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www.thehindu.in ● Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 ● RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ● ISSN 0971 - 751X ● Vol. 7 ● No. 15 ● CITY EDITION ● 20 Pages ● Rs. 8.00

wednesday, january 18, 2017

EMPOWERPage 7

Hardik Patel arrivesin Gujarat after six months Page 9

Punjab’s corruptMinisters will be putbehind bars: KejriwalPage 13

Urjit Patel sends outa tough message toReserve Bank staff Page 15

Ivo Karlovic advancesafter 84-game marathonin Australian Open Page 17

VELLORE: Shanmugam (40), aspectator, was gored to deathat the ‘bull race festival’ (EruthuVidum Vizha) held in a villagenear here as part of Pongalcelebrations on Monday.Thisfestival, also banned, istraditionally observed in severalvillages of northern Tamil Nadu.It is similar to jallikattu (bulltaming) in the south, thoughthere is no attempt to tame theanimal.

Spectator gored todeath at T.N. bull run

� NEWS | PAGE 12

NEW DELHI: In a rare move, theAppointments Committee of theCabinet gave the go-ahead forcompulsory retirement of twoIPS officers for “noperformance.” Mayank SheelChohan, a 1998 batch officer ofthe AGMUT cadre, and RajKumar Dewangan, a 1992-batchofficer of the Chhattisgarhcadre, were given the orders onJanuary 5.

Two IPS officerscompulsorily retired

� NEWS | PAGE 12

CHENNAI: India became anassociate member of CERN onMonday, with the governmentcompleting the internal approvalprocedures for the agreement itsigned on November 21 last.

India becomes CERN’sassociate member

� NEWS | PAGE 12

BRIEFLY

MUMBAI: Zaira Wasim, thebright-faced teen star ofDangal got strong supportfrom superstar AamirKhan on Tuesday, afterbeing trolled on socialmedia for meeting Jammuand Kashmir ChiefMinister Mehbooba Mufti.

Aamir said Zaira, whoshot to fame with herportrayal of the youngerGeeta Phogat, was a rolemodel for him.

Bollywood personalitiesAnupam Kher, ShraddhaKapoor, Javed Akhtar, SonuNigam, Preity Zinta andSwara Bhaskar also backedher.

Naidu’s defence

Union Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu defendedthe actor and wonderedwhy “ultra liberals” weresilent on the issue.

In his message, Aamirsaid, “I have read Zaira’sstatement, and I can

understand and imaginewhat led her to make thatstatement. Zaira, I wantyou to know that we are allwith you.”

“The beauty is thatbright, young, talented,hard working, respectful,caring and courageous kidslike you are role models for

kids not only in India, butacross the world. Youcertainly are [a] role modelfor me! May god bless you.Love, Aamir,” he said onTwitter. Zaira on Mondayposted an apology for“ofending” and“unintentionally hurting”people after meeting Ms.

Mufti. She then replacedher post with another,asking people not to blowthe issue out of proportionbut deleted that too.

Bollywood called thetrolling an act of “shame.”

“Dear @zairawasim! Urapology letter is sad butfull of courage. It exposesthe cowardice of peoplewho made you write it. Butyou are my #RoleModel,”Anupam Kher tweeted.

Lyricist Akhtar said,“Those who shout AZADIfrom the roof tops don’tgive an iota of AZADI toothers. Poor Zaira Wasimhad to apologise for hersuccess. Shame!”

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen chiefAsaduddin Owaisi alsosupported Zaira, saying thepressure put on her, forcingher to tender an apology,was “unwarranted anduncalled for.” — PTI &IANS

Aamir wrestles down Zaira Wasim’s critics After superstar’s backing, Bollywood also speaks up for Dangal’s teen actor

STRONG SUPPORT: Aamir Khan and Zaira Wasim at apromotional event for Dangal in Mumbai. — FILE PHOTO: AFP

MUMBAI: Almost five yearsafter the murder of 24-year-old Sheena Bora, a specialCBI court charged hermother Indrani Mukerjea,media executive PeterMukerjea and Indrani’s firsthusband Sanjeev Khannawith murder, kidnapping andcriminal conspiracy onTuesday.

All three were charged un-der IPC Sections 120(b)(criminal conspiracy), 364(kidnapping), 302 (murder),203 (giving false informationin respect of an ofence) and201 (causing disappearanceof evidence).

Additionally, Indrani andSanjeev were charged underSections 307 (attempt tomurder) and 120(b) (conspir-acy) for plotting to kill herson and Sheena’s brotherMikhail Bora.

STAFF REPORTER

Indrani, Petercharged withSheena’s murder

� CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

LUCKNOW: With the commonaim of stopping the BJP, agrand alliance of the Sama-jwadi Party and the Con-gress, possibly also featur-ing the Rashtriya Lok Daland a couple of smallerparties, moved closer toconclusion in Uttar Pradeshon Tuesday, a day afterChief Minister Akhilesh Ya-dav won the battle for theownership of the SP.

As the parties are still fi-nalising details on seat dis-tribution, a formal an-nouncement could be madejointly in the next few days.

After weeks of specula-tion and back-channel talks,the first direct airmationcame through Congressgeneral secretary in chargeof U.P., Ghulam Nabi Azad,who asserted in Delhi that“there will be a Congress-SP alliance” under Mr.Akhilesh’s leadership.

The details would be de-cided and released in thecoming days, he said,though for now he re-mained non-committal on

the prospects of expandingthe alliance to include othersmaller parties.

“We will think about aMahagathbandhan in thecoming days,” Mr. Azadsaid.

Positive signal

The SP also gave out apositive signal, with thenewly anointed nationalpresident saying a decisionon the SP-Congress alliance“will be taken in a day ortwo.”

The CM’s remarks weremade during a chat withjournalists at his oicialresidence.

The SP, which has 227MLAs in the 403-memberAssembly, is expected tocontest the maximum num-ber of seats.

Most keenly awaited isthe number of seats theCongress, and possibly theRLD, whose support is keyto checking the BJP in westU.P., would be allotted.

Congress sources said theparty is likely to get 80-90seats; it won less than 30 in2012.

The Congress’s presenceis expected to help the SP-led alliance consolidateMuslim votes.

Uttar Pradesh has 80 LSconstituencies and the Con-gress has insisted that it beallowed to field a candidatein each segment.

“If not, it will be diicultto mobilise workers for the2019 LS polls,” a Congressleader said here.

Common aim is to stop the BJP;announcement inthe next few days

SP, Congress inchcloser to alliance

OMAR RASHID

� CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

A file photo of Akhilesh Yadav with Mulayam Singh in Lucknow. Mr. Singh reportedly wanted the CM to retain 40 candidates selected by his camp. — AKHILESH YADAV/TWITTER

LONDON: Prime MinisterTheresa May on Tuesday saidBritain would leave the EU’ssingle market in order to re-strict immigration in a cleanbreak from the bloc, but law-makers can vote on the finaldeal.

“Brexit must mean controlof the number of people com-ing from Europe, and that iswhat we will deliver. What Iam proposing cannot meanmembership of the single

market,” she said in a highly-anticipated speech at Lon-don’s Lancaster House.

She added Britain wouldseek a trade deal giving “thegreatest possible access” tothe market on its departure.She also announced that anydivorce deal with the remain-ing EU members must be ap-proved by votes in bothchambers of Parliament.

Britain has two years to ne-gotiate a break-up deal once

Ms. May triggers Article 50 ofthe Lisbon Treaty, oiciallydeclaring the country’s inten-tion to quit, or face leavingwith no agreement. Ms. Mayhas promised to trigger Art-icle 50 by March-end and saidshe believed a final settle-ment and trade deal could besimultaneously negotiatedwithin the time-frame. For-eign partners doubt such atimetable, with Austrian For-eign Minister Hans Joerg

Schelling saying Brexit wouldtake five years.

Seeking to calm fears of asudden jolt to the economyon abruptly leaving the EU,Ms. May said she would seeka “phased process of imple-mentation.” Her directionwill be cheered by those whowant to leave the EU, but dis-may those who fear the im-pact on the economy. — AFP

Britain to leave EU’s single market: May

� CLARITY AND A FEWSURPRISES TOO | PAGE 14

NEW DELHI: After setting asidethe guiding principle of ‘seni-ority-cum-merit’ in the ap-pointment of General BipinRawat as the Chief of ArmyStaf, the government nowseems to be doing away withit in other senior positions inthe Army.

In appointing the Engin-eer-in-Chief, who heads theMilitary Engineer Servicesand the Corps of Engineers,the government has super-seded the seniormost oicerLt. Gen. Vishwambhar Singh,Director General Weapons &Equipment. Instead, it hasappointed Lt. Gen. SureshSharma, currently DirectorGeneral-Border Roads.

The move comes a monthafter the government, in asurprise move, supersededEastern Army CommanderLt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi inthe appointment of the 27thArmy Chief, which hadcaused considerable concernin the service.

The present Engineer-in-Chief, Lt. Gen. Sanjiv Talwar,

is set to retire by the end ofthe month, and the designateLt. Gen. Sharma will takecharge on February 1. The ap-pointment has been clearedby the Appointments Com-mittee of the Cabinet headedby the Prime Minister.

The Engineer-in-Chief isan advisor to all three servicechiefs. “Generally, the ap-pointments are by done onthe principle of ‘seniority-cum-merit’. Technically, Lt.Gen. Singh is senior, but itwas the government’s call,” asource said.

An engineering oicerpointed out that it has beenthe tradition to appoint theseniormost oicer to be theEngineer-in-Chief. “At leastin my memory, the seniority

has not been scuttled. Thiswas very surprising,” he said.

As per procedure, theArmy Headquarters for-wards a list of eligible oicersto the Defence Ministry. TheDefence Minister then putsdown his recommendationsand sends the file to the ACC,which makes the finalselection.

Of the two oicers, Lt. Gen.Singh is from the architectscadre, while Lt. Gen. Sharmais from the engineers cadre.“We were told that they pre-ferred someone from the en-gineering stream at the toppost,” a civilian oicer in theCorps of Engineers said.Speaking last week, Gen.Rawat said that the issue ofchoosing Army Command-ers through a selection boardrather than by seniorityalone would be debated. “Ibelieve in a system of con-sensus. This is an issue whichhas not been addressedearlier but we will certainlytake up with the Army Com-manders to see how theyfeel,” he had said.

Now, another General is supersededDINAKAR PERI

Lt. Gen. Vishwambhar Singh

NEW DELHI: Pakistan must “walkaway from terror” if it wishesto walk towards dialogue withIndia, Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi said, adding that heremained committed to hisvision for a “peaceful and har-monious” South Asia, andputting the “neighbourhoodfirst”.

In his speech inauguratingthe Ministry of External Af-fairs’ annual Raisina Dialogueon Tuesday, Mr. Modi out-lined his government’s for-eign policy from May 2014when, he said, Indians “hadspoken with one voice” toelect him with a mandate forchange. Mr. Modi also re-ferred to diferences withChina, and India’s close part-nerships with the U.S., Russiaand Japan.

Underscores message

“India alone cannot walkthe path of peace. It also has tobe Pakistan’s journey to make.

Pakistan must walk awayfrom terror if it wants to walktowards dialogue with India,”the Prime Minister told an in-ternational audience, indicat-ing that talks would not be re-sumed in the near future.“Those in our neighbourhoodwho support violence, per-petrate hatred, and export ter-ror stand isolated and ig-nored,” he added,

underscoring his message forPakistan.

Among those in the audi-ence who will also addressthe Raisina conference, or-ganised by the think tank Ob-server Research Foundation,were former AfghanistanPresident Hamid Karzai,former Canadian PM StephenHarper and former AustralianPM Kevin Rudd. Nepal’s for-

eign minister Prakash SharanMahat, who acknowledgedthe Prime Minister’s refer-ence to India as a “crediblefirst responder” in times ofcrisis such as after the Nepalearthquake in 2015, was alsopresent.

Mr. Modi began his speechwith a reference to BritishPrime Minister Theresa Mayand Chinese President Xi Jin-ping's speeches at the in-vestors conference in Davoson Tuesday where they hadspoken about the challengesto globalisation. The PrimeMinister said the growing“sentiment against trade andmigration and rising paro-chial and protectionist atti-tudes” were putting globalisa-tion's gains at a risk.

On China, Mr. Modi spokeof “unprecedented businessand commercial opportunit-ies” that he had discussedwith President Xi, but alsomade several sharp refer-ences to the diferencesbetween both countries.

“Rising ambition and fester-ing rivalries (in Asia) are gen-erating visible stress points,”Mr. Modi said, referring to theissue of “freedom of naviga-tion” in the South China Sea.

Later in the speech, in apossible reference to the $45billion China-Pakistan Eco-nomic Corridor that runsthrough parts of Kashmir, Mr.Modi said connectivity couldnot “override sovereignty”.

The theme of the RaisinaDialogue this year is “TheNew Normal: Multilateralismin a multipolar world”. Theconference will be attendedby delegates from 65 coun-tries.

Drawing on India’s closeststrategic partnerships, Mr.Modi said he had spoken toU.S. President-elect DonaldTrump about building on theIndia-U.S. relationship, andhad “long conversations”with Russian President Putinon challenges confronting theworld.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

PM Narendra Modi with ex-Australian Prime Minister KevinRudd, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper andformer Afghan President Hamid Karzai during the RaisinaDialogue-2017 in New Delhi on Tuesday. — PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA

Walk away from terror, PM tells Pakistan

Remembering Vemula

VOCAL: Jawaharlal Nehru University students stage a protest in New Delhi on Tuesday to mark the first deathanniversary of Hyderabad University research scholar Rohith Vemula. PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA (SEE ALSO PAGE 2 )

NEW DELHI: Highlighting theurgency to find immediatesolutions to curb air pollu-tion rather than mull overpossible solutions, the Su-preme Court on Tuesdayasked the Environment Pol-lution Control Authority toinspect over 900 PollutionUnder Certificate stationsacross Delhi, many of whomare facing action for com-mitting irregularities.

A Bench led by JusticeMadan B. Lokur was hear-ing a suggestion by theamicus curiae and senioradvocate, Harish Salve, thatpollution certificatesshould be linked to vehicleinsurance.

The Centre, representedby Solicitor-General RanjitKumar, said even the func-tioning of several of the pol-lution checking stations in

Delhi were suspect.

Show cause notice

Mr. Kumar said of the 962stations in the national Cap-ital, 174 have been issuedshow cause notice for irreg-ularities. These pollutioncentres check at least 5,000vehicles a month.

Mr. Kumar revealed thechequered track record ofthe pollution centres insome detail to the court. Ofthe 962 centres, 75 havebeen suspended, 14 can-celled and warning noticeswere issued to 78.

The Bench asked theCentre to furnish a status re-

port regarding show causenotices issued to PUCcentres.

The Centre further in-formed the court that con-sultations with stakehold-ers were on to ban pet cokeand furnace oil as industrialfuel in Delhi-National Cap-ital Region.

The government said re-ports were sought on the is-sued from scientific bodiessuch as the Council of Sci-entific & Industrial Re-search (CSIR), NationalPhysical Laboratory, Min-istry of Petroleum and Nat-ural Gas, The Energy andResource Institute (TERI)and industrial houses.

Status report

The court has asked for astatus report on the pro-posal to ban pet coke andfurnace oil by the next courthearing on February 6.

SC orders inspection ofpollution check centresLEGAL CORRESPONDENT

The Centre said evenfunctioning of severalof the pollutionchecking stations inDelhi were suspect.

� SEE ALSO PAGE 12

2 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

CITYPanel to look into flow of funds in civic bodies

The Delhi Assembly passed a resolution to constitute a factfinding committee to look into the disbursement of salariesof sanitation workers of the municipal corporations Page 4

Khan Market to finally get underground parking

Getting in and out of Khan Market could become lessdaunting in the near future as a long-pending undergroundparking project has finally started Page 5

Calling all readers to connect with us for all things Delhi at

twitter - @DelhiConnect www.facebook.com/NewDelhiConnect

DELHICONNECT

NEW DELHI: Students on aprotest march demandingjustice for Rohith Vemula onhis death anniversary weredetained near the Janpathmetro station on Tuesday.

The ‘Insaaf’ march, fromMandi House to the Ministryof Human Resource Devel-opment, had been called bythe Jawaharlal Nehru Stu-dents' Union (JNUSU) tohighlight injustices that havecontinued even after Ro-hith's death. Among the is-sues raised were the disap-pearance of MSc studentNajeeb Ahmed, the arrestand suspension of studentsfrom marginalised sectionsof society and the UniversityGrants Commission's May 5notification that “goesagainst the ideals of socialjustice”.

Forced into buses

The march drew parti-

cipants from other universit-ies in the city as well as activ-ists from the All IndiaStudents' Association andthe Students’ Federation ofIndia. The Delhi Police and

Paramilitary forces put upbarricades at Janpath andtried to divert the studentstowards Jantar Mantar.When the students resisted,they were forced into buses

that took them to the Parlia-ment Street Police Station.

‘On a peaceful march’

The students said they ob-jected to the use of force by

the police as they were on apeaceful march. While tryingto escape the use of force,some of the students fled to-wards the Janpath marketand into shops with police-men running after them.

Demand for Rohith Act

The AISA that participatedin the event had called for anational protest day demand-ing justice for Rohith, justicefor Najeeb and the enact-ment of Rohith Act. Theysaid that the in last one year,the Modi government notonly ignored the demand fora Rohith Act to make caste-based discrimination in uni-versities a cognisable of-fence, but have also indulgedby inaction a series of caste-based and political victimisa-tion in universities.

Candle light protests andpublic meetings were also or-ganised at JNU, Jamia MilliaIslamia and Jantar Mantar inmemory of Rohith Vemula.

Protest to highlight ‘continuing injustices’; students detained near Janpath metro station

Students march for Rohith, detainedSTAFF REPORTER

IN ONE VOICE: Members of SFI, AISA and JNUSU march to the HRD Ministry demanding justice forRohith Vemula on his death anniversary, in New Delhi on Tuesday. PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA

NEW DELHI: EducationMisister Manish Sisodiasaid that skill-relatededucation should belinked to propergraduation courses so thatstudents could gainconfidence and findavenues for employment.He was speaking at thegraduation ceremony ofWorld Class Skill Centre(WCSC) on Tuesday.

Issue of employability

The Minister added thataround 1.25 lakh studentswho do not go onto pursue

higher education out ofthe 2.5 lakh class XIIgraduates every year inDelhi should utilise suchskill centres that will makethem employable.

Formed under the

Department of Trainingand Technical Education(DTTE), government ofDelhi the WCSC incollaboration with thegovernment of Singaporeawarded medals andcertificates to 178students. RajkumarKasana, who passed out ofthe Hospitality sector, gotan ofer of ₨ 14 lakh perannum to work abroadwith a cruise ship.

Placement record

Manoj Kumar, Director,DTTE said that the centrehad successfully trainedfive batches and had

maintained a 100 per centplacement record.

New campus

The goverment alsoannounced plans to set upits main WCSC campus in37 acres of land at Jonapurvillage in south Delhi,which can accommodatearound 10,000 students.The WCSC at present hasa capacity for 1,000students and ofers oneyear ITE skillsqualification certificatecourses in hospitalityoperations, retail services,software testing andfinance executive.

‘Skill education a viable alternative’STAFF REPORTER

Manish Sisodia

NEW DELHI: Actor SharmilaTagore inaugurated a FilmClub at Jamia Millia Islamiaon Tuesday, adding to theclubs at the AJK Mass Com-munication Research Centreon the campus.

‘Not passive observers’

Ms. Tagore, a formerChairperson of the CentralBoard of Film Certification(CBFC), told the studentsthat films had the potentialto ofer not just hope but theremedy to many ills of soci-ety. The club will help stu-dents understand new ideasand the latest trends that areso wonderfully portrayed

through films, she added.Kiran Karnik, former pres-

ident, NASSCOM and a well-known broadcaster who wasthe chief guest, said that “afilm club would provide anopportunity to discuss anddissect a film as well as drawinsight from it. It is this thatwould diferentiate us frompassive viewers of cinema”.

V-C’s push for club

Vice-Chancellor of theuniversity, Talat Ahmad, saidthat when he came to Jamiahe was surprised that theuniversity did not have a filmclub and therefore, he wasvery keen to start one atJamia. Reminiscing his ownstudent days at AMU where

the film and drama clubswere very active, he said thata lot of learning and educa-tion comes from watchingfilms. He asked the studentsto enrol for the club and re-commended weekly andfortnightly screenings tomake the club more vibrant.

Iftekhar Ahmed, Director,AJK MCRC at whose initiat-ive the film club has beenlaunched, outlined its keyobjectives and hoped thatthe club will play a signific-ant role in not just showcas-ing the best of Indian and in-ternational cinema to thestudents of Jamia but wouldprovide them with an oppor-tunity to meet filmpersonalities.

Jamia gets new film club STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Commis-sion for Women (DCW) onTuesday issued a notice to theDepartment of Personnel andTraining (DoPT) in connec-tion with a complaint by avisually impaired woman al-leging cancellation of ap-pointment in the Ministry ofRailways due to her disability.

Posting reallocated

The woman, who clearedthe civil services exam in2015, alleged that she was ini-tially allotted Indian Rail-ways Accounts Service(IRAS). “However, sheclaimed her appointment wascancelled because of herblindness and later when shefollowed it up with DoPT, shewas reallocated to Postal andTelecommunication, Ac-counts and Finance Service,”DCW chairperson SwatiMaliwal said in her notice tothe DoPT Secretary B. P.Sharma.

The case comes at a timewhen the Disability RightsGroup (DRG) protested out-side the Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) oice onMonday after an oicial wasallegedly reverted back to hisprevious posting due to hisdisability.

‘Report in a week’

Ms. Maliwal said that whilethe woman was allotted IRASas per her rank in CSE-2015,her appointment was can-celled by the Ministry of Rail-ways. “She has alleged that

after several weeks of follow-ups she has now been alloc-ated IP and TAF servicewhich is in contravention ofher rank, merit and prefer-ence of service.”

“Crucial time for trainingand foundation course hasbeen wasted due to systemicdelays. Immediate actionmust be taken,” the noticeread.

The commission has alsosought a factual report of thewoman’s candidature withina week and the reasons for re-jection of IRAS.

DCW notice to DoPT overvisually impaired woman’s plea STAFF REPORTER

CALL FOR ACTION: DCW chief Swati Maliwal said crucial trainingtime of the woman had been wasted due to the delay. FILE PHOTO

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Interna-tional Airport (P) Ltd(DIAL) started a three-dayroad safety campaign fromTuesday, during which itwould ensure strict adher-ence to traic rules and alsoorganise health awarenesssessions. The health pro-gramme is being held at Pub-lic Transport Centre nearCentaur Hotel, IGI Airport.

“The campaign is a part ofNational Road Safety week2017 and aims to enablehealthier and safer lives ofdrivers at Indira Gandhi In-ternational Airport (IGIA),”said a DIAL spokesperson.

Road safetycampaign at IGIA

STAFF REPORTER

CMYK

ND-ND

CITY | 3THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

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NEW DELHI: A six-year-old orphanboy was allegedly being sodom-ised for the past few months bythree self-styled ‘godmen’ at ayoga ashram in central Delhi’sRaj Ghat.

The accused have been iden-tified as Amarjeet Pandey,Chandan Pandey and MangalPandey. While Amarjeet hasbeen arrested, the others are onthe run.

Deputy Commissioner of Po-lice (Central) Mandeep SinghRandhawa said the boy was ad-opted by the head priest of theashram a few years ago. Thepriest was taking care of theboy’s education, food andlodging, and it was under hisguidance that the boy waslearning yoga.

The accused trio— Amarjeet,Mangal and Chandan— werethe caretakers of the ashramand were living there.

Victim breaks down

The matter came to light onSaturday, when Ram ManoharSharma, one of the disciples ofthe priest, found the boy crying.

When asked what hadhappened, the boy opened up toMr. Sharma.

The victim said Amarjeet hadtaken him to a room in theashram on Saturday on the pre-text of giving him chocolates.Amarjeet had then locked theboy in the room with Chandan,who had allegedly sexually as-saulted him.

The victim further allegedthat he was sexually assaulted

by the trio on various occa-sions.

The accused had allegedlythreatened to kill the victim andthe head priest if he told anyoneabout his ordeal.

Case registered

On Sunday, a case of sexualassault was registered againstthe caretakers after Mr. Sharmaapproached the IP Estatepolice.

Victim says he was repeatedly assaulted over past few months; accused worked as caretakers at the ashram

Six-year-old ‘sodomised’ at yoga ashramSTAFF REPORTER

WORDS OF CAUTION: A Delhi Police officer addresses students of agovernment girls’ school in Kondli. Ever since the cases of assaultsby paedophile came to light, the police have been running thesecampaigns in schools across east Delhi. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Talk: “The many splendored city:Commentaries from early India” byShonaleeka Kaul, Associate Pro-fessor, Centre for Historical Studies,at Amaltas Hall, IHC, 7 p.m.

Music and Dance: “Murali

Samarpanam: an evening of Thil-lanas”, at C.D. Deshmukh Auditor-ium, IIC, 6:30 p.m.Music and Dance: “Mahima RazaFestival of Classical Music andDance” , at Auditorium, Triveni KalaSangam, 205, Tansen Marg, MandiHouse, 6 p.m.Exhibition: “Folk and Tribal Art”, agroup exhibition of folk and tribalpaintings, at IHC, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.Paintings: A show of paintings byGopi Gajwani, at Shridharani Gallery,Triveni Kala Sangam, 205, TansenMarg, Mandi House, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.Screening: Of Kannada film“Thithi”, with English subtitles, atThe Stein Auditorium, IHC, 7 p.m.(Mail your listings for this columnat cityeditordelhi@thehindu.co.in)

DELHI TODAY

GURUGRAM: Four alleged mem-bers of the notoriousSandeep Gadoli gang werearrested by the Rohtak policeon Monday.

The accused have beenidentified as Sonu, Deepak,Ravi Kant and Monu. Theywere arrested near Indus-trial Model Township fol-lowing a tip-of. The fourwere armed and planning torob commuters, said the po-lice. Five pistols and ten live

cartridges were allegedlyseized from them.

‘Revenge killing’

The men had allegedlykilled former councillor andgangster Binder Gujjar’sbrother Manish Kumar toavenge the murder of Gadoliand were also planning tomurder Binder. Gadoli, agangster from Gurugram,was killed by the GurugramPolice in a “fake” encounterin Mumbai in February lastyear.

Notorious gangsters held STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: Based on thepurported disclosures madeby the alleged paedophileSunil Rastogi, and their owninvestigations, the DelhiPolice have prepared a listof 58 instances in Delhi andthree other cities, in whichthe accused had eithersexually assaulted or tried tosexually assault minor girlsin the past 13 years.

While the actual numberof incidents could be higher— suspected to be over 600based on the frequency ofhis trips to the Capitalwhere his sole purpose wasto prey on vulnerable girls—the 58 cases the police arelooking into are those inwhich Rastogi has sharedspecifics such as thedescriptions of the victims,

locations, time and dates.. These instances include

the five registered cases ofsexual assault and abductionof minors against Rastogi, aswell as three recentcomplaints received by thepolice from victims whohave come forward afterhearing of his arrest. Theysaid they were molested aschildren, allegedly by thesame man.

Narrow escape for 5 girls

The list also contains thealleged abduction of fiveminor girls, all of whom hada lucky escape, unlike thesixth who was allegedlytaken to a deserted placeand raped by the accused.The 58 cases are spreadacross east Delhi, Rampur,Ghaziabad and UdhamSingh Nagar.

Cops compile list ofattacks by paedophile SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR

NEW DELHI: A municipalcouncillor’s husbandhas been arrested for al-legedly murdering aproperty dealer insouth-west Delhi’s Ut-tam Nagar.

Ashish Tomar (29)was arrested from nearthe Dwarka Sector-14metro station last weekby a Crime Branch teamin connection with themurder that occurred inNovember 8 last year.

Ravindra Yadav, theJoint Commissioner ofPolice (Crime), said an

unlicensed pistol of7.65mm as well as twolive cartridges wereseized from him.

Mr. Yadav added thatcourt proceedings hadbeen initiated againstTomar to have him de-clared a “proclaimed of-fender” in the case.

Land dispute involved

“Tomar said he andmembers of his gang,Punit, Praveen, Henry,Sushil and Sombir, haddecided to kill the prop-erty dealer, Bijender,over a land dispute,”said Mr. Yadav.

The accused told thepolice that Punit andSombir had shot thedealer dead near his res-idence. The CrimeBranch had arrestedPunit in November.

Mr. Yadav said Punittold the police that hehad handed over themurder weapon to To-mar. “Tomar’s wife isthe sitting municipalcouncillor of the MohanGarden ward in UttamNagar. He was a part ofthe gang of Manjit Ma-hal and was a close asso-ciate of criminal NafeSingh,” said Mr. Yadav.

Municipal councillor’s husbandarrested in murder caseSTAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: A Delhi Policetrainee sub-inspector al-legedly committed suicideby laying himself on a rail-way track in south Delhi onTuesday.

The body ofThippeswamy was foundaround 1.30 a.m. on a railwaytrack that runs betweenAshram and Okhla. He pur-portedly left behind a suicidenote in which he wrote thathe was depressed. “I am verysorry my dear family andfriends. I was sufering fromdepression since very long

time. I am unable to cope upwith that. So I am taking myown life. Please forgive mefor the pain I am causing youpeople by selfish Act [sic],”read the note.

Family cries foul

The policeman’s familyhas, however, alleged that hewas being bullied by senioroicers for not knowingHindi, a charge denied by thepolice.

“These charges are base-less.We are looking into whyhe was under depression,”said Delhi Police spokesper-son Dependra Pathak.

Depressed, cop commitssuicide on railway trackSTAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: A three-year-oldgirl died after she accident-ally fell of the balcony of herfourth-floor house in eastDelhi’s Trilokpuri onMonday.

The victim has been iden-tified as Nidhi.

The police said the incid-ent happened around 4 p.m.,when the girl’s mother hadgone out to buy groceries.

Neighbours found her ly-ing in a pool of blood on theroad, after which they in-formed the police.

The victim’s mother,meanwhile, had arrived atthe spot. Nidhi was rushed toLal Bahadur Shastri Hos-pital, where she was declaredbrought dead.

Girl falls to deathfrom balconySTAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: A Nepalese mantried to fly to the UnitedStates by exchanging hisboarding pass with a fellowpassenger — a Tibetanrefugee holding a Greencard — on Sunday but his bidwas foiled by airlines staf,said the police.

Cloud of suspicion

A senior Central Indus-trial Security Force (CISF)oicer at the Indira GandhiInternational Airport(IGIA) said the incident wasreported around 10:15 p.m.During the checking of pass-ports and boarding passes ofpassengers of United Air-lines flight No.UA-83, a pas-

senger by the name ofWangyal Pema was stopped.

“He was stopped due todoubts about his passportand identity. Airline staf in-formed the matter to theCISF and on questioning,the passenger revealed hisname as Rajendra. He was,however, not carrying anyidentity proof to prove thisclaim,” said the oicer.

Easy way out

It was later revealed thatRajendra has exchanged hisboarding pass with oneWangyal Pema in a wash-room in the security holdarea.

The police said Rajendrawanted to move to the US tolook for work.

On how they exchangedthe passes, the oicer saidthe ticket which Rajendrainitially held was for a do-mestic flight to Mumbai,also operating from the in-ternational side ofTerminal-3.

Both the passengers wereoloaded and handed overto the immigration staf.

The men have now beenbooked for cheating and for-gery.

Probe on

Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (IGI) S.K. Bhatia saidthey were questioning theduo on whether any moneywas paid to Wangyal in ex-change for the “help” Ra-jendra received.

Nepalese man held at IGIA fortrying to travel on fake documentsSTAFF REPORTER

CMYK

ND-ND

CITY4 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi As-sembly on Tuesday passed aresolution to constitute afact-finding committee tolook into the disbursement ofsalaries of sanitation workersof the municipal corpora-tions. The panel will beheaded by the Director ofLocal Bodies and will tableits report in the House by thenext Assembly session.

During the session onTuesday, the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) MLAs allegedthat there are many ‘ghost’employees, who exist only onpaper, working in the civicbodies and the salaries paidto such employees goes to themunicipal councillors.

Trimming the budget

Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia said that thesalaries of the sanitationworkers will be paid on timeeven if it mean trimming thebudget of other departments.“But it is unfair to the genuinesanitation workers to remain

unpaid as many ghost em-ployees exist. The committeewill check to whom all thesalaries are disbursed. Thepanel will not investigate butonly check the flow of funds,”Mr. Sisodia said.

The proposal to set up thecommittee was mooted byGreater Kailash MLA Saur-abh Bhardwaj to bring in

transparency.

Financial woes

The MLAs complainedthat the financial situation ofthe North Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NDMC) andthe East Delhi Municipal Cor-poration (EDMC) has deteri-orated despite the parkingrates being increased 20

times. “The revenue is not in-creasing but the councillorsare given ipads and laptops.So many councillors driveluxury cars, but they don’thave money to pay the em-ployees. The corruption inthe civic bodies is unlimited,”said Health Minister Saty-endar Jain.

With the municipal polls

slated for May this year, theAAP MLAs said that both theBJP and the Congress to-gether have bankrupt the cor-porations.

“The public will teach thema lesson and once the AAPtakes over these civic bodies,an audit will be ordered and alist of scams will be pre-pared,” said Mr. Bhardwaj.

The AAP leader claimedthat before the AAP came topower in 2015, the project torepair roads and drains inGreater Kailash area waspassed, “but the drains werenever reconstructed while theexpenditure is shown. Everyproject, be it small or big, is ascam in the civic bodies.”

‘Destruction Authority’

Meanwhile, Mr. Jain termedthe DDA as the Delhi ‘De-struction Authority’.

