2019. It has asked theGovernment to allocate �3,174crore for the purpose. The com-mission told the Supreme Courtrecently that it could get therequired number of VVPATunits manufactured in 30months from the date of sanc-tion of funds.

While the ECI has reaf-firmed its complete faith in the“infallibility” of the EVMs, it hasalso initiated steps to introducethe paper trail as directed by theapex court. In the last round ofelections to five State Assembliesin February-March 2017, theECI deployed 52,000 VVPATs.In Goa, for instance, it deployedthe paper trail in all the 40 StateAssembly constituencies.

Given these firm judicial pro-nouncements and the movetowards full deployment of VVPAT— which will ensure that themachine is credible — the argu-ments against EVMs must end. Thepaper trail will bring in much need-ed transparency and also offer afall-back in case of disputes. Let usnot go back to the era of paper bal-lots and booth-capturing!

(The writer is Chairman,Prasar Bharati. Views expressedhere are personal)$

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Sir — This refers to the article,“Court judgment that’s whimsi-cal, impractical” (April 10) byBalbir Punj. We must welcomethe Supreme Court’s decision toban the sale of spirits from allvends, bars and hotels situatedwithin 500 metres of a NationalHighway. The argument thatthe Government will lose a goodsum of tax revenues does nothold water as Governmentexpenditure, to deal with alco-hol-infused accidents and high-way centric crimes, far out-weighs the excise on liquorduties. Judicial over-reach isone thing. And to criticise ajudgement as “whimsical” and“impractical” is quite the other.We must not mix it up.

Sujit DeKolkata

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Sir — This refers to the report,“CPM justifies assault on griev-ing mom” (April 8). Though anumber of heinous crimes andmassive agitations took place inKerala ever since theCommunist Party of India(Marxist), led by Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan came to powerlast year, the Government couldnot solve even the sensationalcases or appease the affectedpeople by adopting a justifiedrole. The ruthless act of thepolice against Mahija, the moth-er of the deceased engineeringstudent, has drawn flak fromevery quarter.

Moreover, confrontationbetween the supporters of theCPI(M) and BJP/UnitedDemocratic Front has become aregular feature in the State andthe police are either lethargic ordiscriminatory in their action.The main cause for the turmoilis the unfair and arrogant atti-tude of the Vijayan, despite a dif-fering stance of many seniorleaders in his own party. It seemsthat Vijayan is just concernedabout his position and authori-ty. The BJP is right is asking himto give up the Home portfolio.

TT Sakaria Delhi

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Sir — Chief Justice of India JSKehar’s opinion about makingpolitical parties accountable forpoll promises is welcome. Sincepolitical parties make gimmickassurances for votes, their elec-

tion manifestoes must be givena legal status. The ElectionCommission of India must beempowered with the power tode-recognise parties who goagainst the aspects as men-tioned in their manifestoes.Also, there must be a total banon freebies promised at publicexpense in poll manifestoes.

SC Agrawal Delhi

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Sir — VIP culture in our coun-try has reached an alarming posi-tion. It is a bane for our country.The lifting of ban on Shiv SenaMP, Ravindra Gaikwad, will set awrong precedent. Already, wehave lost faith in our laws as theybend heavily on the rich andbecome more strict for the poorand the marginalised. The liftingof flight ban in Gaikwad is a clearexpression of the VIP arroganceat its peak. At the very least, theSupreme Court should have takencognizance of the incident whereGaikwad turned violent on an AirIndia staff.

NR RamachandranChennai

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Page 9: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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Healthy competition’ isthe magic word that allof us look for in all

walks of life — be it in publicservice or private production.No doubt, devoid of healthycompetition, we cannot beassured of quality and trans-parency in any enterprise.

That clearly calls for bench-marking ‘quality’ and ‘trans-parency’ along with ‘competi-tion’. Of late, it has been a trend,that whenever the issue of qual-ity education comes up for dis-cussion, one tends to drive thedialogue towards Governmentversus private schools. In fact,this has become the norm.

This is nothing but dodgingthe issue. The question is not, andneither should it be, Governmentversus private schools. It is a ques-tion about quality of educationand ensuring its continuous eval-uation which, of course, must betransparent. Interaction must befocused on the policy of evalua-

tion and as a rule it should applyon all schools, uniformly.

Yardstick must be the samefor all Government schools, pri-vate budget schools and high-endpublic schools. But it is sheer fail-ure of an interaction that conve-niently shifts the focus on the‘Government vs private schools’debate. In fact, even the subjectof ‘transparent uniform evalua-tion’ doesn’t make up for theminutes of the meetings.

Now, the question is: Do wehave any rationale for this fixa-tion? What does it mean whenwe say that we want betterGovernment school education,without having a thought forquality and competition? Whycan’t we, for a change, try and getGovernment schools on equalfooting in this fight with those ofprivate schools? Why can’t wemake the Government schoolspull up their socks?

Ensuring that every child,below the age of 14, gets free

and compulsory education, is anobligation for the Governmentunder the Right to EducationAct. However, the term ‘free’ ispractically an eyewash. After all,someone (the taxpayers) is pay-ing for the same.

But despite being free forothers, the option (or compul-sion) to enroll children inGovernment schools, for pri-mary education, is on thewane. And, if at all, enrollmentshave increased, attendance isabysmally low.

On the contrary, privateschools (without giving any free-bies) attract parents in drove.Now, there are people, whoblame private schools for the fail-ure of Government schools. Butthere is no running away fromthe fact that migration towardsprivate schools is due to the lackof quality education inGovernment schools.

For Government schools,to perform better, it is imperative

to evaluate them on the samebenchmark, and by the sameyardstick as private schools.

This calls for an independentbody which capable of evaluat-ing Government as well as pri-vate schools, by applying sameuniform policy for each of theschool so that performance,quality and learning outcomesare evaluated equally.

But scenario, as existstoday, show a tilt towards theGovernment schools. Rather,Government schools workbeyond scrutiny. If at all thereis some evaluation, it is theGovernment itself that controlsthe schools. It acts as the reg-ulator, financier and providerof education.

Given the facts, how can oneexpect impartiality in an other-wise heavily competitive sectorlike education? Say, for instance,if we talk about the TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(Trai), one knows that it is not a

market player in itself. It is just amonitoring body. So, you canexpect transparency from Trai.

However, in the educationsector, it is the Government allthe way. The schools, teachers,buildings, power to make leg-islations, funding and thepower to investigate irregular-ities; everything is governed bythe Government. In this case,can we expect any fairnessand impartiality when there iscompetition between publicand private schools?

The Government, at anycost, would be lenient towards itsown baby — Governmentschools. Any strictness it wantsto be implemented, will be on theprivate schools. And that explainsthe existence of a number of per-missions and licenses to openand run a private school.

My question is whether theGovernment itself goes by thesame rules? The answer is no. Tostart with, it opens schools, takes

licenses and performs the formal-ity of registration itself. But, fora private school, one has to meetseveral conditions like the prereq-uisite number of teachers, build-ing area stipulations, etc.

In this scenario, the onlyway to improve the standard ofGovernment schools is a par-adigm shift to open competi-tion that will do well even forprivate schools. What is need-ed today is a level-playing Acton part of the Government.

Transparency in the systemand equal rights to be in thebusiness will make small bud-get schools shoulder more bur-den of education and that tooquite efficiently. But it alldepends on an independentuniform evaluation policy thatwe need so earnestly.

(The writer is a research fel-low at Dr Syama PrasadMookerjee ResearchFoundation, and editor of TheNationalist Online)

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Indian farmers are in distress.Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath’s �36,359 crorefarm loan-waiver is the beginningof a new thought process. It can

neither be dismissed as a mere scoringof political brownie point nor bad eco-nomics, as many bankers and critics aresaying. It is the beginning of a newdebate to put the farm sector at the cen-tre of the new Indian economy. Theloan-waiver is likely to cause a rethinkon the World Bank-InternationalMonetary Fund slur on farm subsidy.

The so-called 1991 economicreform and the 1995 World TradeOrganisation’s (WTO) rules of theagreement on agriculture, targetedending farm subsidies. It caused enor-mous misery for the farm sector andabated innumerable suicides. TheNational Crime Records Bureau says256,913 farmers committee suicidebetween 1995 and 2011.

The BJP’s Uttar Pradesh election‘sankalp patra’ (manifesto) can possi-bly re-orient the economy and the badword ‘subsidy’ has to be integrated intothe economic theory for the growth ofthe farm sector, rural sector, elimina-tion of poverty and what is often tout-ed as “inclusive growth”.

However, the distress of the ruraland farm sector is not restricted to UttarPradesh. It is obvious from MaharashtraChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’sstatement that he is studying the UttarPradesh model to waive off �30,000crore loans for Maharashtra farmers.

Even the newly installed CongressGovernment in Punjab is trying toemulate the Uttar Pradesh model.Congress vice president Rahul Gandhimade a remarkable statement. He twit-ted, “A partial relief for Uttar Pradesh

farmers, but a step in the right direc-tion. Congress has always supportedloan-waivers for farmers in distress”.Does that show a political consensus?Is it a repentance for 1991Manmohanomics?

The recent agitation by Tamil Nadufarmers only stress the fact that distressis widespread. In an order on April 4, theday Adityanath announced his waiver,the Madras High Court directed theTamil Nadu Government to expand itsfarm loan-waiver scheme to includefarmers who own more than five acresof land. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana andother States may follow the suit.

At the human level, non-sustain-ability of the current agricultural sys-tem was symbolised in the suicide byLee Kyung-hae, a Korean farmer,who took his life at the barricades ofthe peoples protest against the fifthministerial meeting at WTO head-quarters in Geneva on September 10,2003. As he stabbed himself, he car-ried a banner stating, “WTO killsfarmers.” Lee’s suicide was symbolic ofthe suicides of thousands of farmers.

The decision of the Uttar PradeshGovernment will give relief to 94 lakhfarmers owing upto one lakh rupeeseach to banks. It would also benefitseven lakh farmers who had defaultedin repaying. This amounts to �5,630crore. Many of these farmers were beingharassed by the banks. There are about2.15 crore small farmers with holdingsof less than two hectares in the State,according to Uttar Pradesh MinisterSiddharth Nath Singh.

As much as 67 per cent of India’sfarmland is held by marginal farmers,with holdings below one hectare, againstless than one per cent in large holdingsof 10 hectares and above, the latest agri-

culture census shows. The average sizeof the holding has been estimated as 1.15hectare. There is a steady declining trendas the size of these holdings denotes var-ious agriculture censuses since 1970-71.

There is a financial fall-out too. Thewaiver is to be funded by the StateGovernment, without a direct central aid.The loan waiver will increase the debt togross domestic product (GDP) ratio forUttar Pradesh by nearly three percent-age points, taking it to about six percentof the State GDP. Officially, Uttar Pradeshis stated to be bankrupt, though its rev-enue is around �3.40 lakh crore. Wouldthat lead to undesirable higher taxation?

