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7`]]`hfd`_+ $C56J6* 0DXU4QY\i@Y_^UUb ?0:8BC0=C742D;?A8C) 5>A<4A05670=>558280; VQSUR__[S_]TQY\i`Y_^UUb 51,1R5HJQ877(1*5(*'1R8$'2''1 DA@CE"& H@C=5"# B0278=8=3D2C438=C> 1A03<0=70;;>550<4 >E4A!$BC8;;<8BB8=6 8=BA8;0=:0;0=3B;834 347A03D=C7DAB30H>2C>14A"! #*?064B %C! 4bcPQ[XbWTS '%# k ;PcT2Xch E^['8bbdT !(& 0XaBdaRWPaVT4gcaPXU0__[XRPQ[T 1>E@1=;85B 1G19DC4E5C 6B?=C1=9B ;1B>9; !#F9F139DI !!!"#$%&"' m <RcRe]`dVddYZ_VRd =P`eXWTPSbU^a1T]VP[´bZX[[X]VUXT[Sb JVTYfcjYRdYZdhRj %-3WRXSDQWH DJDLQVW70&¶V NLOOHUFDPSDLJQ 2?<PbZb?^[XcQda^ c^aTSaPUc^UUXRXP[ aTb^[dcX^]PSS_^X]cb aPXbTSQhBXcPaP\ 'HPDQGRIHOHFWULFLW\ PLOOLRQXQLWV $YDLODELOLW\RIHOHFWULFLW\ PLOOLRQXQLWV 20?BD;4 =0B0´BD=<0==43A>2:4C 4G?;>34B0C;85C>55 FPbWX]Vc^])0]d]\P]]TS 0]cPaTba^RZTcTg_[^STSbTR^]Sb PUcTa[XUc^UUUa^\PR^\\TaRXP[ [Pd]RW_PSX]EXaVX]XP\PaZX]V cWTUXabcPRRXST]cbX]RT=PbP cda]TSc^_aXePcT^_TaPc^abc^ ST[XeTaRPaV^c^cWT8]cTa]PcX^]P[ B_PRTBcPcX^]Qdc^UUXRXP[bbPXS ]^^]TfPbWdac ? ! 8=380´BA0=:8=68=40B4 >53>8=61DB8=4BB3A>?B FPbWX]Vc^])8]SXPaP]ZTS #! P\^]VcWT '(R^d]caXTb bdaeThTSU^acWT[PcTbcF^a[S 1P]Z³b°4PbT^U3^X]V1dbX]Tbb± aT_^acaT[TPbTS^]FTS]TbSPhP Sa^_Qhcf^_[PRTbUa^\[Pbc hTPa³baP]ZX]VCWTUP[[X]8]SXP³b aP]ZX]VUa^\[PbchTPa³b #Xb \PX][hQTRPdbT^cWTa]PcX^]b _TaU^a\TS\dRWQTccTaQP]Z ^UUXRXP[bbPXS ? 08A24;<0AG8B340;) <0A0=BD<<>=43 =Tf3T[WX) 5^a\TacT[TR^\ \X]XbcTa3PhP]XSWX<PaP]fPb ^]FTS]TbSPhbd\\^]TSQhP b_TRXP[R^dacWTPaX]VcWT0XaRT[ <PagXbSTP[Pb_Pac^UcWT[PaVTa !6b_TRcad\P[[^RPcX^]RPbTc^ P__TPaQTU^aTXc^]<PaRW! ?# ;?62>BC;84A1H C"?4A2H;8=34A =Tf3T[WX)CWT_aXRT^U bdQbXSXbTS;?6WPbV^]Td_Qh C"_TaRh[X]STaU^[[^fX]VcWT 6^eTa]\T]c³bSTRXbX^]c^WXZT R^\\XbbX^]_PXSc^STP[Tab ? CF><>A46D4AA8;;0B :8;;438=:0B7<8A BaX]PVPa)Cf^\^aTbT_PaPcXbc VdTaaX[[PbfTaTZX[[TSQhbTRdaXch U^aRTb^]cWTbTR^]SSPh^UP" W^da[^]VVd]UXVWcX]9P\\d P]S:PbW\Xa³b:d_fPaPSXbcaXRc cWPcT]STS^]FTS]TbSPh_^[XRT bPXS°>]T\X[XcP]cP]SP9d]X^a 2^\\XbbX^]TS>UUXRTa^UcWT 0a\hfTaTZX[[TSX]cWTT]R^d]cTa ^]CdTbSPh±PbT]X^a_^[XRT ^UUXRTabPXS ?& ?=BQ =4F34;78 I ?8>=44A=4FBB4AE824Q =4F34;78 S enior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury has had his own way. With 35 of the 55 members who aired their views at the four-day Central Committee (CC) meeting backing him, the CPI(M) has asked its Politburo to redraft its official resolution considering the points that emerged in the brainstorming session which concluded on Wednesday. The CC asking the Politburo to accommodate the points mentioned in the alternative resolution introduced by dissenting members is considered an unprecedented step of the Left party. Differing with the official resolution, Yechury had moved an alternative one. It called for a review of the party's decisions and approach in the last 10 years and exploring options of tie-ups and alliances with all secular parties outside the Left umbrella to counter the surging BJP. The official resolution O 3XUUTaX]VfXcWcWT^UUXRXP[aTb^[dcX^]HTRWdahWPS\^eTSP] P[cTa]PcXeT^]T O CWT^UUXRXP[aTb^[dcX^]fPbU^acWTaTeXTf^UcWT_^[XcXRP[P]S cPRcXRP[[X]T^UcWT_PachbX]RTcWT (&'9P[P]SWPa2^]VaTbb O HTRWdahPaVdTScWPccWTSTRXbX^]bbX]RT (&'fTaT]^c fa^]VP]SUPd[cTScWTX\_[T\T]cPcX^]^USTRXbX^]bX]cWT_Pbc hTPabcWTaTQh_^X]cX]VUX]VTabPc2?8<VT]TaP[ bTRaTcPah?aPZPbW:PaPcWX\bT[U O CWT22PUcTaXcb[^]VSTQPcTSTRXSTSc^R^]bXSTacWT _^X]cbaPXbTSQhHTRWdah was for the review of the political and tactical line of the party since the 1978 Jalandhar Congress. Yechury argued that the decisions since 1978 were not wrong and faulted the implementation of decisions in the past 10 years, thereby, pointing fingers at CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat himself. Karat has been at the helm of the party since 2005. Yechury's resolution pinpointed the failure of implementation of the CPI(M)'s tactical line from 2004, including withdrawing support to the UPA and failure to form alliances with regional parties to counter the BJP. Continued on Page 4 n view of the increased attacks on BJP workers in Birbhum, party president Amit Shah on Wednesday set up a three-member fact-finding team, headed by vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and rushed it to Kolkata to visit the affected areas of Birbhum. 1´STbW9P\PPcRWXTU VTcbSTPcWbT]cT]RT U^a (& fPaRaX\Tb Dhaka: Matiur Rahman Nizami, chief of Bangladesh’s fundamentalist Jamaat-eIslami, was sentenced to death on Wednesday by a special tribunal for war crimes he committed during the nation’s independence war against Pakistan in 1971, triggering violent clashes between his supporters and police. “He shall be hanged by neck until he is dead,” pronounced Enayetur Rahim, the chairman of the three-member panel of judges of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal. Detailed report on P12 ?^[XcXRP[d]RTacPX]ch_dcbQPQdb^UU3T[WX .H\GHSDUWPHQWV JRKHDGOHVVDV VHQLRU,$6 RIILFHUVUHOXFWDQW WRMRLQFLW\*RYW A094B7:D<0AQ =4F34;78 T he political uncertainty in Delhi is not only taking a toll on infrastructural development for the past one year but is also hampering day-to-day functioning of the administration. Many senior duty posts are lying vacant in key departments as there is some reluctance among the bureaucrats to remain or join the Delhi Government, which was once considered to be a plum posting, due to political uncertainty. Top sources told The Pioneer that around 12 senior 3dTc^cWTQdaTPdRaPcb´ aT[dRcP]RT\P]h_^bcb X]ZThST_Pac\T]cbPaT [hX]VePRP]cWP\_TaX]V cWTf^aZ^UcWT3T[WX 6^eTa]\T]c0bcWX]Vb bcP]ScWTaTXbPbW^acPVT ^U!#^UUXRXP[bPcPbT]X^a [TeT[X]cWT=PcX^]P[ 2P_XcP[ B>DA24B IAS officers have stymied attempts by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to transfer them to Delhi. This comes at a time when some, who are being posted in the National Capital, are also trying to get out. “Due to the bureaucrats’ reluctance, many posts in key departments are lying vacant hampering the work of the CWTaTPaT " _^bcbU^a80B ^UUXRTabX]3T[WX 6^eTa]\T]c fXcW$%^UcWT\ R^]bXSTaTSPb bT]X^aSdch_^bc U^acW^bTfXcW !^a\^aT hTPab^UbTaeXRT Delhi Government. As things stand, there is a shortage of 24 officials at the senior level in the National Capital,” said the sources. There are a total of 103 posts for IAS officers in the Delhi Government with 56 of them considered as senior duty post (for those with 12 or more years of service). For instance, 1985-batch officer Parimal Rai, who has completed his two years in Goa, is reluctant to join the Delhi Government. A 1984-batch officer Ramesh Negi, who is serving as Chief Secretary in Arunachal Pradesh, has also completed his two-year tenure outside Delhi but is not interested in coming back to Delhi. 1984-batch officer KK Sharma, who was posted as advisor to Chandigarh administrator, opted to join Central Government’s Women and Child Development Department. Interestingly Sharma was lobbying for the post of Chief Secretary of Goa. Satbir Silas Bedi, a 1986 batch officer has preferred to go on Central Deputation for five years. She is currently posted as Joint Secretary in the Human Resource Development Ministry. Dr Anand Prakash, a 1979-batch officer, is posted in Andamans as Chief Secretary. Continued on Page 4 The team, also including party MPs Kirti Azad and Udit Raj, will submit a report based on their assessment of the situation at the ground level. In the meantime, violence continued in the State with four persons of a particular community reportedly hacked to death after communal clashes over idol immersion after Kali Puja in Malda. Police said that a large posse of RAF and combat forces had been rushed to the area and that the situation was "strictly under control." Curfew was imposed in at least three police station areas of the district. Though tension was brewing between the residents of Sujapur under Kaliachak Police Station and Madhughat under English Bazar Police Station over the immersion procession, things came to a head on Tuesday night when two groups fought against each other with firearms, bombs and swords. The district, where minorities constitute about 60 per cent of the population, was in 2009 broken into two parliamentary constituencies, North and South Malda. The Bengal Police also tended to show the trailer of what they intended to do when the BJP delegation visits the killing fields of Makra and Chowmangalpur in the politically simmering Birbhum district on Thursday. The police arrested a delegation of 12 senior Left leaders including MPs, MLAs former Ministers and MPs, who were visiting the area to take stock of the situation after Monday's violence. The Left leaders had refused bail on personal bonds and were still under detention when reports last came in. Continued on Page 4 D:EY`e`_ecRZ]`W'#( W`cVZX_R TY`]UVcd >]T\^]cWSTPS[X]T BC4?8=C74A867C38A42C8>= X]U^a\PcX^]X]9d[h! cWT Y 0cc^a]Th6T]TaP[<dZd[ U^a_a^QT_P]T[c^ PRR^d]cW^[STabaTbXSX]VX]8]SXP A^WPcVXfW^WP]STScWaTTbTcb fTaTR^]cPRcTSQhcWT8]R^\T ^US^Rd\T]cbX]PbTP[TSR^eTa bdQ\XcXcbaT_^ac CPgPdcW^aXcXTbPbP]hcPgc^QT c^cWTB2bPXScWPc°[TbbcWP] 01A070<C7><0BQ =4F34;78 W ith the Centre on Wednesday submitting a list of 627 Indians having accounts in HSBC Bank, Geneva, the Supreme Court (SC), hearing the black money case, set the Special Investigation Team (SIT) hot on their trail fixing a one-month deadline for the probe panel to submit its report. The SC had on Tuesday directed the Centre to submit the entire list of names. Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, who handed three sets of documents in a sealed cover to the SC, said that “less than half ” of the 627 people named in the list were residing in India against whom investigation is either pending or complete for transactions made between 1999 and 2006. Besides the raw list supplied by France in 2011, the sealed cover contained com- WP[U±^UcWT%!&_T^_[T]P\TSX] cWT[XbcfTaTaTbXSX]VX]8]SXP PVPX]bcfW^\X]eTbcXVPcX^]Xb TXcWTa_T]SX]V^aR^\_[TcTU^a caP]bPRcX^]b\PSTQTcfTT] ((( P]S!% Y 1TbXSTbcWTaPf[Xbcbd__[XTS Qh5aP]RTX]! cWTbTP[TS R^eTaR^]cPX]TSR^\\d]XRPcX^] TgRWP]VTSQTcfTT]8]SXP]P]S 5aT]RWPdcW^aXcXTbP]SP bcPcdbaT_^ac^UB8CSPcTS 9d]T!&! # aPXbTSPVPX]bccWTcaP]bPRcX^]b WPSc^QTS^]TQTU^aT<PaRW" ! $ Y 0[[cWTbTUPRcbcWPcWPeTQTT] aTeTP[TSfTaTP[aTPShZ]^f]c^ cWT\T\QTab^UB8CFTbW^d[S QTPQ[Tc^UX[TPbPcXbUPRc^ah aT_^acX]cX\TbPXS9dbcXRT<1 BWPW Y CWT06_^X]cTS^dccWPc TeTabX]RTcWT 6^eTa]\T]caTRTXeTScWT munication exchanged between Indian and French authorities and a status report of SIT dated June 27, 2014. The AG pointed out that ever since the Government received the information in July 2011, the account holders residing in India were contacted by the Income Tax authorities as any tax to be raised against the transactions had to be done before March 31, 2015. “Some have admitted they have these (bank) accounts and they will pay taxes while investigation is going on against some,” Rohatgi said. Continued on Page 4 Related reports on P5 :KLSSROOXWHUVWRVDYH*DQJD6&WHOOV1*7 01A070<C7><0BQ =4F34;78 W itnessing the failure of the Central and State Pollution Control Boards to take action against industries polluting Ganga River, the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday entrusted the National Green Tribunal (NGT) with the responsibility of doing the job. Giving the tribunal a free hand to crack the whip against 17 categories of grossly and highly polluting industries lined along the Ganges in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the Bench headed by Justice TS Thakur said that for 30 years, its crusade to clean the holy river had failed due to the failure of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State pollution boards to implement its orders. With industrial CWT1T]RWWTPSTSQh9dbcXRTCB CWPZdabPXSU^a"hTPabXcbRadbPST c^R[TP]cWTW^[haXeTaWPSUPX[TSSdT c^cWTUPX[daT^U2T]caP[?^[[dcX^] 2^]ca^[1^PaSP]SBcPcT_^[[dcX^] Q^PaSbc^X\_[T\T]cXcb^aSTab waste seen as the biggest threat to the health of the river and its flora and fauna, a PIL by social activist MC Mehta in 1985 had served a platform for the court to explore ways and means to save the river which served as the lifeline to millions of Indians. “We regret to say that the intention of this court notwithstanding, sustained efforts by us over the past 30 years have led to no fruitful results except shutting down of some industrial units,” said the Bench, also comprising Justices Adarsh Goel and R Banumathi. “This is largely because implementation lies with CPCB and SPCBs who have done practically nothing to implement our orders,” it added. In the absence of any adequate mechanism to monitor their functioning, the Bench hoped that the job could be better done by NGT, vested with wide powers under the Environment Protection Act, Water Act and Air Act. These Acts allow the Tribunal to close down the polluting industries and even snap water and electricity supply to the erring units for noncompliance of its orders. The Bench sought halfyearly reports from NGT on the action taken on this front even as it kept to itself other issues of pollution faced by Ganga, particularly from domestic waste and untreated sewage. Expressing deep concern over the present pollution level of the river, which it described as the “lifeline” of the country, the Bench said: “This is an institutional failure and their (CPCB and SPCBs) story is a story of complete failure, frustration and disaster.” Continued on Page 4 F^\T]^UUTa_aPhTab^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U2WWPcW?dYPX]=Tf3T[WX^]FTS]TbSPh AP]YP]3X\aXk?X^]TTa dccPaPZWP]S! () (*+,-+./ µ9f^R_RTeZgZejcVda`_dZS]V 1\]_bQ_VVYSYQ\cd_\Td_edY\YcUTUfU\_`]U^dVe^Tc W`cTR]R^ZeZVdZ_9Z^R]RjRd¶ T ?=BQ 70;3F0=8 he district administration, Almora, has asked the officials concerned of the different departments to utilise the sanctioned amount allocated under the district plan before November 15, 2014. Emphasising the need to ensure full utilisation of the funds approved under the district plan before the aforesaid deadline, the district administration, Almora, has said that, necessary departmental actions E8=>3270<>;8Q =4FC47A8 uman activity was responH sible for the rising natural calamities in the Himalayan region. Along with taking precautions to mitigate the disasters, there is a need to develop the communication network at local, Himalayan, Asian and global levels. If these steps are not taken on time massive disasters cannot be averted. These issues were raised by Padma Vibhushan recipient Chandi Prasad Bhatt at SRT campus, Badshahithaul. Inaugurating the three-day national seminar on geo-environmental hazards and Neotectonics in the Himalayas organised by Geology department of the HNB Garhwal central university SRT campus, Badshahithaul , the eminent environmentalist Bhatt said that being a fragile mountain, the Himalaya was not capable of withstanding the interference of human activities. He said that to build dams and roads, explosives are being stuffed by digging holes into the chest of the hills. Rivers flowing across the region is 5X[T_W^c^ being trespassed. Besides, uncontrolled urbanisation is taking place. He said that in view of the growing number of disasters, the sensitiveness of glaciers, snow ponds, meadows and forests should be constantly monitored. To save the Himalayas, a joint ecological forum should be formed involving India, China, Nepal and Bhutan to develop joint policy and joint security. Former Director of CBRI Roorkee R K Bhandari said that the deluge of Uttarakhand was a warning. A strategy should be drawn for prevention of such ?W3Pb_XaP]cbaPXbT`dTbcX^]b ^eTa?W3PS\XbbX^]_a^RTbb ?=BQ 347A03D= aspirants have raised questions against the process PhD of admission to various PhD programmes at the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar. The institute is said to have advertised for admissions to various PhD programmes under its jurisdiction and invited applications by September 25. As per the procedure laid down, the aspirants applied for admission with a research proposal and bank draft of Rs. 500 as application fee for PhD registration. The listed subjects on offer also included several branches of Economics, namely Economic Sociology and Development Economics. On September 30, the NIT also came out with a list of shortlisted applicants who were supposed to undergo an entrance and personal interview on October 27. disasters. Dr S P Sati said that several dangers are hovering due to climate change. The temperature keeps rising due to increasing Carbon Di Oxide in the atmosphere. The clouds are becoming dense due to melting of glaciers. To control this, we would have to stop tinkering with the nature. On the occasion, SRT campus director, Prof R C Ramola, Dr N P Naithani, Prof N K Aggrawal, Prof R Nagrajan, Prof H C Nainwal, Prof D S Kaintur, Dr K C Petwal, Dr K K Bangwal were present among others. will be taken against the officials concerned who fail to utilise the amount released to their respective departments till the given period of time. More so, it has also warned the officials concerned against delay in utilisation of the previous financial year's funds available with them as on April 1, 2014 saying the officials concerned will be responsible for timely utilisation of that funds. The administration has also cautioned some of the departments, particularly Jal Nigam, Jal Sansthan and PWD, against the poor pace involving the utilisation of the funds. At the same time the district administration, Almora, has also asked the officials concerned of the agriculture and horticulture departments to ensure speedy utilisation of the funds. The district administration Almora has also asked the officials concerned to accommodate the ongoing projects or uncompleted projects in the new district plan which is being prepared for the coming financial year so that these developmental works could also be completed in due course of time. It has asked the officials concerned to start verification process of different developmental projects at village, block, and district panchayat levels so that final shape could be given to the plan in the upcoming meeting slated in November. Besides, the district administration has emphasised the need to ensure speedy uti- 5XUDO\RXWKVSRUWVFRPSHWLWLRQHQGV D]T\_[^hTS 6?B4<F0;Q ?0DA8 T he rural Nehru Yuva Mandal youth sports competition of Khirsu block in Pauri district organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra was concluded with the prize distribution at block headquarter Khirsu. The chief guest of the closing function, the block development of f icer Dhaneshwari Rawat distributed the prizes among the winners and the runners involving different events. The teams from Yuva Mandal CWTRWXTUVdTbc ^UUd]RcX^]Q[^RZ STeT[^_\T]c ^UUXRTa 3WP]TbWfPaX APfPcSXbcaXQdcTS cWT_aXiTbP\^]V cWTfX]]TabP]S cWTad]]Tab of villages , Guwar, Singori, Bhinskot, Kuddili, Kolda, Markhola, Katakholi, Dharigoan and Khirsu participated in the competition involving Volleyball, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Badminton, 400 meter race ,long jump in athletics. Addressing the closing function, Rawat stressed that the sports competition is necessary to develop the mental and physical strength of the youth. The youth should participate in the sports competition with discipline. The sports build healthy body and healthy body helps in the development of mind, he said. In Volleyball, Nehru Yuva Mandal Kolto beat Khirsu in the final, while Kolta team also got the prize in Kabaddi by beating Singori team by the margin of 6 points. Kolta team defeated Singori in KhoKho by 11 points. In Badminton Rishav defeated Ashay Negi in the final and Yogendra was third and Deepak fourth. Shubham Singh won the 400 meter race, while Ashhay Negi stood second and Rahul Panwar third. In the long jump event, Ajay Singh was first (18.11 m), Shubham second (17.11m) and Ashay Negi third (17.09m). 3URWHVWDJDLQVWDGPLQ¶VSODQWRFXWWUHH ?=BQ 347A03D= M embers of the Citizens for Green Doon, along with concerned members of the Chukkuwala Residents Welfare Association, staged a protest against the administration’s plan to fell the peepal tree in front of Prabhat Cinema in Connaught Place. Speaking at the protest site, CFGD chief coordinator Dr Nitin Pandey said that the tree was merely three feet from the road edge and the Electricity Department had put in new electricity poles near the tree, much further towards the lization of funds under state sector, Centrally sponsored schemes and other projects. It has again asked the officials concerned to inform the public representatives about the projects of different developmental works being carried out in the district. The district administration, Almora, has stressed the need to make bigger financial provision under the district plan for carrying out maintenance or repair works of Government buildings. CWT_TT_P[caTT^]2WPZaPcPA^PSb[PcTSc^QTPgTS <P]VTbW:d\Pak?X^]TTa road center than the tree. He said that barely 50 meters from the tree there were shops protruding into the road as much as the tree and felling the beautiful tree would not serve any purpose. It was also pointed out that the auto stand adjacent to the tree takes as much space as the tree and so removing the tree will not make any difference to the road width. Further there are two nests of birds in the tree with eggs in it, so felling the tree would be tantamount to killing wild life under the Wildlife Protection Act and so was grossly illegal, he said. Members of the Chukkuwala Residents Welfare Association pointed out the this was the only tree left along the entire stretch of Connaught Place and felling it too would render the entire area barren. Bhim Singh a shopkeeper in the area said that he would not let the tree be cut and would oppose any move to fell it. It is pertinent to mention here that an online petition has already been started seeking that plan to axe the tree be 2[TP][X]TbbSaXeT 285<RQWcS_^dbQSdV_bFYcX^eWQT X]1PVTbWfPa XiTb_U\USdbYS`_gUb`b_ZUSd ?=BQ 70;3F0=8 ?=BQ 347A03D= he district legal service authority (DLSA), Bageshwar, is all set to organT n the face of stiff international comise an awareness rally under the ongoing Ipetition, the Bharat Heavy 'Swachh Bharat' campaign in the district on Electricals Limited (BHEL) has Thursday. Under this mass awareness rally with focus trained on sanitation, a cleanliness drive will be launched in Bageshwar city and the banks of the Saryu and Gomati rivers, said the officials concerned of the DLSA, Bageshwar. The public awareness rally will start from Numaiskhet, Bageshwar at 8 on Thursday morning, added the officials concerned of the DLSA, Bageshwar. The people of the respective areas have been advised to join hands to make the cleanliness drive a success, said the officials. secured a prestigious contract for setting up a 444 MW Hydro Electric Project (HEP) in the State of Uttarakhand. Valued at Rs.422 crore, the order for setting up of hydro generating sets and associated electro-mechanical works for the 444 MW Vishnugad Pipalkoti HEP has been placed on BHEL by THDCIL. This is the second major order, bagged by BHEL, for a hydro-electric CWT_a^YTRcR^\_aXbTbU^da WhSa^VT]TaPcX]VbTcb^U <FRP_PRXchTPRWfXcW eTacXRP[5aP]RXbcdaQX]TbP]S \PcRWX]VWhSa^VT]TaPc^ab project in Uttarakhand in 2014. Earlier, an order for the 2x60 MW Vyasi HEP was received from Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) in March, 2014. Located in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, Vishnugad Pipalkoti HEP is a run of the river scheme on the river Alaknanda. The project comprises four hydro generating sets of 111 MW capacity each, with vertical Francis turbines and matching hydro generators. BHEL’s scope of work in the contract envisages engineering, procurement and construction of all hydro generating sets and associated electro mechanical works and is to be executed in 48 months. The hydro generating sets shall be supplied by BHEL’s Bhopal unit. The transformers and Control & Monitoring system will be supplied by the company’s Jhansi unit and Electronics Division, Bangalore, respectively. The erection and commissioning of the equipment shall be carried out by BHEL’s Power Sector - Northern Region. _WPa\PRXbcb cWaTPcT]c^ X]cT]bXUhbcXa ?=BQ 347A03D= T he unemployed diploma pharmacists have threatened to intensify their agitation if the State Government fails to act on their demand for filling the vacant posts of pharmacists in the hospitals of the State. Addressing newsmen here on Wednesday the President of Unemployed Diploma pharmacists association Manoj Tripathi said that the state government should immediately fill more than 4000 posts of pharmacists in various hospitals of State as the Government has not recruited the pharmacists since the creation of the State. He said that the thousands of diploma pharmacists of Uttarakhand are waiting endlessly for Government to initiate recruitment. Tripathi warned that the state government would be solely responsible if the desperate unemployed diploma pharmacists take any extreme step like self immolation or fast unto death. He said that the association is determined to take their agitation to logical end this time. The Vice president of the association Sunil Nath said that after creation of Uttarakhand the state government continuously neglected the diploma pharmacists. He blamed the State Government for ignoring improvement in the health facilities of state as large numbers of positions of pharmacists are lying vacant despite a rapid increase in the population. 2PbTUX[TSPVPX]bc \XbRaTP]cb DEHRADUN: Some unidentified persons had posted objectionable comment on the Facebook account of former CM of Uttarakhand Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. A case was registered against him. Investigation is underway. 3Te^cTTbcWa^]VaXeTaQP]Zbc^RT[TQaPcT2WWPcW_dYP ?=BQ 347A03D= H undreds of devotees from across Uttarakhand thronged the riverbanks to perform Chhath puja rituals. They stood in the rivers and other water bodies and offered prayers to the setting sun on Wednesday evening. As per tradition, prayer is offered to the setting sun by the devotees on the third day of the puja. They all take bath by way of cleansing before they begin the puja. The same ritual is followed on the morning of the following day as they offer obeisance to the sun when it is rising. In Dehradun, devotees thronged along the riverbanks near Rispana Bridge, Tapkeshwar, Maldevta (Raipur) and others in Rishikesh on Wednesday evening. Devotees began reaching the puja venues since 2 pm and performed Chhath puja rituals till 6 pm. The ambiance, electric with devotion and delight, was almost like that of a carnival in Dehradun and Haridwar. Aside from the Parvaitins who are the principal custodians of the tradition, there were family members and friends accompanying them and a motley crowd of onlookers. They all looked eager to help the worshippers. Pravitins wore new cotton clothes, took dips in the river and offered Arghya to the sun at the auspicious time when the crimson orb was setting. The offerings consist of fruits, homemade sweets, like thekuas, 3Te^cTTb^UUTaX]V_aPhTabSdaX]V2WWPcW_dYP^]FTS]TbSPh <P]VTbW:d\Pak?X^]TTa pedas, pakwan, chawal ke laddoo (sweets made of rice), vegetables and the first crop fresh from the fields. All the sweets and other items are arranged in bamboo trays. A devotee, Rupesh Kumar said that the rituals are rigorous. They include holy bathing, fasting and abstaining from drinking water, standing in water for long periods of time and offering prasad and arghya to the setting and rising sun. “The devotees do not feel they are taking pains. They are rather exulted being part of the puja. The spirit of self-abnegation by way of prayer to the God forms the quintessence of the festival,” he said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dccPaPZWP]S" () (*+,-+./ <VURc_ReYdYcZ_VjVee`SVcVaRZcVU E8=>3270<>;8Q =4FC47A8 ore than a year has passed since the June 2013 disM aster wreaked havoc in ting the damaged portion of the temple is being questioned by many. BJP leader Munna Singh Chauhan said that the State Government wanted to present its holding of a cabinet meet at Kedarnath as an achievement. Had the Government been serious about the security of the temple, the repair work would have been finished by now, he said, while stressing that the authorities should immediately focus on ensuring security of the temple structure. According to the ASI Dehradun circle superintending archaeologist Atul Kumar Bhargava, stones for repairing the damaged portion of the temple wall have already been chiseled. The work of laying the stones was started but had to be left incomplete due to the portals of the shrine being closed. Once the shrine is reopened to the public next year, a chain pulley will be used to remove the stones and set the layer properly in the damaged portion, he said. 1DLQLWDO]RRKDVORQJ ZDLWIRUUHGSDQGDV A094=3A0B<0A:D=0Q 70;3F0=8 W ait of the zoo inmates and the animal lovers keeps on getting longer for a pair of red panda at the G B Pant high altitude zoo in Nainital from Darjeeling. Efforts are on for a long period to get a pair of the said specie from Darjeeling zoo, as the officials concerned claim. It is now expected that a pair of the said animals would arrive soon. However, it was said earlier that the pair being brought from Darjeeling would add to the populace of the zoo in Nainital by July this year. The zoo officials further said that the necessary formalities have been completed on the matter. “There is thus no reason why things we are all looking forward to would be further delayed, they maintained.” The officials said that Nainital zoo would gift a pair of Cheer Pheasant to the Darjeeling zoo authorities in reciprocation. Notably, there are a number of mammals in the zoo like Himalayan Black Bear, Sambar, Barking Deer, Goral, Serow, Himalayan Civet. They draw visitors and animal lovers. Besides, among the bird species, Kalij pheasant ,Cheer pheasant, silver pheasant, Lady Amherst's pheasant , Red Jungle Folul, Golden pheasant, Hill Partridge, Steppe Eagle, Edward pheasant, Lineated Kalij, Indian Peafowl and different species of parakeets also attract people. But the fact is that the G B Pant high altitude zoo in Nainital which is home to a variety of Himalayan birds and animals does not have the State bird monal. The demand is there for a long time to have that bird there. However, since the region is known for drawing tourists, both domestic and foreign, the high altitude zoo in lake city Nainital plays an important role as a visit to the zoo here remains an integral part of the hill sojourn for a tourist. 4]TaVh\PY^a>X[ P]S=PcdaP[6Pb 2^a_aP]ZTSc^_ T]TaVhR^\_P]h Dehradun: Energy major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd has been ranked as the top energy company in India, in the coveted Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings 2014 released on Tuesday. The ONGC has improved on its global ranking up by a notch to feature at 21st place among the global energy majors. In Asia/Pacific (APAC) rim, where several major E&P companies have operations, ONGC is featured at the fifth position, up from seventh last year. Platts, McGraw Hill Financial, mentions that Top 250 recognises outstanding financial performance for the previous year. Each company listed in the Platts Top 250 has distinguished itself through its remarkable performance and the outstanding efforts and dedication of its team. The listing is acknowledged as one of the most important recognitions of performance in the energy sector. Uttarakhand but the damaged portion of the Kedarnath shrine has not been repaired properly yet. The Archaeological Survey of India now plans to do the repairs next year when the temple reopenms after the winter break. The disaster brought about by heavy rains last year had damaged the structure of Kedarnath temple with one of its doors and a portion of the wall sustaining damage due to the flood. The ASI has already completed repairing the door on the left side of the temple but the damaged portion of the wall framing the door on one side has not yet been repaired properly. According to sources, the ASI had hired 35 stone workers from Rajasthan and these workers had chiseled about 40 stones from nearby to repair the damaged wall. However, when it came to positioning the stones on the wall, the workers were unable to fill the gap being left between 6^ecSXb_dcTb ST]VdTSTPcW X]3^^] 0XOWLSOHPXUGHUFDVH <Q^TWbQR_^bYcUY^Eµ[XQ^T $FFXVHGSURGXFHGLQFRXUW ?