He was reacting to BJPleader Vijender Gupta’s alleg-ation on the floor of theHouse that the Kejriwal gov-ernment was “deliberately”delaying notifying the landpooling policy.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain says money going to ‘ghost employees’, alleges corruption in civic bodies is ‘unlimited’

Panel to check flow of funds in civic bodies STAFF REPORTER

ON THE OFFENSIVE: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia arrives at the Vidhan Sabha to attendthe first day of the Assembly session on Tuesday. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

NEW DELHI: Delhi AssemblySpeaker Ram Niwas Goel onTuesday censured Leader ofthe Opposition VijenderGupta for “misleading” theHouse as the BJP leadercalled the session “illegal”.

Mr. Gupta had said that bynot inviting the new Lieuten-ant-Governor Anil Baijal toaddress the “first session ofthe year”, the governmenthad violated and misused therules. Mr. Gupta also ques-tioned the intent of the gov-ernment in stretching thefourth session of the As-sembly over six segments: “Itis contradictory that you areconducting monsoon ses-sion in winter.”

Gupta warned

However, both Mr. Goeland Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia rejected thecharges. “Inviting the L-Gwould have been a violationas it is not a new session in anew calender year but a con-tinuation of an ongoing one. Iwant to warn you (Gupta)against dragging the name ofthe L-G based on a mislead-ing claims. We have a newL-G, who is a good personand you have ended up drag-ging him in a controversy.This is an attempt to stallgovernance in Delhi,” Mr.Goel said.

Earlier, the Speaker re-fused to give permission for adiscussion on the conductand behaviour of former L-GNajeeb Jung.

Gupta asks whyL-G wasn’t askedto address session

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: The Delhi BJPstaged a protest near the As-sembly on Tuesday beforethe beginning of the two-daywinter session.

The BJP accused the AamAadmi Party (AAP) govern-ment of “failing to fulfil” its70 election promises, includ-ing providing free Wi-Fi andwomen’s security.

Hundreds of party cadreled by Delhi BJP presidentManoj Tiwari carried out amarch from Metcalfe House

to the Assembly in CivilLines in the afternoon rais-ing slogans against the gov-ernment.

They were stopped by theDelhi Police near the VidhanSabha.

‘No new schools’

Mr. Tiwari accused theArvind Kejriwal-led AAPgovernment of “failing to ful-fil” its 70 poll promises,which it had made to thepeople of Delhi.

“BJP workers in the dis-tricts and mandals have

found that the Kejriwal gov-ernment has failed toprovide security to women,free water supply, free Wi-Fi,mohalla clinics and newschools,” the BJP leader said.

Mr. Tiwari added that Del-hi’s condition had worsenedin the two years that Mr.Kejriwal had been in power.

Developmental workshave been “stalled” due to“low-grade politics” and ser-vices like sanitation, educa-tion, health, transport androads have been “adversely”afected, Mr. Tiwari said.

AAP govt has failed to keeps its election promises, says BJPSTAFF REPORTER

UNREST: Delhi BJP workers protest near the Vidhan Sabha on thefirst day of the winter session on Tuesday. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

NEW DELHI: Employees of thenorth and east Delhi muni-cipal corporations are plan-ning to hold a demonstrationat the Civic Centre on Wed-nesday to protest against latesalaries.

While the cash-strappedcivic bodies managed to paytheir sanitation workers re-cently, the rest of the staf hasnot received salaries for twoto four months.

Cash-strapped

The East Delhi MunicipalCorporation (EDMC) onlypaid sanitation workers lastweek when they went onstrike.

The north corporationpaid sanitation workers theirsalaries for December lastweek. The remaining staf,

including teachers, engin-eers, horticulture depart-ment workers and doctors,have not been paid.

On Wednesday, workersfrom the various depart-ments of the two civic bodiesare expected to gather at theCivic Centre for the protest.

“Sanitation workers werepaid, but the rest of the em-ployees are yet to get theirsalaries. Some peoplehaven’t been paid for fourmonths. We are fighting forthe rights of all municipalworkers across Delhi,” saidRajendra Mewati, general-secretary of the United Frontof MCD Employees.

Due to a financial crisis,workers of the two civic bod-ies have protested severaltimes over the past twoyears, with sanitation stafgoing on strike six times.

Municipal workers toprotest at Civic Centre STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: In the wake of theCentre notifying a gradedresponse plan to counterair pollution, DelhiTransport MinisterSatyendar Jain on Tuesdaysaid that the odd-evenscheme would beimplemented within days ifair pollution touched‘emergency’ levels in theCapital and may also, in afirst, have two-wheelersunder its ambit.

The announcementcomes even as Mr. Jainadmitted in a written replyto Leader of the OppositionVijender Gupta that theAam Aadmi Party (AAP)government had no plansto add new buses to theailing fleet of the DelhiTransport Corporation(DTC) this year.

Short notice

The Minister said thatwhile rolling out thescheme at short notice

would be challenging, thegovernment would abideby the guidelines approvedby the Supreme Court.

“Odd-even will have tobrought in as per levels ofpollution. If it crosses acertain level, we willenforce it. We had told theCentre that the Delhigovernment will need atleast seven days in thisregard, but the notificationdemands that the measurebe imposed within twodays,” Mr. Jain said.

The Minister also addedthat while the governmentcould enforce the scheme,challenges would persist in

relation to sensitising thegeneral public.

‘Emergency’ levels

Under the plan, the roadrationing scheme and a halton construction activitiesmay be imposed across thenational capital region if airquality reached andremained at the“emergency” level for 48hours.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jain toldthe Delhi Assembly thatthere was no proposal to

add new buses to the DTCand no new bus has beenadded to the fleet of thepublic transporter in thelast two years.

In a written reply to aquestion by Mr. Guptaduring the ongoing wintersession, the TransportMinister said thegovernment had made aplan to run new buses(orange) under the ClusterScheme in which privateplayers would provide thebuses.

Will roll out odd-even when required; no new buses for DTC: Jain STAFF REPORTER

Transport MinisterSatyendar Jain. FILE PHOTO

NEW DELHI: Despite a ban bythe Delhi government, thedeadly Chinese manjha(string) continues to be usedfor flying kites, therebythreatening both animal andhuman life. The Capital’savian population is particu-larly in danger as they areeasily caught in the stringswhile in flight or when rest-ing in trees.

In the past few days Wild-life SOS has received and at-tended to multiple rescuecalls for birds caught in man-jha. The dangerous glass–coated manjha of flying kitescan easily cut through thesoft flesh of these birds andfrequently the wings andlimbs are badly injured.

‘Can be fatal’

Co-founder of WildlifeSOS Geeta Seshamani said,‘Getting caught in manjhacan often be fatal for birdsand the injuries can perman-ently afect their ability to fly.It is traditional to fly kitesduring festivals such asMakar Sankranti, but theChinese manjha can causegreat damage, not only towildlife but also humanbeings.”

Wildlife SOS recently res-cued two kites that were en-tangled in manjha and werefound hanging from trees.One had to be rescued by thefire brigade while anotherwas rescued by a member of

the Wildlife SOS Rapid Re-sponse Unit. The birds wereseverely dehydrated and in-jured, and required immedi-ate first aid before they weresent for further treatment.

Another kite was found inthe premises of the NationalGandhi Museum at Rajghatwith a broken wing, an injurysuspected to be caused bymanjha.

Co-founder of WildlifeSOS Kartick Satyanarayansaid, “The Indian manjha ismade from handmade cottonand can be used safely. Werequest Delhiites to refrainfrom using the Chinese man-jha. If you come across anybird or animal that is injured,please call our 24-hourhelpline number(9871963535).”

Since birds tend to bemore active during the earlymorning or at dusk, oneshould refrain from flyingkites during these times, theorganisation advised.

Despite ban, Chinesemanjha still a threatBINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN

Wildlife SOS members cutmanjha to rescue a birdentangled in the thread. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

NEW DELHI: After a delay ofover two months, the DelhiDevelopment Authority(DDA) is likely to launch itsmuch awaited housingscheme in February.

For those who aspire toown a house of their own inDelhi at afordable prices,the DDA’s housing schemesare the only option available.and that is why, theseschemes are much soughtafter. The latest housingscheme of the DDA ofersmore than 13,000 flats spreadacross the city.

Much awaited

The scheme was expectedto be launched by Decemberlast year, but demonetisationresulted in a delay.

“All banks were busy dueto demonetisation andwithout their participation,we couldn’t have launchedthe scheme as they are im-portant stakeholders in theprocess. Without loans frombanks, it would have beenvery diicult for most applic-ants to organise the registra-tion fee,” said a senior DDAoicial.

The DDA has hiked the re-gistration fee of middle andhigh income group (MIGand HIG) flats to ₨2 lakh.

The earlier plan was tohike the fee to ₨5 lakh. Regis-tration fee for low incomegroup (LIG) flats is ₨1 lakh.

“We will try to launch thescheme early in February,”said the oicial.

Online and oline

Also, unlike in its earlierplan, applicants will be ableto register through both on-line and oline process. Theallotments will be made onfreehold basis.

The scheme will ofer

13,148 flats in areas such asSarita Vihar, Jasola, Dwarka,Pitampura, Sukhdev Vihar,Narela, Rohini, Jahangirpuri,Loknayakpuram, DilshadGarden, Paschim Vihar,Bindapur,Mukherjee Nagaretc. Applicants will be al-lowed maximum sevenchoices of localities while re-gistering for the scheme.

The majority of the flats –11,671 – are one-bedroom

flats, most of which were al-lotted during the 2014 hous-ing scheme but later can-celled or surrendered byallottees. Most allottees hadcited the small size of theflats as the reason forsurrendering.

Wide range

There are only 79 HIGflats on ofer, with pricesvarying between ₨41.62 lakhand ₨1.4 crore. There are 398MIG or two-bedroom flats,which are priced between₨30.23 lakh and ₨70.07 lakh.The price of one bedroom,janta and expandable cat-egory flats range between₨11.67 lakh and ₨28.54 lakh.

The DDA has decided notto increase the prices of the11,544 flats from the 2014housing scheme.

The DDA has also doneaway with the earlier clauseof five year lock-in period,but added a stringent condi-tion this time to attract onlygenuine buyers and not spec-ulators.

In case an applicant with-draws his or her applicationbefore conduct of draw oflots, full amount will be re-funded without interest.

After allotment in case anyapplicant wants to surrenderor cancel the allotted flat, thewhole amount of registra-tion money will be forfeited.

DDA housing scheme in early FebruarySTAFF REPORTER

The DDA has hikedthe registration fee of middle andhigh income groupflats to ₨2 lakh

Applicants will be able to register through both online and offline process

NEW DELHI: The AIIMS-Delhion Tuesday joined handswith NBCC for developing ahousing complex for the stafat its western campus amidprotests by resident doctors,who are opposing the gov-ernment’s policy of selling 10per cent institutional landfor commercial use.

Aimed at providing addi-tional accommodation toprofessors and other stafmembers, the All India Insti-tute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) signed a Memor-andum of Understanding(MoU) with the NBCC (In-dia) Limited, which comesunder the Ministry of Urban

Development. The plan is toredevelop residential quar-ters at West Ansari Nagarcampus and Ayur VigyanNagar campus at a cost of₨4,698 crore.

The MoU was signed inthe presence of Union Min-ister of Urban DevelopmentVenkaiah Naidu and UnionMinister for Health and Fam-ily Welfare J. P. Nadda.

“Health and education aretwo areas that need our fo-cus, thus both the Centre andState governments are in-creasing the budget alloca-tion in these sectors,” saidMr. Naidu.

Mr. Nadda added that thisis the largest investment intertiary health care.

Meanwhile, the AIIMSresident doctors’ associationmaintained that it is “unfor-tunate that the MOU allows10 per cent of the construc-ted land to be sold by theNBCC for commercial use.This government is ignoringthe fact that resident doctorshere don’t get accommoda-tion even after waiting for 30months.”

AIIMS, NBCC tie up to build 2,500 flatsBINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN

Combat-ready

FORMIDABLE: A National Security Guard contingent at Rajpath during the Republic Day rehearsal on Tuesday. PHOTO: V. V. KRISHNAN

YK

CITY/STATE | 5THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

NEW DELHI: Getting in and outof Khan Market could be-come less daunting in thenear future as a long-pending underground park-ing project has finally star-ted.

The posh market complexin Lutyens’ Delhi has beenplagued with parking prob-lems for years, with longrows of cars creating a traicjam in the front and a jumbleof vehicles leading to a messin the back. With inadequateparking spots in and aroundthe market, visitors parktheir vehicles along the peri-phery of the complex in tworows, preventing the smoothflow of cars and people.

Long wait

It’s been over five yearssince the Delhi High Courtordered the authorities tostart work on an under-ground parking facility onthe nearby Amrita ShergillMarg. After years of delays,the New Delhi MunicipalCouncil has now begun workon the project.

“We are clearing out theplot of land so that surface-level parking can start whilework on the underground fa-cility is under way. We haveinitiated the design processin-house and will look intohiring consultants if needbe,” said NDMC chairpersonNaresh Kumar on Tuesday.

Clearing of plot begins

Over the weekend, theNDMC began clearing the4,972.5 square metre plot,which used to house a gym-nasium. Mr. Kumar had saidin his budget speech for 2017-2018 that the NDMC hadtaken possession of the plotand would develop a multi-level parking lot.

He said the work would becarried out by a special pur-pose vehicle set up by theNDMC for its ‘Smart City’projects.

The construction wouldbe outsourced on ‘design,build and finance’ model.

For the traders of KhanMarket this has been a long-time coming.

It was on a petition filed bythe Khan Market Traders’Association that the DelhiHigh Court had ordered theconstruction of the parkingfacility in July 2011.

“We have been followingup with the NDMC for yearsnow, but there has been noprogress. We are hopefulthat the parking facility willbe built now. It will help inreducing the congestionaround Khan Market,” said

Sanjiv Mehra, the presidentof the association.

More commercial units

The parking troubles com-pounded when the first-floorflats in Khan Market, 74 intotal, were allowed to be con-verted to commercial units,said Mr. Mehra.

Since most of these be-came restaurants - there areabout 40 restaurants in totalin Khan Market - Mr. Mehra

said the number of cars com-ing to the complex shot up.

When completed, theparking lot will be able totake in about 400 cars.

As of now, about 250 to 300cars belonging to traders andshop-owners are parked inKhan Market, Mini Market,Prithviraj Market and LokNayak Bhawan, said Mr.Mehra.

“We can at least move allthe traders cars to the under-

ground parking. At any givenpoint, there are 700 to 800cars in the four markets,”said Mr. Mehra.

He added that the associ-ation had ofered to operatebattery-run vehicles fromthe parking facility to themain market.

Apart from that, he saidparking for senior citizensand diferently-abled visitorswould be reserved at themain market.

NDMC starts work on surface parking; underground plan to be carried out by special purpose vehicle

Khan Market to finally get parking lotDAMININATH

SOME SPACE: Parking mess at Khan Market (left); site where the new parking lot will come up. PHOTOS: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

NEW DELHI: The Delhi HighCourt on Tuesday sought toknow what action has beentaken by the AAP govern-ment against pubs and res-taurants near Hauz Khas vil-lage which serve liquorwithout licence.

A Bench headed by ChiefJustice G.Rohini also askedthe police and the municipalcorporation whether theseplaces are still in operation.

The court has now fixedthe matter for further hear-ing on February 14 when itwill also hear another PILseeking action against unau-thorised constructions insouth Delhi’s Hauz Khas Vil-lage area and its restaurantsallegedly operating withoutnecessary licences.

No NOC

The order of the courtcame on a plea by advocateAnuja Kapur, who said thatsuch pubs and bars do nothave a no objection certific-ate (NOC) from the authorit-ies concerned, leading to vi-olation of the law.

She alleged that the policehave turned a blind eye to allsuch violations and sincethey are never seen in thearea, pub owners continuewith the illegalities.

While seeking direction toimpose a complete ban onsuch pubs and bars, the pleaalleged that their owners arerunning in connivance withthe local police.

No action taken

The petitioner said shehad written to Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal, DeputyChief Minister Manish Siso-dia and senior police oicialsbut no action had been takenagainst the violators.

In another petition beforea diferent Bench, the res-taurant owners have soughtdirection from the govern-ment that they be granted li-cence to buy liquor.

‘Withholding licences’

They have alleged that thegovernment has withheldtheir licences on the groundthat the liquor shops in Delhihad reached a saturationpoint.

List action taken againstunlicensed pubs: HCSTAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: A 28-year-old la-bourer, working at a DMRCsite near Shastri Park MetroStation, died after a tripodpillar fell on him, the policesaid on Tuesday.

The deceased, Humagir,was working at the DMRCsite for construction oftransit camp for CISF adja-cent to the metro stationwhen the tripod pillar fell onhim on Monday.

Case registered

A case under sections 387(putting person in fear ofdeath or of grievous hurt, inorder to commit extortion),304 A (causing death by neg-ligence) of IPC has been re-gistered, the police said.

A DMRC spokesperson,

however, said the ‘hydra’ thatunloaded on the labourerwas brought to the sitewithout the corporation’spermission.

‘Human error’

“A labourer working at thetransit hostel accommoda-tion site in Shastri Park diedon Monday after a hydrafunctioning at the site un-loaded its load on the la-bourer. Prima facie, it ap-pears to be an error by thehydra operator. “The hydrabelonged to a sub-contractorof the main contractor,Aadhar Stambh, and hadbeen brought to the sitewithout the permission ofDMRC. An inquiry is beingconducted," he said. — PTI

28-year-old labourerdies at DMRC site

NEW DELHI: Two sisters, bothvictims of an acid attack,have moved the Delhi HighCourt with a plea that thecompensation awarded tosuch victims be enhancedfrom the ₨3 lakh at present,even as the revised Delhi Vic-tim Compensation Schemeawaits approval.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdevaissued notice to the Delhigovernment, the Delhi StateLegal Services Authority(DSLSA), the Ministry ofWomen and Child Develop-ment and the Ministry ofHome Afairs seeking theirreply before February 14 onthe plea of the two sisterswho were attacked by a jiltedlover in 2009.

The women, who wererendered visually impairedas a result of the attack, have

sought enhancement of the₨3 lakh compensation awar-ded to them by DSLSA in2016. They have also soughtremoval of the cap on com-pensation awarded under theDelhi Victims CompensationScheme.

Clearing medical bills

They have also sought dir-ections to the government toreimburse the ₨15 lakh theyhave spent on their medicalbills. A bunch of similar peti-tions are pending before thesame Bench where the vic-tims have sought enhancedcompensation.

In many cases, the victimsare still paying for their med-ical bills to be cleared by thegovernment.

“The petitioners, who arevictims of acid attacks, areseeking intervention of thiscourt for a direction to the re-

spondent (the Delhi govern-ment) herein, inter alia, forpayment of enhanced com-pensation, exceeding theamount of Rs.3 lakh, and dir-ection to the respondent (theDelhi government) toprovide treatment to the vic-tims free of cost,” their peti-tion said.

Horrific attack

The sisters used to run abeauty parlour. The attackerhad proposed marriage toone of them.

When snubbed, he threwacid on them on October 14,2009. Both sisters received 15to 20 per cent acid burns ontheir faces including eyes,arms, shoulders, chest andabdomen. The accused wasapprehended only to be ac-quitted by a trail court afterprosecution failed to proveits case against him.

Acid attack victims move HighCourt for enhanced compensationSTAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: The Delhi govern-ment on Tuesday notified thefinal delimitation of 272wards. The composition ofsome wards in Assembly con-stituencies have beenchanged.

As per the mandate, themunicipal polls are requiredto be completed before April27. However, the delay in thedelimitation process hadgiven ammunition to the BJPand the Congress to target theAAP government, accusing itof delaying the civic bodyelections.

While the number of wardsin each of the three corpora-tions — 104 each in SouthDelhi Municipal Corporationand North Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NDMC) and 64in East Delhi Municipal Cor-poration is the same, thenumber of wards in a few as-sembly segments haschanged, ranging from threeto seven. Matiala constitu-ency which falls underSDMC will have 7 wardswhile Tughlakabad, Badarpurand Okhla will have 3, 5 and 6wards respectively.

AAP govt notifiesward delimitationSTAFF REPORTER

YKYKND-ND

6 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

STATE

NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal(NGT) on Tuesday sought to know ifholding religious and cultural events,like the World Culture Festival organ-ised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Liv-ing Foundation last year, can be prohib-ited by bringing it under the umbrellaof environment laws.

The NGT sought responses from theCentre and the AAP government, assome supporters of the festival chal-lenged the jurisdiction of the Tribunalto decide the issue of damage to thefloodplains of Yamuna caused due tothe three-day event held in March 2016.

The plea moved by Prajanya Chow-dhry, Anil Kapoor and Anand Mathursaid cultural and religious rights formpart of “Right To Live With Dignity” asguaranteed under Article 21 of the Con-stitution and therefore cannot bebanned or stopped.

No jurisdiction?

Advocate Anirudh Sharma, who ap-peared for them, said the Constitutionallowed individuals to hold events like

World Culture Festival and any restric-tion would deny them such rights.

The petitioners said the NGT, in itspresent composition, lacked jurisdic-tion to decide issues of fundamentalrights and their width, scope and inter-pretation. The petitioners, quoting sev-eral Articles of the Constitution, con-tended it was their right to organiseand participate in events like Kumbh,Chhath and World Culture Festival,subject to reasonable restriction andenvironmental concerns.

“It is most respectfully submittedthat the power and authority to inter-pret provisions of the Constitutiononly rest with the Supreme Court orvarious high courts. The NGT Act 2010does not empower this tribunal withthe writ jurisdiction power of the highcourts and thus is not competent to in-terpret the Constitution read alongwith any other law in operation," theplea said.

The plea comes days after the greencourt directed an expert panel toquantify tentative cost of rejuvenatingYamuna riverbed, damaged due to theArt of Living festival.

Notice to Centre, AAP govt over NGT ambitBINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN

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F O R J O B L I S T I N G S & A R T I C L E S , V I S I T w w w . t h e h i n d u . c o m / j o b s

| 7THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

Awriter pens mean

creatures into exist-ence. They are entrapped inthe pages of his manuscriptstill they are unwittingly letout. Led by one of them, theygo about destroying a town.He has to write anotherbook to ‘recall’ thesecreatures and shut them upin its pages. A majority ofthe readers must be awarethat this is the plot of Goose-bumps, a film based on R.L.Stine’s Goosebumps Series.This 2015 film is aimed athumour and it succeeded inits objective. There is also anunexpected takeaway fromit.

Having retreated into ashell, the protagonist cre-ates characters to ease hisloneliness. This exercisefurther alienates him fromthe real world. When thesebrain children take visible

form, they are of little use tothe real world, least of alltheir creator. In fact, theyare a danger to both.

Now, the question is: Arethe teams in your organisa-tion creating such brainchildren?

Are they oblivious to therealities of your business?Not only that, but by func-tioning ‘too independently’,are they harming businessinterests? If they do, theylack big-picture thinking.Enhancing big-picturethinking could be a worthyresolution your organisa-tion may follow, this year.

Here are a few pointers onhow this could be achieved.Most managers are task-ori-ented and not purpose-ori-ented. It is through the man-agers that teams can beenabled to understand howtheir work helps internaland external customers.

So, an organisation has to

first work on its managers,helping them develop sys-tems thinking and adopt astyle of functioning that hasthe organisation’s vision andbottomline in view.

Make leaders of yourmanagers

“Most factory workerstend to describe their workas ‘two-punch, one lunch’.Can you imagine the dam-age that could be done to anorganisation if such an atti-tude is prevalent among amajority of its employees,across departments?

It is the responsibility ofmanagers to let their teamsknow how their work im-pacts the work of those nextto them on the work chain —who will be their internalcustomers — and how it ul-timately serves the users,the external customers.There is a famous storyabout how two shift workersin an aircraft-manufacturing

unit viewed the purpose oftheir jobs.

One employee, who wason the first shift, said he wasfixing nuts and bolts. An-other employee, on thesecond shift, who was doingthe same thing, howeversaid: ‘I am making an air-craft’. There can be no doubtabout whose work wouldhave been more impactful,”says Naresh Purushotham,management consultant anda co-founder of CrestcomIndia.

Ask the big questionsPeople often work in a

transactional work atmo-sphere that encouragesthem to just deliver some-thing and get on with theirjob. To get them out of thisdestructive, mindless rut,managers have to put the bigquestions to them.

“Do managers ask theirteam members ‘Why doesyour organisation exist?’ Or,

‘why does your job exist?’Asking these questions andenabling them to find theanswers are likely to lead togreater employee engage-ment. Visioning is a key as-pect of organisational devel-opment. All the bestorganisations in the worldtake the trouble of re-peatedly making clear theirvision and mission to theiremployees. Each team in anorganisation should be reg-ularly ‘walked through’ howthe other teams function,”says Naresh.

Hew out your own pathModels that promote sys-

tems thinking are at bestonly a guide, and it is up toevery organisation to figureout innovative and home-brewed methods that factorin the unique challengesfaced by the organisationand the industry they workin, to achieve big-picturethinking.

Your organisation may have to ‘think big’ this yearPRINCE FREDERICK

Organisations should show their employees the big picture and help them understand howvarious teams promote organisational goals. PHOTO USED FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY

Organisations should show their employees the big picture and help them understand how various teams promote organisational goals

Pearson Academy India,the services arm of Pear-

son Clinical and Talent As-sessment, has launched ‘MyChoice My Future’ (MCMF),an online personality assess-ment solution for careerguidance in six Indian lan-guages. According to a pressrelease, MCMF will help col-lege students and profes-

sionals map their modal per-sonality traits and discoverwhich careers will be suit-able for them. One can self-assess his/her personalityusing the service, whichcomes in six Indian lan-guages — Hindi, Bengali,Kannada, Malayalam, Tamiland Telugu. It is also avail-able in English. The release

said that at the end of the 30-minute assessment, testtakers would receive an auto-matically-generated, com-prehensive and personalisedpersonality report. PearsonAcademy India would thenconnect test takers to its na-tionwide network of certi-fied MCMF counsellors sothat they receive data-

backed career counselling,based on the MCMF person-ality report. According to therelease, MCMF is based onempirical research and hasbeen statistically validatedon a sample of more than4,200 students across India.MCMF assesses an indi-vidual on 12 personalitytraits.

Online career test in six regional languages

CMYK

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8 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

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SOUTH

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: M.A.Baby, Polit Bureau memberof the Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist), has decidednot to participate in the ZeeJaipur Literary Festival, as amark of protest against theinvitation extended to tworepresentatives of the SanghParivar.

“I am fully cognisant of thefact that in a democraticpolity, everyone deserves tobe heard and one should bewilling to interact with ideo-logical streams of diferentkinds. I am equally awarethat it is normally unfair todecline participation in a lit-erary festival panel on the ra-tionale that in another ses-sion, certain personalitiesare invited with whom onehas strong ideological difer-ences. I would like to urgeyou to understand that hereit is not just ‘another’ ideo-logy but the ideology of atheocratic state of HinduRashtra. It is almost similarto ‘Islamic State’ and (is)already showing manifesta-tions of annihilating demo-

cracy,” Mr. Baby said in a let-ter addressed to the festivalorganisers.

The CPI(M) leader urgedthe festival organisers to re-call the ‘dastardly’ murder ofDr. Narendra Dabholkar,Govind Pansare and Dr.M.M. Kalburgi for the demo-cratic, progressive, secularand scientific views theyheld. Similar threats werebeing issued to many others.

The latest in this ‘danger-ous and sinister’ approachwas the verbal violence be-ing unleashed on M.T. Vas-udevan Nair, a multifacetedcultural personality, who had

won many laurels includingthe prestigious Jnanpith aswell as the national award forbest film director.

His only ‘sin’, Mr. Babysaid, was that he criticisedthe Central government’s de-cision to withdraw ₨500 and1,000 currency notes andspoke about the hardshipsordinary people en-countered as a result of this‘Tughlaqian model’ decision.

“It goes without sayingthat in a democratic polity,every citizen has a right tocriticise matters afectingtheir lives. This is what theBJP and the Sangh Parivarare unwilling to accept. Rub-bing shoulders with thosewho spread religious andideological hatred and viol-ence in theory and practice,therefore, is unethical andimproper,” the CPI(M)leader said.

Citing RSS presence, Babybacks out of Jaipur Lit FestSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

M.A. Baby

‘Rubbing shoulders

with those who

spread ideological

hatred is unethical

and improper’

KOZHIKODE: The YukthivadiSangham (rationalists’ asso-ciation) has criticised theban on the entry of womenaged between 10 and 50 inthe Sabarimala shrine.

“It is a human rights viola-tion based on gender dis-crimination,” T.P. Srinivas,general secretary of theSangham, told The Hindu.“It is a violation of genderequality and individual free-dom guaranteed by theConstitution.”

Mr. Srinivas said the ra-tionalists were againsttemple worship — for thatmatter, all kinds of worship.However, since the ban onwomen’s entry to the Sabar-imala temple was based on

gender discrimination, theSangham was opposing it.

“The ban on women’sentry is a manifestation ofdiscrimination against wo-men in all religions,” he said.The rationalists’ criticismcomes in the context of thethreat social activist TruptiDesai and her followers facein response to her decisionto enter the shrine.

Mr. Srinivas also ques-tioned the ritual of MakaraJyothi within the densejungles of the reserve forestsin Sabarimala. “In a reserveforest, people are not al-lowed because of the possib-ility of damage to the forestecosystem,” he said. “But inSabarimala, millions ofpeople enter the reserveforests and also light fires.”

Ban on women’s entry inSabarimala questionedSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

VISAKHAPATNAM: It was 7 a.m.on January 6. Adivasi farm-ers of Chinna Jaggampeta inthe Nathavaram mandal ofVisakhapatnam district weregetting ready to tend to theirfarms.

Before they realised whatwas happening, the MandalRevenue Oicer (MRO), ateam of about 50 armed po-licemen, led by the Inspect-ors from Narsipatnam andNathavaram, and about 70 la-bourers from the neighbour-ing areas descended on thevillage. They forcibly packed70 adivasis — including wo-men, the elderly and chil-dren — into police vans.They chopped of and car-ried away the paddy cropthat was nearing harvest.

The scene, similar to theone witnessed in films like

Mother India, where zamin-dars and local financiersgrabbed farmers’ produceforcibly, was now unfoldingin Chinna Jaggampeta,thanks to the district admin-istration.

It was supported by po-licemen, reportedly at thebehest of a local non-tribalpolitical leader who has been

eyeing the 22-acre piecesince 1974.

The Konda Dora adivasisdo not remember since whenthey have been tilling theland. “It has been ages. Weregard Chinna Jaggampeta asour native soil,” said Py-diraju, a farmer, who hascleared the Intermediate andis among the educated adi-

vasis. The 50 families havebeen growing one crop ofpaddy on 11 acres andcashew, coconut and palmon the other 11 acres. Theyhave developed a unique co-operative system. The entireproduce is shared equallyafter the harvest.

‘Only source of livelihood’

“We produce about 30bags from each acre andevery family gets around sixbags of rice. This is our onlysource of livelihood. Thefestive mood was just settingin, as the harvest time wasnearing,” said Vellagada Par-vathi.

According to her, therewere about 10 policewomenand they used considerableforce to bundle them into thevans. “The next day, wefound our lush green fieldsturned into a barren tract,”

she added. Labourers werebrought from neighbouringvillages. Generators, highpower lights and tractors toowere brought in. “Theyworked from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.and our entire produce washarvested before time andtaken away,” lamented Satya.

In 1974, Ankam ReddyNookaraju, a local politician,obtained a sale agreement(not a registered sale deed)and, based on that, procureda pattadar passbook. He hasbeen staking claim of owner-ship ever since. In 2011, theadivasis and Mr. Nookaraju— also called Jameel — wentto court. The case is pendingin the High Court, said V.Kiran of Rythu SwarajyaVedika. Mr. Nookarajuwanted to take advantage ofthe fact that the land did notfall under Schedule V of theConstitution, he said.

In a jify, tribal farmers of this village lose their produceSUMIT BHATTACHARJEE

ONLY PAIN, NO GAIN: The paddy crop, forcibly cut by the ChinnaJaggampeta administration, dumped in front of theNathavaram police station. — PHOTO: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

MYSURU: A tiger, which wasdarted and tranquillisedclose to the periphery ofthe Nagarahole NationalPark between Udbur andGendethur villages nearKabini backwaters, diedearly on Tuesday.

This is the second tigerto die under similar cir-cumstances within a week.Earlier, a tiger that wastranquillised and capturednear the Nugu backwatersin Bandipur died on theway to Bannerghatta.

Allegation by activists

Activists have allegedthat the tiger’s death inNagarahole was not “nat-ural.” It had been tranquil-lised at least four timesthrough Monday. It was anoverdose that led to the ti-ger’s death, they said.

However, the nationalpark oicials said the actualcause could be ascertainedonly after the post mortemreports were analysed.

The first dose was dartedat the tiger around 5 p.m.When this had little efect,another dose was given at 9p.m. At midnight, the tigerwas given a smaller dose,and shifted to a cage whereit was given a revival shot. Itdied a few hours later.

Nagarahole NationalPark Director Manikanthansaid the tiger was a female,aged about 8 to 9. Its clawswere injured and a caninewas missing. It had noteaten anything, as was evid-ent from the post mortemreport, and was weak, hesaid.

Another tigerdies inNagaraholeR. KRISHNA KUMAR

HYDERABAD: Protests rockedthe University of Hyderabadon the first death an-niversary of Rohith Vemula,research scholar who com-mitted suicide on January 17,2016. While a large gatheringof students mobilised fromacross the campus throngedRohith Stupa, a concretestructure erected last year inhis memory, the police anduniversity security guardsprevented the entry of moreprotesters on the campus bybarricading all entrances tothe university.