This is likely to happen to manyStates, which are reeling from succes-sive droughts and similar loan-waiverswill lead to State fiscal deficits going outof whack. The overall fiscal deficit ofthe Centre plus the States may increaseto about three lakh crore rupees.

The Uttar Pradesh Governmentsays that it might launch a farm waiv-er bond for such re-financing. Thebonds need guarantee. The Centre ulti-mately may have to be the guarantor.

The banks apprehend that suchwaivers might see a spurt in their non-performing assets as even those, whohave been making regular repayments,would stop paying their dues, hopingfor another waiver. In Uttar Pradesh,banks have an exposure of �86,241crore to small farmers with average loanof �1.34 lakh each. It also entails enor-mous clerical job and add to the costof the banks.

So, despite previous history ofloan-waivers, by many Governments inthe past, even at the Centre, thisshould not become the pattern.

The nation has to start rethinking.From the point of view of farmers, they

are the worst sufferer. Farm input costshave gone up, but not the prices. It is adouble-edged political sword. If prices ofcrops are increased, it has cascading effecton the economy. As costs rise, credit driesup. Farm debts goes out of control.Finally, it leads to political upheaval.

The Narendra Modi Governmentwants a farm-centric economy. TheNITI Ayog says till 2022, the promisedrise in income of farmers may not hap-pen. But it cannot be delayed too.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasto initiate a discussion on looking at thefarm economy in a new manner.Should loans be replaced by some othermechanism? Should that be calledsubsidy or subsistence? The directbenefit transfer has an administrativecost. Subsidies, despite problems, ben-efit many others. It is a complex issueand needs thorough discussion.

Indian farmers, particularly thosewho are into cash crops, have complicat-ed problems. The corporate and multi-national corporation’s ingress into thefarm sector has aggravated it.

A long-term solution to the farmers’financing and marketing is needed.Across political spectrum, this is the con-sensus. Modi has this advantage. If he caninitiate a process of discussion inParliament and in the society, a possiblepath may be found out.

The farmers need support and thesociety has to evolve a sustainablemethod. It should keep prices and wagesin check and also spur economic growth.Benevolent farm policy is accepted as thebest way to spur demand and industri-al growth. Uttar Pradesh has made abeginning. India has to make the moveto turn the golden leaf, make or breakpolicies, churn the world and yes, WTO.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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�� � 213�/14),

Country’s largest e-com-merce company Flipkart

on Monday announced it hasraised $1.4 billion fromTencent Holdings, MicrosoftCorp and eBay Inc amid spec-ulation that the online mar-ketplace is in talks to take oversmaller rival Snapdeal.

The biggest-ever fund rais-ing by an Indian Internet firmvalues Flipkart at $11.6 billion,the company said in a state-ment on Monday. The valua-tion was a decline fromFlipkart’s $15 billion reportedworth in 2015.

Prior to the latest round offunding, it had raised morethan $3 billion, mostly frominternational investors.

EBay will invest $500 mil-lion in Flipkart as the twofirms will merge their opera-tions in the country. As part ofthe deal, Flipkart will own andoperate eBay’s business inIndia when the deal closeslater this year.

Besides giving Flipkartcapital to fight competitionfrom US Internet giantAmazon, the fund raisingcomes amid speculation thatthe homegrown e-commercefirm is in talks to buy outSnapdeal, which is backed byJapan’s Softbank Group.

Launched by two formerAmazon employees in 2007,

Flipkart’s biggest investor is UShedge fund Tiger Global. Itsother investors include AccelPartners, DST Global andBaillie Gifford.

Earlier this year, TigerGlobal appointed KalyanKrishnamurthy as the chiefexecutive of the 10-year oldonline marketplace to replacethe position held by one of thecompany’s founders.

As per industry watchers,the fresh funding may havecome at a lower valuation butit is giving an indication of aturnaround underKrishnamurthy.

“This is a landmark dealfor Flipkart and for India as itendorses our tech prowess, ourinnovative mindset and the

potential we have to disrupttraditional markets,” Flipkartfounders Sachin Bansal andBinny Bansal said.

The latest funding roundis the largest in Flipkart’s 10-year history as well as in thecountry’s Internet sector,Flipkart said in a statement.

China’s Tencent -- whichhas also participated in thisround -- owns social messag-ing app WeChat and hasinvestment in various Indianonline companies like Practoand Ibibo.

For eBay, the deal wouldsee Flipkart acquiring its buy-ers in India after the close ofthe transaction. Flipkart willcontinue to operate eBay.In asan independent entity.

“eBay and Flipkart havealso entered into an exclusiveagreement in which they willjointly pursue cross-bordertrade opportunities to makeeBay’s global inventory acces-sible to more India con-sumers,” eBay said in a state-ment.

With over 100 millioncustomers, Flipkart owns fash-ion retailers Myntra andJabong, logistics firm Ekartand payments app PhonePe.

The announcement comesat a time when Indian Internetcompanies have seen fundingdry-up over the last fewmonths as investors focusextensively on profitabilityand rationalisation of expens-es.

Coupled with intensecompetition from deep-pock-eted global rivals such asAmazon, companies likeFlipkart and Snapdeal couldface more heat in the comingdays.

Flipkart and Snapdeal, likemany other players, continueto report substantial losses asthey pump in funds for build-ing logistics infrastructure andmarketing blitz.

Flipkart is also believed tobe in talks to buy out Snapdealthat has SoftBank as a promi-nent shareholder.

The deal, if materialises,would mark the biggest acqui-sition in the Indian e-com-merce space.

Gartner Research DirectorSandy Shen said althoughIndia’s e-commerce market isstill at an early stage, the mar-ket is seeing signs of consoli-dation as scale is a key successfactor in the business.

Flipkart has been and willcontinue to make acquisitionsto increase scale and the nextchallenge is to strategise thepath to a sustainable businessmodel within a set timeframe,Shen said.

“Hopefully with the fund-ing and expertise it is gettingfrom the investors, it will beable to establish itself as a truemarket leader from both thetechnology and operationalperspectives,” Shen added.

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��!��������China’s SAIC MotorCorporation on Monday said ithasn’t entered into any formalagreement with General Motors totake over the latter’s Indian plantat Halol in Gujarat.

The company had earliersigned a term sheet few monthsback to evaluate buying the Halolplant but a final takeover would besubject to government approvals,settlement of labour and all otherpending issues by the Americanauto major.

General Motors hadannounced last month that itwould stop production at theHalol plant from April 28 as partof consolidation of its manufac-turing operations in India.

“SAIC has not signed any for-mal agreement with GM for theHalol plant. Few months back,SAIC signed a term sheet to eval-uate the Halol plant...,” SAIC

Motor Corporation Chief IndiaRepresentative P Balendran said ina statement.

He further said SAIC’s Halolplant deal is subject to GM’s sub-mission of all Government

approvals, settlement of labour andall other pending issues by GM.

GM is yet to reach an agree-ment with workers of Halol plantover its closure with many of themreportedly not accepting the com-pany’s voluntary separationscheme.

When contacted, a GM Indiaspokesperson said, “As has beenwidely reported many times, wecontinue to progress towards thesale of the Halol plant as we con-solidate manufacturing at ourTalegaon plant.”

In 2015, the US auto majorhad announced that it wouldcease production at the plant, amove that would affect 1,100employees. The company statedthat it planned to consolidatemanufacturing operations at itsTalegaon plant in Maharashtra.

The Halol unit, which had atotal annual manufacturing capac-

ity of 1.1 lakh units annually, wasoriginally planned to be shut bymid-2016.

GM had announced plans toinvest $1 billion to enhance man-ufacturing operations and rollout 10 locally produced models inIndia.

However, struggling to makea turnaround in India, GM has puton hold its investments on newmodels for the country as the USauto major undertakes a fullreview of its future product port-folio here.

It hasn’t put any timeline forlifting freeze on investments on thenew products.

Balendran, however, saidSAIC’s decision to enter into theIndian market remains unchangedand the company continues toevaluate various options to set upa car manufacturing plant inIndia as early as possible. ��

���#������������� �&.������ �������6�������5�)3�' �� 213�@!"B

Tesla Motors overtook topUS automaker General

Motors in market capitalisa-tion on Monday following anupbeat report by an invest-ment analyst citing the elec-tric carmaker’s “captivating”ability to stir investor andconsumer enthusiasm.

Near 1430 GMT, Teslashares were up 3.1 per cent at$311.93 for a market capital-isation of $51.53 billion, morethan $1 billion above GM.

“More so than any stockwe’ve covered, Tesla engen-ders optimism, freedom, defi-

ance, and a host of other emo-tions that, in our view, othercompanies cannot replicate,”Piper Jaffray said in a reportmoving Tesla to “overweight”in their recommendation.

“As they scramble to catchup, we think Tesla’s competi-tors only make themselvesappear more desperate,” thereport said.

Tesla’s share price surgecame on the heels of that pos-itive analyst comment, but thelandmark crossed on Mondayonly concerns stock valuation.

The story for revenueand real-world auto footprintis very different.

2��������� ��&.����� ������

������ Gulf carrier QatarAirways’ proposed full serviceairline in India is likely to setup its base in Bengaluru andprovide connectivity fromthere to other parts of thecountry.

At present, budget carri-er AirAsia India, which is ajoint venture betweenMalaysia’s AirAsia group andIndia’s Tata Sons, is the onlylocal carrier which has itsoperational base inBengaluru.

Akbar Al Baker, ChiefExecutive Officer of theDoha-based full service car-rier, had last monthannounced in Berlin thatQatar Airways was going tojoin hands with the invest-ment arm of State of Qatar tostart a domestic airline inIndia with a 100 per centinvestment.

“Qatar Airways proposedIndian subsidiary is likely tomake Bengaluru as its baseinstead of Delhi or Mumbai,”an industry source said.

Qatar Airways, which isamong the top three Gulfcarriers, has been exploringinvestment opportunities inIndia.

The source also said thatthe new airline is expectedprovide connectivity firstfrom the southern India citiesto other parts of the countryand then expand to otherregions.

Significantly, six cities ofthe total 13 that QatarAirways flies to in India are inthe South.

A Qatar Airwaysspokesperson, in an e-mailresponse to PTI queries,declined to comment on theissue.

“We cannot commentanything at this stage,” thespokesperson said.

Though Qatar Airways isyet to apply for government’spermission for setting up adomestic airline here, it hasalready started giving shape toits plans with the appointmentof a local headhunter to hirefresh talent as well as profes-sionals from the existingdomestic carriers.

Significantly, the PersianGulf carrier has been eyeingthe fast growing domestic airpassenger market, whichbecame the third largest, beat-ing Japan, after the US andChina in 2016.

“We are doing this (setting upa domestic airline in India)because Indian government hasopened up the foreign directinvestment in (setting up) an air-line in India,” Al-baker had said onMarch 8.

