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New Delhi/METRO n Vol. XCVI No. 203
WISCONSIN ERUPTS AFTER COPS SHOOT UNARMED BLACK MAN
Covid danger: Effects may
linger long after recovery
NOT JUST RESPIRATORY Autoimmune, neurological, cardio problems dog cured patients
Sanchita Sharma
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Clinicians the world
over are increasingly treating
Covid-19 as more than a respira-
tory disease, with patients report-
ing neurological, autoimmune
and cardiovascular symptoms
that can manifest as strokes,
heart attacks, multisystem
inflammatory syndrome, cyto-
kine storm, loss of taste and
smell, and fatigue that may occur
and last for weeks after recovery.
Close to eight months since the
disease first came to light, and
after 23.7 millions infections and
814,000 deaths across the world,
the range of effects the Sars-Cov2
has had on people adds to the vol-
ume of many unknowns about a
virus that has caused the first
pandemic in a century.
“Around 50% patients have
residual symptoms post recov-
ery, which range from fatigue
and weakness to breathlessness
that requires oxygenation at
home even after testing negative
for Covid-19. In some people, the
symptoms can persist for weeks,”
said Dr Rajesh Chawla, senior
pulmonologist and critical care
specialist at Indraprastha Apollo
Delhi cases show worrying
trend as reopening picks up
Jamie Mullick
n jamie.mullick@htlive.com
NEWDELHI: The Covid-19 positivity
rate has started rising again in
Delhi, with 7.4% of all tests con-
ducted in the last week coming
back positive, the highest this
number has touched in over a
month, suggesting that Delhi
may be facing a fresh challenge to
control an outbreak it had con-
tained to a considerable extent.
Positivity rate is a crucial met-
ric as experts say it shows how
widespread the virus is in the
community, and when coupled
with an increase new cases, indi-
cates that the virus is spreading
fast.
The Capital added 1,061 new
cases and 13 new deaths accord-
ing to the government’s Monday
bulletin, taking the total number
of infections in the city to 162,527
and fatalities to 4,313, according
to Delhi government’s bulletin.
In terms of the single-day posi-
1 killed in Raigad
building collapse
PUNE : At least one person was
killed and 50-70 people were
feared trapped after a five-storey
building collapsed in Mahad
town of Maharashtra’s Raigad
district on Monday, officials said.
“...there were more than 40
flats in the building, which is
around 10 years old...” district
collector Nidhi Chaudhary told
HT over phone. ››P5
CHAMPIONS BAYERN TOP OF THE LEAGUE
Germany's Bayern Munich win the Champions League for a 6th time by beating France's Paris St Germain, or PSG, 1-0
n Bayern's Kingsley Coman lifts the trophy after Munich won the Champions League on Sunday.
THE DECIDER
Kingsley Coman, 24, a former PSG
youth academy graduate, netted
the only goal at the 59th minute on
a surreal occasion at an empty
Estadio da Luz in Lisbon
HONG KONG SCIENTISTS FIND
FIRST ‘REPEAT’ COVID CASE
HONG KONG:A man was
infected with the coronavi-
rus after recovering from an
initial bout in April in what
scientists in Hong Kong said
was the first case showing
reinfection may occur
within a few months,
although other experts said
more studies are required.
The 33-year-old’s second
SARS-CoV-2 infection was
detected via airport screen-
ing on his return to Hong
Kong from Europe this
month, said researchers at
the University of Hong
Kong, who used genomic
Hospitals in Delhi, where he has
been treating Covid-19 patients
since the hospital established iso-
lation wards on March 26.
One of his patients is Achal
Jain, 53, who has been experienc-
ing breathlessness, exhaustion
and headaches since he recov-
ered from Covid-19 four months
ago. “Four people from our fam-
Positivity rate rising again
The average positivity rate in the Capital has started rising again
as daily tests have seen a plateau over the past few weeks
Daily tests
25000
20000
7.6%
15000
5.7%
10000
5000
0 0
July 19 July 30
tivity rate, 8.9% of samples tested
on Sunday came back positive.
This is the highest proportion in
nearly a month-and-a-half.
Around 10.3% of tests came back
positive on July 13 – when cases in
the Capital were dropping from
Haryana CM Khattar, assembly
speaker, 2 legislators test +ve
CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief minis-
ter Manohar Lal Khattar, Vidhan
Sabha speaker Gian Chand
Gupta and two BJP legislators
tested positive for Covid-19 on
Monday, ahead of an assembly
session scheduled for August 26.
Khattar announced he has
tested positive through a tweet in
the evening, while Gupta’s test
DREAM SEASON
With the prestigious trophy,
Bayern complete an envious treble,
having already won the Bundesliga
and the German Cup in a season
marred by the Covid-19 pandemic
http :www.hindustantimes.com/
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2020
>p12
TRACKING
THE VIRUS
WORLD
sequence analysis to prove CASES DEATHS
that he had been infected by 23,684,779 814,235
two different strains. The
information technology INDIA
worker didn’t develop any CASES DEATHS
symptoms from his second
infection, which might indi- 3,162,570 (+59,051) 58,532 (+851)
cate any “subsequent infec-
tions may be milder,” DELHI
researchers said. DEATHS
“Our findings suggest CASES162,527(+1,061) 4,313 (+13)
that SARS-CoV-2 may per- CASES LAST 5 DAYS
sist in humans,” Kwok- 1,412 1,450
Yung Yuen and colleagues 1,215 1,250 1,061
said on Monday in a paper
accepted for publication in
the journal Clinical Infec- Aug 20 21 22 23 24
tious Diseases. ››P12 India data compiled by covid19india.org and cross-checked
from inputs by HT’s correspondents and news agencies
ily were hospitalised with coro- LONG COVID
navirus in April after we con- While there is no peer-reviewed
tracted it from a migrant camp data on such long Covid, a survey
where we went to feed the hun- of 1,567 people on Facebook page
gry. We all recovered, but I still called Survivors Corps showed
feel tired and have trouble sleep- long-term symptoms stretched
ing, even though I did not need from extreme fatigue to difficulty
ICU admission,” said Jain, a busi- focusing and moving. While all
nessman who lives in Yamuna long-haulers suffered from
Vihar in north-east Delhi. CONTINUED ON P 13
No summons from
CBI yet, says Rhea;
accountant grilled
MUMBAI: Actor Rhea Chakra-
borty’s lawyer has said that she
and her family have not received
any summons from the Central
Positivity rate (7-day average) Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
which is probing the death of her
10
boyfriend, Sushant Singh Rajput.
7.4%8 “If they receive a summons, they
will appear before the agency,”
6
lawyer Satish Maneshinde said.
Meanwhile, CBI officials on
Monday visited a Mumbai-based
4 resort where the late actor is said
to have spent a couple of months,
2 and also continued with the ques-
tioning of Rajput’s flatmate Sid-
dharth Pithani and cook Neeraj
Aug 24 Singh at the DRDO guest house in
the city. Rajput’s
accountant, Rajat
the peak. Mewati, too was
When asked about the positiv- called for ques-
ity rate and the increasing num- tioning. CBI
ber of infections, Delhi’s health officials also
minister Satyendar Jain said the went to Raj-
infection rate is still below 10% put’s flat in
and “under control”. ››P3 Bandra. HTC
report was made public early in the Constitution of India, in the
the afternoon. absence of Speaker of the Assem-
Ratia MLA Lakshman Napa bly, deputy speaker of the assem-
and Indri MLA Ram Kumar bly shall act as Speaker,” Vidhan
Kashyap also tested positive for Sabha secretary RK Nandal said
the infection on Monday. in an order.
Deputy speaker Ranbir On Monday, three employees
Gangwa will preside over the posted at Haryana MLAs hostel
assembly proceedings in Gupta’s in Chandigarh also tested posi-
absence. “under Article 180 (2) of tive for Covid-19. ››P7
MAN OF THE
AP MOMENT
Hansi Flick enters the
Bayern folklore,
WAIT CONTINUES completing a 10-month
PSG will regret not taking the chances odyssey from interim
they got. The first-time finalists will boss to the
have to wait to match Marseille treble-winning
(another French club; it won the coach in his
inaugural Champions League in 1993)››P16 first season
 TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2020

DISPATCH
140

SUNIL GHOSH/HT PHOTO

Covid-19: What you

need to know today R Sukumar

o we know enough about the strains of the Sars-CoV2 virus in

D
India? How many strains are there? Is there one dominant
strain? Are there multiple strains?
Last week, Malaysia claimed to have discovered a strain
that was “10 times more infectious” and “easily spread by a
superspreader”, but as researchers around the world were
quick to point out, while this strain might have been new to that
country, it was the predominant strain in most parts of the
world even as far back as March and April (including in
Europe). Called the G clade (a biological term meaning
descendants of a common ancestor), this strain is the dominant
strain in India. And it is, unfortunately, a virulent one, which
could perhaps explain the virus’s run through the country;
India ended Monday with 3.16 million cases of Covid-19, of
which 762,051 were active. It saw 58,532 deaths till Monday
night.
Around the same time the Malaysian authorities made their
claim – resulting in sensational headlines around the world –
researchers in Singapore wrote in a study published in The
Lancet that a variant of Sars-CoV2 with some of its DNA miss-
ing actually caused a milder infection than the other strain. In
THE GOOD a small study, it was found that people in whom this strain was
found did not require either oxygen support or to be put on the
AND THE ventilator.
BAD Compared to many other viruses, Sars-CoV2 has stayed rel-
Sars-CoV2 has stayed atively stable – and that is both a good thing and a bad thing. It
relatively stable – and is good because it means vaccines currently under develop-
that is both a good ment have a high chance of succeeding. It is a bad thing because
thing and a bad thing. there were hopes during the initial weeks of the pandemic that,
It is good because it like some viruses do, Sars-CoV2 would mutate into an unviable
means vaccines strain and taper off.
currently under
development have a
The ability of viruses to mutate is one reason why some
high chance of experts are worried about Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine, which
succeeding. It is a bad hasn’t undergone the kind of rigorous tests any such vaccine
thing because there should – an ineffective vaccine may, far from proving to be a
were hopes during cure, merely cause the virus to mutate, perhaps into something
the initial weeks of far more dangerous.
the pandemic that, Not that Sars-CoV2 in its current form is benign. Around
like some viruses do, the world, researchers and doctors no longer see Covid-19 as a
Sars-CoV2 would
respiratory disease – it affects everything from the kidneys to
mutate into an
unviable strain and the brain – and are beginning, especially as they set out to
taper off answer questions about long-Covid, to believe that it could be
much more. Long-Covid refers to the sometimes debilitating
and long-drawn-out fallout of Covid-19 that some patients suf-
fer – sometimes even without being seriously ill. Those trying
to find out more about long-Covid believe that one explanation AUTOIMMUNE
for it could be that Covid-19 affects at least some patients the DISEASE?
same way an autoimmune disorder does. An autoimmune dis-
Around the world,
ease is simply one where the immune system attacks the host researchers and doctors
(or an organ of the host), or one where it weakens the body’s no longer see Covid-19 as
response to infections. While this (accepting Covid-19 as an a respiratory disease – it
autoimmune disease) could explain some things, more affects everything from
research is needed before it can be classified as such. the kidneys to the brain
Interestingly, one of the most promising lines of treatment – and are beginning,
for autoimmune diseases involves the use of monoclonal anti- especially as they set out
bodies (called so because the antibodies are all made up of iden- to answer questions
about long-Covid, to
tical cells, each of which is cloned from the same parent). Sev-
believe that it could be
eral companies (Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly) are much more. Some
testing monoclonal antibodies for Covid-19. HT’s health editor believe that Covid-19
Sanchita Sharma has been writing about them from early July, affects at least some
from around the time Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody patients the same way
REGN-COV2 entered Phase 3 trials. Scientists believe that the an autoimmune
use of monoclonal antibodies early on in the treatment of Cov- disorder does
id-19 could save more lives.
Another treatment for autoimmune diseases involves the
use of interferons – proteins released by the body’s immune
system and which provoke, regulate, or amplify the response
to pathogens. And companies are experimenting with interfer-
ons, too, in the treatment of Covid-19. A study reported in July,
and conducted by the University of Southampton and a com-
pany Synairgen, showed that an inhaled interferon helped Cov-
id-19 patients recover faster.
A vaccine is necessary and important, but we’d do well to
keep track of the work being done on interferons and mono-
clonal antibodies.

htweather
ALMANAC
Today is
TEMPERATURE
25th August 2020 IN FOUR METROS
l 5 Muharram 1442 Delhi
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY l Bhadrapada,
35°c I 26°c
Shukla Paksha, 7
Generally cloudy sky Thunderstorm Thunderstorm
l Samvat 2077 Mumbai
with light lain or with rain with rain Sunset: Tuesday
drizzle at 06:50 p.m.
30°c I 27°c
Sunrise: Wednesday Kolkata
at 05:56 a.m.
35°c I 26°c 35°c I 26°c 34°c I 26°c Moonrise: Wednesday 32°c I 26°c
at 01:28 p.m. Chennai
• • Moonset: Thursday
at 00:12 a.m.
34°c I 27°c
 www.facebook.com/hindustantimes
New Delhi/METRO n Vol. XCVI No. 203 n Price ₹5.00/with Hindustan ₹ 9.00 (₹ 7.50 in Faridabad)/with Mint ₹ 9.50 n 19 Pages + 3 Pages of HT City. Area specific pages extra.
DOCTORS SAY RUSSIA OPPN LEADER POISONED
Sonia stays in charge of Cong in Sept, but not schools
Delhi Metro could open
after acrimonious CWC meet
LEADERSHIP Dissent letter-writers face flak from colleagues; CWC authorises Sonia to make organisational changes
Sunetra Choudhury and
Aurangzeb Naqshbandi
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: The Congress Working
Committee (CWC) on Monday
resolved that Sonia Gandhi will
continue as party president until
an All India Congress Committee
(AICC) session is convened,
rejecting the concerns raised by
23 Congress leaders who criti-
cised the functioning of the party
and asked for structural changes
in a controversial letter whose
contents became public last
week.
The CWC — held in the back-
drop of the first-ever show of dis-
sent by prominent leaders
against the party’s first family —
authorised Sonia Gandhi to effect
any necessary organisational
changes, reaffirmed its faith in
both Sonia and former president
Rahul Gandhi.
There was sharp criticism of
those who signed the letter at the
party’s highest decision-making
body, which met for seven hours
on Monday and witnessed stormy
exchanges between the lead-
ers.The discussion focused
largely on the timing of the letter,
the intent behind it, and its leak;
rather than on its contents.
Rahul Gandhi led the attack on
the signatories by saying it came
when the Congress was fighting
political battles in Madhya Pra-
desh and Rajasthan, and Sonia
Gandhi was in hospital. The
CWC, in its formal resolution,
also emphasised that issues must
be raised within party forums in
the interest of “propriety and dis-
cipline”, and not “through the
media or in public fora”.
CONTINUED ON P 13
ACTION-PACKED MONDAY
Highlights of the 7-hour CWC meeting, according to attendees:
Sonia Gandhi
tells Ghulam
Nabi Azad: “You
know me so well,
Azad sahib. How
could you think
that I will take any
decision on the
leadership issue
without consulting
party leaders? You
could always come
and meet me... I
don’t want to hang
on to this chair”
Rahul Gandhi
questions the
timing of the
letter, saying it
was sent at a time
the Congress
president was ill
and the party was
fighting the BJP in
MP and Rajasthan
A session of the AICC to pick a new party president will be
called within six months, if the Covid-19 situation permits
Seed of letter germinated at dinner
hosted by Tharoor five months ago
Harinder Baweja
n harinder.baweja@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: Informal deliberations
over the need for reforms within
the Congress party started at
least five months ago at a dinner
hosted by MP Shashi Tharoor,
several Congressmen who were
www.twitter.com/htTweets
>p12
Manmohan Singh urges Sonia Gandhi to
continue as the Congress president until a new
chief is picked
AK Antony says if Sonia Gandhi is
unwilling, then Rahul Gandhi should take
over
Ahmed Patel criticises the dissenters.
Naming Azad, Mukul Wasnik and Anand Sharma,
he says they should not have written the letter
Azad explains the reasons for writing
the letter and clarifies that it was not
directed against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul
Gandhi
his guests have confirmed to HT
— a disclosure that highlights
that the letter sent to Sonia Gan-
dhi by 23 leaders was in the mak-
ing for some time.
Importantly, many who were a
part of the dinner have not put
their signatures to the letter,
which was addressed to Gandhi
n DOWNLOAD OUR iPAD APP
REPUBLICANS OFFICIALLY NOMINATE TRUMP FOR SECOND TERM
CWC meet
resolution
1) The last six months have
seen the nation in the throes of
multiple crises, including the
pandemic and poor economy
2) The two voices that have
been at the forefront of
exposing the government’s
inadequate responses are of
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul
Gandhi. No one will be or can
be permitted to undermine
or weaken the party and
its leadership
3) Voices of our two leaders
have inspired a generation of
Indians
4) Inner-party issues cannot
be deliberated through the
media or in public fora
5) The CWC authorises the
Cong president for necessary
organisational changes
and sent on August 7. Prominent
among those who attended Tha-
roor’s dinner – but did not sign
the letter asking for a “visible”
and “active” leader – are former
Union minister P Chidambaram,
his son Karti, Sachin Pilot,
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and
Mani Shankar Iyer. ››P4
www.hindustantimes.com/iPad
Sibal responds to
‘collusion’ charge,
then withdraws
NEW DELHI: The drama in the
CWC meeting on Monday spilled
over into the public domain
when, reacting to a tweet by Kapil
Sibal, spokesperson Randip Sur-
jewala rejected allegations that
Rahul Gandhi accused some sen-
iors of “colluding” with the BJP
during the high-voltage CWC dis-
cussions. Sibal quickly withdrew
his statement saying he was
informed by Gandhi personally
that he never said what was
attributed to him. ››P4
It’s internal matter
of a party without
democracy: BJP
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday
refrained to comment on the
developments of the Congress
Working Committee (CWC)
meeting, even as leaders of the
ruling party said that the spar-
ring at the CWC showed the lack
of internal democracy within the
134-year-old party.
“Whatever is happening is an
internal matter of the Congress
party... However, the statements
that are emerging... prove the
pseudo internal democracy in the
party,” said Sanjay Mayukh, a
BJP spokesperson. ››P4
n OUR EDITION ON KINDLE
Neeraj Chauhan and Anisha Dutta
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The government may
allow the resumption of Metro
services after over five months in
September, when the fourth
phase of a plan to restart busi-
nesses and activities restricted in
view of the coronavirus disease
(Covid-19) kicks in, people famil-
iar with the matter said on Mon-
day.
In the new guidelines for
“Unlock 4”, bars too might be
allowed to open, but they could be
restricted to running takeaway
services and over-the-counter
sale of alcohol, the officials said.
Schools and colleges will con-
tinue to remain closed though
there are talks of reopening the
Indian Institutes of Technology
(IITs) and the Indian Institutes of
VA N D E B H A R AT
Can fly back NEET
aspirants, says SC
Abraham Thomas
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on
Monday asked the Centre to
ensure Indian students in the
Gulf who have to appear in the
September 13 National Eligibility
Cum Entrance Test (NEET) are
allowed to travel to India by spe-
cial flights operating under the
Vande Bharat Mission.
Close to 4,000 students in the
Middle East who have to appear
in NEET for admission to medical
and dental courses had pinned
their hopes on a petition in the
Supreme Court filed by a social
worker, Abdul Azeez.
http://read.ht/JS4
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2020
>htworld p12
IN THE NEW GUIDELINES
FOR UNLOCK 4, BARS
TOO MIGHT BE ALLOWED
TO OPEN, BUT THEY
COULD BE RESTRICTED
TO OVER-THE-COUNTER
SALE OF ALCOHOL
Management (IIM), the people
cited above said.
According to deliberations in
the ministry of home affairs
(MHA) — which issues phase-
wise Covid-19 guidelines — and
other concerned departments,
cinema halls and auditoriums
will continue to be closed at least
for another month. There is a
view that even if cinema halls are
allowed, it will not be financially
viable to run shows with just
The petition demanded open-
ing of NEET centres in Dubai,
Doha and Qatar, as has been done
by the National Testing Agency
for holding the Joint Entrance
Examination for admission to
engineering schools every year.
Azeez’s demand was rejected by
the Kerala high court on June 30
and the top court was hearing an
appeal against the decision.
The petitioner also sought a
relaxation in the 14-day manda-
tory quarantine period, which
the SC bench refused, saying,
“We are afraid such a direction
cannot be made as it involves
public health of citizens pertain-
ing to state governments.” ››P6
25-30% capacity in view of social-
distancing norms.
Officials also said the new
guidelines, expected later this
week, will just mention the pro-
hibited activities. Anything
beyond that ambit can resume.
Containment zones, considered
epicentres of Covid-19 infections,
will continue to be under strict
lockdown and monitoring.
The officials said social, politi-
cal, sports, entertainment, aca-
demic, cultural and religious
functions, and other large con-
gregations, are likely to remain
prohibited in September.
On Metro services, govern-
ment officials said the modalities
were still being worked out in
consultation with the housing
and urban affairs ministry
(which operates the Delhi Metro),
CONTINUED ON P 13
‘Tweets represent
my views’: Bhushan
says no to apology
NEW DELHI: Lawyer Prashant
Bhushan stood his ground on
Monday, refusing to apologise to
the Supreme Court for his posts
on Twitter criticising the top
court and Chief Justice of India
(CJI) SA Bobde.
In a statement he submitted to
the apex court, Bhushan said,
“An apology cannot be a mere
incantation... If I retract a state-
ment before this court that I oth-
erwise believe to be true... that in
my eyes would amount to the con-
tempt of my conscience and of an
institution (Supreme Court ) that
I hold in highest esteem.”
The top court will take up the
case on Tuesday to consider the
statement by Bhushan. ››P9
02 hindustantimes
htmetro
Green concerns over
Metro Phase-4 work
ECOLOGY Forest dept says trees damaged in work on the Janakpuri-RK Ashram Marg route
Soumya Pillai and Vatsala Shrangi
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro Rail Cor-
poration (DMRC) has run into a
conflict with the city-state’s for-
est department over suspected
violations of guidelines that don’t
permit construction on deemed
forest land and for damaging
trees during work on the Janak-
puri-RK Ashram corridor in
Phase 4, and has been issued
orders to stop work at least twice
between February and August
and, most recently, August 7.
This includes the area around
the Najafgarh drain, which is a
birding hotspot since it is fre-
quented by thousands of migra-
tory birds.
Once classified as forest land,
trees on the stretch cannot be cut
or pruned for construction
unless the required permissions
are sought from the Union minis-
try of environment, forest and cli-
mate change under the Forest
Conservation Act, 1980. Such
work also requires the usual per-
missions under the Delhi Preser-
vation of Trees Act, 1994.
Documents accessed by Hin-
dustan Times show that DMRC,
which began preliminary work
on the 17-km stretch in Decem-
ber, was slapped with two notices
on February 28 and August 7 by
the Delhi forest department for
damaging and pruning trees
without obtaining permissions
from the department and was
ordered to stop work on the
stretch. It also filed a violation
report on August 18 with the
Union ministry of environment
and forest and chief conservator
of forests, Delhi government,
accusing DMRC of causing severe
damage to trees, disturbing the
ecology of the area and for contin-
uing work on the stretch without
permissions despite warnings.
“The officials of this division
have inspected the site, and it has
been reported that one tree has
been completely felled due to
excavation work in Keshopur dis-
trict park, and roots of a few other
trees in the project area have
been found damaged due to dig-
ging work. In addition, many
trees have been covered by barri-
cading and the area around the
Najafgarh drain has been filled
with soil,” said the first restrain-
ing order issued by the deputy
conservator (west division) on
February 28.
The order added, “...you
(DMRC) are directed to cease all
digging work near trees and take
necessary steps to save trees by
putting soil on the roots exposed
NORTH-EAST DELHI VIOLENCE
6 months later, riot victims pick up pieces, rebuild lives
Risha Chitlangia and
Fareeha Iftikhar
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
New Delhi: Six months after the
communal riots in north-east
Delhi in which 53 people were
killed and over 400 injured, thou-
sands of people rendered home-
less and hundreds of properties
vandalised and set on fire, people
are still picking up pieces and
struggling to rebuild their lives.
Sitting outside his fruit shop-
cum-house in Khajuri Khas,
Deen Mohammad (58) said the
building was set on fire by the
rioters. He said he was happy that
he managed to save the lives of his
family members.
With no money left to recon-
struct the building, Mohammad
and his two brothers had to rent a
house in Chand Bagh, just across
the road.
Pointing at the walls of his
house that are still covered in
soot, he said, “I have taken loans
from relatives to revive my busi-
ness. The sale is not even 30% of
what we used to have. Two of my
brothers have already received
~1.5 each as compensation from
the Delhi government but mine is
still pending. We are just hoping
we manage to repair our home
soon and start living a normal life
again.”
Just across the road, Ashish
Maheshwari and Mahendra
Kumar Aggarwal re-opened their
petrol pump in Bhajanpura,
which was set on fire, in July. A
huge blue tin sheet wall has been
erected to cover the vandalised
portion of the fuel station. With
their office burnt down, the part-
ners sit outside in shade to moni-
tor the work.
Maheshwari, 44, said it took
them four months to re-start the
business. “We had to fix three oil
dispensing machines with one of
‘DAMAGE TO TREES, ECOLOGY’
n The DMRC was issued two
notices by the Delhi forest
department on February 28 and
August 7 for damaging and
pruning trees without obtain-
ing permissions from the
department and was ordered to
stop work on the 17-km Janak-
puri-RK Ashram Marg corridor
n DMRC said that 2,958 trees are
proposed to be cut between
Krishna Park and Mukarba
Chowk for the construction of
the corridor
n Forest department records
show that a portion of Road
Number 26, where the Metro
construction activity is cur-
rently ongoing, has been
by digging and excavation
work...The portion of the Najaf-
garh drain coming in the align-
ment is a site of plantation done
by the IFCD (Irrigation and Flood
Control Department) and
GNCTD (Government of the
National Capital Territory of
Delhi), so you are also directed to
cease all construction activity on
the drain area until necessary
approval.”
Delhi environment minister
Gopal Rai did not comment on the
matter.
PAYING NO HEED
Despite the order to cease work,
DMRC has continued to work on
the stretch.
In a response to HT’s email
queries , DMRC said that 2,958
trees are proposed to be cut
between Krishna Park and
Mukarba Chowk for the con-
struction of the corridor.
Hindustan Times visited the
construction site at least five
times between February and
August and found that the DMRC
has continued construction on
the stretch despite the restrain-
ing orders.
Another notice was issued to
the DMRC on August 7 by the
office of the Deputy Conservator
of Forests (west), which stated
that damage to trees continued on
the stretch because digging work
was under way despite the lack of
permissions. Inspections con-
ducted by forest department offi-
cials between February 25 and
July 28 showed that six fully
grown trees on the stretch were
illegally uprooted or over-pruned
during construction.
The digging and construction
work, leading to the tree damage,
them completely damaged by
rioters. All the documents and
stuff kept in our office also got
destroyed. We had to take loans
from relatives and friends to
make this petrol pump func-
tional,” he said.
The coronavirus pandemic
has come as a double whammy
for the residents of the riot-af-
fected areas.
“We just want the year 2020 to
end. It has been difficult to make
ends meet in the past few
months,” said Raj Kumar, owner
of a general store in Shiv Vihar,
whose shop was vandalised by
rioters. “We somehow got the
shop repaired, but then Covid
spread. The business is down by
almost 50%,” he said.
A group of anti-Citizenship
Amendment Act protesters on
February 22 moved their ongoing
protest at Seelampur to Jafrabad
metro station. Violent clashes
broke out between Hindus and
Muslims in several areas of
north-east the next day.
LIFE ‘NORMAL’ BUT
TENSION PALPABLE
After the violent clashes in Feb-
ruary, Shiv Vihar crossing
resembled a war zone with build-
ings vandalised and set on fire;
streets covered with pieces of
bricks, glass pebbles; burnt vehi-
cles lying on the road; notebooks
and books from nearby schools
strewn on the roadside; people
locked inside their homes and
paramilitary personnel patrol-
ling the area.
Six months later, life is back on
streets of Shiv Vihar as well as
other riot-affected areas such as
Bhagirathi Vihar, Brij Puri,
Chand Bagh and Mustafabad.
However, burnt shops and build-
ings still stand as a grim reminder
of the violence. Almost every lane
opening on Brijpuri road, which
Janakpuri Mukarba
West-RK Rohini Chowk
Ashram Marg
Metro line
Outer Ring
Rohtak Road Road
DELHI
Peera
Garhi Forest Ring Road
land
Krishna Tilak
Park Nagar
Janakpuri West
Metro station
categorised as “deemed forest
land” by the government.
n In a statement, DMRC said that
it has not damaged any tree on
the Vikaspuri- Madhuban
Chowk road
continues even though senior for-
est department officials have con-
firmed that DMRC, as of August
13, was yet to submit a permission
request for tree felling or trans-
plantation on the Janakpuri-RK
Ashram corridor .
“I am yet to receive the permis-
sion request by the DMRC for the
Janakpuri-RK Ashram stretch. If
there are any violations then
strictest of actions will be taken,”
said Ishwar Singh, principal chief
conservator of forests.
DCF (west) S K Muan Guite
said that the DMRC was
reminded to stop construction
work in a meeting on August 14.
“They have been intimated
several times in various notices
and restraining orders that the
area is a deemed forest and they
cannot carry out any construc-
tion work here till they obtain
necessary permissions from the
MoEF {ministry of environment
and forest} to divert the land for
the project . My staff inspected the
site and told DMRC officials to
stop the work despite which it has
come to my notice that work is
still going on,” Guite said.
Records maintained by the for-
est department show that a por-
tion of Road Number 26, where
the Metro construction activity is
currently ongoing and which
spans nearly 5.3 kms in length,
has been categorised as “deemed
forest land” by the government.
DMRC, however, said that the
exact location of the deemed for-
est land “could not be established
by the forest department”.
Guite said the identification of
the deemed forest was carried out
using satellite imagery in 2002
and the DMRC was informed of it.
In Delhi’s context, a deemed
n Vehicles burnt at a parking in Shiv Vihar have now been kept aside.
connects Shiv Vihar to these
localities, has an iron gate
installed or being installed.
“This is for our safety. We had
to erect temporary gates using
tables and wooden sticks when
rioters ran amok,” said Jeet
Chaudhary, a resident of Bhagi-
rathi Vihar.
A team of Rapid Action Force
personnel continue to patrol Bha-
girathi Vihar — one of the worst
riot-affected areas.
“The situation is under control
and there have been no incidents
in the recent past. Our teams are
deployed in the entire north-east
Delhi,” said a RAF personnel,
forest is one which is spread
across an area of at least 1 hectare
and the number of trees per hec-
tare is 250 or above.
POLICE COMPLAINT
He added that since the matter
falls under the purview of the
Forest Conservation Act, 1980,
which comes under the jurisdic-
tion of the MoEF, the department
does not have the authority to
book a case. “In this case, I have
submitted a report of the viola-
tions to the state headquarters a
few days ago. The chief conserva-
tor of forests (CCF), who is the
nodal officer {for FCA,1980},may
report the violations to the
MoEF,” Guite said.
He added that a complaint was
also sent to the local police sta-
tion.
Responding to the allegations,
DMRC, in its statement, said that
the preliminary work on the
stretch was initiated on permis-
sions from the Public Works
Department (PWD). The corpora-
tion claimed that their work is
ongoing in sections where “there
are no trees”.
“Work at the location where
trees are there shall be taken up
only after permission from Forest
Department for which applica-
tion had already been sent on
April 2018 and subsequently in
September 2019. The tree cutting
permission from forest depart-
ment is awaited,” DMRC said in
the statement.
In the response, it also
claimed: “DMRC has not dam-
aged any tree on the Vikaspuri-
Madhuban Chowk road”.
“Tree protection measures are
being taken by DMRC’s contrac-
tor at work site and the existing
trees are protected with the help
of fencing with green garden net
as per the suitability. Further,
many other utility owning agen-
cies are also working / digging on
ROW (right of way) for their
respective utilities,” it added,
passing the buck for the damage..
Ravi Agarwal, founder of envi-
ronmental NGO Toxics Link and
a former member of the Ridge
Management Board (RMB), said
DCF has the authority to stop
work and take legal action
against DMRC for continuing
work despite warnings.
“In the past, we haven’t come
across instances of the DMRC
ignoring the procedure, but if it is
happening here then it is very
much in the jurisdiction of the
concerned officer to get the work
stopped and report to the CCF
(chief conservator of forests) for
legal action,” said Agarwal.
who didn’t wish to be named.
Despite palpable tensions, sev-
eral residents said they want to
move on and that the bond they
shared with their neighbours.
even those from other faith, is
still intact.
When Manoj Kumar, 40, a gar-
ment trader, had to get repair
work done of his two-storeyed
house in Mahalaxmi Vihar near
Shiv Vihar crossing, he called
Mohd Ayub, a resident of Cha-
man Park.
“For us, nothing has changed.
We trust him and this is why we
called him to do the work,” said
Kumar.
ONE FINE DAY
n Flowers at Humayun’s Tomb complex on Monday. Delhi witnessed overcast conditions on
Monday with the IMD forecasting heavy rains from Wednesday.
Banquet hall owners suggest measures for
Covid-safe parties in meeting with Kejriwal
Sweta Goswami
n sweta.goswami@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Longer buffet layouts
with increased gap between
dishes, skip-a-seat rule during
parties to ensure social distanc-
ing, mandatory masks and stag-
gered entry of guests are some of
the suggestions offered by own-
ers of banquet halls during a
meeting with chief minister Arv-
ind Kejriwal on Monday to dis-
cuss standard operating proce-
dures (SOP) to be followed by all
such facilities in the national
Capital.
With the wedding season a lit-
tle more than month away, the
Delhi government on Monday
started drafting SOPs to be fol-
lowed by all banquet halls.
The suggestions of banquet
hall owners would be incorpo-
rated in the SOPs,which are
likely to be issued by this week,
senior government officials later
said.
Representatives of the ban-
quet halls demanded a relaxa-
tion on gatherings, which is pres-
ently restricted to 50 persons for
weddings and 20 for funerals.
“We requested the CM to relax
the number of guests at a func-
tion to 50% of the size of the ban-
quet hall. So, if a banquet hall has
a capacity of 500 people, then 250
should be allowed. The CM did
not deny the request and said it
will be considered,” said Ramesh
WAITING FOR GOVT AID
Bunny Kochar, 24, says that he
saw rioters set his pastry shop,
which he had opened two years
back, on fire. “For two days, we
kept the shutters down and tried
to protect the shop. But then, we
couldn’t do anything. Nothing
was left in this shop,” said
Kochar.
On May 27, Kochar reopened
his shop—Bunny Bakers. “Busi-
ness is gradually picking up. But
we haven’t got any compensa-
tion. I have made several rounds
to the government offices, but I
don’t know when we will get the
money,” said Kochar.
TEACHING SKILLS IN SCHOOLS
Kainat Sarfaraz
n kainat.sarfaraz@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi gov-
ernment plans to introduce
skill development activities
for its students after school
hours as a part of its effort
to improve vocational stud-
ies and increase enrolment
in higher education.
The project is a part of
the directorate of educa-
tion’s “Vision 2030” plan,
which aims to achieve mul-
tiple targets such as creat-
ing more schools of excel-
lence, teaching foreign lan-
guages, and having
connected classrooms.
Signed by the deputy
director of education
Dang, president of Delhi banquet
federation, who attended the
meeting.
A senior government official,
however, said any relaxation on
the number of people will depend
on the Centre’s Unlock 4 guide-
lines.
Dang said the SOP for banquet
halls would include mandatory
masks for all guests and staff and
frequent sanitisation of all com-
mon areas, including the
SANCHIT KHANNA/HT PHOTOS
Mehtab Qamar, 45, who had
built a house in Brij Puri using all
his savings two years back, is also
waiting for the government com-
pensation. He used to sell acrylic
sheets in a shop built under his
house. “I had left with my family
to a relative’s place in Uttar Pra-
desh 15 minutes before the rioters
entered our area on February 24.
They set my shop on fire and
attacked my house with petrol
bombs. It took us four months to
gather the courage to return back
to our home,” he said.
“We have received ~25,000 as
compensation from the govern-
ment as of now. We have been out
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
TUESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0
VIPIN KUMAR/HT PHOTO
(administration), Ram-
Chandra Shingare, the
order said the project is ten-
tatively slated to begin by
December 1. The depart-
ment’s vocational branch
has been told to decide on
the scheme by the end of
this month.
Deputy director of educa-
tion (vocational) Pramod
Katiyar has been appointed
the project’s nodal officer.
“We already have eco-clubs
in our schools. Similar
clubs will be formed for stu-
dents based upon their
interests. The vocational
subjects in the scheme will
be decided on the basis of
subjects already available
in the school,” he said.
kitchen.
“To manage the crowd better,
parking at banquet halls will
have to be streamlined. It may
now take longer for a guest to
park their vehicles since the
entry of guests at a function may
also be staggered, especially at
the time when the groom arrives
at the wedding,” he said.
During the meeting, Kejriwal
is learnt to have told all banquet
hall owners that in case Covid-19
n Iron grills have come up at several streets in north-east Delhi.
of work since February. Covid-19
has made the matters worse. We
are left with no money to restart
our business and government
compensation is the only hope,”
he said.
Despite repeated attempts,
Delhi government spokesperson
didn’t report to HT’s query
regarding disbursement of com-
pensation.
On July 21, the government
had told the Delhi High Court that
it has disbursed ~18.67 crore as
compensation to the victims of
the riots in north-east Delhi. In an
affidavit filed through its addi-
tional standing counsel Sanjoy
Ghose before a bench of Chief
Justice DN Patel and justice Prat-
eek Jalan, the government said
that it has received 3,041 applica-
tions for compensation of which
1,526 have been approved.
LOSS OF LIFE
Many families, who lost their
loved ones in the communal riots,
said the damage is “irreparable”.
Families of many such victims
have vacated their houses in the
riot-hit areas and shifted to other
parts of the city. For instance, the
family of a civil engineer Rahul
Solanki, who died in clashes, has
vacated their house near Shiv
Delhi Minorities
Commission
reconstituted
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Former municipal
councillor from Babarpur,
Zakir Khan, was nominated as
the new chairman of the Delhi
Minorities Commission on
Monday.
A Delhi government notifica-
tion issued by secretary-cum-di-
visional commissioner’s office
said that besides Khan, Kawala-
jit Singh and Nancy Barlow
were appointed as the two new
members of the commission.
The chairman and two mem-
bers of the commission will have
a three-year term as per the
Delhi Minorities Commission
Rules 2000.
The notification said the
nominations of the new chair-
man and members of DMC were
made by the Lieutenant Gover-
nor under the Delhi Minorities
Commission Act 1999.
Khan was earlier in the Con-
gress and joined the Aam Aadmi
Party ahead of the municipal
corporation elections in 2017.
cases spike again, these facilities
may be requisitioned so they can
be converted into makeshift hos-
pitals.
The chief minister also sug-
gested that the representatives
should create a common online
platform where people can get
the entire list of banquet halls in
Delhi and book according to
their choices.
“People should be able to
access the whole list of banquet
halls in Delhi. So, if they are put
on a single website or a medium,
people from other states will also
be able to book banquet halls in
Delhi and you all will get more
business. The website will be
promoted by the Delhi govern-
ment. The market, industries
and service sectors will be dis-
played on the website and the
traders, industrialists and ser-
vice sector professionals can eas-
ily take their businesses to the
global level,” Kejriwal told the
banquet hall associations.
Delhi has around 300 banquet
facilities and most of them with
multiple halls within their prem-
ises, taking the total number of
halls to over 1,000.
“I agree that an SOP must be
made and it will be done soon. I
will hold another meeting with
representatives of banquet halls
in few days to discuss environ-
mental and parking issues as
well,” Kejriwal said during the
meeting.
Vihar crossing and put it on sale.
His father Hari Singh Solanki
said it was very difficult for the
family to stay in the area where
their son was “brutally killed”.
“Living in that locality was like
reliving the same grief every day.
We decided to vacate the house
last month and shifted to some
other part of the city. We want to
sell that house now,” he said, add-
ing that his family is still waiting
for justice.
Sheruddin, a resident of old
Mustafabad, had lost his two
brothers Amir (25) and Hashmi
(19) in the violent clashes on Feb-
ruary 25. Sheruddin said his
brothers were returning from
work when a mob attacked them
near Gokulpuri. “After waiting
for 24 hours, we visited the police
station to file a missing complaint
of my brothers. Within the next
six hours we were told they were
dead. It is still difficult to believe
for the family that they both are
gone. Amir has left behind two
daughters -- 4 and 2-year-olds.
They ask about their father every
day and we have no answers to
their queries,” he said.
“It will take years to heal
the wounds and ages to heal
the hearts ravaged by hate,” he
said.
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
T UESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0 hindustantimes metro 03