The event was held at themain entrance of UoH amidtight security. The campuswalls sported stencilsketches of Vemula. Sloganswere raised, demandingpunishment to the ‘culprits’behind his suicide. Thoughthe university authoritieshad denied permission forthe event and had askedheads of all departments toconduct classes, student pro-testers from the Tata Insti-tute of Social Sciences,Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru

University, and OsmaniaUniversity managed to getinto the varsity in advance.The classes on Tuesdaywere, however, not dis-turbed.

The meet witnessed theforceful opening of univer-sity gates by student protest-ers who were joined by JaanMohammed Saifi, brother ofAkhlaq who was killed inDadri, Uttar Pradesh, for al-legedly consuming beef, andRadhika Vemula, mother ofRohith Vemula. Family of thestudent who went missingfrom JNU, Najeeb, and vic-tims of caste atrocities inUna, Gujarat, Piyush Sar-vaiya, Ramesh Sarvaiya andJeetu Sarvaiya, also attendedthe event to ofer solidarity.

Speaking at the meet, Rad-hika Vemula, who was ac-companied by Raja Vemula,Rohith’s brother, asked stu-dents to never give up ontheir lives. “You should standand fight and never end yourlives. Your mothers can helpyou if you are in trouble.Confide in them,” she said al-leging that the university au-thorities, including Vice-

Chancellor Appa Rao, hadnot informed her of her son’sexpulsion and othertroubles.

Ms. Vemula was removedby the police when she triedto enter the university laterin the night.

The meet called ‘RohithVemula Shahadath Din’ wasinaugurated with studentsreading out the suicide noteof Vemula.

A section of faculty mem-bers of UoH also held a

march on the campus insolidarity with the students.Leaders of the NSUI and theStudents Islamic Organisa-tion too participated in theevent. A total of 16 protesterswere detained by the police.

Journalist detained, let of

Kunal Shankar, Frontlinemagazine’s Telangana andAndhra Pradesh corres-pondent, was detained bythe police for “trespass” inthe University of Hyderabad.

He was subsequently let of. A criminal case was re-

gistered against him by theGachibowli police. Mr.Shankar was picked up andquestioned for about anhour.

A written complaint wasmade to the Gachibwoli po-lice about him “trespassing”as outsiders’ entry had beenrestricted in UoH by the ad-ministration, said Prof. VipinSrivastava, Pro Vice-Chan-cellor, UoH.

‘FIR not given’

A copy of the First Inform-ation Report (FIR) was notgiven to Mr. Shankar, he said.

Asked about this,Madhapur Deputy Commis-sioner of Police (DCP)Vishwa Prasad said it wouldbe provided to the corres-pondent if he gave a writtenapplication to the police,since he was the accused.

“A case was registered fortrespass and violating theHigh Court order (barringoutsider entry),” he added.

“Nobody was taking re-sponsibility for his [Mr.Shankar] entry,” he added.

Students descend on University of Hyderabad campus to keep the Dalit scholar’s memory alive

Protests mark Rohith’s death anniversarySPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

EMOTIONALLY CHARGED: Many students forcibly entered theUniversity of Hyderabad on Tuesday. — PHOTO: K.V.S. GIRI

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NATION | 9THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

CHENNAI: Professor C.V.Vishveshwara (77), who didpioneering work on blackholes, passed away inBengaluru on Monday night.In the 1970s, while at the Uni-versity of Maryland, he wasamong the first to study “blackholes” even before they hadbeen so named. His calcula-tions gave a graphic form tothe signal that would be emit-ted by two merging blackholes – this was the waveformdetected in 2015 by the LIGOcollaboration, and containedthe so-called “quasi normalmodes” – a ringdown stagethat sounds like a bell’sringing sound that is fadingout. Known to all as ‘Vishu’, hehad a great sense of humour.In 2015, at a conference tocommemorate the detection

of gravitational waves, he jok-ingly said that he should nowprobably be known asQuasimodo (after having firstdiscovered the quasi normalmodes).

Inspired by his father C.K.Venkata Ramayya who was awriter and Padmashriawardee, Prof. Vishveshwaraalso drew cartoons, many ofwhich have been published inphysics conference proceed-ings.

“Though I have many won-

derful memories of the 1979Einstein symposium [held atPhysical Research Laboratory,Ahmedabad] the best one wasVishu’s lecture entitled ‘BlackHoles for Bedtime.’ To me itwas a magical experience; anexotic cocktail of science, art,humour and caricature,” saysProf. Bala Iyer, a long-time col-laborator of Prof. Vishvesh-wara, who is now at the Inter-national Centre forTheoretical Sciences inBengaluru.

Prof. Vishveshwara was thefounding director of the Jawa-harlal Nehru Planetarium inBengaluru. He has writtenseveral books including Ein-stein’s Enigma, or BlackHoles in My Bubble Bath.

He is survived by wife, Prof.Saraswathi, and daughtersSmitha and Namitha who areboth scientists.

India loses its pioneer inblack hole research workSHUBASHREEDESIKAN

C.V. Vishveshwara

NEW DELHI: Union EnvironmentMinister Anil Dave has saidthat he would look into a re-cent decision by a Ministrypanel —tasked with assessingriver valley and hydro-electricprojects — to ignore objec-tions by activist groups and in-dividuals to projects in the fi-nal stage of environmentclearance.

On December 30, a newly-constituted Expert AppraisalCommittee (EAC) noted that“…in general the EAC shouldnot take any cognisance ofsuch representations receivedfrom the any Civil ActionGroup during final appraisal.”This was necessary, accordingto the minutes of the meetingconvened by the EAC, becauseseveral representations had an“anti-development attitude sothat the projects are kept onhold or delayed and had finan-cial implications for the de-velopers in particular and tothe nation in general.” The

EAC, however, specified that ifcompelling or novel objec-tions arose it could be forwar-ded by the Environment Min-istry for the EAC’sconsideration. According tothe Environmental ProtectionAct, environmental clearancebegins with a screening andscoping process, followed by aperiod of public consultationand finally, scrutiny of the doc-uments, or even a site visit bythe EAC.

“I will check if the EAC andMinistry had discussed this is-sue,” Mr. Dave told The Hinduover phone. “Public consulta-tions cannot be dispensedwith, but to have prolongeddiscussions is also not advis-able.” Environment groupsand activists have objected tothe EAC’s decision, arguingthat the quality of environ-mental impact assessment isfrequently so poor that severalenvironmental threats to aproject become apparent afterthe public consultations areheld.

Minister may probepanel’s move to ignoreobjections by activistsJACOB KOSHY

NEW DELHI: Almost two yearsafter the Supreme Courtvoiced scepticism about thegovernment’s self-pro-claimed promise to clean upthe Ganga river, the court onTuesday sought a freshstatus report from the Centreon what it was doing to re-vive the holy river.

The report was sought ona 32-year-old pending publicinterest litigation petitionfiled by environmental law-yer, M.C. Mehta.

In 2014, the SupremeCourt voiced its scepticismabout the various efortsover the decades to returnthe Ganga to its pristine self,once even saying that it“does not expect Ganga to becleaned up even after 200years.”

In a hearing on Mr. Me-hta’s PIL filed in 1985, aBench led by Chief Justice ofIndia J.S. Khehar directed thegovernment to file a reporton the construction andfunctioning of sewage treat-ment plants alongside theriver, which runs throughfive States.

The court wants the re-port by Tuesday next.

In 2014, the Supreme

Court said that its “last hope”rested on the National GreenTribunal (NGT) and referredthe task of monitoring indus-trial units along the Ganga tothe NGT.

The court had even em-powered the tribunal to cutof water and power connec-tions if the units are found tobe polluting the river.

The court had observedthat oicial apathy coupledwith “failure at variouslevels” in both the State andthe Central Pollution Con-trol Board had led to the

Ganga dying at the hands of“highly” and “grossly” pol-luting units, which flushedtheir untreated eluents intothe river without any checks.

IITs’ consortium

In January 2015, the gov-ernment had informed theSupreme Court that a con-sortium of IITs was prepar-ing a road map to rejuvenatethe river.

It informed that a proposalis on track to have a total of80 sewage treatment plants(STPs) which would pro-

cess, in a day, 368 millionlitres of water flowing intothe river in the five riverbasin States.

In March 2015, the govern-ment submitted a detailedreport prepared by the IITsfor the revival of the river toits former “wholesome” self.

The Ganga River BasinManagement Plan (GRBMP)2015 drafted by the IIT con-sortium had pointed to sev-eral problems, from rapidurbanisation to over-graz-ing, which has led to the slowdestruction of the river.

Details sought on construction, functioning of sewage treatment plants alongside river

SC asks govt. to file statusreport on Ganga rejuvenation LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

The Ganga being cleaned during the 2016 Ardh Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. — FILE PHOTO: PTI

NEW DELHI: Noting that courtsshould strike a balancebetween the rights of the vic-tim and the accused, the Su-preme Court wrapped up itshearing on pleas made byfamilies of murder victims inBihar’s Siwan to shift formerRJD MP MohammedShahabuddin to a prison out-side Bihar.

A Bench led by JusticeDipak Misra was hearing pe-titions of ChandrakeshwarPrasad, whose three sonswere allegedly murdered byShahabuddin’s henchmen,and Asha Ranjan, widow ofslain Siwan-based journalist,Rajdev Ranjan.

Pappu Yadav case

“This petition has beenfiled to protect the society atlarge from this unlawfulman. It is identical to PappuYadav’s case,” senior advoc-ate Shanti Bhushan, appear-ing for Mr. Prasad,submitted.

To this, the Bench respon-ded that it has to consider therights of both the victims andthe accused persons.

Article 21

“Article 21 of the Constitu-tion is like a two-storeyedbuilding which deals withrights of an accused as wellas the rights of the victim,”the Bench observed.

Advocate Kislay Pandey,representing Asha Ranjan,informed the apex court thatone more FIR has beenlodged against the RJDleader for violation of the jailmanual.

“A full-fledged photoshoot was organised insidethe jail three-four days ago.One more FIR has beenlodged against him for viola-tion of the jail manual,” hesaid.

Senior advocate ShekharNaphade, appearing forShahabuddin, said there was

not a shred of evidence tosupport the claims madeagainst his client and trans-ferring him to a prison out-side the State would be a vi-olation of his fundamentalrights.

The court noted that Ms.Ranjan’s plea to direct thepolice to lodge an FIR againstBihar Health Minister TejPratap Yadav on the basis ofmedia clips showing himwith two men alleged to besharpshooters implicated inher husband’s murder wouldbe taken up separately.

Hearing ends on plea to shiftShahabuddin outside BiharLEGAL CORRESPONDENT

PATNA: Even though theSupreme Court reservedits order on Tuesdaywhether to shift formerRashtriya Janata Dal MPMohd Shahabuddin fromSiwan jail, an FIR waslodged against him forallegedly taking a selfieinside prison. The photohad gone viral on socialmedia.

“An FIR has beenregistered against himand an unknown personin the selfie matter,” saidVinay Pratap Singh,oicer-in-charge of theSiwan town policestation.

The case wasregistered by theSuperintendent of SiwanJail Bidhu Bhardwaj onJanuary 14 but it wasoicially confirmed later.

Known as thestrongman of Siwan, Mr.Shahabuddin is currentlyfacing trial in 45 cases,including one inJharkhand.

Earlier, his much-publicised release fromBhagalpur jail after 13years and his statementthereafter that “NitishKumar is Chief Ministerof circumstances” hadcreated a stir in thepolitical circles of theState.

FIR filed for jail selfie SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

AHMEDABAD: On returning toGujarat after a six-month ex-ile, Patidar agitation leaderHardik Patel on Tuesdayslammed Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, vowing towork against the State gov-ernment over “injustice” tohis community.

Mr. Patel (23) returnedafter spending six months inUdaipur in Rajasthan as partof the condition imposed bythe High Court, which hadgranted him bail in two sedi-tion cases slapped by the Gu-jarat police after he spear-headed a violent agitation,demanding OBC quotas.

“You wear ₨2 lakh suit andthen call yourself Gandhi.People have seen your trueface now,” Mr. Patel saidwhile addressing supportersin Himatnagar.

He alleged that the StateBJP government had failed tocreate jobs for the youth andhad created a sense of fear inthe public. “If you don’t giveus reservation, we willsnatch it. The youth of Gu-jarat have woken up after 20years of sufocation. We willnot take injustice any more,”Mr. Patel said.

“I have only two main aimsnow. First, to get reservationrights for Patels at any cost.Secondly, I want to free youfrom this rule of fear prevail-ing in the State,” he said.

Hardik returns to Gujarat, tearsinto ModiSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Central In-formation Commission(CIC) on Tuesday directedthe Central Board of Second-ary Examination to allow in-spection of the Class 10 and12 records of Union MinisterSmriti Irani, rejecting theCBSE’s contention that theseconstituted “personalinformation”.

The Union Minister ofTextiles and the Holy ChildAuxilium School, Delhi, fromwhere Ms Irani claimed tohave graduated, have alsobeen directed by the Com-mission to provide the rollnumber or reference numberof Smriti Zubin Irani toCBSE, Ajmer, which pos-sesses the records for theyears 1991 and 1993.

“The Commission directsthe CBSE, to facilitate inspec-tion of relevant records andprovide certified copies ofdocuments selected by theappellant , except personaldetails in admit card andmark sheet, within 60 daysfrom the date of receipt ofthis order,” InformationCommissioner SridharAcharyulu said in his order.

Mr. Acharyulu was re-cently divested of the chargeof HRD Ministry but retainedthe CBSE by Chief Informa-tion Commissioner R.K. Ma-thur barely days after heordered inspection of the BArecords of Delhi Universitypertaining to 1978, the year inwhich Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi is said to havegraduated. — PTI

Share Smriti Irani’s

school records,

CIC tells CBSE

KOLKATA: At least 13 villages ofBhangar II block in South 24Paraganas district witnessedmassive violence on Tuesdayafternoon as hundreds oflocal residents clashed withthe police and at least fourvehicles, including three be-longing to the police, wereset on fire.

Locals claimed that policefiring killed at least one per-son. The commotion brokeout following acquisition ofabout 17 acres to set up apower distribution grid.

‘Police raided houses’

On Tuesday morning, res-idents assembled at severalplaces at Natunhat,Machibhanga, Shyamnagarand Bakultola in Bhangar IIblock following some com-motion in the area the nightbefore. They claimed thatthe police “raided the houseslast night and harassedthem.” Soon afterwards — asmore forces came in — thelocals started pelting stoneson the police. Vehicles were

set on fire and many ofprivate cars were damaged.At one point police fired teargas shells which partiallydispersed the crowd. Butlater they came back and tar-geted the police with sticksand stones.

The situation flared upwhen they heard about po-lice firing at protesters inSwarupnagar and Bakultolavillages. “The mob and po-lice clashed in 12 villages in-cluding Khamarait,Machibhanga andPadmapukur near the under-construction power grid setup by the Power Grid Cor-poration of India,” a residenttold The Hindu.

About two years ago, 16acres of agricultural land wasacquired by the State govern-ment on behalf of the PowerGrid Corporation in severalvillages under the Polerhat IIpanchayat area in Bhangar.Locals claimed that the landwas acquired on the pretextthat a only a substationwould be built there insteada power grid was being con-structed.

STAFF REPORTER

Violence in Bengal villagesover land acquisition

BENGALURU: Can a child in Class1 associate words with pic-tures or recognise letters andsounds in the English alpha-bet? Can a child in Class 3read simple maps? Would achild in Class 8 be able to fill aFirst Information Report(FIR) form?

These are some of the ex-pected learning outcomesand suggested pedagogicpractices developed by theNational Council of Educa-tional Research and Training

(NCERT) to define minimallearning levels, grade-wise, inelementary classes.

The Ministry of of HumanResource Development(MHRD) is mulling includinga set of defined learning out-comes as part of the Right ofChildren to Free and Com-pulsory Education (RTE)Act, 2009. Once this is done,students of all schools — gov-ernment, aided and private —will have to adhere to theseguidelines in measuringlearning outcomes.

A document titled ‘Learn-

ing Outcomes at ElementaryStage’ has a list of grade-wiselearning outcomes in Hindi,English, Urdu, Mathematics,Environmental Studies, Sci-ence and Social Science. Thedocument states that thelearning outcomes will“provide the checkpoints thatare measurable in a qualitat-ive or quantitative manner toassess the progress of a childas per the expected holisticlearning for the overall devel-opment of a child.” Moreover,it is aimed at helping bridgeregional disparities.

NCERT sets goals for elementary classesTANU KULKARNI

NEW DELHI: Two high schoolgirls from Darjeeling, whoacted as decoys leading tothe busting of a cross-borderflesh trade ring, and an eight-year-old girl from ArunachalPradesh, who lost her lifewhile rescuing friends in ariver, are among 25 childrenchosen for the NationalBravery Award this year.

25 children — 12 girls and13 boys — have been selectedfor the award, which theywill receive from the PrimeMinister on January 23 andthereafter participate in theRepublic Day parade, oi-cials said.

For displaying extraordin-ary valour, Tarh Peeju hasbeen conferred the BharatAward posthumously whileTejasweeta Pradhan (18) andShivani Gond (17) from WestBengal have been selectedfor the Geeta Chopra Award.

Tejasweeta and Shivani,both volunteers with a rightsNGO, MARG, first be-friended on Facebook aminor girl who had gonemissing from Nepal, and whoultimately turned out to be aconduit in the traickingring.

Peeju, who died while res-cuing two other childrenwhen they were swept awayby the current in the PachinRiver in Arunachal Pradesh,is among the four awardeesto have been conferred thehonour posthumously.

Also among those to behonoured posthumously isPayal Devi of Jammu andKashmir, who lost her lifewhen she tried to save threestudents during flash floodsin Ramban in the Valley; allfour were washed away.

Three children have beenchosen for the Bapu Gaidh-

ani Award. Roluahpuii (13)and H. Lalhriatpuii (13), bothfrom Mizoram have beenconferred this awardposthumously. The thirdawardee is Tushar Verma(15) from Chhattisgarh.

Sanjay Chopra Award

The Sanjay Chopra Awardhas been conferred on 18-year-old Sumit Mamgain ofUttarakhand for displayingoutstanding bravery in fight-ing a leopard to save hiscousin’s life.

In the general braveryaward category, two Delhi

siblings have also made theirmark. Akshita Sharma (16)and Akshit Sharma (13) fear-lessly confronted twomiscreants, who had brokeninto their house, and helpedcapture one of them.

Praful Sharma from Mandiin Himachal Pradesh hasbeen chosen for his promptaction in stopping a bus ofschool children, which wassliding downhill and thusaverting a major accident.

The President and severalother dignitaries will host re-ceptions in the honour of thechosen children. — PTI

THE CHOSEN ONES: Children, who will be honoured with National Bravery Awards 2016, during apress conference in New Delhi on Tuesday. — PHOTO: PTI

Age no bar for these bravehearts

CMYK

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10 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

W E D N E S D A Y , J A N U A R Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 7

EDITORIAL

CARTOONSCAPE

Aflurry of videos has emerged in the socialmedia in recent days showing jawans ofboth the paramilitary forces and theArmy complaining against a host of is-

sues from diet to colonial-era practices. Whilethese are disciplinary breaches, they are a goodreason to initiate a detailed study into the internalhealth of our security establishment. The presentlot of videos began early last week when BSF con-stable Tej Bahadur Yadav posted a series of themcomplaining about burnt parathas and watery lentilcurry served along the Line of Control. It was al-most as if he was opening the floodgates. From theArmy, Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh of 42 InfantryBrigade expressed his grievances against thesahayak system. He alleged that professional sol-diers were being forced to wash clothes, polishboots and walk dogs for senior oicers, and that hewas being victimised with court martial proceed-ings for complaining against the practice. NursingAssistant Naik Ram Bhagat of the Army com-plained in another video about their rations, thatthey were only getting about 40 per cent of themenu items allotted. He also complained about thebuddy system in the Army, in which soldiers aredeputed to be with oicers and end up doing theirpersonal chores. Yet another video of an Armyjawan showed him singing about the diicultiesthey face and discrimination by oicers. He spokeabout leave being denied for 10 months, poor foodand other issues.

The videos quickly grabbed national attention.From the Prime Minister’s Oice to the Army chief,the senior leadership has been quick to respond.Both the PMO and Home Minister Rajnath Singhsought an immediate report from the paramilitaryforces, while Chief of the Army Staf General BipinRawat ordered the provision of grievance and re-dress boxes. However, many of the responses, espe-cially from the middle- and senior-rung leadershipof the Army and the paramilitary forces, spelt al-most outright denial. Without doubt the videos areserious disciplinary breaches, and they must beviewed keeping in mind the possibilities of suchrampant access and use of social media ending upassisting the enemy. The resort to social media toair grievances could compromise national security,especially when the forces are in sensitive loca-tions. But that should not take the attention awayfrom the larger malaise reflected in them, and it isin tackling them that the senior leadership, both inthe executive and the security establishment, mustspend time now. The videos are a wake-up call.

A wake-up call

The Goods and Services Tax Council hasmade some breakthroughs on outstand-ing negotiables that were holding up theintroduction of the indirect tax regime. A

compromise has been reached between the Centreand the States on the formula for administrativecontrol over taxpayers under the GST, which willsubsume myriad existing State and Central levieson commercial activity. By giving up on its formulato split such control by assuming the authority tolevy GST on all services entities and manufactur-ing firms with ₨1.5 crore or more annual turnover,the Centre has shown a willingness to meet theStates more than halfway. The new control-sharingsystem appears simpler to administer. Now, 90 percent of all GST assessees with a turnover of up to₨1.5 crore will come under the watch of the Statesand 10 per cent under that of the Centre, with bothgetting to assess half of the firms with a turnoverover ₨1.5 crore. More important, it gives States,many of which had claimed at recent GST Councilmeetings revenue losses following the demonetisa-tion of currency notes, the leeway to claimthat theyhave struck a better deal with the Centre on a re-form that is now inevitable.

With the Centre finally laying to rest its hopes ofan April 1, 2017 rollout and eyeing a ‘more realistic’July 1 date, it has some room to tinker with a few in-direct taxes in the Budget to provide a short-termpre-GST stimulus to the economy that is facing aflurry of growth downgrade projections. Since thetrickiest issues between the Centre and the Statesare now resolved and only legislative drafts remainto be approved when the Council meets next onFebruary 18, it is an opportune time to address someof the concerns raised by another key stakeholder— industry. Firms have indicated they would needabout six months to gear up for the new tax regimeonce the laws, rules and all the minutiae of imple-mentation, including the rates for diferentproducts and services, are known. More clarity andfinesse are also needed on the harsh penal provi-sions, including the power to arrest, proposed inthe draft GST law (that lists out 21 ofences) and thecreation of an anti-profiteering authority that canact against firms that fail to pass on benefits of taxrate cuts to consumers. While it is important to pro-tect the consumer, a clear rule-based framework isnecessary to ensure that one of the biggest gains en-visaged from GST — an exponential change in easeof doing business — isn’t scuttled by fears of a re-turn to inspector raj. For a government committedto ending tax terrorism, taking a step back to metic-ulously review the possible gaps between intentand implementation may be worthwhile — even ifit means delaying the launch by a few fortnights.

In the nick of time

The dates for the election to the Manipur Le-gislative Assembly have been announced.Polling will be in two phases, on March 4 andMarch 8. Results will be declared on March11. A fortnight ago, there was speculation thatthe election may be preceded by a spell ofPresident’s Rule in the wake of the indefiniteeconomic blockade by the United NagaCouncil (UNC), a civil organisation in Ma-nipur which claims to be the apex body of allNaga tribes in the State, but these have sincebeen put to rest.

Blockade numbs Manipur

The blockade is now two and a half monthsold and Manipur continues to reel under theefect of shortages of many essential com-modities, petrol and cooking gas in particu-lar. Petrol stations are shut, but wheneverthere is some indication that some of themhave been replenished for rationed distribu-tion, miles-long queues of vehicles form out-side them, sometimes overnight. The marketunderstandably is sluggish and prices ofcommodities have gone up. Daily wageearners are the hardest hit. Demonetisationhas made their trauma even worse. Thank-fully, Imphal valley is a fertile, rice-growingregion, ensuring that the people have notgone hungry. Had it been otherwise, therewould have been mayhem on the streets bynow.

Election pundits have been busy interpret-ing how this sorry state of afairs would playout in the March election. The foremostquestions are: Would the hardships causedby the blockade turn the people against theruling Congress? Would the Bharatiya JanataParty’s challenge become any more formid-able because of it?

Significance of Assembly composition

The Manipur Assembly has 60 seats. Ofthese, 40 represent the valley inhabited pre-dominantly by non-tribal Hindu Meiteis; 39of these are for the general category and oneis reserved for Scheduled Castes. The BJPhad hoped it would be able to reap a harvesthere, partly because of the community’s reli-gious ailiation. Twenty seats represent thehills and 19 of these are reserved for Sched-uled Tribes, after the Kangpokpi constitu-ency in the erstwhile SADAR (Selected AreaDevelopment and Administrative Region)hills came to be de-reserved to accommodate

its sizeable population of Nepalis. Of the 20hill seats, Nagas normally hold sway in 11 to12. The rest are generally won by Kukis andaligned tribes.

Given that the BJP government at theCentre is holding peace talks with the Nagamilitant group, the National Socialist Coun-cil of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), the party’sState unit was hoping that it would be able towin a majority of the Naga seats as well withthe blessings of the militant group. Its mainrival here is the Naga People’s Front, whichtoo would be vying for the NSCN(IM)’s sup-port. The Congress, which once had a lion’sshare of the Naga seats, has, in the past fewmonths, been marginalised as the NSCN(IM) and Naga organisations such as theUNC are opposed to it. Many Naga CongressMLAs and former ministers thought itprudent to resign from the party ahead of theelection wishing to retain their seats. InNagaland, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) andthe BJP are allies.

Electoral master stroke?

However, the UNC’s blockade — whichbegan on November 1 in anticipation of theManipur government giving in to the long-standing demand for upgrading the SADARand Jiribam subdivisions to full-fledged dis-tricts — has upset these equations radically.This became even more so after the govern-ment, at a cabinet sitting at midnight onDecember 8 to defy the UNC’s coerciveprotest, created not just the two districts theUNC was opposed to, but seven by splittingseven of the State’s nine districts.

The UNC considers four of the seven splitdistricts to be a part of the ancestral Nagahomeland and was quick to accuse the Ma-nipur government of splitting this homeland,although, as the government contends, howdistricts can split people is incomprehens-ible. This is particularly so because the As-sembly and parliamentary constituencieshave remained untouched.

The worry of the BJP’s State unit amid thecurrent ethnic polarisation is how proximityto the NSCN(IM), an organisation avowed tothe dismemberment of Manipur to form asovereign Greater Nagaland, and the UNC(which many consider to be a surrogate of theformer) may alienate its support base in thevalley where 40 seats are at stake. The Con-gress Chief Minister, Okram Ibobi Singh’smove in this sense may be an electoral masterstroke, not for the splintering or otherwise ofany homeland, but for leaving rival BJP on thehorns of a dilemma.

This dilemma is visible in the State unit’smuted response to the blockade question,probably not wanting to ofend its Centralleadership now holding talks with the NSCN(IM). Under the circumstances, if nothinghappens to change the nature of this polarisa-tion, there can be no doubt that the Con-gress’s position is strong in the valley, and theChief Minister and his team may have founda way to overcome the anti-incumbency bur-den of having been in power for 15 yearscontinuously.

Other than the valley seats, the Congresswill also command sympathy in many Kukiconstituencies. It may still win two or threeNaga constituencies which had always beenits strongholds if voters are not allowed to betotally coerced by the militants. In the party’sfavour too is the fact that the State unit of theBJP does not have any charismatic leaderwho can jolt the confidence of the Congresseven at this late stage.

Fluctuating loyalties

But things can change in the run-up to theMarch election. This happened in the Assamelection of April 2016, and even more dramat-ically in Arunachal Pradesh later the sameyear, where the BJP installed its governmentsin both States. In Assam it wrested powerfrom the Congress but only after wooingmany Congress leaders to its camp before theelection. In Arunachal Pradesh, it did this byengineering the defection of almost the en-tire lot of MLAs from the ruling Congressafter the election. In Manipur too, such ascenario is not impossible to think of. Heretoo, the BJP is in a position to take advantageof the psychology of weak and dependentNortheast States of feeling safer by being onthe side of the party in power at the Centre.There is always the feeling here, amongpolit-ical leaders as well as electorate, that theclearance of projects and Central assistancein lean times will always be smoother if theparty that rules the Centre also rules theState.

There is one more factor that has determ-ined party loyalty. The ceiling on ministrysize for small Northeast States fixed by theanti-defection law is 12. This includes thechief minister. Those in the ruling Congress,and indeed the contender BJP, who are un-sure of making this elite 12 will begin lookingfor greener pastures. This will also be an op-portunity for smaller parties such as the Tri-namool Congress to enlist potential winners.Irom Sharmila’s brand new party, thePeople’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance(PRJA), has shown no interest in this kind ofpolitics, but its idealism is still too nascent togenerate the kind of wave that wins elections.

Pradip Phanjoubam is editor of Imphal Free Press andauthor of The Northeast Question: Conflicts and Frontiers.

Voting in a season of discontentElection pundits are busy interpreting how the state of afairs in Manipur will play out in the March election.The economic blockade and playing the Naga card could impact the fortunes of the Congress and the BJP

While Irom Sharmila’s party hasshown no interest in opportunisticpolitics, its idealism is still too

nascent to generate the kind ofwave that wins elections

PRADIP PHANJOUBAM

Akhilesh pedals away

The Election Commission’sdecision to allot the “bicycle”symbol to the Akhilesh Yadavfaction of the Samajwadi Party is notonly a slap on the face of the partyfounder, Mulayam Singh, for hisrigid stand but also a blow to him forbringing the party to its presentstate after sustaining and nurturingit all this while (“With EC backing,Akhilesh rides away with bicycle”,Jan.17). The repeated claims byMulayam Singh that the party hadnot split did not work out in hisfavour because the ground realitiesshow that Akhilesh Yadav iskingmaker. However, as change isconstant, Mulayam Singh mustaccept the reality.

K.R. Srinivasan,Secunderabad

When the infamous family feudcame to the fore a few months ago,people were left to wonder whetherit was only shadow-boxing. Whenthe war was taken to the doors of theElection Commission, it was clearthat the divide was deep and apatch-up impossible. It is yet to beseen whether the septuagenarianpatriarch still retains his charisma.The split in the party was a result ofego and selfish motives and isbound to have an impact ondiferent vote banks in the State.

S.V. Venkatakrishnan,Bengaluru

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav has hit his father fora mighty six. The EC batting forAkhilesh Yadav is in orderconsidering that most in the SP’sflock are on his side. This will alsoclear the decks for exploring tieswith the Congress and the RashtriyaLok Dal. Could this be curtains forthe SP patriarch?

N.J. Ravi Chander,Bengaluru

Election symbols play a significant

role in the election of candidates inthis part of the world. That AkhileshYadav has been allowed to retain thepopular bicycle symbol is a battlehalf won and he is by far the betterleader. The way he handled thecrisis within the party in the pastmonth or so and getting the symbolis commendable.

S. Ramakrishnasayee,Ranipet, Tamil Nadu

While Akhilesh Yadav has won thecycle race, the real race will beginnow. Was the whole show anexercise to lift the party’s saggingfortunes by pushing the clean andyoung Akhilesh to the forefront?Although he is hampered byconcerns over law and order, heseems to have considerablyregained lost ground just before thecrucial election. The “solid support” of legislatorscan be a double-edged sword for theChief Minister as he will have to goto the polls with the same groupwhose record as people’srepresentatives has been appalling.How traditional supporters of theparty will overlook the generalperformance of the government andplump for a young Akhilesh is whatwill determine his future. Theprospect of a “mahagathbandan” tofight the BJP in the do-or-die U.P.battle is bound to send pulsesracing.

Ganapathi Bhat,Akola, Maharashtra

A little more cash

It is not enough raising the dailylimit of cash withdrawal (“DailyATM withdrawals hiked to ₨10,000”,Jan.17). It is more essential to seethat ATMs are replenished andstocked with suicient cash. I haveseen people standing in the longqueues before ATMs and banks. It isa fact that most depend on friendsand relatives to help them with theirmonetary needs. Nowhere else inthe world have people continued to

sufer unable to withdraw their ownhard-earned money and spend it asthey wish. What is making thesituation worse is the uncertaintyover when the restrictions imposedby the Reserve Bank of India will belifted. The Finance Ministry and theRBI must consult each otherwithout any further delay andensure that the economy does notsufer further.

S. Nallasivan,Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu

Making announcements is easy. Thetough part is in delivering on them. Ihave gone to 10 diferent ATMs inthe past 24 hours and 90 per cent ofthem do not have notes. There areATMs in the street where my oiceis located which have not beenloaded with money since November.Till this is fixed, the RBI must desistfrom misleading people by raisinghopes and then having them dashed.This is also election season, so thegovernment is bound to paint a rosypicture on how the situation hasimproved. The reality is totallydiferent.

Terence D’Souza,Chennai

Reducing unemployment

The state of unemployment, in Indiaespecially, is alarming (Editorial –“Vagaries of the job market” Jan.17).The Prime Minister romped homein the 2014 general election by alsopromising more jobs. More than thegovernment, it is the private sectorwhich creates jobs. Hence thegovernment should encouragebusiness people to step up jobcreation. The Union Budget shouldhave provisions to encourageentrepreneurs and labour-orientedindustries. Every year, ouruniversities send out graduates wholook for jobs. The education systemdoes not prepare students to thinkabout becoming entrepreneurs. Encouraging small and cottageindustries in rural, tribal and semi-

urban areas will create employmentopportunities for locals, thuspreventing them from moving toalready crowded cities. Along withthis, there has to be bettermarketing.

