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HYDERABAD I WEDNESDAY I 10 MARCH 2021
deccanchronicle.com, facebook.com/deccannews, twitter.com/deccanchronicle Vol. 84 No. 68 Established 1938 | 20 PAGES | `6.00

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ASTROGUIDE
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COUNTER POINT
SHORT TAKES
357 arrested for
fake GST invoices
New Delhi: GST officers
have arrested 357 per-
sons, including 12 char-
tered accountants, in
about four months as part
of its drive against fake
invoices to check tax eva-
sion, sources said. Since
mid-November, 3,500
cases have been booked
and 10,400 fake GSTIN
entities have been
unearthed by GST intelli-
gence and Central GST
officers so far.
Centre firm on
privatisation
New Delhi: The scope for
sale of minority stakes in
public sector companies
has reduced and strategic
disinvestment would be
the primary mode for dis-
investment receipts going
forward, MoS finance
Anurag Singh Thakur said
on Tuesday. He said the
government has realised
Rs 20,627 crore as disin-
vestment receipts
till March 3.
Collector jailed for contempt Uttarakhand CM
Court punishes three officials for non-payment of compensation
VUJJINI
VAMSHIDHARA | DC
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
The Telangana High Court
has punished three senior
bureaucrats with various
terms of simple imprison-
ment after they were con-
victed for contempt of
court in relation to some
land deals.
The court pulled up Sidd-
ipet collector P. Venkat-
rami Reddy, IAS officer
Krishna Bhaskar who
PETROL PRICE
RISE SINGES LS,
RS PROCEEDINGS
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MARCH 9
The proceedings in both
Houses of Parliament
were adjourned for the
day on Tuesday over the
Opposition’s protests on
rising fuel prices.
Earlier in the day, both
Houses were adjourned
till 2 pm after continual
ruckus by the Opposi-
tion over the rise in fuel
prices. The Lok Sabha
was first adjourned until
noon and then again
until 2 pm, before it was
later adjourned for the
day.
When the House recon-
vened at 2 pm, several
Opposition members
demanded a rollback in
the fuel price hikes.
Several Congress mem-
bers were seen standing
in the Well. As the
protests continued, Raje-
ndra Agrawal, who was
in the Chair, adjourned
proceedings for the day.
The Rajya Sabha too
witnessed stormy scenes
before being adjourned
for the day. Leader of
Opposition Mallikarjun
Kharge demanded that
the petrol and diesel
rates be brought back to
the 2013-2014 levels.
TS employee unions to
back TRS in MLC polls
L. VENKAT
RAM REDDY I DC
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
The TRS is upbeat over
the support extended by
various employees uni-
ons to the party candi-
dates for the upcoming
graduate elections to the
Legislative Council.
As the March 14 polling
day nears, the unions are
announcing their support
to the TRS one after the
other, contrary to reports
that employees are angry
with the government for
delaying the Pay Revis-
The court pulled up Siddipet
collector P. Venkatrami Reddy,
IAS officer Krishna Bhaskar, and
erstwhile RDO Siddipet
Jayachandra Reddy
served as Siddipet collec-
tor for eight months and is
now Rajanna Siricilla col-
lector, and erstwhile rev-
enue divisional officer of
Siddipet Jayachandra
Reddy, saying they were
Poll panel shifts
Bengal’s top cop
RAJIB CHOWDHURI | DC
KOLKATA, MARCH 9
In a major step against
favourite bureaucrats of
West Bengal Chief Minis-
ter Mamata Banerjee, the
Election Commission on
Tuesday evening remo-
ved Director General of
Police Virendra from his
post with “immediate
effect” ahead of the
Assembly elections.
The 1985-batch IPS offi-
cer of West Bengal cadre
has been in the good
books of the Trinamul
supremo since her second
stint as railway minister
as he was posted in the
Railway Protection Force
on central deputation.
He was replaced by IPS
officer Nirajnayan Pan-
dey two batches his
junior. In his last assign-
ment, Pandey was DG
(administration).
to
Informing it’s decision
ChSef secretary
Alapan Bandyopadhyay,
the EC said Virendra
“should not be given any
post which directly or
indirectly relates to con-
duct of election.” It told
Bandyopadhyay to file a
compliance report by 10
am on Wednesday.
ion Commission (PRC)
report and the hike in
retirement age.
Chief Minister K. Chan-
drashekar Rao’s ‘strate-
gy’ in deputing ministers
as election incharges to
‘negotiate’ with employ-
ees unions is yielding
results in the form of sup-
port for the elections.
The incharge ministers
who are holding separate
meetings with employees
unions every day could
convince them that the
TRS government will
give the PRC and other
benefits soon after the
Trivendra resigns
guilty of wilful disobedi-
ence of the court’s order.
Justice M.S. Ramachan-
dra Rao was dealing with a
contempt petition filed by
Gandla Tirupathi and ano-
ther person from Vemula-
AINRC TO LEAD
BJP, AIADMK
P’CHERRY FRONT
DC CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI, MARCH 9
N. Rangasamy of the NR
Congress, one of the par-
ties that collaborated
with the BJP to pull
down the Congress
Puducherry government,
came clean on his deci-
sion to join hands with
the BJP for the polls.
Rangasamy had been
playing truant for some
time, sending across sub-
tle messages without
explicitly stating any-
thing, that he might go it
alone in the elections.
Sources said he feared a
reprisal from the voters
for aligning with the BJP.
Also Rangasamy was
peeved that the BJP was
planning to install its
own candidate as CM.
On Tuesday it was
announced that the NR
Congress will contest 16
seats in Puducherry with
the AIADMK and BJP
sharing 14 seats.
MLC polls.
The idea behind these
meetings is to convey the
message to employees
unions that the TRS gov-
ernment will remain in
power until December
2023, irrespective of the
outcome of the MLC polls
and it’s the TRS govern-
ment that has to give PRC
or any other benefit.
Employees unions also
want to avoid a con-
frontation with the TRS
government.
■ Page 2: Emotional appeal
to unions helps TRS
ghat village of Thoguta
mandal in Siddipet dis-
trict. The petitioners com-
plained that the interim
orders issued by the court
on land acquisition for the
Mallanasagar project were
not heeded to by these offi-
cers and they were respon-
sible for eviction of the
petitioners from his own
land, without complying
with the procedure.
■ Page 2: HC held officials
guilty on two counts
TS BUDGET
SESSION FROM
MARCH 15
● The Budget session
of the Telangana
Legislature will com-
mence on March 15
and the Budget will be
presented on March
18, said a notification
issued on Tuesday.
■ REPORT ON PAGE 3
BJP MLAs to meet today to elect new CM
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MARCH 9
Facing discontentment
from a section of BJP
MLAs and ministers over
his style of functioning,
Uttarakhand Chief
Minister Trivendra Singh
Rawat on Tuesday ten-
dered his resignation as
the party’s top brass did
not want the growing dis-
sension to dent the party’s
poll prospects.
With the Assembly polls
just 10 months away and
the Congress, the main
Opposition party, now in
disarray, the BJP leader-
ship did not want to take
any chance to give streng-
th to the Opposition camp,
including the AAP, which
has decided to contest the
polls this time. Rawat
would have completed
four years in office on
March 17.
Sensing that the CM’s
resignation could upset
his supporters and his
constituency, Mr Rawat,
who had held a meeting
with BJP president J.P.
Trivendra Singh Rawat
Nadda in New Delhi on
Monday, said it was a “col-
lective decision” taken by
the party leadership that
someone else should lead
the state now. Mr Rawat’s
Cabinet colleague Dhan
Singh Rawat, who is also
his batchmate from col-
lege, is said to be the fron-
trunner to succeed him.
The names of Union min-
ister Ramesh Pokhriyal
“Nishank”, Rajya Sabha
MP Anil Baluni and senior
leader Ajay Bhatt are also
doing the rounds.
Mr Trivendra Rawat
submitted his resignation
to governor Baby Rani
Maurya at Raj Bhavan in
Dehradun on his return
from New Delhi, where he
had met the BJP’s central
leadership.
After submitting his res-
ignation, Mr Rawat said
the Uttarakhand BJP Legi-
slature Party will meet at
the state party headquar-
ters Wednesday to choose
his successor. Central obs-
ervers Raman Singh and
Dushyant Kumar Gautam
are due to land in the state
late on Tuesday to oversee
the process of the change
of guard in the state.
Earlier, before going to
Raj Bhavan, Mr Rawat
was closeted with his asso-
ciates at the CM’s resi-
dence, including Cabinet
minister Madan Kaushik
and Dhan Singh Rawat.
After submitting his res-
ignation, Mr Rawat addre-
ssed a press conference at
his residence and said the
party had “collectively
decided” someone else
should lead the state now.
“I feel really honoured
that my party gave me the
opportunity to serve
Devbhoomi for nearly four
years,” said Mr Rawat.