Positivity rate inching Dairy trader killed in Jamia may admit

dispute over salary students on merit
up again, stands at 7.4% Shiv Sunny
n shiv sunny@hindustantimes.com

NEWDELHI:A dairy trader (45) was

murdered and dumped in a
allegedly committing the murder
have been seized by the police, the
DCP said.
Prakash, a bachelor, lived in
Najafgarh’s Dhichaon Kalan. He
Fareeha Iftikhar
n fareeha.iftikhar@htdigital.in

NEWDELHI: Jamia Millia Islamia is

COVID CASES RISING? 8.9% of samples tested on Sunday came back positive; health
minister Satyendar Jain said infection rate in the Capital is still below 10% and ‘under control’
Jamie Mullick
n jamie.mullick@htlive.com
NEWDELHI:The Covid-19 positivity
rate has started rising again in
Delhi, with 7.4% of all tests con-
ducted in the last week coming
back positive, the highest this
number has touched in over a
month, suggesting that Delhi
may be facing a fresh challenge to
control an outbreak it had con-
tained to a considerable extent.
Positivity rate — the fraction
of tests that return positive — is a
crucial metric as experts say it
shows how widespread the virus
is in the community, and when
coupled with an increase new
cases, indicates that the virus is
spreading fast.
The Capital added 1,061 new
cases and 13 new deaths accord-
ing to the government’s Monday
bulletin, taking the total number
of infections in the city to 162,527
and fatalities to 4,313, according
to Delhi government’s health bul-
letin on Monday.
In terms of the single-day posi-
tivity rate, 8.9% of samples tested
on Sunday came back positive.
This is the highest proportion in
nearly a month-and-a-half.
Around 10.3% of tests came back
positive on July 13 – when cases in
the Capital were dropping from
the peak. To be sure, single-day
positivity rates can be influenced
by low testing figures that are
generally reported on weekends.
This is why experts generally
look at average positivity rate,
which shows a clearer trend.
The developments come as the
number of daily tests in Delhi
continued their steady drop from
peak levels – 11,910 samples were
tested on Sunday, with 8,084
(67.9%) of these being antigen, or
rapid tests. Though the number
of tests generally reduces on Sun-
days and holidays, at its peak, the
n Migrant workers being tested for Covid at Anand Vihar bus terminal in New Delhi. The Capital added
1,061 new cases and 13 new deaths according to the government’s Monday bulletin.
city conducted 24,592 tests a day
on August 8. The seven-day aver-
age for tests stands at 17,985 -- off
the peak of 21,660 for the week
ending July 10.
With daily tests hitting a pla-
teau, the average positivity rate
has started inching up in the past
few weeks. The number, which
had dropped from a peak of 31.4%
in mid-June to 5.7% at the end of
July, was 7.4% in the past week –
the highest since July 19, or 36
days ago.
When asked about the positiv-
ity rate and the increasing num-
ber of infections, Delhi’s health
minister Satyendar Jain, said in
his daily media briefing that the
infection rate in the Capital is still
below 10% and “under control”.
“We see the infection rate in
ranges of 5-10%, 10-20%, 20-30%,
and so on. As on date, the infec-
tion rate is well below 10%,
whereas Delhi has also seen a
time when the infection rate had
hit 40%. The current variation of
1-1.5% we are seeing these days is
understandable and keeps hap-
pening. It is just day-to-day varia-
tion,” Jain told reporters.
According to recommenda-
tions by the World Health Organi-
zation (WHO), the positivity rate
from a region that has a compre-
hensive testing programme
should be at or below 5% for at
least two weeks before it can be
considered that the outbreak is
under control in the region. In
case the positivity rate rises,
WHO recommends increasing
testing numbers for prolonged
periods of time till the number
drops below 5%. Delhi has never
dropped below this threshold.
To be sure, Delhi has consist-
AMAL KS/HT
ently had one of the highest test-
ing rates in the country. The city
has conducted over 75,947 tests
per million residents against the
national average of 26,935.
The Capital was the first major
hot spot in the country to have
successfully reined in the out-
break last month. At the end of
June, the city was reporting over
3,400 cases every day at an aver-
age, which then dropped in the
900s in the first week of August.
But a recent spurt in cases has
meant that this number has been
steadily rising again and cur-
rently stands at over 1,300 new
cases a day. HT reported on Sun-
day that the new-case trajectory
in Delhi is currently at a month’s
high. There were 1,200 new recov-
eries reported on Monday taking
the total number of people who
have recovered to 146,588.
50-foot deep well in West Delhi’s
Najafgarh, Delhi Police said on
Monday.
The police have arrested the
assistant of the slain dairy trader
Om Prakash. The police said that
the dairy trader was murdered,
as the assistant was allegedly dis-
gruntled with him for not raising
his monthly salary.
Prakash’s decomposed body
was found in the well in an agri-
cultural field on Saturday morn-
ing, about 10 days after he was
killed and dumped.
On Sunday, the suspect,
Mohammad Tasleem, was
nabbed by the Dwarka police
authorities from Jharoda Kalan
in West Delhi, soon after he
returned from Panipat , where he
was hiding at a relative’s house,
said Anto Alphonse, DCP,
Dwarka.
“He has revealed that he killed
his employer following a heated
argument over not raising his
monthly salary,” said the DCP,
adding that a stick and a knife was
allegedly used in the murder.
The murder weapons and Pra-
kash’s motorcycle that Tasleem
had used to decamp a day after
ran a dairy business along with
his nephew, Purushottam.
“My uncle had decided to hire
a help because we were overbur-
dened. On June 23, we hired Tas-
leem, who had earlier worked at a
restaurant,” said Purushottam.
Tasleem was hired for a
monthly salary of ₹12,000, even
though he had demanded ₹15,000,
he said.
But the DCP quoted Tasleem as
saying that he was hired for
₹15,000, but was being paid ₹12,000
by Prakash who cited losses due
to the pandemic.
The monthly salary amount
became a constant source of fric-
tion between the deceased and
the arrested accused, he added.
Another argument occurred
between the duo on the night of
August 11, said Purushottam,
who had to intervene to end the
quarrel. The following morning
Prakash was found missing, said
a police officer probing the case.
“We registered a kidnapping
case and started looking for Tas-
leem and searching for Prakash,”
he added. On Saturday , Pra-
kash’s decomposed body was
found in the 50-foot deep well.
considering merit-based admis-
sions to its undergraduate and
postgraduate courses this year in
case it is unable to conduct
entrance tests due to the Covid-19
pandemic, officials familiar with
the development said.
The university hold entrance
exams for admission to 56 under-
graduate and 15 postgraduate
courses in June every year. This
year the tests have not been held
till now.
A senior official said the uni-
versity has asked candidates to
upload mark sheets of the quali-
fying exams. “We have asked
them to upload mark sheets as in
case the situation arises to take
admission on the basis of merit,
we should have all the data,” the
official said.
A circular issued by the uni-
versity’s office of controller
(examination) on August 20
asked candidates who have
already applied to upload their
mark sheets . “All aspiring candi-
dates are required to upload
mark sheets of qualifying exami-
nations, including those who
have already filled in online
forms using their login id and
password,” the circular stated.
The university’s admission
portal displays a message, saying,
“Please reconfirm that you have
filled all details properly. Merit
list would be prepared based on
the data entered by you here. No
further claims for changes will be
entertained.” Jamia media coor-
dinator Ahmad Azeem, however,
said, “No decision has been taken
yet. We have already extended
the last date to September 14 for
the submission of online applica-
tion forms for admission to vari-
ous programmes.”
Candidates expressed con-
cern. “ I scored 78% marks in
class 12 and Jamia was my only
hope since it does not consider
marks of qualifying exams . I will
have no chance to get admission
in Jamia if the merit-based crite-
ria is followed,” Kaif Jilani, a res-
ident ofBareilly, who is seeking
admission in an integrated
course of BA-LLB, said.

Yamuna moves towards warning US took cue from

mark as Haryana releases water ‘Delhi model’ in
Vatsala Shrangi
n vatsala.shrangi@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: The water level in the
Yamuna rose close to the warn-
ing level on Monday, after Hary-
ana released nearly 30,000 cusecs
of water into the Hathnikund bar-
rage in five stages starting mid-
night, flood control officials said.
The water level recorded at
Delhi’s Old Railway Bridge was
204.38 metres, flowing close to the
warning level of 204.50 metres.
This was after 5,883 cusecs water
was released from Haryana’s
Hathinikund barrage at 8am, said
officials of the Delhi govern-
ment’s Irrigation and Flood Con-
trol (I&FC) department. By 4pm,
however, the water level had
receded slightly and was at 204.30
metres.
The I&FC officials said the
water level has not risen beyond
204.38 metres since 8am and,
unless Haryana releases a high
volume of water, the level is likely
to remain below the warning
mark.
IMD has forecast very heavy
rains in northwest India includ-
ing Delhi on August 26 and 27.
Although the release of water
into the barrage every four hours
is a regular exercise, during the
monsoon, the volume is exponen-
tially higher, owing to rainfall in
the hilly regions and the accumu-
lation in the barrage.
According to flood control offi-
cials, at midnight Sunday, Hary-
ana released 3,060 cusecs of water
after which the level at the Old
Railway Bridge touched 204.25
metres.
At 4am, 3,060 cusecs more was
n A view of the swollen Yamuna river flowing under a railway bridge
near Kashmere Gate on Monday.
released and the level became
204.36 metres. Then at 8am, 5,883
cusecs was released after which
the level rose to 204.38 metres, the
closest it went to the warning
mark. At noon, 10,231 cusecs
more was released into the bar-
rage, but by then, the water level
had started receding and was
recorded 204.26 metres. At 4pm,
7,330 cusecs more was released
and the water level was recorded
at 204.30 metres.
“Water is released into the bar-
rage every four hours. On a regu-
lar basis, only 350 cusecs of water
is released. During the monsoon,
because of a higher volume of
water in the barrage coupled with
the rainfall in the hilly regions,
more water is released, which
leads to a surge in the Yamuna
SANCHIT KHANNA/HT PHOTO
level. It takes about 36 to 72 hours
for the released water to reach
Delhi. We are continuously moni-
toring the water level,” Sanjeev
Kumar, SDM (Preet Vihar) and
officer-in-charge, Flood Control.
Last year, Haryana had
released more than eight lakh
cusecs of water a day, after which
the water level had breached the
danger mark of 205.33 metres.
The river had inundated low-ly-
ing areas and evacuation and
relief operations had to be
launched by the Delhi govern-
ment. The government had
pitched over 1,300 makeshift
tents to temporarily house those
who were shifted out of flooded
areas. The water level had hit a
high of 206.60 metres, before it
started receding.
Covid fight: CM
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: Chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Monday said United
States of America (USA) adopted
convalescent plasma therapy for
treatment of critically ill Covid-19
patients based on the ‘Delhi
model’.
“They used to say, back in the
day — what America does today,
India would do tomorrow. Delhi
has changed it. Now - what Delhi
did yesterday, America does
today. Congratulations Delhiites
for achieving this for our coun-
try,” the Delhi CM tweeted on
Tuesday.
The US Food and Drug Admin-
istration (FDA) on Sunday gave
emergency authorisation for the
use of blood plasma to treat coro-
navirus patients in the country,
saying the benefits of the treat-
ment outweighed any potential
risks.
Delhi government was “the
first to seek permission for trials”
of plasma therapy in the country
in April, and the first to open a
plasma bank in India in July, the
Delhi government said in a state-
ment.
Till August 11, a total of 921
Covid-19 recovered patients had
donated plasma at the ILBS
plasma bank. The donors
included 86 healthcare workers,
209 entrepreneurs, 8 media per-
sonnel, 28 police officials, 50 stu-
dents, 32 government officials,
and 508 others like servicemen,
self-employed professionals, non-
residents of Delhi, the govern-
ment said.