=BQ 347A03D= ?=BQ 347A03D= D H espite the death of one girl from dengue at one of the private hospitals of the city, the medical health department is refusing to acknowledge that the girl died due to dengue. The department is taking refuge in the fact that the CMI hospital where the girl died on Tuesday did not perform the Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) test on her. The doctors at the CMI hospital had said that the 12 year old girl was admitted in the hospital on October 20 and the rapid test showed that she was suf fering f rom Dengue. The doctors attending her informed that she was admitted in the isolation ward of the hospital and her platelet count decreased rapidly. The authorities at the CMI hospital said that they have informed the health department about the death of the girl. When contacted the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Dehradun, Dr S P Agarwal said that that as per the norm only ELISA test is considered as confirmator y test for dengue and this test was not performed on the girl who died. It is interesting to note that the medical health department considers only those ELISA positive cases which are done in laboratory of Doon hospital or Himalayan Institute and Hospital Trust (HIHT) Jolly Grant. The death of the girl however created a flutter in the health department which was apparently on a sleeping mode on Dengue front. A team of heath department visited the house of the girl at Kanwali road on Wednesday and engaged intensive fogging of the locality. The District Vector Borne disease officer, J P B ahuguna told The Pioneer said that the department has collected blood samples of five family members of the girl for Dengue test. He said that the death of the girl from dengue would be confirmed only after ELISA test is performed on the blood sample. Bahuguna said that the sample of the girl from CMI hospital would be sent Doon hospital for ELISA test for confirmation of dengue. The departmental data suggest that dengue was confirmed on only 86 patients in the district till date this year. It is worth mentioning here that in month of September the department drastically scaled down the figure of dengue patients on the plea that the some of the patients with positive rapid test were also included in the list erroneously. Dengue is a viral infection spread by the mosquito Aedes Aezypti popularly known as Tiger Mosquito due to the characteristic strips over its body. The symptoms of the disease are persistent high fever, rashes, headache and pain in the joints. In the acute cases the platelets number decrease drastically which may prove fatal for the patient 5X[T_XR^UcWTSP\PVTS_^acX^]^UPfP[[^U:TSPa]PcWbWaX]T^]cWTSPh^UXcbR[^bdaT^]>Rc^QTa!$ the stones. With the portals of Kedarnath being closed to the public on October 25, the workers have also left. At a time when the State government claims to be working hard to restore the Char Dham Yatra infrastructure, the delay in get- ?=BQ 347A03D= armit Singh, accused of family massacre at Adarshnagar in Ballupur, Dehradun, on the night of Diwali, was produced in chief judicial magistrate Rajiv Kumar’s court on Wednesday. Harmit was cordoned off by the policemen. However, that failed to stop a fracas from occurring, as a relative attacked the accused in the court premises when he was being produced. The family members attacked Harmit and tore his shirt and torched it in public by way of showing wrath against him. Such a thing had happened on Monday too. The second such consecutive attacks on the accused have exposed chinks in the security arrangement made by police at the court premises. A large number of family members had reached the court premises on Wednesday as they were aware of the fact that Harmit would be produced there. Taking the possibility of Harmit being attacked by the family members seriously, the district police had deployed adequate force in the campus. Police brought Harmit at 12 pm in the Court campus from the jail and he was produced at around 12.30 pm. The court extended his judicial custody by 14 days. Following the court order, police had collected blood samples and finger prints of the accused in curse of the investigation into the case. The collected blood sample and finger prints will be sent at Dehradun Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to have them matched with the forensic evidences collected from the incident site on October 24, said Cantt Police Station in-charge and inspector VK Jetha. Inspector Jetha said that the police had questioned Harmit’s mother and his younger brother, but could not garner any major information from them. T here has been an alarming increase in cases related to false registration of private and Government lands, illegal encroachments of lands and other land disputes in Dehradun and other parts of the State. Tremendous rise in land prices in the State Capital that has spawned the land mafia may be the reason for the increase in such incidents. Sanjay Gunjyal after assuming charge of DIG, Garhwal Range said that following the direction of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed at range level to deal with the land disputes. Sources in the police department said that only 2T]caTc^[Sc^aTeXeT_WPa\PRTdcXRP[d]XcX]AXbWXZTbW ?=BQ 347A03D= T he Rishikesh unit of the Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited should be revived at the earliest. The Central Government should provide one-time assistance for the maintenance of the IDPL housing colony, non-residential buildings, plant, machinery and other assets here. Chief Minister Harish Rawat said this to the Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ananth Kumar while requesting him to facilitate necessary measures for reviving the Government of India undertaking’s Rishikesh unit. Rawat said that IDPL is the largest Central pharma public sector undertaking with plants at Rishikesh, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and subsidiaries units at Chennai and Muzzaffarpur. It was established with an aim to manufacture and supply essential medicines, bulk and generic drugs to central and state governments as well as pharmacies 2WXTU<X]XbcTa7PaXbWAPfPcSXbRdbbX]VBcPcTXbbdTbfXcWD]X^]<X]XbcTa0]P]cW :d\PaX]=Tf3T[WX^]FTS]TbSPh ?X^]TTa_W^c^ at reasonable prices. But, the PSU was formally declared sick in the year 1992. The various stakeholders including employees have been demanding a revival plan. The techno economic committee had recommended revival of IDPL by making use of assets like land at Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Chennai to raise funds which was vetted by consultants appointed by the government. It was stated that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Department of Pharmaceuticals and IDPL to make it a viable drug manufacturing unit and that the government is in process of finalising a revival plan. The CM drew Kumar’s attention towards the losses incurred by the state due to the disasters that had hit the state last year. He stated that the early revival of Rishikesh unit is essential to fulfill its objective to meet the emergency needs of the people for supply of medicines during natural calamities. This he said would increase the economic activities in the region and provide opportunities to the unemployed youths of the region. Rawat said that after IDPL Rishikesh was declared sick, hardly any money was spent on upkeep of its residential and official buildings due to which the buildings and vital installations are in a dilapidated condition requiring urgent maintenance for proper upkeep. Earlier, Rawat also met the Union Urban Development minister M Venkaiah Naidu and requested him to include towns of the mountainous region in the smart city projects. Naidu has assured positive development in this direction. 8BBD0=24?650:4DB19>9>724AC85820C4B CX_gSQecU^_dYSUd_BD?S\Ub[ ?=BQ 347A03D= n the matter of issuance of fake train- 2daQbX\_^bTS^]caP]bUTa^UeTWXR[T_Ta\Xcb ing certificates for renewal of comO mercial driving licences, the transport HALDWANI: The transfer of vehicle per- lic demand and after conducting feasidepartment has issued show cause notice to one clerk of the licence section of the Regional Transport Office here, although many more are suspected to be involved. With the help of some agents and alleged involvement of some department insiders more than 400 commercial driving licence holders seeking renewal of their licences had managed to get fake training certificates. The Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO), administration Sandeep Saini told The Pioneer that the concerned official of the license section was issued a show cause notice and the department is waiting for the reply of the notice. He claimed that departmental action would be initiated against those who are involved in it. A commercial driving license is needed to be renewed every three years and for this applicant have to undergo a two day training programe. The department has authorized Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR) located at Jhajhra for the training which issues a certificate after the completion of this training. The RTO renews the commercial license on the basis of this training certificate. Saini said that act- mits will be allowed only among family members and in case of sale of permit to other persons, the vehicle permit will be cancelled, said Commissioner of Kumaon A S Nayal, directing the officials concerned of the transport authority, Kumaon division, to strictly ban transfer of vehicle permits to persons other than family members of permit holders. In case the vehicle is not operated for a year and permit is not renewed, the vehicle owner will have to apply for a new permit, added the officials concerned. More so, permit to ply vehicle on a specific route will be granted only on pub- bility survey of that route, maintained the Commissioner of Kumaon division. Commissioner of Kumaon Nayal has directed the officials concerned of the transport authority, Kumaon division, to conduct regular checking of vehicle permits, route wise. The fact is that complaints regarding plying of vehicles on certain routes without permits or by persons in whose names the permits are not registered continue piling up for long. Thus, it is imperative for the transport department to conduct regular checking to prevent the same, maintained the official concerned. PNS ing on the claims by some people –read agents- that the applicants need not go to the training institute for the certificate, the department initiated a probe. He informed that the manager of the IDTR was called at the RTO office and was asked to verify some training certificate in which he identified the fake certificates. It was revealed that the fake certificates resembled the original in every aspect and the department segregated them from the num- ber series. The transport office issued notices to about 400 people whose licenses were renewed with the help of these fake certificates. On the basis of the reply of the some of such people the department filed a complaint with the police against unidentified persons. The police have lodged an FIR and are investigating the case. The agents in collusion with some department insiders are involved in the racket of the issuance of fake certificates, it is alleged. three or four cases have been registered at range level SIT so far. Meanwhile, in spite of formation of SIT at SSP and DIG office, a large number of people are being seen daily making futile rounds the Police Station concerned, Circle office, SP City office, SSP office, DIG office and Police Head Quarter and returning home empty- handed with mere verbal assurances from the police officers concerned. A visitor at DIG office said that complaints related to land disputes are not registered at police station level unless the police station incharge is pressured by their seniors or political executives. Police do not act without receiving direction from their senior officers. “In my case, the court had issued non-bailable warrant against the of fender in June. However, police station officer concerned is yet to act. The offender had received money and at the last moment, he refused to hand over the land to me. Though I approached the senior police officer regarding the same mere assurance was what I received. No action has been taken by the police officer concerned.” A visitor at PHQ said that police demand money to act against the offender or they act on registered cases only if they are forced by their seniors. Gunjyal recently said that the district police heads have been directed to take strin- gent action against land mafias of their respective districts after conducting through investigation of such lands. Cases related to land disputes are increasing and they should be looked into on priority basis. After conducting through investigation of such cases, Gangster Act should be enforced against the persons involved in encroachment of private and government lands illegally, he added. Gunjyal had said that SIT teams comprising one inspector and constables have been formed to deal with land dispute cases. Senior police officers have been directed to monitor the registered cases and ensure speedy redressal of the public grievances, he added. ]PcX^]# () (*+,-+./ ³5^aTbcR[TPaP]RTb^] DRc`U>RVdec`2^[RU2]Z 1HZ*RYWWRZRUN c^__aX^aXchU^aP[[a^d]S <YR_e`aVcW`c^`_?`g# DVDWHDP.KDWWDU STeT[^_\T]c^UBcPcT´ T ?=BQ 347A03D= hief Secretary N Ravi Shankar said that in order C to accelerate the pace of all round development of the State, forest clearances should be accorded top priority. He said this while reviewing the progress of forest land transfer through video conferencing with district magistrates here on Wednesday. He has directed DMs to complete formalities in a time bound manner as per Ministr y of Environment and Forests guidelines. All field officers concerned should work in a coordinated manner, he said, adding that he would again review the progress after a week. It may be recalled that Government of India accords forest clearance in two phases. In first phase it gives approval in principle. After fulfillment the five conditions, MoEF gives final forest clear- ance. CS was informed that 267 approvals in principle has been received but owing to the conditions not being met, final clearance could not be accorded. Shankar has directed all DMs to deposit NPV (Net Present Value) and compensatory afforestation without delay. The CS has directed principal secretary, Forest and Environment Dr Ranveer Singh to mail the present status of clearance at Nodal Office level to DMs, so that they can match it with their own record and also to visit the districts lagging behind. Shankar reviewed the district wise progress and found that there are 19 pending cases of forest land transfer in Pithoragarh, 30 in Almora, 15 in Uttarkashi, six in Udham Singh Nagar, 27 in Chamoli, 31 in Tehri, 30 in Dehradun, 20 in Nainital, 32 in Bageshwar, 28 in Pauri, 11 in Champawat and 15 in Haridwar. 0]PcW[TcTX]PRcX^]SdaX]VcWTSXbcaXRcPcW[TcXRb\TTcX]3TWaPSd]^]FTS]TbSPh From Page 1 Without opening the cover, the Bench, headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu, directed the SC Registry to hand it over to a responsible person in the SIT with a strict instruction that nobody other than the Chairman Justice MB Shah or Vice-Chairman Justice Arijit Pasayat shall open it. "We permit the SIT to proceed with the matter in accordance with the law and evolve its own procedure after hearing the Attorney-General or his representative and Ram Jethmalani (petitioner) or his counsel," said the Bench, also comprising Justices Ranjana Desai and Madan Lokur. Since the SIT also has heads of CBI, Enforcement Directorate, DRI, Income Tax and Intelligence wings as members, the court left it to the SIT to either probe on its own or hand over the papers to the CBI, ED or Income Tax Department. In any event, the SIT will have to submit a status report to the court latest by November 30. The court will take up the report on December 3. Meanwhile, on a day when the Central Government submitted the list to the SC, head of the SIT probing the case Justice MB Shah said that there were no new details in the report that has been submitted by the Government. "I don't think there is anything significant in the report. The list is the same as before. It was known to us. We have to question the people in the list," Shah said adding that there is no new outcome of the investigations that have taken place in the past few days. He also said that all the facts in the report were already known to the SIT. "All these facts that have been revealed were already known to the members of SIT. We should be able to file a satisfactory report in time," he added. The Centre did not press its application further for clarification intending to protect genuine account holders from future disclosure. The AG admitted that filing the application was a "misunderstanding" even as the court allowed the Centre to seek any clarification from the SIT on signing of bilateral and multi-lateral information exchange treaties requiring India to give an undertaking to protect the privacy of genuine account holders. Explaining the reason why it called for the list of names, the Bench told the AG: "The problem started because you came out with this application. We have placed faith in the SIT. They are authorized by us to investigate on black money. If you had told them of these consequences, they would certainly understand. After all, they are not laymen." Rohatgi informed the court that the urgency was due to a treaty which India has to sign with the US before December 31 that will provide a host of information with regard to black money kept by Indians residing in America. The conclusion of these treaties would allow the Indian Government and businessmen to get an exemption of 30 per cent tax known as withholding tax charged on every remittance from US to India, be it of currency or commodities. The RBI Governor had apprised the Government of this concern, the AG said, reiterating that the Government had no intention to either protect or hide any name. The court had on Tuesday accused the Centre of holding a "protective umbrella" against some names in the list wondering how the Government was investigating the culpability of people when the task was left exclusively to the SIT. (media) wrote about two resolutions. There are total seven such notes. Everyone in the party has full freedom to put forth their views and get them debated," said Karat. He said the CC, during the debate, listed out seven issues on the basis of which the draft political-tactical line would be revised. The final document would be placed before the Party Congress in April next year. Karat declined to explain what these seven issues were that the CC asked the Politburo to re-consider. "That I can't tell you. You will come to know when the party approves it," Karat maintained. Asked whether the CPI(M) would align with the Congress to fight the BJP, Karat said this was "not a matter of discussion in our party at all. We cannot have any alliance with the Congress anywhere in the countr y, including West Bengal". However, he said, "In the fight against the BJP Government or the danger of communalism led by the Hindutva forces, we will work with all secular forces. It is a question of mobilising the people. It has to be the broadest mobilisation of all secular, democratic forces to fight communalism." Regarding political and organisational issues, he said it was not just electoral reverses suffered by CPI(M) but "we also need to look into the issue of lack of sufficient growth of the party". Karat said the next CC meeting would adopt the draft political resolution for the next three years and the draft review report of what went wrong in the past. "The two reports (review and political line) will then be thrown open for discussion among our one million members and all suggestions, corrections or amendments would be placed before the Party Congress." Within a few months of the Congress in April next year, the party would hold a special session or a Plenum to discuss the organisation on the basis of the guidelines decided by the Congress. living legends like Birju Maharaj, Rajan Sajan Mishra, Tabla exponent Kumar Bose and others performed on December 3, 2013. Other present on the occasion were Swaransh Mishra, society secretary, Rohini Mishra, treasurer and SP Pant, member of the society. he new Haryana Government would work as a team to ensure people’s welfare, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Wednesday. “The new State Government would work as a team,” he said adding, people of the State have high hopes from his Government and efforts will be made to ensure their welfare. Earlier, Khattar formally inducted four Ministers who assumed charge of their respective offices in his presence at Haryana Civil Secretariat here. Khattar visited the office of Education and Transport Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, Agriculture and Development and Panchayats Minister Om Prakash Dhankar, Public Works (Building and Roads) and Public Health Engineering Minister Rao Narbir Singh and Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu and remained present there while they assumed the charge of their respective departments. The Chief Minister con- ?RbgZ 6,7KRW Maestro Amjad Ali Khan is going to perform in Sarod Dehradun on November 2 (Sunday). Khan has been given status of the State guest, said Viraam Gurukul Society president Rajnish Mishra while interacting with media persons on Wednesday. He further said, “To mark the second annual celebration of the society, we are celebrating the 100th birth anniversary of Sarangi wizard, late Hanuman Prasad Mishra.” Society is a non-profit one engaged in bringing about the highest quality music in an informal, divine manner, rooted in Indian traditions. Apart from this, it also provides much- sought- after platform to the artistes- the best known, the lesser known and the upcoming- for connecting to the most responsive audience of Dehradun, he said. The society had worked with eminent artists like Hariprasad Chaurasia, From Page 1 Despite the MHA issuing his transfer order several months ago, he has not joined the Delhi Government till date. Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev was keen to join as advisor to Chandigarh Administrator. With the announcement of byelections for three vacant seats in Delhi, the transfer of Dev is seemed to be put on hold. Keshav Chandra, a 1995-batch officer, who was transferred to the Delhi Government, also preferred to go to London on study leave. A 1984-batch officer Rajni Kant Verma has opted to VRS. Two senior officials- Dr MM Kutty (1985 batch and Jalaj Srivastava (1984 batch) have already gone to USA for special training. The shortage of officials could be gauged as charges of 12 crucial departments that include Finance, Home, General Administration, Tourism, Planning, IT, Power, Social Welfare, Revenue, Higher Education, New Delhi Municipal Council and Chief Electoral Office-have been without their heads and some of officials are holding dual charges to take care of day to day functioning. It may be noted that Chief Secretary DM Spolia, is currently holding the charge of Planning, Finance and Vigilance departments in the absence of senior officers. A 1984-batch officer, Arvind Ray has been holding the additional charge of Home Department after its head Archna Arora, a 1983-batch IAS officer, retired on September 30. Ray is the Principal Secretary (SC/ST/OBC/Minorities), and Chairman and MD of Delhi State Financial Development Corporation. SS Yadav, who heads Food and Supply Department as well as Directorate of Information and Publicity, holds the additional charge of the Tourism Department. Jitendra Narain is holding the dual charge of Secretary cum Labour Commissioner. Similarly, Principal Secretary (Services) Shakuntala Gamlin has been given the additional charge of New Delhi Municipal Council Chairperson as current Chairman Jalaj Srivastava is going abroad for special training. Srivastava has been empanelled to the rank of Additional Secretary. She has also been given the additional responsibility of General Administration after 1983-batch IAS officer Lalmalsawma, who was heading General Administration, has been transferred to Mizoram. After Principal Secy of Power Department Arun Goyal, IAS officer, has been transferred to Mizoram, Amit Yadav has been tasked to head the department. Yadav is already Chief Managing Director of Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation and Secretary-cumCommissioner of Industries. Similarly Education Department Secretary Anindo Majumdar has been given the charge of Technical and Higher Education from November 1 as Verma has opted for VRS. Transport Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti has been given additional charge of Divisional Commissioner of Revenue Department. ?=B Q 270=3860A7 ?=BQ 347A03D= EXaPP\6dadZd[B^RXTch_aTbXST]cAPY]XbW<XbWaPPSSaTbbTbcWT\TSXP ?X^]TTa_W^c^ Rajendra Prasanna, Ajay Prasanna, Akram Khan and upcoming artistes from various parts of the country. On the occasion of the first annual celebration, the society had paid tribute to the victims of Uttarakhand disaster by bringing together all music lovers of Dehradun for a concert where <P]VTbW:d\Pak?X^]TTa From Page 1 Among those arrested were sitting Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee, former Lok Sabha MP Ramchandra Dome, and MLA and former State Minister and senior Left leader Anisur Rahman, who was arrested for requesting the police to let at least two persons inside Makra Village to take stock of the situation. "The police are allowing groups of Trinamool men, their musketeers and bombers to enter the village to kill innocent villagers but are stopping us people's representatives from entering the area" Banerjee said. While the Left leaders were arrested, separate delegations of the BJP and that of the Congress, led by party MP Abhijit Mukherjee, escaped a similar fate as they were pushed back by the police. The BJP and the Left later staged a demonstration at the SP office at Siuri, sources said. While the senior police officials complained that the Left delegation had broken prohibitive orders under Section 144, the Left leaders said that they had asked the police to "let only two members of the delegation to go in the village and that too, accompanied by the police force which they refused" leading to heated exchanges and subsequent arrest. Apart from the Opposition leaders, the police also arrested five reported accused, mostly BJP supporters for the violence. Naqvi, who is in Kolkata, charged that West Bengal was fast becoming a safe haven for terrorists and anarchists under the ruling TMC raising concerns about national security. For his part, State BJP president Rahul Sinha visited the Election Commission office with a prayer to get the Trinamool Congress declared a "terrorist party". <RcRe]`dVd dYZ_VRd From Page 1 The CC, after its long debate, decided to consider the points raised by Yechury. However, Karat, who addressed the media on Wednesday, downplayed the unprecedented developments in the party. "We are happy that after a long time media started writing about issues regarding the Left. But I must say some observations on the infighting and serious differences inside the party were totally wrong. There was no alternative resolution. It was only notes regarding different viewpoints. You @_\YdYSQ\ 7PahP]P2<<P]^WPa;P[:WPccPa PRR^\_P]XTb0VaXRd[cdaT<X]XbcTa>\ ?aPZPbW3WP]ZPaPc7PahP]P2XeX[ BTRaTcPaXPcX]2WP]SXVPaW^] FTS]TbSPh4SdRPcX^]P]SCaP]b_^ac <X]XbcTaAP\1X[PbBWPa\PXbP[b^ bTT]X]cWT_XRcdaT ?X^]TTa_W^c^ gratulated them and the Ministers offered him sweets. Khattar, who took oath on Sunday last in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others, had allocated the portfolios to his nine Ministers. Later, interacting with mediapersons during the Workshop for Parliamentary Agriculture Committees in the India, Asia and South East Asia Region at Punjab and Haryana Vidhan Sabha Complex, Khattar said the State Government is committed to protect the interest of farmers. :KLSSROOXWHUVWRVDYH *DQJD6&WHOOV1*7 From Page 1 Ironically, the 17 categories of grossly polluting industries were drawn up by CPCB on February 5, 2014 but action was lacking on its part to ensure no industrial waste was allowed to be drained into the river. "When it involves a river which is held in such high esteem by millions of people in the country one can hardly neglect our duty towards its purification…this river not only has significance in spiritual and mythological psyche of countrymen but has sustained as a lifeline of millions of people," the order said. What was required of the CPCB and SPCBs was to stand up against the polluting units. But seeing this not happening even in the next 50 years, the bench felt that the NGT having expert members on its panel could accomplish this task. It was free to take assistance from outside agencies, the Bench said, while posting the matter for December 10 to monitor other causes of pollution in Ganga. ]PcX^]$ DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ CDDVUfS`UZVde`^VVe:cR_Ze`URj =8CbbW^d[SQaXSVTSXVXcP[SXeXST)?aTi 344?0::D?A4C8Q =4F34;78 I n continuation of the “confidence building exercise” between the RSS and the Government, a range of Sanghaffiliated educational bodies would meet Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smiriti Irani on Thursday to present their views for the Ministry. The representatives of the Sangh-inspired educational institutions like Vidya Bharti, Bhartiya Shiksha Mandal, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Akhil Bharatiya Shaikshik Mahasangh (All India Teachers Union) and others would meet the Union Minister along with RSS leaders Suresh Soni, Krishna Gopal and Dattatreya Hosabale. According to sources, the RSS-affiliated educational outfits, working in the field of education for several decades, have laid stress on “high moral values” in the education system, inculcating discipline and selfrestraint along with academic knowledge. The Sangh educational organisations have spoken in favour a mix of modern and traditional knowledge with B0=67´B064=30 U>dcUXcbbcaTbb^]²WXVW\^aP[eP[dTb³X]TSdRPcX^]bhbcT\ UCWTBP]VWTSdRPcX^]P[^aVP]XbPcX^]bWPeTb_^ZT]X]UPe^daP\Xg ^U\^STa]P]ScaPSXcX^]P[Z]^f[TSVTfXcW\^cWTac^]VdTQTX]VcWT QPbXR\TSXd\^UTSdRPcX^] U0RR^aSX]Vc^cWTABBTSdRPcX^]bW^d[SQTPQ[Tc^QdX[SP=PcX^]P[ XST]cXchP]SRWPaPRcTaa^^cTSX]cWT]PcXeTRd[cdaTP]SfWPcXcbPhb `d^cX]VBfP\XEXeTZP]P]S°\P]\PZX]V± UCWTbT\TTcX]VbPaTQTX]VbTT]Pb°cWT_a^RTbb^UR^^aSX]PcX^]± QTcfTT]cWT6^eTa]\T]cP]ScWTABBfWTaTcWTBP]VWPUUX[XPcTS ^aVP]XbPcX^]bf^d[SVXeTcWTXa^_X]X^]bP]SUTTSQPRZP]ScWT R^]RTa]TS\X]XbcaXTbf^d[SVTcQPRZc^cWT\PUcTabcdShX]VcWTXbbdTb mother tongue being the basic medium of education. In 1952, the first ‘Saraswati Shishu Mandir’ (nurser y school) was founded by the RSS in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. ‘Vidya Bharati’, is now an umbrella body for thousands of educational institutions, ranging from nursery to post-graduation level. Sources said a similar meeting between the RSS leaders and the HRD Minister was held soon after the BJP took reins of Government at the Centre on May 26. “Views were exchanged between the two sides then too,” the sources pointed out. RSS is strongly opposed to “continuation” of what it calls “educational system initiated by Macaulay with the motive of producing an army of ‘brownskinned Englishmen’.” It is also against “looking at the West as pinnacle of civilisation”. According to the RSS, education should be able to build a National identity and character rooted in the native culture and what it says quoting Swami Vivekanand, “man-making”. Thursday’s meeting follows a similar meeting of the Sangh-affiliated organisations working in the economic sectors on Tuesday with some Central Ministers and the BJP leaders to air their concerns over policies relating to FDI, intellectual property rights (IPR) in pharma sector, plight of sugarcane farmers, GM crops and labour issues. The representatives of BMS, Kisan Sangathan, Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM)attended the meeting and asked the Government to not to hurry with the issues which could have “adverse impact” on the interests of the common people. Tuesday’s meeting was attended by the Central Ministers Prakash Javadekar (Information and Broadcasting), Radha Mohan Singh (Agriculture), Narinder Singh Tomar (Labour) and Piyush Goyal (Power). These meetings are being seen as “the process of coordination” between the Government and the RSS where the Sangh-affiliated organisations would give their opinions and feedback and the concerned ministries would get back to them after studying the issues. “The process of coordination would be continuous with regular consultations to reach the right conclusions,” a source said. ?