EASY | ACCESS State and Centre to share cost of land acquisition

RRR to get TS budget boost

DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
The long-pending 340-km
Hyderabad Regional Ring
Road (RRR) project is set to
get a boost in the upcoming
State Budget. As part of the
budget preparatory meet-
ings, Chief Minister K.
Chandrashekar Rao has
directed officials to sanc-
tion the required funds for
the project which is esti-
mated to cost `15,980 crore.
Sources said the funds
sanctioned in the Budget
will be utilised for land
acquisition. The state gov-
ernment has agreed to pay
50 per cent of land acquisi-
tion cost while the Centre
will bear the other half,
they added. The project will
improve connectivity betw-
een ORR and major urban
clusters around Hyderabad.
It comprises two parts — a
`9,500 crore northern part
and a `6,480 crore southern
portion. The Centre granted
in-principle approval for
the northern part on Febru-
ary 22 while it assured that
it would consider approval
for the southern part later.
Union minister Nitin
Gadkari assured that the
RRR will be built in three
years, provided that the
government completes the
land acquisition work
quickly
The project will connect
Sangareddy, Narsapur, To-
opran, Gajwel, Jagdevpur,
Choutuppal, Shadnagar and
Sangareddy and serve 40
per cent of the population of
the state. It will connect
national highways 65
(Pune-Machilipatnam), 161
(Sangareddy-Nanded-
Akola), 765D (Hyderabad-
Medak), 44 (Srinagar-Kany-
akumari) and 163 (Hyderab-
ad-Bhopalpatnam) and
State Highway-1 (Hydera-
bad-Ramagundam).
Once the project is con-
structed as an access con-
trolled expressway, the
travel time and vehicle
operation costs for commer-
cial and non-commercial
vehicles will get reduced by
a great extent. A number of
industrial clusters, IT cen-
tres, logistics parks, phar-
ma industries among oth-
ers, are expected to be set
up around the project.
CITY
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
Beat the heat
As summer approaches, vendors are busy using innovative sugarcane juice making vehicles to boost business.
Covaxin shows good
impact, says Lancet
The study reports there is no life threatening reactions
KANIZA GARARI | DC doses were administered
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9 to all the participants and TELANGANA RECORDS 142 NEW COVID
they were asked to note
After two doses, Covaxin, down the changes and INFECTIONS, TWO MORE DEATHS
the vaccine against Covid- symptoms if they felt any
19 developed by Bharat
Biotech, had shown good
antibody response in
phase 2 clinical trials in
380 participants, accord-
ing to a report published
in the journal Lancet.
The study was carried
out to understand the safe-
ty of the vaccine. It has
been found that there
were local side-effects like
pain at the injection site,
followed by headache,
fatigue and fever.
There were no life threat-
ening reactions noted dur-
ing this phase of the study
carried out from
September 5. The two
COURT HELD
OFFICIALS GUILTY
ON TWO COUNTS
From Page 1
Justice
Ramachandra Rao had
M.S.
passed interim orders in
2018 to the land acquisi-
tion authorities, asking
them to dispose of the
objections raised by the
landowners before the
lands were acquired for
the project. The court
had also directed the
officials to provide ade-
quate copies of the
detailed project report
in Telugu. This too was
not done.
The court held the offi-
cials guilty and sen-
tenced Jayachandra
Reddy for simple impris-
onment of four months
and a fine of `2,000. He
shall also pay costs of
`50,000 to the petitioners
within four weeks, the
Judge said.
Collector P.
Venkatrami Reddy shall
suffer simple imprison-
ment for three months
and a fine of `2,000. He
shall pay costs of
`25,000 to the petition-
ers. Krishna Bhaskar
shall pay a fine of
`2,000.
The high court also set
aside the award passed
by the government on
the petitioners’ land, as
it has lapsed after two
years.
EARLY | DAYS Found in Patancheru mandal, it was used to sharpen stone axes
Neolithic grooves found near Hyd
DC CORRESPONDENT
MAHBUBNAGAR, MARCH 9
Pre-historic grooves used
by the early Neolithic peo-
ple to sharpen stone axes
have been found at
Indiresam, a village in
Patancheru mandal on the
outskirts of Hyderabad.
Dr E. Sivanagi Reddy,
archaeologist and chief
executive officer, The
Cultural Centre of
Vijayawada and
Amaravati, has received
approval to identify the
grooves on Tuesday during
during the first seven days.
Most of them stated that
they had pain at the injec-
tion site, swelling, fever,
fatigue, body aches and
headaches. Researches
state that the probability
of experiencing a side-
effect was 10 to 12 per cent.
The response of the
immune system has been
noted after the two doses
on Day 42 and Day 56.
There are sufficient anti-
bodies generated and the
response of the T-cells is
expected to be till three
months. With further
studies to be carried out
and on-going evaluation
HC pulls up govt over shift
in stand on land status
DC CORRESPONDENT
The
Court summons
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Telangana High
Court has taken exception
commissioner
to the government’s stand
of filing appeals before it
and challenging the single
judge order on 48 acres of
land in Survey No.s 1 to 18
in Sikanderguda of
Gandipet mandal in
Ranga Reddy district.
A division bench asked
why the government was
not claiming the title or
possession of the land.
The bench said it was sur-
prised that, in revenue
matters, the state took the
stand that the land was in
the prohibitory list under
Section 22 A.
But, for the first time, a
new defence was taken
that the land was in the
custody of the court of
wards, and that too
against their own
munthakhab, which “does
not support their con-
tention.”
The total extent of 187
acres existed in these sur-
vey numbers and with
respect to land admeasur-
ing 25 acres and 13 acres,
the single judge had
directed the government
to issue digitalised pass-
books in place of the man-
ual passbooks and title
deeds.
his explorations conducted
at the site that is located
close to a Shiva temple
located on a hillock.
A shallow groove found
on the rock bed towards the
left side of the stone flag
staff of the temple, mea-
sureing 20cm in length 3
cm in width and 5cm in
depth, was used to sharpen
the dolerite celts by the
Neolithic people. The
grooves were dateable to
the period between 6,000
and 2,000 years BC, during
the phase when the transi-
tion occurred from food
pg 2
TELANGANA
ECET TO BE
HELD ON JULY 1
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
The TS Engineering
Common Entrance Test
(ECET) will be conduct-
ed on July 1, the
Telangana State Council
for Higher Education
(TSCHE) announced on
Tuesday. The exam will
be conducted in two
shifts, from 9 am to 12
noon and 3 pm to 6 pm.
The test registration fee
is `800 and for SC/ST
candidates `400.
The online application
submission will begin
from March 22, the last
date for payment with-
out late fee will be May
17, with a late fee of `250
is May 31, late fee of `500
June 14, late fee of `2,500
June 24, and with a late
fee of `5,000 the last date
will be June 28, the noti-
fication said.
The ECET will be con-
— R. PAVAN ducted at 18 centres, 14
in Telangana state and
four in AP, in the online
mode. The Jawaharlal
Nehru Technological
University-Hyderabad
will organise the test
this year for the seventh
time. A detailed infor-
mation booklet with syl-
labi, list of courses, pro-
cedure for online appli-
cation, mode of fee pay-
ment etc., will be made
available on the website
https://ecet.tsche.ac.in/.
EMOTIONAL
APPEAL
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
area reported 31 new
cases, Medchal Malkajgiri HELPS TRS
10 and Ranga Reddy 12.
Telangana state reported The government has From Page 1
142 new Covid-19 cases, asked people who are vac-
taking the overall number cinated to also wear Major employees unions
to 3,00,153 on Monday. Two masks in public places. such as Telangana
more deaths due to the People must continue Gazetted Officers
disease took the toll to observing safety Association (TGOs),
1,644. The active cases protocols. Telangana Non-Gazetted
stand at 1,769 of whom 633 Those who are not vacci- Officers Association
are in home and institu- nated were advised to (TNGOs) have expressed
tional care. wear masks, wash hands support to the TRS. The
The Greater Hyderabad and maintain physical biggest teachers union,
Municipal Corporation distancing. Telangana Progressive
Recognised Teachers
after vaccination the actu- states that the vaccine is Union (PRTU), has also
al efficacy will be known. safe and can be adminis- announced its support.
Presently the safety and tered to people stated the The Contributory
immunogenicity data company. Pension Scheme
Employees Association
comprising 1.3 lakh
employees announced
support to the ruling
party candidates. On
Tuesday, another major
union, the Telangana
Udyogula Sangham,
extended support to the
TRS.
The ministers pointed
out to the unions that
Chandrashekar Rao had
given the highest ever 43
per cent fitment during
PRC in 2015. Besides, the
government had also
paid a special increment
and they would get simi-
lar benefits if employees
DC CORRESPONDENT ing department to consid- ensure victory of the
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9 er the applications of the TRS in the MLC polls.
vendors, who had pleaded Ministers are trying to
The Telangana High for allotment of spaces in strike an emotional
Court on Tuesday sum- the market for them chord with employees
moned A. Sharath, com- either on long lease or unions, reminding them
missioner and director of outright sale. how the TRS and employ-
marketing department, to As the court order was ees unions had together
appear before it on March not heeded by the officers, achieved statehood with
17 to explain why he had the court had imposed on their joint struggle.
disobeyed the court direc- Sharat payment of costs
tions regarding allotment of `5,000 to the legal serv-
of shops to vegetable ven-
dors and commission
ices authority.
Challenging this, Sharath
HC GRANTS BAIL
agents in
Gudimalkapur market.
the filed the contempt appeal
in 2016.
TO BHUMA’S
The High Court had ear-
lier ordered the market-
The court heard the
matter on Tuesday. HUSBAND
DC CORRESPONDENT
● THE TOTAL extent of 187 acres existed in these HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
survey numbers and with respect to land admeasuring
25 acres and 13 acres, the single judge had directed the The Telangana High
government to issue digitalised passbooks in place of Court on Tuesday grant-
the manual passbooks and title deeds. ed anticipatory bails to
Bhargava Ram, husband
of Bhuma Akhilapriya,
The single judge, by also been excluded from the former AP minister, and
relying on the material claim of Paigah Vicar-Ul- her brother Bhooma
papers filed by the gov- Umra by the Atiyath Jagatvikyath Reddy, who
ernment itself, held that court way back in 1968, were accused of kidnap-
the property in and this was confirmed ping one Katikaneni
Secunderguda village to by the Board of Revenue Praveen Kumar and oth-
the extent of 187 acres has in 1976. ers recently.
gathering to food produc-
tion. Based on the evi-
dence, Dr Reddy surveyed
the surroundings for tools
of the Neolithic period but
could notice microliths of
the Mesolithic period and
broken stone sculptures of
Nandi Anjaneya, Saraswati
and Nagadevatha of the
medieval period. He
appealed to the state
department of heritage to
conduct further probings
around Indiresam village
to know the archaeological The grooves were dateable to the period between
potential of the Neolithic 6,000 and 2,000 years BC.
site.
 CITY
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
SHORT TAKES
Ex-army officer
adopts lion
Hyderabad: Octogenarian A.
Krishna Murthy, a retired
army officer, on Tuesday
adopted an Asiatic Lion
(male) for a period of 54
days. To this end, he handed
over a cheque of `15,000
to V.V.L. Subhadra Devi,
curator, Nehru Zoological
Park.
MAN GETS LIFE
TERM FOR
RAPING MINOR
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
A 26-year-old man has been
sentenced to life imprison-
ment by the Ranga Reddy
court for raping a minor girl.
The accused, Sai, a painter,
was arrested last year by the
Parigi police. “Sai’s mother,
who was named as an accom-
plice, was sentenced to under-
go three years of imprison-
ment,” police said. Sai was
accused of raping the minor,
his neighbour, on January 18,
2020.
CS URGED TO
PROTECT WAKF
PROPERTIES
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Wakf
Mohammed
Board Chairman
Saleem
Tuesday requested Chief
on
Secretary Somesh Kumar to
ensure incorporation of Wakf
properties as protected land
under the Registration Act
and update the revenue record
on par with the Wakf record.
He thanked the Chief
Secretary for issuing GO Ms
No. 15 directing the registra-
tion and revenue departments
and the municipalities not to
endorse transactions pertain-
ing to Wakf lands and avoid
giving construction permits
unless the minorities welfare
department authorises them.
Saleem requested the Chief
Secretary to instruct the dis-
trict collectors, municipal
commissioners and oolice offi-
cers to cooperate with the
Wakf Board in protecting
Wakf properties and remov-
ing the encroachments. He
said that the board had