Delhi court drops visa violation charges

against 36 Tablighi Jamaat foreigners
Richa Banka
n richa.banka@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Mon-
day framed charges against 36
foreigners, who had attended the
Tablighi Jamaat congregation at
Nizamuddin Markaz in south
Delhi in March, for negligence
and not maintaining social dis-
tancing norms.
It, however, dropped the char-
ges of visa violations while
observing that there is not an iota
of evidence to suggest that they
had in any manner professed or
propagated the principles
and doctrines of the Tablighi
Jamaat.
In separate orders, the court
also discharged eight foreigners,
who were charge-sheeted for visa
violations and other offences for
attending the Tablighi Jamaat
congregation, while stating that
the entire charge sheet and docu-
ments neither shows their pres-
ence or participation in the
markaz during the relevant
period.
This is the first group of people
who will walk free to their coun-
tries without any charges. Ear-
lier, 911 foreigners were allowed
by the trial court to be deported to
their native countries under the
provisions of plea bargaining,
while another 44 foreigners had
chosen to stand trial. One Malay-
sian was found to be juvenile and
his case was transferred to Juve-
nile Justice Board .
Two each from Indonesia and
Thailand and one person each
from Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria,
Kazakhstan and Jordan were set
free without standing trial.
The city police had filed 53
charge sheets against 956 other
foreign nationals belonging to 35
countries for visa violation, not
maintaining social distancing
norms and other sections of the
Epidemic Act and Disaster Man-
agement Act.
Chief metropolitan magistrate
Gurmohina Kaur, while framing
the charges, discharged the
accused from the visa violation
charges falling under the For-
eigners Act. The judge said the
statement of the police officers in
which they had alleged that the
Tablighi Jamaat people had pro-
fessed and propagated the doc-
trines of Jamaat, are general ones
and do not specifically allege the
role of the accused.
“They ( police statements) are
not putting forth the case of the
prosecution as it has not been
asserted that the foreigners who
had participated in the markaz
from March 8 to March 10 had
done so for the purpose of profess-
ing and propagating the princi-
ples and doctrines of the Jamaat.
“In fact, there is not an iota of
evidence to suggest that the
accused had in any manner pro-
fessed or propagating the doc-
trines of Jamaat or had indulged
in Tablighi work as alleged,” the
court said.
Kaur also said the charge sheet
is silent on this fact and the regis-
ter taken from markaz merely
marks the presence of the Jamaa-
tis.
The court, however, framed
charges against them for negli-
gence (269 IPC), disobedience to
order duly promulgated by public
servant (188 IPC) and relevant
sections of Epidemic Act and Dis-
aster Management Act.
04 hindustantimes
spotlight
htspotlight
7 hours of fireworks at CWC
CLOSING RANKS Four of the 23 signatories to the letter were at the
receiving end of attacks by other Congress members at the meeting
Aurangzeb Naqshbandi
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: For seven hours on
Monday, the Congress Working
Committee (CWC) meeting saw
fireworks with 48 of the 52 mem-
bers of the body coming down
heavily on leaders who signed a
letter addressed to party chief
Sonia Gandhi asking for struc-
tural changes in the internal
processes of the party.
Four of the 23 signatories –
Leader of Opposition in Rajya
Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, gen-
eral secretary Mukul Wasnik,
former Union ministers Anand
Sharma and Jitin Prasada –
found themselves at the receiving
end of attacks by other members.
These four leaders, along with
senior leaders Kapil Sibal, Man-
ish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Bhu-
pinder Singh Hooda, Prithviraj
Chavan and others -- sought a
complete overhaul of the organi-
sation, demanded formation of a
parliamentary board, and main-
tained the Gandhis will always be
an integral part of a “collective
leadership”. A Congress func-
tionary said the letter was trig-
gered by apprehension among
these leaders that the party high
command might name a third
person as the interim chief till
internal elections are held as both
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi
were said to not be keen to occupy
the post.
“They wanted to scuttle that
move and ensure that a leader
acceptable to all occupies the
post,” he said on condition of ano-
nymity.
The CWC meeting started at
11am with party general secre-
tary KC Venugopal reading out
Sonia Gandhi’s letter addressed
to him on August 20, asking him
to initiate the process to elect a
new president. Sonia Gandhi told
Azad he sent her the letter on
August 7 and then a reminder on
August 15. “It was hurtful. You
know me so well, Azad sahib.
How could you think that I will
take any decision on the leader-
ship issue without consulting
party leaders? You could always
‘VISIBLE AND ACTIVE LEADER’
Overhaul talks took place in March over dinner 3 key dissenters ‘positive’
Harinder Baweja
n Harinder.baweja@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Informal delibera-
tions over the need for reforms
within the Congress party
started at least five months ago
at a dinner hosted by Member of
Parliament Shashi Tharoor, sev-
eral Congressmen who were his
guests have confirmed to HT -- a
disclosure that highlights that
the letter sent to Congress
interim president Sonia Gandhi
by 23 leaders was in the making
for some time.
Importantly, many who were
a part of the dinner meeting have
not put their signatures to the
letter, which was addressed to
Gandhi and sent on August 7.
Prominent among those who
attended Tharoor’s dinner – but
did not sign the letter asking for
a “visible” and “active” leader –
Regional BJP leaders say Cong Official BJP line: It’s
top posts reserved for family Cong’s internal issue
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
BHOPAL: The opposition Bharatiya
Janata Party leaders took a dig at
the Congress saying the top post
in the party is reserved for “Gan-
dhi family” members and the
Congress leaders re-imposed
their faith in the leadership of
interim president Sonia Gandhi
and former chief Rahul Gandhi.
The comments came during
the seven-hour-long virtual Cen-
tral Working Committee (CWC)
meeting on Monday, in which
party leaders asked Sonia Gandhi
to continue for another six
months. Gandhi asked the CWC
to start the process to elect the
new president.
Madhya Pradesh chief minis-
ter Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a
jibe at the Congress high com-
mand on Monday saying all the
posts in the Congress are
reserved for a family whereas an
ordinary party worker in the BJP
can become an MLA, MP, chief
minister and even Prime Minis-
ter. He said this while addressing
a gathering of the BJP workers in
their programme in Gwalior on
Monday during the party’s mem-
bership drive in Gwalior-Cham-
bal region.
“Congress leaders don’t have
come and meet me. I retired long
ago. I don’t want to hang on to this
chair. So what’s the motive of this
letter?” a CWC member quoted
her as having said at the meeting.
Rahul Gandhi questioned the
timing of the letter. “It was writ-
ten at a time when my mother was
in hospital and you attacked her
when she was at her weakest and
also when the party was vulnera-
ble, fighting the BJP [Bharatiya
Janata Party] in Madhya Pradesh
and Rajasthan,” the CWC mem-
ber quoted him as having said.
“Challenging her authority
and talking about the collective
leadership was an insult to her. I
never wanted her to be the Con-
gress president. She too didn’t
want to become again,” Rahul
Gandhi was quoted as saying.
Rahul Gandhi also asked Azad
how the letter was reported in the
press when the covering note said
there was only one copy handed
over to the Congress president
and all other copies destroyed.
Party treasurer Ahmed Patel
criticised the dissenters. Naming
Azad, Wasnik and Sharma, he
said they were occupying key
posts in the party and should not
have written such a letter.
“I had advised you not to write
any letter and told you that we
will go and meet Sonia Gandhi
personally, but you still went
ahead. Do you want Sonia Gandhi
to sit at home? Are you doing any
favour to the Gandhis by saying
they too will be part of the collec-
tive leadership? One may be
angry over certain decisions in
the party but that doesn’t mean
you start writing letters. I too am
out for the last three years but
that is okay,” Patel said.
Patel also told Sharma that he
should have realised what he was
writing when he drafted the let-
ter. “You are talking about collec-
tive leadership. When you met
Baba Ramdev at the airport, did
you go after consulting the then
Prime Minister (Manmohan
Singh) and the Congress presi-
dent (Sonia Gandhi)?” Patel said.
Sibal along with Pranab Mukher-
jee had met Ramdev at the Delhi
airport in June 2011 to dissuade
after Sonia’s statement
MANY WHO WERE
A PART OF THE DINNER
MEETING HAVE NOT
PUT THEIR SIGNATURES
TO THE LETTER
TO SONIA GANDHI
SENT ON AUGUST 7.
are former Union minister P Chi-
dambaram, his son Karti Chi-
dambaram, Sachin Pilot,
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and
Mani Shankar Iyer.
Singhvi confirmed his pres-
ence at the dinner. “I was invited
to the dinner by Shashi Tharoor
at a day’s notice. There was an
informal discussion on the con-
structive issue of reforms within
the party. Subsequently, I was
not informed about the formula-
Congress leaders
› don’t have courage to
hear truth. Sycophants are
considered as loyal and
those who tell truth are
considered as traitors
SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN ,
Madhya Pradesh CM
courage to hear truth. Syco-
phants are considered as loyal
and those who tell truth are con-
sidered as traitors”, said Chou-
han, while referring to a letter
written by some Congress leaders
to Sonia Gandhi asking for
restructuring of the party.
“When Jyotiraditya Scindiaji
raised voice for justice to people
he was accused of colluding with
BJP. In the same way, the senior
Congress leaders like Kapil Sibal
and Ghulam Nabi Azad are being
accused when they are demand-
ing a full-fledged president in the
Congress. No one can save such a
party”, said Chouhan.
However, Scindia refused to
comment saying that the rum-
bling in the Congress was its
internal matter.
Madhya Pradesh home minis-
ter Narottam Mishra said the
him from launching a fast during
an agitation against corruption.
Former PM Manmohan Singh
urged Sonia Gandhi to continue
on the post till Rahul Gandhi
becomes the president.
Former defence minister AK
Antony said if Sonia Gandhi was
unwilling then Rahul Gandhi
should take over. “Weakening
the high command is weakening
the party. How can my colleagues
write such a letter? This is cruel
and unfortunate.”
Party general secretary
Ambika Soni demanded action
against the 23 leaders. She said
when the party can take action
against block and district leaders
for indiscipline why can’t it do the
same against these leaders.
Wasnik insisted he was a party
loyalist and would never go
against the Gandhi family.
“I owe a lot to Sonia Gandhi.
How can anyone say that we did it
when she was in hospital? I wish
her a long life. Nobody can ques-
tion my loyalty to the Congress
party. I am ready to face any
action.”
Sharma said the letter is not
against the Gandhis but only
seeks to point out to certain
issues in the Congress. “I joined
the Congress at the age of 18 years
and will die as a Congressman.”
When Azad was explaining the
reason behind the letter, Con-
gress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir
Ranjan Choudhary intervened
and said “You are making lame
excuses and defending the inde-
fensible”. At this point, Sonia
Gandhi asked Adhir to switch off
his mike and not speak out of
turn.
Prasada said he was ready to
accept the CWC decision and
whatever action it takes against
him. “We had flagged certain
organisational issues and in no
way it was against the Gandhis.”
Former Union minister RPN
Singh praised Sonia Gandhi for
being available 24x7 to guide the
party during Jharkhand elec-
tions. “We won the elections. Sec-
ondly, I want to tell all CWC mem-
bers that we should all learn poli-
tics from Sonia Gandhi.”
tion of the letter, at any stage,” he
told HT.
Chidambaram said he did not
want to comment on “party
affairs”. Pilot, only last month,
led a revolt against Rajasthan
chief minister Ashok Gehlot,
before returning to the party
fold, after a meeting with Rahul
Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra, and did not comment on
the matter. Tharoor did not
respond to calls and messages
seeking comment.
Mani Shankar Iyer was more
forthright , saying, “I did not sign
[the letter] because I was not
asked to. Nobody approached
me.” Of the dinner in March, Iyer
said, “There was a general dis-
cussion to revive the party and
the need to go back to our secular
credentials. There was a sugges-
tion, which nobody opposed, of
the need to send a letter. Nobody,
“Congress was like a school
where only headmaster’s child
tops the class”. Former Union
minister and BJP leader Uma
Bharti said the Congress needs a
grassroot leader like Mahatma
Gandhi if it wants to revive.
Hours before the CWC’s meet-
ing state Congress president
Kamal Nath and Rajya Sabha
member Digvijaya Singh, both
former chief ministers of Madhya
Pradesh, sought to throw their
weight behind the leadership of
Congress president Sonia Gandhi
in a series of tweets late night on
Sunday. Several Congress lead-
ers asked Sonia Gandhi to con-
tinue as party president.
Jharkhand Congress presi-
dent Dr Rameshwar Oraon in a
letter to Sonia Gandhi requested
her not to resign from the post of
the party president.
Rajasthan chief minister
Ashok Gehlot earlier in the day
had expressed faith in leadership
of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and
said the party could not survive
without them.
Former Karnataka chief min-
ister Siddaramaiah wrote to
Sonia asking her remain as party
president and convince Rahul
Gandhi to take up the party’s top
post if her health does not permit
to continue in her role.
n Congress leaders KC Venugopal (right) and Randeep Singh Surjewala addressing a press conference at
the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi on Monday.
WHO SAID WHAT
“You know me so well, [Ghulam
Nabi] Azad sahib. How could you
think that I will take any decision
on the leadership issue without
consulting party leaders? I
retired long ago. I don't want to
hang on to this chair. So, what's
the motive of this letter?”
Urged Sonia Gandhi
to continue
on the post
till a new
president is
elected.
Manmohan
Singh
“How can my
colleagues write
such a letter? This is
cruel and
unfortunate.”
— AK
Antony
Demanded action against dissenting leaders.
— Ambika Soni
however, approached me after
that dinner.”
The Congress Working Com-
mittee (CWC), the party’s high-
est decision-making body, dis-
cussed the controversial letter
signed by the leaders at a mara-
thon session on Monday -- and
then decided to maintain status
quo, although there was talk that
she would now be assisted by a
committee for the next six
months till a meeting of the All
India Congress Committee
(AICC). The CWC resolution,
however, made no mention of a
committee.
One Member of Parliament,
who is a signatory to the letter
and was also at Tharoor’s din-
ner, said on condition of ano-
nymity that he signed because he
believes that there is an urgent
need for reforms within the Con-
gress. “It is about issues, not per-
Smriti Kak Ramachandran
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) on Monday
refrained from making any com-
ment on the developments as far
as the Congress Working Com-
mittee’s (CWC) meeting was con-
cerned.
At the meeting of the Con-
gress’s highest decision-making
body, differences among the top
brass of the Congress emerged,
after reports surfaced over the
weekend that at least 23 leaders
wrote a letter to interim party
chief Sonia Gandhi seeking an
overhaul of the organisation.
Several BJP leaders, how-
ever, said that the sparring at the
CWC showed the lack of internal
democracy within the 134-year-
old party.
“Whatever is happening is an
internal matter of the Congress
party and the BJP would not like
to comment on it. However, the
statements that are emerging
from the CWC prove the pseudo
internal democracy in the
party,” said Sanjay Mayukh, a
BJP spokesperson.
At the meeting, which was
called to discuss the churning
that is taking place after a sec-
tion of leaders sought a change in
ARVIND YADAV/HT PHOTO
He questioned the timing of the
letter written by dissenters. He
said the letter was written at a
time when the Congress president
was ill and attacked her when she
was at her weakest and when the
party was vulnerable, fighting the
BJP in MP and Rajasthan.
— Sonia Gandhi
“Do you want Sonia Gandhi to sit at home? Are
you doing any favour to the Gandhis by saying
they too will be part of the collective
leadership?”
— Ahmed Patel
“I am ready to
“I owe a lot to
accept the
Sonia Gandhi.
decision of
How can
the CWC in
anyone say
letter and
that we did it
spirit and
when she was in
whatever action it takes.
hospital? I wish her
We had flagged certain
a long life. Nobody
organisational issues and
can question my
in no way it was against
loyalty to the Congress
the Gandhis.”
party.”
— Mukul Wasnik — Jitin Prasada
sonalities. The Gandhis and
other senior leaders should read
the message and not shoot the
messenger. We have put our
names to the letter because we
believe that we need to reform.
There is no cloak and dagger
here.”
The letter represented the
first direct questioning of the
Gandhis. The party has faced
revolts in the past but no one
from within has challenged the
authority of Sonia Gandhi since
Sharad Pawar’s revolt in 1999.
The larger point made at the
end of the day, after the long
meeting of the CWC, was the
need for the party to stay united.
It will be of little comfort to the
Gandhis that there are many
within the fold who did not put
their signature to the letter but
are in favour of seeing a
reformed Congress.
leadership, differences came to
fore. A section of leaders, who
support Sonia, trained their
guns on the letter-writers.
Former party president Rahul
Gandhi, who represents Kerala’s
Wayanad in the Lok Sabha,
called the letter ill-timed.
Another BJP spokesperson,
Tom Vadakkan, who had joined
the party after quitting the Con-
gress and was considered close
to the Gandhi family, said the
developments at the CWC indi-
cated that internal strife was
now in the public domain.“As a
member of the BJP, I would not
want to comment about the
internal affairs of the Congress
party. However, as a former Con-
gressperson, I can say that the
mirror has cracked, and it is all
out in public domain.”
Vadakkan also said that
though the Congress refers to
internal democracy and speaks
about holding elections, it is only
a ruse. “They talk about elec-
tions but they are never fair,
there is always back-door man-
agement,” he said.
Finally, after a seven-hour-
long meeting, the CWC decided
that Sonia Gandhi will continue
as the party’s interim president
and effect necessary organisa-
tional changes.
— Rahul Gandhi
Made it clear that
the letter was not
directed against
Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi as
“misconstrued” and
alleged by some
people. Azad said
the letter was
written to urge the
Congress president
to discuss and
consult with them
before
appointing
somebody
to the post
of president.
— Ghulam
Nabi Azad
Sunetra Choudhury
letters@hindustantimes.com
n
NEW DELHI: Three key signatories
of a controversial letter asking
for structural changes in the
Congress appeared to strike a
conciliatory note on Monday,
welcoming a statement by
interim Congress chief Sonia
Gandhi about bridging internal
differences, and her decision to
remain at the helm until the next
party president is appointed.
Senior Congress leaders Kapil
Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Mukul
Wasnik and Manish Tewari -- all
among 23 leaders who signed the
letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi
-- met at the residence of Leader
of Opposition in Rajya Sabha,
Ghulam Nabi Azad, late on Mon-
day evening after an acrimoni-
ous seven-hour-long Congress
Working Committee (CWC)
meeting.
Sibal told HT that he wanted
to be briefed on the meeting,
which only four of the 23 leaders
-- including Wasnik and Azad --
attended by virtue of being CWC
members.
”Mrs Gandhi made a very
good statement. It is a very, very
thoughtful gesture on her part, “
Sibal said, referring Sonia Gan-
dhi’s statement at the CWC meet-
ing that the letter should be
treated as a part of the past.
“We are a large family, we
have differences on many occa-
sions but in the end, we come
together as one. The need of the
hour is to fight for the cause of
the people and forces that are
failing this country,” Sonia Gan-
dhi said, according to party’s
chief spokesperson, Randeep
Singh Surjewala.
Azad also reacted positively.
“The outcome is very good’’ said
Azad, ”She has decided to stay on
till an AICC session is called to
choose the next Congress Presi-
dent.’’
”We are heading in the right
direction,’’ said Congress MP
Vivek Tankha, who had also
signed the letter.
But a fourth Congress leader,
who asked to not be named, disa-
greed. “This letter is not the end,
it’s the beginning- at the CWC,
you are trying to shoot the mes-
senger. But we are only there to
raise issues,” he said, referring
to the criticism directed at the
letter’s signatories during the
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
TUESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0
n Congress leader Kapil Sibal listed his acts of loyalty to the party.
Ghulam Nabi Azad also clarified Gandhi’s statement.
Sibal withdraws
statement after
Rahul calls him
Saubhadra Chatterji and
Aurangzeb Naqshbandi
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The intense drama in
the virtual Congress Working
Committee (CWC) meeting on
Monday spilled over into the
public domain when, reacting to
a tweet by Congress veteran
Kapil Sibal, former party presi-
dent Rahul Gandhi called him
personally to deny remarks
attributed to him.
It was preceded by a bit of
friction between Sibal and the
Congress chief spokesperson
Randip Surjewala, who rejected
allegations that Rahul Gandhi
accused some seniors of “col-
luding” with the ruling Bharat-
iya Janata Party (BJP) during
the high-voltage CWC discus-
sions.
According to party functiona-
ries, minutes after Sibal’s tweet,
Rahul Gandhi came to know of
it. And soon after, Sibal received
a call from Gandhi’s key aide,
Kanishka Singh. According to
people close to Sibal, he con-
veyed his anguish to Singh, and
soon after, Gandhi left the CWC
meeting to call Sibal and cate-
gorically told him that he made
no such comments.
“Sh. Rahul Gandhi hasn’t
said a word of this nature nor
alluded to it. Pl. don’t be mislead
by false media discourse or mis-
THE LEADERS WHO
SIGNED THE LETTER —
WHO WANT ELECTIONS
AT ALL LEVELS OF
THE CONGRESS
ORGANISATION AND
CONSULTATIONS ON
KEY ISSUES — ARE
WAITING TO SEE IF THEIR
SUGGESTIONS ARE
TAKEN ON BOARD
CWC meeting.
For now, said one person
aware of developments, the 23
leaders have decided to adopt a
“wait and watch’’ approach.
The leaders who signed the
letter -- who want elections at all
levels of the Congress organisa-
tion and consultations on key
issues -- are waiting to see if their
suggestions are taken on board,
said the person quoted above.
Rahul Gandhi has suggested a
mechanism to help the Congress
president which may include
appointing members to a parlia-
mentary board to advise the
president, or picking vice-presi-
dents.
THREE LETTERS?
Although only one letter asking
for an overhaul in party proc-
esses -- which HT hasn’t seen,
and which has only partially
been reported by the media --
triggered an internal tussle in
the Congress, HT has learnt that
the signatories of the first letter
may have written at least two
more. The first letter -- it may
have up to 100 signatories but
only 23 of whom are known,
according to a second person
aware of developments-- was
sent to Sonia Gandhi on August
9, and then a second was sent to
her on August 17 as a reminder.
This person quoted above said
that a third letter was written to
an external party, and it raised
“legal issues” with the function-
ing of the Congress and its adher-
ence to its own internal rules and
guidelines. Sibal refused to com-
ment on this issue.
The repeated letters was one
of the key reasons that Sonia
Gandhi was upset with the signa-
tories, said the second person
quoted above.
PTI FILE
information being spread,” Sur-
jewala replied to Sibal on the
microblogging site even when
the meeting of the top executive
body was underway.
Sibal quickly withdrew his
online statement. “Was
informed by Rahul Gandhi per-
sonally that he never said what
was attributed to him. I there-
fore withdraw my tweet,” he
announced on Twitter.
Leader of the Opposition in
the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi
Azad clarified later in the day
that Rahul Gandhi never stated
those who wrote the letter were
colluding with or doing so at the
behest of the BJP.
“Rahul Gandhi at no point of
time inside the Congress Work-
ing Committee (CWC) or outside
it has said that the signatories to
the letter were doing it at the
behest of the BJP. This is a
totally wrong thing which has
been attributed to Rahul Gan-
dhi,” Azad told HT.
In his tweet earlier in the day,
Sibal, listed his acts of loyalty to
underline that in his 30 years in
the Congress, he had never
made a statement in favour of
the BJP on any issue.
He pointed out how he “Suc-
ceeded in Rajasthan High Court
defending the Congress Party”,
and he is “Defending party in
Manipur to bring down BJP
Govt”.
“I have no grudge against
those who have written about
problems but I am pained by it
appearing in the media,” Sonia
Gandhi said at the meeting
To which Azad, the first of the
letter writers to speak at the
meeting, said, “Leaks are a prob-
lem with politicians. Whether it
is Indira’s [former PM Indira
Gandhi] cabinet, [former PM]
Narasimha Raos or UPA’s
[United Progressive Alliance],
cabinet notes have routinely
been leaked.’’
He went on to add, “There are
four of us here at the meeting and
despite Vengugopal ji (the gen-
eral secretary organisation)
instructing all to leave their
phones, everyone outside knows
what we have said here.”
Former Congress spokesper-
son Sanjay Jha, who first hinted
at a letter written by dissenters
last week, suggested that inter-
nal decisions of the party can
face a legal challenge.
”The INC Constitution is clear
under Sec 18 (H) that all deci-
sions taken by the CWC must
happen under a freshly elected
AICC or else it will be unconsti-
tutional and illegal. If any viola-
tion occurs they can be chal-
lenged. They will be chal-
lenged,’’ Jha tweeted on Monday
morning.
According to the Congress
party’s constitution, section 18 H
says, “In the event of any emer-
gency by reason of any cause
such as the death or resignation
of the President elected as above,
the senior most - General Secre-
tary will discharge the routine
functions of the President until
the Working Committee
appoints a provisional President
pending the election of a regular
President by the AICC.’’
A Congress MP, who is also a
signatory in the letter, said that
according to these provisions of
the Congress, the CWC’s deci-
sions were now without legal
validity.
But a senior leader of the Con-
gress dismissed this stand and
asked why four signatories of the
letter were participating in the
CWC meeting if there were
doubts about its legal veracity.
“Since last year, there have
been four CWC meetings. Why
didn't they point this out in
there?’’he asked, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
T UESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0
NEWS
Letter-writers may have
lost upper hand after leak
CWC MEETING Resolution adopted later chides attempts to ‘undermine’ the party leadership
Saubhadra Chatterji
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Senior Congress lead-
ers who called for an overhaul of
the party organisation may
have aimed at exposing how
Rahul Gandhi’s loyalists were
allegedly trying to run the
party, but a leak of the letter
they wrote to Sonia Gandhi
turned the tables. They lost the
advantage they gained at a July
30 meeting with Sonia Gandhi
and Rajya Sabha members of
the party.
Their key demand this time,
according to the letter, was for a
“full-time and effective” leader-
ship that is “visible” and
“active”.
Signatories to the letter,
including Ghulam Nabi Azad
and Anand Sharma, came under
intense attack from colleagues
at Monday’s meeting of the Con-
gress Working Committee
(CWC), which ended with the
party reaffirming its faith in the
leadership of Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi.
A resolution adopted by the
CWC, too, contained a sharp ref-
erence. “No one will be or can be
permitted to undermine or
weaken the party and its leader-
ship at this juncture,” the reso-
lution said.
Senior leaders who were sig-
natories to the letter cited sev-
eral reasons why they had been
“compelled” to write it, includ-
ing difficulties in getting
appointments with the party’s
top brass.
One leader said on condition
of anonymity that in the inter-
nal WhatsApp group of Con-
gress leaders, any suggestion
shortstories
DRDO CHIEF
GETS 2-YR
EXTENSION
NEW DELHI: The Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet on
Monday approved the extension
of Defence Research and Devel-
opment Orgamisation (DRDO)
chief G Satheesh Reddy’s term by
two years. The Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet has
approved the extension of
Reddy’s tenure as the DRDO
chairman and as the Secretary of
the Department of Defence
Research & Development
(DoDRD) for two years beyond
August 26, a statement said.
Earlier, Reddy was the scientific
adviser to the defence minister, a
charge he was given in June 2015.
He is a specialist in avionics and
missile systems.
PIL TO REBUILD
RELIGIOUS PLACES
DISMISSED IN SC
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Monday refused to entertain a
plea seeking a direction to the
Centre and the Telangana govern-
ment to reconstruct the religious
structures which have been razed
during the demolition of the old
Secretariat building in Hyderabad.
The Telangana government has
decided to demolish the old
Secretariat for constructing the
new one in Hyderabad and in the
process, two mosques and a
temple have been razed, the plea
said. “The prayer is misconstrued
under Article 32 (under which a
plea is directly moved to the apex
court for protection of funda-
mental rights),” said the SC bench.
1 dead, 50 trapped in building collapse
Shalaka Shinde
n letters@hindustantimes.com
PUNE : A five-storey building col-
lapsed in Mahad town of Maha-
rashtra’s Raigad district on Mon-
day evening with over 50-70 peo-
ple feared trapped under the
debris, officials said. At the time
of going to press, the administra-
tion confirmed one person died in
the incident. The rescue opera-
tion was underway.
The building in Kajalpura area
of Mahad collapsed around 7pm.
According to Raigad district col-
lector Nidhi Chaudhary, about 25
persons were rescued. “Based on
preliminary information, I can
tell you that there were more
than 40 flats in the building,
which is around 10 years old. Ini-
tially, the top three floors of the
building collapsed...,” Chaud-
hary told HT over phone.
She promised an investigation
to find out what led to the col-
lapse. “Monsoon and flooding
cannot be given as a reason as the
building’s ground and first floors
are intact... whoever is guilty will
be punished,” she added.
While three teams of the
National Disaster Response
n Congress leaders attend the Congress Working Committee’s virtual
meeting, in New Delhi on Monday.
FOLLOWING A DEMAND
FOR A ‘FULL-TIME AND
EFFECTIVE’ LEADERSHIP,
SIGNATORIES TO THE
LETTER SUCH AS
GHULAM NABI AZAD
AND ANAND SHARMA
CAME UNDER
INTENSE ATTACK
for a review of the party’s func-
tioning or detailed discussions
are met with attacks by at least
two MPs.
He added that some leaders
have also wondered why one
general secretary, considered to
be close to Rahul Gandhi, is
present in several key panels.
He did not name the leader.
Some senior leaders were
Letter written to Sonia being
misconstrued, says Azad
Aurangzeb Naqshbandi
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI:Leader of Opposition in
the Rajya Sabha and senior Con-
gress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad
said on Monday that a letter
signed by him and 22 other party
leaders was being misconstrued
because only parts of the docu-
ment, addressed to interim party
chief Sonia Gandhi, were out in
the public domain.
Speaking to HT after an acri-
monious Congress Working
Committee (CWC) meeting, he
also clarified that the letter,
which criticised the party’s func-
tioning and called for more trans-
parent internal processes, was
not against Sonia Gandhi or
Rahul Gandhi.
“What I said at the working
committee meeting was that
unfortunately most of the people
have not seen the full text of the
letter. Because in the leak, which
is unfortunate, only some portion
of the letter has come out. With-
out going into the full text of the
letter, some of our Congress col-
leagues yesterday said that this
was being done at the behest of
the BJP. I have said that if any of
those people and leaders will
prove that it was done at the
behest of the BJP, I will resign. In
that context, I said that I will
resign if they prove it and I did not
ask Rahul Gandhi to prove that. I
have not resigned,” he said.
In the letter, Azad and others
sought a complete overhaul of the
n A five-storey building collapsed in Raigad district of Maharashtra on Monday.
Force (NDRF) from Pune were
dispatched for Mahad — around
170 kilometres from Mumbai —
the local administration and resi-
dents swing into rescue and evac-
uation work.
Union home minister Amit
Shah tweeted, “The collapse of a
building in Raigad, Maharashtra
is very tragic. Have spoken to DG
NDRF to provide all possible
assistance, teams are on the way
and will be assisting with the res-
cue operations as soon as possi-
ANI
also got frustrated at the delay
in shuffling state organisations.
“Many key appointments are
held back. There is no clarity on
how the organisation was work-
ing and there was no consulta-
tion with senior leaders,” said a
signatory to the letter.
But while this section was
successful in getting their
agenda discussed in the meet-
ing, several party insiders said
the letter turned the tide against
them.
They added that the group of
veterans who wrote the letter
had the upper hand three weeks
ago when they united, appar-
ently to safeguarding former
Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh’s legacy after Congress
MP Rajiv Satav called for intro-
spection on the second term of
the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government.
organisation, including full-time
president, a parliamentary board
if a someone outside the Gandhi
family became the party chief and
collective leadership.
Azad had sent the letter to
Sonia Gandhi on August 9 and
then a reminder on August 17,
after which Sonia Gandhi wrote
to party general secretary
in-charge of organisation, KC
Venugopal, to begin delibera-
tions to put in place a process to
elect a new president. Azad read
the letter out at the Congress
working committee meeting on
Monday.
Azad said there were rumours
for the past one month that Rahul
Gandhi did not want to return as
Congress president and that
Sonia Gandhi did not want to con-
tinue as the party’s interim chief
beyond August 10, when she com-
pleted her one-year term.
There were also suggestions
that Sonia Gandhi might appoint
somebody to the post and the let-
ter was written in that context, he
told the CWC.
Azad said the letter was writ-
ble. Praying for everyone’s
safety.”
Following the incident, chief
minister Uddhav Thackeray
spoke with Mahad legislator Bha-
rat Gogawale and collector
Chaudhary. He assured them of
all possible support for the speedy
rescue and relief work.
“Work is underway to evacu-
ate the occupants of the crashed
building at Mahad. I am keeping
a close eye on all these defenses.
We are trying to set up a system
hindustantimes 05
But their attempt to “reform”
the organisation is being seen as
a sign of revolt against the Gan-
dhi family members -- a charge
the seniors vehemently deny.
UPA ministers Shashi Tha-
roor, Anand Sharma, Milind
Deora, Manish Tewari (all
among the 23 signatories to the
letter to Sonia Gandhi) were
vocal on Twitter to defend the
UPA’s achievements.
Anand Sharma, a minister in
the UPA regime, wrote 11 tweets
to remind colleagues that “hon-
est introspection” was always
helpful and “Congressmen must
be proud of UPA’s legacy.”
Sharma cautioned young
leaders: “No party disowns or
discredits its legacy. Nobody
expects the BJP to be charitable
and give us credit but our own
should respect and not forget”
its legacy.
Milind Deora invoked Man-
mohan Singh’s words—history
will be kind to me—to say:
“Could he have ever imagined
that some from his own party
would dismiss his years of ser-
vice to the nation & seek to
destroy his legacy - that, too, in
his presence”.
While Manish Tewari, who
had lashed out at Congres MP
Rajiv Satav also spoke out
strongly. “
BJP was out of power for 10
years. Not once did they ever
blame Vajpayee or his govern-
ment for their then predica-
ments. In @INCIndia unfortu-
nately some ill–informed would
rather take swipes at Dr. Man-
mohan Singh led UPA govt than
DIP/SHABDARTH/D/0031/20-21
fight NDA/BJP. When unity
reqd (required) they divide,” he
tweeted.
Without going into the
› full text of the letter,
some of our Congress
colleagues yesterday said
that this was being done at
the behest of the BJP
GHULAM NABI AZAD , Cong leader
ten to urge the Congress presi-
dent to discuss and consult with
them before appointing some-
body to the post. Should a third
person be appointed to the top
post he or she has to do certain
things such as form the parlia-
mentary board, be active and
have collective leadership, he
told the CWC.
Azad further said the letter
was actually dos and don’ts for
the third person and that they
should be consulted before
appointing anybody because of
the importance of the position of
party president.
Addressing a news conference
at the party headquarters in
Delhi after the meeting, Venugo-
pal said Azad told him that “all of
them are part and parcel” of the
CWC resolution, which noted,
among other things, that inner-
party issues cannot be deliber-
ated through the media or in pub-
lic fora. “The CWC urges and
advises all concerned to raise
such issues only in party fora in
the interest of propriety and dis-
cipline,” the resolution read.
HT PHOTO
for this,” tweeted Sunil Tatkare,
the Lok Sabha MP from Raigad.
Around seven earth moving
machines were pressed into ser-
vice to remove the debris.
“My information is there were
47 flats in the building, which
housed around 150 people. How
many were inside the building
when it collapsed is still
unkown,” said Aditi Tatkare,
Raigad district’s guardian minis-
ter.
(With inputs from Mumbai)
06 hindustantimes
HTSPOTLIGHT
SC: NEET aspirants stuck
abroad can be brought back
VANDE BHARAT Close to 4k students in the Middle East plan to appear for the test this year
Abraham Thomas
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI:The Supreme Court on
Monday asked the Centre to
ensure that Indian students in the
Gulf who have to appear in the
September 13 National Eligibility
Cum Entrance Test (NEET) are
allowed to travel to India by spe-
cial flights operating under the
Vande Bharat Mission to bring
home Indians stranded abroad.
Close to 4,000 students in the
Middle East who have to appear
in NEET for admission to medical
and dental courses had pinned
their hopes on a petition in the
Supreme Court filed by a social
worker, Abdul Azeez.
The petition filed on behalf of
21 such students demanded open-
ing of NEET examination centres
in Dubai, Doha and Qatar, as has
been done by the National Test-
ing Agency (NTA) for holding the
Joint Entrance Examination
(JEE) for admission to engineer-
ing schools every year. Azeez’s
demand was rejected by the Ker-
ala high court on June 30 and the
top court was hearing an appeal
against the decision.
Both the NTA and the Medical
Council of India (MCI) were
opposed to setting up examina-
tion centres abroad. An MCI affi-
davit stated that holding the
examination in different time
zones will compromise the uni-
formity of the NEET examina-
600k tests on Sunday, lowest in 2 weeks
Rhythma Kaul
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: India’s daily testing for
the coronavirus disease (Cov-
id-19) dropped sharply on Sun-
day, as 609,917 tests were con-
ducted, the lowest in two weeks,
according to data from the Union
ministry of health and family
welfare. The daily testing count
was around 200,000 fewer than
that of the previous day.
Sunday’s was the lowest test
count since August 10, when
477,027 tests were conducted.
Sunday’s numbers are what
India was testing around first
n A protest for postponement of NEET in Lucknow on Monday.
tion.The Centre had submitted
that the time was too short to con-
sider the request of the petitioner;
the process of identification of
exam centres, appointment of
invigilators, and transport of
question papers requires careful
planning and execution. The gov-
ernment was also concerned
about possible leakage of ques-
tion papers as it would not have
any control over the examination
centres abroad.
The bench of justices L Nages-
wara Rao, Hemant Gupta and S
Ravindra Bhatt asked solicitor
general Tushar Mehta to consult
the concerned government
departments and ensure the
overseas students appearing for
NEET are allowed to travel by the
Vande Bharat special flights.
Before the Kerala high court, the
ministry of external affairs had
week of August, when about
550,00-600,000 tests were per-
formed in a day. On Saturday,
801,147 tests were conducted
across 1,515 Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR)-ap-
proved laboratories in the coun-
try. Last Friday, India had
achieved a milestone, when it had
conducted a million tests. On
average, the country has been
conducting 850,000 tests per day
over the past week.
ICMR officials said that during
weekends the number of swab
samples that arrive for testing is
usually lower, but the rising aver-
age daily tests in the past three
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
TUESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0
CORONAVIRUS: NATION
THE SPREAD OF COVID-19
Total confirmed cases including new cases added on August 24 New cases Recovered cases
UT J&K
33,075
Punjab
428 25,205
UT Ladakh
2,330
Himachal Pradesh
51 1,517
Arunachal
Pradesh
3,263
2,297
0
43,284 1,505 28,357 5,101 100 Sikkim
are you not having NEET online 3,584
when JEE is online and can be Haryana 1,446 43 934
written from examination cen-
55,460 1,074 45,405 Chandigarh Assam
tres abroad. There are a number
of students in the Gulf, Singapore 3,035 117 1,646 90,740 1,272
DELHI
and Malaysia appearing for 70,900
NEET. Why can’t you think of 162,527 1,061 Uttarakhand
something for next year? It will 146,588 15,529 405 Nagaland
avoid troubles for so many people 10,912
studying abroad.” MCI counsel
Rajasthan 3,714 28
71,955 1,346 2,396
Gaurav Sharma told the bench Uttar Pradesh
that he will convey the suggestion 56,600
to the Board of Governors of MCI.
192,382 4,601 Meghalaya
Less than 20 days remain for Gujarat 140,107 1,976 59
the NEET examination and for 87,846 1,222 789
ANI those students in the Gulf who 70,250
have to appear in both NEET and Manipur
Madhya Pradesh
stated that students are eligible
to take Vande Bharat flights.
JEE, it will be a hard choice,
Beeran said. “Nearly 60% of stu- 54,421 1,292 I N D I A 5,362 116
41,231 3,713
The petitioner represented by dents writing NEET have to
advocate Harris Beeran also appear in JEE as well. This exam-
Tripura Mizoram
sought a relaxation in the 14-day ination will be held online and off- Dadar & Nagar Haveli 918 0
mandatory quarantine period. line from September 1 to 6. If they 2,161 41 1,753 8,917 200
The bench refused, saying, “We manage to take a flight after this, 6,341 459
are afraid such a direction cannot there is hardly a chance for them Chhattisgarh West Bengal
be made as it involves public to appear for NEET in India.” The Bihar
health of citizens pertaining to bench understood the predica- 21,732 961 13,424 123,383 1,227 141,837 2,967
state governments.” ment of such students, but 101,362 111,292
Beeran pointed out that in Ker- refused to pass an order because Maharashtra
ala, the quarantine period has no student faced with such a situ- Jharkhand Andaman
693,398 11,015 31,118 940
been extended to 28 days. At his ation appeared before the court.
502,490 and Nicobar
request, the bench allowed the Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief 21,025 2,860 52
petitioner to approach the state Minister Mamata Banerjee on Telangana
government, seeking a relaxation Monday appealed to Prime Minis- Odisha 1,963
in the quarantine period. ter Narendra Modi to postpone 106,091 1,842 82,411 81,479 2,949
The bench favoured having the JEE and NEET exams due to 56,925
Goa
online examination for NEET
beginning next year in order to
avoid hassles for students faced
the prevailing COVID-19 situa-
tion, saying lives of students
should not be put at risk by taking
14,138 139 10,909
Andhra Pradesh
361,712 8,601 3,162,570
Total cases in India*
with similar situation in the such “unilateral and bureau- 268,828
future. The bench told MCI, “Why cratic decisions”. Karnataka
283,665 5,851 197,625 Puducherry
10,859 337 6,942 58,532
Kerala Tamil Nadu
Deaths due to Covid-19
Cases being
weeks are a pointer towards
progress being made in the
first Covid-19 test on January 23
at ICMR’s National Institute of
59,504 1,242 38,883 385,352
*Data compiled by covid19india.org and cross-checked from inputs by HT’s correspondents and news agencies. 'Cases reassigned
to states' is as per data released by the MOHFW. This figure has not been included in the calculation for the daily new cases.
5,967 325,456
0 reassigned
to states
aggressive testing mechanism Virology in Pune, has conducted
put in place across the country. 3,590,213 tests till date.
“On weekends and public holi- Some experts say that the
days, the number of samples get-
ting tested usually goes down a
focus should be on increasing the
real time Reverse Transcription-
coronanotes
bit. There could be several rea- Polymerase Chain Reaction
sons, including fewer swab sam- (RT-PCR) testing as that is recog- SC REFUSES TO CANCEL MAHA CET EXAMS K’TAKA JUNKS MANDATORY QUARANTINE
ples being collected and reduced nised as the gold standard of test- NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to cancel the Maharash- BENGALURU: Following the Unlock-3 guidelines of the Centre, Karnataka has
work shifts of laboratory techni- ing. “RT-PCR has higher sensitiv- tra Common Entrance Test (MHT CET) for admission to engineering courses. removed the registration on the Seva Sindhu portal as well as medical
cians. It doesn’t mean that the ity which means it is more relia- A plea was moved by two students demanding that admissions this year be check-ups at the border as well as hand stamping and quarantine require-
country’s testing capacity has ble, and that is what is required to conducted based on their Class 12 examination scores. The order was passed ments which were mandatory for travellers coming into the state. In an
reduced. The daily testing count know the exact disease burden by a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy. The petitioner order issued by the additional chief secretary, health and family welfare
is only going to increase from when dealing with a pandemic,” represented by advocate Shivaji M Jadhav cited the rising number of Jawaid Akhtar, the state government said that if an interstate traveller is
here on,” said an ICMR official, said Dr VK Monga, chairperson Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra to claim that holding the examinations posed asymptomatic they can report to work or perform their activities in the state
requesting anonymity. of the Indian Medical Associa- a risk to students. without any requirement of 14 days of home quarantine.
India, which had conducted its tion’s Hospital Board of India.
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HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
T UESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0 hindustantimes 07
NEWS

Questions remain over
success of LPG scheme
Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa
500-bed hospital
under PM Cares
opened in Patna
Haryana CM, speaker test
Covid+ve ahead of session
using LPG for cooking. (See
Ruchir Kumar
n letters@hindustantimes.com

PATNA: The 500-bed makeshift

Covid Care Hospital at Bihta in
Pawan Sharma
n letters@hindustantimes.com

CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief min-

n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: Poor targeting, or ben-
efits reaching undeserving recip-
ients, has been among the most
common criticisms of welfare
programmes in India. The adop-
tion of JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-
Mobile) trinity was supposed to
get rid of this problem. An HT
analysis of unit level data from a
2018 National Statistical Office
(NSO) survey shows that at least
one of the government’s flagship
welfare schemes, the Pradhan
Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY),
has successfully addressed the
challenge — and excluded unde-
serving beneficiaries.
However, this has not helped
the scheme in achieving its end
objective, which is to get house-
holds to shift to less polluting
methods of cooking. The reason,
ironical as it may sound, is to be
found in the scheme’s successful
identification of beneficiaries. A
large number of them are so poor
that they cannot afford to buy liq-
uified petroleum gas (LPG) cylin-
der refills. The experience of
PMUY offers potential insights
into what the next level of welfare
challenges — in this case, for
instance, the state may have to
incur recurring expenses rather
than one-time transfers.
The PMUY scheme was aimed
at achieving a shift from polluting
to cleaner methods of cooking. It
has overshot its target of giving 80
million free LPG connections.
Chart 2)
The share of beneficiaries not
using LPG for cooking increases
down the economic ladder. The
fact that almost 70% of PMUY
beneficiaries are from the bottom
40% of the households, shows the
scheme has been remarkably
successful in reaching poor
households. (See Chart 3)
How difficult can it be for the
poor to buy an LPG refill? Accord-
ing to a December 2019 audit
report by the Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG) of India
on PMUY, the market price of
LPG refills (14.2 kg cylinders)
varied between ₹500 and ₹837
during the period from April 2016
to December 2018 in India’s four
metro cities. The 2018 NSO sur-
vey findings show that the aver-
age monthly per capita expendi-
ture (MPCE) of the poorest 20%
households in India was ₹1,065.
This means a cylinder refill cost-
ing ₹500 would comprise nearly
half of a household’s MPCE. The
same refill would comprise only
about a tenth of the average
MPCE of the richest 20% house-
holds (₹5,543). The cost of a non-
subsidised LPG cylinder in Delhi
is ₹594 right now. Even though
PMUY and subsidised LPG con-
sumers receive a subsidy on
refill, they have to make the full
payment upfront before the sub-
sidy amount is transferred back
to them. The high cost of gas
refills, the CAG report said, has
become a constraint in ensuring
MPCE group*
ister Manohar Lal Khattar, Vid-
had tested positive for the coro-
navirus disease.
More than 350 employees of
the Vidhan Sabha were tested for
the infection on August 22 in
Patna, funded under the PM han Sabha speaker Gian Chand view of the monsoon session of
What Ujjwala achieved
CARES (Prime Minister’s Citi- Gupta and two Bharatiya Janata the assembly.
zen Assistance and Relief in Party (BJP) legislators tested The Vidhan Sabha premises
and what it did not Emergency situations), was
opened to public on Monday aft-
positive for the coronavirus dis-
ease (Covid-19) on Monday,
will be out of bounds to all,
including the lawmakers, until
CHART 1 PMUY connections have driven the ernoon. ahead of an assembly session they have a Covid-19 negative
growth in domestic LPG customers Union minister of state for scheduled for 2pm on August 26. report that is not older than
New domestic LPG customers (in million) PMUY beneficiaries Others home affairs, Nityanand Rai, Both Khattar and Gupta n Manohar Lal Khattar. three days, according to the reg-
inaugurated the hospital in tested positive for Covid-19 in a ulations in place.
48 presence of Bihar health minis- span of about seven hours, said Ratia member of legislative Informing about his Covid-19
ter Mangal Pandey. officials. Khattar announced assembly (MLA) Lakshman positive status, Khattar wrote on
“PM-CARES Fund Trust has that he has tested positive for Napa and Indri MLA Ram his Twitter handle : “I was tested
124.7 decided to allocate funds for Covid-19 through a tweet in the Kumar Kashyap tested positive for Novel Corona Virus today.
99.3 fight against COVID-19 by way evening, while Gupta’s test for Covid-19 on Monday, while My test report has returned posi-
of establishment of 500-bed report was made public early in BJP’s Ambala City legislator tive. I appeal to all colleagues
50.4 COVID-19 makeshift hospitals the afternoon. Aseem Goel had tested positive and associates who came in my
363
200.3 155.7 at Patna and Muzaffarpur, Deputy speaker Ranbir for the virus on August 21. Goel is contact over last week to get
82.6 Bihar, by DRDO. This will go a Gangwa will preside over the currently in home quarantine. themselves tested. I request my
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 long way in improving COVID assembly proceedings in Gupta’s Another BJP MLA, Mahipal close contacts to move into strict
care in Bihar,” the official Twit- absence. According to Vidhan Dhanda, of Panipat Rural con- quarantine.”
CHART 2 43% PMUY beneficiaries not using ter handle of Prime Minister’s Sabha secretary RK Nandal, stituency, who had tested posi- Last week, on Thursday,
LPG for cooking office posted. speaker Gupta informed him on tive for Covid-19 early this Khattar went into self-isolation
Earlier, in mid-July, a Cen- telephone on Monday that he month, recovered last week, after Union water resources
Fuel used by PMUY LPG Firewood, chips Dung Others tral team had cautioned the had been declared Covid-19 posi- while MLA Subhash Sudha, of minister Gajendra Singh She-
beneficiaries (%) & crop residue cake state on hospital infrastructure tive. Thanesar constituency, had con- khawat and a few officials posted
and suggested setting up tempo- “Therefore, under Article 180 tracted the infection a month ago at the CM’s residence in Chandi-
Total rary field hospitals, taking into (2) of the Constitution of India, in and recovered. garh had tested positive for coro-
consideration the Covid-19 case the absence of Speaker of the On Monday, three employees navirus. Khattar had met She-
growth trajectory for at least the Assembly, deputy speaker of the — a sweeper, cook and room khawat iin Delhi to hammer out
Rural
next two months. assembly shall act as Speaker,” attendant — posted at Haryana a solution to resolve the SYL
“A similar hospital at Muzaf- Nandal said in an order. MLAs hostel in Chandigarh also canal logjam.
Urban farpur is expected to be ready by Until Monday evening, three tested positive for the coronavi- Khattar underwent another
August 30,” said Bihar’s princi- BJP MLAs, excluding the CM rus disease. On Sunday, six Vid- test on Monday, the fifth day
0 20 40 60 80 100 pal secretary, health, Pratyaya and speaker, were Covid-19 posi- han Sabha employees, including after his meeting with Shekha-
Amrit. tive. speaker Gupta’s political aide, wat.
CHART 3 Beneficiaries in poorer households
less likely to cook with LPG
IN BENGAL
% distribution PMUY beneficiaries Beneficiaries not cooking with LPG
Poorest 20%
30.4
38.2
43.9 Tribal woman gang-raped over relationship
Poorer

Data from the petroleum minis- sustained usage of LPG. 30.7

try shows that as on April 1, 2020,
there were 80.2 million PMUY
connections in India. The data
also shows that in the last four
years, PMUY connections
account for 71% of growth in total
domestic LPG connections in the
country. (See Chart 1)
This success however has not
helped the PMUY achieve its
stated goal. A unit level analysis
of data from the 76th round of the
76th round of the National Sam-
ple Survey conducted by the
National Statistical Office (NSO)
across more than 100,000 house-
holds in 2018 shows that 43% of
PMUY beneficiaries were not
To be sure, beneficiaries under
the PMUY scheme could also opt
for a 5 kg cylinder in place of a
routine 14.2 kg cylinder. The gov-
ernment also allowed swapping
the bigger cylinder with the
smaller one to make it easier for
consumers to get a refill. But the
CAG audit found that till Decem-
ber 2018, only 16,032 connections
with 5 kg cylinder were released
and oil companies were able to
convert nearly 76,000 connec-
tions from bigger to smaller cyl-
inders, totalling about 92,000 con-
nections which was a meagre
0.24% of the PMUY connections.
The audit report said insufficient
Middle
Richer 10
7.7
Richest 20% 2.8
0.6
steps were taken to encourage
consumption of the 5 kg cylinder.
In order to ensure 100% LPG
coverage in India – not only by the
number of households covered
but also by the number of house-
holds actually using it – it is
important to make it easier for the
country’s poor to buy a refill. This
will require spending more on
18.6
17.1
* Households by Monthly Per Capita Expenditure;
Source: 76th round of National Sample Survey;
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
LPG subsidies. The government
in March this year announced
three free refills for the scheme’s
80 million beneficiaries to cope
with the economic pain of the
Covid-19 lockdown. Data on
refills during this period will indi-
cate how beneficial this was in
increasing LPG usage in the
country.
Tanmay Chatterjee
n tanmay.chatterjee@hindustantimes.com
BIRBHUM: A 30-year-old tribal
woman, a widow with two chil-
dren, was allegedly gang-raped
in the early hours of August 19
in the Mohammad Bazar area of
West Bengal’s Birbhum district
because she defied the residents
of her village and had a relation-
ship with a man from a non-
tribal community.
The woman and the man were
allegedly made to face trial at a
kangaroo court that asked them
to pay a fine of ₹10,000 and
₹50,000 respectively, residents
said. Instead of paying the
money, the woman went to the
police and filed a complaint.
“All five men named in the
FIR {first information report}
have been arrested for rape. We
are conducting an investigation
into the alleged kangaroo court
as well,” Subimal Paul, addi-
tional superintendent of police
(headquarters), Birbhum dis-
trict, said on Monday afternoon.
In her police complaint, the
woman said that a religious rit-
ual took place in her village on
August 18 and on that afternoon
she and the man were forcefully
locked up inside a community
club and beaten up when they
were caught together on the
road.
Hours later, in the early
hours of the next day, five men
took her to a desolate place and
took turns in raping her, the vic-
tim alleged. She and her partner
were released on the morning of
August 19. In her complaint the
woman, however, did not men-
tion the kangaroo court.
Police arrested all the five
accused between Friday and
Sunday. One of them is an eld-
erly leader of the local tribal
community. The Suri court on
Sunday remanded them in
police custody for a week.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) alleged that the incident
had once again exposed how
unsafe women are in West Ben-
gal.
“There are numerous inci-
dents that the media never
comes to know of. In many cases
the rape victims are too scared
to lodge a complaint. Also, Kan-
garoo courts are quite common
in rural Bengal because the rul-
ing Trinamool Congress
encourages its workers to take
the law in their hands,” said
Bengal BJP general secretary
Sayantan Basu.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT

(Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India)
INVITATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR
EMPANELMENT FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) intends
for empanelment of suitable candidates to be engaged as
Young Professionals on contract basis.
Interested candidates may refer to NIDM’s website
www.nidm.gov.in for detailed advertisement and
application form.
The last date of receipt of applications is 14.09.2020.
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08 hindustantimes HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
TUESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0