Veena Shenoy,Thane, Maharashtra

The main reasons forunemployment are inadequateknowledge and skills and a lack of apositive attitude among jobaspirants. The commercialapproach of a number ofeducational institutions onlyworsens the situation. The problemgets more serious due to theabsence of freedom for youngstersto choose their stream of study asparents interfere and impose theirideas. The only long-term solutionsare counselling of students andparents at the right time, properjob-oriented training, and injectingquality and dedication ineducational institutions.

Dr. N.R.U.K. Kartha,Thiruvananthapuram

The mad rush towards moderntechnological advancement inproduction in order to maximiseprofit has created the crisis ofgrowing unemployment. Thestatistics thrown perhaps do nottake into account those who migratefrom rural India to cities seeking alivelihood. The introduction of newsystems such as employment oncontract, outsourcing, daily wages,job on honorarium, etc., have alltaken their toll on the quality ofemployment. One has to wait for theinevitable social crisis as we aresitting on a volcano.

A.G. Rajmohan,Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh

Rise of a star

The fact that MGR, one of India’smost charismatic leaders, livesbeyond his time can be attributed towhat he did with head and heart

(“The prince of populism”, Jan.17).His reign in Tamil Nadu was awatershed in the State’s politicswhere people reposed full faith inhis philanthropic disposition. Healso maintained an excellentrelationship with the Centralgovernment which stood him ingood stead. He was a man of themasses. The way he popularised thenoon meal scheme was a masterstroke.

K. Chellappan,Chennai

The huge success story of MGR wasbased not just on charisma. Herealised, through his films, that hehad to be primarily a hero whoensured that good prevailed overbad. While his films had strongsocial messages boosting his image,the most important part of this washis unquestionable identity amongthe poor. To them, he was a larger-than-life demigod. His welfaremeasures ensured this.

V. Lakshmanan,Tirupur, Tamil Nadu

A good catch?

After being in the politicalwilderness for some time, NavjotSingh Sidhu has eventually decidedto try his political fortunes with theCongress (Editorial – “Cominghome for the first time”, Jan.17). His“unconditional joining” of theCongress indicates that despite hiseforts to find acceptance withdiferent parties, his wait has notyielded substantial results for him.He may be a crowd-puller becauseof his oratory skills, but he shouldremember that politics is a full-timeendeavour that goes well beyondglib talk and one-liners. One caneasily see through his eforts aspersonal aggrandisement. Acommitment to the people of one’sconstituency has to be there. In thisMr. Sidhu has failed quite miserably.

Vijai Pant,Hempur, Uttarakhand

LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

CMYK

ND-ND

PERSPECTIVE | 11THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

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Commercial

advertisements over

radio

The Union Governmentapproved in principle at thehighest level to-day [Jan. 17, NewDelhi] to introduce limitedcommercial advertisements overVividh Bharati and other servicesof All India Radio. TheGovernment expects to realise a

substantial amount by thismeasure. These advertisementswill include sponsoredprogrammes as well as spotadvertisements. The Governmenthas also decided in principle tointroduce commercials in T.V.services of A.I.R. as soon asconditions permit. TheGovernment will now work out acode to decide what type ofcommercial advertisements shouldbe introduced on T.V. and radio.

(dated January 18, 1967)

FROM THE ARCHIVES

>>It was in September 1984 — and not in September 1983, as stated in the Per-spective page article, “The prince of populism” (Jan. 17, 2017) — that S.D.Somasundaram, a senior minister in the AIADMK ministry, quit the party.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

The demonetisation decision has led several observers to ex-press concern about the autonomy and institutional integrityof the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Many of those against de-monetisation on a matter of principle (or practice) are blam-ing the RBI for ‘caving in’ to the government’s diktat and sur-rendering its independence. But in holding that view, theyare betraying a great deal of misunderstanding about pre-cisely what autonomy for the RBI entails. The RBI is not a

self-governing Republic.A cursory reading of the RBI Act (Section 7 on Management) lays out

things quite unambiguously. Part (1) of Section 7 states: “The Central Gov-ernment may from time to time give such directions to the Bank as it may,after consultation with the Governor of the Bank, consider necessary in thepublic interest.” Parts (2) and (3) spell out the roles for the Central Boardand Governor. There is a clear ‘seniority’ principle with (1) taking preced-ence over (2) which takes precedence over (3).

Unsurprisingly, the decision to demonetise high-denomination currencywas taken by the government in public interest after consultation with theRBI. Whether the government or the RBI issued the first memo on the mat-ter is just squabbling over the irrelevant. The RBI Board did its duty by rati-fying/recommending the action and it was then left to the Governor and hisoicers to implement the decision. Any other sequence of events would bedisturbing. Surely, the RBI could not take a policy decision as major as de-monetisation unilaterally. Nor indeed could it turn it down unilaterally.

Ensuring low and stable inflation

It is critical to understand what autonomy and institutional integritymean for a central bank like the RBI. The RBI, like most central banks, con-sists of technocrats and bureaucrats who are unelected and not directly ac-countable to the people. In a democracy, the final responsibility of all policydecisions must lie with the elec-ted representatives of thepeople, either the government orParliament or both. The notionof central bank independencefirst gained traction in the ad-vanced economies when it wasnoticed that elected govern-ments often chose to disregard price stability in favour of growth, espe-cially in the run-up to elections. This behaviour only raised and entrenchedinflationary expectations to the medium-term detriment of the economy.

The central goal of central bank independence was to ensure low andstable inflation via the autonomous conduct of monetary policy. It is im-portant to note that is not the central bank’s discretion to decide what thetargeted rate of inflation ought to be (or indeed what the optimum rate ofgrowth should be); that remains the job of the elected government. Butonce that target is laid down, the central bank must ensure that it meetsthose targets with complete operational autonomy.

In India, until the monetary policy framework and an inflation targetwere spelt out last year, it was the RBI which decided what a reasonable rateof inflation should be. To be accurate, it was the RBI Governor — just oneperson — who had complete control over monetary policy goals and de-cisions. That was vesting too much independence in an unelected oicial.The proper way to conduct monetary policy is via explicit goals laid out bythe elected government which are then executed by a group of experts — aMonetary Policy Committee — rather than one individual, without any in-terference from the government.

Still, on the setting of interest rates, even before the creation of an explicitmonetary policy framework, the RBI has had its autonomous way undersuccessive governors and with diferent political dispensations in oice.This has led to tensions between the Finance Ministry and the RBI butrarely, if ever, any encroachment on the RBI’s space.

Debt management

Consider also RBI’s roles beyond the conduct of monetary policy. TheRBI is the government’s debt manager, a function that has been proposed tobe hived out to an independent debt management agency but resisted bythe central bank. The separation of debt management from the RBI is not anassault on the RBI’s independence by the government. Instead, it is to re-move the conflict of interest that exists in the RBI’s functions of setting in-terest rates, and management of the government’s debt. The latter could in-fluence the former when it ought not to. The RBI’s independence to carryout its primary mandate, the eicient conduct of monetary policy, will onlybe enhanced by hiving of the debt management function.

The third major role played by the RBI is in the regulation of the bankingsystem. Like any regulatory agency, RBI must be allowed to operate at anarm’s length from the government while doing its work. Again, there is noevidence to suggest that the government has interfered in any way. Remem-ber that the government plays a separate role in the banking sector as theowner of public sector banks which control nearly 70 per cent of all lending.The RBI is the regulator, not owner, of banks. Unsurprisingly, both the RBIand the government play critical and visible roles in banking but that doesnot mean that they are stepping on one another’s turf.

There has not been any assault on the RBI’s autonomy— in the setting ofinterest rates or in the regulation of banks or in other operational spheres.The government, when it exercises its right as sovereign, whether to set aninflation target or to demonetise high-value currency, is acting well withinthe norms of the law and the spirit of democracy. Any attempt by unelectedoicials to obstruct would only be abuse of their autonomy.

Dhiraj Nayyar is Officer on Special Duty and Head, Economics, Finance & Commerce, NITI Aayog.Views are personal and do not reflect the views of NITI Aayog.

The real meaning ofindependence for RBI

There has not been anyassault on the RBI’s autonomy— in the setting of interestrates, the regulation of banks,or in other operational spheres

BANKING

DHIRAJNAYYAR

As U.S. President Barack Obama leavesoice on January 20, he leaves behind anunfinished conflict, the longest lastingand least successful U.S. war in history:Afghanistan.

For Afghanistan and the Afghans, Mr.Obama was a President of contradictionwhose Afghan policy proved markedlydisastrous. He wrongly believed that hewould win the War on Terror militarilyand by appeasing the military establish-ment in Pakistan.

His successor, Donald Trump, shouldchange course in Afghanistan. For Mr.Trump’s administration, it is imperativeto limit the impact of the conflict inAfghanistan on the Afghan people, andcompel Pakistan to squeeze those whoharm Afghanistan and nurture, shelterand finance forces of terror. The newU.S. President must address Pakistan’streacherous role in Afghanistan at fulltilt.

Double-dealing on Pakistan

On February 22, 2012, in a three-pageletter, President Obama wrote to thenAfghan President Hamid Karzai that heremains “concerned about the safehavens in Pakistan and the threat theypose to Americans and Afghans”. Headded: “We will continue to use thevarious means at our disposal to de-grade the safe havens [in Pakistan] andto disrupt attacks into Afghanistan.” Butno serious eforts were actually under-taken by the Obama administration “todegrade the safe havens”. In the eightyears of his presidency, Mr. Obama’s ad-ministration remained largely passivein taking firm action against Pakistanistate support for terrorism. The reluct-ance vis-à-vis Pakistan was to the extentthat even after exits of Osama binLaden, and top Taliban leaders MullahOmar and Mullah Akhtar MohammadMansour, all three of whom lived andwere killed or died in hiding in Pakistan,Washington showed no desire tochange the status quo.

Contradicting his earlier statements,in 2014, Mr. Obama told Mr. Karzai thatPakistan is a strategic “ally” in the Waron Terror, and while already fighting awar in Afghanistan, his administration“cannot open another front againstPakistan”. He repeatedly urged hisAfghan counterpart to address

Pakistan’s “concerns” about the Indianinfluence in Afghanistan. Encouragedby Pakistan, the U.S. President evensuggested that Mr. Karzai find a “resolu-tion of diferences” on the Durand Linewith Pakistan. He proposed that “any is-sues concerning the border must comethrough mutual agreement between theparties concerned”. Mr. Karzai’s stanceon both key issues was clear: Afgh-anistan cannot and will never accom-modate Pakistan’s desire to control Ka-bul’s foreign policy, nor can it beexpected to recognise the imposed Dur-and Line.

The focus of Mr. Obama’s foreignpolicy was on Pakistan rather thanAfghanistan. In his address to the nationon Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Decem-ber 2009, he said: “We will act with thefull recognition that our success inAfghanistan is inextricably linked toour partnership with Pakistan… In thepast, we too often defined our relation-ship with Pakistan narrowly. Those

days are over.” Mr. Obama’s Afghan andIndian audience were taken aback byhis remarks that “there is no doubt thatthe United States and Pakistan share acommon enemy”. Under Mr. Obama,the U.S. administration “made heavyuse” of its “warm relationship withPakistan’s army chief” and even “exten-ded” Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s term inoice.

Appeasing Pak., failing Afghanistan

Seymour Hersh, an eminent Amer-ican journalist and a Pulitzer Prize win-ner, wrote in his 2016 book The Killingof Osama bin Laden that under Presid-ent Obama, Pakistan’s Inter-ServicesIntelligence secured “a commitmentfrom the U.S. to give Pakistan ‘a freerhand’ in Afghanistan as it began its mil-itary draw-down there”. The outcomewas that more Pakistani and regionalterrorists were intentionally pushed tomake their way across the Durand Lineinto Afghanistan. And this time, theyterrorised and slaughtered Afghans(mainly Hazaras) under a new brand:the Islamic State.

The “$33 billion” of U.S. assistance toPakistan, of which “$21 billion” weregiven under President Obama, badlyfailed to change Islamabad’s policy ofsupporting terrorism and radicalism.

And the Afghans, as well as the Amer-ican women and men in uniform, paid ahigh price in blood.

In Afghanistan, Mr. Obama’s policy,as seen by Afghans, was about puttingmore boots on the ground, blind bom-bardments, more drone attacks, heavyreliance on special forces, fruitless mil-itary operations in Afghan homes andvillages. It was certainly not what theAfghans were expecting of him as ablack American President with aMuslim family background. As thePresident of “hope” and “change”, Mr.Obama came to oice with the messageof ending “the mindset that causes war”.He spoke of returning America to the“moral high ground”. His rhetoric wasthat the war in Afghanistan is “a war ofnecessity” and a “war that we (the U.S.)have to win”.

In his farewell speech, the outgoingPresident said: “For the past eight years,I’ve worked to put the fight against ter-rorism on a firm legal footing.” But anintensified U.S. drone campaign, assas-sinations, covert operations, inefectivenight raids, illegal detention of morethan 5,000 Afghans in the Bagramprison were not only a clear violation ofAfghan sovereignty but of internationallaw. The Obama administrationseverely undermined human rights bydownplaying the threat of its overallmilitary operations to civilian lives inAfghanistan. The mindless killing of theAfghan civilians — elders, women andchildren — was the symptom of hisweak and failed policy. The substantialmilitarisation of the U.S. Afghan policyand the expansion of war killed anychance of peace in Afghanistan. Thewar in Afghanistan was expanded andgradually Afghanised.

Though I do not expect that key ob-jectives of the U.S. foreign policy willnecessarily change under the new ad-ministration, President Trump canavoid the errors of the past in Afgh-anistan. He should boost the securityand defence capabilities of the Afghannational armed forces. On Afghanistan,Mr. Trump should embrace a vibrantdiplomacy and regional cooperation to-wards Russia, China, India and Iran.

Last but not least, under the newAmerican administration, the worldmust witness clarity and a clear shift inU.S. strategic thinking vis-à-visPakistan.

Aimal Faizi is an Afghan writer, former

spokesperson and current aide to former

President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai.

An Afghan agenda for TrumpThe U.S. President-elect must address Pakistan’s treacherous role in Afghanistan at full tilt

AIMAL FAIZI

Mr. Obama’s policy, as seenby Afghans, was about

putting more boots on theground, blind bombardments,and more drone attacks

WRONG TURN: “The focus of Mr. Obama’s foreign policy was on Pakistan rather thanAfghanistan.” President Barack Obama with his then Afghan counterpart,President Hamid Karzai, in the White House in Washington. FILE PHOTO: AP

How India treats its armed forces israrely revealed by soldiers at the lowestranks. Little attention is paid to seriousconcerns about the systems of militaryjustice. While delays in the judicial sys-tem are notorious, delays for the armedforces can turn fatal in the form of sui-cide and fratricide (also called “frag-ging” — where a serviceman kills hisbrothers-in-arms). Answers in the Ra-jya Sabha and to the ParliamentaryStanding Committee on Defence, from2003-2013 (data for some years are miss-ing), state that there have been at least1,666 suicides in the armed forces and109 cases of fratricide.

“An army marches on its stomach”, aquote famously attributed to NapoleonBonaparte, was unwittingly broughtinto the spotlight by Border SecurityForce (BSF) constable Tej Bahadur Ya-dav’s videos about tasteless dal andhalf-burnt parathas. However, this hasnot been the first time that food has lefta bad taste for the military justice sys-tem. In 1985, Signalman Ranjit Thakurrefused food while serving 28 days’ im-prisonment for overriding the hier-archy and making representations dir-ectly to senior oicers about illtreatment. A summary court martialwas conducted for his act of disobeyingthe order to eat. He pleaded guilty andwas sentenced to one year rigorous im-prisonment, dismissal from the Army,and disqualification from civilian ser-vice. Fortunately for him, the SupremeCourt found this sentence to be grosslydisproportionate and reinstated himwith full pay and benefits.

Existential questions

The BSF’s woes extend much furtherthan merely bad food. The force hasfaced existential questions ever since itsought legislative recognition. Introdu-cing the Border Security Force Bill,1968, the then Home Minister, Yashwan-trao Chavan, told the Rajya Sabha: “Pop-ularly it is called Border Security Police,but its function is not policing, it issomething more than that. Though it isfunctioning on the borders, it is not theArmy. The task of this Force is such thatit is something between the Army andthe Police Force.” In the now-forgottentraditions of parliamentary debate, op-ponents of the Bill asked why there wasnothing in the Bill requiring the force toserve on the “border”, or why a central

police force which was “neither fish norfowl” was necessary when police was aState subject.

A concern amongst even the Bill’ssupporters was that there was a dispar-ity between the Army and the BSF interms of pay, service conditions, griev-ance redress mechanisms and deploy-ments to forward areas. Rejecting theseconcerns and refusing to refer the Bill toa Parliamentary Select Committee, theBill was passed and independent India’sfirst paramilitary force was born. Theconcerns of stepmotherly treatment inservice conditions exist even todayacross all paramilitary forces in India aslater videos by other servicemen havedemonstrated.

Today, no less than seven paramilit-ary forces exist, each created with lessparliamentary debate than the previousone. These forces are all under theHome Ministry in contrast to the Army,Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard whichare under the Defence Ministry. TheAssam Rifles has changed handsbetween Home, External Afairs andDefence Ministries and is currently un-der the Home Ministry while under theDefence Ministry’s operational control.

The military justice system does notbelieve that it is required to be equal forall and creates peculiar distinctionsbetween the Army, Navy and Air Forceon the one hand and the paramilitaryforces and the Coast Guard on the other.

The Armed Forces Tribunal cameinto being in 2007, 25 years after the Su-preme Court made scathing remarksabout the military justice system in Lt.

Col. Prithi Pal Singh Bedi v. Union ofIndia (1982) for not having even onelayer of judicial scrutiny, for uncheckedcommand influence in decision-mak-ing, and for absence of recorded reasonsin final judgments. In 1999, the LawCommission’s 169th Report stated thatdisciplinary and service matters re-quired quick resolution and proposed aspecial tribunal for the military andparamilitary forces. However, theArmed Forces Tribunal Bill was steeredthrough Parliament only by the DefenceMinistry, leaving paramilitary forces,even the Assam Rifles and the CoastGuard, outside the tribunal’s purview.

Despite court martial systems withinthe military being reformed and judicialscrutiny now being available, paramilit-ary forces continue to follow a courtmartial-like system called the SecurityForce Court with less legal safeguardsthan even those found inadequate bythe Supreme Court. Yet, like in courtmartial proceedings, penalties includ-ing the death sentence can be imposed.With no process of appeal other thanstatutory petitions, often before theHome Minister, the only recourse left isexpensive and time-consuming writ pe-titions. Even here, the fundamentalrights of armed forces personnel are ex-

pressly limited under Article 33 of theConstitution which makes approachingcivilian judicial systems a challenge.

The system under the Army, though,is also not foolproof. In at least one caseof fratricide, the serviceman concernedis languishing in jail for 25 years await-ing a decision on the sentence. The casehas gone from an Army court martial tothe Supreme Court and all the way backagain to the Armed Forces Tribunal.

In a written answer before the RajyaSabha, the Home Minister (MoS) in2012 said that the reasons for suicideand fratricide amongst paramilitaryforces are “…personal/domestic prob-lems, illness, mental stress, alcoholicdependence, marital afairs and finan-cial crisis of concerned individual. Des-pite taking all necessary steps, somediscontented individuals are not able tocontrol their emotions and tend to takesuch extreme steps due to the abovesaid reasons.” The Minister also statedthat better dispute resolution, commu-nication facilities in field areas, yoga,and increased interaction betweenjawans and oicers were part of the 14measures undertaken to boost morale.

Afecting troop morale

The secrecy surrounding these issuesis curious. A report by the Institute ofDefence Studies and Analysis titled ‘Ad-dressing Stress-Related Issues in theArmy’ quotes two studies, one on stressmanagement and the other on suicideand fratricide, both conducted by theDefence Institute of Psychological Re-search under the Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation. When theissue was being examined by the Parlia-mentary Standing Committee on De-fence, just one copy of each of these theDefence Institute of Psychological Re-search marked “secret” was submittedto it. When the committee asked why itshould not be published, the govern-ment’s reply was that sensationalisationor selective publicity of these reportswould afect troop morale.

In the BSF constable’s case, the HomeMinistry is in damage control mode.While it has made statements about ra-tioning policies and operational controlof the post by the Army, no further com-ment has been made except that theconstable has a history of drunkennessand insubordination. The Ministrywould do well not to shoot the messen-ger, but instead focus on taking steps toprevent messengers from paramilitaryforces from shooting themselves.

Nishant Gokhale is an Associate with the Centre on

the Death Penalty at the National Law University.

Paramilitary forces face stepmotherly treatment in service conditions and have few legal safeguards

ON THE MARGINS: “Little attention is paid to serious concerns about the systems ofmilitary justice.” BSF troops patrolling the International Border in RS Pura sector,Jammu. PHOTO: PTI

NISHANTGOKHALE

With no process of appealother than statutory petitions,the only recourse left isexpensive and time-consuming writ petitions

Don’t let messengers shoot themselves

CMYK

ND-ND

NEWS12 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

FROM PAGE ONE

Later in the day, Indrani ex-pressed her wish to obtain adivorce from Peter, towhich the judge said it wasa matter to be decidedbetween them and thecourt had nothing to dowith it.

The court also chargedthem under Sections 201(causing disappearance ofevidence of ofence, or giv-ing false information toscreen ofender) and 203(giving false informationrespecting an ofence com-mitted).

Judge H.S. Mahajan ad-journed the case to Febru-ary 1 when the trial is likelyto commence. The fourthaccused, driver ShyamvarRai has turned approver inthe case.

While charges were filedduring the morning sessionof the court, in the lunch re-cess, Indrani made an oralplea seeking permissionfrom the special court tomove the family court insuburban Bandra to initiatedivorce proceedingsagainst Peter.

She also orally informedthe judge that she wouldlike to change her ‘Will’ todonate her share in the fam-ily property to charitable

organisations.Judge Mahajan told her

that she did not need thespecial court’s permissionto file a divorce case orchange her Will and wasfree to take such decisionson her own. Peter Mukerjeawho was also present incourt as charges wereframed against him did nottalk to Indrani.

Indrani, Peter chargedwith Sheena’s murder

Indrani Mukherjea inMumbai. — FILE PHOTO

NEW DELHI: In a rare move, theAppointments Committee ofCabinet (ACC) gave the go-ahead to compulsorily retiretwo IPS oicers for “noperformance”.

The two IPS oicers, May-ank Sheel Chohan, a 1998-batch oicer of AGMUTcadre and Raj Kumar Dewan-gan, a 1992-batch IPS oicerfrom Chattisgarh cadre, wereissued the orders on January5. “This Ministry [Home] inexercise of the powers con-ferred by sub-rule 3 of Rule 16of the All-India Servicesrules 1958, has premature re-tired Mr. Mayank Sheel Cho-han and Mr. Raj KumarDewangan in public interestafter the approval of Ap-pointments Committee ofthe Cabinet,” the order is-sued by Home Ministry said.

Mr. Dewangan was postedas the Inspector General ofHome Guards in Raipur. Hewas also overlooked for pro-motion earlier this month.

Mr. Dewangan had faced adepartmental inquiry in acase of robbery in 1998 when

he was posted as Superin-tendent of Police of theState’s Janjgir Chapa district.A police inspector under himwas arrested in the case, andMr. Dewangan was alsoplaced under suspension. Hehas not been given any im-portant posting in the Statesince.

Mr. Chohan was posted asSP vigilance in ArunachalPradesh in 2012. An oicialsaid he was also accused of“staging” his own abduction.

“The decision to com-pulsorily retire an oicer istaken in consultation withthe State government. Wewere apprised of the poorservice record of the two of-ficers, and the proposal wassent to the ACC for approval.The oicer has to be given athree-month notice or three-month pay and allowances inlieu of such notice,” he said.

Compulsory exitfor 2 IPS oicersSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The AppointmentsCommittee of Cabinetgives nod to send out the senior police officers

NEW DELHI: Days after a BSFjawan uploaded a video al-leging poor quality ration be-ing provided, the Delhi HighCourt on Tuesday sought toknow the stand of not just theBSF but also other paramilit-ary forces like Central Re-serve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Cent-ral Industrial Securty Force,Shashastra Seems Bal andAssam Rifles on the qualityof meals given to the jawans.

A Bench of Chief Justice G.Rohini and Justice SangeetaDhingra Sehgal issued no-tices to these paramilitaryforces and also the Ministryof Home Afairs asking themto furnish a status report.

The Bench also called forthe interim report submittedby the MHA to the PMO onthe BSF jawan Tej BahadurYadav’s complaint over food,and the BSF investigation re-port on the allegations made.

“Steps have already beentaken by respondent (BSF) inthis regard. However, wewould like to see their report.Whatever report you have,place it before the court inthe next hearing, February27,” the Bench said.

The court issued the no-tices on a petition moved bya retired paramilitary jawanPuran Chand Arya throughadvocate Abhishek KumarChoudhary. It, however, re-fused to direct that no ad-verse action be taken againstMr. Yadav.

The BSF told the court,“Things are in order. Wehave found nothing as was al-leged by Mr. Yadav.”

Mr. Choudhary said, “theallegations need to be lookedinto. Also, we should know ifthe same is the situation inother paramilitary forces.”

Delhi HC seeksreports on foodserved to forcesAKANKSHA JAIN

LUCKNOW: It comes as little sur-prise that a year after RohithVemula committed suicide,Ashwani Ranjan relates hisstory to the struggle of the Hy-derabad University Dalitscholar.

Mr. Ranjan was one of theeight Dalit students suspen-ded by the Babasaheb Bhim-rao Ambedkar Universityhere in September last year onallegations of assaulting aprofessor and vandalising hisvehicle. The students, ontheir part, alleged that theprofessor, then proctor, as-saulted them with the help ofadministrative staf and mem-bers of the ABVP after theyprotested attempts to dilute50% Dalit reservation in thecentral varsity and hostel ad-mission policy.

“All the allegations that weassaulted him are false. In-stead, we were beaten up bythe administration supportedby ABVP students. There isCCTV footage evidence for it.We were suspended withoutany notice,” says Ranjan. If thesuspension of three students

was later revoked, one,Sandeep Shastri, a second-rank Ph.D student, was de-barred from admission in fu-ture courses, while four arestill under suspension despiteassurances from the MHRD.

Mr. Ranjan, who hails fromthe impoverished district ofMau in east U.P., is one of

them. The suspension hasmade it diicult for him topursue his academic dreams.“We were thrown out of thehostel. Apart from the aca-demic loss, I also have to incurexpenses on accommodation,water and power supply. Myfamily cannot pay so much. Ihave wasted two months.

They have just allowed me totake my exams. I need to sitfor the forensic science vivabut how can I when I am notallowed the practicals?” Mr.Ranjan asks.

Sandeep Shastri, anotherDalit student, says: “The Dalitrepresentation is being at-tacked. They don’t want us to

have a stake in higher educa-tion. It is a conspiracy againstus.”

“We got the strength toraise our voice from Rohith,”says third-year B.Tech com-puter science student PremKumar, who was inspired tojoin the protests stirred by theRohith incident.

OMAR RASHID

FIGHTING FOR RIGHTS: Members of the Ambedkar University Dalit Students Union hold a candlelight vigil in Lucknow on Tuesday. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

CHENNAI: India on Mondaybecame an associate mem-ber of CERN, the EuropeanOrganization for NuclearResearch, after the govern-ment completed internalapproval procedures on theagreement it signed inNovember last year.

On November 21, SekharBasu, Chairman of theAtomic Energy Commis-sion and Secretary of theDepartment of Atomic En-ergy (DAE), and Fabiola Gi-anotti, CERN Director-General, signed an agree-ment to admit India toCERN as an associatemember. But India had to“notify CERN of its finalapproval for the agreementto enter into force” and be-come an associate member,which it did on Monday.

“Becoming associatemember of CERN will en-hance participation ofyoung scientists and engin-eers in various CERN pro-jects and bring back know-

ledge for deployment in thedomestic programmes. Itwill also provide opportun-ities to Indian industries toparticipate directly inCERN projects,” Dr. Basuhad said after signing theagreement last year.

India has been activelyinvolved in CERN’s activit-ies for over 50 years. “In-dian physicists, engineersand technicians have madesubstantial contributionsto the construction of theLHC accelerator and to theALICE and CMS experi-ments, as well as to acceler-ator R&D projects,” saidDr. Gianotti in a release.

According to the release,being an associate memberwill allow India to take partin meetings of the CERNCouncil and its committees(Finance Committee andScientific Policy Commit-tee). Indian industry willbe entitled to bid for CERNcontracts, which will openup opportunities for indus-trial collaboration in areasof advanced technology.

Also, Indian scientists willbecome eligible for stafappointments.

Cooperation Agreement

In 1991, India and CERNsigned a CooperationAgreement, setting priorit-ies for scientific coopera-tion. India and CERN havesigned several other proto-cols since then.

But India’s involvementin CERN began in the 1960swith researchers from theTata Institute of Funda-mental Research, Mumbai,participating in experi-ments at CERN. In the1990s, scientists from RajaRamanna Centre for Ad-vanced Technology, In-dore, too got involved.

Researchers from TIFR,Raja Ramanna Centre forAdvanced Technology andother institutes built com-ponents for an accelerator(LEP) and detectors (L3,WA93 and WA89). Indiawas granted Observerstatus to the CERN Councilin 2002.

R. PRASAD

India now an associatemember of CERN

NEW DELHI: The government onTuesday informed the Su-preme Court that a high-powered committee com-prising the Prime Minister,the Chief Justice of India andthe Opposition leader meton Monday to zero in on whoshould lead the CBI.

Attorney-General MukulRohatgi submitted before aBench led by Justice KurianJoseph that the minutes ofthe meeting are being pre-pared after the high-levelpanel considered the eligiblenames shortlisted for thecrucial appointment.

The government said mat-ters might clear up by Janu-ary 20, the next date of hear-ing in the apex court.

The Bench was hearing aPIL petition filed by NGOCommon Cause challengingthe shunting out of seniorIPS oicer R.K. Dutta — whowas overseeing probes intothe 2G and coal scams —from the CBI in a “mala fide”manner to make room for theappointment of a Gujarat-cadre IPS oicer, RakeshAsthana, as the interim CBIDirector. In a December 16hearing, Mr. Rohatgi wascritical of the NGO’s locusstandi to file a writ petitionin the issue.

Mr. Rohatgi had said thiswas not merely a servicematter, and Mr. Dutta wastransferred to a “very sensit-ive post in the Ministry ofHome Afairs”.

The Attorney-General hadsubmitted that Section 4(c)of the Delhi Special PoliceEstablishment (DSPE) Act,1946, dealing with procedureof appointment, extensionand curtailment of servicesof senior oicers in CBI wasfollowed in Mr. Dutta’s case.

Decision on CBI chief soon,govt. tells SCLEGAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Nepal’s militaryties with China should notworry India, visiting ForeignMinister Prakash Sharan Ma-hat said here on Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelinesof the Raisina Dialogue 2017,the Foreign Minister assuredthat the upcoming militaryexercise between Nepal andChina would not be at thecost of Nepal’s relations withIndia.

“The military exercise willbe of a very small scale.There is no need for concern.Our ties with India andChina cannot be comparedwith each other as the issueson both sides are diferent,”Mr. Mahat said, explainingthat Nepal would continue topursue better relationshipwith both Beijing and NewDelhi.

Nepal will hold the firstever military exercise withChina in February, whichwill take place months afterthe Nepal Army Chief paid avisit to Beijing.

‘India need notworry overNepal-China ties’SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kash-mir Chief Minister Me-hbooba Mufti’s move to soft-pedal revocation of theArmed Forces SpecialPowers Act (AFSPA) hasseparatists in the Valley up inarms.

In her address to the Up-per House in Jammu, Ms.Mufti, whose Peoples Demo-cratic Party (PDP) advocatesthe removal of AFSPA, said,“The success of the securityforces depends upon whenwe start revoking the AFSPA.It also depends upon when

we stomp out militancy fully,and, slowly and steadily de-crease the footprints of se-curity forces.”

Ms. Mufti’s remarks are adeparture from the PDP’sprevious stand to pursue theCentre “vigorously” for re-vocation of the AFSPA,which is also part of the‘Agenda of Alliance’.

While soft-pedalling theAFSPA in the wake of grow-ing home-grown militancy,Ms. Mufti pitched for con-necting J&K with the outsideworld.

“J&K can be a corridorbetween South Asia and

Central Asia on the lines ofChina-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC). Such cor-ridor between the two emer-ging economic hotspotswould help forge a new re-gional cooperation, energytransformation, trade andtransit,”

Ms. Mufti said on Monday.Ms. Mufti said trans-Kash-mir corridor, with diversesub-corridors, “was sym-bolic of relative peace,prosperity, cross-culturaland ideological fertilisationand human security until late1940s”.

Separatist leaders Syed Ali

Geelani, Mirwaiz UmarFarooq and MuhammadYasin Malik, have criticisedMs. Mufti for her new standon the AFSPA.

Separatists up in arms

Ms. Mufti’s statement thatlakhs of Indian forces sta-tioned in J&K will continueto enjoy immunity from anyaccountability for their ac-tions of killing, blinding,maiming, torturing ,injuringor harassing people of Kash-mir till ‘peace is achieved’ islamentable to say the least,”said a joint statement issuedthe leaders.

Separatists slam Mufti’s AFSPA standPEERZADA ASHIQ

The Congress is expectingmore seats in its pocketboroughs of Amethi andRae Bareli. The RLD is alsobargaining for anythingbetween 20-26 seats.

The alliance, however,may encounter last-minuteglitches in the form of Mr.Mulayam, who is yet to oi-cially declare his standafter losing the “cycle”symbol to his son.