On several occasions earlier,the Qatar Airways -- which oper-ates a significant number of flightsfrom India to Qatar’s capital cityDoha -- had explored the possi-bility of buying stake in Indianbudget carrier IndiGo. ��

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����213�/14),

BMW Motorrad, the two-wheeler arm of luxury

German carmaker, has officiallystarted its operations as a part ofthe Indian subsidiary of BMWGroup. Earlier, the entity wasoperating in India with importerswho had sales outlets in Mumbaiand New Delhi.

“We see a tremendouspotential in this country and weare pleased to introduce BMWMotorrad as a part of the Indiansubsidiary of BMW Group,”BMW Motorrad Head of RegionAsia, China, Pacific, South AfricaDimitris Raptis said in a statement.

Currently, BMW Motorradis in the process of setting-up theteam and dealer network inIndia with Shivapada Ray havingbeen appointed already as headof the organisation. In the initialphase, it will set up dealerships inAhmedabad, Bengaluru,Mumbai and Pune.

“BMW Motorrad is aninherent and highly emotionalpart of the BMW brand. Ourproducts stand for passion, inno-vation and safety on two wheels.We want our existing and prospec-tive customers to forge new pathsand make BMW Motorrad a partof their aspirational lifestyle andpursue joy through riding,” BMWGroup India President VikramPawah said.

49-�9���������������������� �� �� ���������������������

���� 213�/14),

Reliance Power on Mondaysaid it has signed agree-

ments with Bangladesh PowerDevelopment Board (BPDP)for phase I of 750 MW LNGpower project at Meghnaghatnear Dhaka entailing an invest-ment of around $1 billion.

“Reliance Power today exe-cuted project agreements withBangladesh PowerDevelopment Board (BPDB)for phase I of 750 MW LNGpower project at Meghnaghat,near Dhaka in Bangladesh,”Reliance Power said in state-ment.

According to statement,these agreements include PowerPurchase Agreement (PPA) andImplementation Agreement(IA) for the proposed integrat-ed combined cycle power pro-ject.

These agreements wereexchanged in the presence ofPrime Minister of Bangladesh,Sheikh Hasina at a businesssummit organised by the CIIhere on Monday, it said.

Reliance Power has alsosigned an MoU withPetroBangla to set up 500mmscfd LNG terminal atKutubdia Island nearChittagong in Bangladesh, itadded.

The company said that thedefinitive agreements for setting

up the LNG terminal will beexecuted with PetroBanglashortly.

The full LNG terminalcapacity will be used byPetroBangla to meet hugedemand for power and otherindustries and replace costly andhighly polluting fuels.

It said, “Reliance Powerwill install world-class equip-ment procured from interna-tionally reputed original equip-ment manufacturers previous-ly for its 2,250 MW combinedcycle power project at Samalkotin Andhra Pradesh, India,which will be relocated toBangladesh in a phased man-ner.”

Reliance Power had signedan MoU on June 6, 2015 with thethe BPDB to set up the integratedproject, during Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka.

The phase-I will have aninvestment outlay of nearly $1 bil-lion which is the largest foreigndirect investment in Bangladesh,the company claimed.

Financing of the project isunder consideration of AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) anda consortium of lenders, it said.

Reliance project will give atremendous boost to the eco-nomic and industrial growth ofBangladesh and help toenhance the energy securitywith clean, green and reliableLNG based power.

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Page 11: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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Around 88% women in India considerhealth a priority, as per a study con-ducted by healthi. The study wasconducted on 13,033 women in the18-71 age group (median age 28). �In Delhi, 1909 users were sur-veyed in the age group of 21-57,out of which 94% went for regularpreventive health check-ups�In Hyderabad, 81% women out of1200 women aged 21-48 and in Bangalore 91% among2972 women in the age group of 18 – 68 went for preven-tive health check-ups on a regular basis.

������� ���5���������6���� �%������� ��� ��������� � �� ������������������������ �.��������$����������������� ��������������� ������������� ����� ���$�������� ������������, �������� �������� ����� ���� � ��� �����.�� ������ �����������$�������������������. �������������� ��� �������������������������$����� ��� � �������� �� �� �# ����� ��� ����.���, ������������� ������ ������������. ���� ������ � � ��-������� ������������� �������������� �� � ����� �� ��� �� ����������������� ������-��� ���� �� � �� ������� �������� ������. ����

)��� ��

Do your feet or your ankle hurt after putting an entire day’swork or just sitting at one place in a same posture for along time? Do you hear a sound from the knee joints

or ankle when you stand up? Do you get a tingling sensationin your feet and calf muscles when trying to sleep? If the answerto these questions is in affirmation, it is a sign of a foot or ankleailment that can get aggravated.

Everybody, either working or not working; climbing stairs,standing in a metro or sitting crossed legs, is going through afoot and ankle problem which remains largely neglected andhence untreated. Usually people choose to ignore the pain butthey can’t say that they don’t feel the discomfort.

The reason why a large number of people are suffering fromfoot and ankle ailment is because our foot remains on the groundthe entire day and faces maximum friction. Our feet and anklescarry the entire body weight and thus undergo wear and tear.One of the most common ailments, doctors tells you, a sprainedankle. There are many other serious problems related to the footand the ankle that need to be addressed but are ignored by bothhealth professionals and patients.

The first most important thing is to be aware of the com-plete care. What is your foot type? What kind of shoes oneshould wear? What are some of the basic preventive measurewhich is a must to follow? It is necessary for the people to knowthese answers.

"��!�'���� �����' �First, one must understand what kind of feet one has and

what type of shoe to wear. There are primarily four types ofrunning shoes — motion restriction, cushion shoes, neutralshoe and minimalistic shoe. Those with pronated feet or flatfeet should wear a motion restriction shoe. A person with ahigh arch foot should wear cushion shoes. Those with neutral

feet should either wear aneutral shoe or a minimalis-tic shoe. Those who have aknee or hip problem shouldnever wear a minimalisticshoe even if the foot is neu-tral.

�'���������������Has ever it happened that

you bought a footwear thatwas a perfect fit at the shopbut you stopped wearing itbecause it became tight orstarted biting? If the answeris yes, then there is a solutionto it. One should always buyfootwear in the evening sincethe size of the foot increasesas the day progresses. Whenyou walk or sit or run, by the

end of the day, there is a slight increase due to some swelling.If you buy a footwear in the evening, you will never have thisproblem.

Then there is the size problem. Number five is small andsix size is large. What to do? In such a situation, always buythe bigger size. A smaller pair will strangulate your foot andyou would not be able to walk far in them. It will be like wear-ing a small sized shirt or a tight pant. When you buy a sizenumber six shoe, one can adjust the size by tying the lace ina manner where the shoe will fit perfectly. This is especiallytrue for sports shoe.

���"�����������People who are suffering from diabetes should take spe-

cial care of their feet. Their footwear should be protective, cush-ioned and should have enough room for the feet to breath andmove. It should not have any edges.

India is the diabetic capital of the world. We talk about com-plications to the eyes, heart, kidney, etc. But the harm that dia-betes does to a foot can lead to an amputation. It requires pre-ventive treatment and awareness about things that may gowrong. In foot and ankle treatment, it is extremely importantto get diabetic profiling of the patient.

����������B��� �����������A high blood pressure damages the arteries. Arteries arethe life line that carries blood to distant part of bodyincluding your foot.�Avoid walking barefoot. You never know what pricks youand you may not feel the pain because of diabetic neuropa-thy which is a condition that causes numbness and loss ofsensation in hands and feet.�Once a day, check the sole your feet, ankle and legs in themirror for any swelling, wounds, ulcers or abnormal skingrowth. Never ignore anything which you find unusualinclude tingling or burning sensation.

!�������������Never ignore any pain. That goes for feet and ankles aswell. Never ignore even the slightest swelling in the footbecause that might be connected to a bigger ailment.�The most important thing in foot care is following a prop-er hygienic routine. Feet get dirty, with or without shoes.When you wear socks especially in the summers, the spacebetween the fingers get sweaty and causes high risk of fungalinfection.�One should keep a check on the cholesterol level andmaintain a healthy body weight because if you keep gainingweight, your feet and ankles may find it difficult to carry it.

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���:�� �There are several home remediesthat one can follow to keep thosemouth and tongue blisters at bay,says ROSHANI DEVI

Today, I will tell you some thingsabout healing at home, smallremedies that can skip the doc-

tor. But before I go on to the routine there’s a little nugget Iwould like to share with you, something I picked up from oneof my journeys, and something that led me to understand ourvery own Hindustani treatments. So, it’s actually all about localproduce and how it gets to define regional medicinal value.

Take the example of West Indies, theland of rum and cola as you young-

sters would know it. But did youknow rum is often used by Bajansas a remedy for headache andsometimes as a ploy to sleep? Agood old West Indian would rubsome drops of rum on his fore-head to deal with an irritating

headache. It really goes away in 10minutes without a medicine. For

light and frenzied sleepers, a fewdrops on the pillow apparently do the

trick. Back in my home in Himachal, there’s a somewhat stun-ning medicine that my grandmother used to apply on me formouth blisters. She would take a pinch of the wood ash fromthe chulha and rub it on my tongue. Yes it’s black and horriblysmeary but it does the trick. The other thing that works won-ders is the good old coriander seeds. You just need to dry roastthem, let them cool and then chew them. A perfect therapy formouth and tongue blisters. So much for now, other let-ins inmy next column.

-�#3��-$,',' �������������How to goabout it

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/� ��������������� �� ������������� �� ��������������� �������#�����#.����� ���� �� ��� ������������������ ������������ ����)�4,2, ��B�12�����#�� ����������� � ����� � �� ������������� ����������������� �� ������������ ������ ��

The first step to a detox is to knowwhat exactly it is. Detoxification isa process wherein you rid your body

of harmful toxins by making changes toyour lifestyle and abstaining from harm-ful habits. These changes involve modi-fying your diet, eating healthier andmore natural foods, exercising, and tak-ing adequate rest. To make sure that ourhectic lifestyles do not have an adverseeffect on our body, it’s highly recommend-ed to inculcate detoxification in ourdaily routine.

There are several benefits to detoxingbeyond just losing weight. Detoxinghelps strengthen immunity. Unfortunately,we live in a highly-polluted environment,be it the air we breathe, the water we drinkor the food we eat. To make sure that ourbody can fight the sustained damage,introducing food and drinks rich inantioxidants can lower the risk of cancerby clearing the blood.

Toxic substances and chemicals couldlead to an inflexible lifestyle, preventingthe release of contaminants. Detoxifyingimproves the quality of liver functions andensures your colon is in a healthy state bygetting rid of excess waste. Naturalcleansers also boost energy, hydrate andhelp increase cognitive functions.

Most of us are troubled by that littlebit of excess fat that just won't leave usalone. Detoxifying helps with the reduc-tion of excess weight without starving youand reduced fluid retention enables thebody to get rid of toxic fats from the body.Detoxing further helps in enhancingskin quality. It is extremely helpful forpatchy and dull facial skin. Detoxificationretains a good balance of moisture andsmoothness in the skin and brings a nat-ural glow to the face. It also prevents pre-mature ageing.