DELHI JAL BOARD, DELHI SARKAR

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SOUTH)-I
OPPOSITE J-BLOCK MARKET, SAKET, NEW DELHI-110017
NIT NO. 09/(S-I) (2020-21)
ÀãÓ›Èãè¾ã £ãÆìÌããè¾ã †Ìãâ Ôã½ãì³ãè ‚ã¶ãìÔãâ£ãã¶ã ‡ãñŠ¶³ S. Name of work Estimated Date of release Last date/time
NATIONAL CENTRE FOR POLAR & OCEAN RESEARCH No. cost of tender in of receipt of
Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804 e-procurement tender through
solution e-procurement
Notice Inviting Tender solution
1. Replacement of damaged/rusted up 350mm 1,65,70,856/- 2020_DJB_193788_1 16.09.2020 upto
dia sewer pumping main from SPS C-9 Vasant 24.08.2020 3.00 PM
ESSO-National Centre for Polar & Ocean Research, Goa invites sealed Kunj to STP Vasant Kunj under EE(South)-I
tender for “Development of lawn and maintenance of garden/lawn of NIT along with all the terms & conditions is available on Web https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in
NCPOR”. Kindly visit NCPOR web site http:/www.ncpor.gov.in or
ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) (Satish Kumar)
Central Public Procurement portal http://eprocure.gov.in for detailed Advt. No. J.S.V. 131/2020-21 EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SOUTH)-I
tender document.
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(S. Anoop)
Advt. No: †¶ãÔããè¹ããè‚ããñ‚ããÀ/19/2020 Administrative Officer

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AF½FV¹FIY ÀFc¨F³FF AF½FV¹FIY ÀFc¨F³FF
d½FÄFF´F³F ÀFa.-25/2020, d½FÄFF³F E½Fa ´FiF½F`d²FIYe d½F·FF¦F, d¶FWXFSX IZY A³°F¦FÊ°F SXFþIYe¹F Ad·F¹FaÂF¯F d½FÄFF´F³F ÀFa.-26/2020, d½FÄFF³F E½Fa ´FiF½F`d²FIYe d½F·FF¦F, d¶FWXFSX IZY A³°F¦FÊ°F SXFþIYe¹F Ad·F¹FaÂF¯F Government of Jammu and Kashmir
¸FWXFd½FôF»F¹FûÔ ¸FZÔ ÀFWX-´FiF²¹FF´FIY, B»FZ¢MÑXeIY»F E¯OX B»FZ¢MÑXFGd³F¢ÀF Baþe. IZY IbY»F 17 (ÀF°FSXWX) ´FQûÔ ´FSX ¸FWXFd½FôF»F¹FûÔ ¸FZÔ ÀFWX-´FiF²¹FF´FIY, AÀF`d³FIY Ad·F¹FaÂF¯F IZY IbY»F 120 (EIY ÀFü ¶FeÀF) ´FQûÔ ´FSX d³F¹Fd¸F°F Office of the Executive Engineer, Jal Shakti PHE, Ground Water Division,
d³F¹Fd¸F°F d³F¹Fbd¢°F WZX°Fb ÀFb¹Fû¦¹F CX¸¸FeQ½FFSXûÔ ÀFZ d½FdWX°F ´Fi´FÂF ¸FZÔ AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F AF¸FadÂF°F dIY¹FZ þF°FZ W`ÔXÜ d³F¹Fbd¢°F WZX°Fb ÀFb¹Fû¦¹F CX¸¸FeQ½FFSXûÔ ÀFZ d½FdWX°F ´Fi´FÂF ¸FZÔ AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F AF¸FadÂF°F dIY¹FZ þF°FZ W`ÔXÜ Bagh Ali Mardaan Nowshera, Srinagar Kashmir
2. AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F ´FÂF ·FSX³FZ ÀFZ ÀFa¶Fad²F°F d°Fd±F E½Fa A³¹F d³FQZÊVF d³F¸³FFadIY°F W`ÔX:- 2. AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F ´FÂF ·FSX³FZ ÀFZ ÀFa¶Fad²F°F d°Fd±F E½Fa A³¹F d³FQZÊVF d³F¸³FFadIY°F W`ÔX:-
Gist of e-Tender
1. SXdþÀMÑmXVF³F (´FaþeIYSX¯F) IYe d°Fd±F 25.08.2020 ÀFZ 11.09.2020 °FIY 1. SXdþÀMÑmXVF³F (´FaþeIYSX¯F) IYe d°Fd±F 25.08.2020 ÀFZ 11.09.2020 °FIY NIT No: -PHE/GWDS 17 of 08/2020 Dated: 22.08.2020
2. ´FSXeÃFF VFb»IY ·Fb¦F°FF³F IYSX³FZ IYe Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F 16.09.2020 °FIY 2. ´FSXeÃFF VFb»IY ·Fb¦F°FF³F IYSX³FZ IYe Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F 16.09.2020 °FIY For and on behalf of Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir e-tenders are invited in 02 Cover System for Construction of
Exploratory Test Bore Well and Construction of production tube well for successful exploration at the following location/site from
3. AFG³F»FFB³F AF½FZQ³F ·FSX³FZ IYe Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F 23.09.2020 °FIY 3. AFG³F»FFB³F AF½FZQ³F ·FSX³FZ IYe Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F 23.09.2020 °FIY registered water well drillers/contractors as per the details given in tender document.
4. AF¹Fû¦F IYF¹FFÊ»F¹F ¸FZÔ À´FeOX ´FûÀMX/d³F¶Fad²F°F OXFIY 30.09.2020 IZY A´FSXFWÐX³F 05.00 ¶FþZ 4. AF¹Fû¦F IYF¹FFÊ»F¹F ¸FZÔ À´FeOX ´FûÀMX/d³F¶Fad²F°F OXFIY 30.09.2020 IZY A´FSXFWÐX³F 05.00 ¶FþZ S. Site Cost of Cost of Estimated Time of Validity of Programme
ÀFZ AF½FZQ³F IYe WXFOÊX IYFG´Fe E½Fa ÀF·Fe ´Fi¸FF¯F-´FÂF °FIY No. Tender EMD Cost completion Rates
ÀFZ AF½FZQ³F IYe WXFOÊX IYFG´Fe E½Fa ÀF·Fe ´Fi¸FF¯F-´FÂF °FIY Document
´FiF´°F WXû³FZ IYe Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F ´FiF´°F WXû³FZ IYe Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F 1. Construction of Production Tube Rs. 3000/- Rs. Rs. 126.90/- 2 Months 180 Days Languishing
³FûMX-1: dþÀF d°Fd±F IYû SXdþÀMÑmXVF³F dIY¹FF ¦F¹FF W`X CXÀFIYe A¦F»Fe d°Fd±F IYû ´Fc½FFÊWÐX³F 11:00 ¶FþZ IZY ¶FFQ Wells within the premises of W.S.S 253800/- Lacs
³FûMX-1: dþÀF d°Fd±F IYû SXdþÀMÑmXVF³F dIY¹FF ¦F¹FF W`X CXÀFIYe A¦F»Fe d°Fd±F IYû ´Fc½FFÊWÐX³F 11:00 ¶FþZ IZY ¶FFQ AIIMS Awantipora (4 No’s).
´FSXeÃFF VFb»IY IYF AFG³F»FFBʳF ·Fb¦F°FF³F IYSX³FZ IZY d»FE AF½FZQIY IYû d»FaIY CX´F»F¶²F WXû¦FFÜ ´FSXeÃFF VFb»IY IYF AFG³F»FFBʳF ·Fb¦F°FF³F IYSX³FZ IZY d»FE AF½FZQIY IYû d»FaIY CX´F»F¶²F WXû¦FFÜ Position of Funds:- Available
³FûMX-2: dþÀF d°Fd±F IYû ·Fb¦F°FF³F dIY¹FF ¦F¹FF W`X CXÀFIYe A¦F»Fe d°Fd±F IYû ´Fc½FFÊWÐX³F 11:00 ¶FþZ IZY ¶FFQ ³FûMX-2: dþÀF d°Fd±F IYû ·Fb¦F°FF³F dIY¹FF ¦F¹FF W`X CXÀFIYe A¦F»Fe d°Fd±F IYû ´Fc½FFÊWÐX³F 11:00 ¶FþZ IZY ¶FFQ Critical Dates/Information.
AF½FZQIY IYû AFG³F»FFBʳF Application Form ·FSX³FZ IZY d»FE d»FaIY CX´F»F¶²F WXû¦FFÜ A·¹F±FeÊ AF½FZQIY IYû AFG³F»FFBʳF Application Form ·FSX³FZ IZY d»FE d»FaIY CX´F»F¶²F WXû¦FFÜ A·¹F±FeÊ 1 Publishing Date 24.08.2020
dQ³FFaIY- 16.09.2020 °FIY d³FdV¨F°F øY´F ÀFZ ·Fb¦F°FF³F IYSX »FZÔÜ dQ³FFaIY- 16.09.2020 °FIY d³FdV¨F°F øY´F ÀFZ ·Fb¦F°FF³F IYSX »FZÔÜ 2 Period of Downloading of Bids 24.08.2020 (9.00 A.M) to 02.09.2020 (4.00 P.M)
3. CX´F¹FbÊ¢°F d½FÄFF´F³F IZY ÀFa¶Fa²F ¸FZÔ d½FÀ°FÈ°F ÀFc¨F³FF/d½F½FSX¯Fe/þF³FIYFSXe E½Fa AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F ·FSX³FZ WZX°Fb 3 Period of Submission of bids 24.08.2020 (9.00 A.M) to 02.09.2020 (4.00 P.M)
3. CX´F¹FbÊ¢°F d½FÄFF´F³F IZY ÀFa¶Fa²F ¸FZÔ d½FÀ°FÈ°F ÀFc¨F³FF/d½F½FSX¯Fe/þF³FIYFSXe E½Fa AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F ·FSX³FZ WZX°Fb 4 Date of opening of Tender. 03.09.2020 at (11.00 A.M)
d³FQZÊVF AF¹Fû¦F IZY ½FZ¶FÀFFBÊMX www.bpsc.bih.nic.in ´FSX ´FiQdVFÊ°F W`XÜ d³FQZÊVF AF¹Fû¦F IZY ½FZ¶FÀFFBÊMX www.bpsc.bih.nic.in ´FSX ´FiQdVFÊ°F W`XÜ 5 Tender Receiving Authority: Executive Engineer PHE Ground Water Division Srinagar.
4. A·¹F±FeÊ AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F ·FSX³FZ IYe ´FidIiY¹FF ´FiFSX¸·F IYSX³FZ IZY ´Fc½FÊ ½FZ¶FÀFFBÊMX ´FSX ´FiQdVFÊ°F d½FÀ°FÈ°F 4. A·¹F±FeÊ AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F ·FSX³FZ IYe ´FidIiY¹FF ´FiFSX¸·F IYSX³FZ IZY ´Fc½FÊ ½FZ¶FÀFFBÊMX ´FSX ´FiQdVFÊ°F d½FÀ°FÈ°F 6 Document Cost: Rs. 3000/= (Three thousand only) (Non-Refundable) in the shape of Treasury Challan/receipt deposited
d½FÄFF´F³F E½Fa AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F ·FSX³FZ WZX°Fb AF½FV¹FIY E½Fa d½FÀ°FÈ°F d³FQZÊVF IYF ·F»Fe-·FFhd°F A²¹F¹F³F IYSX d½FÄFF´F³F E½Fa AFG³F»FFBʳF AF½FZQ³F ·FSX³FZ WZX°Fb AF½FV¹FIY E½Fa d½FÀ°FÈ°F d³FQZÊVF IYF ·F»Fe-·FFhd°F A²¹F¹F³F IYSX to Account Head 0215 in favour of Executive Engineer PHE Ground Water Division Srinagar (at Saddar Treasury Srinagar)
on account of (The firm shall specify the name of work for which apply)
»FZÔ¦FZÜ »FZÔ¦FZÜ 7 Earnest Money: for an amount shown in Gist of NIT against each well tender in the shape of CDR/FDR pledged to
ÀFa¹Fb¢°F ÀFd¨F½F-ÀFWX-´FSXeÃFF d³F¹FaÂFIY ÀFa¹Fb¢°F ÀFd¨F½F-ÀFWX-´FSXeÃFF d³F¹FaÂFIY Executive Engineer PHE Ground Water Division Srinagar 190011.
d¶FWXFSX »FûIY ÀFZ½FF AF¹Fû¦F, ´FMX³FF d¶FWXFSX »FûIY ÀFZ½FF AF¹Fû¦F, ´FMX³FF 8 Bid Validity Period: 180 Days
Executive Engineer
Jal Shakti PHE Ground Water Division
DIPK-4462-20 Srinagar

EMPLOYMENT
ACADEMIC
MOUNT ABU Public School, Pkt-H,
Sec-18, Rohini. Req. PGT- Physics
(Part Time),Nursery Trained Teacher
with overall 5yr of Teaching Exp.
with min. 2yr as Coordinator In
Reputed School. Applicant Email
Resume: maisdelhi@gmail.com
REQD TRAINED (Female) PGT-Bio,
Phy, Maths. TGT-Maths, Sci, Eng.
PRT & PTI (M/F). N.S. Public School,
E-3B, Sec-26, Noida. Cont. Between
9-11am. E-mail nsps26@yahoo.in
REQD. TGT (Art, Skt, Sci & Maths),
PRT, PET for Anand Vidya Bharti
Public School, Sangam Vihar,
ND-80. #9868513274, 9958317825,
Em: chambialedusoc4@gmail.com
ACCOUNTS/FINANCE
WANTED ACCOUNTANT for
Garment Export House With Min
Exp. 5 Yrs In Export Documentation,
Accounting & Filing Returns.
Send CV: kdc.designs@gmail.com
REQD. GRADUATE Office Asstt.
Know Billing, Banking/Office Work
& 5 yrs Exp. Driver. Age 25-35 yrs.
9 am to 8.30 pm. Nearby 3 KM,
Mundka Metro st. Interview Wed.
to Sat. 3.00 to 5.00 pm. Mourya
Industries, 52/9 near M R Bharti
Public School, Mundka, Delhi-41 Em:
info.mouryaindustries@gmail.com
REQUIRED, ACCOUNT Asst with
Knowledge of Tally. Rotary Blood
Bank Gurgaon. Apply & Send CV EM:
hr@rotarybloodbankgurgaon.in,
Whatsup : 9015415514
CA FIRM Required Experienced
Accountant Minimum 3 years Exper-
ience in CA Firm, Salary 20K-30K at
Pitampura Contact 01147089996,
E-mail: chartered.aac@gmail.com
NEW DELHI
TUBERCULOSIS CENTRE
Jawaharlal Nehru Marg,
New Delhi-110002
(Grantee Institute under Ministry
of Health & Family Welfare)
RECRUITMENT NOTICE
Applications are invited
for the posts
ACCOUNTANT (1- General)
on regular basis. Grade :
Level 6 (Rs.35400 -112400),
Qualification: Commerce
Graduate, Experience : 5
Years after graduation as
accounts assistant.
1. Detailed information is
available on Centre's website
(www.ndtbc.com)
2. Applications in prescribed
format should reach to the
office of Director on or before
07.9.2020. DIRECTOR
GYNAECOLOGIST WITH Ultra-
ACADEMIC
REQD RECEPTIONIST with Com-
ACCOUNTS/FINANCE
REQUIRE CHARTERED Account-
ant with 5years Post Qualification
Experience at a reputed company.
Call on 9711142506, 7678134378
Email: topline2007@yahoo.com
EXPD. ACCOUNTANT Tally
knowledge Good Handwriting for
Thailand. DM International Pvt. Ltd.
100 Vaishali, Pitampura, Delhi. #
8595110247 E: atin1987@gmail.com
REQUIRED ACCOUNTANT,
10 years experience, must
know finalisation of Balance sheet,
filing of GST, TDS n Income Tax
Returns. Mail with details-
sid5171@hotmail.com and
basicfour@gmail.com
SALES & MARKETING
MNR BEARING Co. Req Sales Rep-
resentative for Marketing Bearing &
Auto Parts Del/NCR & Tour all over
India.Comp knwldge 2-3yrs #98110-
08007,rawelrajindustry@yahoo.com
GOLD EXPERT Req. Gold Valuer
for Gold buying Comp. & Gold Sales
Ex.M/F for cash for Gold Rohini, Sha-
hdara, Noida, Indrapuram,Gurugram
Laxmi Ngr,Best Salary #9891013846
COMPUTER/IT
FEM. COMPUTER Optr cum Acco-
untant for a transport co. office at
Karol Bagh. Min exp. 3-4 yrs. Age 24
to 28 good looking # 7982921692
Email: kldelhi@kedialogistic.com
ENGINEER/
PROD/TECHNICAL
MILESTONES ENGINEERING
Requires Electrical Engr for
Projects, Qualification: B Tech/
Diploma with 6-10 Yrs. Experience.
Apply at: hrd@milestonesindia.com
REQ TECHNICAL Support Co-ordi-
nator for UPS. Min. 2 years experie-
nce in UPS co-ordination with clien-
ts. B.E. Electrical/Electronics. 9899-
036600 Em: hemant@maxxups.com
MEDICAL ARCHITECT
sonology Exp. Certificate Or Ultra-
ARCHTRL / Int. firm Reqs. M-Tech
Strctrl Eng., Int. Dsgnrs, M-arch,
sonologist (Qlfd for PNDT work) Req. 3D/ VFX Dsgnrs -illstrtr- Visualisors,
for running Hospital at Bulandsha- Steno -off Crdntrs, Mstr Planners.
har.Cont.11am to4pm #9997297229 9540900010, hr@100solutions.in
plete Knowledge of Computer Work RECEPTIONIST
for Day & Night Shifts at: Lotus Hos-
pital: WZ-409A, Hari Nagar,opp DDU
Hosp., 9717852790 (10AM to 5PM)
REQ. COMPUTER Literate Female
office assistant cum receptionist for
a Publishing Company. Cont 88106-
91156 B/W 11am-3pm, Need Prak-
ashan 219,Jamrudpur, GK-1, ND-48
LADY RECEPTIONIST, m/f
Customer Care Exe. & two Office
Asstt. req. Graduate with min
2 yrs exp. Apply Email:
bestol@rediffmail.com
STENO−TYPIST/
OFFICE ASST
URG. REQ. Bilingual (Eng. & Hindi)
Part time Stenographer. the person
should be highly proff. in English
& Hindi Stanography & Typing.
Salary Negotiable # 9810118163.
EXPORT HOUSE JOBS
REQDUIRED CAD Designer & 3D
Visualizer Who has 2-3years of
Experience in Product Development.
Knowledge of some 3D software is
must." Send CV to :
somnathd@masomexglobal.com
REAL ESTATE
Female
Customer Relation
Officers
For 33 yrs old Real Estate Co.
Self motivated,
ambitious, dedicated &
soft spoken graduates
with impressive
communications to
deal with HNI Clients /
High Value Property
Deals. Salary 20-25K +
attractive incentives.
(Immediate Joining)
Walk-in 11:30 – 4:00PM
Mukul Consultants Group
311/90, Mansarover Bldg.
Nehru Place, New Delhi-19
mahesh_md@hotmail.com
PART TIME JOB
REQ. PART time Computer Optr. to
Assist Retd. Economics Prof.for writ-
ing Articles & Books material who
resides in Keshavpuram- Delhi 35.
Interested Person Cont. 9899094117
JOB ONLINE- Req-Manager Direct-
Fixed+PF+Med+Benefits+Inc10Lac
+Tour -Retd/ House wife's, CA, Dr,
Bankers,B'man, Tr Age30-80.Edu+2
Dr Anil 8447044787, 7011255248
DESIGNERS
REQUIRES MALE /Female DTP
Operators Expert in Corel &
Photoshop for Reputed advt agency
in East Delhi. Attractive Salary
Contact: 9818413844, 9810414409.
GENERAL MULTIPLE
MEDIA VACANCIES
GENERAL MULTIPLE
VACANCIES
FEMALE OFFICE executive reqd.
for a Logistics Company in South
Del. good salary. please send your
resume with photography at: admin
@swiftpackersandmovers.co.in
REQUIRE UNDERWRITING /
Operations Staff with experience on
Microsoft Word&Excel with 5 at a re-
puted company.E: topline2007@
yahoo.com #9711142506,7678134378
FIELD/ DELIVERY Boy with own
bike/ scooty, Peon/ Office Boy,
Dispatch Clerk & a lady Peon req.
Apply Email: macnitech@gmail.com
REQD MALE/FEMALE Model
coordinator for advertising Agency.
Minimum Exp. of 3 to 5yrs. Interest-
ed candidate may Call #8882562069
Email: humhain2020@gmail.com
REQ. EXP. Printing Supervisor,
Sales Exec, Sr. Accountant (F)
Accountant cum Clerk(F). Shruti
Printers B-27/2, Jhilmil Ind Area,
Delhi-95 # 9210620472.
REP. LED Lighting Mfg.Co.reqd. ERP
S/W Data entry Optrs (Purchase,
Production, Store)/Service & Quality
engrs. Glow Green 14/8, site 4, Sahi-
babad indl. Area # 9205892477/78.
BUSINESS
LIFT CHAIR Stair Climber Battery
Powered Imported Wheelchair Helps
Nurse Take 130kg Disabled Up Stairs
Price One Lakh Thirty Five thousand,
CPAP S9 RESMED Sleep Apnea
Machine Contact (M) +919311867548
CHANGE OF NAME
I, VINAY Kant S/O, R. P. Choudhary
R/o D-63,g-3&4,dilshad Cly,delhi
have changed my name to Vinay
Kant Choudhary for all purposes.
I, V Anbarasi W/O, C Venkatesa
Perumal R/o Army Hospital (r & R)
Delhi Cantt-10 have changed my
name to A Anbarasi for all purposes.
I HAVE changed my name Sonu
Kumar to Saransh Singh for all fu-
ture Purposes. Saransh Singh S/o
Surajmal R/o Vill. Atarpura Block
Khatauli Distt. Muzaffarnagar
I, AJAY Kumar Mazumder S/O,
Partosh Kumar Mazumder R/o 415
B/5 First Floor Right Side, Govind
Puri Kalkaji, New Delhi-110019 have
changed my name to Ajay Kumar
Majumdar
I, GARIMA Chhikara, residing at
#A1001, PARK VIEW SPA NEXT,
SECTOR 67, GURGAON, have changed
my minor son's name from AARIN
CHHIKARA to AARIN SINGH vide
affidavit: G0Y2020G1099 Dt:
25/07/2020 sworn before notary
Mahender Singh Punia, Gurgaon
I, ANITA D/o Shriomani Pandey
R/o Vill. Pure Ghundalian, Saray
Bhagmani Post Gauri Ganj, Amethi,
U.P-227409 have changed my name
from Anita to Anita Tiwari vide
affidavit dt. 11.08.2020 before
District Court, Ghaziabad, U.P.
CHANGE OF NAME
I, ARTI W/o Pramod Kumar R/o
H.No. 752, Gali No. 23, Tughlakabad
Extn. New Delhi have changed my
name from Aarti to Arti for all future
purposes.
I, ANIL Kumar S/o Sh. Mohan Lal
Barthwal R/o PD-58-D, Pitampura,
Delhi-110034. Have Changed My
name to Anil Kumar Barthwal for all
future purposes.
I, GARIMA Chhikara, residing at
#A1001, PARK VIEW SPA NEXT,
SECTOR 67, GURGAON, have changed
my minor son's name from
PRITHVIRAJ CHHIKARA to NOAH
SINGH vide affidavit: G0Y2020G1035
Dt: 25/07/2020 sworn before notary
Mahender Singh Punia, Gurgaon
I, NAVEEN Kumar S/O, Vijay Kumar
Piplani R/o B-199, Lajpat Nagar-1,
New Delhi-110024 have changed
my name to Naveen Piplani for all
purposes.
I, AJAY Kumar Jain S/o Sumer Chand
Jain R/o C-7, Ahinsha Vihar
Apartments, Sector-9 Rohini Delhi
have changed my name from Ajay
Kumar to Ajay Kumar Jain for all
future purposes.
I, VASUDHA Ghildiyal W/o Anil
Kumar Barthwal R/o PD-58-D,
Pitampura, Delhi-110034. Have
Changed My name to Vasudha
Barthwal for all future purposes.
I, CHHIDDAN Ali S/o Mohd Raza
R/o L-1, 2650/27, Gali no. 19,
Sangam Vihar, South Delhi, Delhi
have changed my name to Mohd Arif
for all future purposes.
I, JATINDER K Sharma S/o Brij
Kishore Sharma R/o Flat no.4,
Vindhyachal APPTS., Inder Enclave
Sunder Vihar S.O, West Delhi,
Delhi-110087 Have Changed my
name to Jatinder Kumar Sharma.
LOST & FOUND
I, P.M. Bhojwani, son of Murlidhar
Bhojwani, R/o G-13, Vikaspuri New
Delhi-18, have lost my original
Allotment Letter & Builder Buyer
agreement of property No. 10. Cedar
Drive, Malibu Town, Sohna road,
Gurgaon finder please contact
ON TUESDAY
LOST & FOUND TENDER NOTICE
I, VIKAS Sachdeva S/O Late Sh. Amir
Dass Sachdeva Registration
PUBLIC NOTICE
Particulars Are Reg No. 20154 Addl.
Book No.I Volume No. 1421 On Pages
103 To 105. Last Page Of The
Conveyance Deed Dated 18.03.2005
Pertaining To Property Bearing
Address BD-86, Ist Floor, DDA MIG
Flats, Janakpuri, ND-58, In The Name
Of One Sh. Rajinder Prakash
Chandhok, Is Lost/Stolen/Missing
From The Premises Of The Punjab
And Sindh Bank, Sector-6, Dwarka,
Delhi. Contact Vikas #9818841959
I, NAND Lal, S/o A.M.Sindhi
R/o B-707, IFUNA CGHS Ltd
( Unesco Apartments) lost my
original Share Certificate, original
Allotment Letter and original
Possession Letter of above
said address. If found, please
contact 9650991151
I, YASH Kumar, S/o Yogesh Kumar.
Village-Riwajpur, Post- Kheri Kalan,
Thesil & Distt. Faridabad, Haryana
have lost my original ICSE 10th
(2019)marksheet unique id 6824280
& Certificate Index no 1196380/020.
IT IS hereby informed to the general
public that , we Mr. Udayan Mukerji,
s/o Late Shri M.K. Mukerji and Mrs
Rita Mukerji w/o Mr. Udayan Mukerji
both r/o C-12, Chiragh Enclave GK-1,
New Delhi-110048, have lost the
Original Provisional Allotment Letter
No:- JGNK10021005, dated
25/11/2009, issued by Jaiprakash
Associates Limited in respect of Unit
Bearing No. KL-2-1005 in Wish Town
Klassic Project, situated at Jaypee
Greens, Noida on dated 17-05-2019.
Anyone finding the said documents is
required to kindly return the same to
me or to the Company. Name: Udayan
Mukerji, Address: C-12 Chiragh
Enclave, G.K.-1, New Delhi-110048.
PhoneNo.: +911140561286 Email Id:
udayan.mukerji@gmail.com
PERSONAL
I, NO 3200732H L/Nk Daljeet Singh
S/o. Sh. Jai Bhagwan R/o. 4A Block,
Naveen Place, Najafgarh, New Delhi-
43. In my service record my wife
name Geeta Devi and DOB 25.11.89
this is incorrect DOB, her correct
DOB is 28.11.89 as per 10th Class
certificate for all future purposes.
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
T UESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0 hindustantimes 09
NEWS

Bhushan stands ground, Tributes pour in for Arun Jaitley HT Correspondent

says he will not apologise n letters@hindustantimes.com

NEWDELHI:Prime Minister Naren-

dra Modi and several other
national leaders paid their
respects to the late Arun Jaitley
CONTEMPT Court had said leniency only if Bhushan expresses regret; next hearing today on Monday on the occasion of his
first death anniversary.
Murali Krishnan wari’s petition, the court took “On this day, last year, we lost
An apology cannot be
n letters@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: Lawyer Prashant

Bhushan stood his ground on
Monday, refusing to apologise to
the Supreme Court for his posts
on Twitter criticising the top
court and Chief Justice of India
(CJI) SA Bobde.
In a statement he submitted to
the apex court, Bhushan said the
views he expressed represented
his bona fide (good faith) beliefs
and, therefore, offering an apol-
ogy for expressing such beliefs
would be insincere.
“An apology cannot be a mere
incantation and any apology has
to be sincerely made. If I retract
a statement before this court
that I otherwise believe to be true
or offer an insincere apology,
that in my eyes would amount to
the contempt of my conscience
and of an institution (Supreme
court ) that I hold in highest
esteem,” he added in the supple-
mentary statement submitted
through advocate Kamini Jais-
wal .
According to the details avail-
able on the Supreme Court web-
site, the case will be taken up on
Tuesday to consider the effect of
the supplementary statement
submitted by Bhushan.
The Supreme Court, on
August 20, asked Bhushan to
reconsider his stance and offer
an apology by Monday failing
which, it cautioned the activist
lawyer, it would proceed against
him and punish him for criminal
contempt of court.
Even at the time, Bhushan
said that while he appreciated
the court’s move of giving him
time, he would not change his
mind.
“I believe that the Supreme
Court is the last bastion of hope
for the protection of fundamen-
tal rights, Today in these troub-
ling times, the hopes of the peo-
ple of India vest in this Court to
ensure the rule of law and the
Constitution and not an untram-
n Prashant Bhushan
melled rule of the executive. This
casts a duty, especially for an
officer of this court like myself,
to speak up, when I believe there
is a deviation from its sterling
record,” Bhushan said.
He maintained that the tweets
put out by him were in good faith
and were not intended to malign
the apex court or the CJI but only
offered constructive criticism so
that the court could arrest any
drift away from its longstanding
role as a guardian of the Consti-
tution.
In the written arguments sub-
mitted separately by Bhushan’s
counsel, senior advocate Rajeev
Dhavan, reliance was placed on
attorney general (AG) KK Venu-
gopal’s opinions regarding cor-
ruption and nepotism in the judi-
ciary. The AG , during the hear-
ing of the matter on August 20,
asked the apex court not to pun-
ish Bhushan while highlighting
that he himself made a speech in
1987 pointing out certain ills pla-
guing the judiciary.
“Contemnor’s (Bhushan)
comments were opinion made in
good faith founded on true facts.
Similar opinions were made
before (in 1987) by the Attorney
General. On this basis, the Attor-
ney General has counselled
against punishment,” Bhushan
said in his written submissions.
› a mere incantation
and any apology has to be
sincerely made. If I retract
a statement before this
court that I otherwise
believe to be true...would
amount to the contempt of
my conscience and of an
institution (SC).
BHUSHAN, in statement to court
The court found Bhushan
guilty of the offence of criminal
contempt on August 14. Accord-
ing to the Contempt of Courts
Act, the offence carries a punish-
ment of up to six months in
prison or a fine up to ~2,000 or
both.
Bhushan posted two tweets,
one against the Supreme Court
on June 27 and another against
CJI Bobde on June 29.
Bhushan’s first tweet said:
“When historians in the future
look back at the last six years to
see how democracy has been
destroyed in India even without
a formal Emergency, they will
particularly mark the role of the
SC in this destruction, and more
particularly the role of the last
four CJIs.”
The second referred to CJI
Bobde and said: “The CJI rides a
~50-lakh motorcycle belonging
to a BJP [Bharatiya Janata
Party] leader at Raj Bhavan,
Nagpur, without wearing a mask
or helmet, at a time when he
keeps the SC on lockdown mode
denying citizens their funda-
mental right to access justice!”
Mehek Maheswhari, an advo-
cate, filed a petition before the
Supreme Court on July 9 seeking
initiation of contempt of court
proceedings against Bhushan
for the tweets. Based on Mahesh-
suo motu {on its own}cognizance
of the matter and listed the case
for the first time on July 22 and
issued notice to Bhushan the
same day.
After a day-long hearing on
August 5, the Supreme Court
pronounced its verdict on
August 14, holding Bhushan
guilty of criminal contempt of
court. It however, kept the mat-
ter for further hearing on August
20 to decide on the sentence to be
imposed on Bhushan.
When the case was taken up
on August 20, Bhushan read out
a statement prepared by him. In
his statement, Bhushan
expressed dismay at the judg-
ment of August 14 convicting
him, stating that the conclusion
against him was arrived at with-
out providing any evidence of his
motives.
He said that he was standing
by his tweets, which he
described as an attempt to dis-
charge his duty towards the
country. He also invoked
Mahatma Gandhi’s stance in a
case slapped against him by the
British government.
“I can only humbly para-
phrase what the father of the
nation Mahatma Gandhi had
said in his trial: I do not ask for
mercy. I do not appeal to magna-
nimity. I am here, therefore, to
cheerfully submit to any penalty
that can lawfully be inflicted
upon me for what the Court has
determined to be an offence, and
what appears to me to be the
highest duty of a citizen,”
Bhushan said.
The three-judge bench headed
by justice Arun Mishra main-
tained that it could show leni-
ency only if Bhushan expresses
regret and reconsiders the state-
ment made by him on August 20
declining to apologise.
“We have given time to the
contemnor to submit uncondi-
tional apology, if he so desires.
Let it be filed by August 24,” the
order said.
Shri Arun Jaitleyji. I miss my
friend a lot. Arunji served India
diligently. His wit, intellect, legal
acumen and warm personality
were legendary,” PM tweeted.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party’s social media handle
posted a video with the message:
“He left us early but he also left
behind indelible imprints on the
Indian economy, law, govern-
ance and probity in public life.
His impeccable life will serve as a
guiding path for the talented
future generations.”
Union home minister Amit
Shah remembered Jaitley as “an
outstanding politician, prolific
orator and a great human being
who had no parallels in Indian
polity” and described him as
Terrorists claim
they killed missing
J&K local leader
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
KASHMIR: Police have not been
able to trace panchayat member
Nisar Ahmad Bhat who went
missing from Shopian in south
Kashmir on August 19.
Meanwhile, in an audio mes-
sage, terrorists have claimed to
have killed Bhat, police said. A
senior police officer said that
according to Bhat’s family, he
had gone to Shopian on Wednes-
day. “He has been missing since.
He (Bhat) was booked under
PSA in 1995. There are 12 FIR
against him and efforts are on to
trace him,” the officer said.
The officer also said that the
audio clip seems fake. “We are
investigating every aspect of
this case.” The 2.56-minute mes-
sage, purportedly released by
terrorists, claimed that Bhat
had been killed and buried.
n Arun Jaitley’s daughter Sonali pays tributes to her father on his death anniversary.
“multifaceted and a friend of
friends, who will always be
remembered for his towering leg-
acy, transformative vision and
devotion to the nation.”
Jaitley, 66, was admitted to
New Delhi’s AIIMS on August 9
after he complained of uneasi-
ness.
He died of multiple organ fail-
China dismissed Indian claims
over Valley, says Pak minister
Imtiaz Ahmad
n letters@hindustantimes.com
ISLAMABAD:Pakistan foreign min-
ister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
told a press conference in Islama-
bad on Monday that during his
recent visit to China, the issue of
Indian occupied Kashmir also
came up, where Beijing dis-
missed Indian claims over the
Valley. Qureshi said that China
had rejected India’s August 5
move and termed it ‘unilateral’.
Qureshi also explained that
the purpose of his recent visit was
to “understand [China’s] current
state of mind and gauge their
stance on India”. “I can tell you
that I didn’t see any hesitation,
their (China’s) stance is very
clear,” he said.
“China has made clear that it
views India’s measures of August
5, 2019 [in Kashmir] illegal,” said
Qureshi. China does not stand in
agreement with India’s position
ure on August 24 last year.
Jaitley’s daughter Sonali Jait-
ley-Bakshi, a lawyer, posted a pic-
ture of her early childhood and
tweeted: “Today marks one year
without my father. Do I miss him?
Yes. Do I miss his presence?
Never, for he is always with me. I
love you, dad --- thanks for every-
thing.”
n Shah Mehmood Qureshi
on Ladakh and Kashmir, he
added.
According to Qureshi, the
stand-off between India and
China remains unresolved
despite five rounds of negotia-
tions between the two. He cate-
gorically rejected India’s objec-
tions to the China Pakistan Eco-
nomic Corridor as well.
The foreign minister also
touched upon the relations of
other regional countries with
India, saying that the impression
that Saarc member countries
AMAL KS/HT
His son, Rohan Jaitley, shared
old photographs of the leader and
tweeted, “It’s been a year since
you left us, dad @arunjaitley. In
many ways, it feels like it was just
yesterday. The pain is still as
fresh. But so is my resolve to live
by your values, principles and
vision. You are always with us. So
missed, so loved.”
were “leaning towards India”
was “dissolving”.
He referred to India’s conflict
with Nepal and the recent resolu-
tion passed by the latter’s parlia-
ment in that regard in addition to
“a lack of warmth” in India’s ties
with Bangladesh.
Speaking on Indian atrocities,
the minister said that India has
failed to project the impression
that things are improving in
occupied Kashmir.
The Pakistan foreign minister
said that Prime Minister Imran
Khan raised the matter of IoK
before the United Nations, adding
that “India is running away from
the matter and lying to the global
community”.
Qureshi said that New Delhi’s
August 5 move had made matters
worse for the people of the occu-
pied territory. He said that anger
and frustration are on the rise in
the region due to restrictions and
a communications blackout.