already sent district wise
details of Wakf properties to
the registration and revenue
departments.
Air Marshal R.D. Mathur hands
over the station crest to Air
Force Station, Begumpet, on
Tuesday.
AIR MARSHAL
HANDS OVER
STATION CREST
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
A ceremonial parade was
organised on Tuesday to hand
over crests to the Air Force
Station, Begumpet, and 19
TETTRA School, Hyderabad.
Air Marshal R.D. Mathur, Air
Officer Commanding-in-Chief,
Training Command, reviewed
the parade and handed over
the station crest to Group
Captain Sunil Tomar, Station
Commander, Air Force Station
Begumpet and the Unit Crest
to Wing Commander Joginder
Kumar, Commanding Officer
19 TETTRA School.
The crests of the formations
and units are approved by the
President, the Supreme
Commander of Armed Forces,
and have great historical and
sentimental value. They
depict the role of the forma-
tion, its aspirations and por-
trays its deeds of glory in the
past and uniqueness.
The motto of Air Force
Station Begumpet is Gyanam
Samyagvekshanam, taken
from the Sandila Upanishad
which emphasizes the impor-
tance of knowledge leading to
insight'. The motto of 19 TET-
TRA School, ‘Prashikshnen
Naipunyam’ portrays the
essential virtues of the unit as
skillfulness through training.
Blood donation camp
Additional commissioner of police, traffic, Anil Kumar, inaugurates a blood donation camp organised by the
Hyderabad City Police at Mudfort in Secunderabad on Tuesday.
Police on trail of Indus
Viva; many cheated
Victims rushing to police stations, 50 complaints filed
DURGA PRASAD
SUNKU I DC
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Ten lakh people, `1,500
crore in the net. These
mind boggling figures are
of the number of victims
of the money circulation
fraud committed via
Bengaluru-based Indus
Viva and the amount the
victims got cheated
respectively.
This, though, is as per
the preliminary findings
of the economic offences
wing (EOW) of the
Cyberabad police. More
details might emerge.
After arrest of 24 accused
by the Cyberabad police
on Sunday, several vic-
tims of the fraud are now
flocking to police stations
with their grievances. So
far, about 50 complaints
were registered by the
police. Cyberabad police
sought custody of the
accused for 10 days and
are hoping to dig further
into the fraud.
Meanwhile, the economic
offences wing police are
set to interrogate
Abhilash Thomas, the
brain behind the fraud,
after the court granted
his custody.Police say the
main focus of investiga-
tions will be on the
money trail. Aspects like
how the funds diversion
happened, the accounts
TS gets `6,466 cr FDI Fix new meters
in 9 months of 2020-21 for free water
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Telangana state has
received Foreign Direct
Investments (FDI) worth
`6,466 crore in the first
nine months, April to
December, of the ongoing
financial year 2020-21.
This amounts to 2 per
cent of the total FDIs
received by India.
The latest data released
by the Centre’s depart-
ment for promotion of
industry and internal
trade (DPIIT) shows that
Telangana is one of the
top 10 states in attracting
SIZE | ISSUES Voter likely to take 8-10 minutes to cast vote for MLC polls
Jumbo ballot box can hold 1,500 votes
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
The jumbo ballot boxes
being used in the MLC
election from graduate
constituency of
Mahbubna g ar-Rang a
Reddy-Hyderabad can
accommodate as many as
1,500 votes.
Following instructions
of the Election
Commission of India,
Greater Hyderabad
Municipal Corporation
(GHMC) has prepared
jumbo boxes measuring
two feet in length, two feet
in breadth and two-and-a-
trail of the company and
the audit reports are the
biggest puzzles before the
investigation officials.
Thomas, 40, hails from a
middle-class family in
Kerala. He completed
LLB from a college in
Bengaluru and joined as
a depositor in Amway,
which is also involved in
money circulation
scheme.
The Indus Viva Health
Sciences Pvt Ltd operates
from the Karnataka capi-
tal. The scheme helps one
earn money by enrolling
members in Indus Viva
Plan. To become a mem-
ber, one has to pay `12,500
and buy its products.
Then the member will get
a 100 Point Value. This,
the police say, is illegal.
Any scheme involving
enrolment of members is
nothing but a money cir-
culation scheme. It is
banned under Prize Chits
and Money Circulation
Schemes (Banning) Act
1978. It also amounts to
cheating and is punish-
able under section 420
IPC, said the police.Many
of the complaints from
this fraud have also got
involved in the money
circulation scheme and
they have enrolled as dis-
tributors into the compa-
ny, without knowing of
the harms of the never-
ending market chain.
● THE LATEST data
released by the Centre’s
department for promo-
tion of industry and inter-
nal trade (DPIIT) shows
that Telangana is one of
the top 10 states in
attracting FDI.
FDI.
Telangana has received
FDI worth `11,331 crore
between October 2019 and
December 2020 and stood
at the eighth place. This
amounts to 2.4 per cent of
total FDI attracted by
India.
half feet in height. These
boxes were necessitated
since as many as 93 candi-
dates are contesting the
MLC polls from this con-
stituency. This required
an equally jumbo ballot
paper measuring 23 x 34
inches. This apart,
authorities will also have
the usual ballot boxes in
case of any emergency.
Significantly, poll staff
estimated that each voter
might take between eight
minutes to 10 minutes or
even longer to cast his or
her vote.
There are 5,32,268 eligi-
ble voters in 799 polling
— S. SURENDER REDDY
Approach CID,
DGP tells victims
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Director General of
Police M. Mahendar
Reddy has requested
those who were cheated
by the Sri
Ramalingeswara Weaker
Sections Cooperative
Housing Society Ltd,
TBC-271 in Kushaiguda,
to approach the CID
office in Hyderabad as an
investigation was taken
up by the department
against the organisation.
The DGP said cases had
been booked against the
managing committee of
the society and one T.S.N.
Murthy, following a com-
plaint from the deputy
registrar/district cooper-
ative officer, Medchal-
Malkajgiri district. The
cases were registered
To encourage the
enrolling of members,
the company lured mem-
bers with ranks, based on
the number of people
they enrolled, like at dif-
ferent levels.
A member who refers
Andhra Pradesh on the
other hand stood at the
12th place by attracting
FDI worth `1,975 crore.
India received FDI
worth `5,54,613 crore
between October 2019 and
December 2020. Gujarat
topped the country by
attracting `1,77,052 crore,
amounting to 31.92 per
cent. Maharashtra was
second with `1,53,351
crore FDI, or 27.65 per
cent of India’s total.
It was followed by
Karnataka at `78,159
crore, Delhi `59,830 crore
and Tamil Nadu `19,733
crore.
● SIGNIFICANTLY, POLL
staff estimated that each
voter might take
between eight minutes to
10 minutes or even
longer to cast his or her
vote. There are 5,32,268
eligible voters in 799
polling stations.
stations spread over the
three districts. A maxi-
mum of 1,200 voters can
vote in each polling sta-
tion. However, arrange-
ments have been made for
1,500 voters to cast their
vote. The jumbo box will
be used to hold 800–1,500
under the IPC and TS Co-
operatives Societies Act
of 1964 for violation of
the law and misutilising
the society for collection
of donations of `5,000
per person.
The DGP each from the
general public and the
same is being investigat-
ed by the Deputy
Superintendent of Police,
Economic Offences Wing
(EOW), CID, Hyderabad.
Hence, the victims who
were cheated by the soci-
ety are requested to
approach the CID office
along with original docu-
ments and contact A.
Bhaskar, Deputy
Superintendent of Police,
EOW, CID, Hyderabad
and reach him at his
phone by calling
9493896147,” said the
DGP.
10,000 enrolments is
promised a high-end car.
So far, the police were
successful in freezing the
bank accounts worth of
`20 crore and further
investigation is under
way.
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
To avail the facility of free
drinking water of 20,000
litres per month, the
Water Board said that new
meters must be installed
and houseowners must
provide water bills for the
previous six months.
The water bills of six
months are needed to
identify unauthorised or
‘black’ connections.
In a review meeting on
the implementation of the
scheme, Dana Kishore,
managing director of the
Hyderabad Metropolitan
ballot papers. The normal
box accommodates about
400 votes.
Voters will be given a
violet sketch pen and bal-
lot paper. They should
write ‘1’ in the ‘Order of
Preference’ column next
to the name of the candi-
date. This would be their
first preference. They can
write ‘1’ only next to the
name of one candidate.
Electors can have sever-
al preferences. For exam-
ple, if there are five candi-
dates, a voter can mark
his/her choice as 1
against the candidate he
prefers the best.
pg 3
BUDGET SESSION
TO BE HELD FROM
MARCH 15 TO 31
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
The Budget session of the
Telangana Legislature
will commence on March
15 and the Budget will be
presented on March 18.
Governor Tamilisai
Soundararajan issued a
notification to this effect
on Tuesday.
Govt teachers
Official sources said the
session will commence
with the address by the
Governor to the joint
await salary dues
meeting of the Assembly
and the Legislative
Council. The following
day there would be a con-
dolence resolution on the
of three months
DC CORRESPONDENT ● TEACHERS ALLEGED that
demise of sitting MLA HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Nomula Narasimhaiah
the salaries are not being
released despite the alloca-
and former MLAs. The The Telangana State United
discussion on the Teachers Federation tion of budget and approval
Governor’s speech will (TSUTF) on Monday of salary bills by the
take place on March 17
and finance minister T.
demanded immediate
release of salaries for the
treasury.
Harish Rao will present last two months, for ● THEY ALSO complained
the Budget on March 18. January and February, for that the aided school staff
The session is likely to teaching and non-teaching were facing severe financial
conclude on March 31. staff of aided educational difficulties due to non-
institutions. receipt of regular salaries
Teachers alleged that the for the past three months.
salaries are not being
In recent times, pensionary
TWO BURGLARS released despite the alloca-
tion of budget and approval
benefits of retired employ-
ees have accumulated.
ARRESTED, GOLD of salary bills by the treas-
ury.
RECOVERED “While most teachers are culties due to non-receipt of
waiting for salaries of regular salaries for the past
January and February, for three months.
DC CORRESPONDENT some even the December In recent times, pension-
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9 salaries have not been ary benefits of retired
released yet,” said TSUTF employees, General
Two burglars were arrest- president K. Jangayya and Provident Fund (GPF)
general secretary Chava loans, final payments, med-
ed by the Medipally police
who recovered 520 grams Ravi. ical claims, leave salaries
of gold, 500 grams of sil-
ver ornaments and two
They also complained that
the aided school staff were
have only accumulated at e-
Kuber, rather than being
motorcycles from the
accused, Mallachervu
facing severe financial diffi- released, they said.
Rama Rao and Kosuri
Srinivasa Rao, 45.
Police said Rama Rao
was involved in 61 crimi-
nal cases, mostly house
burglaries, and Srinivasa
Rao was named in 27
criminal cases.
Police said the duo picks
apartments where the
watchmens are not alert.
They enter such apart-
ments, break into individ-
ual flats and steal valu-
ables. The duo was arrest-
ed at a hospital lane at
Medipally after being
identified by CCTV cam-
eras, police said. Police
also arrested one Saritha
who helped dispose of the
solen property.
Investigation revealed
that when the duo was in
jail, they had promised
Saritha’s husband
Ganesh that they would
arrange some money for
his wife who could fight
his detention under the
Preventive Detention Act.
● POLICE SAID the duo
picks apartments where
the watchmens are not
alert. They enter such
apartments, break into
individual flats and steal
valuables. The duo was
arrested at a hospital lane
at Medipally.
Water Supply and
Sewerage Board, stated
that the biggest challenge
noted was linking
Aadhaar card of users in
slums. The board has
deployed personnel to go
from door to door to
ensure that the linking
process is carried out.
There is also identifica-
tion drive carried out of
those homes which have
not installed new meters.
Water Board officials have
been given a target to
install 300 meters by
month end. They have
also been asked to replace
the non-functioning ones.
The voter can indicate
the preference for remain-
ing candidates by writing
2, 3, 4 and 5 against their
names.
Meanwhile, GHMC
headquarters was full of
poll staff on Tuesday.
Inquiries revealed that
the election wing has not
distributed stationery,
including sketch pens,
trunk boxes, or postal bal-
lots for persons above 80
years or with special
needs or suffering from
Covid-19. Authorities say
electors still have 48
hours’ time to register for
postal ballot votes.
 CITY
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
pg 4