On Monday, hours beforethe Election Commission’sdecision, he had threatenedto contest against Mr.Akhilesh, if needed.

A day later there was nooicial word from his end,even as his son met himtwice in over just 12 hoursin a bid to ensure that theembittered patriarch didnot play spoiler.

Samajwadi Partysources, however, said afterthe Chief Minister’s over-tures, Mr. Mulayam was notplanning to field his owncandidates or approach thecourt for the symbol.

Hours after the ElectionCommission decided in hisfavour, Mr. Akhilesh calledon his father on Mondaynight to apparently pacifyhim.

Soon after the meetingthe Chief Minister tweetedthree old pictures, includ-ing one of the duo and fol-lowed it up with anothermeeting on Tuesday morn-ing.

If Mr. Mulayam decidesto contest separately, itwould complicate matters

for the Akhilesh-led alli-ance. “My relationship withhim is unbreakable…I willtake Netaji along,” Mr.Akhilesh told reportershere.

Mr. Mulayam then sub-mitted a list of 38 candid-ates for consideration.Though the list was notmade public, sources said itincluded the names ofAparna Yadav, wife of Mr.Mulayam’s second sonPrateek, and Aditya Yadav,Shivpal Yadav’s son.

Curiously, the name ofMr. Shivpal was missing.Loyalists of Mr. Mulayamwho were earlier shuntedout or ignored by Mr.Akhilesh are on the list.

SP, Congress inchcloser to alliance

NEW DELHI: UttarPradesh ChiefMinister AkhileshYadav’s faction of theSamajwadi Party onTuesday filed acaveat in theSupreme Court topre-empt any moveby the group led byhis father MulayamSingh to get an ex-parte against theElectionCommission’sdecision to grant the‘bicycle’ symbol tohim. — LegalCorrespondent

Team Akhilesh

files caveat

Record haul

Policemen display a portion of the 160 kg of gold recovered in Mohali on Tuesday. - PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Suspended Dalit students in limbo

VELLORE: Shanmugam (40), aspectator, was gored to deathat the ‘bull race festival’ (Er-uthu Vidum Vizha) held in avillage near here as part ofPongal celebrations onMonday.

This festival, also banned,is traditionally observed inseveral villages of northernTamil Nadu.

It is similar to jallikattu(bull taming) in the south,though there is no attempt totame the animal.

Decorated bulls are al-lowed to run through a streetin the village.

Despite the ban, severalvillages in the northern partsof the State conducted it.

Vellakkuttai, 75 km fromthe district headquarters, or-ganised the race on Sundayand Monday.

On Monday, the third dayof the Pongal festival, about100 bulls and bullocks re-portedly took part in therace.

One of the bulls suddenlyran into the crowd of spectat-ors and gored Shanmugam, apainter from neighbouringVeppalampattu village.

He was rushed to the Van-iyambadi Government Hos-pital. From there he was re-ferred to the GovernmentVellore Medical CollegeHospital. However, he diedon the way. Alangayam po-lice station booked a case ofunnatural death under Sec-tion 174 of the Cr.PC. Afterpost-mortem, his body wasburied in his native village onTuesday.

Shanmugam has twodaughters and a son. Now hiswife Kasturi, who rolls in-cense sticks for a meagre in-come, has to manage thefamily.

Spectator gored todeath at T.N. bull run A.D. BALASUBRAMANIYAN Despite the ban,

several villages in the northern parts ofthe State conductedthe bull race festival

NEW DELHI: Senior Congressleaders will gherao ReserveBank of India oices acrossthe country on Wednesday inprotest against the failure tolift the weekly cash with-drawal limit of ₨24,000 even70 days after thedemonetisation.

“The Modi government’sand the RBI’s decision to notlift the weekly withdrawal re-striction of ₨24,000 is treach-ery. Failure to restore moneysupply has paralysed India’seconomy leading to massiveloss of jobs and closure ofbusinesses on a daily basis,”said a party statement.

“Mere post oice”

“RBI, instead of playing therole of a independent monet-ary regulator and a key de-nominator of economicgrowth, has become a merepost oice, following thediktats of the Modi govern-ment like a puppet,” it said.Congress leader Anand

Sharma will lead the protestin Delhi, Oscar Fernandes inChennai, Sushil KumarShinde in Ahmedabad,Prithviraj Chavan inBengaluru, Mukul Wasnik inBhopal, Shivraj Patil inBhubaneshwar, Rajiv Shuklain Chandigarh, Randeep Sur-jewala in Mumbai and N.Sanjeeva Reddy in Kolkata.

Chandy’s charge rejected

Meanwhile, the Centre re-jected Congress leader Oom-men Chandy’s charge thatthe Centre had short-listed aUK-based blacklisted com-pany, De La Rue, for printingplastic notes.

“The said company hadbeen supplying bank note pa-per till 2010. Further, as perdecision taken in 2013, thecompany was permitted tosupply a security feature forbank notes till December2015. No fresh contract hasbeen given to this company...during the last three years,”noted a Finance Ministrystatement.

Congress to protest at RBI oicesSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

PATNA: Three persons arres-ted by the Bihar police haveclaimed that Pakistan’sInter-Services Intelligence(ISI) was behind the recenttrain accident in Kanpur andthe bomb that failed to ex-plode on a railway track inGhorasahan in East Cham-paran district of the State.

Fifteen coaches of the

Ajmer-Sealdah ExpressTrain (no.12987) derailednear Rura, around 70 kilo-metres from Kanpur, onDecember 28. Though therewere no deaths, 44 personswere injured in the accident.

Earlier, on November 20,Indore-Patna Express trainderailed near Kanpur, killingover a hundred passengersand injuring many more. OnOctober 1, a powerful Impro-

vised Explosive Device(IED) was detected on a rail-way track in Ghorasahan andit was safely defused by thepolice.

“In the course of our in-vestigation into the Ghorasa-han IED, we arrested threepersons who confessed totheir involvement,” JitendraRana, SP, East Champaran,told journalists in Motihari,on Tuesday.

ISI behind Kanpur train accident: suspectsAMARNATH TEWARY

No court relief for Bibi Jagir KaurNEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected aplea by Bibi Jagir Kaur, Akali Dal leader and formerSGPC chief, to suspend her conviction for the

murder of her daughter Harpreet Kaur in 2000so that she can contest the Assembly

elections in Punjab. A Bench, comprisingJustice A.K. Goel and Justice U.U. Lalit,

rejected the submission that shewas convicted only of the chargeof conspiracy and not of murder.Her counsel, Shyam Divan, said

the Punjab and Haryana HighCourt had already stayed thesentence. But that court onMonday dismissed a plea tostay her conviction. Ms. Kaur isineligible to contest under the

Representation of the People Act, 1951, becauseshe has been sentenced for more than two years.She has been out on bail since November 2012, buther appeal against the special CBI court’s sentenceis pending in the High Court. — PTI

It’s a waiting game in ManipurIMPHAL: The ruling Congress and the BJP aredelaying distribution of ticket to aspirants till thelast moment for the Manipur Assembly elections.Congress State president T.N. Haokip said, “There

are big numbers of ticket aspirants. If it isproblematic for the State-level

committee, we shall refer the matterto the national-level committee.”

Union Human Resource MinisterPrakash Javadekar, who had

come to Manipur for a two-day discussion on ticketdistribution in the BJP,said, “The State-levelcommittee hadrecommended thecandidates. The national

committee shall examineeach case before making an announcement. Weshall make the official announcement a few daysbefore the filing of nomination papers.” There arefive or six aspirants for the BJP ticket in each of the60 constituencies. However, reports suggest thatthe ruling Congress does not face such anenormous problem. Both parties are playing itsafe. Party leaders say that those denied ticket arelikely to resign and join other parties, affect thechances of official candidates. Hence they aredelaying the announcements. — A Correspondent

TONGUE IN CHEEKSurendra

Sir, our opponent was given ‘helicopter’ symbol;we got bullock cart!

CMYK

ND-ND

ELECTIONWATCHUTTAR PRADESH, UTTARAKHAND, PUNJAB, MANIPUR, GOA

| 13THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

POLLDIARY

BJP is the new CongressDEHRADUN: A day after the BJP put the formerCongress “rebel” MLAs on its first list ofcandidates for the Uttarakhand Assemblyelections, social media was fullof jokes at the expense of theparty on Tuesday. Some calledthe Bharatiya Janata Party theBaagi Janata Party, or a party ofturncoats. A few others saidthere were now two versionsof the Congress — the SoniaCongress and the ModiCongress — and the BJPbecame non-existent in the State after itnominated 13 “turncoats”. A WhatsApp messageread that while the BJP wanted a Congress-MuktBharat (Congress-free India), the party hadbecome Congress-Yukt (fitted with Congressleaders) in Uttarakhand. — Staff Reporter

Have bike, will ride

GROUND FORCE: Salamat Hussain, 62, who manages parking on the premises of the Samajwadi Party headquarters inLucknow, says he is delighted that the party’s election symbol, ‘Bicycle’, has been allotted to the Akhilesh Yadav faction.A scene on Tuesday. — PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

Coming barely afterthe exact mid-term(two-and-a-halfyears) of the Nar-

endra Modi government atthe Centre, calling the elec-tions in India’s largest State,Uttar Pradesh, a referendumon its performance will notbe an understatement. Afterall, the Bharatiya JanataParty, unlike its rivals such asthe Samajwadi Party and theBahujan Samaj Party, has noteven projected a chief minis-

terial candidate and is run-ning its campaign withPrime Minister Modi as thechief mascot, just as it did inthe Lok Sabha elections ofMarch-May 2014.

The Lok Sabha electionshad delivered a spectacularwin for the BJP in U.P. and itsally, the Apna Dal. Together,they garnered 71 of the 80seats — coming to 337 of the403 Assembly segments —and increased their voteshare from 15% in the 2012Assembly elections to 42.5%in 2014, a whopping 27.5point increase (Chart 1).While previously, a shift of3-5 percentage points to-wards any of the dominantparty among the four (SP,BSP, BJP and Congress)helped it win a majority ofseats in both the Assemblyand Lok Sabha elections, the27.5 point jump helped theBJP garner a lion’s share, put-ting it in the driver’s seat in2017.

To understand if the BJP

can retain or come close toits past performance, weneed to explain the victory in2014.

Was it merely the efect ofthe Modi wave (his projec-tion as a decisive leader com-mitted to development) thathelped the BJP win a signific-ant number of seats in north-ern and western India in2014, or did religious polar-isation due to the 2013 Muz-afarnagar riots also play arole, apart from other factorssuch as candidate selection?

Mapping vote share

An Assembly constitu-ency-level map that chartsthe increase in vote share by

each Assembly segmentbetween 2012 and 2014shows that the BJP-led alli-ance gained uniformlyacross the State, but it didvery well in select parts suchas western (the Muzaf-farnagar-Shamli areas) andsouth-eastern (Varanasi, inparticular, where Modi re-gistered a facile win) U.P.

A cursory reading of thismap would suggest that boththe aforementioned reasonshelped the BJP in diferentgeographic locations basedon anecdotal evidence, butthis is not enough. We needto show clearly that polarisa-tion benefited the BJP inMuzafarnagar-Shamli.

Here is where we take re-course to a new map — thistime constructed on thebasis of polling booth-levelresults.

Journalist Avinash Ce-lestine utilised data for 1.3lakh polling booths in 2014,released by the ElectionCommission, to create anelectoral map that wasshaded on the basis of themedian vote share of the

winning party in eachpolling location. Darker col-ours indicate higher voteshare for the party in eachpolling booth (representedby a dot in the graphic).

Darker shades

Note how areas aroundMuzafarnagar and Shamlishow darker dot colours,meaning the winning party— mostly the BJP in theseconstituencies — rompedhome with very high mar-gins; in some cases, voteshares were even greaterthan 90%.

In other words, apart fromincreasing their vote sharefrom 2012, the BJP managed

to romp home very comfort-ably here. This could nothave been possible withoutthe sharp religious polarisa-tion.

To counter these twin ef-fects that helped the BJP win,the SP and the BSP have ad-opted contrasting strategies.The SP has tried to pitchforkthe U.P. Chief Minister as theface of development to un-dercut the Modi appeal,while the BSP has sought tobreak the polarisation inwestern U.P. in particular byattempting a Dalit-Muslimalliance.

Considering the reasonsfor the BJP’s rise, their plansmake sense.

Will it be ‘winner takes all’ in U.P. again?A study shows that in 2014, BJP used polarisation to clock an eye-popping tally; now, SP and BSP are alive to its effects

SRINIVASAN RAMANI

INFOCUS

BJP romped home inMuzaffarnagar andShamli which were

rocked by communaldisturbances

NAINITAL (UTTARAKHAND):

Sitting in his crowdedoice about 100 metresfrom the Nainital lake,Rajiv Lochan Sah recallsthen Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Mulayam Singh’seforts to reason withagitators seeking aseparate Uttarakhand, bypointing to thedevelopment work that theSamajwadi Party had beencarryi ng out in the hillareas.

“I remember MulayamSingh waving pagescontaining figures on howthe road works in theplains of U.P. and the hillareas of Uttarakhand[which was then a part ofU.P.] were comparable,”said Mr. Sah, who had alsojoined the agitation for aseparate State, pointing tothe old files of NainitalSamachar, a fortnightly heedits.

However, 16 years after aseparate State was formed,ground realities remainmuch the same.

As part of U.P.,Uttarakhand had 22 seatsout of 425 in the Assembly.After attaining statehoodin 2000, Uttarakhand got

its own 70-memberAssembly, where 40 seatswere allotted to MLAsrepresenting the hills and30 to those from the plains.

This balance wasdisrupted afterdelimitation in 2008 by theDelimitation Commission,which took away six vitalseats from the hill districtsof Chamoli, Pauri, Almoraand Pithoragarh.

Six new constituencieswere added in the plainareas of Haridwar, UdhamSingh Nagar, Nainital andDehradun districts.

The main reason for thereduction in seats in thehill districts was the fall inpopulation due tomigration, said historian

Shekhar Pathak.While the BJP and the

Congress have raised theissue of migration in theirelection manifestos earlier,population data shows thatnot much success has beenachieved in tackling theissue.

While the population ofthe State as a wholeincreased from 0.84 crorein 2001 to 1.01 crore in 2011,Almora and Pauri showeda negative populationgrowth of – 1.73 and – 1.51per cent, respectively.

However, the populationof Hardwar districtincreased by 33.16 per cent,Dehradun by 32.48 percent and Udham SinghNagar by 33.4 per cent.

And the mountains echo again with tales of migration

HILLS VS PLAINS: A boatman in Nainital. The tourist districtand four others gained six seats on delimitation at theexpense of hill areas. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

KAVITAUPADHYAY

CHANDIGARH: Delhi Chief Min-ister Arvind Kejriwal saidhere on Tuesday that theAam Aadmi Party wouldform the next government inPunjab and the “Badals willbe held accountable for theiralleged misdeeds that haveruined the State”.

“An AAP governmentwould not allow Chief Minis-ter Parkash Singh Badal andthe members of his Cabinetwho are facing corruptioncharges to go scotfree. Wewill constitute a special in-vestigating team to investig-ate the ill-gotten wealth ofthe Badal family and recoverevery single pielooted from Punjab,”Mr. Kejriwal said at apress conferencehere.

“The AAP govern-ment would also takesteps to investigatethe ‘Swiss accounts’of Capt. AmarinderSingh [State Con-gress chief],” the AAP leadersaid. Mr. Kejriwal allegedthat the name of Punjab Min-ister Bikram Singh Majithia

had surfaced in the drugracket and his name hadfigured in FIRs related todrug cases, but he had never

been interrogated bythe police.

“When the AAPgovernment isformed, we will pun-ish Majithia and hisassociates who havepushed Punjab intodrugs. On March 11,results will be de-clared and the gov-

ernment will be in place byMarch 22. And on April 15,we will send Majithia behindbars,” he said.

Mr. Kejriwal alleged thatCapt. Singh had back-stabbed the people of Punjabby helping Mr. Badal in theLambi constituency.

“AAP candidate JarnailSingh is set to win in Lambiand Mr. Badal has realised it.Mr. Badal had saved Capt.Amarinder in the corruptioncases earlier and now Capt.Amarinder is reciprocatingit by dividing the anti-Badalvotes by contesting againsthim,” he said. Mr. Kejriwalsaid Mr. Sidhu, who joinedthe Congress, was irrelevantin Punjab elections, sayinghe had lost his credibility.

Punjab’s corrupt Ministers willbe put behind bars: KejriwalSays Amarinder ishelping Badal bycontesting againsthim in Lambi

FOR YOUR EARS ONLY: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwallistening to a supporter after a meeting in the Khararconstituency in Mohali on Tuesday. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

VIKAS VASUDEVA

PANAJI: Digvijay Singh, Con-gress general secretary incharge of Goa, said here onTuesday that the Assemblyelection in the State wasmore a test of identity for De-fence Minister Manohar Par-rikar, former Goa Chief Min-ister and BJP’s top-most Goaleader, than for the BharatiyaJanata Party or the RashtriyaSwayamvsevak Sangh.

Mr. Singh was addressing apress conference after re-leasing the Congress’s list of34 candidates for the elec-tion to the 40-member As-sembly on February 4.

The Congress leader’sstatement comes a day afterGoa RSS chief Lakshman Be-hare, who had last year re-placed rebel RSS leaderSubhash Velingkar, said theorganisation’s cadre wouldnot directly campaign for theBJP or any other party.

Moreover, recently theBJP’s national leadership,through Union MinisterNitin Gadkari, had indicatedthat a Central leader could besent from Delhi to head thegovernment in Goa if the BJPretained power.

Equations with RSS

Mr. Singh said the BJPwould face a problem in thepolls because of the party’sdiferences with the Sangh inGoa.

“The RSS is the core of theBJP and minus it, the partywill face diiculties, becausethe footsoldiers usuallycome from the RSS,” Mr.Singh said when asked if thecriticism of the BJP and itsleaders, Mr. Parrikar andChief Minister LaxmikantParsekar, by the mentor ofthe Goa Suraksha Manch,Mr. Velingkar, would makethe campaign easier for theCongress.

Much at stake forParrikar: DigvijaySPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Lalu, son to campaign for AkhileshPATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal chiefLalu Prasad said here on Tuesdaythat he and his younger sonwould go to Uttar Pradesh tocampaign for Akhilesh Yadav. Mr.Prasad requested SamajwadiParty (SP) supremo MulayamSingh to bless Mr. AkhileshYadav’s bid to become Chief Minister again. It isimportant for both father and son to unite andcontest the polls to “stop communal forces”, hesaid. Mr. Prasad’s announcement comes a dayafter the Election Commission allotted the“bicycle” symbol to Mr. Akhilesh Yadav’s faction ofthe SP. “I along with my son Tejaswi Yadav will goto U.P. and campaign to ensure the return ofAkhilesh Yadav as Chief Minister,” Mr. Prasad said.— Special Correspondent

Rahul violated poll code, BJP tells EC

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party approachedthe Election Commission on Tuesday demandingthat the “hand” symbol of the Congress be frozen.It said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi hadviolated the Model Code of Conduct by linking thesymbol with religious figures. The complaint waslodged by a delegation comprising Union MinistersPrakash Javadekar and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and afew party office-bearers. Mr. Naqvi told the mediathat the Congress party leader tried to give acommunal colour to the elections. “This is a clear-cut case of corrupt practice. There should beaction against both the Congress and its leader,”he said. — Special Correspondent

ILLUSTRATIONS: SATHEESH VELLINEZHI

CMYK

WORLD14 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

DAVOS (SWITZERLAND): China’sPresident Xi Jinping warnedon Tuesday against scape-goating globalisation for theworld’s ills or retreating be-hind protectionist walls,days before Donald Trumptakes oice.

In what amounted to a re-writing of the global eco-nomic order, led for decadesby the United States, Mr. Xiused his début speech at theWorld Economic Forum inDavos to insist that global-isation was irreversible des-pite a populist backlash inthe West.

There is “no point in blam-ing economic globalisationfor the world’s problems”, hesaid, saying that the processwas not at the root of the Syr-ian refugee situation or the2008 financial crisis.

4-day WEF event

Globalisation should be“more inclusive, more sus-tainable”, he added, addingthat currently existing globalinstitutions are “inadequate”and should be more“representative”.

Mr. Xi’s keynote addresskicked of four days of net-working and partying by the

global elite in the Swiss skiresort, in a week that cli-maxes as Mr. Trump takes of-fice after a campaign thatblamed China and globalisa-tion for the loss of millions ofU.S. factory jobs.

Mr. Xi warned: “No onewill emerge as a winner in atrade war.”

Mr. Trump has repeatedlyaccused China of carryingout trade policies that haveled to massive U.S. job losses.He has threatened to slap tar-ifs of up to 45% on Chinesegoods. But addressing a hallpacked with governmentleaders, captains of industry,stars of entertainment and

agenda-setting thinkers, Mr.Xi issued a rebuke to suchthinking. “Pursuing protec-tionism is just locking one-self in a dark room. Whilewind and rain may be keptoutside, so are light and air,”he said.

It is simply “not possible”to reverse the flow of global

capital, technology, goodsand people, Mr. Xi added, in-sisting China was committedto “opening up” and defend-ing globalisation’s gains foremerging economies.

Conscious of the sour pub-lic mood in the West, organ-isers are billing the Davosmeet as “A call for responsiveand responsible leadership”,and top business executivesagree that they must not ap-pear oblivious to the anger ofordinary people.

A World Economic Forumstudy said that within ad-vanced economies, medianper capita income fell on av-erage 2.4% over the past fiveyears, helping to explain whydisafection is so high acrossthe West.

And the scale of the chasmbetween the richest andpoorest was laid bare by anOxfam report that said eightmen own the same wealth asthe poorest half of theworld’s population.

Other research presentedby the consultancy Edelmanfound public confidence ininstitutions including in gov-ernments, business, the me-dia and NGOs slumpingacross the rich world. — AFP

It needs to be made more inclusive, global institutions are inadequate, says Chinese President

In Davos, Xi defends globalisation

REFORM PUSH: Swiss Confederation President Doris Leuthard greets China’s President Xi Jinpingas they launch the Swiss-Sino year of tourism on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the 47th annualmeeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. — PHOTO: AP

LONDON: Much about BritishPrime Minister TheresaMay’s keenly anticipatedBrexit speech on Tuesday —delivered in the same room inwhich Margaret Thatcherpledged nearly three decadesago to make a “success of thesingle market” — had alreadybeen briefed about in thedays prior to the speech. Stillthere was great pressure onthe Prime Minister on manycounts: not only was she ex-pected to ofer the clarity thatthe public, markets, busi-nesses, and EU leaderssought about the shape anddirection of Brexit, but thespeech also needed to satisfythe staunch Euroscepticswithin her own party.

As someone who hadbacked the Remain camp inthe run-up to the referen-dum, the pressure has re-mained on Ms. May to showof her “Brexit” credentials. Itis thought to be one of thereasons behind her toughrhetoric on EU membershipin the past few months.

As anticipated, while shy-ing away from the labels of“soft” and “hard” Brexit, Ms.May signalled that her gov-ernment would indeed bepushing for a clean break.

“What I am proposing can-not mean membership of thesingle market,” she told thosegathered. “That agreementmay take in elements of cur-rent single market arrange-ments in certain areas — onthe export of cars and lorriesfor example, or the freedomto provide financial servicesacross national borders — asit makes no sense to startagain from scratch when Bri-tain and the remaining mem-ber states have adhered to thesame rules for so manyyears.”

She also gave the clearestsignal yet that the govern-ment intended to leave thecustoms union — althoughpotentially remaining a “sig-natory to elements of it”.

She was conciliatory at

points. “We are leaving theEU, but we are not leavingEurope,” she said, though thespeech ended on a distinctlydefiant tone, as Ms. Maywarned of the “calamitousself harm” that the EU woulddo itself should it listen to the“voices calling for a punitivedeal that punishes Britain”.“If we were excluded fromaccessing the single market— we would be free tochange the basis of Britain’seconomic model,” she said, alikely reference to commentsfellow members of her gov-ernment had made aboutlowering tax rates in a bid toattract more internationalbusiness in the wake ofBrexit.

Parliament to vote

In one of the most signific-ant concessions so far made,she said Parliament wouldnow get a vote on the finaldeal before it was implemen-ted though it’s notable thatshe declined when ques-tioned further by journaliststo confirm whether thiswould be a binding vote thatcould potentially block thedeal.

The speech is of course

significant to India and the800-odd Indian companieswith European headquartersin London. While this weekthe new Indian High Com-missioner to London said hesaw Brexit as more of an “op-portunity”, Indian compan-ies have traditionally viewedBritain as their main gatewayto Europe, and in anticipa-tion of a potential hardBrexit, had begun to obtainthe necessary licences to op-erate in the region.

Ms. May’s emphasis on im-migration controls — thoughfocused on EU citizens dur-ing the speech — was alsosignificant, signalling thatthe toughening of overall im-migration policy is unlikelyto end any time soon. Ms.May said that while Britainhoped to continue to attractthe “brightest and best towork or study in Britain”, theprocess had to be managedproperly “so that our immig-ration system serves the na-tional interest”.

The Prime Minister alsohighlighted Britain’s eager-ness to forge relations withnations beyond the EU,pointing to India, along withNew Zealand and Australiaas countries on which discus-sions on future trade ties hadalready commenced. “It isclear that the U.K. needs toincrease significantly itstrade with the fastest grow-ing export markets in theworld,” she said.

In short, Ms. May certainlydelivered greater clarity onBritain’s negotiating stance— at least as much as she saysshe is willing to say withoutcompromising the U.K.’s ne-gotiating stance.

However, at the end of theday with its highly optimisticoutlook — aiming to endfreedom of movement acrossthe EU and maintaining atough line on immigration,while negotiating beneficialfree trade deals globally —the speech’s real test will beits reception by governmentsin the EU and across theworld.

VIDYA RAM

A demonstrator burning aEuropean Unionflag inLondon.— FILE PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Theresa May ofers clarityon Brexit, few surprises too

NEWS ANALYSIS

MAIDUGURI (NIGERIA): A NigerianAir Force fighter jet on a mis-sion against Boko Haram ex-tremists mistakenly bombeda refugee camp on Tuesday,killing more than 100refugees and wounding aidworkers, a Borno State oi-cial said.

A Red Cross worker said20 volunteers with the aidgroup had been killed.

Military commander Maj.Gen. Lucky Irabor con-firmed the accidental bom-bardment in northeast Rann,near the border withCameroon.

This is believed to be thefirst time Nigeria’s military

has admitted to making sucha mistake. Among thewounded were two soldiersand Nigerians working forDoctors Without Bordersand the International Com-mittee of the Red Cross, Gen.Irabor said.

An ICRC employee toldthe AP that 20 Red Cross vo-lunteers were among thedead.

Doctors Without Borderssaid its team based in Rannhad counted 50 bodies andtreated 120 wounded. Astatement from spokesmanEtienne l’Hermitte urged au-thorities to facilitate landand air evacuations. — AP

Nigeria: 100 feared deadas Army bombs camp

SYDNEY: The deep-sea searchfor missing Malaysia Airlinesflight MH370 ended on Tues-day without any trace beingfound of the plane that van-ished in 2014 with 239 peopleon board, the three countriesinvolved in the search said.

The location of FlightMH370 has become one ofthe world’s greatest aviationmysteries since the plane, aBoeing 777, disappeared enroute to Beijing from theMalaysian capital of KualaLumpur.

“Despite every efort usingthe best science available ...

the search has not been ableto locate the aircraft,” Malay-sian, Australian and Chineseauthorities said in a state-ment. “The decision to sus-pend the underwater searchhas not been taken lightly norwithout sadness.”

The last search vessel leftthe area on Tuesday, the

three countries said, afterscouring the 120,000-sq.-kmarea of the Indian Ocean seafloor that has been the focusof the almost-three-yearsearch. Malaysia, Australiaand China agreed in July tosuspend the $145 millionsearch if the plane was notfound, or if new evidencethat might ofer a clue as to itswhereabouts was not un-covered once that area hadbeen checked. A next-of-kinsupport group called Voice370 said in a statement invest-igators could not leave thematter unsolved. — Reuters

Hunt for MH370 ends, mysterybehind its disappearance stays

Malaysia, Australiaand China had agreedin July to suspendthe search if no newevidence was found

BEIJING: A top adviser of Don-ald Trump’s transition team,on a visit to China, revealedthat the U.S. President-electhad declined the Dalai Lama’srequest for a meeting, sig-nalling the new administra-tion’s openness to a policy re-view on Tibet.

The Chinese languagewebsite mingpao.com repor-ted that in an interview withChina Central Television(CCTV), Michael Pillsburysaid the Dalai Lama had onceexpressed his wish to meetMr. Trump, but this wasturned down. However, Mr.Pillsbury, who was in Chinalast week to participate in thePangoal Think Tank forumearlier in the month, insistedthat he was not a representat-ive of the Trump administra-tion in-waiting.

Any shift in U.S. positionon the Dalai Lama is bound tohave a downstream impact on

India, which hosts theTibetan leader. Last month,the Chinese Foreign Ministryhad expressed its “strong op-position” to the Dalai Lama’smeeting with PresidentPranab Mukherjee at aRashtrapati Bhavan function.

Position on Arunachal

In an article in NationalInterest, published on the eveof his arrival at the forum, Mr.Pillsbury said one of China’slong-standing demands is aban on White House meet-ings with the Dalai Lama. Healso pointed out that Mr.Trump’s position on thestatus of Arunachal Pradesh,and arms sales to India,would be of major concern toChina.

“China claims ArunachalPradesh... Indians have beenengaged recently in a militarybuild-up to protect thisprovince. They have askedother countries to supporttheir claim to the territory. So

far, the United States has nottaken a position, despitesubtle advances from IndianPrime Minister [Narendra]Modi.”

He added: “ ... WhetherPresident Trump supportsIndia’s claim to ArunachalPradesh and continues U.S.arms sales to India already re-quested by [Mr.] Modi, nowAmerica’s largest customerof weapons, is anotherChinese worry about thecoming year.”

U.S. Ambassador to IndiaRichard Verma had visitedArunachal Pradesh on Octo-ber 21 to attend a three-daylocal festival in Tawang,drawing strong criticismfrom China.

The website mingpao.counderscored that during hisstay in China, Mr. Pillsburyalso disclosed that Indiawants the Trump-administra-tion to acknowledge Ar-unachal Pradesh as part of In-dian territory.

ATUL ANEJA

‘Trump has declined DalaiLama’s request for a meeting’

LONDON: India’s new HighCommissioner in the U.K.has urged both governmentsto work together to tackle theissue of visas for studentsand IT professionals, andthat Brexit presented oppor-tunities to Indian companies.

Speaking on Mondayevening, ahead of PrimeMinster Theresa May’sBrexit speech, YashvardhanKumar Sinha, who was ap-pointed as High Commis-sioner last year, pointed tothe need to work on bothareas, at a time of “very goodeconomic engagementbetween the two countries”,which were set to be furtherenhanced following Ms.May’s visit to India lastNovember.

“Of course, Brexit is a chal-lenge but I see it more as anopportunity. Indian compan-ies and Indian businesses arelooking forward to engagingmore closely with their Brit-

ish counterparts,” he told thegathering of Indian and U.K.media at India House here.

However, he highlightedthe falling number of Indianstudents in the U.K. “In thefield of education, we have abit of a problem,” he said,contrasting the situationwith other countries, includ-ing the U.S., Australia, Ger-many and France. “They areactively going on to cam-puses in India and trying toattract students there,” hesaid.

Attracting students

“There is something goingwrong here because the U.K.has obviously been the firstpreference for Indian stu-dents. We need to see howwe can ensure that the U.K.gets or attracts good stu-dents from India. Indian stu-dents are doing extremelywell wherever they go. Weneed to sort out the issue ofvisas and this is where bothgovernments are talking and

engaging with each other.” Mr. Sinha also highlighted

the position of Indian IT pro-fessionals. “In Europe, theU.K. is again our first port ofcall and I think for us it’s veryimportant our IT profession-als can come here and goback. They contribute im-mensely not only to the localeconomy, but the global eco-nomy, which is what they aredoing in Silicon Valley and

the rest of the world. It’s veryimportant that both coun-tries engage in a manner be-neficial for both India andthe U.K.”

Fall in student numbers

The High Commissioner’scomments come as figureslast week showed a dramaticfall in the number of studentsfrom India. According to theHigher Education StatisticsAgency, the numbers fell to16,745 in 2015-16 from 29,900in 2011-12.

While there is no oicialcap on international stu-dents, a combination of acrackdown on education in-stitutions, and a tightening ofthe visa regime are thoughtto blame.

Critics are also concernedthat the inclusion of studentsin the migrant numbers, al-though they are only tempor-ary visitors, has meant theyhave been used to help meetgovernment migration tar-gets.

VIDYA RAM

Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha,India’s High Commissionerto the U.K. — FILE PHOTO

India’s new envoy in U.K. pushes for action on student, IT visas

MOSCOW: Russian PresidentVladimir Putin on Tuesdayaccused the outgoing U.S.administration of trying toundermine President-electDonald Trump by spreadingfake allegations.

Mr. Putin, speaking at anews conference, describeda dossier on Mr. Trump aspart of eforts by PresidentBarack Obama’s administra-tion to “undermine the legit-imacy of the President-elect”despite his “convincing” vic-tory. In his first public com-ments since the dossier waspublished last week, Mr.Putin rubbished the idea thatRussian secret services spiedon Mr. Trump during his 2013visit to Moscow for the MissUniverse final.