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Check out today’s HT City 20.08.2020

davp 25131/11/0004/2021
Sd/- Secretary

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
VMMC & SAFDARJUNG HOSPITAL, NEW DELHI
ADMISSION NOTICE
SELECTION OF TRAINEES FOR 11TH COURSE OF PRE-HOSPITAL TRAUMA TECHNICIANS, IN
SAFDARJUNG HOSPITAL
DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIA HOSPITAL, LHMC & ASSOCIATED HOSPITALS
(SESSION 2020-21)
Application in the Proforma given on below (website www.vmmc-sjh.nic.in) are invited from
the candidates for selection of Pre-Hospital Trauma Technician Training Course (PTT Course) to
commence from 1st October, 2020 at Safdarjung Hospital, Dr. R.M.L. Hospital and LHMC & Associated
Hospitals. The duration of the training will be 9+3 months internship on successful completion of
which the trainees will be awarded certificates by the Directorate General Health Services. Personnel
will also be stationed in specialized ambulances during the training.
Seats:
Total no. of seats = 90
Category wise allocation of seats UR = 42
EWS = 05
OBC = 23
SC = 14
ST = 06
Thirty (30) candidates each will be admitted in all the three Institutions mentioned above. Candidates
should submit passport size photograph duly pasted on the prescribed application form along with
attested copies of certificates in support of Date of Birth, Qualification and Category etc. in absence of
which, the application is liable to be rejected.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
QUALIFICATION: Passed 10+2 with science -- Physics, Chemistry & Biology with minimum 55%
marks in the aggregates for General Candidates and 50% marks for reserved
category candidates.
Selection of eligible candidates will be made on the basis of aggregate percentage
marks of PCB only secured by them in 10+2 Examination of CBSE/any other
equivalent recognized Board. In case two or more candidates have secured the
same aggregated percentage of marks, the inter-re-ranking of such candidates
shall be determined by the following order of preferences#
1. The Candidate who has secured higher marks in Biology.
2. The Candidate who has secured higher marks in Physics.
3. The Candidate who is older in age.
Age: Not less than 17 years and not more than 25 years. Cut off date determining age,
qualification etc. will be 02 October 2020. However, the relaxation in age will
be 05 (five) years for SC, ST and 3 (Three) years for OBC candidates as per Govt.
rules/instructions in this regard.
Stipend:
Selected candidates admitted to the training course will be paid monthly stipend of Rs. 1500/-.
However, no hostel accommodation will be provided.
Procedure for applying:
1. Application Format given in the website www.vmmc-sjh.nic.in can be filled and submitted to
undersigned by registered post within 15 days from the date of publication of this notice. The
envelope should mention “Application for Pre-Hospital Trauma Technician Training Course”.
The application addressed to the undersigned should be sent by Registered Post within 15 days
from the date of publication of this Notice. Application with documents can also be sent online by
uploading on the website www.vmmc-sjh.nic.in.
2. Application can also be uploaded with documents on Hospital website www.vmmc-sjh.nic.in
Procedure for Selection:
The candidates will be selected for admission to the training course as per the aggregate of 10+2 marks
in Physics, Chemistry and Biology and their preferences of colleges filled in the application form.
Selection/Merit List:
Based on the selection criteria mentioned above, the merit list of the candidates will be put on the
website of the college.
Letter of selection:
The selected candidates will be called for verification of original certificates. They will be given letter of
selection and informed their college of training.
You are requested to visit website www.vmmc-sjh.nic.in for application form and any other updates
in this matter.
Medical Superintendent
davp 17145/11/0007/2021 VMMC & Safdarjung hospital
10 hindustantimes
E STA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 24
Announce
another stimulus Reimagining India’s welfare toolkit
Demand, not liquidity, is
the key economic challenge
O
n August 22, this newspaper published an exclusive
report based on a presentation made by the ministry
of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The presentation said that as on August 1, three-
fourths of India’s MSMEs were working at less than
half their potential capacity. It also said
that more than 90% had opened up,
showing that the unlock process, at
least in principle, has been almost completed. These statistics
underline the central economic challenge facing the economy.
Just allowing enterprises to open is not going to restore the sta-
tus quo ante, which existed before the pandemic forced a nation-
wide lockdown. To be sure, the economy was not in great shape
even before the pandemic. GDP growth rate fell from 8.3% in
2016-17 to 7%, 6.1% and 4.2% in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. Most
estimates expect India’s GDP to contract by 5% or more this year.
MSMEs account for 30% of GDP. They employ almost one-
fourth of India’s workers. That an overwhelming share of
MSMEs is not using even their existing capacity means that they
are facing a crisis of demand. If this situation is allowed to per-
sist, it will generate a vicious cycle. Firms will lay off workers.
Laid-off workers will lose their salaries, which will further
squeeze demand. Orders for new investments and raw materials
will be postponed, or worse, cancelled. This will lead to yet
another round of job losses and demand depression. These devel-
opments will have an adverse impact on the financial sector as
well. As revenues start falling short of past expectations, loan
defaults will increase, which will add to the existing mountain of
bad debt. All these developments have implications for India’s
economic recovery, both in the short-and-medium term.
Breaking this vicious cycle requires urgent policy interven-
tion. The government was wise to focus on liquidity challenges
in its initial response to Covid-19. But it needs to shift gears.
Demand, not liquidity, is the main challenge facing the economy
today. At a time when consumer and business sentiment is down,
the only way to boost demand is a fiscal stimulus. While there is
some merit in the argument that it should be timed appropri-
ately, at least the road map should be laid out as soon as possible.
Any further delay on this front will only make matters worse.
§
Balancing ecology
and development
The 2013 floods lie forgotten in
Uttarakhand’s new construction plans
O
n Sunday, the Rishikesh-Badrinath Highway in Uttar-
akhand’s Tehri Garhwal district was blocked due to a
landslide, which killed two people. In addition to the
closure of this critical link, nearly 100 more roads are
also blocked due to rains. While landslides are not uncommon in
this area, the latest episodes are another reminder that this geo-
logically young region is unstable and infrastructure develop-
ment has to take this into account. Otherwise, the consequences
can be disastrous. For example, the 2013 Uttarakhand floods
were a natural phenomenon, but the human tragedy that fol-
lowed was because governments overlooked geological features
and drainage patterns, and allowed illegal construction on river
banks and over natural water channels.
Unfortunately, the 2013 experience has been erased from
State memory. In July, the Centre approved the zonal master
plan (ZMP) for the Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone that stretches
from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi (4179.59 sq km). While the Centre
claims that ZMP will boost the ecology, environmentalists claim
the opposite. The rush to clear ZMP is because the Centre wants
to expedite the 900-kilometre Chardham Highways project,
which will connect the four pilgrimage sites of Gangotri, Yamun-
otri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.
The project is on course despite protests against it and scien-
tific evidence that shows the region is unstable. The Geological
Survey of India’s report on the 2103 tragedy says that construc-
tions have disturbed the natural slope of the mountains, leading
to landslides. While it is true that better connectivity improves
lives and livelihoods and ensures political dividends, the fragil-
ity of the area is also a reality. The government must calculate
the region’s carrying capacity, and then draw up its development
and tourism plans. In an era of the climate crisis, this road map
is a prerequisite, not a choice.
R. N. I. No. 503/1957 ● Postal Reg. No. DL(ND)-11/6058/2018-19-20 ‘Licensed to post without prepayment’ LICENCE No. U(C)-113/2006-08, Air surcharge: Raipur and beyond by Rail or Road - Re 5/-, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Hyderabad, Khajuraho, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and beyond by Rail or Road - Rs. 10/-;
Printed & Published by DINESH MITTAL (Interim) for and on behalf of HT Media Ltd. 18-20, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110001 and printed at HT Media Ltd. Presses at Plot No.-8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida, Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar. (UP). Pin-201306,
§
eartotheground
YAMINI AIYAR
Universalise PDS, make it demand-driven; give
more funds to states; and ramp up MGNREGS
I
pen this column with a depressing
sense of deja vu. Back in late March as
India went into lockdown, I wrote in
these pages of the urgent need for the
State to change the rules of the game,
avoid red tape, improve Centre-state
coordination and adapt agile administrative
processes as it sought to provide relief meas-
ures in response to the economic crisis
ourtake unleashed by the lockdown. Of course, the
expectation was that the Centre would be far
more generous with its purse strings than it
has been thus far. But five months on, a report
in this newspaper, underlining that only a
quarter of the 800,000 million tonnes of free
grain allocated to migrant workers has been
distributed, serves as a sad reminder that the
State has demonstrated neither fiscal gener-
osity nor a willingness to change the rules of
the game. The economic crisis, too, is only
deepening. It is, therefore, worth revisiting
the arguments, made five months ago, and
once again press for the urgency of response.
First, universalise the public distribution
system (PDS). Expanding the much-maligned
PDS, which remains a lifeline for many, was
the first thing the Centre did post the lock-
down. This has now been extended to Novem-
ber. But the government stopped short of uni-
versalising PDS i.e, making grains available
on demand, including to those who did not
have ration cards.
In May, when it became impossible to hide
from the enormity of the migrant crisis, the
PDS entitlement was extended to 80 million
migrants, many of whom do not have ration
cards. But for a system obsessed with paper
Why the international
community and UN
must embrace Taiwan
Taiwan is a model of democracy. It is independent. It’s not
a part of PRC. And it has managed Covid-19 successfully
JAUSHIEH
JOSEPH WU
I
n 2020, the world has been hit by an
unprecedented public health crisis,
with the effects of Covid-19 being felt
across every aspect of people’s lives.
This year also marks the 75th anniversary
of the signing of the Charter of the United
Nations (UN). Now more than ever, the
global community must make a concerted
effort to forge the better and more sustaina-
ble future called for by UN and its member-
states. Taiwan is ready, willing and able to
be a part of these efforts.
With less than 500 confirmed cases and
seven deaths, Taiwan has defied predictions
and successfully contained the pandemic.
This has all come in no small part due to Tai-
wan’s quick response measures, including
the establishment of a Central Epidemic
Command Centre, the implementation of
stringent border controls and quarantine
procedures, and transparent information-
sharing. And after making sure we had
enough supplies to look after our people, we
started providing medical equipment and
supplies to other countries in serious need.
By the end of June, Taiwan had donated
51 million surgical masks, 1.16 million N95
masks, 600,000 isolation gowns, 35,000 fore-
head thermometers, and other medical
material to more than 80 countries, includ-
ing India, the United States (US), Taiwan’s
diplomatic allies, and various European
nations. We have also joined forces with
like-minded democracies to explore the
development of rapid test kits, medicines,
and vaccines. Working together for the
greater good is how the world will defeat
Covid-19.
In the Declaration on the Commemora-
tion of the 75th anniversary of UN, govern-
ments and heads of States acknowledged
that only by working together in solidarity
can we end the pandemic and effectively
tackle its consequences. They thus pledged
to make UN more inclusive and to leave no
one behind as the world looks to recover
from the pandemic.
Similarly, in July, UN Secretary-General
António Guterres said that networked,
inclusive, and effective multilateralism
would aid global efforts to promote recovery
and the continued implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We
could not agree more. However, this vision
seems lacking when Taiwan — one of the
world’s model democracies and a success
story in containing the current pandemic —
continues to be barred from taking part in
and exchanging experiences and informa-
tion with UN system. Not having Taiwan’s
input in UN is a loss to the global commu-
nity, and will hamper member-states’
efforts to regain normalcy and implement
Board: (011)23361234 ● Editorial: (011)66561234 Extn. 1254, 1268 ● Circulation: (011)66561111 ● Advertising: (011)66561389 ● Fax: (011)66561270.
Editor: KUNAL PRADHAN
comment
work and “identification,” this extension did
not translate into ease of access. Rather, it cre-
ated its own red tape associated with identify-
ing migrants and issuing temporary ration
cards. To their credit, some state governments
have tried to resolve this through local sur-
veys, issuing temporary ration cards through
online portals and so on. But each of these
processes is cumbersome, time-consuming,
and creates new forms of daunting paperwork
within government. This is one reason why
only mere 18% of the targeted 80 million
migrants have received benefits.
And it’s not just migrant workers. Accord-
ing to estimates by Reetika Khera and Jean
Dreze, even in ordinary times, nearly 100 mil-
lion Indians who are entitled to PDS are
excluded from it. In other words, they do not
have ration cards, which prevents them from
accessing PDS. Surveys highlight that only a
small proportion of those without ration cards
have been able to access grains through PDS
system since the lockdown.
The answer, as this column argued in
March, is to universalise PDS. Rather than
expecting potential beneficiaries to “enroll”
or present temporary ration cards, PDS
grains should be given to anyone who
demands it. It is possible to introduce checks
and balances against duplication and corrup-
tion at the PDS store. But first, the State needs
to shed its passion for paper and “identifica-
tion”, recognise the crisis and make PDS
“demand-driven”. Rather than pursuing the
“one nation, one ration card”, which is no
more than a delivery instrument, govern-
ments need to work together urgently to uni-
n Taiwan has joined forces with like-minded
democracies to explore the development
of rapid test kits and vaccines REUTERS
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Develop-
ment in full and on time.
Even as the pandemic has made the inter-
national community aware of Taiwan’s
unjust and discriminatory exclusion from
the World Health Organization and the UN
system, the People’s Republic of China
(PRC) continues to press UN to use an erro-
neous interpretation of the 1971 UN General
Assembly Resolution 2758 (XXVI) as the
legal basis for blocking Taiwan.
The fact is that this resolution does not
address the issue of Taiwan’s representa-
tion in UN, nor does it state that Taiwan is
part of PRC. In fact, Taiwan is not, nor has it
ever been, a part of the PRC. Our president
and legislature are directly elected by the
people of Taiwan. Moreover, border con-
trols instituted during the pandemic offer
further evidence to counter PRC’s false
claims. UN must recognise that only Tai-
wan’s democratically-elected government
can represent its 23.5 million people; PRC
has no right to speak on Taiwan’s behalf.
Unfortunately, the 23.5 million people of
Taiwan are denied any access to UN prem-
ises. Taiwanese journalists and media out-
lets are also denied accreditation to cover
UN meetings. This discriminatory policy
stems from the wrongful claims of and pres-
sure from an authoritarian state, and con-
travenes the principle of universality and
equality upon which UN was founded.
The UN Charter begins with “We the peo-
ples of the United Nations determined . . . to
reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights
. . . [and] the equal rights of men and women
and of nations large and small”. The ideal of
upholding human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all laid out in this text must not
remain empty words. As it looks ahead to
the next 75 years, it is never too late for the
UN to welcome Taiwan’s participation.
Dr Jaushieh Joseph Wu is Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan)
The views expressed are personal
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
TUESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0
n On MGNREGS, states have already spent
one-third of the funds allocated to them for
the year. Provide more support PTI
versalise access to PDS , at minimum, till we
get past the current economic crisis.
Second, there needs to be flexibility in the
movement of funds to states. States are at the
frontlines in the Covid-19 battle, but they are
experiencing the pandemic and its economic
consequences in a differentiated manner.
What states have needed from the onset of this
pandemic is access to a flexible pool of resour-
ces. Given their fiscal constraints, most states
have requested the Centre for a Covid-19 relief
grant to make up for the shortfall in revenues.
But the Centre has chosen to respond with
limited resources, through a centralised relief
package, leaving little room for flexibility. So,
for instance, if a state needs to replace the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employ-
ment Scheme (MGNREGS) worksites with
A tale of the failure of
the media, police forces
Rajput’s death should have triggered a conversation
on mental health. Instead, it has been politicised
YASHOVARDHAN
AZAD
S
ixty-five days after the death of Bol-
lywood star, Sushant Singh Rajput,
the Supreme Court on August 19
removed the uncertainty over the
outcome of inquiries into the case. Maha-
rashtra and Bihar, which were pitted
against each other, were waiting for the
verdict with bated breath.
Rajput’s family was aggrieved with the
Mumbai Police over the slack pace of the
probe, while his former partner Rhea
Chakraborty and her kin considered the
charges levelled against her as fabricated
and politically-motivated. The constant
barrage of statements from various politi-
cians only added to the confusion. The
Supreme Court used its plenary powers to
order the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) probe to ensure justice, in view of the
vitiated atmosphere surrounding his
death.
Indeed, Rajput’s death has raised some
uncomfortable issues for India’s democ-
racy. It has also exposed the distortions
that exist in every institution, particularly
the media, which has flouted every edito-
rial and journalistic norm in its reportage,
and police and investigative agencies,
which have allowed the politicisation of
what should have been a straightforward
investigation.
For one, there has been a debate on the
issue of jurisdiction. Maharashtra laid
claim to it because the incident took place
in Mumbai, while Bihar argued that the
consequences of the incident ensuing in
Patna entitled its police to file the first
information report (FIR).
The Supreme Court decided that the
Patna police had the right to register the
FIR and investigate, on the basis that crim-
inal breach of trust could take place both
in Patna and Mumbai. The decision will
have repercussions for the future. FIRs
will be filed across the country, in places
far from that of the occurrence of crimes,
forcing courts to settle the jurisdiction
issue.
There are issues pertaining to the FIR
lodged by Rajput’s father, particularly the
silence right after the incident in a state-
ment to Mumbai Police. But this is not to
absolve the Mumbai Police. The Mumbai
Police system, which is of 1864 vintage,
failed to strike the balance between a rig-
orous, impartial investigation while
remaining attuned to the growing atten-
tion to the case.
Rajput’s death touched a chord in many
people. Further, there was huge empathy
for Rajput within Bollywood and outside,
due to his film contracts allegedly being
terminated.
And of course, there was the Bihar elec-
tion and the fact that his death rapidly
assumed political overtones in a state
starved of film icons.
cash transfers, in the peak phase of the infec-
tion phase, it can’t do so. The centralised
architecture has left states with little money,
and also given them a ready excuse not to
respond as innovatively as needed to the eco-
nomic crisis while parallely diluting labour
rights. Going forward, India needs to evolve a
dynamic, decentralised, institutionalised
structure that is responsive to the nature of
the disease. A Covid-19 grant to states will
need an agile fiscal transfer formula akin to a
pooled insurance system that is responsive, in
real-time, to state needs. It also needs a coordi-
nated effort across states. The inter-state
council is the institutional mechanism to do
this. It urgently needs to be revived. Finally,
the Government of India cannot escape spend-
ing more towards the provision of income sup-
port. The tentative resilience in the rural
economy is linked to MGNREGS.
With most micro, small and medium enter-
prises operating at 50% capacity and sowing
season coming to an end, MGNREGS demand
will surge even more. But money is fast drying
up. States have already spent one-third of the
funds allocated to them for the year. Many
have not been able to keep up with demand
under the scheme. An urgent infusion of funds
into MGNREGS and expansion of work is
essential.
There is ample evidence that demand con-
traction lies at the heart of the Covid-19-
induced economic crisis. The State needs to
open its purse strings in order to kick-start the
economy. But it also needs to urgently change
the rules of the game. It is the Indian State’s
stubborn refusal to respond generously and
effectively to the crisis it confronts that
remains the biggest hurdle.
Yamini Aiyar is president and chief executive,
Centre for Policy Research
The views expressed are personal
This is not to endorse the popular mood,
nor is it to suggest that police investigation
should be guided by the popular mood. But
an awareness of the wider ecosystem is
important because of its implications on a
particular case. That is where Mumbai
Police faltered.
With resentment building up, the case
could have been handed over to the crime
branch, and an officer from Bihar in the
Maharashtra cadre inducted into the team
to liaise with Rajput’s family. Regular
briefings should have been conducted to
allay misgivings, just as it was done in the
Sheena Bora case. The police commis-
sioner’s briefing was held in Sushant’s
case, but it was a case of too little too late.
And the treatment of a Bihar Indian Police
Service officer on duty in Mumbai took
away whatever support Mumbai Police
had in the matter, arousing suspicion and
distrust.
Some disturbing signals emerge from
this case. The first is that of police leader-
ship ceding space to political masters on a
purely professional matter of jurisdiction.
The Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar,
intervened to get the FIR filed. The police
chiefs of the two states could have resolved
this matter among themselves. If the
Mumbai Police had responded favourably,
the Bihar Police may have forwarded the
zero FIR to Mumbai for investigation. The
absence of police coordination allowed
politicians to air their views on matters
which should have been strictly within the
police’s domain.
Second, television channels played a
deeply irresponsible role, undermining
the mental health dimension in the case,
violating the right to privacy of many indi-
viduals, acting as the prosecutor and judge
and holding people guilty, besmirching
reputations — either because they were
motivated by political considerations or
commercial considerations or both.
Third, new-age policing involves bigger
responsibilities for the police. In the Right
to Information era, where transparency
and accountability are the hallmark of a
democracy, people need to be kept
informed. And the people’s police must be
accountable only to the law. In this case,
while one set of police officers was too vol-
uble, another was too reticent. What the
public wants in such cases is information
based on facts at regular intervals.
Last, a case of suicide, irrespective of
who it involves,should have triggered a
countrywide debate on mental health —
and the need to understand the nature of
the health challenge, have empathy for
those who suffer from it and remove the
stigma associated with it, and create a sup-
portive environment for its treatment.
India’s public discourse, and institu-
tions mandated to handle such sensitive
matters, have fallen short.
Sushant Singh Rajput deserves dignity
and peace in death, not acrimonious
debates or shrill campaigns of calumny
and division.
Yashovardhan Azad is a former IPS officer and
Central Information Commissioner
The views expressed are personal
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
T UESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0
Auto firms aim for projects
in defence as growth slows
WAR FOOTING Companies see govt’s localisation push for the sector as key biz opportunity
Amit Panday
n amit.p@livemint.com
MUMBAI: India’s automotive and
auto parts companies are looking
to tap opportunities in the
defence sector to offset sluggish
demand for automobiles in the
domestic market amid the coro-
navirus crisis. The companies
also want to exploit a government
push for increased local manu-
facturing of defence equipment
and a deeper presence of private
firms in this strategic sector.
Companies such as Ashok Ley-
land Ltd, Force Motors Ltd,
BEML Ltd, Bharat Forge Ltd,
JCB India Ltd and Automotive
Axles Ltd see the government’s
localization push for the defence
sector as a major opportunity.
The defence ministry on 9
August issued a list of 101 items
on which an imports embargo
will be imposed with certain time-
lines. While 69 items on the list
were given the import embargo
deadline of December 2020, the
timeline for the remaining items
stretches until December 2025.
“There will be a number of
indigenized developments, which
will bolster the defence logistics
industry. Now, with clarity on the
restricted items, the industry will
work on strengthening its prod-
uct offerings,” said Vipin Sondhi,
managing director and CEO,
PEs look to exit ACT as work-from-home boosts value
Anirudh Laskar and
Swaraj Singh Dhanjal
n anirudh.l@livemint.com
MUMBAI: The owners of Atria
Convergence Technologies Ltd
(ACT) are in talks to sell a con-
trolling stake in India’s largest
non-telco internet service pro-
vider amid a surge in demand for
home internet services, two peo-
ple aware of the development
said.
Private equity firms True
North and TA Associates, which
NEWS
ANTI-DUMPING MEASURE
India plans infra upgrade in island territories
Tariff on Chinese
optical fibre likely
Rajeev Jayaswal
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: India has found large-
scale dumping of optical fibre
from China, days after Beijing
extended an anti-dumping duty
on the import of Indian-made
fibre for five years, which could
trigger a similar tariff measure
by New Delhi against the Chinese
product in the local market, offi-
cials aware of development said.
The government is consider-
ing imposing remedial duty on
the import of “single mode optical
fibre” after an investigation by
the Directorate General of Trade
Remedies (DGTR) confirmed its
dumping mainly from China, the
officials said, requesting ano-
nymity. The DGTR is an agency
tasked with providing a level-
playing field to domestic industry
against unfair trade practices by
countries like China.
After a detailed investigation,
DGTR on Friday concluded that
import of single mode optical
fibre at below cost is threatening
to cause “serious injury” to
Indian manufacturers and rec-
ommended imposition of a 10%
safeguard duty on its import from
all countries except developing
nations, barring China, the offi-
cials said. The government had
raised basic customs duty (BCD)
on it by 5% in July 2019.
The finance ministry is
expected to take a final decision
on the matter soon, they said. Sin-
gle mode optical fibre is used in
manufacturing optical fibre
cables used in telecommunica-
tion operations such as commu-
nity access televisions (CATV).
“Effectively, the measure is
against Chinese firms as com-
bined import from all other devel-
oping countries is less than 9%.
China alone has a share of over
84% in its import,” one of the offi-
cials said.
The DGTR’s recommendation
came close on the heels of Chinese
commerce ministry’s tariff on the
same product imported from
India for five years, effective from
August 14. HT reported the meas-
ure on August 13.
According to officials, China is
resorting to tariff barriers
because its companies are suffer-
n Ashok Leyland Ltd is one of the largest suppliers of heavy vehicles
to the military.
Ashok Leyland Ltd.
“This will also offer an oppor-
tunity to suppliers to participate
with the automakers in the devel-
opment and growth,” Sondhi
said, adding that more than 50
items in the issued list were
already part of import restric-
tions as per the defence produc-
tion policy 2018.
Ashok Leyland is one of the
largest suppliers of heavy vehi-
cles to the military. In FY20, the
company supplied 359 vehicles
including bullet-proof vehicles,
as well as kits for 8X8 trucks. It
also entered the tracked vehi-
cles—which can be used in all ter-
rains—business for supplying
aggregates and components for
own more than 90% in the com-
pany, are eyeing an enterprise
value of around $1.4 billion, the
people said on condition of ano-
nymity. ACT had last raised $500
million from True North and TA
Associates in 2015.
The plan is primarily aimed at
providing a profitable exit to the
two private equity investors by
capitalizing on the internet
boom spurred by the work-from-
home economy, one of the two
people said.
“The discussions are at an
AFTER A PROBE, DGTR
RECOMMENDED A 10%
SAFEGUARD DUTY ON
IMPORT OF SINGLE-
MODE OPTICAL FIBRE
WHICH WILL LARGELY
IMPACT CHINA
ing from overcapacity, and also
diverting its exports to the Indian
market in the face of a global boy-
cott of the Chinese products.
“Based on complaints by the
domestic optic fibre industry,
DGTR had initiated the investiga-
tion on Chinese dumping on Sep-
tember 23 last year. It had issued
a primary finding on November 6
last year, but its recommenda-
tions could not be implemented at
that time,” the first official said.
The second official said India
was very cautious about Chinese
unfair trade practices, especially
after June 15. Sino-Indian ten-
sions have shot up after a violent
brawl between Chinese and
Indian soldiers on June 15 along
the Line of Actual Control in
Ladakh in which 20 Indian army
personnel and an unspecified
number of Chinese were killed.
“Given the domestic economic
scenario, the finance ministry is
expected to accept this,” Divakar
Vijayasarathy, founder and man-
aging partner at consulting firm
DVS Advisors LLP, said.
“In the budget, customs duty
was increased for more than 10
products. Since China is a major
supplier for India with a huge
trade surplus, any action on
imports across the board would
impact China. Atmanirbhar Bha-
rat {Self-Reliant India} itself is to
restrict the influence of China on
Indian markets and with rela-
tionships souring, indirect eco-
nomic sanctions will help both in
hurting China and giving a boost
to the fortunes of the domestic
industry,” he said.
Dumping is a trade practice
that entails the export of a prod-
uct at a price lower than its value
and is countered by punitive
actions, which are an acceptable
measure under multilateral
trade agreements, officials said.
PTI
T-72 and T-90 battle tanks, it said
in its annual report. The firm has
already assigned its defence ver-
tical as one of the core focus areas
for growth in the midterm.
Deepak Shetty, deputy chief
executive officer and managing
director at JCB India Ltd, the
country’s largest construction
equipment manufacturer, said
the government decision has the
potential to create more opportu-
nities. “We have been supportive
of the make-in-India pro-
grammes for a long time. We have
been supplying to the defence
force based on their tender-spe-
cific requirements,” he said. JCB
provides construction and mate-
rial handling equipment to the
PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS
ARE EYEING AN
ENTERPRISE VALUE OF
AROUND $1.4 BILLION
early stage. They are in the proc-
ess of appointing an investment
bank to manage the sale and are
in talks with a few foreign invest-
ment banks for this. They will be
looking at telcos that want to add
to their wired broadband servi-
ces and foreign PE funds for the
Shishir Gupta
n shishir.gupta@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI:With the Chinese Navy
positioning itself for dominance
in the Indian Ocean through
strings of ports in Myanmar, Pak-
istan and Iran, India is planning a
rapid infrastructure upgrade in
its Island territories to ensure
that there is no restriction on
navigation or a replay of the
South China Sea in its backyard.
According to top military offi-
cials, India will upgrade the air-
strip at INS Kohassa, Shibpur in
north Andamans and at the
Campbell strip in Nicobar into
full-fledged fighter bases. The air-
strip at Agatti, in Lakshadweep
will also be upgraded for military
operations to secure both the Bay
of Bengal up to the Malacca
Straits and the Arabian Sea up to
the Gulf of Aden.
“The two Island territories will
be like the new aircraft carriers
for India, extending the navy’s
reach in the region far from the
mainland. Both the Islands sit on
the busiest sea lanes of the world
with more than half the world
trade going through this route,”
In boost to ties, China launches Vijayan govt defeats
advanced warship for Pakistan no-confidence motion
Sutirtho Patranobis
letters@hindustantimes.com
n n
BEIJING: China on Sunday
launched an advanced warship
for Pakistan, the largest it has
built for any country, and the first
among the four most sophisti-
cated naval platforms it is ready-
ing for the Pakistan navy amid
deepening military and strategic
ties with Islamabad.
Local media said the Type
054A/P, a guided missile frigate,
is the largest combat ship China
has sold to a foreign navy and is
“an important milestone” for
China’s military export sector.
The acquisition of the warship
will double the combat power of
the Pakistani Navy’s surface
fleet, Chinese state media
reported. By 2021, the Pakistan
navy is expected to have three
more similar warships in its fleet.
The Chinese state-owned
Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in
Indian Army and the Border
Roads Organisation.
Amit Kalyani, deputy manag-
ing director, Bharat Forge Ltd,
called the government’s plan to
boost localisation in defence
equipment is a great step that rec-
ognises local capabilities. “This is
also good for the supply chain. We
are working with over 400 compa-
nies in the defence supply-chain
ecosystem,” he said in a recent
analyst call to discuss the June
quarter earnings.
The company, which is looking
to more than double its defence
revenue of ₹500 crore in four
years, is looking forward to the
completion of final trials of its
locally developed artillery guns.
“We have developed four plat-
forms. Once the last phase of
trials is over, we will be ready for
the sale process to begin,” Kaly-
ani said, adding that three of the
guns are in the advanced stages of
testing. Bharat Forge is looking to
set up a capacity to make up to 150
artillery guns per year. The cost
of each artillery gun is pegged at
₹12-15 crore.
The company has created a
“three-horizon strategy” to grow.
While products like artillery
guns come under horizon 1,
armoured and specialty vehicles
come under horizon 2, and hori-
zon 3 includes electronic and
high-tech products.
stake sale,” the person added.
Global investors have shown
increased interest in India’s fast-
growing internet services busi-
ness, as customers consume
more data at home as they work
remotely. The move by many
households to switch from basic
cable TV services to internet-
based services such as Netflix,
Amazon Prime Video and Disney
Hotstar is also fuelling demand
for broadband internet.
On 29 July, Mint reported that
sovereign fund Qatar Invest-
OFFICIALS SAID THE
UPGRADE ACQUIRED
URGENCY AFTER CHINA’S
EFFORTS TO GET
THAILAND TO START
WORK ON THE THAI
CANAL AKA KRA CANAL
said a tri-service commander.
Lakshadweep sits on the Nine
Degree Channel, so named
because it lies on the 9-degree line
of latitude, north of the equator.
The Andaman and Nicobar
Islands will allow the navy to
dominate the Six Degree and Ten
Degree Channels towards South-
east Asia and North Asia.
Officials said infrastructure
upgrade had acquired urgency
due to efforts by China, much of it
backroom, to get Thailand to
start work on the Thai Canal aka
Kra Canal that has been on the
drawing board for the last 70
years. The canal has been pro-
posed to slice through the Malay
peninsula and connect the Gulf of
Thailand with Andaman Sea.
Shanghai held the launch cere-
mony for the advanced warship
with top officials and naval offi-
cers attending the function.
The ship launch took place two
days after Pakistan foreign min-
ister Shah Mahmood Qureshi dis-
cussed the situation in the Indian
Union territory of Jammu and
Kashmir with his Chinese coun-
terpart Wang Yi during the sec-
ond round of the China-Pakistan
foreign ministers’ dialogue in
Hainan, off the south China coast.
President Xi Jinping called
Pakistan a “good brother” and a
“good partner” in a recorded
message to his counterpart Presi-
dent Arif Alvi after the meeting.
New Delhi is currently locked
in tension with both China and
Pakistan over disputed bounda-
ries and the abrogation of Article
370 in Jammu & Kashmir.
“It is worth noting that the
054A/P was purchased by Paki-
stan as the successor to the F-22P
Future Retail pays
$14 million interest
on dollar bonds
Suneera Tandon
n suneera.t@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: Kishore Biyani’s flag-
ship company Future Retail Ltd,
which runs the popular super-
market chain BigBazaar, on
Monday said that it has paid $14
million (approximately ₹105
crore) in pending interest on dol-
lar bonds, after missing last
month’s due date.
“In furtherance to our letter
dated July 22, 2020, wherein we
had informed about the grace
period of 30 days for making pay-
ment of interest on above USD
notes; today we are pleased to
inform that the company has
made the payment of said inter-
est for the half-year for an
amount of $14 million on USD
notes,” Future Retail said in a fil-
ing.
The company had informed
the exchanges last month that it
had missed paying interest on
bonds worth $500 million, due in
2025, which it had raised in Janu-
ary. Given the 30-day grace
period for making the payment,
it didn’t constitute a default.
Another delay in payment would
have classified it as default since
the grace period has ended.
Future Retail is facing a
severe liquidity crisis and is in
advanced talks to sell assets to
Reliance Industries Ltd. In July,
it had blamed the pandemic for
its weakened liquidity position.
It was not immediately clear
how Future Retail arranged the
funds for the interest payment.
ment Authority is in advanced
talks with Reliance Industries
Ltd to invest around $1.5 billion
in an infrastructure investment
trust that holds the unit Reliance
Jio Infocomm Ltd’s fibre-optic
assets.
“This is the right opportunity
to provide an exit to the private
equity players that backed ACT
Fibernet for long,” said the first
person.
Emails sent to ACT Fibernet,
True North and TA Associates
remained unanswered.
It would let ships bypass the
choked Malacca Strait, the main
shipping channel between Indian
Ocean and the Pacific Ocean that
has become the world’s busiest
trade route. For ships passing
between the Indian and Pacific
Oceans, it would shorten the dis-
tance by at least 1,200 km.
There is no unanimity in
India’s strategic community on
the approach to the Kra canal.
One view is that the canal, pro-
moted by China under its Belt and
Road Initiative, would pose a risk
to India’s long-term maritime
security but, there is an influen-
tial section that sees the construc-
tion of the Thai Canal as inevita-
ble given the money China is
believed to be throwing at power-
ful elements in Bangkok.
When Thailand was to decide
on setting up an ad-hoc commit-
tee to carry out a study earlier
this year, there were raised eye-
brows at how Thailand’s frag-
mented political class demon-
strated unprecedented unity in
supporting the move. Even par-
ties that are known to be anti-
China ended up supporting the
canal. The Thai King, however, is
frigate, and the F-22P frigate is an
export model developed by China
on the basis of the 053H3 frigate.
China has been working hard to
promote the Type 054A frigate to
the international market,” local
news website ifeng.com reported.
Type 054A is the best frigate in
service with the People’s Libera-
tion Army Navy, experts say. The
warship has a fully loaded dis-
placement of about 4,000 metric
tons and is equipped with
advanced radars and missiles.
Cao Weidong, a senior
researcher at the PLA’s Naval
Military Studies Research Insti-
tute, told the newspaper that it
seems all weapons and radars on
the new ship will be made in
China which “…reflects our
progress in the industry and the
Pakistani Navy’s confidence in
our technology and capability”.
China and Pakistan’s military
ties have rapidly deepened in
recent years.
Apex court reserves order on
AGR dues of insolvent telcos
Romita Majumdar and
Japnam Bindra
n romita.m@livemint.com
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The Supreme
Court on Monday reserved judge-
ment on recovering adjusted
gross revenue (AGR) dues of
insolvent telcos. The court said
that under spectrum trading
guidelines, if the seller did not
clear dues before the spectrum
sale, liabilities get transferred to
the buyer. The court will clarify
the matter in its judgment.
Telecom service providers
(TSPs) are responsible for spec-
trum purchase prices, deferred
spectrum instalments and AGR
dues including spectrum usage
charges (SUC) and licence fees,
the court said.
Since Justice Arun Mishra,
who heads the bench retires, on 2
September, the verdict is
expected within the next seven
working days. If the court directs
telcos using spectrum of bank-
rupt companies to pay past dues,
both Bharti Airtel and Reliance
Jio Infocomm Ltd will be hit
hard—Aircel owes ₹12,289 crore
in AGR dues, Videocon ₹1,376
Adani Group looks to buy GVK’s
50.5% stake in Mumbai airport
Tanya Thomas
tanya.t@livemint.com
n
MUMBAI: The Adani Group is in
talks to acquire the GVK
group’s stake in Mumbai Inter-
national Airport Ltd (MIAL),
PTI reported on Monday.
The group controlled by bil-
lionaire Gautam Adani plans to
acquire the 50.5 % stake held by
the GVK Group in MIAL and a
further 23.5% from GVK’s
minority partners—Airports
Company South Africa (ACSA)
and the Bidvest group, giving it
majority control of the second-
busiest airport in the country,
according to the report. The
remaining 26% stake is held by
state-run Airports Authority of
India (AAI).
Initial talks between the two
still opposed to the Kra canal.
National security planners
believe that India should capital-
ise on the opportunity -- bundled
with its own set of challenges --
that the Kra canal offers and offer
transhipment ports to vessels
bound for either Malacca or the
Kra canal. As of now, ships wait
for their turn at Sri Lankan ports,
earning Colombo precious for-
eign exchange as well as leverage.
It is argued that the infrastruc-
ture upgrade would serve twin
objectives: one, enable India to
maximise economic gains as well
as raise its military presence in