=BQ =4F34;78 ?A4I8=BC8CDC4B 0F0A3B5>A14BC E0AB8CHA4B40A27 resident Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday took up the P cause of key programmes of the Modi Government with the National Institutes of Technology (NIT). He exhorted the NITs to be at the forefront of bridging the digital divide in the country in view of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives launched by the Government. He also asked the Directors of the NITs to adopt at least one village each on the lines of ‘Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojna’ during his address at the twoday conference of NIT Directors. “NITs should also be at the forefront of bridging the digital divide, income asymmetries and rural-urban differentiation in the country especially in view of the ‘Make in India’ and the ‘Digital India’ initiatives unveiled by the Government,” he said. Asking NITs to deepen their involvement with society by creating model villages worthy of replication across the country, he said, “They must ?aTbXST]c?aP]PQ<dZWTaYTTP]SD]X^]7A3<X]XbcTaB\aXcX8aP]XSdaX]VcWT R^]UTaT]RT^USXaTRc^ab^U=PcX^]P[8]bcXcdcT^UCTRW]^[^VhPcAPbWcaP_PcX1WPeP] X]=Tf3T[WX^]FTS]TbSPh ?C8 source, if required, experts from other Central institutions to provide solutions to the wide mosaic of issues that such a transformation to model villages will entail.” This was the second conference of Directors of NITs during the present Presidency and is part of the regular and focused interaction the President is having with Central Universities, IITs and IISERs in his capacity as Visitor to these institutions. Pointing out that most of central the institutions in thecountry were facing acute shortage of faculty at all levels, the President said during his recent visit to Norway and Finland, he had called upon the scientists, researchers and academics amongst Indian diaspora to become a part of Indian campuses, either on a full time or a part time basis, as regular, visiting or adjunct faculty. &%,TXHVWLRQV6(%,RIILFLDOVRYHU 7TP[cW<X] 6ZDP\¶VVWHSVWREULQJEDFN VSURXWLQJSRQ]LILUPVDFURVV6WDWHV fP]cbc^cP[ VWDVKHGDZD\EODFNPRQH\ QP]^] 2^]VaTbbb[P\b=30^eTa6^ec T TRXVPaTccTb S U^a\PcX^]X]3T[WXQ[PRZ\^]Th ?=BQ =4F34;78 ?=BQ =4F34;78 ?=BQ =4F34;78 cigarettes, a vapour device that delivers nicotine Electronic minus the smoke besides all products described as “Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)”, which are easily available online, might be banned soon in the country. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan made this intention of the Government clear while addressing global tobacco control experts at the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Barcelona, Spain recently. He said the e-cigarettes and similar products push children towards the tobacco habit eventually via nicotine dependence. The move follows recommendations of an expert panel on e-cigarettes constituted by the Health Ministry which called for a blanket ban on the product, saying its safety has not been established. Harsh Vardhan also pointed out that banning ENDS should not be an end in itself. “The success of a ban strategy will depend on how we agree to control illicit trade and cross border sales of such products. The use of the Internet for this trade should also be curbed.” India is home to 275 million tobacco users. The use of smokeless tobacco has become a major public health menace, which, if not checked in time with strong measures, could become a national threat. Vinayak Mohan Prasad, project manager for Tobacco Control in WHO in Switzerland said that smart marketing and inadequate information on the nicotine content in e-cigarettes has created a false impression that these devices are not as harmful as regular cigarettes. India should ban e-cigarettes before the problem assumes the shape and size that it has in countries such as the US and UK,” said Monika Arora, director, Public Health Foundation of India. enior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement six steps to retrieve the stashed black money from abroad. In his letter, Swamy said the Government has committed “errors” in Supreme Court especially in clubbing the DTAA (Double Tax Avoidance Agreement) with the black money issue. “First error committed by the Government in the Court was to cite DTAA by bilateral treaty with the Government as an obstacle to disclosure of names having illegal foreign bank accounts. DTAA applies only to accounts of those earning abroad as residents but avoiding paying taxes….DTAA only applies when there is an income tax issue. The bulk of black money arises however from corruption, drug trafficking, terrorist financing and other fraudulent activities,” said Swamy. Outlining the six steps, Swamy said first and foremost the Government should pass an ordinance by adopting eminent jurist Fali Nariman’s private member’s bill introduced in Rajya Sabha. Nariman has introduced a private bill for declaring all illicit wealth stashed abroad as national wealth and conveying to all foreign account holders that they were obliged to bring back all such monies into Indian financial system and subjected to thorough investigation. “Review the reasons why the Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency (EEFC) Account authorised by RBI has been bypassed leading to black New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday slammed the NDA Government alleging lopsided affairs and flip-flops on issues ranging from handling of black money matter or formation of a BJP-led Government in Delhi. Taunting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who used to propagate ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’, the party said the new dispensation at the Centre is with ‘Minimum Government maximum event management’. “For the last five months, the BJP has misled people of the countr y on various promises made during the election campaign. Be it the issue of bringing back black money, cleaning the Ganga or on the issue of Government formation in Delhi, this Government has shown that it believes in mere words not action. If there is any achievement to the credit of the Government after five months it is good event management,” said AICC spokesperson Shobha Ozha. Ozha said senior BJP leader LK Adavni’s comment on Modi that he is a good event manager has come true. “Modi’s entire focus is on event management. It is a Government with ‘Minimum Government maximum event management. Advani’s statement that Mr Narendra modi is a good event manager seems to have come true,” Oza said during the routine AICC briefing. Criticising the Centre on its take on the Government formation in Delhi, Ozha said, “The Supreme Court has rapped this Government on the issue yet we fail to understand how the BJP, which refused the offer to form a Government in Delhi earlier is now in a position to form a Government. It is now clear that the party is looking for horse trading and now shying away from elections”. Taking a swipe at the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme by the Prime Minister, she said that people have realised that they do not want mere sweet talk from the PM instead implementation of the promises made during elections. Another party spokesman Ajoy Kumar downplayed questions regarding donation by Timblo Pvt Ltd, an alleged black money account holder, to Congress. He said that it should be noted that prosecution against the company started when the Congress-led UPA was in power. He added that whatever the Government is saying today has already been tasked by the UPA Government and is not a five month work of the new regime. PNS money accumulated mostly in tax havens. Revise this EEFC to authorise the Indian banks to operate the required accounts in foreign currencies and refuse permission to Indian citizens seeking to open such accounts outside financial system of India,” said Swamy outlining the second step. He also sought the scrapping of Participatory Notes scheme and declaration of all the moneys under this scheme held by Indian citizens as black money. “Direct CBI to probe the disclo- sure that I made in a letter to the Finance Ministry about Sonia Gandhi and her son’s accounts in Sarasin and Pictet Banks in Zurich,” added Swamy. The BJP leader also urged the PM to immediately crack down the black money cases with specific instances like the cases related to Hassan Ali and Moin Qureshi. Swamy urged PM to seek affidavits from Central Ministers that they or their relatives have no undisclosed or illegal foreign bank accounts. he CBI on Wednesday questioned top functionaries of the Stock Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam probe as the agency seeks to ascertain if the market regulator failed in checking mushrooming ponzi firms across a number of States. The agency officials questioned two Executive DirectorsSV Murlidhar Rao, S Ravindran and former ED KN Vaidyanathan on the procedures related to enquiry and proceedings against Saradha Realty. The EDs are in-charge of the Collective Investment Scheme Department of the regulatory body in Mumbai, agency sources said. The move comes after the agency probed a number of chit fund companies and is now looking at the role of the regulator. CBI had already questioned Assistant General Managers and a Legal Officer of SEBI in this connection. CWTPVT]Rh ^UUXRXP[b `dTbcX^]TScf^ 4gTRdcXeT 3XaTRc^abBE <da[XSWPaAP^ BAPeX]SaP]P]S U^a\Ta43:= EPXShP]PcWP]^] cWT_a^RTSdaTb aT[PcTSc^ T]`dXahP]S _a^RTTSX]Vb PVPX]bcBPaPSWP ATP[ch received a complaint from Director of West Bengal’s Economic Offences Investigation Cell (EOIC) informing that Saradha Realty India Limited is collecting money from the public particularly in rural areas of the State. Recently, SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) also submitted a report to the Government on Saradha case and found the Group to be running ‘ponzi’ schemes, where returns were being given to older investors through money collected from new subscribers to such schemes. The CBI has so far registered about 50 cases in West Bengal and Odisha following a Supreme Court order. The SC had also asked the agency to probe the role of SEBI, authorities under the Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The agency has recently filed a chargesheet against SRIL, the Group’s chief Sudipta Sen and Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh and others in one of the chit fund scam cases. I n order to gain more connectivity with mobile phone users and for greater accessibility in local areas All India Radio (AIR) will soon simulcast content aired on several of its Medium Wave stations in FM mode as well. This was stated by Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday while inaugurating free SMS news service of AIR in Assamese, Gujarati, Tamil and Malayalam. The Minister acknowledged the problems on receptivity of programmes aired by Medium Wave stations of AIR in local/nearby areas of the cities from where they are broadcast even if it can be heard well by people in remote areas or outside the cities. Turning to FM mode can however solve the problem, he said <X]XbcTa^UBcPcTU^a8]U^a\PcX^]1a^PSRPbcX]V?aPZPbW9PePSTZPa[Pd]RWTbcWT UaTT=TfbB<BbTaeXRT^U0[[8]SXPAPSX^X]U^da[P]VdPVTbeXi0bbP\TbT6dYPaPcX CP\X[P]S<P[PhP[P\X]=Tf3T[WX^]FTS]TbSPh81BTRaTcPah1X\P[9d[ZPP]S 08A3XaTRc^a6T]TaP[=Tfb<^WP]2WP]SPZPaTP[b^bTT] ?C8 adding that if such medium wave stations are available on FM, the broadcast can also reach mobile phone users. He said over 100 such stations have been prioritised where work would soon commence in this regard. He further said that Phase III of FM radio expansion, would be completed before March next year. Private FM Radio Stations would be allowed to run the news broadcast by AIR using their own news readers. The Ministry would also consider on allowing these radio stations to pick up news from agencies as UNI and PTI. The five language SMS service in Hindi, Marathi, Dogri, Sanskrit and Nepali had already been launched by AIR on September 19 to provide AIR News on mobile sets to its subscribers free of cost. The free SMS service of AIR in various Indian languages, is yet another effort on the part of the Government to reach out to more people through innovative approaches in multi media platforms, said the Minister. According to sources, the service has already touched over three lakh subscribers. In the days to come, it would be started in more Indian languages. >_X]X^]X]eXcTS ^]P\T]S\T]c 1X[[U^aaTVXbcTaX]V _a^_Tach ?=BQ =4F34;78 he Government has invited suggestions and objecT tions on the Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2013 that proposes to make for clear titles and help it to fairly compensate owners if their land was acquired for industrialisation purpose. A senior official from the Rural Development Ministry said that the proposed Bill, which was introduced in the Parliament last year has been re-referred by the Speaker, Lok Sabha to the Departmentally Related B0A0370C31= Parliamentar y Standing The schemes floated by Committee on Rural Saradha Realty were found by Development for examination SEBI to be illegal CIS activities and report. and the regulator passed an The Registration adverse order against the com(Amendment) Bill, 2013 seeks pany and its promoters in April to amend the Registration last year. Act, 1908 with an aim to proHowever, the SEBI order vide compulsory registration came three years after it for the leases of immovable property for any term, registration of immovable property only in the State in which it is actually located. “The Bill has provision of forwarding of copies by the banks and financial institutions, granting loans on the basis of equitable mortgage where immovable property is mortgaged by deposit of title deeds for the purpose of securing repayment of the loan,” said the official. It also provides for compulsory registration in the cases where transaction of immovable property occurs through Power of Attorney (PoA), refusal of registration of documents relating to transactions prohibited by Central/ States Acts, refund/ recovery of Registration fees, etc. The Committee has decided to invite views and suggestions on the Bill from the D]X^]7^\T<X]XbcTaAPY]PcWBX]VWP]S<X]XbcTa^UcWTBd[cP]PcT^U>\P]0[X1X]<Pb^dS0[Bd]PXShbXV]X]V<dcdP[;TVP[ stakeholders, the official 0bbXbcP]RT0VaTT\T]cX]2aX\X]P[<PccTabQTcfTT]cWTcf^R^d]caXTbX]=Tf3T[WX^]FTS]TbSPh ?C8 added. .\RWR¶VDLGVRXJKWWRGHYHORS9DUDQDVL ?=BQ =4F34;78 08A´b<TSXd\FPeTR^]cT]cX]5<\^ST A ?=BQ =4F34;78 =Tf3T[WX)?aTbXST]c?aP]PQ <dZWTaYTTWPbX]bcXcdcTSEXbXc^a³b PfPaSbU^aQTbcd]XeTabXch aTbTPaRWP]SX]]^ePcX^]b0[[ RT]caP[d]XeTabXcXTb^UfWXRWcWT ?aTbXST]c^U8]SXPXbEXbXc^afX[[ QTT[XVXQ[TU^acWTPfPaSU^acWT QTbcd]XeTabXch°0[[RT]caP[ d]XeTabXcXTb^UfWXRWcWT ?aTbXST]c^U8]SXPXbEXbXc^afX[[ QTT[XVXQ[TU^acWTPfPaSU^acWT QTbcd]XeTabXch±bPXSP ]^cXUXRPcX^]XbbdTSQhcWT ?aTbXST]c³bBTRaTcPaXPc0[[UPRd[ch \T\QTabP]SbcdST]cb^UP[[cWT RT]caP[d]XeTabXcXTbfX[[QTT[XVXQ[T U^acWTEXbXc^a³bPfPaSU^a X]]^ePcX^]PbfT[[PbEXbXc^a³b PfPaSU^aaTbTPaRW8]SXeXSdP[b ^aVa^d_^UX]SXeXSdP[bRP]P[b^ P__[hXcbPXSCWT_da_^bT^UcWT PfPaSXbc^T]R^daPVTTgRT[[T]RT cWa^dVWR^\_TcXcX^]CWT EXbXc^a³bPfPaSU^aaTbTPaRWfX[[ QTVXeT]U^a_PcWQaTPZX]V aTbTPaRWRPaaXTS^dcQhX]SXeXSdP[ ^aVa^d_^UcWTRT]caP[d]XeTabXch SdaX]VcWThTPaXcbPXS lmost two months after the Sister City partnership pact was inked between Japan’s Kyoto and India’s Varanasi, steps are underway to put in place development plans for the heritage city with the help of the pacific island country. Vice-Mayor of Japan’s Kyoto city, Kenichi Ogasawara on Wednesday met Urban Development Secretar y Shankar Aggarwal to discuss areas where the Japanese city can cooperate for the overall development of Varanasi which is the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ogasawara was in the capital to attend the eighth meeting of India-Japan Joint Working Group on Urban Development held on Wednesday and he will be visiting Varanasi on Thursday. According to a senior UD official, Aggarwal suggested to the Kyoto Vice-Mayor to consider extending necessary cooperation for Varanasi’s development and cleanliness through effective management FXcWbTeTaP[bTfTaPVT_a^YTRcbd]STa X\_[T\T]cPcX^]P]S^cWTaTUU^acbX] _a^VaTbbP]SXUTeTahcWX]VV^TbfT[[8 Tg_TRcc^bfX\X]cWTaXeTaHP\d]PP]S SaX]ZHP\d]PfPcTaQh! & °BX]hP4YX\P2WXTUaT_aTbT]cPcXeT^U9820 of solid and liquid waste. He also advocated for introduction of effective solar power generation technology for the benefit of small traders, particularly, the weavers in Varanasi. On the sewerage system, the Urban Development Secretary suggested for cost effective technologies for treatment of sewerage by run-off the drain treatment instead of Sewerage Treatment Plants, which is “cumbersome and costly”. Aggarwal said the possibility of introducing Light Rail Transport for effective traffic management in the city should be explored with help from Japanese lender JICA. He also suggested to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) officials, who were present at the meeting, to consider if it could support infrastructure development in Varanasi at further liberalised low interest loans. Earlier, Sinya Ejima, Chief representative of JICA in India hoped that one would be able to swim in Yamuna and drink its water by 2017 given the efforts being undertaken to cleanse the river. “With several sewerage projects under implementation and other efforts in progress, and if everything goes well, I expect to swim in the river Yamuna and drink Yamuna water by 2017” said Ejima while making a detailed presentation on ‘JICA’s Operations in Urban Sector In India’ at the meeting of IndiaJapan Joint Working Group on Urban Development here. The pact between the two sister cities was signed following the visit of Modi to Japan in August. ]PcX^]% DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ /HVVRQVOHDUQW*XMDUDW DV_Re`T]VRcZeddeR_Ue`URj SUHSDUHVIRUWKHZRUVW <070A0B7CA06>EC5>A<0C8>= <20^UUTab19? FP]ZWTSTBcPSXd\ U^a5aXbfTPaX]VX] C=A067D=0C70Q <D<108 A head of Chief Ministerdesignate Devendra Fadnavis and his small ministerial team being sworn into office on Friday, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday continued to be in a dilemma whether or not to join the first-ever BJP-led Government in Maharashtra. After Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray held two rounds of consultations with his senior party colleagues at his Bandra residence “Matoshri” during the day, the Sena said that it would make its stand known on the issue of the party joining the new Government in the State, on Thursday. Talking to media persons after the second round of deliberations that Uddhav had with his senior party colleagues, Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said in the night, “At the meeting, we discussed various issues. I cannot tell you what all we discussed. But one thing is certain that we discussed as to what stand that the party will take (on the issue of joining the new Government). All I can tell you is — wait for a day, we will spell out the Sena’s stand on the issue”. The Shiv Sena’s predicament stems from the fact that notwithstanding its public posturing that it would like to take the Sena along with it, the BJP has not made any overt efforts to take its erstwhile saffron ally on board in the formation of the Government in the State. Though the Sena’s senior leaders Subhash Desai and Anil Desai, both key aides of Uddhav, have so far held two rounds of talks with Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Petroleum, of the BJP, the two parties have not reached any understanding on the issue of their sharing power in the state. Informed sources in both the Sena and BJP said that these talks were preliminary in nature and were aimed at setting the tone for formal deliberations between the two parties on the power sharing issue. If anything, the Sena expected the BJP to initiate formal deliberations with it, ahead of Friday’s swearing-in ceremony. However, the BJP — in an apparent bid to have an upper hand in the power sharing deliberations with its erstwhile saffron ally at a later stage – has not taken any initiative to bring the Sena to the negotiation table for formal talks. So much so that the BJP has made it clear to the Sena that it is for the latter to spell out as to what the party expects from it to join the new Government in the State. Though it has repeatedly denied that it has not made any demands to the BJP in lieu of its support to the BJP-led Government, the Sena expect a “fair” deal from the BJP. The “fair” deal, according to the sources in the Sena, means the deputy Chief Minister’s post, 13 Ministries and Speaker’s post, if possible. On its part, the BJP expects the Shiv Sena to join its new Government without any pre-conditions and accept whatever the “deal” that it gives to the latter. If anything, the Shiv Sena has three options before it. First, it can extend uncondi- tional support to the BJP-led Government and accept a maximum of half a dozen to eight Ministries that it gets from its senior coalition partner. Secondly, it can announce its “outside” support to the BJP-led Government and withdraw support to the Government at some stage in future. Thirdly, it can refuse to the join the government and stake claim for the leader of the Opposition’s post. However, available pointers emanating from the Sena suggest that the party might consider the second option of extending “outside” support to the new Government, thus sending a message to people across the State that while it wants the BJP – a party with a similar ideology –to form its Government, the party is not hungry for power. Such situation will give the Sena a face-saver from the ticklish situation it finds itself in. Meanwhile, the Sharad Pawar-led Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has offered to make available its Wankhede Stadium free of charge to the BJP for hosting swearing-in ceremony of its first-ever Government in the State. ?=BQ 60=378=060A L earning from the past bitter experiences of cyclones in the State (in 1998 and 2000), the Gujarat Government is not leaving single stone unturned to minimise possible damage of the Nilofar Cyclonic storm despite Indian Meteorological Department’s (IMD) projections that the cyclone would reduce considerably by the time it would hit Kutch coast. On Wednesday Gujarat Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Anandiben Patel took decision to send Ministers to coastal districts that are likely to be affected by Nilofar. Junior Minister Shanker Chaudhry has been given charge of Kutch, while Govindbhai Patel, Vasuben Trivedi and Babubhai Bokhiria will go to Dwarka, Jamnagar and Porbander. Sources in the coastal Kutch district said that two biggest ports in the country — Kandla and Mundra are being evacuated and operations are like to put-off by Thursday evening in wake of the arrival of ‘Nilofar’. 2H2;>=4=8;>50A BRW^^[P]S R^[[TVTbfX[[ aT\PX]R[^bTScX[[ =^eT\QTa X] :dcRWP]S PSY^X]X]V <^aQXSXbcaXRcb Besides, industrial installations worth about C70,000 crore in the region, especially near the coast, have already been asked to suspend all activities 12 hours before the cyclone touches the Naliya landfall in the wee hours of Saturday. A senior Minister in Anandiben Patel Cabinet said that the State Government would not take chance as the State had witnessed the devastation in 1998 and 2000 cyclone in Kandla and Gandhidham areas. “After the devastating earthquake in 2001, huge industrial growth has taken place in Kutch following tax benefits,” he said adding that the Gujarat Government would try it best to minimise damage by taking precautionary measures. Sources said that more than 35,000 people are being shifted to safer places. Besides 123 villages located on the Indo-Pakistan coastal border along Kutch district have been alerted. Already teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) have taken their positions. Critical industries in Chemical and Petrochemical sectors have also been told by the administration to immediately shut operations. The State Government has communicated market yards across the State to take care of farm produce due to possibility of showers after Nilofar Cyclone makes landfall. School and colleges will remain close till November 1 in Kutch and adjoining Morbi districts. The casualties in the 1998 cyclone over the entire Gulf of Kutch stood at 1,173, while some 1,774 went missing. The losses then, when the region had a handful of industrial units, were to the tune of C1,865 crore. 2^]VSTR[PaTb $RP]SXSPcTb U^a9:_^[[b New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday announced 15 candidates for the first phase of Assembly polls in Jammu & Kashmir which included Imtiyaz Paray, son of anti-militancy group founder Kuka Paray, among others. The party also declared Mohammad Sharief Niaz from Bhaderwah constituency, from where former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had contested Assembly elections in 2008. The list was released a day after notification was issued for the first phase of polls to be held on November 25 in which 15 Assembly seats — three in Baramulla, two in Srinagar, four in Ladakh and six in Udhampur — will go to polls. Imtiyaz Paray will contest elections from Sonawari constituency. His father, also a former MLA, had established ‘Ikhwanul-Muslemoon’, a counter-insurgent force to fight militants. He was killed by militants in 2003. Sitting MLA and Minister Rigzin Jora will be contesting from Leh again. PTI Dg_DU\Q^WQ^Q=<1cTUVUSd 0\XS_a^cTbcb08D35ST]XTb]TgdbfXcWYTWPSXb d_DBCQTTcd_D4@µcg_Uc P 0=D?B70A<0Q 6DF070C8 ><4A50A>>@Q 7H34A0103 S everal months after bifurcation of the State, both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana continue to be in the grip of political churning as all the major parties are trying to expand and strengthen their bases at the cost of the rivals. While in Telangana, two Telugu Desam Party MLAs formally joined the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti giving boost to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s efforts to strengthen his party in the State capital, the Congress and the YSR Congress suffered a jolt in Andhra Pradesh. Kanna Lakshminarayana, one of the senior most Congress leaders from coastal Andhra has resigned from the party and met BJP president Amit Shah to announce his decision to join the saffron party. Lakshminarayana, is a fivetime legislator from Guntur district and held many important portfolios in the Congress Government. He is also an accused in the disproportionate assets case of YS Jaganmohan Reddy. “I want to work to strengthen the BJP,” he said rejecting the criticism that he was doing it for the sake of power as the BJP is ruling at the Centre and was also an ally of the AP Government. In another development, senior leader and former Minister Konathala Ramakrishna has quit the YSRCP and decided to return to the Congress fold. He was one of the several top leaders of the Congress to quit in protest against the bifurcation of the State earlier this year. He was reportedly unhappy with Jaganmohan Reddy for bring- ing his rival Dadi Veerabhadra Rao in to the party fold. Meanwhile, with the two senior MLAs from Hyderabad joining the TRS, the ongoing fight between the Telugu Desam Party and the TRS is likely to intensify further. T Srinivas Yadav, former TDP in-charge of Hyderabad unit and T Krishna Reddy, the former Mayor of Hyderabad, formally joined the party at a public meeting attended by the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. While T Srinivas Yadav is MLA from Secunderabad, T Krishna Reddy is the MLA from Maheshwaram constituency, one of the few TDP won in the last elections in Telangana. Another TDP MLA, C Dharma Reddy, from Parkal in Warangal is also likely to join the TDP soon at another meeting to be held in his constituency. rotests rocked different parts of the State on Wednesday after a television channel reported a nexus between the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and Bangladesh-based Jehadi forces. AIUDF chief Badaruddin Ajmal on Wednesday termed the allegation as evil design to damage the party and his personal image. A national news channel had on Tuesday reported that the IB had found links between the AIUDF and Jehadis and said that the AIUDF had sent youths from Assam to Bangladesh for training which fuelled the protests against the AIUDF and several organisations burnt the effigies of AIUDF chief and shouted slogans against the party. The perfume baron, who had started the AIUDF in 2005, said that he is contemplating legal options against the news channel, which had tele- cast the news while quoting a ‘report’ that the AIUDF had links with the Bangladesh based Jehadi forces. “We are a secular political party and we have never supported any terrorist activities in the past. It’s a baseless allegation and we are seeking legal ways to challenge the news channel to prove the allegations,” said Ajmal while interacting with the newsmen. Ajmal, who is also the president of Assam chapter of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said he will be going to New Delhi with a nine-member delegation to meet the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the President over the issue. “I doubt the authenticity of the report, which was quoted by the news channel. There was no signature by any authority in the report, which was shown by the television channel. The reported matter is related to national security so how can such a sensitive report come to <T\QTab^U19?Qda]cWTTUUXVh^U08D35RWXTU1PSPadSSX]0Y\P[PcP_a^cTbcPUcTaB_TRXP[8]cT[[XVT]RT1daTPdaT_^acb^UWXb Pbb^RXPcX^]fXcW8b[P\XRUd]SP\T]cP[Xbcb^U1P]V[PSTbWX]6dfPWPcX^]FTS]TbSPh ?C8 public?” he said. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, however, said that the state is yet to receive any evidence to establish a 8]SXP0[QP]XPc^bXV]_PRc^]eXbPXbbdT ?=BQ =4F34;78 T he Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval for signing of an agreement between IndiaAlbania on the abolition of visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and official/service passports. The agreement will facilitate visa-free travel for diplomatic and official/ service passport holders of one country while entering into, transiting through, exiting or staying for up to 90 days in the territory of the other country. The Cabinet also gave nod to ratify the ‘Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur supplementary protocol on liability and redress to the Cartagena protocol on biosafety’ by India. The Protocol would promote sound application of biotechnology making it possible to accrue benefits arising from modern biotechnology while minimising the risk to the environment and human health. This will protect the interests of all Indians without distinction or differentiation. Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared acquisition of Polar Research Vessel (Icebreaker, Research cum Supply Vessel) by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at a cost of C1,051.13 crore. This polar research vessel will help sustain two Indian research bases in Antarctica (Maitri and Bharti); dovetail research initiatives in the Southern Ocean domain with those in the proximal regions of the Antarctic continent; widen the thrust on Arctic research disciplines undertaken through Indian Station Himadri, and provide a suitable research platform for other tropical sea programmes. As of now Indian Antarctic expeditions are undertaken by rented ice-class vessels/icebreakers from international market. The Cabinet also approved the introduction of School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014 and approval for transfer on lease basis of 4.687 acres CWTPVaTT\T]c fX[[UPRX[XcPcT eXbPUaTTcaPeT[ U^aSX_[^\PcXR P]S^UUXRXP[ bTaeXRT_Pbb_^ac W^[STab^U^]T R^d]cahfWX[T T]cTaX]VX]c^ caP]bXcX]V cWa^dVWTgXcX]V ^abcPhX]VU^ad_ c^(SPhbX]cWT cTaaXc^ah^UcWT ^cWTaR^d]cah (instead of earlier approved15.19 acres) of Defence land in perpetuity to the Kendriya Vidyalaya(KVS) for construction of school building and Sohna Road, Gurgaon KV. The SPA Bill, 2014 provides for bringing all three SPAs under the gambit of Bill which would adhere to Government policies on reservations from time to time. The proposed Act will empower these Schools toaward degrees through an Act of Parliament. This would enable the School of Planning and Architecture to become centres of excellence like IITs, NITs and help fulfill the need of the country for quality manpower in the field of architecture and planning. All the money spent from public exchequer will be accounted for and audited by the CAG and its annual Report and audited accounts to be placed before Parliament. The Cabinet further gave its approval for transfer on lease basis of 4.687 acres for construction of KV school building and other related infrastructure at KV No. 2 in Gurgaon. The land is to be transferred on lease basis at a nominal rent of C1.00 (Rupee one only) per annum (without any premium) and in terms of existing Government policy on the subject. nexus between the AIUDF and Jihadi forces. Senior BJP leader BJP Chakraborty expressed concern over the issue and said that there have been Jehadi activities in Assam and that Assam had been used as transit route for transshipment of illegal arms and ammunition. B2)?dcX]_[PRTBP\PaXcP] ;Pfc^_a^cTRcQhbcP]STab ?=BQ =4F34;78 T he Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to put in place a Good Samaritan Law to protect bystanders who reach road accident victims to hospitals against harassment by police and courts, where they are later summoned as witnesses. On a PIL by NGO Savelife Foundation, the bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the Centre to pass an executive order giving effect to a set of recommendations made by a highlevel Committee headed by an Additional Secretary in Ministry of Home Affairs. As the nodal ministry — Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had no objections, the bench asked Centre to immediately implement the same. The Committee was of the opinion that Good Samaritans need to be encouraged and be exempted from civil and criminal liability, unless some malafide on their part can be shown. Those who intimate police of accidents should not be harassed by police to reveal their name or address nor should they be summoned as witnesses in court. BCA4BB>==4435>AD=85>A<28E8;2>34 0^]TW^a]TSaWX]^RdQbcdRZX]\dSPc:^W^aPeX[[PVTX]:PiXaP]VP0bbP\ ^]FTS]TbSPh Kochi: Though several decades have passed since the birth of the Indian Constitution, the ideals the makers of it had underscored have not still been visualised due to the country’s inability to bring about a Uniform Civil Code, former Supreme Court judge Justice KT Thomas has said. Delivering the keynote address at a seminar organised by the Human Rights Forum of the SD College in Alappuzha on Wednesday, Justice Thomas said that a Uniform Civil Code was imperative for national integration ?C8 at all levels. PNS DeZcRXRZ_dea`]ZTZ_X+E`\Zdd`c_`ee`\Zdd EA90H0A09Q :>278 T 3Te^cTTb^UUTa_aPhTab^]cWTQP]Zb^UAXeTa6P]VPSdaX]V2WWPcWUTbcXeP[X]?Pc]P^]FTS]TbSPh ?C8 he plan of a Facebook forum of Kerala youngsters to hold a “Kiss of Love” programme at Kochi on Sunday to protest against moral policing has run into uncertainty in the context of objections aired by local people and several outfits and the unwillingness of the police to grant permission due to apprehensions about the possibility of law and order problems. However, the Kiss of Love collective has announced that it would go ahead with the programme. “We should have the freedom to express ourselves. We are holding the programme just to say “Stop Moral Policing”. Actually, it is the responsibility of the police to give us protection if we are attacked amidst the peaceful programme,” said Rasmi, one of the organizers. The Facebook page of Kiss of Love has attracted thousands of young men and women. Over 10,000 had ‘liked’ and ‘shared’ it and nearly 4,000 had expressed willingness to participate in the programme. The page said that the Kiss of Love protest was to convince the “wholesale dealers of morality” how human beings expressed love. Kiss of Love was planned by a group of young men and women through a Facebook campaign in the aftermath of a Yuva Morcha protest on October 23 against a new-generation coffee shop in Kozhikode where “immoral activities” were allegedly going on turning violent. The protest was based on a report on the coffee shop that appeared on the Congress’s Jai Hind TV channel. One of the Kiss of Love FB posts said: “We are inviting to the programme all moralists who think that morality will crumble if people kiss in public. What we are planning to do is to convince the people that kissing is one of the ways for homo-sapiens to communicate between them. This is a collective. We don’t want moral police.” Wednesday presented an indication of what might happen on Sunday evening at Kochi’s Marine Drive if the programme was held. Some men tried to rough up a group of about eight Kiss of Love campaigners, who had gathered there late Wednesday morning with plac- ards reading “Stop Moral Policing” in order to explain their plan to the media. Those who tried to rough up the love campaign organizers claimed that they were Congress workers and said that they would not allow any such kind of “lawlessness” in Kochi, Naveen, one of those who opposed the campaign said, “This will set a bad precedent. Is this the lesson we are going to give our little sisters? This is Kerala and not Europe or America.” However, Kiss of Love campaigners termed this approach as hypocritical. “We are not asking anybody to kiss or hug or to do other things. This is a protest against moral policing. I am here with my wife. Why can’t I hold my wife’s hand in public without attracting obscene comments from those around us?” Rahul Pasupalan, a short- film maker, asked. Incidentally, some of the youth organizations which had come out strongly against the Yuva Morcha protest in Kozhikode have turned now against Kiss of Love. DYFI leader AN Shamseer said, “We are against all kinds of moral policing. But the organizers of this programme should ask themselves if it is all right to do things which are unacceptable in a society like ours.” Several leading cultural personalities have declared support for the programme describing it as the Pink Chaddi movement of Kerala. Many of them also warned the organizers as well as participants to be cautious about vigilantes among the public and the equally “vigilante” police who might misuse IPC provisions regarding public display of affinity. ]PcX^]& DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ "\X[XcP]cbZX[[TSX]9: =Rh_VVUVUe`UVR] hZeYYRceR]d+<VcR]R94 ^]3Ph!^UVd]UXVWc :7DAB7443F0=8Q BA8=060A ?=BQ :>278 342;0A8=670AC0;B 8B=>C02A8<4C74 ?>;8C820;?0AC84B 0=3>C74A >A60=8B4AB2>D;3 =>C14;460;;H 10AA435A>< 8BBD8=620;;B5>A 70AC0;B8= 2>==42C8>=F8C7 64=4A0;>A ?0AC82D;0A ?DA?>B4B T he Kerala High Court on Wednesday said that it could not put restrictions on the practice of issuing calls for hartals as giving hartal calls was not a crime. A full bench of the court also said that the media could not be barred from publishing reports on hartal calls and associated matters. “Declaring hartals is not a crime. A stringent law is needed to deal with it,” the court said. The full bench of the court comprising acting Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justices AM Shafique and AK Jayasankar Nambiar said that the Government could consider formulating a comprehensive law to prevent incidents of violence and destruction of public property in connection with hartals. Considering a batch of petitions seeking a ban on hartal calls and order to control the media from publishing reports concerning hartals, the High Court bench said that the political parties and other organisers could not be legally barred from issuing calls for hartals in connection with general or particular purposes. The Government had the responsibility to ensure protection of life and property of the people and therefore it was up to it to put controls on the observance of hartals, the bench said. Only a law, and not the court, could effectively deal with the incidents of violence taking place during hartals, the court pointed out. The court said it was instructing the Government to formulate a comprehensive law for identifying those responsible for hartal calls and violence during observance of hartals and to take effective action. A draft Bill was prepared for this in 2008, but nobody had been prepared to abide by the clauses in it, the bench pointed out. Stating that the media could not be barred from publishing reports on hartal calls and associated matters, the judges observed that freedom of expression was not exclusive to citizens but the media also had it. Freedom of the Press was one of the Constitutional values of the democratic country, they added. 19?_aTbXST]c0\XcBWPWSdaX]V2WWPcW?dYPUTbcXeP[X]0W\TSPQPS^]FTS]TbSPh ?C8 hree militants have been killed in a prolonged T encounter in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district after security forces locked horns with a group of armed guerrillas in the forested area. A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) also died in the encounter on Tuesday and the combing operation was in progress till last reports came in from the area. Sources said that troops belonging to three battalions of Rashtriya Rifles and counterinsurgency police personnel cordoned off Wuder Bala forested area in Handwara pocket of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district earlier this week following a specific information about the 0cTaa^aXbc92> fTaTZX[[TSX] T]R^d]cTa ^]CdTbSPh presence of militants there. On Tuesday morning, the troops established a contact with the militants when they opened a bout of fire. During the initial exchange of fire, one unidentified militant and a JCO, Naib Subedar Rajesh Kumar were killed. The encounter continued after the initial casualties. On Wednesday, the encounter resumed and two more militants were killed. The bodies of slain militants have been retrieved from the area. Their identity is being ascertained. 0a\h_Tab^]]T[fXcWcWTQ^SXTb^UcWaTT;PbWZPaTCPhhTQP\X[XcP]cbZX[[TSSdaX]VP]T]R^d]cTaPcFP]SPaQP[eX[[PVTX] 7P]SfPaP^]FTS]TbSPh 7GRFWRUVFRQWLQXHVWULNH <TTcc^SXbRdbbRP]T GHVSLWH*RYW+&ZDUQLQJ _aXRTbX]R^]R[dbXeT ?=BQ ;D2:=>F ><4A50A>>@Q 7H34A0103 D espite the stern warning by High Court and the D Telangana Government, there was no end in sight to the indefinite strike by more than 3,000 junior doctors in Telangana. Junior doctors have been on strike for the last 31 days, hampering the functioning of Government hospitals demanding the repeal of a rule which requires the medical students to compulsorily work in rural areas for at least one year at the completion of their course. Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association (TJUDA) has decided to continue the strike despite a two judge bench of the High Court directed the doctors to end the strike and resume their duties. When the matter again came up on Wednesday, the bench comprising of Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and PV Sanjay Kumar expressed their strong disapproval and asked the counsel whether the junior doctors were ready to face the action in accordance with the law. The bench made it clear that the court will not hear the grievances of the junior doctors till they end the strike. Court adjourned further hearing of the matter till Thursday and urged the doc- 5X[T__W^c^ tors to introspect their behavior towards the patients coming to the Government hospitals. The court also asked the counsel for the TJUDA to clarify under which rule they had gone on indefinite strike. The counsel contended that the strike has not been causing any problems to the patients and the junior doctors have been forced to go on an indefinite strike only after their talks with the Government failed because of the unreasonable stand taken by the latter. The TJUDA has laid the condition that the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao should meet them and give a personal assurance that their demands will be fulfilled. But the Chief Minister has hardened his stand and refused to meet the striking doctors. State Health Minister and deputy Chief Minister T Rajaiah said, “The State Government has already accepted all the demands of the junior doctors.” He warned that the State Government will debar the striking junior doctors for six months if they don’t end the strike. Apart from continuing their strike, six junior doctors have also gone an indefinite fast and others have been staging a sit-in protest at Indira Park in Hyderabad. .HUDOD¶V&RQJODXQFKHVZDUDJDLQVW*XY6DWKDVLYDP ?a^cTbcPVPX]bc X]cTaeT]cX^]X] ePabXcXTb³XbbdT EA90H0A09Q :>278 erala’s ruling Congress party on Wednesday K launched a political war against Governor P Sathasivam, appointed early last month by the NDA Government in the Centre, over his intervention as Chancellor in the issues plaguing the 13 universities in the State. “It is only legitimate to suspect that the Governor, appointed by the BJP-led Government, could be interfering in the State Government’s day-to-day affairs with political intentions,” State Congress vicepresident MM Hassan, who is also a staunch loyalist of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, said in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Governor Sathasivam had on Monday held a meeting of the vice-chancellors of all universities in the State in an attempt to find solutions to the various issues plaguing them. The meeting was held at the Cochin University of Science and Technology in Kochi and 12 of the 13 vice-chancellors had participated in it. Congress leaders including the Chief Minister and Kerala PCC president VM Sudheeran had objected to the appointment of Justice Sathasivam as Governor even before the President had issued the order. Chandy had protested saying that it was inappropriate for the Centre to appoint a Governor without consulting the State Government. Leveling scathing criti- BcPcT2^]VaTbbeXRT _aTbXST]c[TeT[[TS bRPcWX]VRaXcXRXb\b PVPX]bccWT6^eTa]^a R[PX\X]VcWPc]^eXRT RWP]RT[[^aWPSTeTa X]cTaeT]TSX]cWT d]XeTabXcXTb´PUUPXabb^UPacWTfPh 9dbcXRTBPcWPbXeP\WPSS^]TP]S cWXbP\^d]cTSc^X]UaX]VT\T]cd_^] cWT_^fTab^UcWT6^eTa]\T]c cisms against the Governor, Hassan claimed that no vicechancellor had ever intervened in the universities’ affairs so far the way Justice Sathasivam had done and this amounted to infringement upon the powers of the Government. This was against the spirit of democracy, Hassan charged. The meeting of VCs Justice Sathasivam had called using his discretionar y powers as Chancellor had decided to constitute a Chancellor’s Council to review the affairs of universities from time to time and formulated some measures for the smooth functioning of the institutions and hassle-free conduct of examinations. Hassan said that the Chancellor’s Council the meeting had formed under the :PiXaP]VPfX[[^_T]U^a c^daXbcbUa^\BPcdaSPh 0=D?B70A<0Q 6DF070C8 A mid reports of poaching of onehorned rhinos in Kaziranga national park, the most famous national park in Assam is all set to flung its doors open for tourists from November 1. Like every year, the park, which is famous for its one-horned rhino population and also for being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had closed its door for domestic as well as foreign tourists from May 1 due to the monsoon season. “We normally restrict the entry of visitors to the park from the month of May as the park gets flooded every year during the monsoon season. This year also, 80 per cent of the park area submerged in the flood waters. However, after flood receded, we have already taken up the annual maintenance works of the park and will be completed by the end of this month. Their has been an increase in the tourist inflow every year and this year also we are expecting more tourists than last year,” said park director MK Yadav. It may be mentioned here that poaching has become one of the major concerns for the authorities in the Kaziranga national park and other protected areas in Assam. A total of 23 one-horned rhinos have already been killed by poachers in Assam this year, out of which 22 have been killed in Kaziranga alone. According to official statistics, the highest number of poaching cases took place in Assam last year, when the poachers had killed 41 rhinos including 27 in Kaziranga, five in Manas national park, three in Orang national park, two in Pabitora wildlife sanctuary and four in other areas. Assam Forest and Environment ?C8 Minister Rockybul Hussain had informed the State Assembly that a total of 193 one-horned rhinos fell victim to poaching in Assam since 2001. While over a total of 1,28,435 tourists including 6,922 foreign tourists have visited the park in the last tourist season-2013-14, the number of tourists visiting the park was 1,01,165 in 2012-13 including 7,418 foreign tourists. Located about 240 kms away from Assam’s main city Guwahati, the over 800 square kms park is home to one-horned rhinoceros and it also has the highest rhino density in the world. However, the park also contains significant stock of three other large herbivores — the Asian Elephant, the Asiatic Water Buffalo and the eastern subspecies of the Swamp Deer-all of which makes it one of the most sought after tourists destinations in the region. Governor had no legal validity. “This discretion of the Governor as Chancellor to intervene in varsity affairs has always been there. But nobody had used it. To call a meeting of vice-chancellors and take decisions at it is clearly an act of interference in Government’s day-to-day affairs,” he alleged. The PCC vice-chief said that the Chancellor had the powers to summon a VC of a particular university or to terminate his services. “But he doesn’t have the right to call a meeting of the VCs of all universities,” Hassan said, adding that he had brought the matter to the notice of the Chief Minister and the Government. “By definition, the Governor has the power to convene the State Assembly but such powers have never been used by Governors,” Hassan said. “Will this Governor do such things if an occasion arises?” he asked, adding that such acts were not expected from a person like Justice Sathasivam who was the Chief Justice of India. “No comments,” was the answer Chief Minister Chandy offered when newsmen asked him about the Governor’s act of convening the VCs’ meeting. When newsmen pressed him further for a clear response, he said, “I can respond only on appropriate matters.” Congress MLA TN Prathapan, also a Syndicate member of the Calicut University where administration and academic activities are lying frozen for the past several weeks, said he did not share Hassan’s opinion. “The Governor has all the powers to do that. This was intended to make the varsities more efficient and for improving their academic standards,” he said. espite an assurance from the State Government that crushing season will start on time, deadlock persists over cane prices as mills have shown their inability to match last year’s price while farmers have asked the Government to increase the cane price. Though the maintenance work of the 95 private mills has started but they are not ready to start crushing as desired by the Uttar Pradesh Government from mid-November till the dispute over the cane price is sorted out. A meeting between Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan, farmers’ representatives and sugar millers to discuss the cane pricing mechanism remained inconclusive as the farmers representatives demanded a higher rates up to C350 per quintal while the private mills, represented by UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA), said that private millers would not be able to pay even the rate of C280 of the last year. Earlier the State Government had asked the private mills to start their operations by November first week or face action. Now the State Government has gone soft on the sugar mills as the Chief Secretary said that the Government would ensure that sugar mill owners do not incur losses but at the same time exploitation of farmers would not be allowed, he said. The Private mills are pressing the UP Government to adopt Centre’s Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of C220 per quintal fixed as the first installment while the rest may be decided as per the prices of the sugar. They are also demanding linkage of cane price with the sugar price as per the Ragarajan committee recommendation. UPSMA officials also pleaded before the government that banks have refused to give loan to meet out the capital cost. ^_X]X^]' DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ gggTQY\i`Y_^UUbS_] aRaVchZeYaRddZ`_ HV]T`^V`fecVRTY ,QGLD9LHWQDPELODWHUDOPXVWWDSIXOOSRWHQWLDO WTaTPaTcf^bXV]XUXRP]cPb_TRcbc^8]SXPbR^\\Xc\T]cc^bcaT]VcWT]R^^_ TaPcX^]fXcWEXTc]P\X]cWTPaTPb^USTUT]RTbTRdaXchP]S^X[P]SVPbTg_[^ aPcX^]CWTUXabcXbP]d]P\QXVd^dbQ^^bcc^cWXbR^d]cahb[^]VWT[Sbca^]V cXTbfXcW7P]^X8]SXPWPSQPRZTSEXTc]P\SdaX]VXcbePaX^dbR^]U[XRcbX]cWTaTRT]c _Pbc1dcfWX[TaT[PcX^]bQTcfTT]cWTcf^R^d]caXTbWPeTaT\PX]TSbcTPSh^eTa cWTSTRPSTbcWTh]TeTaaTP[XbTScWTXaUd[[_^cT]cXP[4eT]cWTbcaPcTVXR_Pac]Ta bWX_cWPcfPbbcadRZQPRZX]!&aT\PX]TS[PaVT[h]^]^_TaPcX^]P[CWTaTPaT X]SXRPcX^]bcWPccWTcXTbfX[[]^fQTbRP[TSd_?aX\T<X]XbcTa=PaT]SaP<^SX WPbPbbdaTSEXTc]P\cWPcWXb6^eTa]\T]cfX[[°`dXRZ[h^_TaPcX^]P[XbT±cWT \X[[X^][X]T^URaTSXcc^WT[_cWPcR^d]cahT]WP]RTXcbSTUT]RTRP_PQX[XcXTbCWTaT XbP[b^cP[Z^U=Tf3T[WXT]cTaX]VX]c^PSTP[fXcW7P]^XU^acWTbP[T^UcWT1aPW<^b 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Government may want to provide housing and toilets for all by 2022, and launch 100 Smart Cities shortly, the housing sector today is both in an unregulated mess and in dire financial straits. Two things generally indicate how the consumer is feeling — houses and cars. Both industries are still iffy in India, with vehicle sales picking up a little but still wobbly, and sales of apartments and flats very much in the doldrums. The Government needs to execute a series of far-reaching reforms urgently to revive this vital sector of the economy. Construction and housing provide offtakes to quite a few manufacturing and service sectors including architecture, marketing, advertising, cement, steel, bricks, sanitary-ware, flooring, tiling, lighting, furniture etc. on the growth of which such industry is co-dependent. Together, this lot contributes as much as 17 per cent of the gross domestic product, and many lakhs of jobs. The housing industry as it stands, contributes as much as agriculture to the GDP, even though the latter may account for a far more sizeable chunk of the total population. The property market is badly depressed at present, owing to a mismatch between demand and supply, compounded by Government neglect and apathy, high interest rates, over-leveraged builders, and stubbornly high inflation affected construction costs. The economy on the whole cannot be revived unless the stagnation and worse in this area of works is put right first. All over the world, the health of the residential and commercial construction sector is a key measurement with regard to the state of the economy. The Indian property market, throughout the country, has been depressed for five years now, with a further down turn over the last three. The National Capital Region has unsold inventory of 3,03,000 apartments, that will take nearly five years to clear at the present rate of sales, according to real estate research firm Liases Foras. And within this alarming statistic, Delhi itself, with its high-priced builder flats, mushrooming in place of older houses, has as much as 20 per cent in unsold stock. The key markets of Gurgaon, Noida, and Bhiwadi in the NCR, are staring at some 50 per cent of the total under construction unsold at this time; with speculators, as opposed to end users, accounting for half of the other half. And the investors, unable to hold out indefinitely in the depressed market, are off-loading their purchase at discounts to the builder’s prices, further aggravating the problem. The story is similar, if somewhat better, in Mumbai and Bangalore. The high-priced Mumbai Metropolitan Region has 1,68,000 apartments yet to find buyers, and Bangalore, largely an enduser market, is still groaning under the weight of 1,13,000 unsold flats according to Liases Foras. High interest rates too are keeping would be buyers away from contracting home loans. Massive builder debt and interest payments, sharply increased construction cost, a stagnating economy, all are factors why this sector is in trouble. Unless demand picks up soon, there will be a spate of inordinate delays, defaults, and even bankruptcies. Luckily, the situation does not quite amount to a full-fledged housing bubble, with about half the inventory sold by the builders on average, but the asset class is unlikely to generate the kind of capital gains associated with it over 6Q\cU^UgcYcRUY^W c`bUQTY^]UTYQdXQd CXYfCU^QXQc TU]Q^TUTdXU4U`edi 3XYUV=Y^YcdUbc`_cd GUXQfU^d TU]Q^TUTQ^idXY^W CXYfCU^Q\UQTUb °CQ^ZQiBQed <0BB8E41D8;34A 341C0=3 8=C4A4BC ?0H<4=CB B70A?;H 8=2A40B43 2>=BCAD2C8>= 2>BC0 BC06=0C8=6 42>=><H0;;0A4 502C>ABF7HC74 7>DB8=6B42C>A 8B8=CA>D1;4 the next several years. Both the residential and commercial markets however do have enough pent up demand to be ultimately absorbed, as long as further supply is put on hold. But, since the industry cannot grind to a complete halt when it comes to new launches, given that several builders have land banks and licenses in hand, the problem will be aggravated further. Still, there will be few new launches that can hope to succeed in these market conditions, even if they have thinned out considerably. New launches are also a cheap source of funds for cash strapped builders, who need to complete ongoing projects. It is, however unclear, whether any category, ranging from the affordable and mid-segment, to the luxury projects, are out performing the rest. All sections of the market are uniformly suffering low demand and over-supply. The resale market is only active for bargain hunters looking for distressed sales. Various problems of property buyers, facing one-sided contractual arrangements from the builders, have also been pending Government action for a very long time. In addition, the builders who have over-built illegally, or built on land acquired by the B>D=318C4 5R_\Q_edRbUQ[TUcUbfUc _ebVe\\QddU^dY_^8_gUfUbYd YcQ\c_SbYdYSQ\dXQdgUS_^ fUiQcU^cU_VebWU^Si gYdX_edY^SYdY^W`Q^YS E>CUSbUdQbi7U^UbQ\ °2Q^;Y]__^ Government at a pittance from farmers, are facing farmer agitation, litigation and stoppages. This, even as many customers have paid large sums as installments to the builder, and expensive EMIs to the lending banks. Environmental restrictions, applied strangely, after the fact, to developments near sanctuaries and the like are also destabilising market sentiment and worse. Private and sarkari developments alike are dependent on the Government and municipal authorities to build and provide ‘livability’ by way of new roads, electricity connections, water, sewage, security, street lights etc.. But many of the developments in outlying areas, particularly in the NCR, are marooned today in a sea of mud, with no clarity as to when their problems may be addressed, let alone solved. Road connectivity promised in particular is mired in multiple litigation, with the original land owners demanding higher compensation and alternative developed plots in lieu of the agricultural land acquired forcefully at low prices by the Government and passed on to the Builders. In the resultant chaos arising from all these reasons, many housing towers are half-built and stalled by cash-strapped builders, and even those nearing completion, years late, still have no roads and other amenities to service them. Politically, the Bharatiya Janata Party, if it wins Jharkhand outright, as is expected, and props up a People’s Democratic Party Government in Jammu & Kashmir, come December, will have done very well indeed. Particularly on top of its recent wins in Haryana and Maharashtra. But economically, the hole dug by the previous UPA Government is both deep and wide. To fill such a cavity is going to take enormous doing. Fortunately, many of the macro factors are heartening, particularly the lowering of inflation due to lower oil prices . The inter-linked housing, office, and infrastructural sectors need to grow sharply, and could be the way to get the Indian economy into double digit GDP growth in the shortest possible time. What it needs is huge investment. This can come, both from internal and external sources, if interest rates are lowered, taxes are cut, and foreign direct investment is encouraged. The 100 Smart Cities and housing for all only make sense if conditions are created for this sector of the economy to thrive. DXUTUSYcY_^d_cQS[]U Qc^QdY_^Q\cUSbUdQbi_V 1`^Q4Q\YcY\\UWQ\=i ]_dXUbXQcRUU^]Yc\UT Ric_]U`U_`\U d_T_c_ 1`^Q4Q\=@ °1^e`bYiQ@QdU\ ;4CC4ABC>C74438C>A 4Y]X_`Uc Sir — Congress members loyal to the Nehru-Gandhi family cannot see or think beyond the dynasty. Former Union Minister P Chidambaram is right in saying that some day a non-Nehru-Gandhi family member can be the Congress president. When Congress leader Shashi Tharoor rightly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, he was shunted out as the party’s spokesperson. The good cannot be ignored. But the Congress is blind to this fact. The Nehru-Gandhi family members continue to behave like royalty, though the people have rejected dynasty politics in the recent elections. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is a liability for the Congress. Under the present leadership, the party’s chances of revival are almost zero. Mahesh Kumar Via email D_gUbY^WCQbTQb Sir — This refers to the article, “Nehruvians discredited modern India’s builder” (October 28) by A Surya Prakash. The writer has eloquently stated that the Congress had >RcXZ_R]ZdVU4A>YZe Sj]VRUVcdYZaSRee]Vd C WXbaTUTabc^cWTTSXc^aXP[°<P]hbWPSTbX]cWTATS±>Rc^QTa!(0c _aTbT]ccWTaTbTT\bc^QTPcdV^UfPaX]cWT2^\\d]Xbc?Pach^U 8]SXP <PagXbc QTcfTT] bT]X^a [TPSTab ?aPZPbW :PaPc P]S BXcPaP\ HTRWdah0RR^aSX]Vc^\TSXPaT_^acb<aHTRWdahWPb_[PRTSQTU^aTcWT _PachbRT]caP[R^\\XccTTPaT_^accWPcW^[Sb<a:PaPcaTb_^]bXQ[TU^acWT _Pachbf^abcb[XSTX]aTRT]chTPab ATVPaS[Tbb^UcWT_^[XcXRbcWPc<aHTRWdah\PhQT_[PhX]VfTP[[Z]^f cWPcd]STa<a:PaPcb[TPSTabWX_cWT2?8<WPbbcTPSX[hQTT]b[XSX]V [^bX]VQ^cWX]:TaP[PP]SFTbc1T]VP[8]UPRccWT[^bbX]FTbc1T]VP[ WPbQTT]b^VaPeTcWPccWT_Pach\XVWc]^cQTPQ[Tc^aTVPX]XcbVa^d]S X]cWT]TPaUdcdaT8]UPRccWT1WPaPcXhP9P]PcP?PachR^d[S^RRd_hcWT _^[XcXRP[b_PRTePRP]ccWTaT0cPcX\TfWT]<PagXb\XbPbV^^SPbSTPS ^]T f^]STab XU cWT HTRWdah:PaPc QaP]S ^U ;TUcXbc _^[XcXRb fX[[ QT PQ[Tc^bdaeXeT 0EP]X 7hSTaPQPS kept Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in oblivion with a view to promoting the Nehru-Gandhi family legacy. Sardar Patel was the Iron Man of India because he integrated 553 princely Indian States into the Indian Union. Only Jammu & Kashmir was Jawaharlal Nehru’s responsibility, and he messed it up. Such was the domination of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that even more deserving national leaders such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and BR Ambedkar were neglected. Even the non-Congress Minister in Nehru’s Cabinet, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, had to resign due to Nehru’s intransigence. The writer also correctly highlighted the fact that, out of the 15 Pradesh Congress Committee votes, Nehru drew a blank, while Patel bagged 12 votes; three were absentees. Even then, Nehru was elected the party leader and Prime Minister at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi. Sagar Singh Via email GQb]U]_bYQ\ Sir — This refers to the article, “100 years ago, they shone as bright” (October 27) by Pushpindar Singh Chopra. The War Memorial promised and proposed by the Narendra Modi-led Government must enshrine the valiant efforts of the Indian soldiers who took part in World War I and World War II, and of our jawans who fought in various battles since Independence. One really wishes to see our past heroes being given proper honour and respect through such a memorial. Sandy Via web 9^U`d`_\YdYSYQ^c Sir — This refers to the article, “Making Bengal the den of jihadi terror” (October 27) by Balbir Punj. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a poor administrator who is not capable of coming down heavily on terror and antinational elements in the State, as many of them belong to the minority community, which has been her party, the Trinamool Congress’s, committed vote-bank. As far as the security needs of the country are concerned, one should not trust politicians who are more intent on promoting their political considerations at the cost of national interest. 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QPaaT[b_TaSPhPRR^aSX]Vc^CWT=TfH^aZCX\TbCWXbWPb[TSc^ P]^eTaP[[TgRTbb^UPQ^dc^]T\X[[X^]QPaaT[bX]cWTf^a[SfXcWP _aTbT]cR^]bd\_cX^]aPcT^UPQ^dc(\X[[X^]QPaaT[b_TaSPh <a4QaX]VTa]^cTbcWPccWTSTR[X]TX]_aXRTbWPb^][hQTT]R^\ _^d]STSQhcWTSd\_X]V^U_^bXcX^]bQhFP[[BcaTTcWTSVTUd]S \P]PVTabfW^WPSTPa[XTa_[PRTSW^_Tb^]^X[R^]cX]dX]VXcbaXbT ^eTacWT[^]VcTa\SdTc^V[^QP[X]bcPQX[Xch 2^dacTbh)A80=^e^bcX 8UcWT[XZT[hTg_[^aPcX^]QTcfTT]EXTc]P\ P]S8]SXPd]STa\X]Tb2WX]Pbb^eTaTXV]ch P]SX]cTaTbcbfTPaT^__^bTSc^Xc °2WX]TbT5^aTXV]<X]Xbcahb_^ZTb_Tab^] 7>=6;48 0 <0HDA8<D:74A944 8]SXPS^Tb]´c[^^Z S^f]d_^] 0UVWP]XbcP]FT VTcWdacfWT]fT PaT]^caTb_TRcTS P]S^daRd[cdaTXb aXSXRd[TSCWXbXb fWPccWT?PZXbcP]X T[XcTSXSCWThS QaXTU^UUXRXP[bX] ;^]S^]P]S FPbWX]Vc^]32 cWPc±CWT0UVWP]b PaTPQd]RW^U caXQTb*cWThPaT SXbPbb^RXPcTS*h^d WT[_dbfT \P]PVTcWT\² 8]SXPWPb]TeTa bPXScWPc n Afghanistan’s long drawn out transition process to peace and stability, this year has been particularly crucial. Western troops who have held the country together over the past decade and a half are now wrapping up their combat missions. Only about 21,000 will remain to assist the Afghan forces, and it is still unclear how well the latter will be able to hold fort. Already, there have been reports of the Taliban taking back villages in the south from where they had been ousted. A new Government has taken charge in Kabul but it stands on a precarious power-sharing deal between two bitter rivals. In a wide-ranging interview to The Pioneer, former chief of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security Amrullah Saleh acknowledges the challenges ahead but also expresses optimism that Afghanistan’s political establishment will not betray the people’s aspirations. Excerpts from the interview: Do you believe the new National Unity Government will be stable? We have passed more difficult times than this in the past 40 years, so I am optimistic. First, the people of Afghanistan want both leaders to work together, so there is popular pressure demanding convergence. Second, the pressure from international community to make this Government work is also massive. Each world leader who calls on the President also calls on the CEO who’s powers are akin to that of a Prime Minister. Regional powers, minus Pakistan, are also supportive. This is unlike in the 1980s and 1990s when the region was divided on the kind of Government that Afghanistan should have. Third, the two leaders know that if they don’t work together, they’ll open the gates for the Taliban to stage a comeback. How do you think the arrangement will work, in terms of sharing of portfolios etc, given that both leaders have competing interests? The NUG has not yet taken off. It still has to be assembled. This won’t be an easy task because interest groups will inevitably play tricks. There will be diverse dynamics, and lot of pulling and pushing by vested interests. It is up to the two men at the top to show more statesmanship. So, yes, there all ingredients of instability but the opportunities (for stability) are greater than the challenges. How is the personal relationship between between President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah? Since they signed the deal, both sides have taken a more humble approach. They understand they have about five years together — two years until the launch of the loya jirga and another three after that. You know, human beings who claim that they have forgotten the past are saying utter lies. But good leaders suppress past feelings and move on. Also, the past here is not just the past six months. The leaders should remember the past four decades. They should remember the fate of Afghan leaders who didn’t work together. Afghan history is full of instances wherein the people have given a mandate and the leaders haven’t to work together and they have all lost. The international community seems optimistic about the NUG. Do the Afghan voters share its optimism or do they feel cheated out of their mandate? :?4@?G6CD2E:@? For the masses, ‘hope’ is a commodity. For the people at the top, hope is neither a commodity nor a policy. The only measurable factor is the document outlining the NUG. Moreover, there is little room for violation of the deal. If either side violates the provisions, the people will see that, given the role of media. What is your assessment of the Afghan security issue? We are suffering. We are in pain. We wake to headlines of bomb blasts, casualties and tears. I am not hiding that. But the legitimacy of the constitutional democratic space is so strong that the people are willing to defend it. As for the Taliban, the Afghan system has not been dogmatic in its approach by insisting on the use of force. It has kept the negotiation gate open. But the Taliban are not ready to negotiate because they want to dictate certain terms. But they can’t continue forever as, compared to the 1980s and 1990s, they are getting support from a much weaker Pakistan. There is a civil-military divide in Pakistan over the Afghan policy, and also over how to tackle extremism within that country and re-brand Pakistan. Remember even up to the 1990s, Pakistan had a good brand. It was an ally, a front line ally ready to help the free world; it had its own challenges but was not ready to say goodbye to democratic values forever. But what is the Pakistani brand today? It is a hub for extremism and sectarianism; it has a dirty record of nuclear proliferation and the shadow of the army is bigger than physics of democracy. Still, there is one Pakistani side which is constantly reaching out to the Afghan people but the other half, which is the military, is playing a dirty power game. This can’t go on. They will have to realise this or they’ll be forced to realise this. How are talks with the Taliban progressing under the new Government? A breakthrough in this regard will come only when Rawalpindi creates one. But Rawalpindi is not interested in peace. Taliban leaders showing some interest in peace have been killed in covert attacks. It is only if Pakistan’s cost of war goes up that that it will force the Taliban to lay their arms. Currently, Pakistan pays too little and gains too much. It gives maybe $30 million to $40 million to the Taliban, and in return, it get billions of dollars in aid from the US (to fight the Taliban). Ironically, the US is financing both sides of the war. To what extent is Pakistan still cultivating Afghanistan as its ‘strategic depth’ depth against India? The question should be will it ever get away from this nostalgic idea? Will Pakistan ever realise that it is punching far above their weight? Also, Pakistan should realise that no one has ever been able to dominate Afghanistan. As I told a Western friend recently, “You are subsidising Afghanistan today, for which we are grateful, but can you say we are a proWest nation with confidence?” Finally, Afghanistan is now a changed country. The new population has different aspirations and is no longer the bearded country that Pakistan wanted it to be. 6RLOVDOLQLW\WKUHDWHQVRXUIXWXUH WKLQN 0aTRT]cD=bcdShWPbU^d]ScWPc!_TaRT]c^UP[[XaaXVPcTS[P]SbV[^QP[[hP]PaTPT`dP[c^cWT bXiT^U5aP]RTWPbP[aTPShQTT]b_^X[TSQhX]RaTPbX]V[TeT[b^UbP[cR^]RT]caPcX^]X]cWTb^X[ T he world’s population is expected to touch nine billion by 2050 and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations envisages the need to increase food production by 70 per cent, including a 50 per cent rise in annual cereal production (to about three billion tonnes) in order to meet the population growth. This quantum leap in food production efficiency requires a robust framework that accommodates the rising population and simultaneously guarantees availability of food without compromising on quality of sustainable agricultural practices. The current global gap between demand and production of food cannot be allowed to grow, and any hurdle enroute to a food-secure future must be identified and resolved on an immediate basis. One of the major hurdles in achieving superior food production capability is the growing problem of soil salinity and the resultant lack of cultivable land. The FAO and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation estimates put the world saline soil at 397 million hectare and sodic soil at 434 million hectares. About 12.6 million hectare is considered to be under acid-sulphate soil, distributed along the coastal region. A recent study conducted by the United Nations University reveals a grim scenario as 20 per cent of all irrigated lands globally, an area equal to the size of France, have already been spoiled by increasing levels of salt concentration in the soil. The study also revealed that over a period of 20 years, an average of 2,000 hectare of irrigated land in arid and semi-arid areas across 75 countries have been degraded by salt concentration. This land degeneration has cost $27 billion in lost crop value per year. In India, the problem has manifested itself in the Indo-Gangetic Basin, which has suffered soil degradation causing crop yield losses for wheat by 40 per cent, rice by 45 per cent, sugarcane by 48 per cent andcotton by 63 per cent respectively. In addition, the employment losses could be 50 to 80 man-days per hectare, with an estimated 20 to 40 per cent increase in human health problems and 15 to 50 per cent increase in animal health problems. Salt-induced land degradation is a serious problem that occurs in arid and semi-arid regions where rainfall is too low to maintain regular percolation of rain water through the soil and where irrigation is practiced without a natural or artificial drainage system. Irrigation practices without drainage management trigger the accumulation of salt in the root zone, affecting several soil properties and reducing productivity. A large portion of affected areas in the developing countries have seen investments made in irrigation and drainage but infrastructure is not properly maintained or managed. India is no exception due to the lack of aggressive initiatives to reclaim degraded saline lands. Though the Indian crop yields from irrigated areas that are not affected by salinisation have increased since 1990, however the same cannot compensate for increasing yield loss that occurs due to salt degraded lands. Degraded land is posing an environmental risk as well due to the green house gas that is emitted, therefore, there is an urgent need to address the issue by applying mitigation techniques that have proven successful across the world in reversing land degradation. The reversal of degradation and the consequent reclamation of lands should be driven by customised hydrological models that facilitate reduction of abnormally high level of salt in the soil through methods such as leaching. Agricultural practices in the affected regions must incorporate tree planting and functional drainage network that prevent accumulation of salt at root level. Awareness generation on significance of deep plowing must be instilled in farming community as it helps in bringing down salt level in the soil. Kisan call centers that currently provide assistance on various aspects of farming must also Some Westerners say Afghanistan is being victimised by India-Pakistan rivalry. What’s your take? India works with the Afghan Government and doesn’t sponsor nonstate actors. India is associated in my country with electricity, education and entertainment. If Pakistan wants to jump into these spheres, we welcome that. But the problem is everything good that India builds in Afghanistan, Pakistan wants to destroy it. That is an evil effort of ‘either we all remain in hell or you alone cannot go to heaven.’ In Afghanistan, Pakistan is trying to put itself at parity with India using wrong means. Also, India has never looked down upon Afghanistan but Pakistan does not show us respect. We get hurt when we are not respected and our culture is ridiculed. This is what the Pakistani elite used to do. They’d brief Western officials in London and Washington, DC, that, “The Afghans are a bunch of tribes; they are disassociated; you help us, we manage them”. India has never said that. How will Kabul’s India policy shape up under the new Government? Will the Karzai consensus hold? I am not in Government, so I can’t speak with authority. But as an informed commentator, I’d like to say that there are realities that politicians cannot change. The reality of our region is that India is a force for stability. With Nato reducing its presence, there has to be another power filling that void. Who else, if not India? Who else has the same amount of interest in maintaining constitutional order in Afghanistan? If the new leaders say ‘no’ to India, then who do they say ‘yes’ to? QRZ :>C0BA8A09 offer advisory to the farmer on cultivation of salt-tolerant varieties of crops besides information on how to mix harvested plant residues into top soil. Yet another simple but highly effective method to counter undesirable salt level is to dig a drain or deep ditch around the affected land, this facilitates the flow of water to the drains from root level thereby carrying away excess quantity of salt. The Government must step in to help the farming community financially as the investment cost to prevent and reverse land degradation, or to restore degraded land into productive land is very high. The Government can also devise pertinent policies, well-designed salinity management plans, besides capacity development of farmers in order to combat salt-induced land degradation. < P]fWT]_TaUTRcTSXb cWTQTbc^UP]X\P[b1dc fWT]bT_PaPcTSUa^\[Pf P]SYdbcXRTWTXbcWTf^abc^U P[[*bX]RTPa\TSX]YdbcXRTXbcWT \^aTSP]VTa^dbP]SWTXb T`dX__TSPcQXacWfXcWcWTPa\b ^UX]cT[[XVT]RTP]SfXcW\^aP[ `dP[XcXTbfWXRWWT\PhdbT U^acWTf^abcT]Sb8UWTWPb ]^ceXacdTWTXbcWT\^bc d]W^[hP]ScWT\^bcbPePVT ^UP]X\P[bP]ScWT\^bcUd[[ ^U[dbcP]SV[dcc^]hCWT PS\X]XbcaPcX^]^UYdbcXRT XbcWT_aX]RX_[T^U^aSTaX] _^[XcXRP[b^RXTch °0aXbc^c[T \^]Th DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ :_UZRdeZ]]ecRZ]dRe"%#_Ua]RTVZ_ H3d6RdV`W5`Z_X3fdZ_VddcVa`ce @Q[YcdQ^>U`Q\Q^TCbY<Q^[QQbURUddUb`\QSUTdXQ^9^TYQ BA0906>?0;0=QF0B78=6C>= 158th), dealing with construction permits (184th), enforcing contracts (186th), getting electricity (137th) and paying taxes (156th). The World Bank report came on a day when the US International Trade Commission (USITC) announced that it has launched a fresh investigation to examine changes made by the Modi government to India's trade and investment policies. The investigation, Trade and Investment Policies in India, 2014-2015, was requested jointly by the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance in a letter sent towards the end of September, just ahead of Modi's US visit. E ven as Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains committed to transforming the business environment as part of his "Make in India" campaign to woo foreign investors, the World Bank has come out with yet another unflattering report, ranking India 142nd in the world when it comes to "ease of doing business". In fact India is way behind Pakistan (ranked 128th), Nepal (108th) and Sri Lanka (99th) in the list of 189 nations. Releasing its "Doing Business 2015" report, the World Bank speaks of just a marginal improvement in India's performance - from 52.78 points last year to 53.97 points this year. India's ranking itself is down by two slots: from 140 last year to 142 among the 189 countries surveyed. The chart is led by Singapore. The United States is ranked seventh and China 90th. Significantly, a senior Bank official conceded that the report, based on figures as of May 31, hardly take into account the changes proposed or announced by the Narendra Modi Government that took office only in the second-half of May. We do not want to send the impression that the drop in India's ranking is connected in any way with the current political situation," World Bank's Director for Global Indicators Augusto Lopez-Claros said, indicating that any changes set in motion by the new government would be reflected only in the report released next year. 0dSXaTRP[[b"'! d]Xcb^UBDE@& X]8]SXP ?=BQ=4F34;78 Modi has gone public with statements that he would strive to bring India's ease of doing business ranking within the top 50 nations. The Bank director speaks of examples of many countries that have moved up the table in a big way through focused efforts and intelligently-designed reforms. India, according to the report, has done quite well under some heads such as protecting minority investors (ranked 7th) and in providing credit (36th). But it lags far behind in several key areas such as starting a business (ranked /3*UDWHKLNHGE\ CSHUF\OLQGHU ?=BQ =4F34;78 is recalling 382 units of its premium sports Audi ed LPG rates utility vehicle Q7 in India have been hiked by C3 Subsidis manufactured in Marchp e r c y l i n d e r af t e r t h e December 2012 to replace faulty vacuum line in brake system as part of a global exercise. The Indian arm of the company, which is also recalling 8.5 lakh units of the A4 sedan globally to repair defective air bag, said it is yet to receive details from the parent on its implications. F43>=>CF0=CC> B4=3C748<?A4BB8>= C70CC743A>?8=8=380B A0=:8=68B2>==42C43 8=0=HF0HF8C7C74 2DAA4=C?>;8C820; B8CD0C8>= F>A;310=:B38A42C>A 5>A6;>10;8=3820C>AB 0D6DBC>;>?4I2;0A>B Government raised the commission paid to dealers. The commission paid to dealers was last week hiked by C3 per 14.2-kg cylinder to C43.71. Consequently, retail selling price of subsidised LPG too have been increased in the same proportion, officials said. Dealers' commission was last revised in December 2013 when it was hiked by C3.46 per cylinder to C 40.71. The increase in commission — which as per practice is passed on to consumers — has been effected from October 23. Subsidised LPG in Delhi now costs C417 per 14.2-kg cylinder as against C414 previously. In Mumbai, subsidised LPG will cost C452 per 14.2-kg cylinder as against C448.50 previously. Prior to the December hike in LPG rates, price of cooking gas was raised in October 2012 when because of an increase in dealers' commission the rates were raised from C399 per cylinder to C 410.50. "Given the recent national elections in India and the formation of a new Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government, and our interest in receiving the most comprehensive and up-todate information possible, we now request that the Commission conduct a second investigation concerning India's industrial policies that discriminate against US trade and investment since the first ITC investigation," the Congressional committees had stated. This would be the second investigation by USITC dealing with India, the earlier one having been launched last year. A report on this investigation, dealing with the practices under the UPA Government, is expected to be submitted to the US Congress by December 15. >\edRe`gVc 0RRG\ VUHWDLQV QHJDWLYHRXWORRN WZgVhVV\YZXY DV_dViV_Ud RS`gV#(<^Rc\ ?=BQ=4F34;78 T he Sensex and Nifty hit their highest close in last five weeks, with BSE Sensex reclaiming 27,000mark and Nifty inching closer to 8,100-level buoyed by a rally in global markets on expectations of US Federal Reserve's policy outcome. Besides, hopes of further economic reforms by Modi Government, rising rate cut expectations and fall in international oil price too buoyed sentiments. According to market experts the rollover and short-coverings ahead of expiry also boosted the trading sentiments. Shares of Hindalco rose by 5.95 per cent, Tata Steel gained by 4.60 per cent, Tata Motors and Infosys increased by 3.41 per cent and 2.25 per cent respectively. Shares from realty, metal, auto, IT, oil & gas and FMCG sectors were in good demand while some of the shares from pharma and banking segments attracted profit-booking. All eyes are now set on the US Federal Reserve's meeting which is expected to end its bond-buying programme but reaffirm its willingness to wait before raising interest rates, market experts said. The breadth of the market was positive with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices inching higher. Sectorwise, BSE Realty index gained the most by rising 2.97 per cent, followed by Metal index gaining by 2.63 per cent, Auto index rose by 1.79 per cent, IT index increased by 1.47 per cent, FMCG index gained by 1.23 per cent and Oil & gas index increased by 1.19 per cent. However, Dr Reddy's Laboratories closed down 0.81 percent after its earnings missed some analysts' expectations. RQEDQNVIRUKLJK FRUSOHYHUDJH ?C8Q<D<108 nternational rating agency Moody's on Wednesday Iretained its negative outlook on the domestic banking system, citing high leverage in the corporate sector that may prevent any meaningful recovery in asset quality. "Our outlook for the country's banking system remains negative, as it has been since November 2011. "The negative outlook reflects our view that high leverage in the corporate sector could prevent any meaningful recovery in asset quality, notwithstanding a moderate rebound in economic growth," the agency Moody's Investors Service said in a note issued from Singapore. 40B4>53>8=61DB8=4BBA0=:8=6B022>A38=6 C>F>A;310=:B3>8=61DB8=4BB! $A4?>AC A0=: ! " # $ % & ' ( ! " # $ % & ' ( ! ! !! !" !# !$ !% !& !' !( " " "! 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" # $ % & ' ( ! ! !! !" !# !$ !% 42>=><H A0=: 42>=><H 2h_adb !& <^iP\QX`dT 2a^PcXP !' ;Tb^cW^ >\P] !' ?PZXbcP] BP\^P " 8aP]8b[P\XRAT_ 0[QP]XP " CP]iP]XP C^]VP "! 4cWX^_XP 6WP]P "" ?P_dP=Tf6dX]TP <^a^RR^ "# :XaXQPcX <^]V^[XP "$ 2P\Q^SXP 6dPcT\P[P "% :T]hP 1^cbfP]P "& HT\T]AT_ :^b^e^ "' 6P\QXPCWT EP]dPcd "( <PabWP[[8b[P]Sb :PiPZWbcP] # BXTaaP;T^]T EXTc]P\ # DiQTZXbcP] CaX]XSPSP]SC^QPV^ #! 8=380 0iTaQPXYP] #" FTbc1P]ZP]S6PiP 5XYX ## 6PQ^] DadVdPh #$ <XRa^]TbXP5TSBcb 2^bcPAXRP #% <P[X 3^\X]XRP]AT_dQ[XR #& 2cTS8e^XaT BThRWT[[Tb #' ;P^?3A :dfPXc #( C^V^ B^[^\^]8b[P]Sb $ DVP]SP =P\XQXP $ 1T]X] 0]cXVdPP]S1PaQdSP $! 1dad]SX 2WX]P $" By^C^\|P]S?a]RX_T BTaQXP $# 0[VTaXP ?PaPVdPh $$ 3YXQ^dcX BP]<PaX]^ $% 8aP` <P[cP $& 1^[XeXP ?WX[X__X]Tb $' 2P\Ta^^] DZaPX]T $( 2^\^a^b 1PWP\PbCWT % BdSP] 3^\X]XRP % BT]TVP[ BaX;P]ZP %! BdaX]P\T Bc;dRXP %" <PSPVPbRPa 1ad]TX3PadbbP[P\ %# <P[PfX :haVhiAT_dQ[XR %$ 4`dPc^aXP[6dX]TP BcEX]RT]cP]ScWT6aT]PSX]Tb %% CPYXZXbcP] 7^]SdaPb %& 1daZX]P5Pb^ ;TQP]^] %' =XVTa 1PaQPS^b %( 6dX]TP 1^b]XPP]S7TaiTV^eX]P & =XVTaXP =T_P[ & IX\QPQfT 4[BP[ePS^a &! CX\^a;TbcT BfPiX[P]S &" 1P]V[PSTbW IP\QXP &# ;XQTaXP 4Vh_c0aPQAT_ &$ BhaXP]0aPQAT_dQ[XR ?P[Pd &% <PdaXcP]XP 8]S^]TbXP && <hP]\Pa 4RdPS^a &' 2^]V^AT_ <P[SXeTb &( 6dX]TP1XbbPd 9^aSP] ' 7PXcX 1T[XiT ' 0]V^[P =XRPaPVdP '! ET]TidT[PA1 1aPiX[ '" 0UVWP]XbcP] Bc:XccbP]S=TeXb '# 2^]V^3T\AT_ 2PQ^ETaST '$ 2WPS 6dhP]P '% B^dcWBdSP] 0aVT]cX]P '& 2T]caP[0UaXRP]AT_dQ[XR 1WdcP] '' ;XQhP 6aT]PSP '( 4aXcaTP B^daRT)3^X]V1dbX]TbbSPcPQPbTF^a[S1P]ZAT_^ac *RYWUHOD[HV)',QRUPVIRU FRQVWUXFWLRQUHDOHVWDWHVHFWRU 4RSZ_Ve_`UW`c dZX_Z_XaRTehZeY >`kR^SZbfVW`c `Z]XRd ?=BQ=4F34;78 ?=BQ =4F34;78 W c k n o w l e d g i n g Mozambique’s potential as a major gas exporter, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved signing an agreement with the African nation to deepen oil and gas cooperation. The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of oil and gas between India and Mozambique for a period of five years, an official statement said here. Offshore gas discoveries in 2010 in two adjacent offshore blocks have seen the emergence of Mozambique as a significant hydrocarbon rich nation. "Mozambique is strategically located near India and is ideally suited for bringing natural gas to India at market determined price. ith an aim to revive cashstarved real estate industry, Government on Wednesday eased rules for FDI in the construction sector by reducing minimum built-up area as well as capital requirement and easing the exit norms. The proposal to amend the FDI policy in construction development sector was approved by the Union Cabinet. In view of depleting FDI inflow in construction and real estate sector in last couple of years, the Cabinet decided to reduce the minimum floor area to 20,000 sq mt from the earlier 50,000 sq mt. It also brought down the minimum capital requirement to $ 5 million from $10 million. In case of development of serviced plots, the condition of minimum land of 10 hectares has been completely removed, an official statement said. Although 100 per cent foreign direct investment was A allowed in townships, housing and built-up infrastructure and construction developments since 2005, the government had imposed certain conditions. "These measures are expected to result in enhanced inflows into the construction development sector... It is likely to attract investments in new areas and encourage development of plots for serviced housing given the shortage of land in and around urban agglomerations as well as the high cost of land. "The measure is also expected to result in creation of much needed low cost affordable housing in the country and development of smart cities," the statement said. Although the Cabinet has not reduced the 3-year lock-in period, it has permitted foreign investors to exit on project completion or 3 years from the date of final investment subject to the development of trunk infrastructure. 6HELQRWLILHVQHZ(623UHJXODWLRQV ?C8Q <D<108 M arket regulator Sebi has notified new ESOP regulations, including for purchase of shares by employee welfare trusts from the secondary market with adequate safeguards. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has allowed companies to have employee stock option programmes where they can buy their own company shares subject to certain conditions. Employee stock options (ESOP) are a practice followed world over and the market regulator has outlined certain safeguards to improve the governance and transparency of the schemes and also address concerns regarding potential market abuse. Generally, in India, some companies count it (shares held by ESOP Trusts) in the promoter category and some companies count it in the public category. Some of the safeguards as outlined by the regulator include, requirement of shareholders' approval through special resolution for undertaking secondary market acquisitions; restrictions on sale of shares by trusts; at least six month holding period for shares acquired from secondary market. Among other safeguards include, stricter disclosure and other regulatory obligations; a limit of 10 per cent of the assets held by general employee benefit schemes other than ESOS type of schemes and cer- tain limits on secondary market acquisitions. To ensure a smooth transition for complying with the new regulatory framework, the existing employee benefit schemes have been provided with a time period of one year from the date of notification. Further a longer transition period of five years has been provided for re-classifying shareholding of existing employee benefit schemes separately from 'promoter' and 'public' category. \^]Th DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ 8QHDUWKLQJ FDSLWDOIOLJKW FDQDGGEQ WR);UHVHUYHV VD\V%RI$ ?C8Q =4F34;78 he unearthing of capital flight of "black" money T Indians have allegedly stashed away in Swiss banks could add $30 billion to the country's forex reserves, says a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report. According to the global financial services major, though there would not be any immediate forex impact given the legal issues involved, it could add $3035 billion to the forex reserves over time. BofA-ML has worked with an estimate of capital flight of about $ 200 billion based on a recent research study. According to the study, Raghbendra Jha and Duc Nguyen Truong, of Australian National University, estimated total capital flight of more than $186 billion during 19982012. "If even half of this is unearthed, it could add $30-35 billion (three to four months of current import cover) to forex reserves over time," BofA-ML said in a research note on Wednesday. The Centre on Wednesday placed a list of names of 627 Indian account holders in HSBC bank, Geneva in black money case before the Supreme Court which asked SIT to go through the list and take appropriate action in accordance with law. A bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu did not open the sealed envelope containing the names placed by the Centre and said that it would be opened only by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT). It asked the SIT to submit status report of its probe by November-end. Placing the documents before the bench, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said details of account holders are of year 2006 which were supplied by the French government to the Centre in 2011. The report further noted that rupee is expected to hold Rs 58-62/$and BofA-ML's Asia forex strategist, Adarsh Sinha, forecasts INR to be at Rs 61/$ in December. ;RZe]VjRd\d428_`ee`dV_dReZ`_R]ZdVZedcVa`ced ?