Here’s a few ways to detoxify yourbody:

Begin with water: Water is the mostimportant element.It is also a basicrequirement consid-ering 70% of thehuman body iswater. Start your daywith a glass of waterwith lemon juice.Lemon and waterhelp rehydrate the system, improve diges-tion, and help the flow of excess waste outof the body. Moreover, make sure youdrink at least two to three litres of watera day.

Exercise: Exercising makes you sweat,which helps release toxins from your body.Regular exercise and physical activity alsohelps boost blood flow to the organs andkeeps stress and mental health risks at bay.

Diet: Detox is not only about what youavoid, but also what you eat. It goes with-out saying that you must avoid processedand packaged foods including any kindof fast foods. Instead, go for salads thatare filled with green vegetables. Certainfoods like garlic, lemon, broccoli, beansprouts, and raw vegetables help with thedetoxification process. Other alternativediets like a juice or alkaline diet (uncookedfruits and vegetables) can help purify theliver and improve the digestive system.

Drink tea: Tea contains antioxidantsand helps hydrate your body, especially ifits green or herbal tea. The caffeine in teais different from that in coffee and is gen-tler on your system, giving you a milddose of energy.

Researchers at Feinberg School of Medicine,Northwestern University in Chicago recently present-ed their results of a study looking into the effects of

sleep deprivation upon high-calorific foodconsumption at the CognitiveNeuroscience Society’s annual meetingin San Francisco, reports ScienceNews. The participants were allocat-ed different amounts of sleep, eighthours or four hours and then theirreaction to smells of high-calorificfoods were tested.

Participants slept for both lengths of time,separated by a week of normal sleep. On the day after theyeither had full or partial sleep, they rated pleasantness andintensity of sweet and savoury high-calorific food smells suchas crisps and cinnamon rolls. They were then asked to ratethe smell of non-foods like fir trees. Those who were sleep-deprived had ‘specifically enhanced’ brain activity to the foodsmells compared to when they had a good.

In order to remain healthy, it is very important that we inculcate detoxification inour daily routine since one of its benefits isto help build immunityFoods are actually a chemi-

cal combination and so eachfood has different propertieshence it can help you or cancreate problem in your body

so before joining the two combina-tions you should have a look at thecombination as one should not hin-der in the digestion.

To maintain a healthy routineyou must maintain a habit to eatsome foods separately as mixing canmake you sick even to such extentthat it can poison your body. It isgood to have a dietitians and nutri-tionist suggestion.

Wrong food combinations can bethe reason for the production of tox-ins in the body which can signal youin the form of stomach pain, indiges-tion, bloating, heartburn, fatigueand constipation and possibly lead tochronic illness.

In order to avoid such circum-stances it is good to know some com-binations that hinder your digestionand must be avoided. Better eat thoseseparately at different time frame.Here are the few combinations whichmust not be eaten at same time.

3����)����� �������> ��������������������� �� ���� ���������������� �����#�������� � ���������� �� ������,������ � �������������������> ���������� ������ ��������������������������# ���#������ �������� ���)����� ������� ��������� �� �������������������#������� �������� ���������� �� ������� ���$������������� �������������������$����������� ������ �� �������� ����� ������������ ���� ������� ����� � �� �)����� ����������������������� .��������� ���������������� ��� � ����� ���� ������� �����,�� �� ���� �������������������� �#���� ������������������� �������� ����� ������������ ��������

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Eating fruits is healthy, one istold. But when you eat it, themost important thing to keep in

mind is timing. If you are eating ameal and a fruit together or one afteranother without having time gap thenyou are disturbing your digestion.

DOCTOR SAYS: Fruits havesimple sugar so they don't take time

in digestion while foods rich in car-bohydrate, fats and protein takelonger time and if you are taking bothat a time then they will mix and staytogether for longer time and natural-ly fruit’s sugar will stay their longerand ferment and cause health prob-lem.G���������������� (���� ������� �**�� ������

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Yes, you read that right. Thismost widely eaten food combo

needs to be avoided at all cost eventhough it is found in almost allmenus across the world.

DOCTOR SAYS: It is impor-tant to note that while tomatoes arelovely but they are acidic and pastais starchy and full of carbohydrates.This combination makes yourdigestion difficult and takes longerperiod and more energy than nor-mal so you will feel fatigue aftermeal. It is better to avoid and eatseparately with time gap.

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This is a favourite combinationthat one finds while eating

Mexican food or when eats anEnglish breakfast — baked beans andcheese. But these two really playhavoc with your system.

DOCTOR SAYS: In order todigest the two heavy foods combina-tion like beans and cheese yourdigestion system needs more strengththan usual and hence takes longertime in digestion and as a result it isnormal that you have gas and bloat-ing. Avoid this combination or a sim-ilar one if you have weaker digestionor you are on detox diet plan.

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Melons of all kind — watermel-on and melon — are very good

for digestion as they are mostlymade up of water and gets digestedflashed out of the system fast, butbelieve it or not they should be eatenseparately and mixed with eitherdairy products or meat.

DOCTOR SAYS: If you areeating melon with cured ham,

dairy product or meat then you arecombining two different digestiblesubstances at the time and hence itis going to create a problem for you.Melons will get digested but remainin the system along with prosciuttoand so you can have pain in belly andflatulence. G��������

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When we talk aboutbanana and milk cer-

tainly its smoothie comes inthe mind and it is very pop-ular and very well-knownsmoothie. Generally peopletake it with the view to gainweight but this combinationis not good.

DOCTOR SAYS: It is likejoining sour fruit with milk.Banana becomes sour as it breaks down. Its effect is like puttinglemon into the milk. As we know milk property is cooling how-ever bananas are heating so this combination takes a lot of strug-gle in digestion and it creates toxins in the digestive system andit can have bad results such as congestion, colds, coughs, aller-gies, hives, and rashes. If you still want to drink this smooth-ie then be sure that banana is fully ripe and while making itadd cardamom and nutmeg to have better digestion.

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Again, this is apopular combi-

nation for those whoare rushed for workin the morning andhaving yogurt withfruit is the easiestthing to grab and eaton the go. None canresist the temptationof eating this butstudy says it is notgood to mix sourfruits with milk as this combination can do alot more damage than good.

DOCTOR SAYS: There is a simple way tolower the problem and making it more digestiblefriendly by serving it at room temperature andmix it with little honey, cinnamon and raisins.

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Page 12: ˇ #˜ ˆ’ --#12-34 ˚ -/ 5 !˜˚˝˚#$$%&˙’˙˚%’(˚)*˚+,+-,% informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the “weapon” is undergoing trial in a Government laboratory at

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G7 Foreign Ministers willsend a “clear and coordi-

nated message” to Russia onMonday over its stance onSyria as Washington ratchetedup the pressure following asuspected chemical attack inthe war-torn country.

Britain’s Foreign SecretaryBoris Johnson set the tone forthe meeting, describing SyrianPresident Bashar al-Assad as“toxic” and saying it was “timefor (Russian President)Vladimir Putin to face thetruth about the tyrant he ispropping up”.

Top diplomats from theseven major advancedeconomies are in Italy for theirannual two-day meeting whichhad initially been expected tofocus on talks with new USSecretary of State Rex Tillersonabout hotspots like Libya, Iranand Ukraine.

But the agenda is nowlikely to be dominated bylast week’s suspected chemi-cal weapons attack on a rebel-held Syrian town that killed atleast 87 civilians, and the US

cruise missiles fired at aSyrian air base in retaliation.

It was the first timeWashington has interveneddirectly against the regime ofAssad, who is fighting a civil warwith the backing of Russia andIran, and the G7 ministers willdeliberate the West’s next steps.

The gathering in theTuscan city of Lucca, whichbegins at 1430 GMT, groupsforeign ministers from the

United States and Britain,Canada, France, Germany,Italy and Japan.

Washington’s retaliationwas slammed by Iran andNorth Korea and put it on adirect diplomatic collisioncourse with Moscow, whereTillerson heads on Tuesdayfor talks with his Russiancounterpart Sergei Lavrov.

The US stepped up thepressure on Sunday on Russia torein in the Syrian regime, warn-ing that any further chemicalattacks would be “very damag-ing” to their relationship andsuggesting any peace deal wouldbe difficult with Assad in power.

Ti l lerson enragedMoscow by asking if it waspossible Russia did not knowabout Syria’s chemical arms,and called on the country tofulfil the obligation it made tothe international communityto guarantee the eliminationof the weapons.

“We need to make it clearto Putin that the time to backAssad has gone,” Johnson saidMonday, warning that Putinwas “damaging Russia” by sup-porting Assad.

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China has agreed to “strong”new measures to punish

North Korea if it carries out anuclear test, Seoul said onMonday after the US signalledit may act to shut downPyongyang’s weapons pro-gramme.

South Korea’s top nuclearenvoy made the comment aftertalks with his Chinese coun-terpart Wu Dawei, as the USsent a naval strike group to theregion in a show of force.

“We agreed that thereshould be strong additionalmeasures based on UNSecurity Council resolutions ifthe North pushes ahead with aNuclear test or an ICBMlaunch despite warnings fromthe international communi-ty,” Kim Hong-Kyun toldreporters.

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Influential British DJ PaulOakenfold has reached

Mount Everest’sbase camp wherehe plans to host the“highest party onearth”, performing aset at 5,380 metres.

As climbing season inNepal kicks into gear, few of themountaineers heading to theworld’s highest peak were like-ly expecting to be joined by thethree-time Grammy nominat-ed artist and his dance beats.

Oakenfold — whosethree-decade long career has

included collaborations withMadonna and U2 — is due toperform a set at base camp onTuesday morning.

“We are here nowdoing sound checks. Weare really looking for-ward to the show tomor-row. Everyone is reallyexcited here,” Oakenfold

told AFP by phone from basecamp on Monday.

The 53-year-old artist saidhe had no trekking experiencebefore he set out on the 10-daywalk to Everest with a team of yaks and porters haul-ing the audio equipmentneeded for the event.

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Pakistan Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif has barred his

party leaders from making “anycontroversial statements” aboutformer Army chief Gen RaheelSharif over his appointment asthe head of a Saudi-led 41-nation military alliance ofMuslim countries.

The former Army chief ’sappointment had been criti-cised by some Pakistani politi-cians, retired Army officers,journalists, intellectuals, whohad questioned the decision ofthe retired general to join a for-eign military alliance. The PrimeMinister found contradictorystatements being made by seniorleaders of his Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) party.

“Nawaz Sharif has prohibit-ed PML-N leaders from givingany controversial statementsabout General (retired) RaheelSharif,” Radio Pakistan quotedthe Prime Minister as saying.

He said the entire nationhailed the former Army chief forhis “meritorious services”.

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��,8�,��������������������������������� � ����������� ��� � �������������������� �A�������.�����>���������������$������� ��� ������)���)����������� ���������������� ������������� ������������������ ������ � ������ ������������ ������/������� ���������'�� �����8+7*�� ��

Ankara: A Turkish official says thecountry’s Foreign Minister has helda telephone conversation with US Sec-retary of State Rex Tillerson, duringwhich the future of Syrian PresidentBashar Assad was discussed.