the Indian Ocean Region.
The focus on infrastructure
upgrade comes against the back-
drop of China’s aggressive moves
in Ladakh and its reluctance to
restore status quo ante. The Chi-
nese aggression has not only
prompted New Delhi to reinforce
force deployment along hotspots
along the Line of Actual Control
(LAC) but also in the high seas.
The Indian Navy is on high
alert from the Persian Gulf to the
Malacca Strait in the context of
the standoff with China. The
instructions to the navy are clear:
Ramesh Babu
letters@hindustantimes.com
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief min-
ister Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala
government on Monday defeated
a no-confidence motion moved by
the Congress-led United Demo-
cratic Front (UDF) in the back-
drop of the gold smuggling case.
While 87 legislators voted
against the motion, moved by
senior Congress leader V D Sath-
eesan, only 40 supported it.
Bringing the motion in the
house, the UDF listed a number of
allegations including the recent
gold smuggling case and an
alleged ‘gift’ that the higher edu-
cation minister K T Jaleel
received from the consulate of the
United Arab Emirates, which the
minister has said were holy
books.
The LDF government, how-
ever, denied all charges saying
the opposition was worried over
hindustantimes
POWERED BY
n The verdict is likely within the
next seven working days. MINT
crore and Reliance Communica-
tions (RCom) owes ₹25,199 crore.
Airtel bought spectrum from Vid-
eocon and Aircel while Jio
acquired part of RCom’s spec-
trum. Verdict is awaited on the
telcos’ plea for staggered AGR
payments (judgment was
reserved on 20 July); whether the
spectrum or the right to use it can
be transferred, assigned or sold
under bankruptcy law; and
whether Jio and Airtel will face
additional liabilities for past dues
of RCom, Videocon and Aircel.
The bench said telcos cannot
sell spectrum, which is govern-
ment property. Such actions will
allow for dues to be wiped out if
AN ANNOUNCEMENT
REGARDING THE DEAL IS
EXPECTED TO BE MADE
IN THE COMING WEEKS
business groups have begun and
a preliminary announcement
regarding the deal is expected to
be made in the coming weeks,
according to PTI.
The Adani Group had in
March 2019 agreed to buy South
African company Bidvest’s
13.5% stake in MIAL for ₹1,248
crore, indicating its interest in
running the airport. GVK, how-
ever, blocked the deal claiming
the right of first refusal,
although it was not able to exer-
cise the right by making a
matching offer.
The force should be prepared for
military action if China mounts
an attack along the LAC, people
familiar with the matter said.
Indian officials stressed that
the upgrade of air bases in the
Island territories would ensure
that China’s People’s Liberation
Army Navy under President Xi
Jinping, does not dominate the
area to extract leverage from all
countries in the region.
For now, the United States ear-
lier this month flew in its three
B-2 stealth bombers to the naval
support facility in Diego Garcia in
the south Indian Ocean to sup-
port the Pacific Air Forces’
Bomber Task Force to deter
China from flexing its muscles in
the region. Around the same
time, the US decided to sell 66 new
American-made F-16 fighter jets
in the biggest arms sale to Tai-
wan, a democracy of 24 million
people that Beijing claims to be an
inseparable part of its territory.
A few days later, the United
States also moved aircraft carrier
Ronald Reagan and its strike
group for maritime air defence
operations to the restive South
China Sea.
THE CM SAID CENTRE
SHOULD RE-EXAMINE
ITS DECISION AND THE
MANAGEMENT OF THE
AIRPORT BE HANDED
OVER TO THE SPECIAL
PURPOSE VEHICLE
the growing popularity of the gov-
ernment.
RESOLUTION PASSED
OVER AIRPORT MOVE
The Kerala Assembly Monday
passed a “unanimous resolution”
demanding the withdrawal of
Union Cabinet’s decision to lease
out the international airport here
to Adani Enterprises Ltd.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan said the
Centre should re-examine its
decision and the management of
the airport be handed over to the
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
11
the buyer takes over spectrum
without the liabilities. “How can
you sell somebody else’s prop-
erty? Wiping out government
dues is not permissible. If telcos
are unwilling to pay, we will
direct the cancellation of spec-
trum allocation,” said Mishra.
The bench directed depart-
ment of telecommunications
(DoT) to submit its assessment on
quantifiable dues since 2016. DoT
maintained that AGR dues were
only crystallised after the court’s
October 2019 judgement. DoT also
filed an affidavit stating AGR
dues have to be calculated based
on the “spectrum sharing” and
“spectrum trading” agreement
signed between the two TSPs.
Senior advocate Harish Salve,
arguing for RCom, said the right
to use the spectrum allocated to it
rested with the firm and hence it
can be sold. It is not for the court
to decide, DoT can decide on sale
of spectrum at the appropriate
stage, Salve said. “Licence agree-
ment recognises spectrum as a
security, can be monetised under
IBC. The spectrum sale between
RCom and Jio is a small part of its
total holding,” said Salve.
In October, GVK agreed to
sell its 79% stake in GVK Air-
port Holdings for ₹7,614 crore to
the Abu Dhabi Investment
Authority, Canada’s Public Sec-
tor Pension Investments, and
state-owned National Invest-
ment and Infrastructure Fund.
The agreement is, however, still
to be executed.
The Economic Times
reported on Monday that this
investor consortium has agreed
to give a ‘carve-out’ to the pro-
moters of GVK, the Reddy fam-
ily, so as to allow them to sell
stake in MIAL.
GVK is believed to use the
proceeds from this sale to retire
the debt obligations of its hold-
ing companies and fend off a
takeover battle for MIAL from
the Adani group.
54 ex-bureaucrats
write to Facebook
CEO, seek audit of
hate-speech policy
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
n
NEW DELHI: A group of 54 former
bureaucrats have written to
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
to perform a serious audit of the
implementation of the social
media company’s hate-speech
policy in India in a manner that
its India policy head, Ankhi Das,
is not in a position to influence
investigations.
“We are writing to you in the
expectation that you will make
serious efforts to audit the imple-
mentation of Facebook’s hate
speech policy in India and, while
such an audit is underway,
ensure that the present Public
Policy Head of Facebook, India, is
not in a position to influence the
investigations,” the former All
India Service Officers said in a
statement on Monday.
The controversy was spot-
lighted by the Wall Street Journal
earlier this month in a report that
said Facebook India intervened
in content moderation processes
to ensure hate speeches by a BJP
leader were not taken down – a
claim the company has since
denied. Facebook India on Friday
evening reiterated that it acts in
an unbiased manner. WSJ named
Ankhi Das in the report.
The 54 former officers include
ex-Indian Administrative Ser-
vice (IAS) officers Salahuddin
Ahmad, Wahajat Habibullah and
Harsh Mander.
The letter said Facebook had
“failed to implement its own pol-
icy of discouraging hate speech in
India, or has implemented it in a
clearly partisan manner.”
The former officers also high-
lighted the fact that posts on Face-
book have often to led to hate
crime in India, including lynch-
ings and torture, primarily of
Muslims and oppressed castes.
“...Commercial interests at the
cost of human lives? If these are
the crass calculations Facebook
indulges in, it is no surprise that
the calculus of hate is spreading
like a virus in many parts of the
world,” the letter said.
HT reached out to Facebook
for a comment, but received no
response as of press time.
12 hindustantimes
world
It’s official, Trump gets party
nod to run for president again
NEW AGENDA UNVEILED Donald Trump’s campaign promises to ‘end reliance’ on China, vows to stop ‘endless wars’
Yashwant Raj
n yashwant.raj@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON: US President Donald
Trump, who was on Monday for-
mally nominated by the Republi-
can Party to seek a second term,
has vowed to “prohibit” Ameri-
can companies from replacing
local workers with lower-cost for-
eign workers, and remain firm on
his hardline position on immigra-
tion.
“We have to win. This is the
most important election in the
history of our country,” Trump
said in an unannounced appear-
ance at the convention, based in
Charlotte, after securing the
party nomination for the Novem-
ber 3 election. He will formally
deliver the acceptance speech on
Thursday from the White House.
50-POINT AGENDA
The Trump campaign unveiled a
50-point agenda titled “Fighting
for You”, which also promises to
“end reliance” on China by
encouraging American compa-
nies to bring back operations and
continue the US president’s
“America First” foreign policy -
of ending wars and ensuring
allies “pay their fair share”
towards common defence efforts.
The agenda was released on
the eve of the four-day Republi-
can Party convention that nomi-
nated Trump on Monday morn-
ing for the White House run, with
vice-president Mike Pence as his
running mate. They are up
against Joe Biden, the Demo-
cratic candidate, and his running
mate, Kamala Harris.
Hours before the party con-
n A cyclist passes by a truck set
on fire by Kenosha protesters. AP
PROTESTS IN US
CITY AFTER COPS
SHOOT UNARMED
BLACK MAN
Reuters
n letters@hindustantimes.com
KENOSHA: Protests erupted in
Kenosha in the US state of Wis-
consin after police shot an appar-
ently unarmed Black man multi-
ple times in the back, according to
the state governor, prompting
authorities to impose a curfew.
The victim in Kenosha, identi-
fied by Wisconsin governor Tony
Evers as Jacob Blake, was hospi-
talised in serious condition.
A video circulating on social
media and cited by the US media
showed a man walking towards a
car followed by two officers and
one of them shooting him as he
opens the car door. Soon after-
wards, multiple fires were set at
the scene by a crowd that gath-
ered to protest against the inci-
dent.
Social media posts showed
crowds marching down streets of
Kenosha and throwing Molotov
cocktails and bricks at police offi-
cers. Police responded by impos-
ing a citywide curfew until 7am
local time. The shooting occurred
at around 5pm as officers were
responding to what they called a
“domestic incident”. The victim
was immediately taken to a hos-
pital. No further explanation was
given by the police as to what led
to the shooting.
The Wisconsin justice depart-
ment said on Monday that offi-
cers involved in the shooting had
been placed on administrative
leave. The state’s Division of
Criminal Investigation said it
would aim to issue a report to
prosecutors within 30 days.
Governor Evers said, “We
stand against excessive use of
force and immediate escalation
when engaging with Black Wis-
consinites.”
n US President Donald Trump during a press briefing at the White House, in Washington, DC.
vention began, the spotlight was
yet again on the revolving doors
at the White House.
Kellyanne Conway, counsellor
to the US president, announced
that she was quitting to spend
more time with her children. It’s
time for “less drama, more
mama”, she said.
Conway and her husband,
George Conway, a conservative
lawyer, were a widely watched
TikTok sues US
govt over curbs
ordered by prez
Agence France-Presse
n letters@hindustantimes.com
SAN FRANCISCO: TikTok said on
Monday it has filed a lawsuit chal-
lenging the US government’s
crackdown on the popular Chi-
nese-owned video app, which
Washington accuses of being a
national security threat.
As tensions soared between
the world’s two biggest econo-
mies, US President Donald
Trump signed an executive order
on August 6 giving Americans 45
days to stop doing business with
TikTok’s Chinese parent com-
pany ByteDance, effectively set-
ting a deadline for a sale of the app
to a US company.
“Today, we are filing a com-
plaint in federal court challeng-
ing the administration’s efforts to
ban TikTok in the US,” the com-
pany said in a blog post.
TikTok argued in the lawsuit
that Trump’s order was a misuse
of International Emergency Eco-
nomic Powers Act because the
platform - on which users share
often playful short-form videos -
is not “an unusual and extraordi-
nary threat”.
The executive order “has the
potential to strip the rights of that
community without any evi-
Bolsonaro threatens to punch reporter who Taliban team in Pakistan
asked about a graft case linked to his wife for Afghan peace talks
Agence France-Presse
n letters@hindustantimes.com
SAO PAULO: Brazilian Presi-
dent Jair Bolsonaro on Sun-
day threatened to punch a
reporter repeatedly in the
mouth after being asked
about his wife’s links to an
alleged corruption scheme.
“I so want to pound your
mouth with punches,” the
president said when a
reporter from O Globo,
posed the question. The
reporter was part of a group
that met Bolsonaro after his
regular Sunday visit to the
Metropolitan Cathedral in
Brasilia.
The president ignored
protests from other journal-
ists after the remarks and
left without making further
comments.
The O Globo reporter
DC couple. As Conway remained
one of the president’s fiercest
defenders, her husband was an
acerbic Trump critic.
The agenda builds on the
“incredible achievements” of
Trump’s first term in office, the
campaign said in the announce-
ment, and added that it will
reflect his “optimism and cer-
tainty in America’s greatness”.
It’s a bare bones announce-
dence to justify such an extreme
action”, the suit argued. “We
believe the administration
ignored our extensive efforts to
address its concerns, which we
conducted fully and in good faith
even as we disagreed with the
concerns themselves.”
TikTok’s kaleidoscopic feeds
of clips feature everything from
dance routines and hair dye tuto-
rials to jokes about daily life and
politics. The app has been down-
loaded 175 million times in the US.
Trump claims TikTok could be
used by China to track the loca-
tions of federal employees, build
dossiers on people for blackmail,
and conduct espionage.
The company has said it has
never provided any US user data
to the Chinese government, and
Beijing has blasted Trump’s
crackdown as political.
The US measures come ahead
of November 3 election in which
Trump, trailing his rival Joe
Biden in the polls, is campaigning
hard on an increasingly tough
anti-Beijing message.
“The administration failed to
follow due process and act in good
faith, neither providing evidence
that TikTok was an actual threat,
nor justification for its punitive
actions,” the company said.
B RA Z I L’ S A N G RY P R E S I D E N T
n Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is surrounded by supporters
as he visits the residence of an adviser in Brasília.
asked about a report in the
magazine Crusoe linking
first lady Michelle Bolson-
aro to Fabrício Queiroz, a
retired police officer and
friend of the president, and
ment, that lists out Trump’s 50
second-term priorities, which he
will spell out in his acceptance
speech on Thursday, the final day
of the convention, and on the
campaign trail.
“Prohibit American Compa-
nies from Replacing United
States Citizens with Lower-Cost
Foreign Workers,” the agenda
said in a section headlined “End
illegal immigration and protect
HK man’s Covid ‘reinfection’ NZplanned
gunman had
raises concerns over immunity asaysthirdprosecutor
Bloomberg
n letters@hindustantimes.com
HONG KONG: A man was infected
with the coronavirus after recov-
ering from an initial bout in April
in what scientists said was the
first case showing that reinfec-
tion may occur within a few
months.
The 33-year-old’s second Cov-
id-19 infection was detected via
airport screening on his return to
Hong Kong from Europe this
month. Researchers at the Uni-
versity of Hong Kong used
genomic sequence analysis to
prove that he had been infected
by two different strains.
The IT worker didn’t develop
any symptoms from his second
infection, which might indicate
any “subsequent infections may
be milder”, the researchers said.
“Our findings suggest that
Sars-CoV-2 may persist in
humans,” Kwok Yung Yuen and
colleagues said on Monday in a
paper accepted for publication in
the journal Clinical Infectious
Diseases.
The findings are reminiscent
of the coronaviruses that cause
common cold, and suggest Sars-
CoV-2 may continue to circulate
“even if patients have acquired
immunity via natural infection or
via vaccination”, they said.
AFP
former adviser to her son
Flavio Bolsonaro, who is
now a senator.
Queiroz and Flavio Bol-
sonaro are under investiga-
tion for a scheme that alleg-
VIRUS TRACKER
23,684,779 814,235
GLOBAL CASES GLOBAL DEATHS
AFP
American workers”, which indi-
cates a hardening of Trump’s
position on immigration.
It hits at the core of the out-
sourcing industry in the US that
has supported IT giants from
many countries, and include
TCS, Infosys and Wipro from
India.
Trump has been turning up
pressure on the outsourcing
industry - centred around H-1B
to attack
mosque,
n A woman wearing a face mask poses for a photo at a shopping centre in Beijing, China.
While some patients have
tested positive for the virus over
many weeks, even after their
symptoms have resolved, scien-
tists haven’t fully understood
whether these cases reflect lin-
gering traces of the virus, a
re-eruption of an infection, or a
new infection.
This is “the world’s first docu-
mentation of a patient who recov-
ered from Covid-19, but got
another episode of Covid-19 after-
wards,” the researchers said in
an emailed statement.
edly swindled pay from gov-
ernment employees when
the younger Bolsonaro was a
regional lawmaker in Rio de
Janeiro, and before Jair Bol-
sonaro became president in
January 2019. According to
the magazine, Queiroz
deposited funds in Michelle
Bolsonaro’s bank account
between 2011 and 2016. The
first lady has said nothing
about the case.
Soon after the president’s
outburst, O Globo issued a
statement repudiating his
“aggression... towards a
journalist from our newspa-
per that was carrying out his
job in a professional man-
ner”.
Such intimidation “shows
that Jair Bolsonaro does not
acknowledge the duty of a
public servant... to be
accountable to the public”.
WORST-HIT NATIONS
CASES
DEATHS
non-immigrant short-term work
visas - from practically the first
quarter of his presidency.
Earlier this month, he issued
another executive order prohibit-
ing federal government agencies
from contracting work to compa-
nies that use foreign workers. At
the same time, he instructed the
labour department to “finalise
guidance to prevent H-1B
employers from moving H-1B
workers to other employers’ job
sites to displace US workers”.
Trump has suspended all legal
immigration - green cards - and
short-term non-immigration
work visas, such as H-1B, till the
end of December to ensure that
millions of Americans laid off
because of the Covid-19 pandemic
have a first shot at jobs that
become available.
Other elements of the agenda
on immigration were a continua-
tion of the current policies, such
as ensuring that new immigrants
don’t need state help, and block-
ing illegal immigrants from tax-
payer-funded programmes and
free college tuition.
‘ENDLESS WARS’
Ending “endless wars” and get-
ting “allies to pay their fair share”
would be Trump 2.0’s “America
First foreign policy”, which con-
tinues the emphasis on bringing
home troops from Afghanistan
and making NATO allies ramp up
their respective defence efforts.
Other foreign policy priorities
include wiping out global terror-
ism that threaten Americans, and
build a “great” cybersecurity
defence system and missile
defence system.
US okays use of plasma
Agence France-Presse
n letters@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON: US authorities have
given emergency authorisation
for use of blood plasma from
recovered Covid-19 patients as a
treatment against the disease
amid reports that the Trump
administration is weighing to
fast-track use of a vaccine before
the November election.
Rezaul H Laskar
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Less than a week after
taking steps to enforce UN Secu-
rity Council sanctions against
hundreds of terrorists, Pakistan
on Monday invited a Taliban del-
egation led by one of the UN-des-
ignated leaders for talks on
Afghanistan’s peace process.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar,
a co-founder of the Taliban and
deputy political chief of the
group, was among scores of Tali-
ban and Haqqani Network opera-
tives named in a statutory regula-
tory order issued by Pakistan’s
foreign office on August 18 to
enforce the UN sanctions, which
include a freeze on assets, a travel
ban and ensuring they cannot
access weapons.
Baradar and the delegation
arrived in Islamabad from Doha
on Monday, and are expected to
hold talks with Pakistan’s civil-
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
TUESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0
1 US 2 BRAZIL
(BY CASES)
3 INDIA*
5,889,047 3,610,028 3,162,570 961,493
180,753 114,913 58,532 16,448
(AS OF 10:40 PM IST)
n A photo taken on July 20, 2019 shows Russian opposition leader
Alexei Navalny speaking to a crowd in Moscow.
Tests show Putin’s
critic Navalny was
poisoned: Doctors
Associated Press
n letters@hindustantimes.com
BERLIN: Tests conducted on Rus-
sian dissident Alexei Navalny at
a German hospital indicate that
he was poisoned, but doctors
said on Monday he was being
treated with an antidote and his
life was not in immediate dan-
ger.
The Charité hospital said in a
statement that the team of doc-
tors who have been examining
Navalny since he was flown
from Siberia and admitted on
Saturday have found indica-
tions of “cholinesterase inhibi-
tors” in his system.
Cholinesterase inhibitors are
a broad range of substances that
are found in several drugs, but
also pesticides and nerve
agents. Charité said the specific
substance to which Navalny
was exposed is not yet known.
“The patient is being treated
in intensive care and remains in
medically induced coma. While
his condition is serious, it is not
currently life-threatening,” the
hospital said in a statement.
Cholinesterase inhibitors act
by blocking the breakdown of a
AFP
Plasma is believed to contain
powerful antibodies that can help
fight off the disease faster and
help protect people from being
seriously hurt by it.
“This product may be effective
in treating Covid-19 and... the
known and potential benefits of
the product outweigh the known
and potential risks of the prod-
uct,” Food and Drug Administra-
tion (FDA) said in a statement.
ian and military leadership.
Pakistan’s recent move to
enforce the UN sanctions, which
also apply to Lashkar-e-Taiba
founder Hafiz Saeed, Jaish-e-Mo-
hammed chief Masood Azhar and
hundreds of terrorists, was
widely perceived as having been
taken with an eye on an upcom-
ing assessment of the country’s
counterterror financing regime
by the Financial Action Task
Force (FATF). The assessment is
expected in October.
People familiar with develop-
ments said the invitation to the
sanctioned Taliban leader under-
line Pakistan’s reluctance to sin-
cerely take action against terror-
ist individuals and entities.
“How can one take the notifica-
tion they issued on August 18 seri-
ously when this is the next step
taken by them?” said one of the
people cited above.
Baradar, one of the Taliban’s
main negotiators, had signed the
4 RUSSIA 5 S AFRICA
609,773
13,059
SOURCE: WORLDOMETER * COMPILED BY HT
AP
key chemical in the body, acety-
choline, that transmits signals
between nerve cells.
This results in overstimula-
tion of the junction between
nerves and muscles. Each year
hundreds of thousands of people
suffer from cholinesterase
inhibitors poisoning, mostly
due to exposure to pesticides.
Navalny is being treated with
the antidote atropine, the hospi-
tal said.
“Alexei Navalny’s prognosis
remains unclear; the possibility
of long-term effects, particu-
larly those affecting the nervous
system, cannot be excluded,” it
said.
Navalny, a politician and cor-
ruption investigator who is one
of Russian President Vladimir
Putin’s fiercest critics, fell ill on
a flight back to Moscow from
Siberia on Thursday and was
taken to a hospital in the city of
Omsk after the plane made an
emergency landing.
His family and supporters
believe that tea that the 44-year-
old drank was laced with poison
- and that the Kremlin is behind
both his illness and a delay in
transferring him to Germany.
Agencies
n letters@hindustantimes.com
CHRISTCHURCH: The man who
slaughtered 51 worshippers at
two New Zealand mosques last
year had intended to burn down
the mosques after attacking a
third one, a prosecutor said in
court as his four-day sentencing
hearing began on Monday.
The gunman, Australian Bren-
ton Tarrant, pleaded guilty in
March to 51 counts of murder, 40
counts of attempted murder and
one count of terrorism.
New details about the March
2019 attacks were outlined during
the first day of a sentencing hear-
ing at the Christchurch high
court. Prosecutors outlined the
attacks in a 26-page summary, the
first detailed account by authori-
ties about what happened on
March 15 last year.
Crown prosecutor Barnaby
Hawes said Tarrant moved to
New Zealand in 2017 and began
buying an arsenal of high-pow-
ered weapons.
Tarrant’s attack targeted peo-
ple praying at the Al Noor and
Linwood mosques. Prosecutors
also said that after Tarrant left
the Linwood mosque, he planned
to drive to the town of Ashburton
and attack a third mosque.
peace deal with the US in Febru-
ary. Taliban spokesman Suhail
Shaheen tweeted on Monday that
Baradar and his delegation were
visiting Islamabad at the “invita-
tion of Pakistan’s foreign minis-
try”.
Pakistan foreign minister
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on
Monday the talks with the Tali-
ban were aimed at bringing peace
and stability to Afghanistan.
Sameer Patil, fellow for inter-
national security studies at Gate-
way House, said Pakistan was
more intent on protecting its
political interests than cracking
down on terror. “FATF began
increasing the pressure on Paki-
stan after several attacks by anti-
India terrorist groups based in
Pakistan. Since then, Pakistan
has taken some steps to show it is
acting on FATF’s action plan. But
it will keep on protecting its polit-
ical interests, over and above
what it does for FATF,” he said.
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
T UESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0
Narada case: ED
issues notices to
5 TMC leaders
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
KOLKATA: The Enforcement
Directorate on Monday sent
notices to five Trinamool Con-
gress (TMC) leaders and sum-
moned a suspended Indian
Police Service officer in connec-
tion with the 2016 Narada sting
operation case.
An ED official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said
that the leaders – Lok Sabha
members Saugata Roy and
Kakali Ghosh Dastidar, former
Lok Sabha member Aparupa
Poddar, minister Suvendu
Adhikari and TMC leader Ratna
Chatterjee -- have been asked to
furnish details of property
owned by their families. Chatter-
jee’s husband, the former Kolk-
ata mayor Sovon Chatterjee, is
also an accused in this case.
The case is also being probed
by the Central Bureau of Investi-
gation (CBI).
While Saugata Roy and
Suvendu Adhikari said they
would reply after receiving ED
notices, the other three leaders
were not immediately available
for comments.
The case pertains to a contro-
versy that erupted in March 2016
after Narada News portal
uploaded a series of videos pur-
portedly showing a number of
high-profile TMC leaders receiv-
ing money in exchange for
favours to a fictitious company.
The CBI filed an FIR in the
case on March 16, 2017, acting on
a Calcutta high court order,
which was upheld by the
Supreme Court. The CBI and ED
probed bank transactions and
wire transfers.
The CBI also registered FIR
against then TMC Rajya Sabha
MP Mukul Roy, who later joined
the BJP and became the opposi-
tion party’s election strategist in
Bengal.The suspended officer is
Saiyaad Mustafa Hussain Mirza,
who was posted as superintend-
ent of police in Burdwan district
during the sting operation.
AN ED OFFICIAL SAYS
THAT THE LEADERS
HAVE BEEN ASKED TO
FURNISH DETAILS OF
PROPERTY OWNED BY
THEIR FAMILIES
INTRODUCING ONE OF
INDIA'S BIGGEST
CODING OLYMPIADS
For students from classes VI - IX
Rs.
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frompageone
Covid danger
fatigue, more than half had diffi-
culty breathing, concentrating,
exercising and sleeping, while at
least 40% had anxiety, memory
problems and dizziness.
A study of 110 patients treated
for Covid in a hospital in Bristol,
UK, found 75% were experiencing
at least one symptoms three
months after recovery, with
breathlessness, fatigue and mus-
cle ache reported by 81 patients
long after being diagnosed free of
disease.
These symptoms overlap with
those of patients with chronic
fatigue syndrome (myalgic
encephalomyelitis), which is a
disease of unknown etiology.
“Although a causal link
between Sars-CoV2 and the
appearance of autoimmune and
auto-inflammatory diseases has
not yet been firmly established, it
is suggested by the temporal asso-
ciation with the current Covid-19
pandemic and the history of expo-
sure of affected patients to Sars-
CoV2,” according to a study in the
scientific journal, Nature
Reviews Rheumatology, on June
4.
IMMUNE THREAT
Emerging reports show Sars-
CoV2 infection is followed by var-
ious autoimmune and auto-in-
flammatory diseases, including
multisystem inflammatory syn-
drome in children. “Early diag-
nosis of Covid-19-linked autoim-
mune and auto-inflammatory
diseases, and prompt initiation of
therapy, is crucial for successful
recovery and preventing end-or-
gan damage and fatality,” said the
Nature study, which suggested
that Sars-CoV2 could act as a
direct trigger of autoimmune
and/or auto-inflammatory con-
ditions either by molecular mim-
icry or some other, unknown
mechanisms.
“When Sars-Cov2 attaches to
the spike protein ACE-2, it acti-
vates the cytokine release syn-
drome that activates immune
cells to increase inflammation.
The pro-inflammation cytokines
include IL-1, IL-6 and IL-10. The
chief among them is IL-6 that
causes direct damage to cells and
triggers other cells to release
cytokines, leading to damage to
all organs with ACE-2, which
include the lungs, heart, blood
vessels, kidneys, liver and gastro-
intestinal tract,” said Arvinder S
Soin, chairman of the Medanta
Liver Transplant Institute, Med-
anta-The Medicity, Gurugram.
“IL-6 has been implicated in
triggering a cytokine story and in
the pathogenesis of myocarditis,
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499*
which explains why drugs that
block IL-6 like the steroid dexam-
ethasone and monoclonal anti-
bodies tocilizumab and saril-
umab benefit patents with Cov-
id-19,” added Dr Soin, who is the
national lead of the Indian multi-
centre trial on Tocilizumab (a
drug used to treat auto-immune
conditions) in moderate and
severe Covid-19.
BLOOD VESSEL TROUBLE
Heart attacks and stroke after
recovery have also been reported
in otherwise healthy patients.
Heart images of people taken 10
weeks after Covid-19 infection
found 78 of 100 had cardiac
involvement, and 60% had ongo-
ing myocardial inflammation,
which was independent of pre-ex-
isting conditions, severity and
course of the illness, and the time
from the original diagnosis,
according to a study published on
July 27 in the journal JAMA Car-
diology.
“A study of patients in Wuhan,
China, found 5% experienced
stroke. Neurological symptoms
were seen in 36.4% of patients, but
were more common in patients
with severe disease according to
respiratory status, which
included stroke, impaired con-
sciousness and muscle injury,”
said Dr Pushpendra Renjen, sen-
ior neurologist, Apollo Hospital.
The study was reported in JAMA
Neurology in April.
“The disease is just eight
months old, and though we are
learning with each passing day, it
will take years to fully under-
stand the long-term effects of
Covid-19,” added Dr Renjen.
WAY FORWARD
With long Covid increasingly
being reported in patients in
India, the Union health ministry
has begun formulating guide-
lines on the management of post-
recovery long-haul complica-
tions. “A section of recovered
patients experience respiratory
or heart-related issues, renal or
liver complications, or even oph-
thalmological side effects. A joint
monitoring group chaired by
director general health services
(Dr Rajiv Garg) is studying data
from Covid-19 hospitals across
India to draft guidelines on the
long-term care required,” said
Union health secretary Rajesh
Bhushan.
People with long Covid met
World Health Organisation
(WHO) director general Dr
Adhanom G Tedros on Friday.
“These patients want three
things: recognition, rehabilita-
tion and research. Recognition of
their disease, appropriate reha-
T
bilitation services, and more
research to be done into the long-
term effects of this new illness.
We still know relatively little
about the long-term effects,” said
Dr Tedros, in a statement.
“My message to these patients
was... we are committed to work-
ing with countries to ensure you
receive the services you need,
and to advancing research to
serve you better,” he said.
Congress
Only four of the 23 leaders who
signed the letter are CWC mem-
bers, which made them eligible to
attend the meeting — Ghulam
Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma,
Mukul Wasnik and Jitin Prasada.
Attacked for criticising the lead-
ership, the dissidents expressed
their support for Sonia and Rahul
Gandhi, claimed that the letter
was not intended to question the
leadership of the Nehru-Gandhi
family, and it had been “miscon-
strued”, but asserted that it had
been written within the limits of a
democratic party.
According to people familiar
with the contents of the letter,
sent on August 7, a set of leaders
— which also included Kapil
Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Manish
Tewari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda,
and Milind Deora, among others
— criticised the lack of honest
introspection after electoral
defeats, and asked for a full-time,
effective, “active” and “visible”
president; elections at all levels in
the party (including the CWC);
establishing an institutional
leadership model to collectively
guide the party; and a national
coalition with like-minded par-
ties, among other steps.
HT has not seen a copy of the
letter.
Monday’s CWC resolution,
which is the final word in the
party for now, after enumerating
the challenges facing the coun-
try, stated that Sonia and Rahul
Gandhi are “two voices that have
been at the forefront of exposing
the government’s inadequate
responses, divisive politics and
audacious propaganda” and that
the two have “inspired a genera-
tion of Indians”; it pledged to
“strengthen” their hands “in
every possible way”; and
asserted that “no one will be or
can be permitted to undermine or
weaken the party and its leader-
ship at this juncture”.
According to several leaders
present in the meeting who HT
spoke to, the proceedings began
with Sonia Gandhi reiterating
her decision to step down, as she
had noted in a letter to party gen-
eral secretary (organisation) KC
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Venugopal last week. She took
over as interim chief last August,
after Rahul Gandhi resigned after
the Congress defeat in the Lok
Sabha elections. “In the interest
of the party, I ask CWC to begin
deliberations to put in place the
process of transition to relieve me
of my duties,’’ she wrote in the let-
ter.
There was, however, over-
whelming support for Sonia and
Rahul Gandhi — among the 52
members who spoke, a majority
either wanted Sonia to continue
or Rahul to take over, or the
former to continue till the latter
took over.
According to one person at the
meeting, Sonia Gandhi directly
addressed Azad, the senior-most
leader among the letter signato-
ries, “You know me so well, Azad
sahib. How could you think that I
will take any decision on the lead-
ership issue without consulting
party leaders? You could always
come and meet me. I retired long
ago. I don’t want to hang on to this
chair. So, what’s the motive of
this letter?”
Rahul Gandhi, too, was critical
of the timing of the letter, and
referred to the fact that the party
was engaged in political battles
when it was written (in Rajast-
han, it was dealing with an intra-
party rebellion led by Sachin
Pilot, while in Madhya Pradesh, it
faces a set of crucial bypolls), and
that Sonia Gandhi was then in the
hospital.
According to a second person
who participated in the meeting,
referring to his mother, Sonia,
Rahul said, “She didn’t want to be
Congress president, and I didn’t
want her to be because of her
health, and yet you all insisted
that she become [the president].
Why then do you have a problem
with her? Challenging her
authority and talking about the
collective leadership was an
insult to her.”
Rahul was incorrectly
reported on Monday morning to
have alleged that the letter-writ-
ers were in collusion with the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
leading to Sibal putting out a
tweet defending his commitment
to the party. This, in turn, led to
Gandhi calling and speaking to
Sibal to clarify he had never made
such a remark — which, then,
saw Sibal withdraw his tweet.
Former Prime Minister Dr
Manmohan Singh said the letter
was “unfortunate” and shouldn’t
have been written, even as he
supported Sonia Gandhi’s contin-
ued stint as president. Former
defence minister AK Antony
called the letter “cruel”. Ahmed
Patel, among Sonia Gandhi’s
closest aides, said that he was
pained that three senior leaders
— Azad, Wasnik and Sharma —
who occupied positions in the
party had signed the letter.
“There are times when a per-
son is angry over certain deci-
sions in the party but that does
not mean one starts writing let-
ters,” he said, according to a per-
son familiar with the proceedings
of the meeting. Party general sec-
retary Ambika Soni demanded
action against the signatories,
and said rules should be the same
for seniors and juniors.
But on behalf of the signato-
ries, Azad said that the letter was
not directed against Sonia Gan-
dhi and Rahul Gandhi, and was
“misconstrued” by some people.
Azad claimed that for the past
month, there had been rumours
that Rahul Gandhi did not want to
return as president while Sonia
Gandhi did not want to remain
party chief, and that someone else
may be appointed. It was in that
context of a possible third person
being appointed, Azad said, the
letter had been written, to urge
the Congress president to discuss
and consult with them before
appointing somebody to the post.
Mukul Wasnik said he owed a
lot to Sonia Gandhi, while Anand
Sharma — who was accused by
Ahmed Patel of drafting the letter
— said that the letter was written
with the permissible limits of a
democratic party. Prasada said
the idea was to only flag organisa-
tional issues and the letter wasn’t
directed at the Gandhis.
Towards the end of the meet-
ing, however, Sonia Gandhi
sought to heal the divisions.
Quoting her, the party’s chief
spokesperson, Randeep Singh
Surjewala, said, “We are a large
family, we have differences on
many occasions but in the end, we
come together as one. The need of
the hour is to fight for the cause of
the people and forces that are fail-
ing this country.”
“Organisational issues are
always addressed and process of
constitution and reconstitution is
a continuous one.”
While no one from the dissent-
ing group wanted to comment
officially, one MP told HT, “It’s
the beginning of a process and not
the end.”
The BJP said it had nothing to
do with the Congress’s internal
matter. “As a former Congress
person, I can say that the mirror
has cracked and it is all out in the
public domain,” senior leader
Tom Vadakkan said.
Mumbai-based political ana-
lyst Abhay Deshpande said the
dissenting leaders had raised
genuine concerns about the func-
hindustantimes
tioning of the organisation.
“They are also worried not only
about their future but that of the
party as well. For the time being,
the issue has been put under the
carpet but I am sure it will resur-
face within next six months if the
concerns raised by them are not
addressed,” he said.
Author and commentator
Rasheed Kidwai said, “It’s going
to be a fascinating, protracted
battle. The dissenters have many
tricks up their sleeve so let’s see
what happens.”
Metro
local governments, Metro rail
corporations and security agen-
cies.
“The new norms being drafted
by the MHA on the resumption of
Metro rail are likely to include
contact-less ticketing through
Metro cards, increase in the aver-
age stoppage time at each station,
markings for queues across all
stations for crowd control and
social distancing, and an over-
haul in the air-conditioning sys-
tem inside trains to ensure supply
of fresh air,” said an official who
did not want to be named.
This official said Metro servi-
ces, which have stopped since
March 22, are likely to begin in a
calibrated manner, similar to the
way train and flight services
resumed with reduced frequency
and limited capacity.
Passengers travelling in Metro
trains may not be allowed to use
tokens anymore with the Centre
planning to implement a contact-
less ticketing system involving
Metro cards alone, HT reported
on April 30. Another official said
state governments can further
decide how to run Metro trains
and take a call on their timings.
The final decision on whether to
run the services is likely to rest
with the concerned states.
“We are ready to resume servi-
ces in a few days’ notice, but are
awaiting a formal nod from MHA.
Across states, preparations have
been made to ensure markings
(for crowd management) across
all stations. Delhi has highest vol-
ume of Metro users. Arrange-
ments have been made at stations
and inside trains for social dis-
tancing,” the second official said.
With nearly six million pas-
senger journeys a day, the Metro
is the lifeline of Delhi. Chief min-
ister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday
urged the central government to
consider restarting the services
in the city in a phased manner, if
needed.
“People of Delhi have been
requesting us to start Metro ser-
vices. We have taken this up with
13
the central government on sev-
eral occasions. We have urged the
Centre to explore the possibility
of resuming Metro services in
Delhi, while keeping it prohibited
in other states as of now. Delhi is
a special case because we have
the Covid situation under con-
trol,” Kejriwal said in a speech at
the end of a webinar with traders
in the city.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corpora-
tion (DMRC) and the Central
Industrial Security Force (CISF),
which provides security to Met-
ros, have chalked out protocols to
ensure smooth and contactless
travel in the time of the pan-
demic. CISF has already con-
ducted drills on how passengers
will queue up at entry points and
platforms, an official in the para-
military force said.
The fresh development came
at a time when the Covid-19 posi-
tivity rate has started rising again
in Delhi, with 7.4% of all tests con-
ducted in the past week coming
back positive — the highest this
number has touched in over a
month. In this backdrop, experts
flagged concerns over the
resumption of Metro services.
“I have my apprehensions...as
it is going to be a huge challenge to
control the spread of infection
among people travelling together
in a closed space like the Delhi
Metro. For the convenience of
people, it is a good idea to start
public transport. But from an epi-
demic point of view, it is a bad
idea,” said Sandeep Nayar, senior
director, department of respira-
tory medicine, allergy and sleep
disorders, BLK Super Speciality
Hospital in the national capital.
“How frequently will the
Metro be disinfected? And since
all surfaces such as railings,
poles, elevators will be frequently
touched surfaces, how often will
these be disinfected?” Nayar
wondered.
The government imposed
strict curbs on activities and
travel across the country on
March 25. After 68 days of a hard
lockdown, the government began
implementing a graded plan to
reopen businesses and bring eco-
nomic activities, hit hard by the
pandemic and the restrictions
that followed, back on track in
June. It was then that the “Unlock
1” phase guidelines came into
place. Shops, malls, hotels and
restaurants, offices and religious
places have been allowed to open
in a phased manner over the past
few months. Restrictions on
interstate and intrastate travel
too have been lifted. Train servi-
ces and flight operations, includ-
ing limited flights to and from
abroad, have resumed.
*T&C
14 hindustantimes HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
TUESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0