“Trump when he came toMoscow... wasn’t any kind ofpolitical figure, we didn’teven know of his politicalambitions,” he said, respond-ing to a journalist’s questionat a news conference. — AFP

Putin scofs at allegations in dossier

CMYK

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BUSINESS | 15THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

SENSEX

17-01-2017 27,235

16-01-2017 27,28853points

GOLD

17-01-2017 29,650

16-01-2017 29,500150₨/10gms

RUPEE

17-01-2017 67.95

16-01-2017 68.100.15₨/$

BRENT OIL

17-01-2017 55.95

16-01-2017 55.360.59$/bbl

Government must reduce the opportunity

and incentives for unaccounted transactions

D S Rawat, secretary general, Assocham

KOLKATA: The Securities andExchange Board of Indiachief U.K. Sinha said that itwas too early to analysewhether the large outflow offoreign funds could be linkedto the demonetisation move.

Mr. Sinha had said thatbetween October andDecember, 2016, about $11billion of foreign portfolioinvestments went out of In-dia. “ This is no small amount... earlier the market and therupee would have sunk, butnow they have acquired in-herent strength.”

The SEBI chief said it wastoo early to analyse whetherthis was due to demonetisa-tion as this (the funds out-flow) had happened at a timewhen many across the worldpinned hopes on the U.S. get-ting on to a high-growth tra-jectory (coinciding withDonald Trump winning theelections). “Many felt thatthe dollar would strengthenand so money went there,”he said, while addressingmembers of the BharatChamber of Commerce here.

On the IMF revising In-dia’s 2016 growth figures, hesaid that the fund had alsosaid that growth rates wouldimprove by 2017 and Indiawould catch up with Chinanext year as the fastest-grow-ing emerging economy.

To a question on regionalstock exchanges, he said thatthey had become obsoleteand were bound to fail.

Guidelines had beenframed for their exit andmany including the MadrasStock Exchange had exited.SEBI was unable to give anyspecial dispensation for theCalcutta Stock Exchange, Mr.Sinha added.

The eastern region hadseen a high incidence ofponzi schemes and a bill totighten relevant regulationswas in the pipeline, he said.

Too early to judgeforeign fundoutflows: SinhaSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI: Asia’s oldest stockexchange, BSE, will soon be-come the first equity boursein the country to go public.

The initial public ofer(IPO) of the exchange willopen on January 23 wherein atotal of 1.54 crore equityshares would be ofered tothe public in the price bandof between ₨805 and ₨806.

The ofer size is almost₨1,244 crore at the upper endof the price band.

The ofering will allow in-dividuals and institutions toown a slice of the exchangethat was established on July9, 1875.

Currently, Multi Com-modity Exchange of India(MCX) is the only listed en-tity in the exchange space.Meanwhile, the NationalStock Exchange (NSE) is alsoin the process of goingpublic.

According to the IPO pro-spectus filed by BSE, morethan 300 entities — individu-als, brokerages, institutionalinvestors, exchanges — areselling their shares as part ofthe BSE IPO.

Since the IPO is an oferfor sale by existing share-holders, the exchange willnot receive any proceedsfrom the share sale.

Singapore Exchange’s exit

Singapore Exchange, alongwith some of the other topshareholders like AtticusMauritius, Caldwell IndiaHoldings Inc, Acacia BanyanPartners and GKFF Venturesplan to sell their shares in theforthcoming public oferingof the exchange.

According to the red her-ring prospectus of the ex-

change, Singapore Exchange,which currently owns 4.67%stake in BSE, will be com-pletely exiting from the In-dian bourse. Quantum (M)and Atticus Mauritius willalso sell their entire stake inthe bourse, while many otherentities would partly dilutetheir holdings.

Deutsche Boerse to stay

Both Quantum (M) andAtticus Mauritius have 3.7%stake each in BSE, as per theIPO document.

Among the top 10 share-holders of BSE, onlyDeutsche Boerse, with 4.75%stake, has decided against di-luting its holding in theexchange.

Domestic institutional in-vestors State Bank of India(SBI) and Life InsuranceCorporation of India (LIC)have chosen not to sell any

shares at the IPO. While SBIhas a stake of 4.75% in theBSE, LIC owns 4.68%.

The exchange has beenmaintaining a steady bot-tomline over the yearsthough it has been facing stifcompetition from its largerrival NSE, which has a nearmonopoly in the equity de-rivatives segment and a dom-inant position in the equitiesspace.

For the financial yearended March 31, 2016, BSE re-ported a net profit of ₨159.15crore. In FY15 and FY14, thenet profit was ₨151.35 croreand ₨159.44 crore,respectively.

For the public issue, the ex-change has brought on boardleading investment bankers,including Nomura, AxisCapital, Edelweiss, SBI Cap-ital Markets and Motilal Os-wal Investment.

The IPO will close for sub-scription on January 25.

More than 5,500 compan-ies are listed on the BSE, ac-cording to its website. Theircombined market capitalisa-tion as of September 2015was $1.64 trillion.

A total of 1.54 crore shares will be offered to the public

Existing BSE investorsto net ₨1,244 cr. in IPOSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

EXCHANGE OFFER: Nayan Mehta, CFO, BSE, and Ashish KumarChauhan, CEO, at the press conference. — PHOTO: PAUL NORONHA

Since the IPO is anoffer for sale by

existing shareholders,the exchange will notreceive any proceeds

MUMBAI: Reserve Bank of In-dia (RBI) Governor Urjit Pa-tel said the central bankwould not tolerate any actwhich lowered the esteem ofthe organisation after someof its employees were arres-ted by the Central Bureau ofInvestigation over charges ofassisting in illegal exchangeof withdrawn currency.

“I am confident that all ofus working together will riseto the occasion and face chal-lenges in a manner befittingthe reputation of this es-teemed organisation,” Dr. Pa-tel wrote in an email to RBIemployees — his first com-munication in the new yearto the RBI staf.

Dr. Patel took charge as thecentral bank governor inSeptember 2016 after his pre-

decessor Raghuram Rajandecided not to seek a secondterm. “Our recent engage-ment of handling specifiedbank notes (SBN) is a case inpoint.

“While on the subject, letme emphasise that one thingwe should all zealouslyguard is the integrity andreputation of our organisa-tion and any act belittling thesame should deserve zero

tolerance from all of us.”Following demonetisa-

tion, the RBI had opened awindow for exchange of ₨500and ₨1,000 notes which werewithdrawn. In December,CBI arrested a few employ-ees from RBI’s Bengaluru of-fice for illegal exchange ofcurrency worth over ₨3crore. The investigativeagency alleged that RBI em-ployees who were deployedfor the exchange of old notes,gave away new notes withoutfollowing the rules.

Question of autonomy

Following the demonetisa-tion drive, the central bankfaced flak from several quar-ters over poor handling ofthe issue.

Some former centralbankers have also raised theissue of RBI’s autonomy be-

ing compromised over thedemonetisation move. Dr.Patel, however, did not speakabout these contentious is-sues in the emailed letter, acopy of which has been re-viewed by The Hindu.

The RBI chief said thecentral bank continued its ef-forts at restoring macroeco-nomic stability and that itspolicy actions had yieldedpositive results.

“During the year gone by,we have continued our ef-forts at restoring macroeco-nomic stability in the eco-nomy. While the policyactions have already shownpositive efects, neverthe-less, they are work in pro-gress and need to be fine-tuned constantly to keeppace with the challengingenvironment,” the Governorwrote in his email.

‘Zero tolerance for acts lowering RBI esteem’ MANOJIT SAHA

Urjit Patel

NEW DELHI: In a bid to soothethe nerves of foreign portfo-lio investors spooked by afresh tax burden on indirecttransfers mooted by theCentral Board of DirectTaxes last month, the Fin-ance Ministry on Tuesdayput the tax departmentmissive in abeyance untilfurther notice.

The tax department circu-lar issued on December 21clarified that all foreign port-folio investors (FPIs) withmore than 50% of their assetsin India and owning over 5 %stake in any listed entitieswould incur tax under In-dia’s indirect transferprovisions.

This tax would be levied inaddition to the securitiestransaction tax and short-term capital gains tax andwould hurt India-dedicated

global investment vehiclesmore than, say an emergingmarkets fund that has lessthan 50% exposure to the In-dian market.

“After the issue of theaforementioned circular,representations have beenreceived from various FPIs,FIIs, venture capital fundsand other stakeholders,” theFinance Ministry said in astatement Tuesday, seekingto calm investor anxietyahead of the Union Budget.

“The stakeholders havepresented their concernsstating that the circular doesnot address the issue of pos-sible multiple taxation of thesame income.

The representations madeby the stakeholders are cur-rently under considerationand examination. Pending adecision in the matter, theoperation of the above men-tioned circular is kept in

abeyance for the time being.”Tejas Desai, Partner, Tax &

Regulatory Services at EYIndia said: “This was verymuch the need of the hour.The interpretation of the lawcanvassed by the circularwas giving rise to unreason-able and unacceptable out-comes for foreign funds andglobal investors.”

The CBDT circular hadcreated widespread concernamong the FPI community,said Suresh Swamy, Partner –Financial Services Tax atPwC. “Hopefully, an appro-priate amendment to Section9(1)(i) in the upcomingbudget will put the whole is-sue of ofshore transfer torest for investors investing inan FPI,” he said.

FPIs were net buyers at₨20,568 crore in calendaryear 2016. FPIs have been netsellers at ₨4,250 crore so farin January.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Finance Ministry suspends Dec. 21tax circular on indirect transfers

BENGALURU: Healthcare tech-nology start-up Practo said ithad raised $55 million (₨374crore) in a funding round ledby Chinese technology giantTencent.

New investors ru-Net, RSIFund and Thrive Capital alsoparticipated in this roundalong with existing investorslike Capital G (formerlyGoogle Capital) and Belgianinvestment firm Sofina.

Practo said it would usethe funds to further build anintegrated platform to un-lock value for the entirehealthcare ecosystem. It willalso scale up its global opera-tions. “2017 will be the yearour integrated healthcareplatform comes to life andwe will partner with serviceproviders to build solutionswith Practo,” said ShashankN.D., Founder, Practo.

Practo raises $55 million fromTencent, othersSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

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BUSINESS16 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

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SNIPPETS

NEW DELHI: Tata Motors on Tuesday appointed Tata Sons chairman-designate N. Chandrasekaran as its chairman with immediate effect. In aregulatory filing, the company said “the Board of Directors have todayappointed Natarajan Chandrasekaran as additional director andchairman of the board with immediate effect.” The appointment comeswithin a week of Tata Sons announcing Mr.Chandrasekaran as itsexecutive chairman, capping two months of a bitter boardroom battlethat followed the unceremonious sacking of Cyrus Mistry and letting ofbad blood ever since. Popularly known as ‘Chandra’, the 54–year–oldwill take charge at the helm of $103–billion Tata Sons, the main holdingcompany of the conglomerate from February 21. — PTI

Chandrasekaran appointed Tata Motors chairman

LONDON: Rolls Royce has agreed to pay €671 million to settle bribery andcorruption charges brought by authorities in Britain, the U.S. and Brazil.A U.K. High Court judge will examine the deferred prosecutionagreement during a public hearing on Tuesday. The scandal involvedintermediaries in overseas markets, including Indonesia and China. RollsRoyce said the “voluntary agreements” will result in the suspension ofprosecution. But Transparency International’s U.K. Executive DirectorRobert Barrington says individuals should be prosecuted so that thecase serves as a deterrent to bribery. He says that “whether or not thissettlement is in the public interest, the key individuals responsible forcorrupt behaviour must not be allowed to evade justice.” —AP

Rolls Royce to pay €671 million on bribery claims

NEW DELHI: The Centre will not go in for ‘distress sale’ of three SAILsubsidiaries — Salem Steel Plant, Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel andChandrapur Ferro-Alloy — and rather look for a management that willturn around the units, a top official said. “None of these plants we willlike to put as a distress sale. We will like them to come into profit and...better management,” Steel Secretary Aruna Sharma told PTI. Earlier, thegovernment approved strategic disinvestment of SAIL units atBhadrawati, Salem and Durgapur.“When I am talking of making theshare of the government 49 %, (it) is only when we get a goodmanagement... If not, there is no point,” she said. — PTI

No ‘distress sale’ of SAIL units: Steel Secretary

COIMBATORE: Just three months into the new season (October 2016 -September 2017), cotton prices have crossed ₨41,000. a candy in thelast few days. In the 2015-2016 season, the prices during January werebetween ₨33,500 and ₨34,000 a candy. In the first week of November2016, the price was about ₨38,000 a candy. Prices rose for a couple ofreasons, according to J. Thulasidharan, President, Indian CottonFederation. Some global companies covered six lakh to seven lakh balesof cotton in November mainly for exports. The Cotton Corporation ofIndia also paid a slightly higher price compared to the market price.After demonetisation, farmers cut the quantity of cotton bought as mostpurchases were made in cash. — M. Soundariya Preetha

Cotton prices increase on export demand

NEW DELHI: The government is considering allowing 100 % FDI throughautomatic route in single brand retail. According to sources, there is aproposal to allow 100 % FDI in single brand retail sector “throughautomatic route” with certain conditions. Currently, FDI up to 49 % ispermitted under the automatic route but beyond that limit,government’s nod is required. Foreign investment is allowed subject tocertain conditions, which require products to be of a ‘single brand’ onlyand to be sold under the same brand globally. For proposals involvingFDI beyond 51 %, it is mandatory to source 30 % of the value of goodspurchased from India, preferably MSMEs. — PTI

Centre mulls easing FDI norm for single brand retail

Bullion RatesJanuary 17 rates in rupees with previous rates in brackets

Chennai

Bar Silver (1 kg) 41,625 (41,340)

Retail (1 g) 44.50 (44.20)

24 ct gold (10 g) 29,690 (29,550)

22 ct gold (1 g) 2,836 (2,823)

Delhi

Silver 41,400 (41,300)

Standard Gold 29,650 (29,500)

Sovereign 24,300 (24,300)

Exchange RatesIndicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m on January 17

TT TT

Currencies Buying Selling

U.S. Dollar 67.75 68.07

Euro 72.53 72.89

Pound Sterling 82.47 82.87

Jap Yen (100 Units) 60.06 60.34

Chinese Yuan 9.88 9.93

Swiss Franc 67.69 68.01

Singapore Dollar 47.75 47.98

Australian Dollar 51.18 51.43

Canadian Dollar 51.97 52.22

Swedish Kroner 7.62 7.66

Danish Kroner 9.75 9.80

New Zealand Dollar 48.73 48.96

Hongkong Dollar 8.74 8.78

Malaysian Ringgit 15.17 15.28

Kuwaiti Dinar 220.68 223.18

UAE Dirham 18.45 18.54

Bahraini Dinar 179.66 180.60

Qatari Riyal 18.66 18.67

Saudi Riyal 18.12 18.13

Omani Riyal 175.97 176.90

Source:Indian Bank

NEW DELHI: The Airports Au-thority of India (AAI) is us-ing social media platformWhatsApp for issuing direct-ives to airports for improv-ing customer service by re-ducing queueing time,improving airport facilitiesand simplifying procedures,according to a top oicial.

“A WhatsApp group hasbeen formed where daily up-dates are shared and urgentissues are resolved in real-time. This has also helped inbuilding engagement at theground level and enables air-ports to share their bestpractices,” said GuruprasadMohapatra, Chairman, AAI.

Project DISHA

The AAI unveiled ProjectDISHA – Driving Improve-ment in Service and Hospit-ality at Airports – last year ina bid to improve customer

service. It was aimed at im-proving queueing time andconvenience at all customertouch points, improving air-port facilities such as toilets,seating areas, simplify cus-tomer flows, improving nav-igation and ofering best andafordable food and bever-ages, among others.

The project is being imple-mented at 10 airports – Kolk-

ata, Chennai, Lucknow,Varanasi, Bhubaneswar,Pune, Goa, Guwahati, Coim-batore andThiruvananthapuram.

“Since the project is con-fined to only 10 participatingairports and other airportscan also follow some of thepractices, we have formed agroup of WhatsApp with allairport directors, AAI board

members, executive direct-ors and other oicers whereviews are constantly ex-changed and any operationalnecessity of airports isshared,” said Mr. Mohapatra.

Feedback, directions

The Chairman makes ob-servations on the feedbackand initiatives shared by air-ports and also issues direc-tions on the group.

“For instance, there werecomplaints related to brokensoap dispenser at an airportand the Chairman sought im-mediate intervention of thatairport director,” said an AAIoicial on condition ofanonymity

Another oicial said thedirective to put up banners atseveral airports asking pas-sengers not to carry on boardold ₨500 and ₨1,000 notesfrom December 31 was is-sued through the WhatsAppgroup as well.

AAI uses WhatsApp to cut airport queues SOMESH JHA

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT: Airports Authority of India is using thesocial media platform to improve customer service. — FILE PHOTO

LONDON: British American To-bacco has agreed a $49.4 bil-lion takeover of U.S. rivalReynolds American Inc, cre-ating the world's biggest lis-ted tobacco company after itincreased an earlier ofer bymore than $2 billion.

BAT, which already owned42% of Reynolds, willpay$29.44 in cash and 0.5260BAT shares for each Reyn-olds share, it said, a 26%premium over the price ofthe stock on October 20, theday before BAT’s first oferwas made public.

Reynolds, the maker ofCamel and Newport cigar-ettes, rejected the approach amonth later, according tosources, although the twosides remained in talks.

The deal, which values thewhole of Reynolds at around$86 billion, will mark the re-turn of BAT to the lucrativeand highly regulated U.S.market after a 12-year ab-sence, making it the only to-bacco giant with a leadingpresence in American andinternational markets.

BAT Chief Executive Nic-andro Durante said bringingthe two companies togetherwould create a market leader

with brands including New-port, Lucky Strike, Cameland Pall Mall.

“It will create a stronger,global tobacco and NGP(next generation products)business with direct accessfor our products across themost attractive markets inthe world,” he said. Analystshave said the takeover couldspark further deals as PhilipMorris International and Ja-pan Tobacco jostle for mar-ket share in an industry thatis shrinking in the West.

Durante said the com-bined group would have thelargest global footprint ofany tobacco group, with

strong positions in both fast-growing emerging marketsand lucrative Westerncountries.

RBC Capital Markets saidassuming BAT was able toachieve the annual cost sav-ings of “at least $400 million”it has targeted, the dealwould be financially neutralfor BAT shares.

“... [The deal] makes sensestrategically and operation-ally and just about washes itsface financially,” RBC Cap-ital said. “That said, a value-neutral acquisition doeslittle to alter our view thatthe shares are already reas-onably valued.” — Reuters

DEEP DRAG: The deal values U.S. company Reynolds at about$86 billion. — FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

BAT to buy Reynolds for $49 billion

NEW DELHI: India’s top industrybodies are attempting tobuild a coalition with coun-terparts in other nationswith similar interests to givea fillip to the country’s pro-posal for a Trade Facilitationin Services (TFS) Agree-ment at the World Trade Or-ganisation (WTO)-level.

The proposed TFS pact,among other things, aims tomake it easier for profession-als and skilled workers tomove across borders forshort-term work, as well asensure portability of theirsocial securitycontributions.

Two leading industry bod-ies — CII and FICCI — willnext month hold a globalseminar in Delhi and Mum-bai on the topic.

“In February, the CII willbe organising the seminar inMumbai, while the FICCIwill hold a similar one inDelhi,” a senior executive inone of the industry bodiessaid.

“We are working with the(India’s) Commerce Min-istry (the nodal governmentagency for WTO-relatedmatters) on this. The dateswill be finalised soon,” an-other trade body oicial said.These seminars will be fol-lowed up by a major ‘work-shop’ in March on the pro-posed TFS pact to ensuregreater support and particip-ation from Indian service in-dustries in the entireprocess.

According to a ‘commu-nication’ from India to theWTO in November 2016,“while services occupy a sig-nificant and growing shareof domestic and interna-tional transactions, tradeflows in services still remainsubject to numerous borderand behind-the-border bar-riers as well as proceduralbottlenecks.

“These impediments par-ticularly limit the benefits oftrade in services for smalland medium enterprises aswell as small exportersworldwide.”

Eliminating bottlenecks

India said the TFS Agree-ment will address the key is-sues pertinent to facilitatingservices trade, such as trans-parency, streamlining pro-cedures, and eliminatingbottlenecks.

“In brief, the TFS Agree-ment is aimed at ensuringthat the market accessarising out of existing as wellas future liberalisation com-mitments is efective andmeaningful,” it added.

The seminars — being or-ganised with the backing ofthe commerce ministry —will comprise discussions onIndia's TFS paper submittedto the WTO. They will alsosensitise industries in India

and in other countries on theimportance of trade facilita-tion measures to increaseglobal services trade, and theefectiveness of coalitions toachieve the objectives.

While India’s industrybodies have begun attemptsto form a global coalition onservices, the Centre is also intalks with other countries oncoalition building.

India’s proposal for a TFSagreement was welcomed byWTO Director-GeneralRoberto Azevêdo and tradeministers from many WTO-member nations.

The importance of coali-tion building has been ac-knowledged by the WTOwhen it stated that, “coali-tions give developing coun-tries a stronger voice in ne-gotiations. The resultingagreements mean that allcountries, including themost powerful, have to playby the rules.

“The rule of law replacesmight-makes-right. A num-ber of countries have formedcoalitions in the WTO.These groups often speakwith one voice using a singlecoordinator or negotiatingteam,” the WTO said.

Proposed accord to ease travel across borders for work

ARUN S

Industry seeks foreignpartners for trade pact

FACILITATING SERVICES: CII and FICCI will hold seminars and aworkshop to build support for the TFS agreement. — FILE PHOTO

While industry seeksco-operation, theCentre is also in talkswith other countriesto build a coalition

KOLKATA: United Bank of Indiais keen to expand its pres-ence in the western and thecentral parts of the country,UBI Managing Director &Chief Executive OicerPawan Bajaj said.

He said that banking in-dustry expected to see bettertimes from the June quarternext fiscal.

“Currently 60% of ourbranches are in the east andthe north-east; we are keento expand into other re-gions,” he said adding thatthe bank was eyeing a majorbranch expansion in 2017-18and had already surveyed200 branches. He was ad-dressing the members of theMCC Chamber of Com-merce & Industry.

“Of these, 100 are likely tobe in this region” he said. Inthe current fiscal, UBI plansto open 51 branches, ofwhich, about 15 have alreadybeen opened.

On the banking industry,he commented that bankswere flush with funds buthave not been able to find ad-equate avenues to deploythem. “It is servicing MSMEand retail portfolios .. how-ever their funds require-ments are not huge.” Theroads sector, he said, espe-cially the BOT projects, havebeen “looking good forsometime now.”

Mr. Bajaj said of the fundsthat had been taken out of thesystem through the demon-etisation of high-value cur-rency notes, 30% had beenwithdrawn as cash in theform of new currencies. Theremaining 70% is with thebanks in current and savingsaccounts (CASA), he said.“Cost of deposits has been inthe range of 3.5% to 3.75%.”

“The banking industry ex-pects to see ‘better times’from the June quarter, nextfiscal and credit oftake mayexpand from March 2017,”Mr. Bajaj said, adding “theprovisioning for sticky assetsis almost over.”

United Bankplans to expandfootprint in west,central IndiaSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: India’s domestic airpassenger traic grew 23.18%to about 10 crore in 2016compared with the previousyear, data released by theDirectorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) on Tues-day showed.

In 2016, India’s air traicstood at 9.98 crore passen-gers compared with 8.19crore in 2015 which had seena 21% growth.

“Almost one crore passen-gers in December and tencrore in 2016. Indian Aviationis on a roll. May we continueto have safe and vibrantskies,” Civil Aviation Minis-ter Ashok Gajapathi Rajusaid on micro-blogging web-site Twitter, adding that de-monetisation had not im-pacted air travel withDecember witnessing thehighest number of passen-gers in a month.

Low-cost airline IndiGocontinued to dominate in2016 with a 2.6% increase inits market share to 39.3%. In2016, 63.8% of all passengersflew using low-cost airlines,such as IndiGo, SpiceJet andGoAir, up from 59.7% in 2015.

The passenger share offull-service airlines Air In-dia, Jet Airways and GoAirdeclined in 2016.

SpiceJet’s passenger sharerose to 12.7% from 11.6% ayear ago. New airlines alsosaw a rise in their marketshare with Vistara carrying2.5% of the total passengersand AirAsia, 2.4%.

Civil aviation secretaryR.N. Choubey had told The

Hindu last year that India has35 crore middle-class cit-izens but the number of tick-ets sold was only eight crore.The government expects thenumber of tickets sold to goup to 30 crore by 2022, hesaid.

A dip in aviation turbinefuel prices by 8% on an aver-age in 2016 allowed airlinesto ofer fares that were lowerby about 14%. Aviation tur-bine fuel cost contributesabout 40% of the total cost ofthe operations of airlines.

Low-cost airline SpiceJethad the highest average loadfactor with the airline man-aging to fill up 92.66% of itsseats throughout the year.This was followed by GoAir(87.22%), IndiGo (84.9%),AirAsia (84.56%), Jet Air-ways (81.03%), Air India(79.01%) and Vistara(75.51%).

SpiceJet also reported thehighest on-time perform-ance in December (70%).Ac-cording to CAPA, India’s do-mestic market is on track tosurpass 10 crore passengersin 2016-17 and India willlikely overtake Japan this fin-ancial year to become thethird largest domestic mar-ket behind the U.S. andChina.

India will witness the thirdconsecutive year of domesticgrowth above 20% in 2017-18and the growth could be ashigh as 25%, CAPA said in itsreport titled Aviation Out-look for 2017-18.

BENIGN PRICES: A dip in aviation fuel prices by 8% in 2016allowed airlines to lower fares by about 14%. — FILE PHOTO

Domestic air passengertraic grew 23% in 2016SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

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� �

Fan-girl One would be Fernando Torres, the soccer star. I was always a big fan of his.That’s one of the only people I’ve ever gotten star-struck of. And actor JakeGyllenhall. — Caroline Wozniacki when asked whom she would like to get a selfie with

Smashing victory Sometimes it’s good to let it out and I started to play mybest tennis again after that in the fourth set — Alexander Zverev reveals how taking it out on a racquet

helped, in his first-round match against Robin Haase

About a hundred years ago, Pablo Picasso exhib-ited for the first time his painting Les Demois-elles d’Avignon. It was soon hailed as a seminalwork of modern art. It built on the existing andextended the notion of what was possible.

To compare a six hit by another modern mas-ter to a work of art might be stretching it, but that shot by ViratKohli in the Pune one-day international can be seen as cricket’sLes Demoiselles. Post-modern is here.

We have seen manifestations of modernity before. T20 hasbrought into our consciousness such innovations as the dils-coop, the uppercut, the switch hit and the de Villiers specials.The 360-degree batsman is a familiar figure, as he hits the ball tountenanted areas in the field guided not so much by inventivefootwork as by speed of thought and hands. The traditionalcoach might say, “How terrible, look where your feet are,” towhich the modern batsman would reply, “Yes, but look wherethe ball has gone.”

Not many innovations have contributed to the aesthetics ofthe game. The switch hit remains an ugly shot; the reversesweep is unlikely to inspirepoets.

Such strokes merely takeus on another route to run-making, but it is not themost scenic nor indeed theleast efortful.

Ranji’s leg glanceAround the turn of the

20th century, an Indian re-wrote the rules of batsman-ship by playing the legglance. Till then, if the ball came to the batsman on the of sidehe played it on the of side. That was the gentleman’s code. ButRanjitsinhji changed all that using supple wrists and a quick eyeto send the ball flying to fine leg. Suddenly, a whole new worldwas opened up.

Tom Hayward, one of the greats, wrote thus in his manual onthe game,Cricket: “We had got into a groove out of which thedaring of a revolutionary alone could move us. The IndianPrince has proven himself an innovator. He recognises noteaching which is not progressive, and frankly he has tilted, byhis play, at our stereotyped creations.”

If Ranji brought into the game an element from the outside,Kohli showed in Pune that existing techniques were suicientto take the game to another level. No codes need be broken. Hedemonstrated once again that there were still unexplored areasin classical batsmanship. And that the lazy cry that we hadexhausted everything it had to ofer was just that.

Extraordinary skillWatch that shot again. Chris Woakes bowls short, Kohli goes

back and for a split second, almost undetectable in real time,seems to be preparing to punch to cover. But it is a slowerdelivery, giving him just enough time to change his mind andswing it with an almost straight bat high over mid on. The extrabounce works to his advantage as he swivels on his backfoot,turns his hip around, takes the ball higher on the bat than hemight have liked to, but still strikes beautifully because he hasgot the timing right and his balance is perfect. That is ex-traordinary skill.

Look at the front foot as he finishes. It lands with the lightnessof a ballet dancer’s. There is no strain, no hurried repositioning;it is as if the batsman has merely allowed the energy to flowfrom his feet to his hands through his body and lost none of it inthe act of playing the shot. Excited commentators called it manythings: a short arm jab, hit with a straight bat wide of mid on, abackfoot punch. All true. And all horribly inadequate.

You can give some credit to the modern bats, some to themodern fitness regimen, some to that magic when even theworst of us are capable of one moment of genius, but above all itis a tribute to Kohli’s flair, self-confidence and game awareness.Made greater still by his sticking to the textbook. You will notfind this shot in any textbook, but you will find all the elementsthat went into it there: footwork, timing, straight bat, backfootplay, transfer of body weight.

As soon as Kohli hit that six I received a query on my phone:“How is that even possible?” The apparent impossibility ofgetting everything right in a split second adds to the enjoyment.Every time the journeyman player gets above himself, he onlyneeds to remember that shot to come down to earth.

Sometimes understanding extinguishes pleasure. Sometimesit is enough to say he did it. We saw it. It happened. Romanticpoets often spend a lifetime awaiting the insight that makesmeaning clear. Kohli may or may not believe that he can do itagain. But unlike the poets he is not going to let that rule his life.It is possible, and that’s enough.

Kohli has built on the existing and extended the notion ofwhat is possible with orthodox batsmanship while opening thedoor to the post-modern. Not an insignificant message to con-vey with one six.

The Kohli six and what itcould mean for cricket

BETWEEN WICKETS

It was a tribute toKohli’s flair, self-confidence andgame awarenessand made greaterby his sticking tothe textbook

SURESH MENON

Telecast scheduleAustralian Open: Sony Six & Sony Six HD, 1.30 p.m. & 5.30 a.m. (Thursday)PWL: Sony ESPN, 7 p.m.FA Cup: Sony ESPN & Sony ESPN HD, 1 a.m. (Thursday)NBA: Sony ESPN & Sony ESPN HD, 6.30 a.m. (Thursday)

CUTTACK: In this dusty townwhere history and modernitycoexist cheek-by-jowl, theBarabati Stadium holds a placeof pride.

On its lush green turf,Asirbad Behera, the formerOrissa Cricket Associationsecretary — he stepped downrecently following the Su-preme Court order on cricketreforms — sits authoritativelyon a chair overseeing the pre-parations for the second One-Day International between In-dia and England on Thursday.

“There is only a CEO work-ing after everybody (some 173members including oicials atthe district-level) steppeddown. Since people don’t havethe experience of hosting amatch at this level, I am look-ing after the preparations,”says Behera, surrounded by atleast 10 of his associates whoawait his instructions.

On paper, OCA CEO BidyutNayak and local MLA De-bashish Samantray, who wasmade organising committeechairman, are the people incharge of the preparations.

For all practical purposes,however, it is the 73-year-oldBehera, who had held oice for16 years, calling the shots. It

was his name that was printedon the tickets before it had tobe erased following protests.

The OCA, which seems todepend heavily on one indi-vidual, presents a case studyon the feasibility of imple-menting the Lodha Committeerecommendations in letterand spirit across all associ-ations throughout the country.

Schools, colleges and clubswere members with votingrights in the OCA, which had 11

vice-presidents and four joint-secretaries in the now-disban-ded dispensation.

Most of them are based inCuttack, and many may berendered ineligible if the one-district-one-vote policy is fol-lowed after a constitutionamendment to fall in line withthe Lodha Committeerecommendations.

When Behera is asked abouthow things would run in theOCA without experienced

hands, he says: “Let’s see whathappens in the Supreme Courton January 19. If the newpeople come, we are there tohelp them.”

The OCA does not have aStadium of its own — the Bara-bati Stadium was built by theGovernment through publiccontributions in 1958 — but itemploys at least 80 stafers. Itwas 16 years ago that the Stateproduced an internationalcricketer.

OCA tackles a conundrum ahead of ODI Y.B. SARANGI

PUNE: In the 35 One-Day Inter-nationals India has played athome since the start of 2013, ithas registered six 350-plusscores.

Add to that three more 300-plus scores and an old-timermight start to feel India is in-vincible at home in the 50-overformat. But the fact that two ofthese nine scores have come ina losing cause is a firm indic-ator of the changing nature ofthe game.

Two new balls. More field-ers inside the circle. And ofcourse bigger and heavierbats. All these reasons haveculminated in 350 becoming apar score, at least on the flatdecks in subcontinental condi-tions.

Jake Ball, who was Eng-land’s most successful bowleron Sunday, admitted that thebowlers’ role was quite limitedin ODIs now.

“The scores are going upand up. The average scoreskeep getting higher. When youplay on the flat pitches you areplaying on and the smallerboundaries as well, the barsare going to be set higher. It’sdiicult as a bowler, but we areworking on things and if youbowl a good ball and still gethit, you just have to put your

hands up and say ‘wellplayed’,” Ball said on Tuesday,after England’s last trainingsession before the entouragemoves to Cuttack forThursday’s second ODI.

He may be a newbie on theinternational circuit but Ballhas been a regular in Englishcounty cricket for six yearsnow. Asked if he would likeanything changed to restorethe balance between bat andball, Ball didn’t have to thinkmuch.

“I’ve got a lot in my head. It’sa diicult one because peoplefancy the ball going for a fourand six,” he said. “One thing

that comes to mind is four outof the circle is very tough, es-pecially when players are go-ing from ball one to the lastball. It’s diicult to block themout or set a Plan B.”