The Turkish Foreign Ministryofficial said Mevlut Cavusoglu andTillerson on Monday also talkedabout the fight against the IslamicState group. The official, who cannotbe named under Government regu-

lations, did not provide further details.Their discussion comes days after USPresident Donald Trump’s decision topunish Assad for his alleged use ofchemical weapons by launching cruisemissiles at a Syrian air base. AP

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Organisation of IslamicCooperation (OIC) has

said it backs Pakistan on the issueof Kashmir and believes thatthere is a need to put “pressure”on India on the issue of allegedhuman rights violations there,according to a media report.

The OIC Secretary-General,Yousaf Ahmad Al-Othaimeen,who arrived in Islamabad onSunday, held talks with Advisoron Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.

Radio Pakistan reported thatthe two leaders said there washundred per cent unanimity ofviews on all issues facing theMuslim Ummah (community)and the way forward.

The OIC Secretary-Generalsaid his organisation has sameposition as that of Pakistan onthe issues of Kashmir, Palestine,Islamophobia and plight ofMuslim communities in non-Muslim nations.

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Aman shot and killed his 22-year-old son in the US

after an argument between thetwo over who would walk thefamily dog escalated into ashootout.

Police responded to a callof a person shot at a home inChicago’s Burnside neighbor-hood on Sunday.

There they found two men,aged 43 and 22, who had shoteach other after a “verbal alter-cation,” authorities were quot-ed as saying by the ChicagoSun-Times.

Chicago Police spokesmanAnthony Guglielmi tweetedthat the fight between thefather and son was over “whowas going to walk the dog” andboth men opened fire.

They sustained multiplegunshot wounds and were takento Advocate Christ MedicalCenter, where the 22-year-oldman was pronounced dead.The father was listed in criticalcondition, authorities said.

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�What did you think about the position of womenin terms of acting and what the industry was likefor them at that time?

Alison Wright: I read a lot of books aboutHollywood. I read biographies of Davis along withGarbo and all the other actresses of the time, so I wascertainly familiar enough through other movies andtelevision to know that it’s definitely a world I wouldenjoy living in. The richness of it alone, the glam-our, it’s phenomenal to spend time in that world.

�Do you feel that age-wise things have gotten bet-ter for women?

Alison Wright: I don’t know about that. But SusanSarandon said that when she started, forty was thehard cutoff, and that’s certainly been pushed and peo-ple like Ryan are pushing that line literally themselves.Ryan’s created so much work for Jessica and so muchwork for older actresses. So that’s part of the fun storyof looking at Bette and Joan is what a tragedy thoselast fifteen, twenty years of their lives were when theydeserved so much more and they were massive leg-ends. Yet they were chewed up and spit out by the menin suits running the show; and Jack Warner, the waythey portray him in the show, you know, Tucci justgets better and better, as you can imagine, just whatpeople had to put up with.

�In terms of preparing for Pauline, what sort ofpreparation did you do? Did you talk to womenon that side of the industry?

Alison Wright: I read as much as I could aboutwomen who worked in the Hollywood era in the stu-dio system in every capacity. Lot of them movedaround different departments and that’s what I hadbuilt for Pauline and I also built a story of her pastfrom there because we got a bit of freedom. I watchedall of the Joan and Bette movies. And just the factsthat I learned staggered me, you know, that it wasn’tuntil 1974 in this country (California) that a womancould get a credit card on her own without her hus-band.

�Were there things that you connected with or thatyou felt you could really associate with?

Alison Wright: Yes, I think we all can, being awoman in a man’s world. And, it was more height-ened because we’re talking about what it was in thesixties, the casual sexism, the casual misogynist remarkthat you just have to let slide. We’ve all had to do thatstill sixty years later. So there’s lots of ways to be ableto relate and, of course, there’s Pauline, she's very com-petent and holds her own with Joan Crawford andBette Davis. I can only hope that maybe I do the samewith Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon.

�Was Pauline a real person or was she created?Alison Wright: No, she’s a composite character,

perhaps the only one actually in the show and she isa mix of uber competent young girls that went outto Hollywood dreaming of their future in the busi-ness. All the challenges that they faced are honestlynot that dissimilar from sixty years later where we aretoday. Still the challenges are same so it’s even moreheightened to see these women trying to pave a wayfor a future that was something more than being a wifeor a mother. These girls had much more ambitionthan that and wanted to have a career at a time whenno institutions in the country were encouraging

women to get out of the home and have a career forthemselves. Some of these girls just managed to forgetheir own way and do it as best as they could.

�So about working with holding your own withSusan Sarandon and Jessica Lange, what was it likeworking with them? They’re such titans of theindustry.

Alison Wright: Yes I am aware of that. I didn’treally know what to expect. I’d like to say wholeheart-edly it was a wonderful, marvelous and perfect expe-rience. It’s great to sit and to watch them work soclosely. So, Pauline gets to just be with Bob a lotbehind the camera while watching their performances.What a great way to spend my day just watching theseladies, live in all these different characters. It’s fan-tastic. They were wonderful.

�And what do you think it was about your perfor-mance in The Americans?

Alison Wright: Well, something that Ryan said wasthat they weren’t really sure as they were developingthis character because she is a composite characterand they weren’t sure what it might turn out to be.They knew they wanted her to be important but she’snot a front and center role. So I know that they boththought that I would make her a fully realised char-acter even if she was just a smaller part.

�But do you think television does offer better rolesthan films or at least more complex roles forwomen?

Alison Wright: Yes, at the moment it is.

�In terms of Feud, do you think Hollywood’s a bittoo safe these days; that people aren’t outspokenenough, because everyone’s so worried about theirreputation and jobs...

Alison Wright: Yes. It’s really dull. Fred Molinawas telling the story that some famous actor had toldhim about how amazing the Oscars used to be.Everyone used to get really drunk and would danceon tables. You don’t see an ounce of that joy or funanymore because everyone is so concerned becauseyou’re crucified and vilified so easily these days. Youdo the tiniest of things and all of these people arejumping down your throat about it. It’s certainly dif-ferent in the studio system.

Watch the legendary rivalry between Bette Davinand Joan Crawford exclusively on Star World PremiereHD every Sunday 9 PM

No Indian city features inthe top ten destinations ofthe world, according to a

travel survey. In fact, Siem Reapfrom neighbouring Cambodiahas broken through the eliteclub.With the summer seasonapproaching, tourists are facingthe age old dilemma of decidingtheir vacation destination. It isplaces like Goa and Mumbai thatmake their mark to attract the

travellers. With the new senseof exploration that the

young tourists are filledwith, there are many offbeat destinations like,Tiruchirappalli thathave made their mark

on the most frequent des-tinations. Although on the

world forum, there are not muchchanges as people still prefer tospend their vacation at the reg-ular places such as Bali orLondon but there are many newdestinations such as Cambodiaor Crete that have caught thetourists attention.

A travel based portal recog-nised Indian and world’s topdestinations with Travellers’Choice Awards.

“The Travellers’ ChoiceDestinations awards this yearincludes a great mix of populardestinations as well as lesserknown cities which I am sure willstimulate the Indian traveller toexperience fabulous places with-in our country” said NikhilGanju, Countr y Manager,TripAdvisor India.

�������'GGoa is popular across the

world for its stunning beaches,natural beauty, abundant green-

ery and beautiful churches.Travellers looking for the oldworld Portuguese charm can optfor a heritage tour covering Se

Cathedral, Basilica of Bom Jesusas well as Dona Paula Beach.Those looking for a homelyretreat to stay can go for the fam-

ily owned and managed resorts.

��� �'����New Delhi, the capital city

of India delicately balances itsrich past along with the moder-nity. The city offers a wide vari-ety of options to fill up your timefrom shopping to savouring localdishes to experiencing the cul-ture and heritage. Those lookingto make the most of their timecan take a guided day tour.

������� ��"‘The Pink City’ is a travellers’

delight. From the stunning fortsand palaces to old charmingmarkets that offer not just lip-smacking food but intricate jew-ellery, Jaipur has everything thatone would want from a great hol-iday destination. Travellers canlearn all about the royal lifewith a guided tour.

� ������ �����While Agra is known pri-

marily for the monument of‘love’, The Taj Mahal, there is a lotmore that it offers to the holidaygoers. From visiting a number ofhistorical monuments to shop-ping for the marble showpiecesand savouring local food, it’s anabsolute must visit on a traveller’sitinerary. One can indulge in pri-vate tours to see some of thearchitectural marvels during thestay.

��������Mumbai is what the Indians

affectionately call - the city ofdreams. The financial capital ofIndia, Mumbai, is also known asthe city that never sleeps. It isalso the centre of the Indian FilmIndustry and sees millions settingtheir foot on its soil to try theirluck in ‘Bollywood’. Travellerscan savour the local food by tak-ing a street food tour.

Couturier, Tarun Tahiliani has long champi-oned the concept of India Modern. His quest

for the modern Indian has found an elegantutterance with his new store at Qutab Gardenin historic Mehrauli area.

The space marries essentially Indian ele-ments with a contemporary feel that doesn’t feelcontrived or oppressively ethnic. “When youwalk into my space, I want you to know you’reentering my mind,” he says. And it’s true. Here,rare blood-red carnelian from Chennai has beenfashioned into tabletops, and the floor is a sym-phony of earthy-ochre sandstone fromRajasthan, strewn with Tarun Tahilianicarpets.

Custom-designed Zoffany wallpapersfor the backdrops of display vitrines,and all these are reflected in vin-tage, hand-etched mirrors. Inshort, the space is pure TarunTahiliani: luxurious without beingostentatious, and rich withoutbeing offensive.

It took Tahiliani over sevenmonths-from design to execu-tion-to design the space to hisexacting specifications. As youenter, the foyer opens onto ashort, bifurcated stairway thatleads up to the ready-to-wearsections featuring displays ofhis women’s and men’s collec-tions. Behind them, an 18th-century, hand-carved woodfacade from Gujarat domi-nates the stairwell that leadsdown to the haute couturesection replete with well-appointed privaterooms for trialsand lengthyshoppingsessions,all illumi-nated with

antique chande-liers. The centerpiece is a fili-

greed lamp that throws soft,dappled shadows on the

ceiling punctuated withhand-carved rosettesthat could haveadorned a palace a cen-

tury ago. Even the stairsare studded with flowers

hand-crafted out of cabo-chon mother-of-pearl.

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In the search for interesting cinematiccontent, it’s easy to lose faith, especiallyif you’ve grown up on a steady diet of

Bollywood movies. No wonder the presentgeneration of movie goers, especiallythose who grew up in the 90s, understandthe practice of ignoring logic or realism,all in the name of entertainment. However,with change in times comes change in per-spective. And it’s this change that’s broughtin a new wave in cinema. Popularlyknown as independent cinema, moviesfalling under this category are producedoutside of big banners and are indepen-dently distributed to entertainment agen-cies, focusing on specific groups of cine-ma-goers. They receive national andinternational acclaim in Film Festivals, butseldom made much news in mainstreamIndia. One of them is Mount of Excellence.