IN

Ravi welcomes SC
BRIEF
decision on quota
Hyderabad: Former
Congress MP Mallu Ravi wel-
comed the decision of the
Supreme Court to have a re-
look at the 50 per cent ceil-
ing on reservation, in which
it has asked for the opinion
of all states for constituting
a special bench.
“We want Chief Minister K.
Chandrashekar Rao to take
this opportunity and ask for
more than 50 per cent reser-
vation. In the present situa-
tion, the reservations are
considered not only on
social and educational back-
ground but on economic
background also.
Considering this, the reser-
vations can go above 50 per
cent,” Ravi said.
CIRCULARS ON
KCR behaving like
Mamata: Edu min.
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Union education minister Dr
Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
alleged that Chief Minister
K. Chandrashekar Rao was
behaving like West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Ban-
erjee. He alleged that there
was no difference between
the West Bengal and Telan-
gana state governments.
The minister was speaking
as chief guest at a pro-
gramme, ‘Role of Intell-
ectuals’, organised by the
Hyderabad chapter of Forum
for Nationalistic Thinkers at
a hotel on Tuesday.
Pokhriyal alleged that as
the state government was not
implementing the Ayushman
TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy participates in the protest against the murder of the High Court advocate-couple last month, at
Dharna Chowk, Indira Park, Hyderabad on Tuesday. — S. SURENDER REDDY
Bharat health insurance
scheme of the Centre and the
● THE UNION minister point-
ed out that subsidies were
being directly credited in the
beneficiary accounts under
the Jan Dhan Yojana, and
praised the Prime Minister for
taking historical decisions for
the development of the
nation.
● POKHRIYAL STATED that
he had interacted with Ken-
driya Vidyalaya students and
said he was happy with the
girl students’ statements on
national respect and tradition.
for taking historical deci-
sions for the development of
the nation.
Pokhriyal stated that he
had interacted with Kendriya
Vidyalaya students and said
he was happy with the girl

MIN. WAGES IN Fasal Bima Yojana in students’ statements on nati-

Uttam hits out at TRS, BJP

Telangana, the people had onal respect and tradition.

GULF DRAW FLAK

NARENDER PULLOOR | DC
NIZAMABAD, MARCH 9
The circulars issued by the min-
istry of external affairs, red-
ucing the minimum referral
wages (MRW) for Indian wo-
rkers recruited for Gulf cou-
ntries, have drawn flak from
migrant workers and various
associations of Gulf migrants.
They expressed the fear that
the circulars would affect 88
lakh Indian migrant workers
in the Gulf countries. The min-
istry issued two circulars on
September 8 and 21, 2020.
According to these, the mini-
mum referral wages of Indians
who work in Qatar, Bahrain,
Oman or the UAE have been
reduced to $200 (`15,000) and in
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to
Asks why CM is silent on murder of advocate-couple, BJP not raising issue
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
State Congress president
N. Uttam Kumar Reddy
on Tuesday announced
that he would raise the
issue of the murder of
the lawyer couple G.
Vaman Rao and P.V.
Nagamani in Parliament.
Addressing advocates
who were staging a
protest at Dharna Chowk
at Indira Park over the
murders, Reddy strongly
condemned Chief
Minister K.
Chandrashekar Rao for
not responding to the
demand for CBI probe.
He said the CM had
turned so insensitive
that he did not condemn
the murders. He alleged
that since the accused
persons were reportedly
close to the CM, the local
police were not carrying
out the investigation in
an appropriate manner.
He reiterated that the
murders were the result
of a larger conspiracy
hatched by TRS-backed
sand mafia and were
directly linked to the cus-
todial death of a Dalit,
Seelam Rangaiah, in the
Manthani police station
of Ramagundam. He said
Vaman Rao
Nagamani were eliminat-
and
ed to hush up many other
illegal activities being
carried out with the
backing of TRS leaders.
He said that the TRS
Government had handed
over control of the state
to the ‘sand, land, mine
and wines’ mafia.
He slammed the BJP for
not taking up the issue at
the national level
although Union minister
of state for home G.
Kishan Reddy was from
the state. If the BJP lead-
ers were genuinely
against the TRS, then
they should convince the
Centre to order a CBI
probe. If this was not
lost out. He accused the Chief The minister stated that
Minister of working to a con- across the globe education
spiracy by not implementing institutions were shut down
the Central schemes for fear and students lost their aca-
that Prime Minister Nare- demic year but in India the
ndra Modi would get a good Centre had taken steps to
image among the people here.
The Union minister pointed
ensure that this did not hap-
pen.
done, the Congress out that subsidies were being He appealed to graduates to
would intensify its directly credited in the bene- elect BJP candidate N.
agitation. ficiary accounts under the Ramchander Rao as Member
He assured the advo- Jan Dhan Yojana, and of the Legislative Council to
cates that he would take praised the Prime Minister better voice their problems.
up their demands for
implementation of
Advocates Protection
Act, Review of CrPC 41,
payment of stipend to
junior advocates. He app-
Custody extended for
ealed to the advocates to
vote in favour of Con-
gress candidates in the
lawyers’ killing accused
forthcoming Legislative DC CORRESPONDENT Srinu was sent to the
Council elections. KARIMNAGAR, MARCH 9 Central Jail in Warangal
district.
The Manthani court extend- The advocate couple were