Restoring the balance of the

game has been a big challengefor the game’s governing body.It has tinkered with the rules inthe recent year. In a bid to givesomething more to the bowl-ers, in its last amendment, theICC had done away with theBatting Powerplay and al-lowed an additional fielder onthe boundary lines for the 10overs.

All these discussions takeyou back to M.S. Dhoni’s state-ment while leading the teamduring a high-scoring homeseries against Australia in2013.

“I think [the rules are] some-thing that we need to sit andthink about, if 350 is the new280 or 290 or 300,” Dhoni hadsaid.

“A few of the bowlers aredisappointed, they actuallyfeel it will be better of to put abowling machine there.”

Is the International CricketCouncil listening?

Bat has everything going for it, says Ball AMOL KARHADKAR

RUN RIOT: ODIs have become killing fields for bowlers, leavingfielders to help stop the bleeding. Alex Hales does his utmostin the first ODI. — PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK

NEW DELHI: The recent changesin the National junior selec-tion committee have led someoicials to seek more clarityon the course ahead for imple-menting the Lodha Committeerecommendations.

The removal of former Indiaof-spinner Aashish Kapoorand Amit Sharma was in ac-cordance with the Lodha pan-el’s instructions to reduce thecommittee to three members.The senior committee wasalso pruned to three, all Testplayers. But the junior com-mittee saw a First Class crick-eter (Rakesh Parikh) beingpreferred to a Test player (Ka-poor).

In this case, Parikh was re-tained, ostensibly, to maintaincontinuity in the committeesince Kapoor and Sharmawere included only lastSeptember.

Some oicials have ques-

tioned the presence of Parikh,who, it is learnt, stands dis-qualified to be an oice-bearerof either the State association(Baroda) or the Board as hehas completed a cumulativetenure of nine years.

A Baroda Cricket Associ-ation member wanted to knowif an oice-bearer with a cu-mulative tenure of more thannine years could perform anyrole related to the Board. It islearnt that Parikh cannot holdany post in the Board accord-ing to the Lodharecommendations.

Clarity is similarly beingsought in the Delhi and Dis-trict Cricket Association(DDCA). Former DDCAsports secretary Sunil Dev haswritten to the Lodha panel, de-manding elections. He haspointed out that the 24-mem-ber executive committee, elec-ted on Dec. 30, 2013, had com-pleted its term of three yearsand hence stood disqualified.

CRICKET

Panel pruning andtenure: clarity sought SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD: Elections to variousposts in the HyderabadCricket Association (HCA)were held on Tuesday with207 of the 216 registered votersexercising their franchise inthe presence of the RangaReddy court-appointed re-turning oicer K. RajeevReddy.

The candidates for the pres-ident’s post were G.Vivekanand, former MP andnow advisor to the State Gov-ernment, and former cricketerVidyut Jaisimha after formerIndia captain Mohd. Azharud-din’s nomination was rejected.

Violation

Former HCA president Ar-shad Ayub termed the elec-tions “illegal”.

“We are confident that thewhole process, which is ingross violation of the JusticeLodha panel recommenda-tions, would be declared nulland void on January 19,” saidAyub.

HCA electionsconducted

V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

MUMBAI: The three-membersenior National selectionpanel will soon have agreater responsibility thanmerely picking cricket teamsto represent India.

Once the Committee ofAdministrators (COA) startsto put in place the LodhaCommitteerecommendations, theselectors will recommendthe head coach and othersupport staf to the ApexCouncil.

The junior and women’sselectors will performsimilar roles. The threepanels will be known as‘Cricket Committees’.

According to the ‘reformsin cricket’ report, “The men’sselection committee shallselect the ... team forrepresentation in Tests,one-day internationals,Twenty20 and any other

format. This committee shallalso be responsible forvetting and selecting coachesand support staf(physiotherapists, trainers,therapists, analysts andmedics) for the respectiveteams, as well as providingevaluation reports of therespective teamperformances to the ApexCouncil on a quarterly basis.”

The Lodha Committee hasalso said that one of theCEO’s functions would be toappoint the team oicials.

With no permanentmanager in place, Rahul Johrimay be looking to appointone or recommend a name tothe COA.

The Apex Council,according to the new terms,“shall exercisesuperintendence over theCEO, the CricketCommittees and theStanding Committees in thedischarge of their duties

generally, and in particular,in accordance with anygeneral or special directionof the General Body, exceptfor the Governing Council ofthe IPL which is directlyaccountable to the GeneralBody.”

It will be a interesting tosee how the selectioncommittees go about thebusiness of finding thecoaching and support staf.Anil Kumble was chosen ashead coach last June for a12-month period following adecision by the then BCCIpresident Anurag Thakurand secretary Ajay Shirke.

A Cricket AdvisoryCommittee (CAC) —consisting of SachinTendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman andSourav Ganguly, andappointed by the late Boardpresident Jagmohan Dalmiya— was tasked withinterviewing candidates.

Selectors to be tasked with findingcoach and support staf G. VISWANATH

CUTTACK: There is a sense ofurgency at the BarabatiStadium. The organisersare trying their best toensure the bottle-throwingincident that marred theIndia-South Africa T20I in2015 is not repeated.

The organisers havedecided that no spectatorwill be allowed to take inwater bottles, waterpouches and otherpotential projectiles.Spectators will be serveddrinking water at theirseats, which will be

numbered. The height ofthe fence has also beenraised.

Only one stand has beenleft without a covering-netas it would haveobstructed a key TVcamera. “There is no threatfrom that stand as thedistance from the stand tothe playing area is quitelarge,” said Prabir Biswal, asecurity supervisor.

To enhance monitoring,the number of CCTVcameras have been almostdoubled. “Last time 67cameras were therewhereas 120 have been

placed for this match. Acamera which can give a360 degree view has alsobeen installed at a strategicposition,” he added.

Around 1500 securityoicials will be guardingthe stadium, where policeoicials conducted mockdrills of piloting the teambuses to and from thevenue.

The playing area hasbeen taken well taken careof, too. Curator PankajPatnaik said the pitch willofer bounce and addedthat a special spray will beused to manage the dew.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Extra security at Barabati

MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovicand Serena Williamslaunched their AustralianOpen campaigns in style onTuesday which saw Ivo Kar-lovic smashed a record 75aces in an unprecedented 84-game marathon.

Rafael Nadal also rolledinto the second round beforeKarlovic outlasted HoracioZeballos in an epic thatstretched for five hours, 15minutes and ended 6-7(6),3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 22-20.

Karlovic beatThomas Johansson’s2005 Australian Openrecord of 51 aces in amatch, and 84 gameswas a new mark forthe tournament in the tie-break era, edging the 83 inAndy Roddick’s 2003 defeatof Younes El Aynaoui.

It was still short of the fivehours, 53 minutes played byDjokovic and Nadal in the2012 men’s final.

Djokovic gave furtherevidence of his return toform as he convincingly sawof Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.

It was Djokovic’s 15thstraight win at the AustralianOpen as he seeks his thirdstraight title and his seventhoverall, which would breakRoy Emerson’s record set inthe 1960s.

In the afternoon, Serenaand Nadal made light of hottemperatures and doubtsover their own form as theygot of to sizzling starts.

Serena, back after an in-

jury lay-of, demolished thedangerous Belinda Bencic6-4, 6-3, while Nadal was alsoimpressive in his 6-3, 6-4, 6-4win over Florian Mayer.

Serena, who can breakStei Graf’s Open-era recordof 22 Grand Slam titles if shewins in Melbourne for theseventh time, next facesLucie Safarova, who savednine match-points beforebeating Yanina Wickmayer.

In the final match onCentre Court, thirdseed Agnieszka Rad-wanska beat Ts-vetana Pironkova,6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

The results:First round: Men: Don-

ald Young (USA) bt Thomas Fabbiano(Ita) 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-4; 32-Philipp Kohls-chreiber (Ger) bt Nikoloz Basilashvili(Geo) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4; 24-Alex-ander Zverev (Ger) bt Robin Haase(Ned) 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2; MarcosBaghdatis (Cyp) bt Mikhail Youzhny(Rus) 6-3, 3-0 retd.,

9-Rafael Nadal (Esp) bt FlorianMayer (Ger) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; 13-RobertoBautista Agut (Esp) bt Guido Pella(Arg) 6-3, 6-1, 6-1; 25-Gilles Simon(Fra) bt Michael Mmoh (USA) 6-1, 6-3,6-3; Gilles Muller (Lux) bt Taylor Fritz(USA) 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 6-3; 3-MilosRaonic (Can) bt Dustin Brown (Ger)6-3, 6-4, 6-2; 8-Dominic Thiem (Aut)bt Jan-Lennard Struff (Ger) 4-6, 6-4,6-4, 6-3.

Radek Stepanek (Cze) bt DmitryTursunov (Rus) 6-2, 7-6(1), 6-3; 11-David Goffin (Bel) bt Reilly Opelka(USA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; 18-Richard Gasquet (Fra) bt Blake Mott(Aus) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2; 30-Pablo Car-reno-Busta (Esp) bt Peter Polansky(Can) 6-0, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 3-0 retd.

Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. (Ukr) bt

Borna Coric (Cro) 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7);21-David Ferrer (Esp) bt Omar Jasika(Aus) 6-3, 6-0, 6-2; 6-Gael Monfils(Fra) bt Jiri Vesely (Cze) 6-2, 6-3, 6-2;2-Novak Djokovic (Srb) bt FernandoVerdasco 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-2; 15-GrigorDimitrov (Bul) bt Christopher O’Con-nell (Aus) 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-3; 20-Ivo Kar-lovic (Cro) bt Horacio Zeballos (Arg)6-7(6), 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 22-20; BenoitPaire (Fra) bt Tommy Haas (Ger) 7-6

(2), 6-4, retd.; Fabio Fognini (Ita) bt28-Feliciano Lopez (Esp) 7-5, 6-3, 7-5.

Women: 5-Karolina Pliskova (Cze)bt Sara Sorribes (Esp) 6-2, 6-0; 14-Elena Vesnina (Rus) bt Ana Bogdan(Rom) 7-5, 6-2; Heather Watson (GBr)bt 18-Samantha Stosur (Aus) 6-3, 3-6,6-0; 28-Alize Cornet (Fra) bt MyrtilleGeorges (Fra) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1; 6-Domin-ika Cibulkova (Svk) bt Denisa Al-lertova (Cze) 7-5, 6-2.

30-Ekaterina Makarova (Rus) btEkaterina Alexandrova (Rus) 6-0, 4-6,6-1; 17-Caroline Wozniacki (Den) btArina Rodionova (Aus) 6-1, 6-2; 9-Jo-hanna Konta (GBr) bt Kirsten Flipkens(Bel) 7-5, 6-2; 21-Caroline Garcia (Fra)

bt Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr) 7-6(4),6-4; Nicole Gibbs (USA) bt 25-TimeaBabos (Hun) 7-6(3), 6-4; Lucie Sa-farova (Cze) bt Yanina Wickmayer(Bel) 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-1; 2-Serena Willi-ams (USA) bt Belinda Bencic (Sui)6-4, 6-3.

12-Timea Bacsinszky (Sui) bt Cam-ila Giorgi (Ita) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5; 22-DariaGavrilova (Aus) bt Naomi Broady(GBR) 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; 16-Barbora Stry-cova (Cze) bt Elizaveta Kulichkova(Rus) 6-3, 6-2; Andrea Petkovic (Ger)bt Kayla Day (USA) 6-3, 6-2; 3-Ag-nieszka Radwanska (Pol) bt TsvetanaPironkova (Bul) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. —Agencies

Djokovic, Serena of to smooth starts Karlovic hits a record 75 aces in come-from-behind victory over Zeballos

TOWER OF POWER: As many as 38 of his aces came in the marathon fifth set as Ivo Karlovic ralliedfrom two sets down. — PHOTO: SCOTT BARBOUR/GETTY IMAGES

Andrey Rublev spent his day offsparring in a Melbourne boxing

ring in readiness for his clash withWorld No. 1 Andy Murray at theAustralian Open on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old son of a formerprofessional boxer earned his firstGrand Slam main draw victory onMonday when he defeated Taiwan’sLu Yen-hsun.

“I’m so excited, I have nothing tolose. He’s the best tennis player atthe moment. So I will just try to takea great experience from this, fromtomorrow's match and we'll see,”Rublev told the ATP website aheadof the biggest match of his career.

Murray, also a keen boxing fan,came through his opener againstIllya Marchenko. — Reuters

Rublev hopes to landknockout blow

Andy Murray says his wife KimSears will have to cut out the

swearing during his matches now hehas become a knight. Sears wasinfamously caught usingunrepeatable language during theAustralian Open semifinals in 2015,when Murray was playing CzechTomas Berdych. “No more swearingduring my matches any more, forany of you who saw that a few yearsago,” he said, when asked whatwould change for Sears. — AFP

Not becoming of a Lady

PASSING SHOTS

SPORT18 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

CHENNAI: S. Sriram brings to thetable loads of commitment andvaluable knowledge of the sub-continental conditions.

Given the rapport he shareswith Australia coach DarrenLehmann and the respect hehas of the cricketers fromDown Under, it is not reallysurprising that the 40-year-oldformer India cricketer hasbeen named the coach of theAustralian spinners for the up-coming four-Test tour of India.

Former England left-armspinner Monty Panesar will bethe mentor for the spinners,who will essentially help themprepare ahead of the tour inAustralia. Sriram, though, willhave a more ‘hands on’ job dur-ing the campaign.

The Aussies have recruitedhim on an important campaignfor his bowling abilities. In fact,Sriram’s record as a left-armspinner – 9 ODI wickets, 85 firstclass scalps and 115 List ‘A’ vic-tims – does not quite demandattention.

It is here that the Aussies feelthat the quality of his inputs as

a former spinner transcends,by far, his achievements as abowler.

While interacting with theteam management of Australia‘A’ during its tour of India in2015 – the side defeated India‘A’ in the ‘Test series – whatcame through forcefully wasthe impact Sriram made on thetechnical and mental side ofthe cricketers as a consultant.

Much focus was on use of thecrease and creating diferentangles. The variations in pace

and trajectory was alsostressed by Sriram. He calledupon the spinners to have dif-ferent game-plans for diferentbatsmen, bowl diferently ondiferent pitches without los-ing control.

Since then, it has been a rela-tionship that has grown. Sri-ram has been with the Aus-tralian team during the ICCWorld Twenty20 in India andin the Test series in Sri Lanka.

There is this belief that Sri-ram will give the spinners use-

ful perspective from the stand-point of a batsman too; howthey could respond to a spe-cific delivery.

The Aussie spin pack ofNathan Lyon, Stephen O’Keefee, Ashton Agar, GlenMaxwell and MitchellSwepson will work with Sri-ram. Swepson, a leg-spinnerrated high by legend ShaneWarne, is a particularly excit-ing prospect. Sriram will havehis hands full. He is an eagerbeaver though.

Australia hires Sriram again CRICKET / Former India player to coach the visitors’ spinners on the India tour

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

MISSION AUSTRALIA: Monty Panesar and S. Sriram have been roped in to mentor the Australiantweakers. — FILE PHOTOS

HYDERABAD: Mr G.Narasa Reddy’sExclusive Wind (P.Trevor up) wonthe Telangana Cup, the main eventof the races held here on Tuesday.The winner is trained by AnupamSharma.

1. SUNNY BLOSSOM PLATE(1,600m), Cat. III, 4-y-o & over, rated26 to 50: Princess Of Dreams(Beuzelin Louis) 1, DarakhshanSetarah (Akshay Kumar) 2, Telan-gana Queen (Deepak Singh) 3, CashFor Rank (Praveen Gaddam) 4. Notrun: New Comer, Super Grey. 4-1/2,6-3/4, 2. 1m 40.31s. Rs. 7 (w), 5, 5, 20(p), SHP: Rs. 13, FP: Rs. 11, Q: Rs. 8,Tanala: Rs. 86. Favourite: PrincessOf Dreams. Owners: Mr. P.Prabhakar Reddy, Dr. Peddi ReddyPrabhakar Reddy & Mr. Rama SeshuEyunni. Trainer: D. Netto.

2. ABERADER PLATE(1,400m), Cat II, maiden 3-y-o only(Terms): Eternal Angel (N. S.Rathore) 1, Star Gazer (Aneel) 2, Ru-tilant (Akshay Kumar) 3, You Can ICan (S. Sreekant) 4. 4-1/4, 2-1/4, 2-1/4. 1m 25.85s. Rs. 7 (w), 6, 7, 8 (p),

SHP: Rs. 19, FP: Rs. 26, Q: Rs. 23,Tanala: Rs. 62. Favourite: EternalAngel. Owner: Mr. Kondlapudi Sat-ish. Trainer: L.V.R. Deshmukh.

3. TWIN STAR PLATE (D. I),(1,400m), Cat. III, 4-y-o & over, ratedupto 30: Samba (Praveen Gaddam)1, Cannon Hope (Kunal Bunde) 2,Supurinto (Akshay Kumar) 3, TouchOf Gold (P. Sai Kumar) 4. 2-3/4, 4-1/2, 2-1/4. 1m 27.50s. Rs. 14 (w), 6, 7, 10(p), SHP: Rs. 18, FP: Rs. 54, Q: Rs. 28,Tanala: Rs. 228. Favourite: Samba.Owners: M/s. S.M. Ruia & AmayShyam Ruia. Trainer: L.V.R.Deshmukh.

4. MOUNT EVEREST PLATE(1,200m), Cat. III, 4-y-o & over, rated26 to 50: Vijay's Dynamite (DeepShanker) 1, Garib Parwar (P. AjeethKumar) 2, Vijays Honour (AkshayKumar) 3, Ikigai (G. Naresh) 4. Notrun: Good Taste. 3, 3/4, 2-1/2. 1m12.57s. Rs. 10 (w), 6, 21, 7 (p), SHP: Rs.76, FP: Rs. 225, Q: Rs. 164, Tanala: Rs.416. Favourite: Vijay's Dynamite.Owners: M/s. Vijay Racing & FarmsPvt Ltd rep by Mr. Vijay Kumar

Gupta & Mr. Susheel Kumar Gupta.Trainer: Laxman Singh.

5. TELANGANA CUP(1,600m), Cat. II, 4-y-o & over, rated66 to 90: Exclusive Wind (P. Tre-vor) 1, Greek Star (Kuldeep Singh) 2,Sensei (N. S. Rathore) 3, MorningMiracle (Abhishek S. Pawar) 4. 1/4,1-1/4, 1/2. 1m 38.52s. Rs. 7 (w), 6, 13, 17(p), SHP: Rs. 64, FP: Rs. 61, Q: Rs. 66,Tanala: Rs. 366. Favourite: ExclusiveWind. Owner: Mr. G. Narasa Reddy.Trainer: Anupam Sharma.

6. SECUNDERABAD CLUBCUP (1,400m), Cat. II, 4-y-o & over,rated 46 to 70: Sea Castle (DeepakSingh) 1, Ans Ans Ans (P. Trevor) 2,Dream Vision (Beuzelin Louis) 3,Citi Colors (P. Sai Kumar) 4. 1/2, 1/2,2-3/4. 1m 25.96s. Rs. 26 (w), 8, 8, 7 (p),SHP: Rs. 23, FP: Rs. 87, Q: Rs. 54,Tanala: Rs. 422. Favourite: LittleSmart Heart. Owners: M/s. C.Parthasarathy, V. Krishna Das &Rajesh Sanghani. Trainer: D.Netto.

7. PERCEIVED VALUEPLATE (1,100m), Cat. III, 5-y-o &over, rated 26 to 50: Bouncer(Kunal

Bunde) 1, Nelly (Kiran Naidu) 2,Golden Phoenix (G. Naresh) 3, RomaRouge (B.R. Kumar) 4. 3, 1-1/4, 2. 1m06.10s. Rs. 58 (w), 14, 17, 11 (p), SHP:Rs. 66, FP: Rs. 1142, Q: Rs. 703, Tanala:Rs. 6040. Favourite: Vijays Delight.Owner: M.A.M. Ramaswamy Chet-tiar of Chettinad Charitable Trustrep by Dr. A.C. Muthiah. Trainer:K.R.K. Raju.

8. TWIN STAR PLATE (D. II),(1,400m), Cat. III, 4-y-o & over, ratedupto 30: Valee Tiger (Akshay Ku-mar) 1, Star Ruby (Deepak Singh) 2,Whisper (Praveen Gaddam) 3, Inva-sion (B.R. Kumar) 4. Not run: Ta Ta.1, 1/2, 2-1/4. 1m 28.66s. Rs. 10 (w), 7, 10,16 (p), SHP: Rs. 43, FP: Rs. 67, Q: Rs.57, Tanala: Rs. 395. Favourite: ValeeTiger. Owner: Mr. V. NarendarReddy. Trainer: M. Srinivas Reddy.

Treble (i): Rs. 15 (2161 tkts.), (ii):Rs. 37 (426 tkts.), (iii): Rs. 622 (76tkts.); Consolation: Rs. 435 (319 tkts.);Jackpot: Rs. 1741 (186 tkts.)

RACING

Exclusive Wind wins main event

NEW DELHI: Young Indian pugil-ists put up spirited perform-ances to reach the secondround on a busy day at theYouth men’s and women’s Na-tional boxing championshiphere on Tuesday.

The results: Men: Light-fly: B.Ramakrishnan (TN) bt Nishat Dev(Har) 4-1, Shubham (Pun) bt PoonamM. Singh (Man) 3-2, Barun Singh(SSCB) bt Santosh Bhoi (Odi) 5-0.Flyweight: Gurpreet Singh (Pun) btKarambir Bharti (Chd) 5-0, AshishKumar (HP) bt Koyyana Sivakumar5-0 (Nag), Pawan Kumar (Utk) btPawan Kumar (Jha) 3-2. Light-weight: Vishal Sharma (Chd) bt Go-pal Naik (Goa) 5-0, Md Fejan (Guj) btAjit Vinod (Ker) 5-0, Suresh (HP) bt C.Vanlalhriatkima (Miz) 3-2, PradeepGhimire (WB) bt Thengam Khaim-nungam (Nag) 3-2; Myson Moir-angthem (Man) bt Amandeep Singh(Har) 4-1. Light welterweight:Aniket Rai (Cht) bt Subhrata Pradhan(Odi) 4-1. Welterweight: Abhilash(Del) bt L. Donoi Meitei (Man) 4-1,Dinesh Yadav (UP) bt Ashish Dalakoti(Utk) 4-1, Saroj Basnet (WB) bt Sid-harth Saju (Ker) 5-0, G. Durai Manig-andan (TN) bt Tonmoy Dowarah(Asm) 5-0.

Women: Light-fly: Babita Rani(Pun) bt Atulyas Das (Ker) 3-2. Fly-weight: Mani Singh Gaur MP’s btDiya Kailas Bache (Mah) 4-1 — PTI

Young boxersshow their mettle

JOHANNESBURG: South Africanbatting star A.B. de Villierssaid on Tuesday he had de-cided not to make himselfavailable for a Test series inNew Zealand in March butstressed that he had not retiredfrom Test cricket.

de Villiers, who turns 33next month, said his main goalfor the rest of his career was tolead South Africa at the 2019Cricket World Cup inEngland.

“We haven’t won a WorldCup yet,” said de Villiers, whois captain of the South Africanone-day team.

“For me, for now, the mostimportant thing is the 2019World Cup. I want to makesure we get there. I want tomake sure we lift that trophy. Ifeel that if I play all formats all

the time, then mentally andphysically I won’t be at mybest.”

Speaking at a launch for aone-day series against SriLanka, de Villiers said he wasavailable for five one-daygames in New Zealand next

month but would return homebefore the first of three Testsstarts on March 8.

de Villiers is recoveringfrom a long-term elbow injurywhich has kept him out of ac-tion since July.

He is due to make a low-keycomeback in a one-day matchfor the Northerns provincialteam on Sunday.

But he said he had re-covered fully and would playin the third of three Twenty20Internationals against SriLanka in Cape Town on Janu-ary 25 before captaining SouthAfrica in a five-match ODIseries against the Sri Lankans.

Cricket South Africa chiefexecutive Haroon Lorgat saidhe hoped de Villiers would beavailable for four Tests in Eng-land starting in July. — AFP

de Villiers opts out of NZ Test series

de Villiers. — FILE PHOTO

PUNE: Tamil Nadu’s S.Shrikrishna, who won the sub-junior boys’ billiards andsnooker titles, claimed the thejunior boys’ billiards title inthe Manisha National billiardsand snooker championshiphere on Tuesday.

He beat Ashutosh Padhya,Hritik Jain and received awalk-over from Sparsh Pher-wani to maintain an unbeatenrecord in the round-robinleague and win the title.

The results: Junior billiards(round-robin): S. Shrikrishna (TN)w/o Sparsh Pherwani (Mah); btAshutosh Padhye (Odi) 666 (210, 84,56)-396; bt Hritik Jain (MP) 867(114,102, 106)-416 (81); Hritik bt Pherwani533-422, Padhye bt Pherwani 571(62)-323; Padhye bt Hritik 451(57,55)-359.

Junior snooker (qualifying):Pherwani bt Shivam Jaiswal 49-60,71-23, 25-65, 64-38, 55-33; HermehrMago (Mah) bt P. Mohnish Arya (TN)57-38, 65-36, 66-13; Abhishek Yadav(Del) bt Dhruv Chawala (Pun) 58-25,59-51, 56-53; Kreishh Gurbaxani(Mah) bt Devang Thakul (MP) 85-34,64-63, 60-47. — SpecialCorrespondent

Shrikrishna potsanother crown

S. Shrikrishna. — FILE PHOTO

NEW DELHI: The Board ofControl for Cricket in India’smove to have Ranji Trophymatches at neutral venuesfailed miserably in its firstattempt, according to leadingdomestic players who say theidea did not work due toapathy of the hostassociations and poorplanning.

The BCCI had introducedthe concept to make thetournament morecompetitive by negating thehome advantage that teamsearlier used to exploit andexposing the players todiferent conditions.

“The idea was good butthe implementation wasthird class. Most hostassociations did not showinterest in organisingmatches for other teams. Thefacilities were poor, be itproviding us with goodwickets, adequate balls orserving decent food. It couldhave been handled muchbetter,” domestic cricketveteran Rajat Bhatia said.

The Delhi-based cricketerhas played for three Statesand is currently with

Rajasthan.Bhatia, who played only

four matches this seasonowing to family issues, wasscathing in his criticism.

“The system wasintroduced to stop teamsfrom taking undue homeadvantage with games oftenfinishing inside two days.But the quality did notimprove even though gameswere held at neutral venues.

“Take our match againstAssam in Visakhapatnam forexample. The wicket was notfit enough for a First Classmatch and therefore thematch was over well insidethree days. And it was justtwo weeks before aninternational match. Thegroundsmen did not havemuch to say when we askedthem why we were made toplay on such a poor surface,”the 37-year-old said.

Pacers dominated in thatmatch with Pankaj Singhtaking a nine-wicket haul.

Scheduling Another issue for the

players was scheduling of thegames as they had to travel to

remote areas of the countrywith limited time in hand.

“Scheduling was a bigproblem. Sometimes therewas just a three-day gapbetween games and we hadto travel to places whichwere not easily accessible,which meant we had tospend a lot of time on theroad in buses,” said Gujaratand India spinner Axar Patel.

Lack of interest for thegames was another reasonwhy Axar did not like theneutral venue initiative.

“What is the point ofhaving matches in placeswhere nobody comes to seeus play? At least we had adecent turnout when wewere playing at home. I hopewe go back to the home andaway format next season,”said the left-arm spinner,who is out of action with awrist injury.

After the end of RanjiTrophy, it is not clearwhether the BCCI achievedits objective of having moreresult-oriented matches onsporting wickets. Whilesome matches got over wellinside three days, there weregames that saw batsmen

dominating on placid tracks.

By the end of the groupstage, the result percentagewas down by two per centcorresponding to theprevious season.

Nature of wickets

Another senior player whoslammed the concept isTamil Nadu opener AbhinavMukund, who wasparticularly critical of thenature of wickets provided.

“No one actually gives adamn about the wickets thatare being prepared.Everyone’s playing safe,which is why people arescoring more than 1000 runs,and I don’t see manyspinners coming into play.

“I don’t like this conceptmainly because of the factthat there’s no continuity.You play throughout the yearin one condition it’s reallyimportant to play at home,”he had said during thetournament.

Looking ahead, the BCCIcould still persist withneutral venues provided theexecution was better, saidBhatia. — PTI

Players give thumbs down to neutral venues

NEW DELHI: England’s Joe Roothas said he is ready to take onthe mantle of Test skippershould Alastair Cook decide torelinquish the captaincy.

Root, part of the Englandlimited-overs squad currentlyin India, has been widelytipped to take over the Testreins if Cook decides to standdown after five years at thehelm.

Calls for a change of leader-ship gained ground after Eng-land sufered a 4-0 drubbing inthe Test series against India atthe end of last year, with Cookgoing on to say that Root was“ready” for the job.

“I’d like to think so,” Roottold the English media in Punewhen asked whether he wasready to captain England inTests.

“I’ve got a lot of experiencebehind me now in Test cricket,and I feel that I would havesomething to ofer. But hope-fully it won’t come to that.Cooky’s a great leader. We’llsee what happens,” said Root.

The 26-year-old batsmanhas represented England in 53Test matches, scoring 4,594

runs at an average of 52.80.Cook, 32, is to meet Eng-

land’s director of cricket An-drew Strauss on Friday but heis unlikely to make an immedi-ate call on his future as theteam’s next Test assignment isnot until July when it playsSouth Africa.

Root, who was England’shighest run-getter in the fiveTests against India, said he hadspoken to Cook after the tourbut only regarding parentingafter he also became a father.— AFP

Root ready to captain England

Joe Root.— FILE PHOTO

CHENNAI: The ninth edition ofthe annual Chennai OpenGrandmaster chess tourna-ment for the Sakthi Group Dr.N. Mahalingam Trophy beginson Wednesday at the NehruStadium.

The tournament organisedby the Tamil Nadu State ChessAssociation, under the aus-pices of the All India ChessFederation, has attracted 306players from 17 countries, in-cluding 16 GMs, two WomanGrandmasters, 17 Interna-tional Masters and five Wo-man International Masters,among 64 titled players.

GM Alberto David (Italy)with an Elo rating of 2569 is thetop seed. David played back-to-back tournaments in Mum-bai and Delhi, before arrivingin Chennai to complete a hat-trick of tournaments in India.

He is likely to face stif chal-lenge from an experiencedbunch of GMs from Russia,Ukraine, Poland, Hungary,Belgium, Egypt, Bangladeshand Vietnam.

The Indian squad will beheaded by former world juniorbronze medallist GM SahajGrover from New Delhi.

Chennai-based GMs M.R.Venkatesh and R.R. Laxmanwill join Sahaj in leading theIndian challenge.

The tournament ofers atotal prize money of ₨11 lakh,with the winner receiving ₨2lakh along with the ChennaiOpen GM Trophy.

The runner-up and third-placed players take home ₨1.5lakh and ₨1 lakh respectively.

Top board games will bewebcast live on http://tamilchess.com. — SportsReporter

Chennai OpenGM tournamentfrom today

KOLKATA: Unseeded ShivaniManjanna of India created abig upset downing secondseed Lee Kuan Yi of ChineseTaipei in the girls’ first roundof the DKS ITF junior tennishere on Tuesday.

Manjanna, who made it tothe main draw working herway up through the qualifiers,played the right game on thered-clay courts here to see ofher much higher-ranked op-ponent 7-5, 7-5.

The results (first round): Boys: Yu Hua-Chen (Tpe) bt

Shashank Theertha Macherla 6-3,6-1; Shivank Bhatnagar bt SiddharthThakran 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-2; Savin Roko(Cro) bt Saarang Phadnis 6-0, 6-0;Rishabh Sharda bt Sacchitt Sharrma6-3, 6-3; Parikshit Somani bt Sumit-pal Singh 6-1, 6-2; V. Abhimanyu btJoshua Bode (USA) 6-3, 6-4;Francesco Bonacia (Ita) bt AtharvaSharma 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-2; Dostan-bek Tashbulatov (Kaz) bt Mo-hammed Iftikhar Sheikh 6-2, 6-1;Tonkla Mulada (Tha) bt SrivatsaRatakonda 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Megh Bhar-gav Patel bt Naithaolin Golmei 6-2,

6-0; Nikit Reddy (USA) bt Arghya Das7-5, 6-3; Dhruv Sunish bt AshutoshTiwari 6-1, 6-1; Arthur Pantino (Phi)bt B. Rithvik Choudary 4-6, 7-6(6),6-0; Karan Srivastava bt SiddhantMahala 7-5, 6-1; Bikramjeet SinghChawla bt Akshat Agarwal 7-6(6),6-3; Hazem Naow (Syr) bt GunjanJadhav 6-3, 6-1.

Girls: Axana Mareen (Bel) bt Shiv-ani Swarup Ingle 6-1, 6-2; Y. SaiDedeepya bt Adrija Biswas 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-0; Kiran Kalkal bt Kriti Williams(USA) 6-1, 7-5; Rhea Verma bt B. Shri-valli 6-0, 6-2; MananchayaSawangkaew (Tha) bt TanishaKashyap 6-2, 6-2; Vaidehi Chaudharibt Sravya Chilakalapudi 6-3, 6-1;Priska Madelyn Nugroho (Ina) btPrathyusha Rachapudi 6-2, 6-4; Shiv-ani Amineni bt Veronika Pepelyaeva(Rus) 7-5, 6-4; Oh Eunji (Kor) btTrisha Vinod 6-4, 6-0; YubaraniBanerjee bt Sharannya Gaware 6-4,6-4; Victoria Kalaitzis (Bel) bt Sab-hyata Nihalani 2-6, 6-3, 6-4; Akank-sha A. Bhan bt Muskan Gupta 6-4,6-3; Lasya Patnaik bt Yasmina Karim-janova (Uzb) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; RashmikaRajan bt Humera Begum Shaik 6-3,6-3; Aaliya Ebrahim bt Aesha Patel(USA) 6-3, 6-1; Shivani Manjanna btLee Kuan Yi (Tpe) 7-5, 7-5.