=BQ =4F34;78 ,QGLDFDQJURZDW he Government auditor Comptroller and Auditor T General (CAG) which in the past had grabbed headlines by revealing reports on 2G and coal allocation scams has been warned by the Finance Minister 'not to sensationalise its findings'. "Auditor should be conscious of the fact that he is reviewing a decision that has already been taken. Have the fair procedures been followed? "He doesn't have to sensationalise. He doesn't have to get into the headlines," Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister said at annual conference of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). He said an auditor has to be "an active auditor but activism and restraint are always the two sides of the same coin." The CAG reports on 2G telecom spectrum allocation and coal mine allotment which carried figures of notional losses to the tune of Rs 1.76 lakh crore and Rs.1.84 lakh crore respectively had caused tremendous discomfort for the UPA government and the Congress party that headed the coalition. They had also come in handy for the opposition then. "He (Auditor) has to scrutinise thoroughly the decision making process. He has to necessarily eliminate the possibility of any form of nepotism...," Jaitley said. He further added that an auditor must be able to distinguish between a wrong JRRGJRYHUQDQFHNH\)0 =4F34;78)Country has the capacity to grow at 8-9 per cent and CWT<X]XbcTaU^a5X]P]RT2^a_^aPcT0UUPXabP]S3TUT]RT0ad]9PXc[ThST[XeTaX]VcWT eP[TSXRc^ahPSSaTbbPccWTR^]R[dbX^]^UcWT!&cW0RR^d]cP]cb6T]TaP[2^]UTaT]RT X]=Tf3T[WX^]FTS]TbSPh decision and a corrupt one. "If he finds it (the decision) is a corrupt view, then the level of discretion he exercises in commenting has to be entirely different," the minister said. "Because let us also not forget when we live in a society, which by temperament, having learnt the hard way the last few years, have become an over suspicious society and therefore our job is not to convert the public opinion into a kind of a lynch mob. "To create rationality in the reviewing process we spare a decision which palpably looks arbitrary decision, a decision which is not fair, a decision which is not honest and we leave some element of benefit of doubt for a decision where two possible views are possible. But we can always lay down the tate-owned Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) on SWednesday reported 15.94 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 291.41 crore for the second quarter ended September on account of rise in fee income as compared to corresponding period last year. The bank had a net profit of Rs 251 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Bhupinder Nayyar, executive director, OBC said, "the net guidelines as far as the future is concerned," he said. Referring to 2G spectrum and coal block allocation, he said, the country has paid a very "heavy price" as contracts were cancelled and power sector is even suffering today. Highlighting the importance of audit, he said it was essential for accountability and transparency. It helps in good governance. On Monday, Parliament's Public Accounts Committee Chairman and senior Congress leader K V Thomas too had said in the conference that the auditor should restrict audits to financial impropriety and not come out with "astronomical" figures of notional losses. Jaitley also said that an auditor must be able todistinguish between a wrong decision and a corrupt good governance would make economic expansion "more exuberant", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday. "I have always wondered to myself that in the last two years with average to moderate governance (economic growth was subfive per cent). "India has a capacity to grow by 8-9 per cent. If we had followed the best practices and displayed the highest standards of good governance, probably our (levels) of growth would have been more exuberant," he said in his valedictory address at the CAG conference. Amid investments slowing down and allegation of corruption in allocation of natural resources, India's economic growth had slumped to below 5 per cent in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The economy, however showed signs of rival as the GDP clocked 5.7 per cent growth in the April-June period of the current fiscal, highest in the past 10 quarters. The BJP led-NDA government, which assumed power in May, had fought the election on the promise of providing good governance to the country. A recent World Bank report projects India's economy to expand by 5.6 per cent this fiscal as reforms gain momentum and the growth is expected to accelerate as proposed measures such as Goods and Services Tax provide a boost to manufacturing sector. Highlighting the importance of audit, Jaitley said accountability and transparency are essential as it helps in good governance. "...(if) uncomfortable questions at times were not asked, governance would tend to become despotic and therefore in any system of governance there has to be various laws of accountability and this is in itself an unquestionable proposition," he added one. "If he finds it (the decision) is a corrupt view, then the level of discretion he exercises in commenting has to be entirely different," he said. The Minister said that the auditor must take "a more liberal approach" when confronted with multiple views. F_Z_`ca`dedYZXYVde cVgV_fVXc`heY R^`_XdeR]]EV]V_`cf_Zed ?=BQ =4F34;78 I ndia has emerged as the fastest growing market for Norwegian telecom operator Telenor with its local arm, Uninor, posting highest revenue growth amongst all its units worldwide at 47 per cent to reach about C1,074 crore in the third quarter ended September 30. The company had posted revenue of C729 crore in the same period a year ago. The total growth in Uninor revenue was largely organic with 38 per cent contribution from rise in subscriber number and revenue per user. CWT24>P]S<3^U8]U^bhb;cSEXbWP[BXZZP\TTcX]VcWT<X]XbcTaU^a2^\\d]XRPcX^]b8]U^a\PcX^]CTRW]^[^VhP]S;Pf9dbcXRTAPeXBWP]ZPa?aPbPSX]=Tf3T[WX ^]FTS]TbSPh 2%&41HWULVHVWRC FURUH ?=BQ =4F34;78 profit has gone up primarily due to rise in non-interest income and good recovery." Total income increased by 6.83 per cent to Rs 5,328.56 crore from Rs 4,987.71 crore in the same period last year. As far as asset quality of the bank is concerned, the gross non-performing asset (NPA) as a percentage of total advances rose to 4.74 per cent from 3.77 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. Its net NPAs went up to 3.29 per cent from 2.69 per cent at the end of September 2013. Fresh slippages to NPA were, however, contained at Rs 978 crore as compared to Rs 1,041 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Asset quality remains a challenge and the bank is making all efforts to contain it, he said.The non-interest income of the bank rose 25.90 per cent to Rs 392.64 crore as compared to Rs 311.87 crore in the second quarter of the previous fiscal. 0ca^1 <X]XbcTa^UB^RXP[9dbcXRTP]S4\_^fTa\T]c2WPXa_Tab^]^UcWT0\QTSZPa5^d]SPcX^]CWPPfPa2WP]S6TW[^cVPeT PfPh_aXiTbc^cWTfX]]Tab^UcWT=PcX^]P[4bbPh2^\_TcXcX^]U^acWThTPab! "! # <BC22>=3D2CB0D2C8>=5>A8A>=>A4 4`_df^VcT`_WZUV_TV]VgV] Z_:_UZRUc`adZ_B$+?ZV]dV_ >aXbbP<X]X]V2^a_^aPcX^]T]VPVTS<BC2U^aR^]SdRcX]VPdRcX^]^UXa^]^aT8]cWTUXabca^[[^dcTPdRcX^]U^a"%$ <C;d\_bfPbR^]SdRcTS^]<^]SPhP]ScWTaTbd[cfPbWXVW[hbPcXbUhX]VU^a^UUXRXP[b^U><2CWTc^cP[eP[dT^]cWTQXS _aXRTfPbAb &#&'2a^aTP]ST]cXaT^aT_dcX]TPdRcX^]fPbb^[SBX\X[Pa[hTPdRcX^]U^a# &<C5X]TbfPb R^]SdRcTS^]CdTbSPhP]ScWTc^cP[eP[dT^]cWTQXS_aXRTfPbAb ! a^aTfXcW]^[^caT\PX]X]Vd]b^[S 1^cWcWTTPdRcX^]bfTaTR^]SdRcTSX]UPXaP]ScaP]b_PaT]cfPhfXcWcWTUd[[bPcXbUPRcX^]^U1dhTabPbfT[[PbBT[[TaCWXb QaX]VbT]WP]RTSaTeT]dTc^cWTBcPcTX]cWTU^a\^UWXVWTa_aXRTa^hP[chE0C8]R^\TCPgTcR8cPSSbP]^cWTaUTPcWTaX] cWTRP_^U<BC2P]ScWTBcPcT6^eTa]\T]c6^eTa]\T]cXbcPZX]V\P]hbX\X[PabcT_bU^aX]RaTPbX]VcWTaTeT]dTU^acWT fT[UPaTP]SSTeT[^_\T]cPRcXeXcXTbPbfT[[Pb_a^YTRcX]VPV^^SX\PVT^UcWT6^eTa]\T]c^U>SXbWP CWXbbdRRTbbWPbQTT]_^bbXQ[TbX]RT<BC2X]Pbb^RXPcX^]fXcW><2bfXUc[hPRcTSX]STbXV]X]VcWT_^acP[P]S R^]SdRcTSa^PSbW^fRd\_aTQXScaPX]X]VPc1WdQP]TbfPaX]"cWaTTQPcRWTbU^a !5Xa\b\PX][hT]SdbTab^] !cW! Bc>Rc^QTa! # 8]8]SXP^eTaP[[cWTR^]UXST]RT X]STgR^]cX]dTbc^W^[S]TPaXcb _aTeX^db[TeT[bfXcWcWTTd_W^aXP Pa^d]ScWTaTRT]c[hT[TRcTS 6^eTa]\T]cbTcc[X]VS^f] =XT[bT]8]SXPATVX^]?aTbXST]c ?XhdbW<PcWda ?=BQ =4F34;78 C onsumer confidence level in the country dropped by two points during the third quarter of this year with euphoria around new Government at the Centre settling down, although it continues to be the most optimistic nation, global information and insights provider Nielsen has said. As per a global consumer confidence index study by Nielsen, India retained the top spot with a index score of 126, followed by Indonesia (score of 125) and the Philippines (score of 115). Consumer confidence in India was indexed at 128 in Q2 2014. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism "In India, overall, the confidence index continues to hold near its previous levels with the euphoria around the recently elected government settling down," Nielsen India Region President Piyush Mathur said. "The consumer in India is in the middle of a festival season, and so spending will like- ly be higher than previous quarters due to gifting and entertaining. Besides traditional offline retailers, e-commerce is gaining traction for the urban affluent shoppers in India and online retailers have been spurring the market with discounts to fuel this movement," he added. As per the survey, three in five (59 per cent) online respondents polled indicated that this is a good time to buy things they want and need, down by one percentage point from the last quarter. Seventy-six per cent indicated that the state of personal finances was good or excellent in the third quarter 2014, up from 75 per cent in Q2. However, the top concerns amongst respondents continues to be job security (21 per cent) and the state of the economy (11 per cent). The Nielsen Global Sur vey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, established in 2005, measures consumer confidence, major concerns, and spending intentions among more than 30,000 respondents with Internet access in 60 countries f^a[S ! DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ 3R_X]RUVdY;R^RReTYZVW ,6,6NLOOVPHQ,UDTRIILFLDOV XVedUVReYW`chRcTcZ^Vd 8Zc]dRTTfdVU`WecjZ_X e`[`Z_[VYRUZdT`_WfdVU ?C8Q 370:0 atiur Rahman Nizami, M chief of Bangladesh’s fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, was sentenced to death on Wednesday by a special tribunal for war crimes he committed during the nation’s independence war against Pakistan in 1971, triggering violent clashes between his supporters and police. “He shall be hanged by neck until he is dead,” pronounced Enayetur Rahim, the chairman of the three-member panel of judges of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal. The verdict delivered in a packed court room amid tight security said 71-year-old Nizami deserved no punishment other than the death penalty for the gravity of crimes he had committed by siding with the Pakistani troops. The court said in the unanimous verdict that eight of the 16 charges levelled against the Jamaat leader were proved beyond doubt. The charges included leading the execution of intellectuals, mass killing, rape and loot during the nine months of bloodshed 43 years ago. Witnesses said Nizami was present in the dock and looked indifferent as the judges read out the 204-page judgment in turns which took more than an hour to be delivered. “It would be a failure of justice, unless he is handed down 9P\PPcT8b[P\XRWXTU<^cXdaAPW\P]=XiP\XbXcbX]bXSTP_^[XRTeP]PUcTaWTfPb bT]cT]RTSc^STPcWU^aWXba^[TX]cWTSTPcWb^UcW^dbP]Sb^U_T^_[TSdaX]VcWT ]PcX^]´bX]ST_T]ST]RTfPaPVPX]bc?PZXbcP]X] (& X]1P]V[PSTbW 0? the death penalty,” the verdict said. The tribunal said Nizami misinterpreted Islam in carrying out the atrocities and as the then president of Islami Chhatra Sangha — the student wing of Jamaat — he turned the organisation into infamous AlBadr militia forces to carry out mass killing, particularly of the leading intelligentsia. The panel convicted him of “superior responsibility” as the chief of Al-Badr militia for direct involvement in the killings and tortures in other charges. Under the law for the war crimes trial, Nizami could challenge the verdict before the Supreme Court.Nizami’s lawyers said they planned to file an appeal before the apex court. Nizami, a former minister in the BNP-led four party alliance Government during its 2001-2006, was the last highprofile accused to be brought to justice for war crimes as the two special tribunals set up by the Awami League have so far pronounced verdicts in 10 cases. Immediately after the judgment, Jamaat protested the verdict and issued a statement calling a three-day nationwide general strike to be observed tomorrow, Sunday and Monday. Jamaat activists and those belonging to Islami Chhatra Shibir attacked police and fought pitched battles with ruling Awami League supporters in Sylhet after the verdict. About 1,000 Jamaat activists hurled bombs at officers who fired rubber bullets and tear gas in response in the northwestern town of Shibganj, reports said. 0:daSXbW?TbW\TaVPb^[SXTaaTPRWTb^dcWXbWP]Sc^bd__^acTabPccWT8QaPWX\ :WP[X[Q^aSTaRa^bbX]VX]cWT=^acWTa]:daSXbWaTVX^]^U8aP`^]FTS]TbSPh 0? 0?Q 1067303 I slamic State group militants lined up 30 Sunni men in a town west of Baghdad and shot them dead on Wednesday, an Iraqi official and residents said. The slayings took place on a main street in al-Bakir district in the town of Hit. Anbar provincial council chairman, Sabah Karhout, said the Sunnis killed were tribal fighters allied with the Government and members of the security forces captured when the Islamic State group overran the town, located about 140 kilometers (85 miles) west of the Iraqi capital. Residents said the 30 men were paraded through the city as militants shouted through the loudspeakers that the captured men are apostates who fought against them. Hit was captured by Islamic State militants earlier this month after heavy clashes with the Government security forces and tribal militias. Iraq is in its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops as Sunni militant groups led by the al-Qaida breakaway Islamic State group have seized a third of the country. In one lightning offensive over the summer, Iraq’s U.S.trained army and security forces melted away as the extremists advanced and captured key cities and towns in country’s north. In Iraq and along with areas in eastern Syria, the militants have declared a selfstyled caliphate and imposed their own harsh interpretation of Shariah law. They also have targeted the country’s religious minorities, including Christians and others, killing hundreds and forcing hundreds of thousands to leave their homes. 3T]eTaDB)>]T^UcWaTTVXa[b fW^PdcW^aXcXTbbPhcaXTSc^Y^X] 8b[P\XRBcPcT\X[XcP]cbX]BhaXP fPbR^]UdbTSPQ^dcfWPcWTa a^[Tf^d[SQTXUbWTWPSPRcdP[[h \PSTXccWTaTcWTVXa[³bUPcWTa WPbbPXS CWT518bPhbP %hTPa^[S B^\P[XVXa[P]SWTaUaXT]SbP]S &hTPa^[SbXbcTab^UB^\P[X STbRT]cfTaTWTPSTSc^fPaS CdaZThT]a^dcTc^BhaXPfWT] PdcW^aXcXTbbc^__TScWT\^] >Rc^QTa!PccWT5aP]ZUdac 6Ta\P]hPXa_^acCWThbT]c cWT\QPRZc^3T]eTafWTaT518 PVT]cbPVPX]X]cTaeXTfTScWT\ QTU^aTaT[TPbX]VcWT\c^cWTXa _PaT]cbfXcW^dc_aTbbX]V RWPaVTb °BWTc^[S\TcWThfTaTV^X]Vc^ VTccWTaTP]Sb^\TQ^ShXb V^X]Vc^R^]cPRccWT\±bPXScWT UPcWTa^UcWT %hTPa^[S 0? 1ecdbQ\YQcUU[Y^Wd_ S_^VYb]TUQdX_Vd_` 9C9C]U]RUb*6= BhS]Th) 2P]QTaaPXbbTTZX]Vc^ R^]UXa\aT_^acbcWT\^bcbT]X^a 0dbcaP[XP]8b[P\XRBcPcTaTRadXc WPbQTT]ZX[[TS5^aTXV]<X]XbcTa 9d[XT1XbW^_bPXS^] FTS]TbSPhPbcWTBT]PcT _PbbTSc^dVW]TfU^aTXV] UXVWcTa[Pfb CWT0dbcaP[XP]1a^PSRPbcX]V 2^a_^aPcX^]bPXS0UVWP]Q^a] <^WP\\PS0[X1PahP[TX aT_^acTS[hPU^a\Ta]XVWcR[dQ Q^d]RTaP]SPb_XaX]VPRc^afPb QT[XTeTSc^WPeTSXTSX]UXVWcX]V X]aTRT]cSPhb1PahP[TXWPb QTT]PRRdbTS^U^aSTaX]V °ST\^]bcaPcX^]ZX[[X]Vb±X] 0dbcaP[XPX]R[dSX]VQTWTPSX]VP aP]S^\\T\QTa^UcWT_dQ[XR °FTPaTRdaaT]c[hbTTZX]Vc^ eTaXUhcW^bTaT_^acbb^8RP]³c R^]UXa\PccWXbbcPVT±1XbW^_ bPXSX]2P]QTaaP 05? ³0;@0830BC8;;>554AB>;8E41A0=27C>8B8B´ FPbWX]Vc^])0[@PTSPXbdbX]VDBPXabcaXZTbX]BhaXPPbPaTPb^]c^ TgcT]S^[XeTQaP]RWTbc^cWTaT]TVPST8b[P\XRBcPcTVa^d_bPhX]VcWT cf^bW^d[Sbc^_UTdSX]VP]SY^X]U^aRTbc^PccPRZFTbcTa]cPaVTcbP aTd]XUXRPcX^]cWPcX]cT[[XVT]RTP]P[hbcbbPhf^d[SP[[^fP[@PTSPc^ RP_XcP[XbT^]cWTh^d]VTaVa^d_³badcW[TbbPSeP]RTPRa^bbcWTaTVX^] 0]P[hbcbPaTR[^bT[hfPcRWX]VP[@PTSP³baT_TPcTS^eTacdaTbP]SfWX[T PUd[[aTR^]RX[XPcX^]Xb]^cTg_TRcTSb^^]XUTeTacWTaTXbTeXST]RTcWT cf^Va^d_bWPeTRdacPX[TScWTXaX]UXVWcX]VP]SPaTR^^_TaPcX]V^]cWT BhaXP]QPcc[TUXT[SPRR^aSX]Vc^PRcXeXbcb^]cWTVa^d]SDB^UUXRXP[bP]S Tg_TacbfW^\^]Xc^aYTWPSX\TbbPVTb 0[@PTSPXbbPhX]V°;Tc³bYdbcWPeTPcadRTX]BhaXP±bPXSC^\ 9^bRT[h]fW^caPRZbcTaa^aVa^d_bU^acWT;^]VFPa9^da]P[°CWPcXb fWPc³bd]STafPh]^fFWPcfTWPeTbTT]XbcWPc[^RP[R^\\P]STab PaTT]cTaX]VX]c^[^RP[cadRTbCWTaTPaTSTUX]XcLT[hPaTPbfWTaTcWTcf^ Va^d_bPaT]^cUXVWcX]V±CWT8b[P\XRBcPcTVa^d_WPbbTXiTSPQ^dcP cWXaS^U8aP`P]SBhaXP]cTaaXc^ahP]SXbcTaa^aXbX]VRXeX[XP]bc^X\_^bTP bcaXRcX]cTa_aTcPcX^]^U8b[P\XR[Pf 0? 8QPDQQHG86URFNHWH[SORGHVMXVWDIWHUODXQFK Was carrying supplies to International Space Station BA0906>?0;0=Q F0B78=6C>= A n unmanned US cargo rocket, carrying supplies to the International Space Station, exploded within seconds of its launch on Tuesday evening from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility along the eastern Virginia coast. The 14-storey Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, a Virginia-based private company, were a total wreck as the crash brought everything down in a massive ball of fire and smoke. There were no human casualties or injuries, though. The rocket and payload were worth $200 million, officials said. It was not clear to what extent the launch facility has been damaged. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. In a tweet shortly after the explo- CWXbX\PVTcPZT]Ua^\eXST^_a^eXSTSQh=0B0CEbW^fb>aQXcP[BRXT]RTb2^a_´b d]\P]]TSa^RZTcQ[^fX]Vd_^eTacWT[Pd]RWR^\_[TgPcFP[[^_b8b[P]SEPYdbc bXgbTR^]SbPUcTa[XUc^UU 0??W^c^=0B0CE sion, Orbital Sciences Corp. spoke of “a vehicle anomaly”, without elaborating. In a subsequent statement, the company called it “a catastrophic failure”, saying it will conduct “a thorough investigation” to determine the cause and corrective steps. “This shows how difficult and maddening this business really is,” NASA’s Associate Administrator Bill Gerstenmaier told a news conference. The Antares rocket was carrying 4,483 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station including 1,360 pounds of food. The Cyngus cargo logistics spacecraft that was also destroyed was to have orbited above the Earth and was set to dock with the ISS on November 2. “While NASA is disappointed that Orbital Sciences’ third contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station was not successful today, we will continue to move forward toward the next attempt once we fully understand today’s mishap,” Gerstenmaier said in a statement. He, however, said the ISS crew was in no danger of running out of food or other critical supplies. In fact, just hours after the Virginia mishap, an unmanned Russian spacecraft, successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, was on its way to ISS with nearly 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies. That craft was due to reach the station later on Wednesday. Supportive of Orbital’s efforts, despite the stark failure, the NASA official said the company “has demonstrated extraordinary capabilities in its first two missions to the station earlier this year, and we know they can replicate that success”. “Launching rockets is an incredibly difficult undertaking, and we learn from each success and each setback. Today’s launch attempt will not deter us from our work to expand our already successful capability to launch cargo from American shores to the International Space Station,” Gerstenmaier said. President Michael Sata, who has died aged 77, Zambian rose from cleaning railway platforms in London to his country’s highest office, where he vowed to sweep away corruption but leaned heavily on political foes. Sata died in the British capital where he had been receiving treatment for a long-rumoured but undisclosed illness. For supporters who voted him into office in 2011 he was a no-nonsense man of action. For critics, the former policeman, trade unionist and taxidermist was an authoritarian populist. What is undisputed is that he seemed to revel in scorched earth politics. Detractors, political foes, the media and even allies frequently came under attack from a man who earned the sobriquet “King Cobra”. He once publicly upbraided his whole cabinet, threatening to collapse his own Government if they did not do a better job. The final period of Sata’s rule saw a crackdown on political opponents and critical journalists who reported on his long-suspected illness and frequent “working trips” abroad. ?C8Q 8B;0<0103 akistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed all P petitions demanding last year’s general elections to be declared null and void, in a relief to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who is under pressure to quit after being accused of rigging the polls. Pakistan for the first time in its history achieved peaceful democratic transition under a civilian rule though the May 2013 polls which some groups alleged were heavily rigged in favour of Prime Minister Sharif. The apex court’s decision comes amid protests led by cricketerturned-politician Imran Khan. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Khan and Canada-based cleric Tahirul Qadri had been protesting since August, demanding Sharif ’s resignation on the grounds that last year’s general elections were rigged. Sharif has refused to step down and while Qadri has already called off his protest, Khan is still continuing his demonstrations, demanding the Premier’s resignation and fresh elections. At least three petitions were filed in the Supreme Court by Advocate Kokab Iqbal, Zahir Sarfaraz and a former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd), Mahmood Akhter Shahid Siddiqui, demanding the polls to be declared null and void. 6;>14 CA>CC8=6 A4B2D4AB?A4BBC> B0E4CDA:8B7<8=4AB 8bcP]Qd[)ATbRdTf^aZTabWPeT QTT]_d\_X]VfPcTa^dc^UP R^P[\X]TX]b^dcWTa]CdaZThP[[ ]XVWcPbaT[PcXeTbfPXcP]gX^db[h ]TPaQhPUcTabdaVX]VfPcTab caP__TS 'CdaZXbW\X]TabSTT_ d]STaVa^d]S 8C0;80=B4G01DB4 ?A84BC70=6B78<B4;5 A^\T)0]8cP[XP]_aXTbcfW^ PS\XccTSc^bTgdP[[hPQdbX]VP h^d]VcTT]PVTVXa[WP]VTS WX\bT[UX]cWTbPRaXbch¯cWT R[TaXR³bRWP]VX]Va^^\X]WXb RWdaRW¯cWTSX^RTbT^UBP]cP 2a^RTX]]^acWTa]8cP[hbPXS ^]FTS]TbSPh 278=0B7DCB3>F="&$ ?>;;DC8=6502C>A84B 1TXYX]V)2WX]PWPbbWdcS^f] "&$_^[[dcX]VUPRc^aXTbcWXbhTPa PbP_Pac^UR[TP]PXaPRcX^]_[P] PWTPS^U0?42bd\\XccWPc f^d[SQTPccT]STSQhDB ?aTbXST]c1PaPRZ>QP\P P\^]V^cWTab ?a^ST\^RaPRh_a^cTbcTabfP[Z^]cWTa^PSX]cWT^RRd_XTSPaTPb^dcbXST6^eTa]\T]cWTPS`dPacTabX]7^]V:^]V´b0S\XaP[ch ^]FTS]TbSPh 0? IP\QXP´b?aTbXST]c³:X]V >eTa!$bcX[[\XbbX]V 2^QaP´BPcPSXTb X]BaX;P]ZP[P]Sb[XST 05?Q ;DB0:0 ?PZB2aTYTRcb _[TPbbTTZX]V c^STR[PaT! " _^[[be^XS 1P]VZ^Z) =^TeXST]RTWPbQTT] U^d]Sc^_a^eTcWPcU^a\Ta ?d]YPQ2WXTU<X]XbcTa1TP]c BX]VW³bZX[[TaWPST]cTaTS CWPX[P]ScWTR^d]cah³b0a\h 2WXTUWPbbPXS ?0:0A<H:8;;43 01>DC $<8;8C0=CB 8b[P\PQPS)0Q^dc $ \X[XcP]cbWPeTQTT]ZX[[TSX]cWT ^]V^X]V0a\h^UUT]bXeTPVPX]bc cWTCP[XQP]cWT?PZXbcP]³b \X[XcPahbPXS^]FTS]TbSPh aTYTRcX]VP__aTWT]bX^]bcWPc Q^aSTacT]bX^]bfXcW8]SXP\Ph WPeTWPeTPUUTRcTScWT ^_TaPcX^]bPVPX]bccTaa^aXbcbX] cWTR^d]cah³bcaXQP[QT[c 80=B Q 2>;><1> Lanka’s Disaster Center (DMC) SonriManagement Wednesday said that over 250 people remain missing, hours after a massive landslide which buried over 150 houses in Haldammulla, located between Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. DMC spokesman Sarath Lal Kumara said that rescue operations were under way and a few bodies had also been recovered, Xinhua reported. Officials said that 18 bodies had been recovered by noon Wednesday even as there was a warning of more ³8=380=5D68C8E4<0H =>C148=C708;0=3´ BaX;P]ZP]fP[Z_PbcPSP\PVTSW^dbTPccWTbXcT^UP\dSb[XSTPccWT:^b[P]SPcTP _[P]cPcX^]X]1PSd[[PSXbcaXRcTPbc^U2^[^\Q^^]FTS]TbSPh 0? landslides in the area. Security Forces Headquarters (Central) Commander, Maj. Gen. Mano Perera said that the security forces were involved in a massive rescue operation. B´?>A4C>70E4680=C BDAE48;;0=2410;;>>= BX]VP_^aT)0X\X]Vc^QTTUd_Xcb \PaXcX\TP]SPXabTRdaXch BX]VP_^aTfX[[WPeTPVXP]c bdaeTX[[P]RTQP[[^^]cWPcRP] STcTRccWaTPcb 3LUDWHDWWDFNVRII6RPDOLDFRDVW DfdaZTZ`fdTjSVcRTeZgZejUVeVTeVU GURS0DULWLPHZDWFKGRJ `_HYZeV9`fdV_Veh`c\ 80=BQ =08A>18 A global maritime body said on Wednesday that pirate attacks and armed robbery have decreased remarkably off the coast of Somalia in the past nine months. International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said just 10 incidents have been reported so far this year in Somalia, while a total of 178 incidents have been reported globally, down from 352 in 2011, Xinhua reported. IMB Director Capt. Pottengal Mukundan attributed the drop to the combined efforts by foreign navies which have helped in reducing the number of attacks off the coast of Somalia. “It’s encouraging to see the huge decrease in maritime piracy and armed robbery over the last few years, thanks mainly to international navies deterring pirates off East Africa, and improved on board security,” said Mukundan. “However, there has been a worrying new rise in attacks against small coastal tankers in southeast Asia. We advise small tankers in particular to remain vigilant in these waters and report all attacks and suspicious small craft to the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre.” The drop in incidents of piracy is a big relief to shipping companies using the Indian Ocean who have been the target of pirates. They often pay heavy ransoms to secure the release of their ships and the crew. According to the report, in the first nine months of 2014, pirates killed three crew, kidnapped five and took 369 seafarers hostage. A total of 17 vessels were hijacked, 124 were boarded and 10 were fired upon. There were 27 further reports of attempted attacks. The African maritime industry, along the Indian Ocean, has been greatly affected by piracy that has raised the costs of shipping as insurance companies and private ship security companies increased their premiums to mitigate the risks. 80=B454Q F0B78=6C>= he White House has detected suspicious cyber activiT ty on one of its computer systems in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) where US President Barrack Obama’s most important officials work. “In the course of assessing recent threats we identified activity of concern on the unclassified EOP network,” a White House official told Efe news agency on condition of anonymity. The EOP receives cyber alert threats on a daily basis and each of them is taken very seriously during the regular secu- rity evaluations that take place, he added. “In this case we took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity,”the official said. The response to the suspicious activity resulted in outages and loss of internet connectivity on the affected network. No computer or system at the office was damaged. However, there was no information immediately available regarding when the activity occurred nor who may have been responsible. eXePRXch " DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ 2D;CDA0;20A=8E0; 2^^Zd_Pbc^a\ 5HVWDXUDWHXU6$1&+$<,7$ %+$77$&+$5-((LPSUHVVHGHYHU\ERG\ ZLWKKHUDFWLQJFKRSV6KHWHOOV.$5$1 %+$5':$- DERXWQHZDJHFKDOOHQJHVIRU ZRPHQDQGKRZKHUNLWFKHQVNLOOVKHOSKHU XQGHUVWDQGWKHDXGLHQFHEHWWHU =^^]TRP] Qdhdb):PeXcP :0E8C0:A8B7=0<DAC7H bPhb WTaU^RdbXb^]V^^Sf^aZP]S ]^c\^]Th°8³eTbd]VP[[^eTacWT f^a[S8P\[^^ZX]VU^afPaSc^ f^aZfWTaT8RP]QT^Ub^\T bTaeXRTc^_^^a_T^_[T^acW^bT fW^[PXSS^f][XeTb U^adb±bWTbPXS°8U 8RP]VXeTQPRZc^ _T^_[TcWPcfX[[ \PZT\TcWT WP__XTbc _Tab^]±bWT PSSTSCWT bX]VTafW^ [T]cWTae^XRT c^PRcaTbbTb [XZT<PSWdaX 3XgXc <P]XbWP :^XaP[PP]S AP]X<dZTaYX ]^ffP]cb c^VXeTQPRZ c^cWT_dQ[XR QhS^X]V V^^S_a^YTRcb BWTTeT]cda]TS S^f]°RWTP_± b^]VbX]cWT_Pbc °CWTaTfPbPcX\T fWT]V^^S[haXRbfTaT ]^cfaXccT]CWThfTaTRWTP_8 cW^dVWccWPcXcfPb]³ccWTZX]S^U b^]V\hUP\X[hf^d[S[XbcT]c^ b^8aTUdbTSc^bX]V±bWTbPXS 8P\eTah cXaTS^U faXcX]V Q^^ZbP]S fP]cc^S^ b^\TcWX]V T[bT b^\TcWX]V^dc^UcWT ^aSX]PahCP[ZX]VPQ^dc bch[TP]SUPbWX^]XbP [Xcc[TQXcSXUUTaT]cUa^\ cWTcWX]Vb8dbdP[[hS^ ° 274C0=17060C 0=D?0<:74AWPb PRRdbTS_a^SdRTa BP\Xa:Pa]XZ^U]^c _PhX]VWX\cWT SdTbU^af^aZX]VX] cWT[PccTab_a^YTRc 2WPPa3X]:X 2WP]S]XfWXRWaT[TPbTScf^hTPab PV^ °?a^SdRTaBP\TTa:Pa]XZWPb]c R[TPaTS\hSdTbTeT]PUcTa!hab <PST_^[XRTR^\_[PX]cPQ^dc Q^d]RTSRWT`dTb haQPRZ =>C78=6WPb7P__T]TSbXR± 0]d_P\_^bcTS^]CfXccTa °6^^S]Tbbc^fPaSbb^\TQ^Sh fW^_[PhbPeXRcX\RP]QTcTa\TS Pbh^daU^^[XbW]Tbb7PeTQTT] fPXcX]VU^a\hSdTbU^a[^]V BP\TTa:Pa]XZ±WTPSSTS :PcXT?aXRTbT[[b WTa^[SW^dbT BX]VTa:0C84?A824 bPhbbWT fP]cbc^\PZTPUaTbWbcPacX]P ]TfW^\TfXcWWdbQP]S:XTaP] 7Ph[TafW^RWTPcTS^]WTa?aXRT fW^U^aVPeT7Ph[TaPUcTa SXbR^eTaX]VWXbPUUPXabfXcW WTaUaXT]Sb9P]T?^d]c]Th P]S2WaXbbhCW^\Pb TPa[XTacWXbhTPaWPb \^eTS^dc^UcWT BdbbTgW^\TPbbWT R^d[S]cbc^_cWX]ZX]V PQ^dc7Ph[TaWPeX]V bTgfXcWWTaUaXT]Sb ^]cWT_a^_Tach °8[TUc\hbcaTbbPccWT ^[SW^dbTfXcWP[[cWT \T\^aXTb^U9P]T ?