Schemes by
$245 and $324 respectively. ed the custody of Bittu murdered in broad daylight
The Central government’s Srinu, prime accused in the on February 17 at
decision to reduce minimum murder of High Court advo- Kalvacherla village of
referral wages by 30 to 50 per cates Gattu Vaman Rao and Ramagiri mandal in
cent risks the livelihoods of Peddapalli district. Srinu is

migrant workers, the associa-
tions complained. “It would
also shatter the dreams of the
current and prospective
migrants from India.”
The Centre has been fixing
minimum referral wages to re-
gulate the wages of Indian mig-
rant workers employed in coun-
tries falling under the category
of Emigration Check Required
(ECR). The rationale is that it
ensures Indian migrant wo-
rkers a decent minimum wage.
Migrant rights organisations
in Telangana state have record-
ed testimonies of migrants who
were promised higher wages
prior to their departure which
were later reduced following
the issuance of the wage circu-
lars in September last.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle
from New Delhi after meeting
the minister of state for exter-
nal affairs V. Muraleedharan,
Gulf Migrants’ Rights and
Welfare Federation president
Kotapati Narasimha Naidu
said the minister has promised
to roll back the circulars.
“The minister told us that it
was in the interest of Indian
workers that the government
issued the circulars, which
Centre increase
poverty: Owaisi
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
AIMIM president
Asaduddin Owaisi
said the the Modi gov-
ernment was imple-
menting schemes that
increase the poverty of
the poor. “It is an
enemy of two-wheeler
riders, autorickshaw
and lorry drivers. The
BJP forgot that these
sections mainly partic-
ipate in the voting
process,” he said.
Owaisi said 38 per
cent central taxes had
been levied on petrole-
um products and asked
Prof. K. Nageshwar, independent candidate for the Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy- the government to
Mahbubnagar graduate constituency elections to the Legislative Council, addresses decrease taxes up to 10
voters at a campaign meeting in Hyderabad, on Tuesday. — BY ARRANGEMENT per cent to ease prices.
“The government has
forgotten the plight of
the poor,” he said add-
P.V. Nagamani for 14 days of
judicial custody on facing allegations of supply-
Tuesday. ing weapons to Kunta Srinu
After completion of seven and for conspiring to commit
days remand, Ramagundam the murders.
police officials took Srinu to
the Godavarikhani area
hospital for tests and
produced him in the court at
The police has arrested
four other persons, Kunta
Srinu,
Chiranjeevi,
Shivandula
Akkapaka
● THE MIM has joined Manthani of Peddapalli dis- Kumar and Udari Lakshman
an alliance with the trict. After he was remanded, in the case.
Amma Makkal
Munnettra Kazagam of
T.V.V. Dinakaran in
Tamil Nadu and will
17-YR-OLD HELD FIRST DEATH ANNIVERSARY
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
contest three seats. FOR RAPING MINOR
late the MIM in politi- Hyderabad: A 17-year-old
cal circles, but conten- was arrested by the
ded that the party wo- Gandhinagar police on
uld proceed on its own. Tuesday for allegedly rap-
“Many political par- ing a minor girl after con-
ties are refraining fr- vincing her that he was in
om us, for some parties love. Police said the
we are untouchable.” accused, a resident of the
Reacting to the inci- Lower Tank Bund area, had Mrs. LALITHA PRASAD
W/o Late PASTOR BAG PRASAD
dent of communal vio- proposed to the victim and (GOOD NEWS CENTER)
lence in Bhainsa, he took her to an isolated place 21st December 1935 - 10th March 2020
said, “We always Weeping may endure for a night, But joy
and sexually assaulted her. comes in the morning. Psalms 30:5
appeal for peace and The incident came to light Inserted by:
tranquillity. I have when she complained of Sheila, Pramod, Manisha and
Deepak Chandrasekhar.
already warned the stomach pain.
Telangana govern-
ment that there is a IN LOVING MEMORY OF
need to monitor the sit-

Prof.: Parties playing hide and

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
would protect workers vis-a-vis ing that women who uation in the undivid- Phil 1:21
minimum wages during the got cylinders under the ed Nizamabad and
Covid-19 pandemic,” he said. government’s schemes Adilabad districts. Ex-

seek to provide data on jobs

DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Prof. K. Nageshwar, inde-
pendent candidate for the
Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy-
Mahbubnagar graduate
constituency elections to
the Legislative Council,
alleged that political par-
ties were playing a game
of hide and seek to pro-
vide data on jobs provided
to the youth in Telangana
state.
Addressing voters at the
series of elections meet-
ing in the city on Tuesday,
Prof. Nageshwar said that
as per the Pay Revision
Commission report, 1.91
lakh jobs remain vacant
and this accounts for 39
per cent of the total sanc-
● THE PARTY that rules
the Centre is claiming to
fight for jobs in
Telangana state. But, the
Union finance ministry
circular on September
2020 imposes a ban on
fresh recruitments in the
government. This speaks
of the political hypocrisy
of the ruling parties, Prof
Nageshwar said.
tioned cadre in the
state.“This not only shat-
ters the hopes of educated
unemployed, but cripples
the delivery of public
services and governance.
Crucial sectors like educa-
tion, health, panchayat raj
and rural development
have job vacancies of
about 25,000, 30,000 and
13,000 respectively,” he
said.
The party that rules the
Centre is claiming to fight
for jobs in Telangana
state. But, the Union
finance ministry circular
on September 2020 impos-
es a ban on fresh recruit-
ments in the government.
This speaks of the politi-
cal hypocrisy of the rul-
ing parties, Prof
Nageshwar said.
He appealed to the grad-
uates to exercise voting
preference so as to raise
the civil society voice in
the Legislative Council to
make political system
accountable.
were not able to pur-
chase a refill.
Owaisi was speaking
to the media while
announcing that his
party has struck a pact
with Amma Makkal
Munnettra Kazagam of
T.V.V. Dinakaran, the
nephew of V.K. Sasi-
kala, an aide of the late
J. Jayalalithaa. The
MIM will be contesting
three seats, Vaniyam-
badi, Krishnagiri and
Sankarapuram.
“MIM will contest
three seats under the
leadership of
Dhinakaran, we will
emerge as the third
alternative as people
have been rendered
averse to the tradition-
al alliances of the
DMK and AIADMK.”
He claimed that there
were attempts to iso-
cept for two incidents,
peace has prevailed all
over Telangana despite
communal and fascist
forces indulging in the
provocation.”
He opposed the law
proposed by the BJP
government in Mrs. ROSY
Karnataka to keep a
DOB: 10-11-1940 DOD: 10-03-2015
Thank God for the life well lived! You have
check on information been the “Rose” who spread fragrance, grace
and love!! You have over come the many
against its ministers. “thorns” with prayer and perseverance!!!
“You are indulging in
immoral acts and want
Inserted by: SOLOMON RAJ, MONICA,
STEPHEN & CATHERINE
to protect yourselves Ph: 9642332111, 9849364181
from being exposed in
the name of privacy,” 1st DEATH ANNIVERSARY
he said. He also ques-
tioned why the Karna-
taka government was
controlling the food ha-
bits of the people. “You
have banned the slau-
ghtering of bulls and
buffalos as well, which
has ruined the income
sources of many poor
families,” he said.

TS ahead of neighbours: Harish

DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Finance minister
Tanneru Harish Rao on
Tuesday asserted that
compared to neighbour-
ing states, Telangana is
ahead in all fields. He
maintained that TS has
become a role model for
the country in terms of
education, employment,
irrigation and welfare.
Harish Rao was speak-
ing with representatives
of Telangana Paramed-
ical Colleges Managem-
ent Association and Voc-
ational Colleges Manage-
ment Association at Hyd-
erabad. They had called
on him offering support
to TRS in the Hyderabad-
M a h abu b n a g a r- R a n g a
Reddy and Khammam-
Nalgonda-Warangal grad-
uate MLC elections.
The minister asked col-
lege representatives to
cast their votes in favour
of TRS candidates, along
with their staff members,
eligible students and
relatives. Those present
included Telangana Para-
medical Colleges
Management Association
honorary president
Mohan Reddy, president
M. Srinivasa Rao, general
secretary Dhara Singh,
chief adviser Vijaya
Ravinder, vice presidents
Jahangir Pasha, and joint
secretaries David and
Soma Mallanna.
Harish Rao thanked rep-
resentatives of college
associations for prom-
ising support in the
forthcoming MLC elec-
tions.
He explained to them
the all round progress
that Telangana has
achieved after the TRS
government came to
power. The state was way
ahead in job creation.
Karnataka supplied
power only for five hours
whereas farmers and
industries in TS got it for
24 hours. He pointed out
that while the generation
N. SHASHI KUMAR
DOB: 5-11-1957 DOD: 21-2-2020
(Retired as Section Officer in IICT)
Inserted By: Wife: A. Nirmala
(Superintendent of the D.G.P, TS Hyderabad)
and Family Members
Ph: 9849950163
capacity was only 7,778
MW at the time of (S/2021/D01314)
Telangana formation, it is
now 16,249 MW.
The minister pointed
out that before Telangana
was formed, every day
there was news of farm-
ers committing suicides.
That is the reason why the
TRS government provid-
ed farmers Rythu
Bandhu, Rythu Beema
and irrigation water,
while removing counter-
feit seeds from the scene
and ensuring supply of
the required fertilisers.
Telangana has thus
become a state without
farmers’ suicides today,
he underlined.
 CITY
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
pg 5