TENNIS

Manjanna stunssecond seed Lee SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CAIRO: Nidhi Chilumula andNatasha Palha combined wellto beat Valeriya Densenko andAnastasia Sukhotina of Russia6-2, 6-2 in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $15,000ITF women’s tennistournament.

However, Rishika Sunkaraand Shelby Talccott of theUSA, seeded fourth, werebeaten 10-7 in the super tie-break by Carlota MolinaMegias of Spain and Anastas-iya Yakimova of Belarus.

The results:

$15,000 ITF men, Sharm ElSheikh, Egypt: Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Romain Barbosa(Bel) & Frederico Ferreira Silva (Por)bt Aryan Goveas & Jayesh Pungliya6-1, 4-6, [10-8].

$15,000 ITF women, Cairo,Egypt: Singles (first round): Ker-stin Peckl (Aut) bt Rishika Sunkara7-5, 6-3.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals):Nidhi Chilumula & Natasha Palha bt

Valeriya Densenko & AnastasiaSukhotina (Rus) 6-2, 6-3.

Carlota Molina Megias (Esp) &Anastasiya Yakimova (Blr) bt ShelbyTalcott (USA) & Rishika Sunkara 6-7(5), 6-2, [10-7]. — Sports Bureau

Nidhi-Natashaduo in last eight

CMYK

ND-ND

SPORT | 19THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

MELBOURNE: Sydney Thunder’sHarmanpreet Kaur has beenreprimanded for breachingthe Cricket Australia Code ofConduct during her side’s Wo-men’s Big Bash League matchagainst Hobart Hurricanes inHobart.

Harmanpreet, the first In-dian woman to play in the BBL,was reported for breachingCA’s Code of Conduct Article2.1.2 — abuse of cricket equip-ment or clothing, groundequipment or fixtures and fit-tings during a match — a level1 ofence.

The ofence occurred afterHarmanpreet was dismissedduring Thunder’s innings onMonday. — PTI

Harmanpreetreprimanded

Harmanpreet Kaur.— FILE PHOTO

RAMANATHAPURAM: Jyoti’s sixgoals set up a thumping 19-0win for Hockey Haryana overBengal Hockey Association inthe A division of the seventhNational sub-junior hockeytournament for women hereon Tuesday.

In another match, VaishnaviPhalke netted four goals tohelp Hockey Maharashtra de-feat Hockey Karnataka 6-1.

Hat-tricks by Yogita and Sadhana

Hat-tricks by Yogita Vermaand Sadhana Sengar helpedMadhya Pradesh HockeyAcademy thrash Hockey Mad-hya Pradesh 10-0.

The results:

A division: Hockey Haryana 19(Jyoti 6, Deepika 3, Manju Chorsiya 2,Preethi 2, Simranjeet Kaur, Usha,

Raveena, Mahima, Sharmila Devi,Bharathi Saroha) bt Bengal HA 0;Hockey Maharashtra 6 (VaishnaviPhalke 4, Akshata Dhekale, RutujaPisal) bt Hockey Karnataka 1(Likitha); Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu6 (S. Malarvizhi 2, M. Nithya Sri, R.Nadhini, L. Krishna Priya, R. Nivetha)bt Chattisgarh Hockey 1 (AnjaliMahto).

SAI 1 (Akanksha Shukla) drewwith Hockey Mizoram 1 (AgnesMalsawmkimi); Hockey Andhra Pra-desh 3 (Roshita Pulicharla, MaryLotla, Sandhya Balagonda) bt DelhiHockey 1 (Neha).

Hockey Punjab 4 (Kashish 2, RozyBharati, Baljeet Kaur) bt Hockey Bi-har 1 (Sindhu Kumari); Madhya Pra-desh HA 10 (Yogita Verma 3,Sadhana Sengar 3, Sneha Singh 2,Soniya Kumari, Hritika Singh) btHockey Madhya Pradesh 0. —Sports Reporter

HOCKEY

Jyoti slams six goals

LOS ANGELES: Golden State War-riors crushed Cleveland Cava-liers 126-91 on Monday, snap-ping a four-game losing streakagainst the reigningchampions.

Draymond Green notchedhis third triple-double of theseason with 11 points, 11 assistsand 13 rebounds for theWarriors.

The results: Los Angeles Clippers120 bt Oklahoma City Thunder 98;Utah Jazz 106 bt Phoenix Suns 101;Golden State Warriors 126 bt Cleve-land Cavaliers 91; Boston Celtics 108bt Charlotte Hornets 98; DenverNuggets 125 bt Orlando Magic 112;Indiana Pacers 98 bt New OrleansPelicans 95; Philadelphia76ers 113 btMilwaukee Bucks 104; WashingtonWizards 120 bt Portland Trailblazers101; Atlanta Hawks 108 bt New YorkKnicks 107. — Agencies

Warriors crushCavaliers

CHITRADURGA: Tamil Nadutrounced Chandigarh 25-17, 25-16, 25-9 to cruise into the boys’semifinals of the 43rd juniorNational volleyball champion-ships here on Tuesday.

The results (quarterfinals):Boys: Haryana bt Uttarakhand 25-11,28-26, 22-25, 25-19; Tamil Nadu btChandigarh 25-17, 25-16, 25-9; UttarPradesh bt Punjab 25-21, 25-22, 25-14; Karnataka bt Telangana 25-19,25-17, 25-10. Girls: Maharashtra btChhattisgarh 25-15, 25-9, 25-16.

TN spikers sailinto last four

SARAWAK (MALAYSIA): Young In-dian shuttlers Harsheel Dani,Pratul Joshi and Hemanth M.Gowda advanced to thesecond round of the season-opening Malaysia MastersGrand Prix Gold badmintontournament here on Tuesday.

The results:

Harsheel Dani bt Zii Jia Lee (Mas)21-19, 21-17; Pratul Joshi bt Zin ReiRyan Ng (Sin) 15-21, 21-16, 24-22;Hemanth M. Gowda bt YehezkielFritz Mainaky (Ina) 21-14, 21-15; SirilVerma lost to Pannawit Thongnuam(Tha) 21-10, 18-21, 21-17; AbhishekYelegar lost to Zulfadli Zulkiffli (Mas)21-13, 21-14; Rahul Yadav Chittaboinalost to Hsueh Hsuan Yi (Tpe) 21-16,21-11. — PTI

Mixed dayfor Indians

NEW DELHI: Last year’s runner-up Haryana Hammers bookeda spot in the final of the secondedition of the Pro WrestlingLeague with a convincing 6-3win against newcomer JaipurNinjas in the first semifinal ofthe competition here onTuesday.

With all nine weight cat-egories in play — unlike theleague stages when eitherteam could block one categoryeach — table-topper Haryanaproved its superiority, beingthe only team to remain un-beaten in the PWL so far.

It was close till the sixthbout with both teams winning

three bouts apiece. While Ritu Phogat over-

came Indu Chaudhary in the48kg and Jenny Fransson beatKiran in the 75kg for Jaipur,Marwa Amri had an easy 10-0win against Pooja Dhanda inthe 58kg. Jakob Makarashvilibeat Sumit Sehrawat 10-0 forthe only other Jaipur win.

The tide turns

It was the seventh bout ofthe day, in the 57kg categoryfor men, that turned the tide inHaryana’s favour withSandeep Tomar managing todown a fighting Utkarsh Kale5-4 with a take down in thevery last second.

That changed the tie in

Haryana’s favour with RioOlympics bronze medallistSofia Mattsson and captainAbdusalam Gadisov extend-ing the team’s lead.

The results:

Haryana Hammers bt JaipurNinjas 6-3 [Women: 48kg: InduChaudhary lost to Ritu Phogat 8-0;53kg: Sofia Mattsson bt BetzabethArguello by fall; 58kg: Marwa Amribt Pooja Dhanda 10-0; 75kg: Kiranlost to Jenny Fransson 8-0.

Men: 57kg: Sandeep Tomar btUtkarsh Kale 5-4; 65kg: Rajneesh btRahul Mann 8-6; 70kg: MagomedKurbanaliev bt Vinod Kumar Om-prakash 5-0; 74kg: Sumit Sehrawatlost to Jakob Makarashvili 10-0;97kg: Abdusalam Gadisov bt ElizbarOdikadze 5-4].

PRO WRESTLING LEAGUE

Hammers pin Ninjas intosubmission, enter final UTHRAGANESAN

PUNE: DSK Shivajians FC,powered by another outstand-ing show from captain JuanQuero, frustrated ChennaiCity FC with lightning attacksand ball possession. The skip-per and Kim Song-yong thenscored on either side of half-time to ensure a 2-0 victory inthe I-League on Tuesday.

The Spanish livewire cameof the pitch, having done hiswork on the left flank, and wasapplauded by the home fans atthe Balewadi stadium.

Chennai City tried gamelyto make an impact and spreadthe game well down the flanks,but found the home side de-fence diicult to break down.Brazilian striker Charles deSouza was denied room tomanoeuvre, or take a shot atgoal.

He was replaced with an-other Brazilian MarcusVinicuis late in the secondhalf, but the backline stoodfirm, forcing the visitors to at-tempt long-rangers.

Pacy and tricky

Quero and Song-yong weretoo pacy and tricky for theChennai City defence. DSKwent into the lead in the 30thminute when the Korean dir-ected the ball into the net with

a controlled header, beatingthe goalkeeper with his angleand placement. The captainhad supplied the pass, pickingout his teammate in the goal-mouth and watched Song-yong finish the move in style.

Shivajians’s second goalcame via a penalty. Song-yongfollowed up a pass near theright corner flag and was felledby defender E. Anyichie.Quero took the kick, calmlyslotting the ball high into theright corner in the 57th minute.

The home team pressedfrom the start, stretching thevisitors’ defence with a short,quick passing game. Shahinlal,under the bar, was kept busycollecting snappy attempts.

Chennai City’s spirited ef-fort to float balls into space be-hind the defenders werecleared in time by theShivajians.

At the other end, Querocurled his free-kick around thewall and towards the top leftcorner, but an alert Shahblocked the shot.

The nippy Spaniard madean impact right through thehalf. However, it was team-mate Milan Singh who walkedaway with the man-of-the-match honours.

The result: DSK Shivajians 2 (KimSong-yong, Juan Quero) bt ChennaiCity FC 0.

Quero and Song-yongdeliver for Shivajians NANDAKUMARMARAR

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan contin-ued to revel in home condi-tions as it thrashed MinervaPunjab FC 4-0 in the thirdround of I-League here at theRabindra Sarobar Stadium onTuesday.

The host gained from theform of Scotsman DarrylDufy, who shared the fourgoals with Jeje Lalpekhlua.With Haitian Sony Norde join-ing the attack, Bagan put thenewcomer of the tournamenton the back foot right from thestart.

It took the lead in the17th minute whenNorde set his free-kickright in the area insidethe Minerva box. Dufyleapt over the reach of the op-position defender RamandeepSingh before nodding the ballhome.

Looking to enhance the lead,Bagan doubled its eforts andfound the target two minutesfrom the half-hour mark. Mak-ing his first appearance for theteam this season, Jeje scoredthe second goal latching on toan assist from Subhasish Bose,who created the move combin-ing in a nice one-two-one withNorde.

Bagan continued to attackrelentlessly as its young op-

ponent failed to put together acohesive challenge. The hostwent up 3-0 by the 32nd minuteas its Japanese midfielder Kat-sumi Yusa set a long ball forDufy. The Scotsman got thebetter of the Minerva defenderLoveday Eyinnaya before slot-ting the ball home past goal-keeper Kamaljit Singh.

The host continued to makemerry after the break andcould have added another inthe 57th minute but for the up-right which prevented Norde’slong-ranger from going in. Theonly good opportunity for thevisitor came in the 64th minute

when Joel Sunday beatthe Bagan custodian De-bjit Gosh just to find thecrosspiece coming inthe way.

Jeje completed the scoringprocess the 77th minute whenhe collected a Bikramjit Singhcross, which came to him de-flecting of a Minerva de-fender, and made no mistake intapping it home.

Bagan tallies nine pointsfrom three successive wins toreclaim its position at the top ofthe standings.

The result: Mohun Bagan 4(Darryl Duffy 17, 32, Jeje Lalpekhlua28, 77) bt Minerva Punjab FC 0.

At Aizawl: Aizawl FC 2 (Lalruat-thara 31, Jayesh Rane 63) bt ShillongLajong FC 1 (Yuta Kinowaki 83-pen).

Bagan makes merry at home

STRIKING GOALS: Jeje Lalpekhlua’s brace, coupled withDarryl Duffy’s twin strike, helped Mohun Bagan sail pastMinerva Punjab FC. — FILE PHOTO

AMITABHADAS SHARMA

MILAN: AC Milan recoveredfrom two goals down to sal-vage a 2-2 draw at Torino as itfinished with 10 men in a dra-matic Serie A game onMonday. Andrea Belotti andMarco Benassi put Torino ontop after 26 minutes but Milangot back on level terms by thehour mark through AndreaBertolacci and a Carlos Baccapenalty.

Milan defender GabrielPaletta set the tone in thesecond minute when his mis-placed clearance hit Torino’sJoel Obi on the head but re-bounded wide of the goal.

The results: Serie A: Torino 2(Belotti 21, Benassi 26) drew with ACMilan 2 (Bertolacci 55, Bacca 60-pen). La Liga: Malaga 0 lost to RealSociedad 2 (Martinez Berridi 50,Juanmi 62). —Agencies

AC Milan holds Torino

LONDON: Swedish star ZlatanIbrahmovic says the pressureon him that comes from out-side is like a kindergarten com-pared to the pressure he placeson himself every time he trainsor plays for ManchesterUnited.

The 35-year-old striker —who has defied the scepticswho thought he was too old toflourish at Man United but hasscored 14 goals in 20 PremierLeague appearances — saidthe pressure he placed on him-self was so immense becausenothing less than winningcounted.

Ibrahimovic, who joinedMan United in the close seasonlast year after a hugely success-ful period at French championParis Saint Germain, scoredUnited’s equaliser in Sunday’s1-1 draw with Liverpool whichended his side’s six-match win-ning streak and leaves it 12points behind leader Chelsea.

“I think the pressure I haveall around me is nothing com-pared to the pressure I put onmyself,” said Ibrahimovic.

“I really want to do not per-fect, more than perfect, everygame, even in training. I’m nothappy if I don’t win in trainingso imagine what it’s like in thegames.

“That is the pressure I put onmyself and so your pressure

becomes like a kindergartenfor me.

“My pressure is really high.I’m not satisfied until I get whatI want. What I want is to win.”

Defending Pogba

Ibrahimovic, who retiredfrom international football fol-lowing a disappointing Euro2016 finals, defended team-mate and the world’s most ex-pensive player France’s mid-fielder Paul Pogba who wasslammed for his below-parperformance againstLiverpool.

Ibrahimovic said althoughhe didn’t know Pogba that wellhe felt he could handle pres-

sure too. “Pressure is something I en-

joy,” said Ibrahimovic.“I don’t know Paul person-

ally to be able to answer thatfor him.

“But I think he likes it alsobecause, without pressure, wewould not be on our toes at thetop level.

“If you want to play at thetop, pressure is 24 hours, and ifyou play well or better thepressure becomes evengreater.

“So it’s something that welearn from and something wehave to handle because we be-long to the top,

“Paul belongs to the top ab-

solutely and the pressure willbe there.”

Pogba’s poor performancecame on the day the Old Traf-ford hoardings promoted his#Pogba twitter hashtag —Ibrahimovic admitted it waseasier when he started playingas social media was not partand parcel of life.

“I think football is like thattoday. With the social media,the media building up thegame,” said Ibrahimovic.

“When I started to play foot-ball there was no social media,none of these things.

“But it’s part of the gamenow. What is too much, what istoo less? We don’t know. Wejust follow the game. We areprofessionals, we train like al-ways, try to do our best everygame.”

Ibrahimovic suggested thereason the game passed Pogbaby is that the game was notreally played in midfield.

“For Paul (on Sunday) thegame was diferent. It was adirty game, in the way we hadto play more direct, by jumpingover the midfield because thepressure Liverpool put on uswas hard.

“It was diicult. The firstgame against them was thesame. The guys told me everygame we play against Liver-pool looks like this.” — AFP

FOOTBALL

Outside pressure is child’s play for Zlatan

OVER THE HILL, WHO? Zlatan Ibrahimovic has defied sceptics,who thought he was too old to flourish at Man United, byscoring 14 goals in 20 Premier League appearances.— PHOTO: REUTERS

MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal sayshe is driven to restore hisslumping ranking afterpowering past Germany’sFlorian Mayer into the secondround of the Australian Openon Tuesday.

The long-time World No. 1looked back to his healthybest after an injury-riddled2016 as he defeated the 49th-ranked Mayer in just over twohours on Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal will face CypriotMarcos Baghdatis in thesecond round.

Irked

The 14-time Grand Slamchampion is irked to beranked at nine after occupy-ing a total of 141 weeks atWorld No. 1 during his play-ing career.

Now the 30-year-old isback to full fitness after re-

covering from a left wrist in-jury which dogged him dur-ing last year’s French Openand forced him to missWimbledon and the ATP Fi-nals in a frustrating secondhalf of last season.

Afecting his confidence

Nadal said his current rank-ing afected his confidenceand he was focused on return-ing to the top rungs.

“Oh, yes, it makes a difer-ence. Is much better be num-ber one than number nine. Isno question about that,” hesaid.

“But I am number ninetoday. That is just the realthing. Today I’m the ninthplayer of the world.

“I am going to fight to notbe worse, and I going to fightto be again better. I feel that ifI am playing well and I am

healthy, I think I can be muchbetter.

“I am happy with the way Ihave had the chance to playfor a long, long time in thissport. I expect to keep playing

for few more years.”Nadal said at his peak

things became automaticwhen winning matches andhe was looking to retrievethose instincts this year.

“When you are playing andplaying and winning matches,then you have things thatcome very automatic,” hesaid.

“You don’t need to thinkmuch about the things thatare happening or the way thatyou play points.

“But when you are out for awhile, you need to recover allthese automatic things thatmakes you play easier. That’sthe important thing.”

Regaining confidence

Nadal looks well on theway to regaining winningconfidence, returning to theAustralian Open where hewas dumped out in the firstround last year by compatriotFernando Verdasco in a five-set boilover.

There was no likelihood ofa repeat ambush by Mayer

this time.“Today was not an easy

match. I had the break in thethird and in the second set inthe key game, at 4-all,” he said.

“But before he was servingwell, so I didn’t have the pos-sibility to have the break.

“Today was a good firstround for me. Florian is atough first player to playagainst.”

Nadal is bidding to win hissecond Australian Open afterbeating Roger Federer for the2009 crown.

His trademark never-say-die retrieving behind thebaseline was a feature as hefought for every point againstMayer.

Nadal broke Mayer’s ser-vice in the ninth game of thefinal set with a forehand win-ner and served out for astraight sets victory. — AFP

TENNIS

Healthy Nadal looks to scale rankings with good run at Australian Open

THIRSTY FOR SUCCESS: Former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal hopes toretrieve his killer instinct. — PHOTO: QUINN ROONEY/ GETTY IMAGES

MADRID: Real Madrid boss Zi-nedine Zidane insists he hasno reason to panic and willonce again use the depths ofhis squad against Celta Vigo inthe Copa del Rey on Wednes-day looking to bounce backfrom a first defeat in 40 games.

Real conceded twice in thefinal five minutes in losing 2-1to Sevilla on Sunday to see itslead at the top of La Liga overthe Europa League holder cutto one point.

Real did get the better ofSevilla in the Cup last 16 des-pite Zidane heavily rotatinghis side with Cristiano Ron-aldo not even making thesquad for both legs of a 6-3 ag-gregate win.

And, whilst Zidane refusedto confirm whether the four-time World Player of the Yearwill make his first appearancein this year’s competition inthe first leg of their quarter-fi-nal at the Santiago Bernabeuagainst Celta, the Frenchmaninsisted a first defeat sinceApril last year won’t discour-age him from rotating oncemore.

“We are a group of 24 and Iam going to use everyone,”Zidane said on Tuesday.

“I am going to count on all24 until the end (of the sea-son). If we win something itwill be because of the 24 play-ers, I am sure of that.”

Ronaldo netted from thepenalty spot at the Sanchez

Pizjuan on Sunday but wasotherwise largely inefective.

However, Zidane rejectedsuggestions the Portuguesewas rusty due to his lack ofplaying time in 2017.

“Everyone will have hisopinion. Some say it is best torest, others that it is better tohave rhythm.” added Zidane.“You will see tomorrowwhether he plays.”

Isco returns to Zidane’s 19-man squad after missing thedefeat at Sevilla through in-jury, but James Rodriguez,Pepe and Gareth Bale remainout.

Orellana out for Celta

Celta will definitely bemissing one of their star menas coach Eduardo Berizzo saidon Tuesday that Chilean inter-national Fabian Orellana will

not play again for him due toan “unacceptable lack of re-spect.”

“I have decided to removehim from the squad. The de-cision is based in an unaccept-able lack of respect,” said Ber-izzo. “With me he will nolonger belong to the team.”

Winless run

Barcelona is not in actionuntil Thursday when it travelsto Real Sociedad hoping toend an eight-game winless runin San Sebastian, stretchingback to 2007.

The Catalans were so out-played on their most recentvisit to Anoeta in Novemberthat coach Luis Enrique de-scribed their 1-1 draw as “al-most a miracle”.

However, after a diicultstart to the year, Barca havebegun to find their form in thepast week in defeating Ath-letic Bilbao to reach the lasteight before hammering LasPalmas 5-0 on Saturday.

Eibar have reached thequarter-finals for the first timein their history, but face adaunting task to reach the lastfour as they travel to AtleticoMadrid for the first leg of theirtie on Thursday.

Alcorcon is also making itsbow in the last eight as theonly second division side leftin the competition and wel-comes Alaves on Wednesday.— AFP

Zidane leans on squad to bounce back

Zinedine Zidane. — PHOTO: AFP

DUBAI: Fast bowler Kagiso Ra-bada’s strong performances inthe recently-concluded three-match Test series against SriLanka made him SouthAfrica’s highest-ranked Testbowler, moving him one placeabove Dale Steyn, who is cur-rently recuperating from theshoulder fracture he suferedduring his side’s tour of Aus-tralia in November.

Rabada stole the bowlinglimelight when he returnedwith the figures of three for 44and two for 50.

For this performance, hehas earned a rise of threeplaces which has put him infifth in the ICC Player Rank-ings for Test Bowlers.

Rabada now leads Steyn bytwo points and trails Sri

Lanka’s fourth-ranked spin-ner Rangana Herath by sixpoints.

Only good news

For Sri Lanka, the only goodnews is the rise of fast bowlerNuwan Pradeep, who hasleaped six places to a career-best 33rd spot following fig-ures of four for 78 in SouthAfrica’s only innings.

South Africa defeated SriLanka by an innings and 118runs in Johannesburg, whichgave it a 3-0 series win.

The result means third-ranked South Africa hasgained four points and movedup to 107, two behind Aus-tralia, while seventh-rankedSri Lanka has dropped fourpoints to finish on 92. — ANI

CRICKET

Rabada replaces Steynas SA’s No. 1 Test bowler

WIJK ANN ZEE (THE NETHERLANDS): P.Hari Krishna maintained hisunbeaten run in the Tata SteelMasters chess tournament bydrawing with Russia’s SergeyKarjakin in the fourth roundhere on Tuesday.

Hari (2.5 points), overnightin the joint second spot,slipped to tied-fourth after topseed Magnus Carlsen and in-form Wesley So won theirgames to reach three points.

Ukraine’s Pavel Eljanov (3.5points) maintained his posi-tion at the top after beating B.Adhiban with black pieces in56 moves. Wednesday is a restday.

The results (fourth round): P.Hari Krishna (2.5) drew with SergeyKarjakin (Rus, 2.5); B. Adhiban (1) lostto Pavel Eljanov (Ukr, 3.5); MagnusCarlsen (Nor, 3) bt Wei Yi (Chn, 2);Anish Giri (Ned, 2) drew with DmitryAndreikin (Rus, 2); Levon Aronian(Arm, 2) drew with Ian Nepomni-achtchi (Rus, 1.5); Loek van Wely(Ned, 1) lost to Wesley So (USA, 3).— Sports Bureau

Hari holdsKarjakin;Adhiban loses

COLOMBO: Arushi Bhasinbattled past Amritha Muttiahof Sri Lanka 6-1, 6-7(1), 6-3 inthe semifinals of the AsianTour $5000 women’s tennistournament on Tuesday.

In a depleted field, whichhad only 12 entrants in all in adraw of 16 after the qualifyingevent had to be scraped,Arushi played well right

from her first round matchagainst Nethmi Waduge tokeep herself in the race for thewinner’s purse of $900.

In the final, Arushi will playSri Lanka’s Thisuri Molligoda,who, too, came through athree-setter in the semifinalsagainst countrywoman AnikaSeneviratne.

The results:

Semifinals: Thisuri Molligoda(SL) bt Anika Seneviratne (SL) 6-4,4-6, 6-0; Arushi Bhasin bt AmrithaMuttiah (SL) 6-1, 6-7(1), 6-3.

Quarterfinals: Anika bt HasinidhiLokuge (SL) 6-1, 6-2; Thisuri btPrabuddhi Perera (SL) 6-3, 6-1; Am-ritha bt Kemale Herath (SL) 6-4, 7-5;Arushi bt Harshita Chugh 7-6(4), 6-3.

Pre-quarterfinals: Anika btRitika Yadav 6-0, 6-0; Thisuri btKaumini Nawaragodagedara (SL)6-0, 6-0; Amritha bt Sathi SiyaraSilva (SL) 6-2, 6-3; Arushi bt NethmiWaduge (SL) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. —Sports Bureau

ArushiovercomesAmritha

CMYK

ND-ND

LIFE20 |THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

NOIDA/DELHI

KARACHI: Pakistan’s PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif hasconstituted a committee toconsider a request by distrib-utors to resume the import ofBollywood films.

Distributors are hoping toget the permission beforeRaees, starring Bollywoodsuperstar Shahrukh Khanand Pakistani actor MairaKhan, releases on January 25.

The committee formed byMr. Sharif is headed by Min-ister of State for InformationMaryum Aurangzeb. It in-cludes the Secretary of Com-

merce, Adviser to the PrimeMinister on National His-tory and Literary Heritageand a representative of ISI.

Cinema hall owners hadsuspended the screening ofBollywood films inPakistan’s theatres in Octo-ber last year following escal-ation of tensions along theLine of Control.

Indian films are in the listof banned items in Pakistan.But the Commerce Ministry,under para-19 of the importpolicy order, had issued no-objection certificates(NOCs) at the request of theInformation Ministry for im-port of Indian films since2006. The Information Min-istry, in consultation with theCommerce Ministry, fol-lowed a procedure to allowthe import of two or three In-dian films per monththrough NOCs.

After the Uri attack,Pakistani actors werethreatened in India and unof-

Pakistan had plummetedafter the unoicial ban on In-dian movies and revenueshad fallen by as much as 75per cent in some theatres.Around 50 per cent of work-ers in halls had to lose theirjobs. Several Pakistani filmsreleased during October-January bombed at the boxoice.

Pakistani cinemas havestarted showing old Bolly-wood movies to arrest thebusiness slide but withoutmuch financial success.

Bollywood films arewidely available on piratedDVDs in Pakistan.

ficially barred from workingin Bollywood films. This wasfollowed by a ban by thePakistan Electronic MediaRegulatory Authority on In-dian TV channels and enter-tainment programs aired inPakistan and cinema hallowners deciding not toscreen Bollywood films.

Business plummets

Nadeem Mandviwalla, aleading cinema hall owner,told The Hindu that it wastime for resumption ofscreening Indian movies inPakistan. Sources said busi-ness in cinema halls in

Pakistan may resume import of Indian filmsMUBASHIR ZAIDI Nawaz Sharif has

constituted acommittee toconsider a requestfrom distributors

Facebook unveils startup support

Facebook launched its first-ever startupsupport programme in Paris on Tuesday, in amassive technology business incubator.

Grow virtual plants in space

NASA has launched a mobile game app that allowsusers to grow virtual plants aboard the InternationalSpace Station. It is available on Android and iOS.

‘Australia’s wasps pose health threat’

Of all Australia’s venomous animals, bees andwasps pose the biggest threat to public healthleading to many hospital admissions, says a study.

GENEVA: Scientists have de-veloped the world’s lightesthigh-performance mechan-ical watch weighing 40 gm.

The RM 50-03 watch wasmade using a composite in-corporating graphene tomanufacture a strong butlight-weight case to housethe delicate watch mechan-ism. The watch strap, de-veloped by the University ofManchester in the U.K. incollaboration with watch-making brand Richard Milleand McLaren F1, also con-tains graphene. — PTI

World’s lightestwatch weighs just 40 grams

WASHINGTON: U.S. astronautEugene Cernan, the lastman to set foot on themoon, died on Monday atthe age of 82, NASA and hisfamily announced.

Cernan was thespacecraft commander ofApollo 17 — his third spaceflight and the last U.S.manned mission to themoon — in December 1972.“We are saddened by theloss of retired NASAastronaut Gene Cernan,”the U.S. space agency saidon Twitter.

“Even at the age of 82,Gene was passionate aboutsharing his desire to see thecontinued humanexploration of space andencouraged our nation’sleaders and young peopleto not let him remain thelast man to walk on themoon.”

To the stars

The space communityquickly took to Twitter topay tribute to Cernan.“Saddened by the loss ofpioneer, fellow naval

aviator, astronaut andfriend Gene Cernan #RIP#lastmanonthemoon,” saidretired American astronautScott Kelly.

“Ad Astra, Gene,”tweeted NASA’s KennedySpace Centre, using a Latinphrase meaning “to thestars.”

The footprints Cernanleft on the moon’s surfaceremain visible more than

four decades later. “I’d justlike to record thatAmerica’s challenge oftoday has forged man’sdestiny of tomorrow,” hehad said as he left themoon.

Cernan was one of aclass of 14 astronautschosen to join NASA in1963, and went on to serveon Gemini and Apollomissions. — AFP

Eugene Cernan, last man towalk on moon, dies at 82

Eugene Cernan. — PHOTO: NASA/AP

MADRID: The number of inter-national tourists rose by fourper cent worldwide to 1.2 bil-lion in 2016 as Asians trav-elled more, but security fearshit visitor arrivals in Europe,the World Tourism Organiz-ation (WTO) said onTuesday.

This represents the sev-enth consecutive year ofgrowth since 2009, whenglobal tourism figures de-clined four per cent as thefinancial crisis and an out-break of swine flu saw cash-strapped people stay athome.

The number of people liv-ing in Asia and discoveringboth their own region andthe rest of the world roseeight per cent compared to2015, the Madrid-based bodysaid. The Asia-Pacific area,meanwhile, proved a populardestination — the second-most visited region afterEurope. But the UN bodycautioned that while stillblessed with 620 milliontourists last year, the growthin the number of visitors to

Europe had slowed due to se-curity concerns. WTO chiefTaleb Rifai told reporters theresults in Europe were “verymixed”, saying some destina-tions recorded “a double-di-git growth rate and someothers a flat rate”.

The Americas registered agrowth of four per cent invisitor numbers, the bodysaid. Africa, meanwhile, re-covered from a sharp drop in2015 due to security fears, re-

cording an eight per centgrowth. The Middle East,however, saw a four per centdrop in the arrival of tourists.Mr. Rifai refused to give amuch-anticipated ranking ofthe most visited countries,saying this would be un-veiled at a later date. In 2015,France ranked number one,followed by the U.S. andSpain. But France has beenhard hit by extremist attacksin the past two years. — AFP

Security fears hit visitor arrivals in Europe: WTO report

TRAVEL BUG: Asian tourists click a selfie with the Eiffel Tower asbackdrop in Paris. — PHOTO: AFP

‘Asians drove rise in worldtourism numbers in 2016’ I feel the need to become a parent: Karan

Filmmaker Karan Johar says he has a lot of love to offer andwould like to be a parent some day. “I would like to be a parent.I don’t know in what capacity, I don’t know how it’s going to

happen, I don’t have answers to those questions. But I do feel theneed because I have love to offer,” Johar told

reporters. The director was in conversation withauthor Shobha De during the launch of his book,

An Unsuitable Boy. “Since it [love] is there, I would like to take it

forward. I feel the paternal instinct needsto be acted upon,” he added. Thefilmmaker says he realised his nurturingquality when he launched Alia Bhatt,Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan inStudent of the Year. — PTI

‘Films that didn’t work affected me a lot’

Actor Vidya Balan, who was last seen on screen in Kahaani 2:Durga Rani Singh, says her films that didn’t work wellaffected her immensely. When asked if failure of her films

affected her, Vidya said: “Oh, for sure... Previously, before 2008, inthat phase of my career, failure didn’t affect me thatmuch because I didn’t feel like I was reallyinvested in the films, but since 2008, since Ibegan to do films like Paa, Ishqiya and No OneKilled Jessica, the films that didn’t work, haveaffected me immensely,” Vidya said. The 38-year-old actor says the reason she getsaffected with a film’s failure now is becauseshe is “invested in them emotionally”. “It’slike your child is being rejected by theworld and it’s heartbreaking. Not thatyou would love the child any lessbecause the world doesn’t accept it, butit’s difficult,” she added. — IANS

STAR TREK