Regarded as one of the best docu-mentaries to have been produced inIndia, Mount of Excellence was showcasedat the Cannes Film Festival and receivedphenomenal acclaim there. Produced byDipankar Khanna and directed byShivajee Chandrabhushan, this film focus-es on more than 1000-year-old sacred lin-eage of the Tai Situpa’s and the PalpungSherabling Monastic (PSM) seat locatedin Bhattu village in Himachal Pradesh. A70-minute long documentary, narrated inthe powerful voice of Kabir Bedi, exploresand documents the day-to-day activitiesof the monks and their life at the Palpung-Sherabling Monastic Seat in India today.It also features HH the Dalai Lama, HH17th Karmapa, HE Jamgon KhyentseRinpoche and over high Tibetan Lamasin it explaining aspects about the brillianceof the Palpung lineage rising from LordMaitreya.

“Age-old traditions and practiceswhich are seeped in history make theminteresting and doubly so if they transcendman-made boundaries. This is possiblywhat one feels after viewing Mount OfExcellence,” says Shivajee.

About the challenges, he states, “I ama storyteller and to direct a documentarybased on a living person, who is a globalicon, was immensely difficult. I had to becareful with each and every step.”

The film’s genesis can be traced toDipnkar’s 25-year-long association withTai Situpa ever since he became a monkof the Tibetan order in 1990 and practised

for five years. “Dipankar wanted to sharethis legacy with everyone and also con-tribute towards it in his own way,” he says.

The Tai Situpa title came into beingwhen the Ming Emperor in 1407 bestowedit upon a spiritual leader after becominghis disciple and donating half of DergeKingdom in Eastern Tibet to him. ThePalpung Monastic Seat was established in1727 by the 8th Tai SitupaChokyi Jungneyin Kham, Derge. Literally meaning“mounds of excellence”, it became the seatof the Tai Situpas and besides spirituali-ty developed a unique scholarly andartistic tradition and is one of the 25 mostsacred places in Tibet. Describing the film-making process a search, journey and spir-itual adventure, he shares, “I alwaysviewed monastery from a tourist point butduring the making of this documentary,I realised that there is so much more to

it. The disciplined lives of monks, medi-tation and the most important lessons ofall, living in the present.”

The 12th Tai Situpa born in 1954 inPalyul province, Derge was identified inaccordance with the prediction and indi-cation left by the 11th Tai Situpa and

search instruction letter of the 16thGyalwang Karmapa. He reached India viaBhutan following the political upheavals.After basic education, he received all ordi-nations from the 16th Karmapa from 1966to 1975, becoming a bhikshu after com-pleting extensive study of Buddhist phi-

losophy, literature, art, science and histo-ry as well as ritual, meditation, sacreddance, Mandala, Tibetan astrology andmedicine etc.

The film highlights the close collab-oration between Karmapa and Tai Situpasand states, “Situs have been a caretaker,

spiritual father, mentor to Karmapaswhile different Karmapas have mentoredand tutored the Situs as gurus.” Heexplains, “They are spiritual equals. Bothare enlightened masters of the same level.The bestowing of red crown by the 9thKarmpa on the 5th Tai Situ symbolisestheir inseparability. It signifies equality ofspiritual status enabling them to give eachother diksha.” Thus the 11th Situ was theroot guru to the 16th Karmapa whobecame the same for the 12th Tai Situ whosubsequently assumed the role for the 17thKarmapa.

He further adds, “PSM was establishedin 1976 in Himachal Pradesh by the 12thTai Situpa who designed the monasteryfollowing the ancient science of geoman-cy. The place was envisioned to propagatethe sacred teaching of the Lord Buddhaand preserve the ancient and living her-itage, tradition, practices, arts and sciencesand the spirit of Tibetan heritage.”

Besides spiritual training the studentsare taught Hindi, English, Tibetan, SocialScience and Mathematics among othersubjects to enable them to pursue otherprofessions in case they wish to. Emphasisis laid on sports and extra-curricular activ-ities too like cricket, football, martial arts,Bharatanatyam, rudra veena and sitarsince according to Shivajee, the Tai Situpaviews “them as essential for the growth ofchildren making them aware of all aspectsof life and enjoy them.”

The film brings to fore Tai Situpa’saccomplishments as an artist besides hispassion for stamp and porcelain collection,bonsai and photography. “Painting is themanifestation of the mind on the canvasand it always shows the person, theartist...his or her state of mind and body-mind coordination. You really can’t hide.Art is a very good way to express oneself,”he says.

Two observations by the Tai Situpa inthe film stand out in the present day con-text. On gender equality he says, “InBuddhahood there is no differencebetween man and woman because dif-ference between the two is only physical.It is the mind which is the most impor-tant and there is no difference between awoman’s mind and a man’s mind.” ��DA+��� �#������� �������� �������)�

�������� �����������������!���� �=�� �#��� !���.�)� � �� ��������22

Age old techniques lookstriking when somebody

plays with them in an imagi-native and innovative way. Andthis is Renuka Reddy’s way ofmaking a point as an artistthrough hand painted chintz. Atechnique which involves layerafter layer of perfection that ispainstakingly painted usingnatural materials such as buffalomilk, natural dyes, mordants,wax and dung.

Textiles have a long and dis-tinguished history in the Indiansub-continent. The technique ofmordant dyeing, which givesintense colours that do notfade, has been used by Indiantextile artisans since the secondmillennium BC. “Chintz orig-inated as a hand painted, mor-dant and resist-dyed patternedcotton cloth from India. Aprized trade cloth for centuries,it had a profound impact onmany textile practices aroundthe world, from calico printingin the West to Javanese Batiksin the East in the 17th and 18thcenturies. It was so popular atone time that Western countriesbanned its import in fear of eco-nomic instability in their localtextile trades. Besides causing arevolutionary change in tasteand fashion, it is the epitome ofartistic and design exchangeacross cultures and continents.That from an era of such basicexistence came a sophisticationand technical excellenceunmatched to date is astonish-ing,” says Renuka Reddy.

Renuka was hugely inspiredby the illustrations in the bookChintz: Indian textiles for theWest and decided to experi-ment. “The complexity involved

in making chintz and the lostart of fine resist are some of thereasons that led me to workwith chintz; to fulfill my needto work with my hands, and mydesire to learn, to experiment,to discover.”

What set Renuka’s piecesapart is not only her fine draw-ing and use of traditional mor-dants and dyes but even moresignificantly, her revival of thetechnique of fine white resist.“This may seem like a minortechnical detail, but these sin-uous, hand-drawn lines of wax-resist had enabled the earlychintz-makers to produce the

spiralling and scrolling pat-terns in white against a colouredground that made their chintzesunique,” she informs.

Elaborating further on theprocedure, she explains,“Hundred per cent handspunand handwoven cotton cloth iswashed and bleached in a series

of steps involving sheep dungand drying in sunlight. It issoaked and rubbed withmyrobalan, a source of tannin,buffalo milk and dried in sun-light which allows the mordantsand dyes to be painted on clothwithout spreading.

Black outlines are drawn

with fermented iron calledKasimi, red outlines are drawnwith alum mordant. Cloth iswashed and dyed in a bath ofmadder to develop the reds anddeepen the black. To bleach thereddish background, cloth issoaked in sheep dung andexposed to sunlight for seven toten days after which it is treat-ed again with myrobalan andbuffalo milk to prepare it for thenext round of painting.

Wax resist lines are paint-ed on the cloth to get the finewhite lines, which is a quintes-sential characteristic of his-toric chintz. Alum and Kasimimordants are painted over thewax lines to develop pinks,purples, browns and manyother colors. Cloth is washedagain and dyed in a bath ofmadder. It undergoes sheepdung and sunlight treatmentagain to bleach the backgroundto pristine white.

Cloth is treated with buffalomilk to prepare it for paintingblues and yellows. Wax lines areagain painted to retain thewhite background color in blueand green areas. Indigo is paint-ed in areas to be blue.Historically, cloth was dipped inan indigo vat for the blue areas.Cloth is washed and boiled toremove wax after which pome-granate dye is painted in areasto be yellow and over paintedon blue areas to get green.

Cloth is finally washedagain and treated with sheepdung and sunlight for the lasttime. It is starched and polishedto give a shiny surface.”

���4��)� ����� ������C� ��������� �� ��

If you love theatre, but can’t decide if you wantto watch tragedy, comedy, tragi-comedy,romance, suspense or horror, there’s a solu-

tion. Watch them all, and in the span of an hour.That’s what Once Upon a Time, a repertoire offive short stories based on human emotions andrelationships, is all about. These entertainingpieces from everyday life are magnificent in theirsimplicity. An amalgamation of human psycheand sentiments, there is a tale for every occa-sion set in reality whether depicting love, long-ing, anxiety or fear. So why the division intoshort stories? “I usually used to ask people aboutwhat they want in a play. And I realised that dif-ferent people enjoy different genre altogether andI wanted to cater the masses,” says the directorof the play, Sujata Soni Bali. Sujata has producedseveral features and documentaries, as well asthe theatrical production like Revisiting the Epics,Komedy & Kavis that have been successfully run-ning in theatres across India for more than threeyears.

She further adds, “The play is a completepackage that will make the audience laugh, cry,feel and think, all in a roller-coaster journey.Carefully curated from different genres and var-ied in their narration and style, the stories arerelated in their richness and intensity.”

Brevity is the soul of wit. Anything deliv-ered with punch and precision makes a definiteimpact while keeping the attention intact. Sopithy mails have replaced long letters, 50 overscricket is giving way to T20, feature films are

competing with shorts and instead of lengthycomments people simply tweet their reactions.

This holds true for theatre too where theaudience want to see something new from thepoint of view of content, format and presenta-tion. With audience game to try and experiencenew experiments, it is time for the micro playsspanning 10 minutes or less to move to the cen-trestage. “Micro plays, I believe is a trend andwill not last for more than a couple of years. Itis a version for today’s generation. For the peo-

ple who live in the insta world. Also for the oneswho get bored with a long version. The longestplay I have directed is one hour and seven min-utes,” she explains.

Performances were staged by well-knownartists- Tom Alter, Charu Shankar and SunitTandon. Occasionally referred to as the “Blue-eyed saheb with the impeccable Hindi”, TomAlter, as a thespian and television actor, is mostprominently known for his work in Bollywood.All five stories, got the audience— old and youngalike — hooked on to the play with their inter-esting story line.

The five stories were Sharifan — Apoignant story set at the time of partition; TheClassroom — A depiction of a teacher’s first class;Last Letter — A story about a father’s last let-ter to his daughter; Twenty Questions — Anamusing story about an arranged marriage set-up, Ek Lamha — An ethereal depiction of a poetfinding his muse as he passes by the tenth floorof a building.