SHORT
FOUNDATION
TAKES
BJP rides high on Dubbak, Five held for killing
FOR COW AS
NATIONAL ANIMAL civic poll wins, eyes N’sagar for insurance money
Hyderabad, March 9:
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9 IREDDY SRINIVAS
REDDY | DC
Cops arrest two Five persons were
arrested in Nalgonda
district for allegedly

for ATM robbery

The Yuga Thulasi Foundation
had called for a ‘Go mahagar-
jana’ on April 1 to press its
demand to make the cow the
national animal. Kollisetti
Shiva Kumar, who is spear-
heading the movement, said,
“The TTD has passed a resolu-
tion and sent it to the Centre to
declare the cow as the national
animal.”
The foundation has also called
for a ban on beef sale. All
goshala organisers will stage a
protest against beef sales.
LVPEI GAVE
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9 killing people and run-
ning over the bodies
The Nagarjunasagar bypoll with different vehicles
is posing considerable chal- to make it look like a
lenges to the BJP following road accident and DC CORRESPONDENT The arrests were
recent political developments claiming insurance, HYDERABAD, MARCH 9 made following a com-
in the state, though the saf- police said on Tuesday. plaint from M. Srinivas
fron party has continued to They used to select The Hyderabad CCS Rao, general manager,
maintain its aggressive stand sick people and those police of the detective Secure Value India Ltd.
on various issues. addicted to liquor and department arrested a Police said Krishna
While BJP’s opponents are purchase term insur- custodian working for took the money from
the powerful ruling party and ance policies by paying an ATM cash-filler and the cash chest fraudu-
a politically strong Congress the premium on their a former employee for lently on the instiga-
personality in K. Jana Reddy, behalf. siphoning off `1.3 tion of Rajashekar
there are two groups at log- The fraudsters were crore from 20 ATMs of Reddy. They were both
gerheads within the saffron in connivance with the a private bank. Police remanded to custody.
party. One owes its allegiance
to BJP state president Bandi
family members of the
deceased and others
seized `16.43 lakh from
their possession.
Rajashekar Reddy was
previously arrested in

61,063 CORNEAS Sanjay Kumar. The other is

being promoted by recently
and claimed insurance
amounts from private
Police said Gundelli
Krishna, custodian,
2020 for attempting to
siphon off money

LAST YEAR
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
The L.V. Prasad Eye Institute
(LVPEI) said on Tuesday that
it had distributed 61,063
corneas last year for corneal
transplants across India.
The eye bank programme
which is operational in all the
affiliated hospitals across
India have collected corneas
despite the lockdown and in
the post-lockdown situation.
The initial three months of
lockdown had no activity but
from June onwards the eye
donations improved.
Dr Sunita Chaurasia,
consultant cornea services
and medical director. said, “In
June it was only 10 to 15
per cent and improved in
October to 70 per cent. It is
now back to 100 per cent. The
eye donation programme is
elected Dubbak MLA M.
Raghunandan Rao. This
apart, the BJP high command
too is silently working
behind the scenes over the
choice of the party candidate.
There are many candidates
vying for the BJP ticket in
Nagarjunasagar.
According to sources, the
BJP high command is fishing
for a candidate from Yadav
community whom the ruling
party denies the ticket. The
saffron leadership is clear
that there will be a triangular
contest, leading to splitting of
votes. The party will have to
formulate its policy accord-
ingly.
BJP sources feel Jana
Reddy is a spent force and
will be unable to muster
votes. That will help the BJP
candidate win. The saffron
party is expected to finalise
its candidate only after TRS
declares its nominee.
The Nagarjunasagar bypoll
N. Ramchander Rao, BJP MLC candidate for Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy-Mahbubnagar graduates
constituency, arrives to address the Osmania University non-teaching staff during his cam-
paign on Osmania University campus on Tuesday.
victory in the Dubbak byelec-
tions and stopped TRS to a
major extent in GHMC elec-
tions.
The Congress has consider-
able support in the con-
stituency. The last general
elections were won by TRS
candidate Nomula Narasim-
haiah by just 7,000 votes.
Indrasena Reddy, a close
associate of Jana Reddy, has
joined the BJP, in addition to
another leader Anjaiah
Yadav, who belongs to the
Yadav community. State BJP
president Sanjay Kumar is
stated to be in favour of
Anjaiah Yadav. The reason-
who defeated the veteran
Jana Reddy from
Nagarjunasagar. Thus BJP
wants to field a BC leader,
especially from Yadava com-
munity.
Raghunandan Rao is
believed to have recommend-
ed to the high command that
the party ticket be given to
Nivedita Reddy, who had
previously lost the election.
The Sanjay group is, however,
pointing out that Nivedita
had got only 2,000 votes in the
past. But Raghunandan Rao
team is reportedly
throwing its weight behind
Nivedita’s candidature.
— P. SURENDRA
ensure that it retains the
Nagarjunasagar seat, partic-
ularly after facing reverses in
Dubbaka and GHMC elec-
tions. The ruling party wants
to break the saffron party’s
winning streak.
TRS has realised that
unlike in the past, the sympa-
thy factor is no more work-
ing. According to ruling
party leaders, names of
Legislative Council
chairman Gutta Sukhendar
Reddy, Nomula Narsim-
haiah’s son Bhagat, M.C.
Kotireddy, Tera
apareddy and MP Badugula
Chinn-
insurers to the tune of had colluded with funds from ATMs.
more than `1.59 crore Rapaka Rajashekar Efforts are on to trace
after making road acci- Reddy, ex-employee. the rest of the cash.
dent claims aggregat-
ing over `3.39 crore,
Nalgonda superinten- deaths, police said. During the course of
dent of police A.V. However, the modus investigation and
Ranganath said. operandi came to light after questioning the
The prime accused, after police got infor- man’s family mem-
who earlier worked in mation that on bers, the five were
a finance firm, con- February 24 this year, a arrested. Police said
spired with other man was killed but it they were also probing
accused and during was projected that he the role of others
2013-17 and committed died in a road accident. including insurance
at least five offences — Postmortem reports company inquiry offi-
four murders and por- revealed the cause of cers, agents, a bank
trayed one natural death of the man due official and some vil-
death as accidental to homicidal injury. lage elders. — PTI
Task force to be set up

Lingaya Yadav are being con-

carried out by affiliate hospi-
tals and they are the major
contributors in ensuring that
the donor tissues are properly
stored.”
The corneas are then moved
to the eye bank from where
they are given to those who
are suffering from corneal
blindness.
Dr Prashant Garg, head, eye
banking services, LVPEI, said,
“1.1 million Indians suffer
is being keenly watched after
BJP pulled off a sensational
Aruna accuses KCR of being
cruel towards Mahbubnagar
ing is that last time, it was
Narasimhaiah, a BC leader,
The TRS, on the other hand,
is taking strategic steps to
to curb dowry menace
sidered before zeroing in on a DC CORRESPONDENT ● MALIK SAID a Malik said it was
candidate. HYDERABAD, MARCH 9 state-level anti-dowry decided to organise
conference will be silent protests at wed-
Community organisa- dings that involve extr-
tions have decided to
organised to create avagant expenditures.
ARVIND SUSPECTS
TRS BEHIND
constitute a task force
to curb the menace of
dowry. In a roundtable
meeting convened by
awareness among the
general public against
the evils of dowry.
He said a state-level
anti-dowry conference
will be organised to
create awareness amo-
BHAINSA CLASHES
DC CORRESPONDENT
Tehreek Muslim
Shabban, participants
stressed that a drive
must be started to
Shabban

from corneal blindness.
Corneal transplantation using
corneas donated by individu-
als upon their death is the only
known cure. Quality donor
tissues are gathered and they
are stored properly to ensure
that the transplant takes place
easily.”
TRIO ARRESTED
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Bharatiya Janata Party vice-
president D.K. Aruna on
Tuesday alleged that Chief
Minister K. Chandrashekar
Rao is being spiteful towards
people of erstwhile Mahbu-
bnagar district by not keep-
ing his promises made to
them.
ernment is neglecting mod-
ernisation of Rajolibanda
Scheme and its canals, apart
from Tummilla LRS. She
pointed out that no funds
have been allotted by the
state government for devel-
opment of the only Shakti
Peetham in Telangana – the
Jogulamba temple — though
the Centre has granted `37
crore for the shrine. She
unemployment allowance is
being extended. Only the
family of Chief Minister K.
Chandrashekar Rao is pros-
pering through commissions
in construction of projects,
while people of Telangana
are getting impoverished by
the day.
She asked graduates to vote
in favour of the BJP
candidate with the same spir-
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
BJP MP from Nizamabad D.
Arvind suspects ruling TRS
is behind the recent clashes
in Bhainsa town. He has
called on all communities
among Hindus to unite and
protect Hindutva in the state.
Addressing a press confer-
ence at his residence in
Banjara Hills here on
door-to-door
president
Mushtaq Malik said a
social
reform campaign will
ng the general public
against the evils of
dowry.
Speaking on other
reform certain prac- be organised to make resolutions passed
tices. people aware of the during the meeting,
This meeting was evils of the dowry Malik said the organi-
conducted against the demand. Sermonisers sation will campaign
backdrop of Ayesha at mosques will req- against weddings and
Khan, married for uest people to denou- events that stretch
nine months, who nce extravaganza wed- past midnight.
made an emotional dings and dowry dem- Islamic scholars,
video before dying by ands, and encourage intellectuals, social
suicide in people to pay instant activists and qazis and
Ahmedabad’s Sabar-
mati river.
mehr (dower amount
given by the groom to
women rights activists
were present at the

FOR POACHING She was addressing a meet-

ing of graduates in the
charged that no buildings
have been constructed for
it they had shown in
Dubbak bypoll and GHMC
Tuesday, Arvind accused the
district collector of support-
Tehreek Muslim the bride). meeting.