^d]c]ThP]S:XTaP] X]cWTaTb^8fPbV[PS c^[TPeT8WPcTcWT^[S W^dbTcWTaTPaTb^ \P]hQPS\T\^aXTb ^U:XTaP]RWTPcX]V8 fP]cTSc^VTc^dc ^UcWTW^dbT QTRPdbT8 WPcT fP[ZX]VX] cWTZXcRWT] P]SZ]^fX]VcWThS QTT]X]cWTaTc^VTcWTa8fPb UX]SX]VcWX]Vb[XZTcWPcWPaS±bWT c^[SP\PVPiX]T DXUbYWXd]Yh CWXbhTPab3T[WX8]cTa]PcX^]P[ 0acb5TbcXeP[XbP_TaUTRcQ[T]S ^UU^[ZR^]cT\_^aPahP]S caPSXcX^]P[>]SPh^]T B7A010BC8 <0;;8: \TccWT PacXbcTbfW^WPeTT\QaPRTS caPSXcX^]bP]ScTRW]X`dTb^U ^cWTaRd[cdaTbc^R^\Td_ fXcW_TaU^a\P]RTbcWPcPaTP UXcU^acWTV[^QP[PdSXT]RT T he vibrantly lighted backdrop of the Purana Qila served as the perfect setting for the beginning of the eighth edition of Delhi International Arts Festival. Unlike last year, this year the festival promises the audience performances by the artistes from across 14 countries. On day one of the festival, Vedic scholars of Varanasi mesmerised everyone present with Vedic Chants of Veda-Shakha Swadhyaya. Gakko Dance Troupe from Kazakhstan and dancers from Turkey brought to the Indian stage a slice for their own culture. The most interesting performance of the evening was Malay dancers performing classical Bharatanatyam. We caught up with the performers. <0;0HB800BF0A0 30=242><?0=H At an event like DIAF, one would expect traditional Malay dance from the group. But the dancers were ready to perform a classical Bharatanatyam. “We at Aswara National Arts Academy practice multiculturalism and we are trained in dance forms from all over the country,” said Mohd Yunus Bismail, the leader of the group. He informed that although most of the students were form different origin, they take a common pleasure in learning the dance form of every culture. He added, “Every dance is taught by teachers who are professionally trained in that form. Our Bharatanatyam teacher is Indian, trained in the Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur.” Another dancer from the group, Kairi Mokhtar, informed a little more about their performance, “We will be performing the Varman Swamy Nan Unthan Adimei, which narrates the story of Shiva and Parvati and the various ways of praising the Lord.” Although they were performing Bharatanatyam, the Malay group said they would be happy to perform traditional Malay dance forms in India. “We would be happy to perform Malay dance. In fact we will be performing traditional Malay folk dance in Jammu in a few days,” informed Yunus. “There is a very beautiful conversation between a man and a boy — we have come up with dance around the same,” he said. Most Malay dance is accompanied by live music of the rebana (a giant drum), the nafiri (a trumpet) and the seruling (traditional Malay flute). But there are times when they are travelling and they have no choice but to perform on recorded tracks. “Most of our dances come from different communities. Like we have Zapin, Inang, Rodat, Sewang, Chang and ritual dances like Joget,” said Kairi. One of the members of the group was performing the steps of a traditional Kazakhstan folk dance backstage. Norbai Zura, clad in the classical Bharatanatyam costume, said, “We at the academy are trained in this dance form too, we are familiar with it.” CDA:4H5>;:30=24 The Turkish group of dancers with live music of the tulum (a bag type wind instrument made of goat skin) and kenamche (a stringed instrument, whose fiddle is made of horse tail), wrapped up day one of the festival on a very lively and colourful note. The dance was performed by men dressed in black, with silver trimmings and females decked in bright costumes, a black head scarf and multicoloured knitted stockings. They linked arms and quivered to the vibrations of the kenamche. What they performed on stage was an amalgamation of traditional folk dances of the Black Sea region, from where the dancers hail. “Geographically the region is big and each district has its unique dance form,” said one of the members. Their dance was a mix of three different folk forms. They began with the Trabzon and moved to Artvin which, she 3cfdYhZeYScR_Ud R 50A70=0:7C0AcP[ZbPQ^dcWXbT]S^abT\T]cb [^eTU^aSXaTRcX^]P]S1TY^h=P\QXPa³bFPiXa essons in sincerity should be learnt from L Farhan Akhtar. It seems the actor is damn serious (read sincere) about everything he gets involved with. B e it his brand endorsements, social campaigns or professional commitments. The actor who was here recently to launch the The Dulux Visualiser app took to Twitter page to promote the app after the official announcement. “They just made cho osing simpler.. L aunched the Dulux Visualizer, a cool, fun & easy to use app.. Check it out (sic),” he wrote. Though the actor seems to be on an endorsement spree, he says that he has been particular about the brands that he endorses. “I don’t think I have been doing a lot of them. At present, I just have seven. I am only working with people I love working with,” said the actor who has been visiting Delhi frequently for the shoot of his forthcoming film Wazir. “Shooting for Wazir is quite nostalgic. I shot for Lakshya in Delhi, too. It has been going good so far. The story, script and character I am playing are the three defining factors that made me choose this film. Later I got to know that Amitabh Bachchan will be a part of it. Bejoy Nambiar is directing it, I really liked his work in Shaitan, so I was looking forward to work with him,” he said. The actor, director and producer is also shooting for Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadakne Do. It has been pretty long since he directed a film, but he says that he will decide on his next directorial venture soon. “I kept away f rom direction so far because of my acting commitments. After completing Wazir, I only have one commitment to complete as an actor. I have been waiting to complete everything so that I can decide about my next project as a director. It has been long since I directed a film and I am missing it now,” he shared. EYV ^`gV^V_ed Z_Y`c`_ UR_TVdRcV WRde ecV^S]Z_X eYVV_eZcV S`UjgVcj ^fTY]Z\V eYV ^`gV^V_e `WWP\bX R \Z_U`W WZdYRdZe dhZ^dZ_ eYVdVR explained, “reflects people’s relation with the wild. The dance is very dynamic yet smooth at times, accompanied by drums and accordions.” The typical Black Sea region dance is performed by men and women together and separately. They ended their performance with horon. “The movements in horon dances are fast, trembling the entire body, very much like the movement of hamsi (a kind of fish) as it swims in the sea or struggles in the net for life,” she said. An ever increasing tempo was kept up by the kemenceci or fiddler. These movements included: kneeling, sudden squats, sharp turns left and right, stamps, kicks from the knee, high thrusts from the thigh, walking while squatting, hopping forward on the left leg while “pawing” on the right like a horse, sudden outward arm thrusts and others. The dancers also formed a line with the leader in the center. “When men and women perform together, the dance is often referred to as rahat or comfortable horon. Usually the dancers clasp fingers and extend their arms just below or above shoulder height, standing comfortably apart from one another. At other times, their bodies are closer together, with arms at their sides or bent at the elbows,” she shared. 60::>30=24 CA>D?4:0I0:7BC0= The members of the dance troupe danced to the melodies of the flute and the dombra (a stringed instrument). They looked elegant in long flowing dresses and their traditional headgear, saukele. The dance mostly was about elaborate hand movements and they used a traditional rug as a prop. emember the colourful characters of Pyaas Lagi Hai Mercury Piyo or the honest Alibaba of Khulja Sim Sim or the ingeniously naughty worms of Kitabon Mein Hulchul? All these interesting stories will be revived on stage at the 12th edition of National School of Drama’s Jashnebachpan. Not only this, there will be several other plays to highlight the burning issues of the day. The festival features over 30 plays in eight languages such as Assamese, Bengali, English, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Hindi and one nonverbal. “It’s important to educate children about the evolving issues of society through plays. Apart from the stories that personify kids’ innocence, there will be plays to address the new-age issues of our society,” says Abdul Latif Kendre, director of NSD’s Theatre in Education (TIE) wing. TIE is celebrating its 25th anniversary and is making special arrangements. They are inviting underprivileged kids both as performers and viewers. “We are keeping shows in open lawns to encourage more kids to participate. We don’t keep rewards for the candidates to avoid competitive clashes,” he says. The organisers also plan to invite international theatre groups. “We are hoping to have global entries from next C an there be any similarity between kitchen and theatre? Ask Kolkata-based Sanchayita Bhattacharjee. She has been a stellar performer in both arenas. A chef by profession, Bhattacharjee has been acting on stage for over 25 years. “Cooking is very much like acting. Just like the dish is different each time you prepare it, so is your act on stage. Both involve spontaneity. If I cooked a good meal yesterday, it would certainly not help me today. Kitchen is like a live theatre,” she said as we met her during the rehearsals of her recent show, A Woman Alone, at NSD. She was here to take part in DIAF. While Bhattacharjee took to serious cooking over a decade back, her admiration for acting dates back to college days. “I was very passionate about acting. So I used to take part in college theatre activities. Cooking came naturally but the fondness grew gradually. So I went to London’s Le Cordon Bleu to pursue culinary skills. After working there for two years, I came back and opened my food joint called The Restaurant on the First Floor,” she said. While she continued to impress lovers of French cuisine, she also pursued theatre. “My cooking has helped me to be alive for each performance. Cooking is dynamic as you have to make a lot of adjustments. Your tomatoes may be smaller, brinjals could be longer or fish may not be that good. So I have to adjust the menu as it is coming each day. Similarly, I have to adapt myself according to the audience. The same play has a different tempo at different places,” she said. A gold medallist in International Relations, she has been a staunch believer of women rights. That perhaps is the reason why she is so excited about this play. Originally written by Italian playwrights Dario Fo and Franca Rame in 1968, A Woman Alone is about a housewife locked indoors by her husband who must deal with a crying baby while fighting off the advances of his crippled wheelchair-bound pornographic film-obsessed brother, a man with a telescope, an obscene telephone caller and a former teacher who has fallen in love with her. “The protagonist has a conversation with her neighbour where she unravels her life. Ultimately, it becomes too much for her and she makes a choice. There’s a lot of black humour involved. Although there’s pain and anger in her life, she manages to smile and keep moving,” she told us. The 55-minute show highlighted the multiple roles a woman has to play and how courageously she braves all the challenges that come along. “Her life is being pulled in every direction. She is a mother, woman, sister-in-law, consumer and neighbour. She is trying to do her best in every role and puts up a happy face to show to the world, until everything is disclosed,” she said. $FWLYHPHVVHQJHU >eTa"_[PhbX]TXVWc8]SXP][P]VdPVTbfX[[QTbcPVTSPccWT !cWTSXcX^]^U =B3b9PbW]TQPRW_P]CWTUTbcXeP[SXaTRc^abWPaTbcWTX\_^acP]RT^U TSdRPcX]VRWX[SaT]cWa^dVWcWTPcaT year,” Kendre says. TIE has staged over 1,200 shows, 350 workshops catering to more than 11 lakh children so far, apart from college students, teachers, parents and theatre lovers across the world. Apart from the shows, the organisers this time will also hold seminars inviting 30 eminent speakers. They will be discussing variety of issues relating to children theatre. NSD is also introducing children theatre programme in their curriculum. There has been shortage of quality directors, lecturers and performers in theatre. “Everything has been done. We hope to include the new programme from the next session. This will also help us in improving the quality of theatre performers. We have been asking the government to promote theatre studies in schools and colleges. Theatre nurtures overall personality of kids. It enables them to become a better human being, more creative and hard working,” says Waman Kendre, NSD director. eXePRXch0%1 # DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ <UQTRiUhQ]`\U BDA4=34A<>70= 2<3=;2[PXScWT U^d]SPcX^]bc^]TP]S d]eTX[TSP_[P`dTU^a R^]bcadRcX^]^UU^da PSSXcX^]P[R[Pbba^^\bU^a =<9<PcaXRd[PcX^]BRW^^[ R^]b^]P]RTfXcWcWT_aX]RX_[Tb^UR^aad_cX^] 0UaTTbTaeXRTb=^acWTa]APX[fPhXb^QbTaeX]VP 6SHFLDOHIIRUW ustice Kurien Joseph inaugurated Aanchal, a rehabilitation centre for difJferently abled children at Sector-3, Rohini. B Surender Mohan, CMD, NLC, laid the foundation stone and unveiled a plaque for construction of four additional classrooms for NMJ Matriculation School at Block-12, Neyveli. They have been constructed at an estimated cost of C30 lakh under CSR Scheme. Sarat Kumar Acharya, director (HR) and N Muthu CGM (HR) were also present. In his address, B Surender Mohan said that education is the prime objective in NLC’s CSR activities and NLC always extended its full support for the same. He directed CSR authorities to take necessary steps to construct these additional classrooms before April 2015 to facilitate the next academic year. CMD, NLC stressed that CSR activities should be time bound and only then it could fulfill its purpose. The 57-year-old organisation is regularly carrying out various community development works even before the government started to insist upon CSR activities such as water supply for irrigation, laying roads, constructing cul- 1BdaT]STa<^WP]2<3=;2d]eTX[X]VcWT_[P`dT =;2WPbP[b^cPZT]d_ R^]bcadRcX^]^U# c^X[TcQ[^RZbX]ePaX^db bRW^^[bX]cWT _TaX_WTaP[eX[[PVTb^U =;2_a^YTRcbPcP] TbcX\PcTSR^bc^U C #"Ra^aT verts, school buildings, meeting halls, community halls, buildings for library, Anganwadi and primary health centres. It also supplies drinking water to the nearby villages by sinking bore wells and constructing overhead tanks. Appreciating NLC’s service to society, the central government, state government and leading NGOs have honoured NLC with prestigious CSR awards. NLC proposes to spend significant share in promoting education as its CSR prime object, that is C10.02 crore which includes general education for youth, special education and providing opportunities for special children, technical education (ITI, mining, diploma), infrastructure and scholarships for wards of SC, ST, OBC employees). NLC has also taken up construction of 40 toilet blocks in various schools in the peripheral villages of NLC projects, at an estimated cost of C1.43 crore under Clean India movement. EYV[VhV]Z_eYVTc`h_ T he three-day Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart showcased the tourist attractions of the state. ‘Destination Madhya Pradesh’ got together all stakeholders of the tourism industry in the state like hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators, adventure tour operators et al. With the advent of the strong middle class, Madhya Pradesh is perceived as an excellent value for money destination. With so many new hotels and resorts coming up in the state, it would be ideal for tour operators from India and abroad to come and see the properties and sell them in their local markets. The event proposed to be held once every year will showcase various destinations thus providing an opportunity for :44?0E868; discerning people to see for themselves what the tourism in MP has to offer in terms of sight-seeing and travel packages. Below are the highlights of the show: It was the biggest travel event of Central India. The inaugural edition had over 115 buyers and media %LODWHUDOWLHV and Natural Gas Corporation Limited signed a Memorandum of Oil(ONGC) Understanding (MOU) with Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation Ltd (PVEP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam), for mutual cooperation for exploration in the NELP Blocks of ONGC in Andaman and Cauvery Basins, subject to due diligence and negotiations on terms of participation. The MOU was signed by Dinesh reps from over ten countries. There were over 2,000 B2B appointments. There were operators from USA, UK, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, Sri Lanka and India. It was the biggest congregation of traveltrade from Madhya Pradesh. K Sarraf, chairman and managing director on behalf of ONGC and Do Van Khanh, president and CEO on behalf of PVEP. ONGC Videsh Limited also signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with PVEP for mutual cooperation for exploration in blocks 102/10 and 106/10 of PVEP and block 128 of ONGC Videsh in offshore Vietnam, subject to due diligence and negotiations on terms of participation. Both the MOU and the HOA were exchanged in the presence of visiting PM of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung and PM of India Narendra Modi. C Kurien expressed the hope that this initiative by Malankara Orthodox Christians would help in improving day-to-day life of these children of Almighty in a better and humane way. Every civilised society should think about the least, the lost and the last. Kurien urged civil society to embark upon to commit themselves and to be kind enough towards the persons, particularly those who are marginalised. Aanchal represents yet another effort in the series of promises of Malankara AXbTd_ NGC has been ranked as the top energy company in India in the covO eted Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings 2014. It has improved on its global ranking up by a notch to feature at position 21 among global energy majors. In Asia/Pacific (APAC) rim, where several major E&P companies have operations, it is featured entre has launched Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY) for welfare of tribals. Launching the scheme on the occasion of the meeting of the Tribal Welfare Ministers of States/UTs, the Union Tribal Welfare Minister Jual Oram said that the scheme been launched on pilot basis in one block each of the states of AP, MP, HP, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Under the scheme centre will provide C10 crore for each block. These blocks have been selected on the recommendations of the concerned states and have very low literacy rate. Oram said this scheme mainly focuses on bridging infrastructural gaps and gap in human development indices between schedule tribes and other social groups. He said VKY also envisages to focus on convergence of different schemes of development of Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments with outcome oriented approach. Initially the blocks having at least 33 per cent of tribal population in comparison to total population of the block will be targeted. Oram informed the meeting that his ministry has taken up initiatives for strengthening of existing institutions meant for delivery of goods and services to tribal people ie Integrated Tribal Development Agencies/Integrated Development Project and creation of new ones wherever necessary. He said that specific funds allocated to the states for this purpose should be utilised judiciously with a view to build the institutional mechanism more robust by way of strengthening these institutions. Orthodox Church in its commitment and firm step towards philanthropic activity towards the marginalised and downtrodden of the society. Dr Abraham Mar Seraphim, Metropolitan of the Diocese of Bangalore Malankara Orthodox Church addressed the meeting and congratulated Aanchal for their initiative and resolution to rehabilitate the specially abled. Jiji Thomson, IAS, DG, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Authority of India urged upon the need for each individual to be an abode of charity and helpful to the needy in every respect of the literal word. at the fifth position, rising from last year’s seventh rank. Platts, McGraw Hill Financial, mentions that Top 250 recognises outstanding financial performance for the previous year. The listing is acknowledged as one of the most important recognitions of performance in the energy sector. With many major initiatives in the pipeline, the largest profit making Maharatna Company, ONGC is poised to gain bigger milestones in the future. FPhbc^QaXSVTcWTVP_ EXVX[P]RT 0fPaT]Tbb FTTZ Ua^\ >Rc^QTa !& c^ =^eT\QTa >]cWT^_T]X]VSPh^UcWTPfPaT]Tbb fTTZ ^UUXRTab P]S bcPUU ^U =^acWTa] APX[fPh d]STac^^ZX]cTVaXch_[TSVTb[TSQh?aPSTT_:d\Pa 6<=^acWTa]APX[fPhPccWTWTPS`dPacTab^UUXRT 1Pa^SP 7^dbT 0 f^aZbW^_ U^RdbbX]V ^] cWT cWT\T^U²R^\QPcX]VR^aad_cX^]³fX[[QTWT[SPccWT WTPS`dPacTa CWTX]cT]bXeT_a^VaP\\TRWPacTS^dcQhcWT =^acWTa]APX[fPhX]R[dSTSPbT\X]Pa)°2^\QPcX]V 2^aad_cX^]CTRW]^[^Vh Pb P] T]PQ[Ta± >cWTa _a^VaP\\Tb b[PcTS SdaX]V cWT fTTZ X]R[dSTb P] TbbPhR^\_TcXcX^]X]4]V[XbWP]S7X]SX]dZZPS ]PcPZ Pc _dQ[XR _[PRTb^UUXRTb 0] X\PVX]PcXeT _^bcTa RP\_PXV] WPb P[b^ QTT] _^bcTS Pc P[[ _a^\X]T]c_[PRTb BC0H0F0A4 WT 8]SXP CaPST ?a^\^cX^] >aVP]XbPcX^] 8C?> CXb^QbTaeX]V²EXVX[P]RT0fPaT]TbbFTTZ³Ua^\ >Rc^QTa!&c^=^eT\QTa Pc?aPVPcX<PXSP]0[[ cWT8C?>T\_[^hTTbc^^ZcWT_[TSVTc^QaX]VPQ^dc X]cTVaXch P]S caP]b_PaT]Rh P]S f^aZ d]bcX]cX]V[h U^a TaPSXRPcX^] ^U R^aad_cX^] X] P[[ b_WTaT ^U [XUT <P[Ph BWaXePbcPeP TgTRdcXeT SXaTRc^a 8C?> PS\X]XbcTaTScWT_[TSVTc^SPh 8=14BC8=C4A4BCB ?aPbPSP AP^ 2<3 174; PS\X]XbcTaTS cWT 1_[TSVT ^U X]cTVaXch c^ T\_[^hTTb ^] cWT X]PdVdaP[ SPh ^U ²EXVX[P]RT 0fPaT]Tbb FTTZ³ Pc R^a_^aPcT ^UUXRT ^U 174; B_TPZX]V ^] cWT ^RRPbX^] 2<3 bcaTbbTS ^] cWT ]TTS ^U ^_cX\P[ dcX[XbPcX^] ^U cTRW]^[^Vh bX\_[XUXRPcX^] ^U _a^RTSdaTb P]S \X]X\XbX]V SXbRaTcX^]Pah _^fTab X]cWTUd]RcX^]X]V^UcWTR^\_P]hCWT\TbbPVTb ^U cWT ?aTbXST]c E? ?< P]S 2T]caP[ EXVX[P]RT 2^\\XbbX^]Ta^U8]SXPfTaTP[b^aTPS^dc Referring to the situation where Minor Forest Produce (MFP) is more often than not determined by the traders instead of self-sustained process of demand and supply. The minister said his ministry has taken note of the situation and has implemented a scheme to ensure that such forest dwellers are not deprived of their due. Under the scheme maximum selling price for MFP is being implemented in schedule V States initially. He said a web-based portal has also been developed which indicate current price of MFPs on real time basis across different mandis of the States. 12 MFP products have been included in the programme namely tendu leave, bamboo, mahuwa seeds, sal leaf, sal seed, lac, chironjee, wild honey, myrobalan, tamarind, gums and karanji. The minister also referred to the Forests Rights Act as a landmark legislation to recognise the pre-existing rights of tribals and other traditional forest dwellers and informed that out of 37.69 lakh claims filed by the intended beneficiaries about 14.57 lakh individual rights title and more than 22,200 community forest rights titles have been distributed as on June 2014. Oram informed that approval for recognising the Vishva Bharati, Shanti Niketan as the other centre of excellence in the filed of tribal language and literature has been given. 20DC8>=0=320A4 WT fTTZ[^]V EXVX[P]RT 0fPaT]Tbb FTTZ bcPacTS Pc =C?2³b !%<F Bd_Ta CWTa\P[ ?^fTa BcPcX^] Pc :^aQP aTRT]c[h fXcW P \Pbb _[TSVTcPZX]V RTaT\^]h 66< ?aPZPbW CXfPaX aTPS^dccWT_[TSVTc^fX_T^dcR^aad_cX^]Ua^\ _dQ[XR [XUT 0SSaTbbX]V cWT X]PdVdaP[ Ud]RcX^] b^^]PUcTaWTRP[[TSd_^]cWTT\_[^hTTbc^c^S^ cWTXa QTbc X] T]bdaX]V caP]b_PaT]RhP]SbcXRZX]V c^cWT]^a\bPccWTf^aZ_[PRT 0\^]V^cWTabAP\3Pb6<><0]P]S :WP[PcZPa6<5dT[<P]PVT\T]cB<dZWPaYTT 6<<PX]cT]P]RTP]S^cWTabT]X^a^UUXRXP[bP]S aT_aTbT]cPcXeTb^UD]X^]bP]S0bb^RXPcX^]bfTaT _aTbT]c^]cWXb^RRPbX^] C @_gUb`QS[UT`UbV_b]Q^SU CaPRZcWTbcPcdb entre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), an IT wing of Indian Railways, has C launched the mobile app on Android platform ata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) and Tata Power T Limited together brought back nor- A7HC7<38E8=4 T he sixth weekend of Dilli Haat Utsav culminated with applaud and cheers from large number of audience who had come Dilli Haat with their families. A delightful cultural evening was at the offering with numerous musicians showcasing their talent. Performers from Hindi Academy, Urdu Academy and Sahitya Kala Parishad performed at Dilli Haat INA, Dilli Haat Janak Puri and Dilli Haat Pitampura respectively. Folk songs from different states, exemplifying India’s diversity, were also presented. inister for Railways Sadanand DV Gowda has M instructed Northern Railway authorities to ensure proper arrangements during festival season including Chhat. Northern Railway made the following arrangements for clearing of anticipated passenger rush during the Puja period and specifically during Chhat. To cater to the rush of passengers during Puja, Diwali and Chhat, Northern Railway planned 2485 train trips as compared to 1938 train trips during the same period of last year. Regular trains were augmented resulting in 6,070 additional coach trips as compared to 5,263 in 2013. malcy in Vizag, the port city of Andhra Pradesh, which witnessed the deadliest cyclone ‘Hud Hud’ by restoring power in a record time of 72 hours. The cyclone with a speed of 195 km/hour brought along heavy rains and resulted in major power crisis in Vizag. The IT city remained powerless for nine days thus affecting the normal life. The storm not only damaged power network but also claimed several lives across the cyclone torn city. TPDDL’s Disaster Management Cell took stock of the situation to understand the extent of damage and to restore power in consultation with the AP State Power Department. A team of 100 electricians and technicians also left for Vizag to help the $YRLGWKHUXVK In addition to running of special trains and augmenting regular trains with additional coaches, for the anticipated extra rush during the period, the railway had arranged for nine extra rakes to be utilised by Delhi Division to clear extra rush during the festive season. The numbers of train trips and coach trips during the festive time was significantly higher as compared to last year. Northern Railway HQ made adequate arrangements for passengers at various stations. Senior officers from NR HQ and Delhi division were deputed at Anand Vihar, New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Delhi Main and Delhi Sarai Rohila Railway Stations One Additional Divisional Railway Manager was deputed at New Delhi station and the other additional divisional railway manager was at Anand Vihar Station. DRM, Delhi was incharge and undertook inspections on daily basis during the period. RPF/GRP, Scout and Guide/Civil Defence/commercial staff were also deputed at New Delhi and Anand Vihar Stations. A total of 460 RPF, state government in relief and rehabilitation work. TPDDL’s Disaster Management Cell is formed on the lines of Tata Group’s Tata Relief Committee which swings into action to help people in any part of the country which is hit by any disaster. 151 GRP, 85 Scout and Guide and 441 commercial staff were deputed by Delhi Division. In addition, 42 newly recruited RPF Sub inspectors were also deputed. Dog squads, baggage scanners and CCTV arrangements were also made at these stations. Additional booking and reservation counters were operated as per requirement. Adequate publicity of special trains and augmentation of coaches was done on regular basis through paid notices, press releases, bytes to electronic media, radio channels and SMSs, display at stations and announcements through public address systems. for train enquiry. Earlier mobile app for Windows 8 platform was officially launched by Minister of Railways in August 2014.The new mobile app for Android devices also has many features. It has now become easier for the general public to track information on expected arrival and departure timings of a particular train and other information for the benefit of rail passengers. The National Train Enquiry System (NTES) is the comprehensive system which provides information to public about train running on near real time basis through various interfaces like nationwide unique rail enquiry number 139, website (www.trainenquiry.com), mobile interfaces, touch screens, face to face enquiry and display boards at stations. One of the best features of the app is ‘spot your train’ which provides information such as its current position, expected time of arrival and departure at a particular station. ;8=4>5>A34A ] _dabdP]RT c^ 2E2³b SXaTRcXeTb B?<28; Xb ^QbTaeX]V EXVX[P]RT 0fPaT]Tbb FTTZ Ua^\ >Rc^QTa!&c^=^eT\QTa WXVW[XVWcX]VcWT\PX] U^Rdb ^U cWT fTTZ eXi ²2^\QPcX]V 2^aad_cX^]) CTRW]^[^Vh Pb P] T]PQ[Ta³ CWT eXVX[P]RT fTTZ bcPacTSfXcWcWT_[TSVT^UcWTPS\X]XbcaPcX^]PccWT R^a_^aPcT ^UUXRT c^ cWT ^UUXRXP[b Qh cWT RWPXa\P] P]S\P]PVX]VSXaTRc^aBX\d[cP]T^db[hcWT_[TSVT fPb PS\X]XbcTaTS c^ cWT ^UUXRTab bcPUU P]S f^aZ\T]PcP[[cWT]X]Td]XcbQhcWT6<7>3X] cWTXa PaTP ^U YdaXbSXRcX^] <B AP]P 2<3 X] WXb X]PdVdaP[PSSaTbbT\_WPbXbTScWTX\_^acP]RT^U cTRW]^[^VhX]R^\QPcX]VR^aad_cX^] 8 5PbcU^afPaS uring his recent visit to India, Lt D Gen Fabian Zin Panda 1Wd_X]STa=PhhPaRT]caT43>aXT]cP[1P]Z^U2^\\TaRTP[^]VfXcWBdaTbW= ?PcT[43P]]^d]RTScWT@!5X]P]RXP[ATbd[cb^U5H! # $Pc1P]Z´b2^a_^aPcT >UUXRTX]6daVP^]0[b^bTT]X]cWT_XRcdaTXb2<:WdaP]P25>^UcWTQP]Z (Zakes) Msimang, the chief of Air Force of Republic of South Africa, visited the HQ of directorate general of National Cadet Corps and held discussions with Lt Gen A n i r u d d h a Chakravarty, VSM, DG NCC. While being briefed, the visiting General evinced keen interest in the aims, charter, organisation and the functioning of the NCC. He also appreciated the vast spread of the organisation and expressed the hope that the same could be replicated in South Africa to groom the youth into responsible and motivated citizens. b_^ac $ DEHRADUN() (*+,-+./ µ:_UZRe`fXYa]RTVe`a]RjTcZT\Ve¶ <Q^[QSQ`dQY^=QdXUgccQicYdYcQ^_``_bde^YdiV_bi_e^W`\QiUbcd_`b_fUdXU]cU\fUc ?C8Q <D<108 V isiting Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews says they are not reluctant tourists but they needed to prepare better to take on a tough side like India in their own backyard. BCCI convinced Sri Lanka Cricket to send their team for the series after West Indies players pulled out of their tour mid-way. "It's not that we are reluctant to play a series. It is however not the ideal preparation for a tour like India. We know that India is a tough place to play cricket and you need your preparation on a high to play the series against India in India, especially. In the past one-and-half months we were focusing on our fitness a lot and suddenly this tour came up, so we had to take it," Mathews said ahead of their tour opener against India A here on Thursday. "After the Pakistan series we had a couple of months off. We had about 10 days' complete rest and then started our physical fitness because we had been playing right through. We were planning on hitting our peak levels during the English tour but this was a sudden shift. "And as players, you need to take those in a positive way. These things happen and as players, you need to adapt to those situations and get the maximum out of it," he added. Mathews, the pace-bowling all-rounder, feels his team cannot be complacent against India even when the hosts are without regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been rested for the first three ODIs. "Dhoni is a pillar of strength to the Indian team. We all know what a dangerous player he is. If he is not in the Indian team then the opposition might think hang on, we have got a chance here. But you can't be complacent against a team like India," said Mathews. "They have a very well balanced team. They have good batters, good bowlers and good fielders, so we can't be complacent thinking that Dhoni is not around. But definitely Dhoni is a big factor in the B_X]WXc0dbcaP[XP [^^Zc^Q^d]RTQPRZ 01D37018)After failing another Asian spin Test, Australia will strive to bounce back in the second and final Test against Pakistan starting in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. The world number two team were all at sea against an inexperienced but effective Pakistan spin attack and suffered a crushing 221-run defeat in the first Test in Dubai. It was their fifth consecutive flop against spinners in Asia after being routed 4-0 in India last year. Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar, playing only his third Test, finished with seven wickets in the match as did debutant leggie Yasir Shah. Pakistan's batsmen also had a field day. Veteran Younis Khan scored a century in each innings while Sarfraz Ahmed and Ahmed Shehzad chipped in with hundreds. Pakistan will maintain that spin pressure as they look to win their first Test series against Australia since beating them at home in 1994. Australian captain Michael Clarke promised a fight back. "Any time we lose a game it breeds fire in your belly. We don't like losing, Australians in general don't like losing," he said after Sunday's defeat. "We know we can play a lot better and look forward to showing that in the second Test match." Australia's top order of David Warner, who hit a hundred in the first Test, and Chris Rogers were steady. But the middle order, especially Clarke and Alex Doolan, failed in both innings. Clarke was confident runs would come in the second Test. "My expectations are always very high for myself personally to make sure I'm scoring runs and for this Australian team to have success," said the Australian skipper. Australia have the option of bringing in Glenn Maxwell, who can also bowl off-spin, for either Mitchell Marsh or Doolan. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq warned his team not to be complacent against a tough Australian team. "We’ll do (our) best efforts to play good cricket because we’ve no small team in front of us, it’s Australia which is one of the best teams in the world," said Misbah. If Pakistan win 2-0 they will jump to number three in the Test rankings, and Misbah called this a strong incentive. 05? GUT_^dXQfU]Q^i Uh`UbYU^SUTWeic_^dXYc d_ebQ^TgUQ\\[^_gdXQd dXYcYcQfUbiXQbT`\QSU d_`\QiSbYS[UdQ^TgUQ\\ gY\\\UQb^Vb_]dXYcd_eb 'TMKRU3GZNK]Y Indian team," he said The ODI series was hurriedly arranged after the West Indies decided to abandon their India tour midway over a pay dispute involving their board and the players' association. The 27-year-old though emphasised that this tour would help some of the younger players and also act as a guide in getting the right combination before the World Cup in February-March next year. "We started our preparation from the Pakistan tour. We are trying to get the combinations, the best 15 for the World Cup, so we will give opportunities to the guys and get the combinations right. At the same time we will try to win as well," he said. Sri Lanka haven’t done well in previous bilateral series in India and the all-rounder hoped that they would be able to reverse their fortunes in this tour. "Preparations aside, we’ll try to play our best cricket and win against India. Our past experience have not been so good in India so we will try and somehow get it right this time," he said. He further said left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has been rested while pacer Lasith Malinga is injured but said it will provide opportunities for other youngsters. "Rangana Herath is one our most experienced guys but we wanted to give an opportunity to the younger guys. We’ve players like Seekkuge Prasanna, Chaturanga De Silva and Suraj Randiv. Lasith Malinga, unfortunately, is not fit so he was not in contention for selection, but those two are the backbone of our bowling line up. "We don't have many experienced guys on this tour and we all know that this is a very hard place >??>ACD=8CH5>A5A8=64 ?;0H4ABB70A<0C>8<?A4BB <D<108) 5aX]VT _[PhTab fX[[ WPeT P RWP]RTc^_a^eTcWTXa\Tcc[TfWT]cWT <P]^Y CXfPah[TS 8]SXP 0 cPZT ^] BaX ;P]ZP X] cWT ^][h ^]TSPh fPa\ d_ \PcRWfWXRWfX[[\PaZcWTQTVX]]X]V^U cWTWPbcX[hbRWTSd[TS>38bTaXTbWTaT ^]CWdabSPh CWTc^daVP\TPccWT2aXRZTc2[dQ ^U 8]SXPb 1aPQ^da]T BcPSXd\ P[b^ _a^eXSTb A^WXc BWPa\P aTR^eTaX]V Ua^\ P UaPRcdaTS UX]VTa P]S bW^d[STa X]Ydah P RWP]RT c^ _a^eT WXb UXc]Tbb P]SVTcQPRZX]c^cWTbXSTU^acWT[Pbc cf^ VP\Tb ^U cWT QTbc^UUXeT >38 bTaXTbPVPX]bccWTeXbXc^ab 8]cWT^_T]X]Vb[^c<PWaPbWcaPb :TSPa 9PSWPe P WPaSWXccX]V \XSS[T ^aSTaQPcb\P]RP]bW^fWX\bT[UPbP V^^S QPRZd_ ^_cX^] fXcW cWT F^a[S 2d_^][hPUTf\^]cWbPfPh 3T[WXbD]\dZc2WP]Sf^d[SP[b^ QT XcRWX]V c^ bW^f WXb f^acW PUcTa WPeX]VbR^aTSP]d]QTPcT]&(P]S PVPX]bcFTbc8]SXTbX]cWTcf^fPa\ d_\PcRWTb_[PhTSTPa[XTacWXb\^]cW 0\^]V P[[a^d]STab :Pa]PcPZPb BcdPac 1X]]h P]S 9P\\d P]S :PbW\Xab?PaeTTiAPb^^[fX[[bcaXeTc^ PVPX] VTc P [^^Z X] cWT [X\XcTS^eTa bXST FXcW 8]SXP] RP_cPX] <PWT]SaP BX]VW3W^]XX]]TTS^UPQ^f[X]VP[[ a^d]STa cWT bT[TRc^ab d]STa BP]STT_ ?PcX[b RWPXa\P]bWX_ fX[[ QT ZTT][h U^[[^fX]VcWTSd^b_TaU^a\P]RT CWT\PcRWXbP[b^PV^^S_[PcU^a\ U^ah^d]VbcTab¯ :Pa]PcPZPb<P]XbW ?P]STh P]S D?b 2WX]P\P] Q^f[Ta to play cricket and we all will learn from this tour," he said. Coach Marvan Atapattu said the team needed to work on all areas to improve as a team. "It is easier for me to say all areas but specifically if we can get up to a bit more in our fielding, I think that will be good. Bowling is another area that demands a lot of skill these days with so much of restrictions. "If the others in our batting line up, excluding the two seniors (Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene) and the captain, can take the burden a bit then I think 3U^dbQ\VbYddUbQgQiW__TcdQbd ?=BQ =4F34;78 Central Zone batsmen led by Robin Bist were guilty of poor shot selection as they finished at 237 for seven against South Zone on day one of their Duleep Trophy final here on Wednesday. Bist wasted a chance of scoring a ton as he got out for 79 off 153 balls in an innings that lasted three and half hours and had 12 sweetly timed boundaries with a six. For South, Baba Aparajith with 2/26 had best figures while R Vinay Kumar, HS Sharath, Shreyash Gopal, Pragyan Ojha and Hanuma Vihari all got a wicket apiece. Central got partnerships of 68, 65, 52 but most of their batsmen got out after getting set. They got a couple of bad decisions with both Anil Chaudhary and K Srinath getting it wrong on one occasion each. Despite a liberal coating of green, the Kotla wicket displayed its typical slow nature with the batsman having little difficulty in negotiating the pace trio of R Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and HS Sharath. Such was the slow nature of the pitch that Vinay deployed seven bowlers including four spinners in the first session itself. While last match's centurion Jalaj Saxena (2) was given dubiously caught behind off Vinay's bowling, Bist in company of Vidarbha opener Faiz Fazal (49) negotiated the South bowlers with ease. With no real demons in the pitch, batting became easy as the effort balls like bouncers from medium pacers were imperiously pulled. Bist, in particular, was at his delightful best against the spinners as he used his feet well. The diminutive right-hander lofted Pragyan Ojha for a lovely six over extra cover. While he found the gaps with ease against spinners, he rocked back to pull a Sharath short ball in-front of square. The shot off the day was a late cut by Bist off leg-spinner Shreyash Gopal. Fazal-Bist duo added 65 runs for the second wicket before Baba Aparajith struck twin blows in the post-lunch session. Southpaw Fazal, after doing all the hardwork, threw it away trying to cut Aparajith and offering a simple catch to Hanuma Vihari at point. All eyes were on Naman (4) and he started off with a boundary before a moment of indiscretion cost him dearly. Aparajith bowled a flattish delivery and Ojha just smacked it straight to Vinay at mid-off. With Central in a spot at 94 for three, Ashok Menaria (37) joined Bist and two Rajasthan boys carried repair work adding 68 runs for the fourth wicket. None of the South Zone bowlers could create an impact. Bist reached his 50 in due course and looked like going for a long haul infront of national selectors Vikram Rathour and Saba Karim. At 162, South profited from Dinesh Karthik's smart stumping off Hanuma Vihari's bowling. Disaster struck when Mahesh Rawat (0) was adjudged caught behind off Gopal's bowling at the stroke of tea, when it looked that he had not edged it. Bist, who was destined to get hundred, blew it away when Ojha bowled a delivery that dipped and also stopped with the batsman committing on backfoot. He couldn't check his shot and the ball looped to Abhimanyu Mithun at mid-wicket, leaving Central tottering at 185 for six. Arindam Ghosh (32 batting) and Piyush Chawla (30) however stemmed the rot with their 52 run useful stand before Central skipper got out of the last delivery of the day. Brief Scores Central Zone: 237/7 (Robin Bist 79, Faiz Fazal 49, Arindam Ghosh 32 batting, Baba Aparajith 2/26) vs South Zone. 6DFKLQLQGXFWHGLQWR%UDGPDQ+DOORI)DPH ?C8Q BH3=4H S achin Tendulkar added another feather to his cap on Wednesday when the Indian batting legend was inducted as one of the latest honourees in the Bradman Foundation. At a gala dinner held at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground, former Australian captain Steve Waugh was the other cricketer to enter the Bradman Hall of Fame alongside Tendulkar. Tendulkar's appearance at the annual Bradman Foundation dinner is fitting as the late Aussie great once famously said that the Indian's technique reminded him of his own. Tendulkar, who had the honour of meeting Bradman on his 90th birthday at his Adelaide home, was later listed in an all-time XI prepared by the batting genius himself. Recalling the meeting that took place in 1998 at Bradman's Adelaide's home, Tendulkar said both he and the other invitee, Shane Warne, were so daunt- ed they couldn't decide who should speak first to the legendary Aussie batsman. "I remember Warnie was with me in the car and we were discussing who was going to ask the first question," Tendulkar told reporters here on Wednesday. "I said, 'You are from Australia, so you should start'. And he was like, 'No, you're a batsman, so you can relate to him much better than what I can'," he added. Tendulkar, 41, enjoyed a good run at the SCG during his illustrious 24-year-long career, scoring three centuries in five Tests. "The SCG is my favourite ground. I have always maintained that. It brings back all the memories," Tendulkar said as he spoke publicly in Australia for the first time in six years. "I was just outside in the car and I said it feels great to be back. It's been a very social venue to me. Right back from 1991, this was the first time I played here." His unbeaten 241 not out in the 2003-04 series against the Aussies is widely regarded as one of the finest innings seen at the venue. "It's just the feel of the ground. Whenever I walked in I felt I could go on and on batting. I just enjoyed the atmosphere and the pavilion especially. It's a fabulous pavilion with a lot of history. It is the heritage and the impact all the players have left on this ground. "Performing against Australia always gave me a lot of satisfaction because I knew if you perform against the leading side then everyone takes notice of your performance. It is a different kind of satisfaction." Tendulkar said there was a strong mutual admiration between him and Bradman when they met 16 summers ago. "One thing was just to be able to meet the great man but also to know the funnier side of him. "I asked him a question: 'what would you have averaged in today's cricket?' He thought about it and said 'Maybe 70'. The natural reaction was 'why only 70 and not 99?' He said, 'C'mon, that's not bad for a 90-year-old man'." :d[STT_HPSPefW^TPa]TScWT\PXST] RP[[d_PVPX]bccWTFTbc8]SXTbX]cWT C! P]S >38b ¯ c^ bW^fRPbT cWTXa cP[T]cP]SU^aRTcWTXafPhX]c^]PcX^]P[ b`dPS 5^a <d\QPX _PRTa 3WPfP[ :d[ZPa]X X]R[dSTS X] cWT 8]SXP] >38 cTP\ X] _[PRT ^U X]YdaTS <^WP\PS BWP\XXcXbPV^SbT]c^__^acd]Xchc^ \PZTP]X\_aTbbX^]fXcWcWT]TfQP[[ Pb fT[[ Pb cWT ^[S P]S _a^eT WT Xb P V^^SSTPcWQ^f[Ta CWT eXbXc^ab c^^ WPeT P UTf cWX]Vbc^[^^ZU^afPaSc^X]cWTXa[^]T fPa\d_VP\TQTU^aTcWTbcPac^UcWT UXeT\PcRW >38 bTaXTb PVPX]bc W^bcb P]S F^a[S 2d_ RWP\_X^]b 8]SXP ^] =^eT\QTa!Pc2dccPRZ CWT 0]VT[^ <PcWTfb[TS ;P]ZP f^d[S QT TPVTa c^ \PZT cWT \^bc ^U cWTVP\TPUcTaQTX]VPbZTSc^bcT_X] U^aPbTaXTbPVPX]bc8]SXPX]_[PRT^UcWT FTbc 8]SXTb fW^ _d[[TS ^dc ^U cWTXa c^da \XSfPh ^eTa P _Ph SXb_dcT fXcW cWTXa1^PaS CWT Xb[P]STab f^d[S QT TPVTa c^ `dXRZ[h VTc X]c^ cWTXa Va^^eT fXcW P V^^S SXb_[Ph X] cWT ^]T^UU fPa\d_ \PcRW CWT Xb[P]S ]PcX^] WPb]c WPS T]^dVWcX\Tc^_aT_PaTU^acWTbTaXTb PUcTaQTX]VPbZTSc^_[PhPcbW^ac]^cXRT P]S PaT \XbbX]V b^\T ZTh _[PhTab X]R[dSX]Vb[X]VPa\UPbcQ^f[Ta;PbXcW <P[X]VPfW^XbdbTSc^cWTR^]SXcX^]b X]<d\QPXQTX]V_Pac^UcWT8?;cTP\ <d\QPX8]SXP]b 0VT]RXTb we can do better," the former Sri Lankan opener said. ;0=:0>?C5>A?4==4H0B 0BB8BC0=C2>027 2>;><1>) Sri Lanka Cricket has opted for Trevor Penney, who till recently was involved with the Indian team, as an assistant to the national coach Marvan Atapattu. SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said Penney has been considered for both roles, Atapattu's understudy and the job of fielding coach. The appointment is subject to Executive Committee ratification. EXTRA COVER 2fdecR]ZR]Z_VfaaRTV^R_9Rk]Vh``U Sydney: ?PRT\P]9^bW7Pi[Tf^^SfPb]P\TScX] 0dbcaP[XPbX]XcXP[^]TSPhb`dPSPVPX]bcB^dcW0UaXRPX] =^eT\QTaPbbT[TRc^ab[^^Zc^cWT! $F^a[S2d_^] W^\Tb^X[CWT[P]Zh!"hTPa^[SfW^WPb_[PhTS^][h cf^>38bU^a0dbcaP[XPP]SWPbbcadVV[TSfXcWX]YdaXTb WPbTPa]TSaPeTTPa[hbTPb^]aTeXTfbU^a=TfB^dcW FP[TbFTPaTR^]cX]dX]Vc^ZTT_PR[^bTThT^]_[PhTab fTUTT[R^d[SWPeTPbXV]XUXRP]ca^[Tc^_[PhX]cWT! $ 8222aXRZTcF^a[S2d_P]S\P]h^UcWTbT_[PhTabWPeT QTT]aTfPaSTSfXcWbT[TRcX^]bPXS]PcX^]P[bT[TRc^aA^S <PabW0ccWXbbcPVTcWTb`dPSXb^][hU^acWTUXabccf^ \PcRWTb^UcWTbTaXTbP]SQP[P]RTb^dc_[PhTa_aT_PaP cX^]U^a[^]VP]SbW^acU^a\RaXRZTcPbfTQdX[SX]c^PQXV bd\\TaBXg_PRTQ^f[TabPaTX]cWT "\P][X]Td_U^a cWTcf^VP\Tb^]cWTUPbcP]SQ^d]RhF020caPRZ =PcWP]2^d[cTa=X[TWPbaTcda]TSUa^\X]YdahPUcTa\Xbb X]VcWTIX\QPQfTc^daP]SP[^]VfXcW9^bW7Pi[Tf^^S UX]XbWTSX]cWTc^_cWaTTfXRZTccPZTabX]cWTS^\TbcXR <PcPS^a2d_WTbPXSB@D03)<XRWPT[2[PaZTRP_c 6T^aVT1PX[Th=PcWP]2^d[cTa=X[T0Pa^]5X]RW9^bW 7Pi[Tf^^S<XcRWT[[9^W]b^]<XcRWT[[<PabW6[T]] <PgfT[[:P]TAXRWPaSb^]BcTeTB\XcW<PccWTfFPST 3PeXSFPa]TaBWP]TFPcb^] µA`ddZS]V:^Rj_VgVca]RjW`c:_UZRRXRZ_¶ New Delhi: HdeaPYBX]VWbPhbcWTcW^dVWc^U]^cQTX]V PQ[Tc^_[PhU^a8]SXPPVPX]WPbRa^bbTSWXb\X]SP]S PSSTScWPcXcfX[[QTeTahST_aTbbX]VXUWTUPX[bc^\PZTP R^\TQPRZX]c^cWT8]SXP]RaXRZTccTP\0UcTabdRRTbbUd[[h UXVWcX]VcWTSaTPSTSSXbTPbT^URP]RTaHdeaPY\PSTP QaXTUaTcda]c^cWT8]SXP]cTP\fWT]WT_[PhTSCfT]ch! \PcRWTbQdcWTWPbQTT]P_P[TbWPS^f^UWX\bT[U^] WXbR^\TQPRZcaPX[7T[Pbc_[PhTSU^a8]SXPX]P>]TSPh \PcRWX]3TRT\QTa! 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F^a[S2d_bT\XUX]P[PVPX]bc8]SXPPc<^WP[XFT [^bccWPcbT\XUX]P[QTRPdbT^UcWTSXbP__^X]cX]VQPccX]V _TaU^a\P]RTbQhH^d]XbP]S<XbQPWCWThSXS]c_[Ph PRR^aSX]Vc^cWTbXcdPcX^]WTc^[S6T^=TfbRWP]]T[ 7T\PX]cPX]TScWPcVXeT]cWTXa_aTeX^db_TaU^a\P]RTbX] cWTF^a[S2d_cWThbW^d[S]^cQTbT[TRcTSU^acWTF^a[S 2d_H^dbdUP[b^RaXcXRXiTScWT2WPXa\P]^UcWT?PZXbcP] 2aXRZTc1^PaS?21BWPWPahPa:WP]U^a_dQ[XR[hbW^f X]Vbd__^acU^aH^d]Xb:WP]bX]R[dbX^]X]cWT^]TSPh b`dPSCWTU^a\TaRP_cPX]bPXScWPcBWPWPahPabW^d[S ]^cQT\PZX]VR^\\T]cb^]bT[TRcX^]XbbdTbPbXc^][h R^\_^d]STScWTbXcdPcX^]7TbPXSfWT]cWTbT[TRc^ab WPSSa^__TSH^d]XbU^acWT^]TSPhbTaXTbPVPX]bc 0dbcaP[XPcWP]cWTaTfPb]^aTPb^]U^acWT?21RWXTUc^ \PZTbcPcT\T]cb^]cWTXbbdT7TbPXScWTbT[TRc^ab ]TTSTSc^_XRZPh^d]Vb`dPS 0VT]RXTb b_^ac % () (*+,-+./ µ:AE=hZ]]ReecRTe_VhWR_d¶ 0]Sh<daaPh[^^ZbU^afPaSc^_[PhX]VX]cWT8?C;U^a<P]X[P<PeTaXRZbP]ST]SX]VPVadT[[X]V! # 064=284BQ ?0A8B L ooking forward to his stint in the upcoming International Premier Tennis League, British number one Andy Murray says the event will take the sport to new regions. Murray will lead Manila Mavericks in Mahesh Bhupathi's league, starting November 28 in Philippines. "Attracting new fans to the sport is important and I'm looking forward to helping take tennis somewhere new. The IPTL format is something that has never been done before and there are many different aspects that make it interesting," Murray said in an IPTL release. Murray, who won back-to-back titles in Vienna and Valencia, gave thumbs up to the format of the league. "The shot clock is a great idea and will speed play up and make tennis even more exciting for the fans with the shorter breaks between points. "The fact that every game counts toward the team score is also a great idea, you're not just playing for yourself, you have to think about your team mates as well and put them in as strong a position as possible at the end of your own set in the match," he said. Murray's teammates would be Russian heartthrob Maria Sharapova, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, Carlos Moya and top Philippines player Treat Huey. "Playing in Manila will be fun. The fans there don't get to see a lot of live tennis, so that will be good. With the season being so busy, it can be difficult to take a holiday so you don't often get to travel anywhere different to the countries on the tour," the 27-year-old Scot said. "It was great to win Shenzhen Open in its first ever year and I hope the Mavericks can do the same with the IPTL," he said. B0=804G28C435>A8?C; On a high after winning the WTA Finals doubles crown and a clutch of prestigious titles this year, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza says she is now bracing up for the International Premier Tennis League where she is in the same team as Swiss veteran Roger Federer. "I think it is going to be great for this region to have such great tennis players come out and play. I think I am personally excited to be in the same team as Roger Federer. I am looking forward to that. I think it is a great format and hopefully it is going to click," she told PTI here in an interview. The IPTL features four franchise teams, including India, and is scheduled to start towards the end of next month. D:?8=6D 03E0=84364B?0BC20DB84A8=B5 Leeds: 0RT8]SXP]RdTXbc?P]ZPY0SeP]XWT[S WXb]TaeTbc^TSVT_Pbc3PeXS2PdbXTa^U 4]V[P]SX]cWTbT\XUX]P[^UcWTF^a[S 1X[[XPaSb2WP\_X^]bWX_cX\TU^a\PcQhP\TaT UXeT_^X]cbWTaTFTS]TbSPh0SeP]X^_T]TS cWT_a^RTTSX]VbfXcWP(#QaTPZSdTc^P[^bb ^U_^bXcX^]fWX[TRa^bbX]VcWTQPd[Z[X]T8c fPb0SeP]XfW^aP]PfPhfXcWcWT[TPSX]cWT UXabcWP[U^UcWTU^daW^dabT\XUX]P[fXcW QaTPZb^U"# "P]S #CWTQXVbR^aX]V 4]V[XbW\P]cWT]c^^ZRWPaVTP]SUXaTSX] QaTPZb^U( &P]S ''c^cPZTPb[T]STa cWaTT_^X]c[TPSfXcW^][hbTR^]Sbc^V^^] cWTR[^RZ0SeP]X^]fX]]X]VcWT\PcRW ]Paa^f[hbPXS±8YdbcRP]]^cQT[XTeTW^f R[^bTXcV^c± ;44´B3>?4C4BC8==>AF0H Kuala Lumpur) <P[PhbXPbQPS\X]c^]f^a[S ]d\QTa^]T;TT2W^]VFTXfW^XbaT_^acTSc^ WPeTUPX[TSP]X]XcXP[S^_X]VcTbcfX[[caPeT[c^ =^afPh^]Bd]SPhU^aU^[[^fd_cTbcX]V\TSXP bPXS<P[PhbXP]b_^acb^UUXRXP[bWPeTR^]UXa\TS cWPc^]T^UcWT]PcX^]bbWdcc[TabUPX[TSPaTRT]c S^_X]VcTbcQdcWPeTSTR[X]TSc^XST]cXUhcWT PcW[TcT_T]SX]VcWTcTbc]TgcfTTZ^]PbTR^]S daX]TbP\_[T1dc<P[PhbXP]\TSXPWPeTfXST[h aT_^acTScWPc;TT¯cWTR^d]cahbc^_b_^acX]V bcPa¯fPbU^d]Sc^WPeTcaPRTb^UcWTQP]]TS P]cXX]U[P\\Pc^ahSadVSTgP\TcWPb^]TX]WXb bhbcT\SdaX]VcWTf^a[SRWP\_X^]bWX_bX] 3T]\PaZX][PcT0dVdbc CF>8=0A>F5>A?0;;8:0; 1aXcPX]´b0]Sh<daaPhRT[TQaPcTbPUcTafX]]X]VPVPX]bcB_PX]´bC^\\hA^QaTS^X]EP[T]RXP The IPTL matches would be played between star-studded teams comprising the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Pete Sampras among others. <DAA0H4H4B14CC4A! $ A resurgent Andy Murray is playing for a sixth straight week at the Paris Masters in a bid to finish the season in the top four and gain a better draw at the 2015 majors. The two-time Grand Slam champion, beat Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris event on Wednesday, is also seeking to qualify for next month's ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena. "I always wanted to qualify for it, but I also was really wanting to get back into the top eight players in the world, and it makes a huge difference for seedings in the major events," Murray said. "I still have a chance of getting maybe to No. 4 between now and the end of the 0? 8P\_Tab^]P[[h TgRXcTSc^QTX] cWTbP\TcTP\Pb A^VTa5TSTaTa8 P\[^^ZX]V U^afPaSc^cWPc8 cWX]ZXcXbPVaTPc U^a\Pc °BP]XP<XaiP year, which would be very important for the beginning of next year, as well. Really, the only way to do that is also to get to the O2, as well." Since 2008, Murray has qualified every year for the ATP Finals, which gather the top eight players. Last year, he withdrew from the event to recover from back surgery. Murray, Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov are in contention for the four remaining places after Rafael Nadal pulled out because of appendix surgery. Murray has played 20 matches in the past five weeks, winning three titles and climbing to fifth in the ATP Race. The last time Murray played that much was in the summer of 2005, when he was 18. "It's been a long few weeks, but it's been very beneficial for me," Murray said. "We gained a lot of confidence in my body again from playing these many matches, and then also from winning a lot of tough, long, close matches, especially in the finals, match points down." Murray saved five match points against Tommy Robredo in a grueling three-setter last weekend in the Valencia Open final. "I have always felt when physically I feel strong, that it improves how I feel mentally," Murray said. "I think the two are quite closely linked, for me, anyway. And that's been a big help the last few months." Following his back surgery, Murray slipped from fourth in January to 12th in the rankings last month. Although Murray started to feel good about his back by the Italian Open in May, he had to wait until September to win his first title of the season at the Shenzhen Open in China. "I have played a lot of long matches and recovered extremely well from them, which wasn't the case for the last couple of years," Murray said. "And hopefully that's going to be a good sign for next year, as well. You know, I'll be able to get a good offseason in and get myself prepared for 2015." Chennai) 7PaX]STa?P[BP]SWdWT[_TSWX\bT[U c^WXbcWXaScXc[TP]S3X_XZP?P[[XZP[WTabTR^]S ^]cWTca^cX]cWTU^da[TV9BF2WP[[T]VTa B`dPbW2XaRdXcWTaTFTS]TbSPh7PaX]STa STUTPcTScWTc^_bTTSTS4Vh_cXP]:PaX\0[X 5PcWXfWX[Tc^_bTTSTS3X_XZPPRR^d]cTSU^a bTR^]SbTTS<XbPZX:^QPhPbWX^U9P_P]°8c UTT[bVaTPcc^QT_[PhX]VPc\hQTbc8cP[[ bcPacTSfXcWcWTV^[S\TSP[_TaU^a\P]RTX]cWT 0bXP]6P\TbP]S8P\W^_X]Vc^R^]cX]dT[XZT cWXb7^_TUd[[hcWTbTcWaTTcXc[TfX]bbW^d[S WT[_\TYd\_X]\haP]ZX]VcWXbhTPa8P\ cWP]ZUd[c^P[[\hR^PRWTbX]8B0U^acWXb f^]STaUd[ad]X]U^a\±bPXS7PaX]STa C70::0AF8=BBD19D=8>AC8C;4 Durgapur) 0UcTaWXbUX]TcXc[TfX]bPc2T]caP[ P]SFTbcI^]TTeT]cb?Tca^[Td\B_^acb ?a^\^cX^]1^PaSb<P]PeCWPZZPaU^[[^fTS cWT\d_fXcWhTcP]^cWTabdQYd]X^acXc[TPccWT =PcX^]P[AP]ZX]V4PbcI^]TCPQ[TCT]]Xb 2WP\_X^]bWX_bWTaTFTS]TbSPhCWPZZPa STUTPcTSFTbc1T]VP[b9TTc2WP]SaP#!X] fWPcfPbPQXc^]TbXSTSPUUPXaCWTbdQYd]X^a VXa[bRa^f]fT]cc^BadbWcX7P[TP]VPSXfW^ \XbbTSQhPfWXbZTaPc6P]SWXSWP\cf^fTTZb PV^CWT<PWPaPbWcaPVXa[STUTPcTSCP\X[ =PSd³bBT[T]P3TT_cWXBT[ePZd\Pa#c^cPZT W^\TPbXiTPQ[TfX]]Ta³b_dabT 0A<H54;828C0C4B0B803F8==4AB :DQWIXQGVVWD\DYDLODEOHIRU,QGLD0LQLVWU\ ?C8Q =4F34;78 for India at the Incheon Asiad. But it minced no words in making it clear that athletes, who decide not to take part in multi-disciplinary events where India participates for medals, will not be considered for funding from the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF). "It was noticed, while finalising the Indian contingent for the Incheon Asian Games 2014, that senior and rank holding sportspersons of some sports disciplines decided to pull out, preferring to play in prize money tournaments instead of participating in the Asian Games giving the impression that such sportspersons do not take these sports competitions seriously. "Multi-sports events are held once in four years and the nation takes pride in the number of medals won in these prestigious sports events," the release added. T aking exception to top Indian tennis players who were reluctant to compete in the recent Asian Games, the Sports Ministry on Wednesday said individual players will be able to avail grants from it only if they undertake to be available for India whenever called upon. The Ministry's diktat comes after top tennis players such as men's number one Somdev Devvarman, veteran Leander Paes, and Rohan Bopanna refused to participate in the Incheon Asiad, citing loss of rankings points on the ATP circuit. India were forced to send a second-string team to the mega-event because of this. The Ministry had earlier issued instructions in this regard on July 18, 2013 to all recognised National Sports Federations (NSF) "It is again reiterated and made clear to all recognised NSFs that individual players will be able to avail grants given to them by the Ministry only if they undertake to play in the Indian team when called upon to do so without reservations," a Sports Ministry release stated. The Sports Ministry release, however, did not name the players who opted out or showed reluctance to play 08C0102:BC>??;0H4AB 8]SXP]cT]]XbcTP\_^bTU^aPbT[UXTPccWT8]RWT^]0bXP]6P\Tb 4U\XY>5E63U^Tc ?C8Q =4F34;78 Y oung NorthEast United FC goalkeeper T P Rehenesh made three spectacular saves to deny Delhi Dynamos a win as the the two sides settled for a goal-less stalemate after an entertaining Hero Indian Super League match here on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Rehenesh denied Delhi captain Alessandro del Piero in what could have been his first goal of the ISL in the 39th minute as he he dived full length to his right after the Italian legend's free kick had beaten the defensive wall. The Kerala goalkeeper then made diving saves to deny Delhi striker Hans Mulder twice — in the 87th and 90th minutes — much to the agony of the home supporters. With the draw, Delhi Dynamos remained on fourth in the league standings with six points from four matches while NorthEast also maintained their third spot with eight points from five games. The Dynamos are unbeaten in the league with three draws and a win. NorthEast were without marquee player Joan Capdevila and Koke due to injuries but despite their absence, the match was evenly contested with the biggest crowd turning up at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The visiting team had their share of supporters among the 20,000-odd crowd with a large number of Delhi-based youngsters from the eight states of that region turning up. Delhi's marquee player Del Piero showed flashes of his brilliance including a fierce drive from just outside the box which was, however, parried away by a diving NorthEast goalkeeper Rehenesh in the 14th minute. The 39-year-old Del Piero also tried his luck from his trademark free-kick in the 39th minute but was denied by a beautiful work by the NorthEast keeper, who dived to his right to pluck the ball. Del Piero was later substituted in the 57th minute by Brazilian Gustavo Dos Santos. In between, NorthEast striker James Keene's strike from inside the box off a pass by Durga Boro was saved brilliantly by Delhi goalkeeper Kristof Van Hout's long legs. Young NorthEast keeper Rehenesh was brilliant under the bar as he also made a diving save to deny Mulder a goal in the 86th minute. Dos Santos, who scored a brilliant solo goal in Delhi's previous match against Chennaiyin FC, had a glorious chance to give the home side the lead, but his powerful left-footer from just outside the box flew inches over the cross bar. Dos Santos was also in a run-and-hit situation but under pressure from a defender, he again shot it over from the top of the box. :?5:26?C DFA =628F6 Hours later, the AITA sought to clarify the stand taken by three top tennis players, who had preferred ATP Tour over the Incheon Asian Games. Leading doubles exponent Leander Paes, top singles player Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna had skipped the Asian Games to play on tour so that they could protect their rankings. AITA issued a statement, saying that the players' stand was "misunderstood" by the government. "The three players represented India in the Davis Cup one week before the Asian Games and India lost a very close tie to the World Champions Serbia - this shows their commitment to the nation," All India Tennis Association (AITA) Secretary General Bharat Oza said. "It has to be understood that it is essential for the players to have good ranking as otherwise they would not be able to represent the nation in Grand Slams, Davis Cup at appropriate ranking and Olympic Games," the statement added. AITA argued that the players actually sacrificed a lot of money, which they could have earned from the government by winning medals. "AITA is confident that the three players in question would have definitely won medals for the country and would have earned large cash rewards from the Central Government & State Government. In fact by skipping the Asian Games and playing Challengers/ATP events, the players in question have lost money in order to protect their rankings," Oza said. "In any case, the other Indian players performed exceedingly well and India achieved a medals tally of five medals out of the maximum seven possible," Oza said while trying to explain that India did not lose on medal despite the absence of these players. ;XeTa_^^[2WT[bTPSXVSTT_X]fX] 0?Q <0=274BC4A M ario Balotelli sparked a dramatic fightback by Liverpool and Chelsea needed a late own goal to edge past plucky fourth-tier opposition as the two Premier League giants squeezed into the League Cup quarterfinals. Late goals settled four of the five last-16 matches on Tuesday - and two were scored at Anfield as Liverpool came from behind to beat Swansea 2-1. Balotelli, criticized in recent weeks for a string of below-par displays, inspired the comeback by coming off the bench to score an 86thminute equalizer before Dejan Lovren headed in the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time. "Finally!" Balotelli said on Twitter after scoring his first goal in six weeks and only his second for Liverpool since joining from AC Milan in August. A patched-up Chelsea lineup looked like being taken ;XeTa_^^[´b<PaX^1P[^cT[[XRT[TQaPcTbPUcTabR^aX]VPV^P[ to extra time by Shrewsbury, a team 71 places below it in English football's pyramid, only for Jermaine Grandison to head into his own net after 81 minutes to seal a 2-1 win for Chelsea. Didier Drogba had given Chelsea the lead in the 48th minute. West Bromwich Albion's decision to field a virtual reserve team against sec- 0? ond-tier Bournemouth backfired in a 2-1 loss for the upset of the round. Balotelli started on the bench against Swansea but was thrown on by Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers in the 79th minute after Marvin Emnes volleyed the visitors into the lead. Within seven minutes, Balotelli guided home a cross from Fabio Borini to equalize. Swansea defender Federico Fernandez was shown a red card in the second minute of injury time for a foul on Philippe Coutinho, who provided the cross from a free kick that Lovren headed in at the back post for a lastgasp winner. Shrewsbury equalized in the 77th minute through Andy Mangan but was on level terms for just four minutes, as substitute Willian's teasing cross was diverted in by Grandison. There was late drama, too, at Bournemouth, which reached the quarterfinals for the first time thanks to Callum Wilson's 86th-minute strike. West Brom had equalized just a minute earlier from an own goal. By scoring five times in 20 minutes, Derby came from 20 down to beat Fulham 5-2 away in a match between two League Championship teams. Sheffield United beat fellow third-tier side MK Dons 2-1. 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