DRDO lists 108 items to boost local industry

HT Correspondent person said. “This initiative will duction orders on suitable Indian included artillery guns, light mil-
n letters@hindustantimes.com pave the way for the Indian industry. This will allow the itary transport aircraft, conven-
defence industry to develop many DRDO to focus on design and tional submarines and long-
NEWDELHI: From mini unmanned technologies towards building an development of critical and range land attack cruise missiles.
aerial vehicles to fire detection AtmaNirbhar Bharat,” the advanced technologies and sys- The detailed list of equipment
systems and bullet proof vehicles defence minister’s office tweeted. tems,” it added. published by the defence minis-
to tank transporters, the Defence The other items on the list pre- The present industry base of try has spelled out that the
Research and Development pared by the DRDO are NBC the DRDO consists of 1,800 micro, embargo on import will kick in
Organisation (DRDO) has come (nuclear, biological and chemi- small and medium enterprises, between December 2020 and
out with a list of 108 systems and cal) shelters, missile canisters, defence public sector undertak- December 2025 for different cate-
sub-systems that it will help the navigation radars, satellite navi- ings, ordnance factories and gories of military hardware.
Indian industry design and gation receivers, mine-laying large-scale industries. The hardware on the negative
develop to strengthen the local equipment and armoured engi- On August 9, the government import list includes assault rifles,
INDIA GOVERNMENT MINT, MUMBAI defence ecosystem. neering reconnaissance vehicles. announced that it will ban the sniper rifles, short-range surface-
ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 & NABL/ISO 17025:2017 Certified Unit A DRDO delegation briefed The DRDO will also provide import of 101 different types of to-air missiles, beyond visual
A Unit of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited defence minister Rajnath Singh support to the domestic industry. weapons, systems and ammuni- range air-to-air missiles, cor-
CIN : U22213DL2006GOI144763
Mini -Ratna Category - I CPSE (Wholly owned by Govt. of India) on Monday on the 108 defence “All the requirements of these tion over the next five years, a sig- vettes, missile destroyers, light
Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai-400 001
Tel: 022 -22703184/85 Fax: 022 – 22661450 items identified for local produc- systems by R&D establishments, nificant step on the long road combat helicopter, ship-borne
Email: purchase.igmm@spmcil.com Web: igmmumbai.spmcil.com tion by the industry to achieve armed forces and other security towards achieving self-reliance cruise missiles, light combat air-
NOTICE INVITING EXPRESS NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING self-reliance in the defence sec- agencies can be met through in the defence sector. craft, a variety of radars and dif-
India Government Mint Mumbai invites sealed tenders from eligible and qualified tor, a defence ministry spokes- development contracts or pro- The negative import list ferent types of ammunition.
tenderers for the following :
Tender Brief description Earnest Money Due date & time for
No./date of goods/services Deposit (EMD) opening of tender
EXPRESS Non-Comprehensive Rs. 42,000/- (Rupees
6000015170/
25.08.2020
AMC of IT
Infrastructure
Forty Two Thousand
only) Please refer
Techno-Commercial
Bid-08.09.2020
UP journalist, 45, Heavy rainfall, floods Pranab’s condition
Section I Clause 4 for
exemption of EMD
For further details, please visit our website igmmumbai.spmcil.com.
at 3.00 pm
with Hindi news claim 9 lives in Guj unchanged, still
efnvoer DevegJeeo nceejer JesyemeeFì igmmumbai.spmcil.com Hej GHeueyOe nw~ Corrigendum, if any, will
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Chief Purchase & Stores Officer
channel shot dead Press Trust of India catchment area over the last few
in coma: Hospital
For Chief General Manager Press Trust of India n letters@hindustantimes.com days. The water level of the river NEWDELHI:The condition of former
letters@hindustantimes.com was recorded at 204.38 metres at 8 President Pranab Mukherjee
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BALLIA (UP): A journalist working
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688/d½F0ªFF0d½F0£Fa0/¦FF0¶FFQ/MXe-2, dQ³FFaIY: 24.08.2020 “He was shot dead at the resi-
dence of the village head. It’s
being told that they had some old
dispute. Investigation is under-
way,” news agency ANI quoted
SP Devendra Nath as saying.
NEWDELHI:Incessant rains claimed
nine lives in Gujarat on Monday
and flooded major rivers in the
state, prompting 1,900 people to
move to safety, even as the IMD
forecast heavy showers for parts
of north India, Bengal and Odi-
sha.
Although Delhi witnessed
overcast conditions that kept the
mercury in check, the meteoro-
logical department has predicted
heavy rains between Wednesday
and Friday.
This may spell trouble for the
national capital as the water level
of the Yamuna river rose peril-
ously close to the danger mark on
Monday morning after 5,883
cusec water was released from
the Hathinikund Barrage in Har-
yana following heavy rains in its
am, which is just below the dan-
ger mark of 205.33 metres.
Like Delhi, maximum temper-
atures in Haryana and Punjab
hovered close to normal limits on
Monday. These states may also
witness rain or thundershowers
over the next two days.
In Uttar Pradesh, light to mod-
erate rains and thundershowers
occurred at many places, with the
MeT department predicting simi-
lar weather for Tuesday too.
Heavy rains continued to pound
Gujarat, especially the Saurash-
tra region, flooding low-lying
areas and disrupting normal life.
With many rivers in spate in
the state, over 1,900 people in
Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Sabar-
kantha, Patan, and Mehsana dis-
tricts were shifted to safer places.
remained unchanged on Monday
and he continues to be in deep
coma, the Army’s Research and
Referral hospital said.
Doctors attending on the
84-year-old Mukherjee said he is
being treated for respiratory
infection. His vital parameters
are stable and he continues to be
on ventilator support, they said.
Mukherjee was admitted to the
hospital in Delhi cantonment on
August 10. “The condition of Shri
Pranab Mukherjee remains
unchanged this morning. He is
deeply comatose and is being
treated for respiratory infection.
His vital parameters are stable
and he continues to be on ventila-
tory support,” the hospital said.
The former President had
tested positive for Covid-19. PTI

FIR

GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
INVITATION FOR TENDERS DETAILED TENDER NOTICE DR. B.R. SUR HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL
e-Tender Notice No. 08, for 2020-21 NANAK PURA MOTI BAGH, NEW DELHI - 110021
Online percentage rate tenders in B-1 Form are invited by the Executive Engineer, Construction Division, Worli, 3rd Floor, New Administrative ADDENDUM
Building, Worli Dairy Compound, A.G. Khan Road, Worli Sea-face Worli, Mumbai-400 018 (Ph. 022-24949054 Fax 26231587) for the following work of
Government of Maharashtra from the registered Government contractors of appropriate security deposit, time limit for completion of work etc. are as under. In partial modification of the Notice published on 10.11.2019 for the recruitment of Senior
Residents (Homoeopathy), the number of posts of Senior Residents (Homoeopathy) for the
No. Name of work Estimated Earnest Total Class of Blank Time limit in
cost money Security Contractor Tender fees Tender various categories shall now be as under:
(Rs. Lakh) (Rupees) Deposit (Rupees) (Calendar Dr. B. R. Sur Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital (1 UR, 1 OBC, 1 SC)
Amount Months) Nehru Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital (2 UR)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Candidates must send their applications through email at principal_shmc@yahoo.com
1. Structural repair and strengthening to column, beam, slab in the back 7781370/- 78000/- 156000/- IV A and 1000/- 6 Calendar
side and structural repairs to terrace slab of the building with the provision Above Months latest by 27th August 2020 (11.59 PM). The proforma of application is available on the
of G.I. Sheets for roofing with the frame pre- coated of G.I. Member for the (Including website http://shmch.delhigovt.nic.in.
protection of terrace slab of the wing no.15 & wing no.16 of Class-IV Qtrs Monsoon) 1. Now, there will not be any written examination. Selection will be made on the basis of merit-
@ worli dairy. cum-performance in the interview scheduled to be held from 28th August to 30th August
2. Repairing of delapilated Balconies & internal Qtr repairs to building No. F, 8638047/- 87000/- 174000/- IV A and 1000/- 6 Calendar 2020.
G & H & Providing Shed at terrace using pre-coated G.I. Sheet with M.S. Above Months
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Tender form, conditions of contract, specifications and contract drawings can be downloaded from the e-Tendering portal of Public Works Department, 3. List of candidates who were then not found eligible is also available on http://shmch.
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1. Tender published on dated 30/07/2020 10.00 30/07/2020 6.55 5. In addition, 08 “Research Associates” (4 UR, 2 EWS, 1 SC, 1 OBC) (number of
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6. Envelop 1 Opening @ Office of The Executive Engineer, Construction Division, Worli. 3rd Floor,
College, 01 (One) post shall be reserved for the candidate with benchmark disability (PwD)
New Administrative Building, Worli Dairy Compound, A.G.Khan Road, Worli Sea-face Worli, 26/8/2020 14.05 26/8/2020 6.55
Mumbai-400 018. (If Possible) who shall be adjusted against the post of the category to which he/she belongs.
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Contact Us (N I C) The 24/7 Toll free Telephonic Help Desk 0120-4200462, 0120-4001002, 022-27560149, +91-8826246593 Resident (Homoeopathy) under UR (Unreserved) category in response to Advertisement
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No. EE/CD(Worli)/Tender/590 by the Competent Authority for consideration of their candidature for the posts of Research
Office of The Executive Engineer, Associates in Dte. of AYUSH, Delhi as advertised vide addendum dated 20.08.2020. A copy
Construction Division, Worli, 3rd Floor, New Administrative Building, Worli Dairy Compound, of the certificate shall be submitted through email to principal_shmc@yahoo.com latest by
A. G. Khan Road, Worli Sea-face, Worli, Mumbai-400 018. 27th August 2020 (11.59 PM).
Ph. 022-24949054 Fax 022-24938413 Email ID :- constworli.ee@mahapwd.com Executive Engineer, This is issued with the prior approval of Director (AYUSH).
Date :- 21/07/2020 Construction Division, (Dr. Asha Chowdhry)
DGIPR/2020-2021/ROC 583 Worli, Mumbai-18. DIP/Shabdarth/0251/20-21 Principal Incharge
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
T UESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0 hindustantimes 15

Mobile app likely thecrosswords

PUZZLE 15698
to integrate all CRYPTIC CLUES
ACROSS
© Gemini Crosswords 2018 All rights reserved

www.hindustantimes.com/delhi

hospitals, clinics 1
4
She eats her stew (7)
Poet who makes a big hit in American sport (5)

in Delhi: Kejriwal 7
8
10
Over-disposed to wander (4)
Items of clothing used by violinists (1-7)
Fast death? (10)
12 Back-biters (6)
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
13 Starts to play snooker in respites from Mayank Austen Soofi EXPERIENCE YOUR CITY LIKE NEVER BEFORE
work (6)
15 Sent crazy by other claims on your
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister
attention? (10)
Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said
18 Dependant paid for help when needed (8)
that all hospitals, polyclinics and
19 Boat painter’s material (4)
mohalla clinics of the state gov-
20 A gesture one doesn’t care to make (5)
ernment will be integrated onto a
21 Horrified by current events? (7)
common online system, possibly
a mobile phone application,
within a year. DOWN
Kejriwal made the announce- 1 Conditions laid down for periods in school (5)
ment after virtually launching a 2 Leave bin out - it’s very desirable (8) QUICK CLUES
mobile app and an online outpa- 3 Capital way to buy cups and saucers, for
tient department (OPD) appoint- example (6) ACROSS DOWN
ment system for Shri Dada Dev 4 Where dockers may celebrate a boom? (7,3) 1 Distraught (7) 1 Do without (5)
5 A large number and then some is still a large 4 Hose (5) 2 An opening (8)
Matri Avum Shishu Chikitsalaya
number (4) 7 Smell strongly (4) 3 Polish composer (6)
on Monday. The chief minister
6 Puts up some opposition to sister’s new 8 Evergreen fragrant shrub (8) 4 Perceive true nature of (3,7)
also said the bed capacity of the 10 Hidden (3,2,5) 5 Friendly conversation (4)
order (7)
hospital will be increased from 12 Equality (6) 6 To an exorbitant level (3-4)
9 Dominant reason for saddle-soreness (10)
106 beds to 281 beds. 13 Glossiness (6) 9 Without preparation (3,3,4)
11 A final observation? (4,4)
“The Delhi government is 15 Possessions (10) 11 Canadian city (8)
12 In a way, it harms the sun god (7)
bringing together all hospitals in 18 Without parallel (8) 12 Throw into confusion (7)
14 The force of emphasis (6) 19 Incentive (4) 14 Insincere (6)
Delhi through a ‘hospital man-
16 A number study in anxiety (5) 20 Instructions for counsel (5) 16 Suffice (5)
agement information system’
17 It may guide the traveller over deserts (4) 21 Argue angrily (7) 17 Nocturnal, flightless bird (4)
(HMIS), including mohalla clin-
ics, polyclinics, multi-speciality
and super-speciality hospitals. YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS (15697)
This is a very ambitious project
and will be completed within one CRYPTIC QUICK
year. I have shown the app to
many people and the app has var-
ious features. We will integrate
all those features with our HMIS
to improve the system’s effi-

ciency,” Kejriwal said.
Talking about the mobile app
and online OPD services
launched at the Dada Dev Hospi-
tal, Kejriwal said the facility con-
ducts around 10,000 deliveries
annually, making it an important
facility. “If two-three women are
being treated on a single bed, this
is not right, especially in Delhi,
which is the national capital. This
issue will be solved with the
expansion of the hospital,” he
said.
Shri Dada Dev Matri Avum
Shishu Chikitsalaya is a 106-bed-
ded hospital located in south-
west Delhi’s Dabri to provide
mother and child healthcare ser-
vices. This is the first hospital
established by the Delhi govern-
ment to provide mother and child
healthcare services in an ‘inte-
grated way’, the government
said.
The app is aimed at benefitting
pregnant women, who can book
their appointments and have to
reach the doctors’ rooms just half
an hour before their consultation
time.
A human solo
Glimpsing the life of a man without friends
It is late in the night — about 10.30pm.
The traffic has thinned down. Swiftly
darting his eyes around, the man rests
PRIVATE his gaze upon a young passerby by the
CAPITAL roadside. He walks up to him, and
the city you whispers in English, “Brother, don’t
never see take offence but I see that you are very
htsudoku lucky.” The passerby stares at him for a
moment, looking puzzled, and goes away
Fill in all the squares in the grid so that
with quick steps. The man lowers his head,
each row, column and each of the 9X9 and then raises his eyes, staring around
squares contains all the digits from 1 to 9. suspiciously. He finally sits down on a bench,
here on this central Delhi street.
“I’m in a very dire situation at the moment,”
Sanjeev says. In dusty blue jeans and long
whitish kurta, he has a green scarf hanging
around his neck. His beard is scraggly. He has
drooping shoulders; his eyes are sunken.
Sitting away from the orange glow of the
street lamp, he is reduced to his silhouette.
“I collect money from passers-by,” he says in
DIFFICULTY
DIFFICULTY
DIFFICULTY
DIFFICULTY
LEVE
DIFFICULTY LEVEL fluent English. “These are donations so that I
can take care of my daily food.”
Taking out a packet from his kurta, Sanjeev
says, “If you don’t mind, try these.”
Over Parle-G biscuits, Sanjeev gives clues
about his life:
• He is from Benares, UP.
• He was born in 1965.
• He is a graduate in Sociology.
• He was employed in a TV manufacturing
company.
• He has parents, two brothers, a wife and a
son. They all live in Benares.
• He came to Delhi 20 years ago.
He says, “I’m in no position to go back to
Benares… for economic and maintenance (sic)
reasons.”
Can’t his family be a support?
He answers vaguely, muttering: “Time
passes.”
During the day, Sanjeev sleeps under the
shade of a bus stop. In the evening,
he collects “donations” for a few hours
and stays awake, alone. He says he has no
friends.
For 10 years, he worked as a repairer in a
television manufacturing company. His job
would take him to different states but once
every month he would come to the com-
pany’s Delhi head-office to get his pay
cheque. When Sanjeev lost his job and
returned to Benares, his parents married him
off. A year later he had a son. Soon after-
wards, he left home for reasons he asks not to
share publicly.
“So many years have gone by since then. I
haven’t seen them all this while. In fact, I
came to Delhi because it is such a big city. No
one can find you here if you want to be lost.“
Does he regret leaving his family?
“Brother, there is a saying in Hindi: Apno ki do
baat nahi bardasht kar sakte. Baad mein
lakhon gairon ki baatien bardasht karte hain.
[While we will never tolerate even two minor
barbs from our loved ones,
We are later ready to tolerate far nastier
words by strangers.]”
He now walks away, probably in search of
“donations”, his eyes darting around.

PUNJAB STATE POWER CORPORATION LTD.

OFFICE OF CHIEF ENGINEER/METERING
C-3, Shakti Vihar, PSPCL, Patiala, Punjab-147001
Tel. No. 0175-2218871, Fax: 0175-2200284, email: se-hq-metering@pspcl.in
CIN: U40109PB2010SGC033813, Registration Number: 33813
Website: www.pspcl.in, E-tendering portal: https://eproc.punjab.gov.in
NOTICE INVITING TENDER
Tender Specification No. MQP.160/2019-20/PO(M)
Short Description Design, Supply, Installation, Testing,
Commissioning, Reading, Analysis and 5
year O&M of Smart Meters, AMI system
& Communication infrastructure with a
network platform in Agar Nagar Special
Division of Ludhiana City on Turnkey Basis.
Quantity Single phase smart meters: 90,000 Meters
Three phase smart meters: 25,000 Meters
LTCT Smart. meters: 2,500 Meters
The above meters are to be supplied along
with equal number of polycarbonate meter

Deals
boxes. Also, HES and MDM scalable upto
data of 2,35,000 nos. meters. Regd. Office: PSEB Head Office, The Mall, Patiala-147001
Date of pre-bid meeting 02.09.2020 at 1100 Hrs. at Guest House, Phone No. - 0175-2207649, Email ID:- se-it1@pspcl.in
PSTCL, SAS Nagar (Near Yadavindra Corporate Identity No. U40109PB2010SGC033813
Public School, SAS Nagar) Website: www.pspcl.in
Bid submission start 24.08.2020 from 1100 Hrs onwards Tender Enquiry No. 236/DIT-1054 dated 24.08.2020
date
Last date of 22.09.2020 up to 1100 Hrs Short Description: Providing 4G (LTE/VoLTE) mobile phone services in Punjab
downloading of State Power Corporation Limited under corporate plan
documents Start date for downloading of Specification/tender documents: Date of
Last date of Bid 22.09.2020 Upto 1100 Hrs. uploading of tender.
submission Last date for downloading of Specification/tender documents: 09.09.2020 upto
Bid opening (Part-I&II) 25.09.2020 at 1100 Hrs. 11.00 AM
Contact Person Name Er. Charanjit Singh Hazuria Last date for Bid Submission: 09.09.2020 upto 11.00 AM
SE/HMC, PSPCL, Patiala Bid Opening date: 10.09.2020 upto 11.00 AM
Tender specification, can only be downloaded from PSPCL Note: - The prospective bidders are requested to get clarification from this office
e-tendering website https://eproc.punjab.gov.in. Tender ID is: and or GePNIC representatives in case of any difficulty regarding uploading of
2020_POWER_52392_1 the tender well in time. It is also requested to get their digital signature and
Note: Corrigendum, if any after the publication of this tender enquiry registration well in time so as to submit tenders through e-tendering only.
shall only be uploaded on website https://eproc.punjab.gov.in THE MOST AWESOME BUSINESS DAILY THERE IS.
It is informed that in case tender process is not completed due to any reason,
and will not be published in newspapers. no corrigendum will be published in newspapers. Details regarding Corrigendum
may be seen on official, PSPCL website.-(https://eproc.punjab.gov.in)
C267/2020 SE/HMC To get your MINT copy, give a missed call on 7039035039 or visit
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67429 PSPCL, Patiala
16 hindustantimes
Bayern end perfect season in Lisbon
IN DEMAND German club completes its second European treble with Champions League win but frets over player retention
Agencies
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes,com
BERLIN: Bayern Munich returned
home to a subdued reception on
Monday after winning the Cham-
pions League final against Paris
Saint-Germain in Lisbon the
night before. The club had
already warned fans to stay away
from Munich airport to avoid the
risk of Covid-19 transmissions,
and said the players and team
staff would be whisked away so
there would be little chance of
fans getting a glimpse of their
heroes.
In the absence of ecstatic
crowds, Bavarian state governor
Markus Soeder greeted coach
Hansi Flick and his team on the
tarmac after they got off their air-
craft. “This is one of the most
impressive Bayern teams that
we’ve ever seen,” said Söder, a
fervent Bayern fan, who touched
arms with the players to main-
tain hygiene standards. “The
whole of Bavaria is proud.”
Bayern, however, are already
fighting to stop their treble-win-
ning squad breaking up in the
wake of their Champions League
triumph despite sweeping all
before them in Europe this sea-
son. The German giants partied
through the night in Lisbon after
Kingsley Coman’s second-half
header— Bayern’s 500th Champi-
ons League goal—sealed a 1-0 win
over Paris Saint-Germain in Sun-
day’s hotly-contested final.
“The best team in Europe
wears red,” boasted Munich-
based newspaper Sueddeutsche
Zeitung on its Monday front page,
yet Bayern are already in danger
of losing some stars.
Both central midfielder Thiago
Alcantara, 29, who has made it
clear he wants a fresh challenge
and has been linked to Liverpool,
and centre-back David Alaba, 28,
have stalled over extension talks
with a year left on their contracts.
“I don’t know,” admitted head
coach Hansi Flick when asked if
Alcantara had played his last
Bayern game. “He doesn’t know
himself because all the concen-
tration has been 100 percent on
the Champions League final.”
Flick expects to know more in
the “next few days” while board
member Oliver Kahn is “very,
very” optimistic of keeping hold
of Alaba, the only Bayern acad-
emy product in the first team.
Alaba, one of the first to con-
sole PSG’s weeping star Neymar
after the final whistle, has been
linked to Manchester City. One
Bayern star has already left with
Brazil playmaker Philippe Cout-
inho heading back to Barcelona
after a year-long loan deal. “I will
work to make sure that the things
that haven’t happened so far will
happen for me next season,”
vowed Coutinho, now seeking to
reboot his career in a Barcelona
side rebuilding after the 8-2
thrashing by Bayern in the quar-
ter-finals.
Bayern became the first club to
win all 11 matches in the course of
their Champions League cam-
paign, scoring 43 goals, a tally sec-
ond only to Barcelona’s record
haul of 45 in 1999/00. Under Flick,
Bayern finished the season with
a 21-game winning streak to
sweep the treble of an eighth
straight Bundesliga title, also lift-
THE FUGITIVE
Afghan forces botch raid
to arrest football chief
Agence France-Presse
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
KABUL: Afghan special for-
ces bungled a night-time
raid to arrest the country’s
fugitive former football
chief, wanted over the sex-
ual abuse of women play-
ers, officials said on Mon-
day.
Keramuddin Karim was
found guilty by football’s
global governing body
FIFA last year of assaulting
several women footballers,
with the verdict upheld in
July by the Swiss-based
Court of Arbitration for
Sport.
Afghan authorities
issued an arrest warrant for
Karim last year, but he has
remained at large.
Late on Sunday, Afghan
special forces carried out an
“air and ground” operation
to arrest Karim in Panjshir
province bordering the cap-
ital Kabul, where he is
believed to be hiding.
But Mansur Onabi,
spokesman for the prov-
ince’s governor, told AFP
the was “not coordinated
with local officials”.
n Bayern’s win on Sunday not only clinched the club a sixth European crown, it also saw them become the first team to win all of their Champions League matches in a season.
Sixth title, 500th goal
Kingsley Coman scored to help Bayern win their sixth
Champions League title. It was Bayern's 500th goal in the
history of the tournament and Coman became the fifth
French player to score in the final. Here are some numbers
n Robert Lewandowski emerged highest scorer with 15 goals.
ing both the Champions League
and German Cup trophies.
In his first role in charge of a
Bundesliga club, Flick is the only
coach to win his opening eight
Champions League games. Sev-
eral of his players underlined
their world-class status. The
competition’s top-scorer Robert
Lewandowski finished with 15
Champions League goals, two
short of Cristiano Ronaldo’s
record set in 2013/14.
“The local people clashed
with security forces, pre-
venting the operation from
succeeding,” he said.
Panjshir deputy gover-
nor Mohammad Amin Sed-
diqi confirmed that an oper-
ation had been carried out
to arrest Karim.
Five female Afghan play-
ers accused Karim of com-
mitting sexual assault
between 2013 and 2018.
In its judgement uphold-
ing the FIFA verdict, the
Court of Arbitration for
Sport’s panel said Karim
had “violated basic human
rights and damaged the
mental and physical dignity
and integrity of young
female players”.
“With his appalling acts,
he had destroyed not only
their careers, but severely
damaged their lives,” the
CAS statement said.
FIFA delivered its tough-
est sanction: a life ban and a
fine of 1 million Swiss
francs ($1 million, 934,000
euros).
Karim has previously
denounced the accusations
as part of a “conspiracy”
that had no evidence.
GETTY
The Lisbon final was the only
European match in which
Lewandowski started but failed
to score this season - not that he
cared much. “Never stop dream-
ing. Never give up when you fail.
Work hard to achieve your goal,”
Lewandowski wrote on Twitter
having lost the 2013 final - against
Bayern - with ex-club Dortmund.
Likewise, Bayern captain
Manuel Neuer—voted the
world’s best goalkeeper four
Aggression is the first step of batting now
htinterview
ANDY FLOWER, KXIP assistant coach
Rasesh Mandani
n rasesh.mandani@htlive.com
MUMBAI:Andy Flower has done
it all—a batting great, a stellar
wicket-keeper, a celebrated
captain—the former Zimbabwe
cricketer has also helped
England win two Ashes as
coach and made them the T20
world champions in 2010. As a
batsman, he was ahead of his
time, employing the reverse
sweep against spin on Indian
tracks to perfection. Now,
Flower brings his experience as
a coach in T20 leagues around
the world. Currently in the Car-
ibbean Premier League as the
head coach of St Lucia Zouks,
his next assignment will be to
help Kings XI Punjab navigate
the IPL in UAE as assistant
coach. In this email interview,
Flower discusses the nuances of
coaching in T20s. Excerpts:
Is T20 coaching more tactical than
technical?
Without doubt it is angled
towards not only team coach-
ing, but towards getting tacti-
cally as accurate as possible.
Hitting technique, innovation
technique, those are the things
11
Bayern are first to
win every Champions
League match on
way to the title—11
wins. They are also
the first unbeaten
champions since Man
United in 2007-08
European treble
Bayern joined Barca as only the second
team to complete a treble of European Cup,
domestic league and domestic cup twice
1966-67  Celtic 
1971-72  Ajax  Most goals in a Champions League
1987-88  PSV  It's the first time someone other than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi finished as top
1998-99  Man United  scorer since Kaka in 2006-07
2008-09  Barca 
2009-10  Inter 
2012-13  Bayern  17
2014-15  Barca  C Ronaldo
2019-20  Bayern  in 2013-14
500
Coman's goal was Bayern's 500th in the
competition in the Champions League
era. Only Real Madrid (567) and Barca
(517) have scored more
years running up until 2016—
emphatically proved he is back to
his best. “’Manu’ made two very
important saves,” said former
legendary goalkeeper Oliver
Kahn. “He isn’t often kept busy
all game, but he’s always there in
the key moments. “When you
look at everything he has won—a
World Cup, now two Champions
Leagues—and the contributions
he made to those wins, you can
say that, yes,” Kahn replied when
that you will work with players
on. The thrust of your coaching
will be around the main tactics
of the game, ensuring bringing
together of your analysis, infor-
mation; interpreting the data as
accurately and wisely as possi-
ble, and ensuring that the play-
ers are understating the tactics
that you and the captain would
like them to employ. And then,
also allowing them the space
and freedom to express their
talent as much as possible.
How much has T20 cricket
changed the game?
It has driven innovation in the
game. As the standards of the
game have risen, batsmen have
found the necessity of finding
ways to keep the scoring rate as
high as possible. For bowlers,
it’s to find ways to restrict the
batsmen. So, we have seen some
brilliant innovations like
reverse sweep, scoops, different
ways of finding gaps and bound-
aries. The bowlers are getting
better at delivering yorkers as
well as different types of slower
balls. These innovations filter
into other formats of the game.
So, it’s brilliant for cricket to
witness this. I expect T10
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT A GUY FROM CANADA WINNING THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?
IF SOMEONE TOLD ME THIS TWO YEARS AGO, I WOULD’VE SAID YOU’RE LYING.
> ALPHONSO DAVIES, 19-year-old Bayern left-back, who was born to Liberian parents in a refugee camp in Ghana
6
Bayern are now tied-third for
most European Cup/
Champions League titles with
Liverpool (both 6). Real
Madrid have 13 and AC Milan 7.
35 Bayern have finished with a
phenomenal goal difference
of 35 in 11 matches. Barca had
45 in 1999-00, but in 16 games
55 Lewandowski has scored 55
goals this season in all
competitions. Across Europe's
top five leagues Ciro Immobile,
with 39, is second and Cristiano
Ronaldo, with 37, is third
16
C Ronaldo
(Real Madrid) (Real Madrid)
in 2015-16
5
Kingsley Coman is the fifth French player to
score in a Champions League final after Karim
Benzema (2018), Zinedine Zidane (2002), Marcel
Desailly (1994) and Basile Boli (1993)
asked if Neuer is Germany’s best-
ever goalkeeper.
Canadian teen Alphonso
Davies started 2019/20 as a
back-up winger, but the 19-year-
old—nicknamed ‘Roadrunner’
by Thomas Mueller due to his
phenomenal pace—has excelled
at left-back.
At the end of a heavily dis-
rupted season due to the pan-
demic, Bayern now have just a
handful of weeks to rest before
becoming more prominent over
the next decade, and I see the
game progressing.
Some big coaching names have
found this format difficult. How are
you approaching your CPL stint
and the upcoming IPL?
I have had three main experien-
ces in T20 cricket. The first was
with Peshawar Zalmi in PSL,
four-five years ago, where I was
the assistant coach to Moham-
med Akram. In the latest PSL, I
was head coach at Multan Sul-
tans. I think the game has
moved on in a number of ways.
Certainly the way analysis is
used and valued now. I think
some of the analysis is helping
coaches and captains under-
stand the game in a slightly dif-
ferent way. It’s a healthy thing.
It will be a part of the game,
innovating and developing.
REUTERS
Bayern in this
Champions League
Matches 43  Goals for 
11
8  Goals
against 
242  Attempts 
101  On target 
3.91  Avg scored  Coman’s compassion towards
Won
88%  Passes
completed  
11 61%  Avg
possession 
15 15
R Lewandowski C Ronaldo
(Bayern Munich) (Real Madrid)
in 2019-20* in 2017-18
35
PSG failed to score in the CL
for the first time in 35
matches since losing 1-0 to
City on April 12, 2016
launching their assault on a
ninth-straight Bundesliga title on
September 18 at home to Schalke.
New reinforcements will stake
their claims including ex-Man-
chester City starlet Leroy Sane,
who will give options on the wing.
Likewise, former Germany
Under-21 goalkeeper Alexander
Nuebel, signed on a free transfer
from Schalke, has the unenviable
task of trying to usurp Neuer
between the posts.
Is coaching different in interna-
tional cricket and T20 cricket?
It is very different. (In interna-
tional cricket) you are looking
at progressive improvement.
You are working on skills,
physicality, understanding of
the game; their understanding
of themselves as players. You
are looking for growth and
development in medium to long
term.
In franchise cricket, it’s more
managing a group of players
than perhaps coaching them;
making them feel confident for
on-the-spot decision making
that is becoming quicker and
more necessary as the game
speeds up.
How would you work with a player
having difficulties adjusting to dif-
ferent formats?
I would assist him in getting
clarity about where his per-
sonal problems are, and how he
wants to approach each format
of the game. Self-awareness is
one of the key aspects to being
able to perform at the elite
level—understanding yourself,
and how you respond to differ-
ent situations and understand-
ing how you create pressure as
a bowler, or how you balance
risk-reward as a batsman. I
think most players are quite
adept at it these days, with the
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
TUESDAY, A UGUST 2 5, 2 02 0
Coman, the destroyer
of PSG’s elite dreams
Agence France-Presse
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
LISBON: Kingsley Coman spent a
decade at Paris Saint-Germain,
coming up through the club’s
academy and making four senior
appearances, but it was his goal
which condemned the French
giants to defeat in Sunday’s
Champions League final. The
24-year-old Coman headed the
only goal in Bayern Munich’s 1-0
victory in Lisbon, inflicting a dev-
astating blow on his boyhood club
in their first appearance in the
final of European football’s pre-
mier competition.
Coman’s match-winning turn
served PSG another reminder, n Kingsley Coman celebrates
this the most painful of all, of the after scoring the winner. GETTY
stream of talented academy prod-
ucts to leave in recent years, pair formed a strong friendship
including Adrien Rabiot and after joining the club in their
Lyon striker Moussa Dembele. youth. They lived together for a
Teenager Tanguy Kouassi also year while part of the academy
snubbed PSG in favour of Bayern, and even go on holiday with each
while France U-21 winger other. The winger has endured
Moussa Diaby left for Leverk- his fair share of injury troubles
usen on a five-year deal. and missed much of 2018 after
Coman has few regrets over twice rupturing ankle ligaments,
his departure as a raw teenager in ruling him out of the World Cup
2014, winning two Serie A titles squad in Russia as a result.
with Juventus before a trophy- While convalescing from the
laden spell in Germany. In all, he second of his ankle setbacks in
has nine league winners’ medals the autumn of 2018, he even men-
—five more with Bayern and two tioned the possibility of retiring
while at PSG. “It’s an incredible were injuries to continue to
feeling, lots of happiness and a bit plague him. He again missed time
of sadness for Paris, they had a this season, starting just half of
great run,” Coman told French Bayern’s 34 Bundesliga games
broadcaster RMC Sport after and was no guarantee to start the
Bayern were crowned Europe’s
top team for a six time. “My heart
was 100 percent Bayern because
final after playing bit-part roles in
their wins here over Barcelona
and Lyon.
I’m 100 percent professional but Bayern coach Hansi Flick
I’m not going to lie, to see Presnel gambled Coman could be the dif-
(Kimpembe) like that, to see our
team like that, gave me a little bit
of heartache.”
ference maker, and was
rewarded handsomely. “He’s a
former Parisian, he will undoubt-
edly have a little extra motivation
Kimpembe in particular stems
from their time at PSG, where the
and I chose him for his speed,”
said Flick.
shortpasses
n Violent PSG fans outside Parc de Princes Stadium. GETTY
SCORES ARRESTED AS PSG FANS RIOT
IN PARIS AFTER DEFEAT TO BAYERN
PARIS: More than 150 people were arrested as PSG fans set cars ablaze,
smashed shop windows and clashed with police in the French capital
after their team’s Champions League final defeat to Bayern, police said
Monday. The violence occurred around PSG’s Parc des Princes home
stadium and on the Champs-Elysees avenue during and after the match
on Sunday night. Under the government’s coronavirus rules, no more
than 5,000 fans sporting PSG flags and face masks could gather inside
the stadium to watch 1-0 defeat in Lisbon on two big screens. But many
more gathered outside, where they threw bottles and fireworks at
police who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, an AFP reporter
said. The trouble lasted several hours, and on the Champs-Elysees, PSG
fans set fire to cars, broke windows, and vandalised shops.
Anderson stranded
on 599, Pak dig
major change being that the
batsmen are learning to hit the in to thwart hosts
ball and be aggressive in the
first step of their development Associated Press
these days. Earlier, defensive n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
technique would have been the
first thing that they would have SOUTHAMPTON: England paceman
learnt. Jimmy Anderson was stranded
on 599 wickets as Pakistan took a
Do players sometimes struggle giant step toward securing a
with the pressure of their price tag draw in the third and final Test
in franchise cricket? with a disciplined batting display
I think there are all sorts of either side of a long rain break on
pressures that come at an elite Monday. Anderson started Day 4
sportsman’s way at certain needing two wickets to become
times during their careers. One the first fast bowler to reach 600,
of the mental and emotional and managed to take one —that of
skills is to be able to deal with all Abid Ali (42) - during a lengthy
those distractions and simplify third session at the Rose Bowl.
the task that you have got when However, fading light soon
you are competing. forced England to only deploy
Price-tag pressure is one dis- spin and eventually stopped play
traction, but there are myriad altogether, with Pakistan on 100-2
other distractions that could at stumps.
come your way; distractions of The tourists, who were asked
expectations from coaches, or to follow on after scoring 273 in
selectors, or owners, or your their first innings in reply to
fellow players, or family, or the England’s mammoth 583-8
opposition. So all these could all declared, trailed by 210 runs with
derail your thought process, one day remaining. Tuesday’s
and take you away from the weather is looking bleak, though,
very simplest of things, which is with rain forecast for much of the
really what you should be try- day in Southampton. It remains
ing to do as a competitor— to be seen if the 38-year-old
breaking down what are the Anderson gets another chance in
important thoughts that you this Test to reach 600 wickets. He
want at the critical moments, won’t want to miss this opportu-
and training your mind to be nity, with uncertainty over when
able to think that way. England will play its next Test.
18 htcity TIME OUT HINDU STA N T IM ES , NEW DE LHI
T U ES DAY, AUGU ST 25, 2020