BLACK BUCK
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
A man who was hunting black
bucks and selling their meat in
the city was apprehended
along with a buyer and his
associate by the South Zone
Task Force along with forest
department officials
Tuesday. Officials rescued a
black buck and seized deer
on
parts from their possession.
The prime accused, Chavan
Shankar Baba, a farmer
and resident of Kubeer man-
dal in Nirmal district, used to
catch black buck by using a
net trap near a small sanctu-
ary near Bhainsa. He and
another accused, Mohd Zubair,
26, of Nizamabad, had trapped
black bucks more than 10
times.
Another accused was identi-
fied as Mohd Salmanuddin, 27,
a resident of Asifnagar.
Another suspect, Imran, was
reportedly absconding. Zubair
acts as a mediator, said
Hyderabad police commission-
er Anjani Kumar.
As per the requirement of
Salmanuddin, Zubair contact-
ed Shankar Baba to arrange
for deer meat, following which
he hunted two black bucks.
Salmanuddin allegedly pur-
chased the deer for `15,000.
Later, the trio proceeded to
Nirmal district and collected
the deer’s head and legs for
`7,000. The gang sold some
meat to Imran, a native of
Bodhan, and returned to the
city.
Alampur Assembly con-
stituency as part of her cam-
paign in favour of BJP candi-
date N. Ramchander Rao
from the Hyderabad-
Mahbubnagar-Ranga Reddy
MLC constituency.
Aruna said the state gov-
Bandi questions contribution
of CM, KTR to TS statehood
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
BJP state president and MP
Bandi Sanjay Kumar has
questioned IT minister K.T.
Rama Rao about the latter’s
contribution to the
Telangana agitation. He went
on to ask if the separate state
had come with his father
(Chief Minister K.
Chandrashekar Rao) taking
alcohol at his farmhouse.
Sanjay went on to assert
that it was intellectuals, stu-
dents, teachers, employees,
community and public of
Telangana at large who
achieved the separate state
and not just KCR.
The party president was
addressing voters while cam-
paigning for his party candi-
date in Suryapet district for
the forthcoming MLC elec-
tions. Sanjay stated that he
had participated in the agita-
tion in Delhi and faced tear
gas during the protests. He
underlined that BJP had par-
residential schools in old
Mahbubnagar district. A 100-
bed hospital has not been
sanctioned as promised.
The BJP leader said neither
jobs have been given to
unemployed in the state nor
`3,016 of promised monthly
● BANDI WARNED that TRS
could benefit if votes are
split (by Kodandaram who is
also contesting the MLC
polls).
ticipated and fought for
Telangana. Kishan Reddy
(now union minister of state
for home) had gone on a
Telangana Poru Yatra. BJP
had supported the Telangana
Bill and Sushma Swaraj too
fought for Telangana.
The MP claimed that had
BJP not supported the sepa-
rate statehood bill in parlia-
ment, Telangana would not
have come into existence. He
went on to allege that when
the bill was being passed,
KCR was not even in parlia-
ment; but enjoying his drink
at his residence in Delhi.
Sanjay declared that while
BJP fought for people and
undertook movements over
public issues, the ruling TRS,
KCR and KTR have cheated
real fighters who worked in a
dedicated manner for the
elections.
Former minister A.
Chandrasekhar, BJP state
general secretary Bangaru
Sruthi, district BJP presi-
dent Ramachandra Reddy
and other leaders participat-
ed in the meeting.
statehood.
The state BJP president
said whatever development
programmes in Telangana –
Haritha Haram, drainage
setup, community halls or
other schemes, they could
not have been implemented
without central funds.
The MP said he respected
Professor Kodandaram but
wondered whether the latter
had fought for public issues.
He warned that TRS could
benefit if votes are split (by
Kodandaram who is also con-
testing the MLC polls).
Sanjay questioned why the
Chief Minister has not visit-
ed Bhainsa, where commu-
nal violence keeps recurring.
Several people have been
injured seriously in Sunday’s
incident, he pointed out.
BJP state president praised
his party’s MLC candidate G.
Premender Reddy for fight-
ing and going to jail several
times over people’s issues. He
asked voters to elect the BJP
candidate.
ing those behind the inci-
dent. He said he intended to
request Central agencies to
inquire into the Bhainsa
incident.
The BJP MP criticised min-
ister K.T. Rama Rao for mere-
ly tweeting and demanded
that an inquiry by a sitting
judge be ordered into the
clashes. Making controver-
sial comments against Chief
Minister K. Chandrashekar
Rao and Rama Rao, Arvind
alleged that both are risking
lives of Hindus for their vote
bank politics.
He described home min-
ister Mahmood Ali as being
incompetent and charged
him with favouring Muslims
and not treating all commu-
nities equally. He said if law
and order cannot be handled,
the BJP will show how it
could be done.
The MP accused the MIM of
trying to evict Hindus from
Bhainsa with the help of the
state government.
He alleged that MLC K.
Kavitha had surpassed her
brother Rama Rao in grab-
bing lands. He stated that
both the brother and sister
pose a threat to Telangana
community. He asked
Rama Rao to come out from
the Bollywood drug condi-
tion.
● MAKING CONTROVER-
SIAL comments against
Chief Minister K.
Chandrashekar Rao and
Rama Rao, Arvind alleged
that both are risking lives
of Hindus for their vote
bank politics.

Excessive use of gadgets leads to dry eyes

KANIZA GARARI | DC
HYDERABAD, MARCH 5
Constant irritation, rubbing
and redness in eyes are com-
plaints of students from pri-
mary schools coping with the
online classes and summer
heat. The condition has aggra-
vated as the shift in tempera-
tures is resulting in a dehydra-
tion of the body.
Several parents are taking to
hospitals their children com-
plaining of redness in eyes and
blurred vision and showing
behavioural irritation as these
are affecting their concentra-
tion during the classes.
Rupali Mehta, a mother of
three girls said, “My two
younger daughters in primary
section were taking the mobile
phones closer to them to read
what’s on the screen. This got
me worried as the gadget light
is harmful. An eye-check with
a doctor revealed that they
developed sight problems and
were suffering from dry eyes.”
As the ‘dry eyes’ syndrome is
not known to many families, it
required a lot of counseling to
convince them that it was due
● THE DRYNESS is caused as
the blinking of eyes is reduced
to 10 times from 40 times per
minute.
to overuse of gadgets. The dry-
ness is caused as the blinking
of eyes is reduced to 10 times
from 40 times per minute.
Dr Atul Gupta, ophthalmolo-
gist with the government med-
ical college explains, “The dry
eyes problem has multiplied
ten times during the pandemic
and many of them are reach-
ing out to doctors for help. In
the past, only IT staff suffered
from it. Now a lot of staff from
banks, insurance, realty sector
as also students are coming
with complaints. Many con-
clude this to be a problem with
their sight and insist on having
eye-check-up. It is actually
their continuous work and less
exposure to oxygen in the out-
side environment that aggra-
vate the condition.”
Eye lubricants take atmos-
pheric oxygen to revive. For 10
months, there was restricted
movement outside, and now
too people are careful. To add
to it, summer heat dehydration
is setting in which is also
affecting the eyes.
Dr Vijay Kiran, senior oph-
thalmologist, explained,
“Preventive measures involve
that one must look at an object
20 feet away for 20 seconds
every 20 minutes and then
resume work. It is important
for eyes to blink every minute
as this is a healthy trend.”
Parents and schools are coun-
seled to use these preventive
measures to help their chil-
dren cope with the use of gadg-
ets till the educational institu-
tions resume full-time classes.
 EDIT
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
pg 6

10 MARCH 2021

Speed up vaccinations, Subhani

refresh awareness drive
I
ndia has of late been witnessing a surge in the daily caseload of Covid-
19 infections with the numbers going up for the last six consecutive
days; it is above 18,000 in the last four days. The number of active
cases has also registered an increase for five consecutive days. At pre-
sent, six states — Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and
Tamil Nadu — together account for more than four-fifth of the total cases
now. Given the pattern of the virus spread, it is not before weeks if not
days that the pandemic will create another wave that could force the
nation to go in for another shut down.
India had on January 16 rolled out an ambitious vaccination plan that,
in its first phase, sought to inoculate three crore frontline workers,
including healthcare professionals. The target has now been met by two-
thirds, with the number of people who have received at least one dose
standing at 2.26 crore. The second phase, launched on March 1, seeks to
inoculate 27 crore people aged above 60
and those above 45 with co-morbidities.
As of now, nine lakh people who belong to
Except the Union
government and some
states such as Kerala,
none seems to have kept
a tab on the
these categories have been given the jab.
A realistic assessment of the spread of
the pandemic and the speed with which
the vaccination programme progresses
calls for increased efforts on both the
counts — a massive awareness campaign
Modi’s pan-Indian image LETTERS
METRO HAWKERS
The state government has
numbers. Worse, the
attitude of most states
and the people there has
been akin to a
to stop the spread of the virus and a revi-
talised vaccination programme. The daily
caseload numbers reached their peak in
October and then started a downward
journey. Except the Union government
and some states such as Kerala, none
won’t help BJP win polls Unlike in West National Democratic
a responsibility to help the
unskilled persons/hawkers
who are making their liv-
ing by selling different
types of items such as
situation where the virus
has ceased to
seems to have kept a tab on the numbers.
Worse, the attitude of most states and the Parsa Bengal, the Left Alliance (NDA), the BJP
had to find place for the readymade garments,
be a threat. Democratic Front leather bags/goods, toys
people there has been akin to a situation
where the virus has ceased to be a threat. Venkateshwar (LDF) led by the
United People’s Party
Liberal, and the Con- etc., under the Sultan
The world in general, and India in par- CPI(M) and the gress has to accommo-
ticular, are better equipped to take on the Rao Jr United Democratic date the Assam Jatiya
Parishad (AJP) and
Bazaar Metro flyover since
decades. A rent of `4,500
virus than we were a year ago. Our knowledge base has improved, the pro-
tocols are in place and the healthcare professionals are trained to handle Front (UDF) led by Raijor Dal. India is infu- per month with a security
even extreme situations. However, the people’s attitude has become less the Congress in riatingly diverse for deposit of `9,000 to
than acceptable. The government must re-launch on a war footing the Kerala leave no hegemonic national par-
HMRL is too costly for