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AB de Villiers smashed anunbeaten half-century asRoyal Challengers Bangalore

recovered from a disappointing startto post a challenging 148-4 againstKings XI Punjab in an Indian PremierLeague encounter, here on Monday.

Playing his first match of the sea-son after regaining his fitness, deVilliers slammed a 46-ball 89-rununconquered innings laced with asmany as nine sixes and three fours tosingle-handedly take RCB close to the150-mark.

With de Villiers going hammerand tongs, RCB amassed 68 runs offthe last four overs to post a goodscore after being precariously placedat 22-3 in 5 overs.

Electing to bat, RCB found them-selves in a spot of bother early in theinnings but de Villiers shared 46 runsoff 49 balls with Mandeep Singh (28)for the 4th wicket to steady theinnings.

For Punjab, Varun Aaron (2/21)picked up two wickets, while SandeepSharma (1/26) and Axar Patel (1/12)picked one wicket each.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Patelstarted the bowling attack for Punjaband he struck the first blow, dis-missing opener Shane Watson (1) inthe last ball of the first over itself.

Looking to play a cut shot,Watson ended up dragging the ballon to his stumps.

De Villiers, who replaced WestIndies' destructive batsman ChrisGayle in the team, produced the firstsix of the match in the third overwhen he blasted Mohit Sharma overextra cover.

However, other opener VishnuVinod (7) also tried to get into the actin the next over off Sandeep Sharmabut he was cramped for room andended up giving a simple catch toMaxwell at the long-on boundary.

In the next over, Aaron trappedKedar Jadhav (1) infront of wicket asBangalore were reduced to 22-3 infive overs.

After a few quiet overs, de Villiersplundered a six and a four to accu-

mulate 13 runs off young left-armseamer T Natarajan in the ninth overto help RCB reach 47 for 3.

De Villiers and Mandeep keptdealing in ones and twos to keep thescoreboard ticking before Aaron dis-missed the Jalandhar batsman in the14th over with wicket-keeperWriddhiman Saha taking a brilliantcatch.

In the 16th over, de Villiersslammed Aaron over mid-off to pickup his second six off the innings.

The South African then smashedMarcus Stoinis over deep midwick-et twice in the next over to bring uphis fifty.

Stuart Binny then got into the actand clobbered a six and a four offMohit before de Villiers blasted

another six between the long-onand deep midwicket area.

De Villiers then smashed a fourand successive sixes off Sandeep toamass 19 runs.

Mohit then bowled four goodballs in the last over before theSouth African ended the innings withtwo lusty blows which allowed histeam to post a competitive total.

���� �-�A�,

Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene said he hasseen enough T20 cricket not to be surprised by the

manner in which his side pulled off a sensational four-wick-et victory in an IPL game against Kolkata Knight Riders here.

"It's a funny game. I have seen enough T20 cricket, ithappens. A bit of pressure and a few good shots created thisopportunity for us," Jayawardene said.

MI snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, overhaul-ing KKR's challenging score of 178 with one ball to spareat the Wankhede Stadium Sunday night.

"You always need to have that belief, happy that play-ers had that belief. It was brilliant," said the stylish formerSri Lanka batsman and captain.

He also praised the display of the side's two young Indianplayers — Nitish Rana of Delhi and Hardik Pandya of Baroda— who pulled off the memorable win.

"I am pretty pleased and I am glad two young playerscarried us through. Nitish anchored the innings and tookthe game deep and Hardik came in and finished the job,"said Jayawardene.

Rana made 50 in 29 balls to put MI well in sight of vic-tory before departing in the penultimate over. Pandya fin-ished the job with a four to long leg off the fifth ball of thelast over to remain unbeaten on a 11-ball 29.

"It was important to get points on board. Boys playedwell. After losing the first game, to come back that wayshowed character and quality. Even in the last game we didnot give up and took it deep. I am happy, it was brilliant,"said Jayawardene, referring to his side's opening game lossto Rising Pune Supergiant on April 6.

Meanwhile, Rohit remonstrated with the umpire and hasbeen reprimanded by the match referee for the Level 1offence, under the IPL's Code of Conduct.

���� �-�A�,

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday heapedpraise on the young Nitish Rana and Hardik Pandya

for securing the team's first win of the Indian Premier League.Rana smashed 50 off 29 balls before Pandya came up

with a 29-run cameo off 11 balls to seal a thrilling four wick-et win over Kolkata Knight Riders.

"Winning the game was important. We're known for this— we keep people on their toes. Very happy with

this win," said Rohit. "Here at Wankhede, weback our players to get the runs with the dewcoming in and the flat pitch. We were hop-

ing Rana and Hardik would finish it off andthey did. It's important for any teamto have young players come in like

that and finish the job. I hope theyrepeat it. "There's still room for

improvement. We don't wantto be in the back seat. Weknow the things we didn't dowell today and we'll go back to

the drawing board before ournext game," he added.

KKR captain GautamGambhir was frank in his assess-

ment, saying his players could nothandle the pressure. "We backour bowlers to do the job. It's justa matter of keeping our nervescalm. We panicked a little in theend with the misfield and the

dropped catch (cost us). It's a goodchasing ground — you could

chase anything," said Gambhir.

���� �-21

Abatting-heavy Rising Pune Supergiant wouldlook to return to winning ways when they take

on Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier Leaguematch here on Tuesday.

It is still early days in the 10th edition of IPLand Rising Pune Supergiant had a mixed outing sofar with a win and loss from two games they haveplayed so far. While Pune got off their campaignon a rousing note by defeating Mumbai Indians byseven wickets at home, they slumped to a 6-wick-et defeat against Kings XI Punjab in their next out-ing in Indore.

With the likes of in-form Steven Smith,Ajinkya Rahane, costliest player of IPL Ben Stokes,Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Manoj Tiwary in its rank,batting is considered the strongest aspect for thePune side. Rahane, Smith and Stokes have been

among runs but Pune would beworried about the form of open-er Mayank Agarwal and Dhoni inparticular.

While Rahane made 66 and 19in the first two games, Smith wastthe architect of Pune's win in theirt o u r n a m e n t

opener with an 86-run knock. The Australia cap-tain, however, failed to sizzle in the next game scor-ing just 26.

Stokes, who made 21 in the first game, rescuedthe Pune side against Kings XI in th company ofManoj Tiwary. While Stokes made a valuable 50,Tiwary scored a quickfire unbeaten 40.

But it is Pune's bowling attack which lacks bite.Ashok Dinda, Daniel Christian and Stokes lookedordinary with the new ball and if they are to makea mark in the tournament, the trio need to fire in

unison with the ball.The stand-out performer for Pune with the ball

has been South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir,who picked up three and two wickets respective-ly in the first two games.

But Tahir desperately need support from theother end. The Daredevils, on the other hand, lostby 15 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore inthe only game they had played in the tourna-ment so far.

Despite restricting RCB to 157 for eight,Daredevils batting line-up failed to chase downth target, managing 142 for nine wickets in theiralloted 20 overs. Led by experienced ZaheerKhan, Daredevils bowlers were right on theirmoney against RCB. Both Zaheer (2/31), ChrisMorris (3/21) and Pat Cummins (1/29) wereimpressive with the new ball, while domestic sea-son's highest wicket taker, left-arm spinnerShahbaz Nadeem (1/13) shone in the middle overs.

The 158-run target should have been an easychase for Daredevils but their top-order — AdityaTare, Sam Billings, Karun Nair and SanjuSamson — fumbled. Young Risabh Pant, whoshowed nerves of steel, top-scored forDaredevils with a 36-ball 57 days after los-ing his father.

���� �-21

England wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings

says working with greatslike Rahul Dravid in the

IPL has made him amuch improved play-er of spin bowling.

Billings, who isinto his secondseason at Delhi

Daredevils, went tothe extent of saying thatpast year has seen himimprove like never before.

"There is no doubt thatin the last one year, theimprovement (I have felt in

my game) has been the biggestof my career. Getting to know

your game in different condi-tions is always a learning expe-rience.

"Playing quality spin for sixweeks (in the IPL), you learna lot out of that. Anyway youare always looking to try toimprove and perform. Ofcourse, the schedule is hectic,"said Billings, referring tonational duty and time hespends playing leagues acrossthe globe.

Asked how much he haslearnt from the likes of teammentor Dravid and head coachPaddy Upton, Bil l ingsreplied:"He (Dravid) is one ofthe best to have played thegame. So their is lots to learnfrom him and even from

Paddy. It is always a greatexperience to pick their brains.It is a huge honour actually.You are always learning from

people of that stature," he said.Talking about the team

composition, he saidDaredevils have a well-bal-

anced squad and it was disap-pointing to lose the tourna-ment opener against RoyalChallengers Bangalore.

"Yeah, very disappointedwith the result. Real shame tonot get over the line. We arefocused on the next game now.There are lots of positives totake from the previous game.

"Every team is strong inthis competition, all havepower hitters and quality spin-ners. But if we turn up to playto our potential, we can beatany team."

Billings added that teamnot only has a good paceattack, it also has quality spin-ners in Jayant Yadav andShahbaz Nadeem.

�����-�A�,

Mumbai Indians batsman KieronPollard has slammed Sanjay

Manjrekar for his on-air comments abouthis batting during an IPL match againstKolkata Knight Riders here, saying that theformer India player suffers from "verbaldiarrhoea".

Pollard was dismissed for a run-a-ball17, leaving MI at a precarious 119/5 withless than four overs to go in his team's chaseof 179. In the commentary box, Manjrekarhad criticised Pollard, saying that he wasonly good enough to bat for the last six orseven overs of an innings.

Manjrekar was responding to a fellowcommentator's query about what Pollard'sideal position in the batting order should

be.Pollard responded

angrily to Manjrekar'scriticism in a series oftweets.

"@sanjaymanjrekaru feel any positive cancome out of your mouthbcuz u get pay to talk ucan continue with yourverbal diarrhea (diar-rhoea)..," Pollard said in hisfirst tweet.

"Do you know how I get bigso.. About BRAINLESS.. Wordsare very powerful .. Once itleaves u can't take it back.. sins ofparents fall on...," he said inanother tweet.

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One month after leading themost improbable of comebacks,Neymar earned himself the

scorn of Barcelona's fans with a pair ofsenseless bookings.

He'll get a chance to redeem him-self on Tuesday when his team facesJuventus in the first leg of theChampions League quarterfinals.

Neymar picked up a pair of sense-less yellow cards on Saturday and gotsent off with 25 minutes left and histeam trailing by a goal at Malaga.Without him, the undermanned sidelost 2-0 and squandered an opportunityto close in on Spanish league leader RealMadrid, which was held to a 1-1 drawby Atletico Madrid.

Neymar's infractions bordered onthe absurd. Or tragicomic.

The Brazilian got his first yellowcard for bending over to tie his bootlaces and not giving space for a Malagaplayer to cleanly take a free kick. Then,knowing he was one false step fromleaving his team with 10 men,Neymar charged into a Malagaplayer with no real chance to winback the ball.