Astrologer Prem Kumar Sharma can be contacted at: Delhi: 011-47033152, Sean Connery: The Scottish actor and producer,
TUESDAY,
DAILY HOROSCOPE AUGUST 25,
2020
40532026 (Sat to Mon): Panchkula: 91-172-2562832, 2572874 (Tues to Thurs);
Mumbai: 09716145644 (Last week of every month)
who has starred in seven Bond films and projects
such as The Untouchables, Murder on the Orient
Express and Indiana Jones, turns 90 today.

A raise or increment cannot be ruled out for
the salaried. Businesspersons will be able
to resurrect the business showing a
downward trend. A family member may
have to be dealt with patience. Chances
of going on a vacation look bright. Foray
ARIES
(MAR 21 - APR 20) into the property market may prove
fruitful. Some of you are likely to falter on
the academic front. Your wants are less, but
you are destined to get what your heart desires today.
Love Focus: Your romantic endeavours are likely to bring positive
results.
Lucky Number: 17 Lucky Colour: Light Grey
Problems at work will get sorted out by
making a senior intervene. Good earning
is assured for commission agents and
retailers. You can do something exciting
involving the whole family. Good
TAURUS progress is foreseen for those going on a
(APR 21 - MAY 20) long journey. Investing in property will be
a good idea. Something accomplished on
the academic front will come in for praise. Your
reputation is likely to soar on the personal and professional fronts.
Love Focus: Your love life will be most fulfilling, as you manage to
draw the one you love closer.
Lucky Number: 8 Lucky Colour: White
Success is foreseen for entrepreneurs and
businesspersons trying to establish
themselves. Spending money saved for
property on something unimportant
may prove a setback. Those
GEMINI apprehensive about their medical reports
(MAY 21 - JUN 21) will heave a sigh of relief. Spending
quality time with family is possible today
and will enhance togetherness. Chance to
travel out of town on an official trip is likely for some.
Love Focus: Love is in the air and is likely to encourage you to sally
forth on the romantic front.
Lucky Number: 9 Lucky Colour: Saffron
Your spirits are likely to be raised, as an
ongoing project turns profitable. Stars
foretell stability on the financial front.
Rest and relaxation is foreseen for some.
There is every chance of you travelling
CANCER to another city for something work-
(JUNE 22 - JULY 22) related. Your balanced approach will help
resolve a property matter amicably. Your
friends circle will provide you emotional
security on the academic front.
Love Focus: Romantically inclined can find love in a most unexpected
place.
Lucky Number: 15 Lucky Colour: Blue

You will have the funds for buying If you gain from betting or playing the Managers and technocrats can expect A challenge on the financial front will be
something you wanted for long. You may stocks, consider it a one off achievement. positive development on the financial handled by you most competently.
get some respite today after a hectic Spending time with close ones will be front. Accountants, those in the allied Speculation offers some good returns,
time. Loneliness that has besieged you almost therapeutic. A journey you are fields fare well today. A child or a family but only if you study the market in
for long is set to disappear, as your near about to undertake will be made member will make you proud by depth. A new beginning on the
and dear ones flock around you. LEO interesting by someone travelling with VIRGO achieving something you were skeptical LIBRA academic front may be expected. If you SCORPIO
Sightseeing with friends will prove to be a (JULY 23 - AUG 23) you. Papers pertaining to a property you (AUG 24 - SEPT 23) about. A property matter will be amicably (SEPT 24 - OCT 23) want something from someone, you need (OCT 24 - NOV 22)
unique experience. Property matters possess will be set in order. You may vie for settled. Clarity of vision and steadfastness to reciprocate in the same vein. There may
causing tensions are likely to be resolved all round achievement on the academic front. will be your potent weapons on the academic be some delay in getting a response to
amicably. Someone will be there to rescue you on the academic front. Make efforts to come closer to people you feel uneasy with. front. Spend some moments with yourself in seclusion. something important, but it will be done eventually.
Love Focus: Partner showers love and will expect reciprocation in the Love Focus: Giving a sympathetic ear to spouse is advised to Love Focus: Today, a fantastic time can be expected in the company Love Focus: Your sharp wit and sense of humour promises to win the
same vein! enhance love and understanding. of the ones you love. heart of the one you love.
Lucky Number: 6 Lucky Colour: Rosy Brown Lucky Number: 7 Lucky Colour: Orange Lucky Number: 15 Lucky Colour: Sea Green Lucky Number: 6 Lucky Colour: Indigo

Those earning big bucks are likely to get a
chance to splurge on their favourite stuff.
Your enhanced professional competence
is likely to bag you more accolades. A
relaxing day is foreseen at home as
family is least demanding. A long
SAGITTARIUS journey will be enjoyable in more ways
(NOV 23 - DEC 21)
than one. You will get the opportunity to
acquire property at a good price. Your style
and confidence is likely to win some admirers on the academic front.
Love Focus: Lonely hearts may take comfort in the fact that
someone is waiting for them in the wings.
Lucky Number: 5 Lucky Colour: Light Green
A good opportunity for making money is
foreseen, but you will have to seize it. A
positive outlook will help you take big
decisions with ease. Family members’
support will encourage you to undertake
a venture that you could only imagine
CAPRICORN previously. A new plot, apartment or
(DEC 22 - JAN 21) house can be acquired by some. Good news
on the academic front is likely to make
students happy. You may be involved in organising something today.
Love Focus: Those at the stage of ‘she/he loves me, she/he loves me
not’ may get some positive indications from the opposite sex.
Lucky Number: 22 Lucky Colour: Violet
Hitting the jackpot on the financial front is
a distinct possibility. You are likely to play
a perfect host to someone who has
travelled a long distance to meet you.
Chances of going on a vacation with
family is indicated and will be lots of fun.
AQUARIUS Those wanting to rent out their premises
(JAN 22 - FEB 19) are likely to find an ideal party. You can
bank upon the support of friends and well
wishers on the academic front.
Love Focus: Somebody special is likely to pop up in your life and kick
start a budding romance.
Lucky Number: 4 Lucky Colour: Electric Blue
A financial problem building up on the
horizon dissipates, bringing big relief. A
cold lead about a deal may suddenly
become hot and prove profitable. Praise
for a family member from teachers or
superiors is likely to make you feel proud.
PISCES Those travelling out of town are likely to
(FEB 20 - MAR 20) enjoy the hospitality of someone close.
Those involved in buying or selling of a
property are likely to find the day exciting.
Love Focus: Nearness to lover will provide a sense of contentment to
those feeling insecure.
Lucky Number: 5 Lucky Colour: Aqua Green

SCRAMBLE - 3557 CALVIN AND HOBBES Bill Watterson

‘Fake auditions take Solve the four anagrams and move one letter to each square to
form four ordinary words

NVAER

place in Bollywood
just to create buzz’
Shreya Mukherjee
t took Bidita Bag almost a
G M I OS
EMULLT
RTU CLY
Now arrange the letters marked with an asterisk (*) to form the
answer to the riddle or to fill in the missing words as indicated.
Life is a _____ ___ whose walls are mirrors.
- Eugene O’Neil (8,4)
talking about it does make a O’Neil
difference. But, it’s turning ANSWER: Life is a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors.- Eugene
negative, the way people are

I
decade to carve a niche for
herself in Bollywood.
While the struggle is still
on, the actor is happy that
SCRAMBLE SOLUTION: Raven, gismo, mullet, curtly
abusing and threatening
star kids as if they are
responsible for everything
that happened to Sushant. If

Menstrual hygiene: City-based social workers

now, people at least know
her by face. Calling herself
“a victim”, she admits that
nepotism exists in showbiz.
“I faced many rejections
some people are born
privileged, that’s not their
fault,” she opines.
Having said that, Bag, 28,
shares that she would like to

feel PM’s speech will help debunk myths

in these 12 years. I had the
option to be depressed or
evolve as a stronger human
being and find a way out of
it. I chose the latter,” she
says, adding that things
went downhill when her
debut film, From Sydney
with Love (2012), failed.
“We didn’t get many
cinema halls. The producer
went into depression. Many
fake auditions happen just
to create buzz that everyone
is given an opportunity. In
reality, established actors
or insiders have already
been finalised,” she asserts.
She is, however, not
happy about the way some
people are being targeted
over actor Sushant Singh
Rajput’s death. “Everyone
work with filmmakers
Karan Johar and Aditya
Chopra, but never got the
opportunity. “That doesn’t
mean I’ll blame them for
everything,” she reasons. Arjun
Recently, Bag’s Kanungo; to hear her say, ‘Kya
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (inset) pata, jaise main
(2017) co-star Nawazuddin with his chupati hun, vo (my
Siddiqui’s personal life was girlfriend, husband) bhi
in the news, after his Carla chupate ho’. Imagine
estranged wife levelled Dennis the level of
charges against him and his unawareness on this
family. Ask her about it and topic among women
she says, “That’s his like her, who are
personal life. All I can say is married and have
I had a wonderful working kids... So when a
relationship with him. He’s man, and that too
been a supportive co-star. I the PM of this
never felt any discomfort. I country, talks about
feel bad that he is going NGOs say the dabi awaaz mein periods on I-Day, it
through a difficult time.” level of awareness nahi, khulke!” not only boosts our morale,
n shreya.mukherjee@htlive.com about menstrual says Anchal but also helps spread more
health among women Sharma, founder awareness.”
in far-flung areas of an NGO, Meals Lalitha Yadav, who
has been very

Life does not

of Happiness. provides basic hygiene
Bidita Bag low Delhi-based essentials to sex workers and
Anurag Chauhan, underprivileged in Delhi’s
who’s been trying to GB Road and Najafgarh as
Ruchika Garg “PM Modi is the only PM spread awareness about part of an NGO, Society for

change after you

who spoke about menstrual periods through Break The Participatory Integrated
hen the words hygiene on such an important Bloody Taboo campaign, Development (SPID), says a

W ‘menstrual hygiene’
were mentioned by
day. And menstrual health
isn’t a topic to be shoved
says, “Once, I was in
Rajasthan’s Chomu village to
mere mention of the subject
has set the ball rolling.

have Covid-19
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in his Independence
Day speech, it was surely a
first. And this has given a new
O shot of energy to social
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/ARJUNKANUNG
workers who’ve championed
the cause for years.
Samarth Goyal
inside black polythene...
When someone like him talks
about it, it infuses renewed
life and energy in people like
me, who have been trying to
normalise discussions about
it. Ab ghar-ghar discuss hoga,
address a female gathering on
this subject. One of the ladies,
must be in her 60s, asked me
if I also menstruate! Initially,
I thought she’s making fun of
me, but soon, I realised she
was serious, and was shocked
“Now, whenever we will
address the issue among our
audience, we happily refer
to Modiji’s speech. This helps
us take the conversation
ahead,” she adds.
n ruchika.garg@hindustantimes.com

or singer-songwriter

F Arjun Kanungo, the idea

behind posting a video on
Instagram, detailing his and
his girlfriend, model Carla
Dennis’ recent recovery from
Covid-19, was to make people
aware that the pandemic is not
over yet.
“I wanted to tell people it’s
still here,” he continues, “We
should be taking precautions
and try to stay safe as much as
we can. Also, the message was
to tell people that life doesn’t
change after you get Covid-19.
I think people want some kind
of reassurance, especially
from people they follow and
who have been infected, that
they will be okay.”
Kanungo, through his
video, also assured that he and
Dennis were “absolutely fine”.
“I think there’s a lot of
confusion because people are
not properly informed. Even I
was anxious when I didn’t
have all the information. But I
think was psychologically at
peace once I knew everything
about it,” he shares.
He goes on to say that the
disease “manifests in every
person differently”, and this
adds to the confusion. “Carla
and I had completely different
symptoms. I think that’s also
why there’s confusion. In our
case, our doctor advised home
quarantine for me, and when
he heard Carla’s symptoms, he
asked us to hospitalise her
immediately,” says the artiste.
Kanungo, however, insists
that people should seek proper
medical advice, and steer clear
of self-diagnosis using
information available on the
internet. “I think more than
anything else, we should
contain it and try to be extra
careful. And if medically, we
have to take any advice, it
should only be from doctors,”
he cautions.
While he wasn’t worried
much about his health,
Kanungo, 29, admits he was
worried about Dennis, as she
had to be hospitalised. He
shares, “I was sh*t scared, to
be honest, especially when she
started developing breathing
issues. I think that’s what
happens. You don’t think
about yourself anymore, you
worry about those you love.”
“My mother as well. She
told me she was praying I don’t
have Covid-19, despite wanting
me to get tested,” he signs off.
n samarth.goyal@htlive.com
 PHOTO: IMAGESBAZAAR

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There’s negativity all around but we will focus on the
positivity. Our editor picks shots of life that bring a smile
A YOUNG FOOTBALL PRODIGY
When we work relentlessly towards
our goals, victory is ours.
Alphonso Davies representing
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/
ALPHONSODAVIESS
PHOTO:
YOGEN
SHAH
LOVING TH

Chadha po
heartwarm
Y CAT
Pets are al
joy, conten

her cat snu

ways a sou
tm
and true lo ent, security
ve. Actor R
sted a
ing picture
ggled into
rce of

icha

of
INDUSTRY RELIEVED
Filmmakers welcome SOPs, gear Insiders feel daily wage earners
Bayern Munich has become
the first Canadian national
sofa while
on the sam
she is loun
e, with an
her
ging
up to shoot across the country will benefit most from the move
to win the prestigious laptop on open
her lap an
UEFA Champions League. cute cat b d th Rishabh Suri Prashant Singh
eside it. Sh e
different locations seems to be
Born to Liberian parents feels that e a common point of connect. JD
in a Ghana refugee camp, this lockdo n a relief for the industry, Majethia, chairman, Indian he lockdown has had an

I T
has connec wn
his family later ted her Union information and Film and TV Producers adverse impact on
deeper wit
immigrated to Edmonton, h her pets broadcasting minister Council (IFTPC) and producer everyone, including the
given her and
Canada. He is blessed with moments Prakash Javadekar of the show Bhakarwadi says, showbiz world. And
happiness. of
magical footwork and is announced on Sunday that all “The smallest of things have daily wage crew members —
already recognised as one of film and television shoots been kept in mind in these such as spot boys, carpenters, ANEES BAZMEE,
the most promising players in PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/THERICHACHADHA across the country can resume, SOPs.” Agrees trade analyst tailors and drivers etc. — have
Europe. along with a set of Standard Joginder Tuteja, who says, been hit hardest. But now, as
FILMMAKER
Operating Procedures (SOPs) “Shooting is needed not just for the Ministry of Information Agar yeh kaam nahi hoga
AGGARWAL/H
T CREATING VALUE
PHOTO: AJAY toh shayad bahuton ke ghar
ARITAN in place. While shoots had films which have to come to and Broadcasting greenlights
A GOOD SAM ration
Lockdown has taught us many
resumed in the main hub of theatres, but also those shoots with guidelines, the chulhe bhi nahi jalenge.
ts to dry things. One of them is to be
From meal ki kas Bollywood, Maharashtra, and planning to come on OTT. We fraternity has welcomed the
no w fo ot wear, Chef Vi grateful for what we have
in some other parts of the don’t know when theatres will move, adding it will have an
and and learn to be more
set new
Khanna has country such as Kolkata, pan- reopen, but atleast those OTT immediate and direct positive
nc hm ar ks by helping selfless. Exemplifying
India shoots hadn’t been films can resume, or those who impact on daily wagers.
be the same, Delhi-based
th ro ug hout the allowed until now. have 10-15 days of shoot left.” “It has been five months
others sisters, Arsheen and
pandemic . In Surveen Singh have SOPs range from only actors n rishabh.suri@htlive.com since the lockdown started (on
with facing the camera being March 25). Do you think it has
collaboration ed made a library for the
pr ov id exempted from wearing face been easy for people? Not at
NDRF, he underprivileged kids,
00 ,0 00 pa irs of who have limited access masks, to ensuring visitors or all,” says filmmaker Nikkhil NIKKHIL ADVANI,
5,
those in audiences are barred on sets. Advani, who has multiple
footwear to to resources for FILMMAKER
stribute Ashoke Pandit, chief projects readying to go on the
need. H di e’ ll attending online classes.
to pilgrims advisor, Federation of Western floors now. In fact, last week, I am sure it must have come
new slippers The teenager sisters say,
India Cine Employees (FWICE) when Advani held rehearsals as a great news for many
mple,
at Golden Te “We collected some 500 books especially the daily-wage
W e salute his from our friends and family welcomes this move. “Now we at Filmcity for Kaashvie Nair’s
Amritsar. ions. crew members.They have
noble intent members and set up this beautiful can go to any state and shoot. film (his next production
efforts and It’s not only job opportunities starring Arjun Kapoor and been hit the hardest.
library in the RK Puram clusters.”
for our industry, but everyone Rakul Preet Singh), a few crew
related to shooting,” he says, SABBIR KHAN, members came up to thank says Amit Behl, senior joint
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/VIKASKHANNAGROUP adding the SOPs are similar to FILMMAKER him. “They were like, ‘It’s secretary and chairperson of
BEST OUT OF WASTE what had been in effect for Yes, it’s good news that we becoming difficult to keep up Cine & TV Artists Association
HELPING THE HOMELESS Maharashtra. got permission, so many with the expenses with every (CINTAA).
Our reader Akshara
Filmmakers are happy too. people had been waiting. At passing day.’ Remember Director Anees Bazmee, on
During the difficult times of Sudhakaran, a resident Vinil Mathew, who is directing the same time, everybody actors, directors or producers his part, feels that a longer
Covid-19, many homeless of Faridabad, made Taapsee Pannu-starrer Haseen needs to take care. can survive this lockdown, but lockdown can make things
people in Toronto, Canada plant pots using Dilruba, says, “While it’s good for daily wagers, it’s an “tougher for many”. “We
were left fending for recycled materials to to have official endorsement, as everyday earning,” he says. (filmmakers and actors etc.)
themselves. Out of options, add more greenery to it will be a guidance for the Many feel while daily wage have had no issues (due to the
they made city parks their
her house. She used crews, it all boils down to crew members will benefit, the lockdown) but the daily
temporary abode. A group of
old plastic bottles, where you want to shoot, the ministry’s move will impact wagers have had a really
volunteers comprising
cups and other waste municipality will decide. We the entire ecosystem of the tough time. Unke liye toh roz
musicians and artistes under
materials and created are planning to get on floors in industry. “Of course, the daily ki kamaai hoti hai,” says the
the Encampment Support
her own mini garden. October.” wagers stand to benefit from Welcome (2007) maker, adding:
Network decided to help these
She says, “They are my Echoing similar sentiments work resuming in full flow. “Ek filmmaker ya actor sirf
residents with necessities like water,
food, medicines and tent. Thus, they used quarantine buddies as is Sabbir Khan, who is helming JD MAJETHIA, PRODUCER But we also have many actors, shauq ke liye bhi film kar
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM
they bring a smile to my face whenever I look at Nikamma starring Shilpa The smallest of things have especially in the TV world, sakta hai par for them, it’s
their time fruitfully and gave value and respect
Shetty Kundra. He says, “SOPs been kept in mind in these who work on daily-wage basis. their only source of income.
to these people living on the streets. them.”
being issued is a great sign. I SOPs. Films and web series And none of them earned a Agar yeh kaam nahi hoga toh
will probably resume my shoot will benefit a lot, TV was penny till TV shows restarted shayad bahuton ke ghar
Send your Six Shots entry to htcity@hindustantimes.com Compiled by Swati Chaturvedi
after the monsoon. I have four- carrying on shoots in a shoots in June. The great thing chulhe bhi nahi jalenge.”
five days of outdoor shoot left.” controlled environment. is now we can look at shooting n prashant.singh@htlive.com
The ease to shoot across anywhere in the country,”

Celebs shun stereotypes, pave

PHOTO: HTBS

the way for body positivity Compliments boost

your self-esteem and
JENKINS IS FIRM
TO RELEASE
WONDER WOMAN
you feel energised
Rishabh Suri marks his comeback as the
1984 ONLY ON THE ortraying the role of a
lead after multi-starrers Race 3
(2018) and Housefull 4 (2019),
BIG SCREEN P gritty and brooding cop in
Class of ‘83 has brought
makes it even more special. He
tells us, “It was a character-

T here’s no clarity on when

the theatres will reopen,
but director Patty Jenkins is
(Clockwise from L) Kalki Koechlin, committed to release her
Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sameera next, Wonder Woman 1984,
Reddy, Kubbra Sait, Karan Johar on the big screen only. “We
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM all worked so hard to bring
something that would be a
Shreya Mukherjee big visual spectacular great
time. So we’re going to stick
here are certain set beauty it out,” she said during the
Bobby Deol back into the game,
and the actor admits he only
wants to experiment with the
kind of roles he takes up, and
this one is a far cry from
whatever he has done till date.
“That was the challenging
part. I’ve played a cop earlier
also — in Kranti and Chor
Machaye Shor (both 2002) —
and they were larger-than-life
driven film, and that’s what I
was looking for. It’s amazing
that OTT platforms are giving
actors such opportunities. For
me, Race 3 boosted my career,
and people noticed me — I’ll
always be grateful to Salman
(Khan, actor) for taking me in
that film. Then Housefull 4
took my career forward. At the
end of the day, one is always

T standards in our society

that most of us grow up
with. However, it seems the
time has come to break these
stereotypes, as celebs too are
going vocal for the same.
Be it Sameera Reddy feeling
positive with her white hair,
pimples and weight gain, Kalki
Koechlin flaunting her
unshaven armpits or Kubbra
film’s panel at the virtual DC
FanDome. The film, starring
Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and
Kristen Wiig, missed its
original date due to the
pandemic and is now slated
to release on Oct 2, 2020.
IANS
Image consultant Sheena
characters. But this one was
very real — the journey of an
honest cop (Vijay Singh), who
sacrifices his family life, and
the turmoil he went through
fighting this system. That was
very exciting to play,” he says.
Given that Deol shouldered
the entire project, which also
looking for a role that gets you
noticed as an actor. It’s been 25
years for me in the industry
and in the next 25, I want to
play interesting characters.”
Deol has been getting rave
reviews for his act in the
recently released Netflix film.
Ask him the best compliment
he has received so far, and he
laughs saying each one of them
means a lot. “They’re such a
boost to your self-esteem, and
make you feel energised. I’ve
been trying to do work which

‘Everybody is self-empowered today’

Sait’s selfie highlighting
“Normal is OK” with bushy
brows and dark circles, celebs
are breaking one stereotype at
a time. Not to forget, Karan
Johar flaunting his greys and
Kareena Kapoor Khan’s
unwanted zit on a no makeup
face. Moreover, all this is
happening on social media,
where people often tend to hide
Agarwal feels the porn and
entertainment industry have
redefined beauty. “We have set
such unrealistic standards for
ourselves that it often ends up
destroying confidence,” she
says, lauding celebs for opting
to unmask themselves. “I hope
more celebs join in,” she adds.
Agreeing to it, image
consultant and beauty pageant
Nikita Deb
ven though the insider vs
E outsider debate is heating
up with each passing day,
singer Nikhita Gandhi — who
distributors is just online.
Nobody is meeting in person
or brokering you into the
industry, and I feel that’s what
makes it amazing. Everybody
is self-empowered today,”
will get appreciated, and help
me move further. I put faith in
all my fans... that makes
producers and directors notice
me. I’m excited people have
audience directly on whatever praised my work,” he gushes.
platform you choose, for However, he’s quick to add Actor Bobby
instance Instagram, and I that getting a call from the Deol has made
think that does level the
playing field a lot,” she adds.
Given the pandemic, the
film’s producer, actor Shah
Rukh Khan, was an icing on
the cake. “From someone like
his web debut
with Class of ‘83

their real self.
After giving birth to her son,
Reddy admits going through
post-partum depression.
“Being overweight bothered
me all the more, given the
expectations, pressure on
women, especially on actors,”
she says, adding that she
decided to address these issues
positively. “I don’t want the
younger generation to grow up
in a fake environment. And the
positive messages I’ve been
getting do give me hope,” she
shares.
trainer Rita Gangwani feels the
pandemic and lockdown has
changed many things. “And
celebs addressing these
stereotypes is only adding to
the narrative,” she opines.
Throwing her weight behind
the issue, Koechlin believes it is
okay ‘to be less than perfect’
and people should refrain from
pulling others down on social
media. “If you don’t have
something positive to give in
your comments, just keep
quiet,”says the actor.
n shreya.mukherjee@htlive.com
began her career in 2013 with a
Tamil film — feels that with
the advent of social media and
streaming platforms, it’s not
really tough for a newcomer to
make a mark in the industry.
“It’s not impossible to
establish yourself nowadays,
especially because things are a
lot more transparent in terms
of putting yourself out there.
You can just make your own
YouTube account, and there’s
no protocol to be followed.
Even releasing music through
says the singer who has
delivered hits such as Raabta
title track (Raabta; 2017), Aao
Kabhi Haveli Pe (Stree; 2018),
Qafirana (Kedarnath; 2018)
and Poster Lagwa Do (Luka
Chuppi; 2019).
A rank outsider herself,
Gandhi believes that the
system is far fairer than it was
before the introduction of
streaming platforms. “If you
are really up for it, all you
have to do is put your music
out there and engage with the
film shoots and production him, who has achieved so
came to a halt in March, and much in life as an actor, it’s so
Gandhi feels that, in a way, nice to hear that. My brother
gave a chance to independent (Sunny Deol) was so happy.
music to shine due to the lack Obviously, he’s family, but
of fresh Bollywood songs. She even then there was a glow in
says, “People are more in a his eyes, seeing me excel as an
majboori kind of a situation actor. My sister couldn’t see
since they now have to mostly Bobby, but only the character.
listen to non-film music, but I That’s something you always
am also glad it has happened. wish as an actor,” Deol ends.
Indie music creates a far more n rishabh.suri@htlive.com
intimate relationship between
the musician and listeners.” NOTE TO READERS: Some of the coverage that appears on our pages is paid
n nikita.deb@htlive.com Nikhita Gandhi for by the concerned brands. No sponsored content does or shall appear in
any part of HT without it being declared as such to our valued readers.