As if he hadn't hurt his teamenough already, Neymarmay have made mattersworse by sarcasticallyapplauding the assistantreferee as he exited the field.

The sending-off meant Neymarwill be suspended for the next matchagainst Real Sociedad, but his addeddose of bad attitude could earn him anextended suspension, putting in dan-ger his availability for the match atMadrid on April 23 that will go a long

way to deciding the domestic title.Referee Gil Manzano included

Neymar's sarcastic applause in hisreport to the Spanish federation's

competition committee, whichwill meet on Wednesday todecide the length of his sus-pension.

The front page ofBarcelona-based sports daily

Sport on Sunday summedup the incredulity ofBarcelona's supportersby splashing the headline

"UNFORGIVABLE" over aphoto of Manzano showing Neymar hiswell-deserved red card.

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique triedto deflect criticism of Neymar bypointing at Manzano's decisions.

"There were nasty tackles frombehind that didn't earn bookings,

while other fouls committed by uswere," Luis Enrique said. "The rules areto be interpreted, but they should be thesame for all."

Excuses aside, what a month is hasbeen for the Brazil striker.

His two goals and last-gasp pass forthe winner in the dying minutes ofBarcelona's historic 6-1 win over ParisSaint-Germain on March 8 earned himpraise. The result sent Barcelonathrough 6-5 on aggregate, making it thefirst team to overturn a 4-0 first-leg lossin the competition.

Neymar's performance, which herightly called the "best of my career,"appeared to mark a watershed momentfor the 25-year-old Brazilian.

Suddenly, he wasn't just LionelMessi's flashy sidekick; he had willedBarcelona to victory as only a trueleader can.

�7��������!���������'������� There's Paulo Dybala, andthere's Lionel Messi. Both play forArgentina and both are crucial for theirclub teams, but that's where Dybalawants the comparisons to stop.

"People should know that I amDybala and I want to continue to be so,"the Juventus forward told Italian dailyLa Repubblica. "I understand the com-parisons and expectations on me fromthe Argentines, but I don't want to bethe new Messi or the Messi of thefuture.

“There is only one Messi, like(Diego) Maradona. No one has evertold me that I am his heir."

"I really admire him. I respecthim," Dybala said.

"He has won many ChampionsLeagues. I haven't won any and I'mdreaming about the first."

�� A1"4,2

Marco Reus can't returnsoon enough for Borussia

Dortmund.The speedy forward's

absence was painfully evident inSaturday's 4-1 loss at BayernMunich and his presence wouldsignificantly boost Dortmund'schances of getting past Monacoin the Champions League quar-terfinals.

Dortmund hosts the Frenchleague leaders in the first leg onTuesday, with Reus again unlike-ly to play as he struggles to makehis way back from a hamstringinjury.

Reus' importance toDortmund has been highlight-ed by the team's patchy form inthe Bundesliga in the five weekssince he injured his right thighagainst Bayer Leverkusen.

Two losses, a draw againstSchalke in the Ruhr derby andonly two wins over relegation-threatened clubs have seen theside slip from third place with atwo-point lead over Hoffenheimto fourth, one point behind.Third guarantees ChampionsLeague participation, fourthonly a playoff.

"No one can imagine whatit means for us to do withouthim for so long," Dortmundcoach Thomas Tuchel said ofReus last week. "He makes allthe players around him better.We miss his influence and hisintensity. But we're worriedabout how we get him back.We're optimistic but we're alsoconcerned about follow-upinjuries."

Reus, who returned toDortmund from league rivalBorussia Moenchengladbachin 2012, has been plagued byinjury in his time at the club. Hehas only played in 11 of theteam's 28 Bundesliga gamesthis season, alongside threeChampions League appearances

and one in the German Cup.Reus' frequent ailments

have seen him being dubbed a"Pechvogel" among Germanmedia — literally a bad luck bird— as one setback has followedanother.

An ankle injury just beforethe 2014 World Cup ruled Reusout of Germany's triumph inBrazil, while a groin injuryruled him out of the EuropeanChampionship in France.

But Dortmund's problemshave been exacerbated byinjuries to others. Mario Goetzeis out indefinitely with meta-bolic disturbances causing hisrecurring muscular problems,while Andre Schuerrle, SvenBender, Julian Weigl, ShinjiKagawa, Erik Durm and LukaszPiszczek all missed Saturday'sgame against Bayern. GonzaloCastro went off with a knock.

"We have hopes for JulianWeigl and Shinji Kagawa. AndI think that Lukasz Piszczek,who we rested today, can play.There's little point in countingon any of the others," Tuchelsaid Saturday.

���� 213�/14),

Davis Cup captain MaheshBhupathi should have

shown "respect" to Leander Paesby clearly telling him that he wasnot going to be a part of theplaying squad before his arrivalfor the tie against Uzbekistan,the AITA said on Monday.

In the midst of an ugly pub-lic spat over team selection,Paes said that Bhupathi wasbeing disrespectful to him by notcategorically telling him thathe would not be in the playingsquad, while the new captainasserted that he had neverpromised a certain spot to Paes.

AITA Secretary GeneralHironmoy Chatterjee told PTIthat the non-playing captainshould have kept in mind Paes'stature in Indian tennis.

"We would have appreciatedif Mahesh had told Leander

before he arrived that he is notgoing to be in the final four. Ithink he (Paes) deserves thatrespect after serving the coun-try for 27 years," Chatterjeesaid.

The senior AITA officialalso said that they expect theveteran players to behave in amature manner.

Bhupathi made public his

chat with Paes to counter accu-sations that he used his positionto exclude the Olympic medal-list from the playing squad.

"We expect these senior prosto be more mature. The way theyare going about it, we are notappreciating it. We have to talkto them and make sure theybehave in a much more maturemanner," Chetterjee said.

The Bengal TennisAssociation President also saidthat Paes should have avoidedmaking comments on his exclu-sion during the tie.

"Leander should not havespoken when the tie was on.Mahesh did the right thing byspeaking after the tie was over,"Chatterjee felt.

The AITA official said hehas seen the whatsapp chatbetween Paes and Bhupathi andits aim now is to bring themtogether and sort out the issues.

"I have also seen it and dis-cussed it with Leander. I amgoing to sit and talk to both ofthem when I get time since theyare both travelling.

"I do intend to bring themtogether. They will settle it out.They are mature people but thereactions they have given couldhave been much better," he said.

Bhupathi, in his Facebook

Post, had mentioned that he thethe backing of the establishmentin implementing his ideas as hestrives to get the team back toWorld Group. Chatter jeeendorsed the non-playing cap-tain's view.

"Well whatever he wants todo and whatever he has said,definitely he has been interact-ing with the federation andthere is no doubt about that. Hehas discussed everything withus. There are no issues withthat," he said.

After Bhupathi claimed thatpersonal agenda was not behindPaes' exclusion, the latter issued astatement that he was never cate-gorically told that he would not bein the playing four, which hefound disrespectful.

The Lee-Hesh saga goes backto the late 1990s and their acri-monious relationship has been atalking point in Indian tennis.

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London Olympic bronzemedallist Saina Nehwal

on Monday pulled out of the$350,000 Singapore SuperSeries to spend more time intraining to improve her gameahead of the hectic interna-tional circuit.

Olympic silver medallistPV Sindhu, meanwhile, willlook to put behind her dis-appointing first-round exit atMalaysia when she leads theIndian challenge here.

The 27-year-old Sainasaid she will next play at theAsian BadmintonChampionship to be held atWuhan, China later thismonth.

"Yes, I withdrew fromthe tournament as I feel Ineed some more time train-ing to get better. There is

improvement in the knee butI think some more trainingwill help at this point," Sainatold PTI.

"I will play AsiaBadminton Championshipnext. I will also play theIndonesia Super Series andthe Sudirman Cup," said the2010 Commonwealth Gameschampion.

Saina, who had won theMalaysia Masters Grand PrixGold in January after recov-ering from a career-threat-ening knee injury, had bowedout of the opening round atMalaysia Open last week afterlosing narrowly to Japan'sAkane Yamaguchi.

While Saina will be miss-

ing in action, Sindhu, whoclinched her maiden IndiaOpen at New Delhi to achievea career-best World No. 2ranking, will have to get overthe heart-break at Kuching,where she was stunned byupcoming Chinese shuttlerChen Yufei.

However, a tough drawawaits Sindhu as she is slatedto face Japan's NozomiOkuhara, 2016 All EnglandOpen champion and RioOlympic bronze medallist.

Meanwhile, Nationalchampion Rituparna Dasmade into the main draw ofwomen's singles and she willtake on Chinese Taipei's HsuYa Ching.

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Sergio Garcia tugged the lapelof his green jacket with both

hands, proud of his prize andhow he earned it.

His hopes were fadingSunday in the Masters — twoshots behind with six holes toplay — when his tee shotbounced off a tree and into anazalea bush, the kind of bad luckhe had come to expect in themajors. Instead of pouting, he fig-ured out how to make par.

Five feet away from winning,his birdie putt peeled off to theright. Usually resigned to fail,Garcia proved to be moreresilient than ever.

He was a new man with anew title: Masters champion.

Major champion.

After nearly two decades ofheartache in the tournamentsthat define careers, Garcia final-ly showed the mettle to win amajor.

He overcame a two-shotdeficit against Justin Rose andwon on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.

No one ever played moremajors as a pro (70) before win-ning one for the first time.

Garcia had two big momentson the par 5s — one a par, theother an eagle — in closing witha 3-under 69. Rose sent his driveinto the trees on the 18th hole inthe playoff, punched out andfailed to save par from 15 feet.

That gave the Spaniard twoputts from 12 feet for the victo-ry, and his putt swirled into thecup for a birdie.

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It was a super Sunday for the Indiansenior women's team as they tri-

umphed over Chile in the Final of theWomen's Hockey World League Round2 in West Vancouver. The teams werelocked in a 1-1 stalemate at the end ofregulation time, but in the shootout, theexperienced Savita came up with a stun-ning display of goalkeeping to ensureIndia emerged victorious.

Savita, who was adjudged theGoalkeeper of The Tournament, wasoutstanding under the bar as shedenied scoring chances to Kim Jacoband Josefa Villalabeitia which gave Indiaa head start in the shootout. SkipperRani and Monika took India's score to2-0 with two successive goals inshootout. Though Carolina Garciascored in Chile's third attempt, India'sDeepika converted India's third goal towin the match.

Despite conceding an early goal inthe 5th minute to Maria Maldonado,the Indian women stayed upbeat intheir pursuit. They came up with gooddefensive structure to keep Chile fromscoring again. Though India earned

their first PC in the 22nd minute, theeffort was saved by keeper ClaudiaSchuler. Chile continued to stay in leaduntil the third quarter when AnupaBarla successfully converted a penaltycorner in the 41st minute to equalise.The fourth quarter saw both teamspush for a goal and Rani came close toscoring but her strong backhand shotwas saved by Claudia to end the regu-lation time with the score 1-1.

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