T
campaign focussing on the importance of social distancing, wearing of he focus of the
masks and hand hygiene. It must also revisit the restrictions on gather- Assembly elec-
ings, especially social, political and religious ones, which can turn super tions in four
spreader events. states and a
India vaccinated more than 16 lakh people on Monday, the highest since Union territo-
the programme started. At the present rate, India will take another year ry --starting at the end of
to vaccinate at least half of the population. This is unacceptable. There this month and spread
may be many hurdles, from the shortage of raw material for vaccine man- over the whole of April
ufacturing to the logistical issues to the technical glitches in the CoWin — in West Bengal and
app, and the government must meticulously strive to remove them. It Assam in the east, and
must also open up the programme for all sections of the population, co-opt Tamil Nadu, Pudu-
as many institutions, and make the process easier. Unless we speed it up cherry and Kerala in the
and cover a reasonable share of the population, we can’t say goodbye to south — has centred
the uninvited guest. around West Bengal and
the big question is
whether the BJP under
Prime Minister Naren-
election as the final push
at the final frontier.
That is why it has
become much too loud
and much too bitter. The
CPI(M)-led Left Front
and the Congress still
remain marginal play-
ers. And the battle bet-
ween Mr Modi and Ms
Banerjee, despite the
Prime Minister’s pan-
Indian standing, is
reduced to a local tussle.
If Ms Banerjee prevails,
it will be a huge blow to
Mr Modi. And the bets
are hugely hedged in the
space for a new ties like the BJP and the
Congress.
player with a north The Assembly elec-
Indian ideology tions are a time for the
rest of the country to
know how each state has
the DMK’s Karunanidhi its own identity and pol-
and the AIADMK’s itics and that it is not a
Jayalaltihaa, it seemed referendum for the rul-
the spell of Dravidian ing party at the Centre.
politics would end, and It is this entrenched
national parties like the democratic pluralism
Congress and new that checks the free run
entrants like the BJP of parties such as the
would become the big BJP with their regi-
players. The seat alloca- mented mindsets forged
tion for the two national in RSS shakhas. The
parties by the dominant BJP is struggling to
them.
Katuru Durga Prasad Rao
Hyderabad
GOOD INITIATIVE
I fully endorse the initiative on
electric vehicles (TS policy fuels
boom in sale of electric vehicles, DC,
March 9). Such a measure will
greatly help to scale down air pol-
lution inter alia with other bene-
fits. I was in China and observed
electric vehicles were popular.
Dr Shankar Chatterjee
Hyderabad

The royal underbelly

dra Modi will breach the
final barrier, as it were,
for the right-wing saf-
fron party. It has turned
matter.
In Tamil Nadu and in
Kerala, the BJP is a
reginal parties is a clear
indication that the local
come to terms with the
political diversity and WOMEN’S DAY
in terms of ideology out- pluralism of this coun- At least on International Women’s

T
he world is horrified at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's out to be a battle small player. It is recon- flanks the national in try. The authoritarian Day, women’s wings of political
revleation that racism towards Meghan was the principal reason between West Bengal ciled to play second fid- Tamil Nadu. Tamil and populism as practised by parties could have given a break to
they fled their royal home to find freedom in California. But it chief minister Mamata dle to the ruling All Dravidian nationalism Mr Modi and his second- politics and, instead of speaking
should not be so because systemic racism is stark reality, more so in the Banerjee of the Trina- India Anna Dravida are unlikely to fade in-command, Union for the party, could have joined to
world of privilege that British royalty lives in. Harry’s indictment of his mul Congress and Prime Munnetra Kazhagam away simply because the home minister Amit speak for all ordinary women who
own family for not fighting the racist attacks hurled at his biracial wife Minister Modi of the (AIADMK) in Tamil stars who represented Shah, serve only as a have nothing to do with parties. No
Meghan and his multiracial son Archie, whose skin colour was a matter of BJP. As has become the Nadu and confined to them have died. stumbling block in the wonder the women are unable to
concern to the palace even before he was born, is a pointer to how institu- norm with the Modi-cen- the 20 Assembly seats Unlike in West Bengal, Assembly elections, form a party only for women with
tionalised royal reticence is. A disparaging term like ‘The Firm’ may have tric BJP in the past allotted to it. It would the Left Democratic especially in places like men getting them less 25 per cent
been seen as appropriate even for an insider. seven years, the laurels have to ride to victory Front (LDF) led by the Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and reservation in the party.
Oprah Winfrey’s skills at bringing the angst out of celebrities by playing for the victory always go on the back of the CPI(M) and the United to a great extent in West N. Nagarajan
the agony aunt may have helped smear British royalty and its stiff upper to Mr Modi because the AIADMK because it has Democratic Front (UDF) Bengal and Assam. Hyderabad
Even in Puducherry,
CORRUPTION
lipped ways with hate while a more defensive UK might see the story of a party is but a symbol for no presence of its own. led by the Congress in
second sensational interview by an ex-royal after Diana’s expose on BBC the most domineering The BJP cannot hope to Kerala leave no space after engineering defec-
in 1995 in a different perspective. His marriage may have helped liberate politician in the country give wings to its for a new player with a tions from the ruling Corruption has spread like a dead-
Harry from the trappings of power and privilege and the service Harry has today. The reality, of Hindutva ideology in the north Indian ideology to Congress, the BJP did ly virus among officials in govern-
rendered his family is to save it from racism though his flight to the US course, is much more state because the break into the crowded not find it very easy to ment departments where 10 of
may be seen in the UK as pique since Archie was denied a princely role complicated and the Dravidian politics — political space in the come to power. The them have been caught red-handed
and a place in the queue to the crown. magic factor of Mr Modi (anti-Hindi and indirect- country. Kerala is a right-wing party is by the Anti-Corruption Bureau
The alacrity with which Buckingham Palace ordered an inquiry against has huge limitations. ly anti-North Indian complex mosaic of cas- learning the hard way while accepting bribe. I hope that
Meghan on charges of bullying staff comes in sharp contrast to its reluc- Though the party had variant of Hinduism rep- tes and communities, that multitudinous ACB will catch more big fish in
tance to probe Prince Andrew’s links to the convicted Jeffrey Epstein and won Assam in 2016 for resented by the BJP) and where the Nayars and India is a multipolar near future. I wonder when a vac-
his shenanigans with underage girls. This should give more grist to the first time, the right- the Hindutva national- Ezhavas on one hand, political field. And there cine will be developed to wipe out
Republicans in Britain as well as the Commonwealth, which Queen wing majoritarian senti- ism, again a North Christians and Muslims is no option but to adapt corruption.
Elizabeth II heads by virtue of her record years on the British throne. ment in that state was Indian concoction — and the Communists jos- to India’s political multi- D. Manoj Kumar
Diana and Meghan did the democratic world a favour in boldly exposing well represented by the does not pass muster. tle with each other. The verse. This is why the
the underbelly of the royal family, which by itself is an anachronism in Congress and the Asom Even the Congress, with Rashtriya Swayam- majoritarian tyranny of

the modern age. Gana Parishad (AGP)
from 1985 onwards. The
breakthrough for the
BJP in Assam in 2016
has nothing radical
DECCAN CHRONICLE about it. Assam, howev-
er, poses its own set of
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR challenges for the BJP
Editor Printer & Publisher
this time round. The
DECCAN CHRONICLE offices are located at: Citizenship Amendment
Act (CAA), with its
Hyderabad: 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad - 500 003, Ph: 040-27803930-4; Fax : 040-27805256 vicious Hindutva slant,
Vijayawada: No.C-3 & 4 Patamata, Industrial Estate, Auto Nagar, Vijayawada (A.P.), Ph: 0866- is a sore point in the
2555284/2555287; Telefax: 0866-2555234 state where Bangladeshi
Visakhapatnam: Survey No.1/3A Beach Road, Near Kailasagiri Ropeway, Sector-9 MVP Colony, migrants — whether
Visakhapatnam - 530 017 (A.P), Ph: 0891-2552333/2552334; Fax: 0891-2755285
Rajahmundry: Vemagiri, Dhawaleswaram Rd, Rajahmundry, Ph: 0883-2417618/2417208; Telefax: 0883-
Hindu or Muslim — are
2417208 the source of local
resentment and discon-
Anantapur: Thapovan colony, Bangalore By-Pass Road, Anantapur - 515004, Ph: 08554-276903; Fax:
08554-276904 tent. The Hindutva
Karimnagar: Survey No.1341, Vavilalapally Colony, Jagityala Road, Karimnagar - 505 001, Ph: 0878- rhetoric does not mean
2228908; Telefax: 0878-2220433 much here.
Nellore: Survey No.527/2, Burranpur Village, Venkatachalam (M), Chemmudugunta Panchayat, Nellore, West Bengal remains
Ph: 0861-2348581/82; Telefax: 0861-2348580 the big prize in the east
Chennai: SP-3 Developed Plot, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032, Ph: 044-22254747/ 48/50/51; for the BJP. It has elud-
Advt Fax: 22254765/22254766/42305325
ed the party with its
Coimbatore: 77, Vivekananda Road, Ramnagar, Coimbatore - 641 009, Ph : 0422 2231255
Gram: CHRONICLE Postal registration no: No. H/SD-348/2006-08 majoritarian colours.
The party considers this
its benign pan-Indian
outlook, has become a
small player in Tamil
Nadu and it has been
given just 25 seats in
these elections by the
dominant regional
Opposition party, the
Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK). After
the death of the icons,
The CAA, with its
vicious Hindutva
slant, is a sore
point in Assam
where Bangladeshi
migrants, whether
Hindu or Muslim,
are the source of
local resentment.
The Hindutva
rhetoric does not
mean much here.
50
sevak Sangh (RSS) has the BJP kind has to give
been fighting a fierce
and bloody battle with
way to rainbow coali-
tions. Assembly elec-
YEARS AGO IN
the Marxists in parts of tions in India are always
northern Kerala. Politi- a lesson in democratic
cal violence is as ram- politics.
pant in Kerala as it is in
K Asif dead
West Bengal. The RSS The writer is a
and the Marxists have Delhi-based
been hacking each commentator BOMBAY, March. 9
other’s cadres with ruth- and analyst Mr. K. Asif, a well-known film
less regularity. The BJP producer-director died of heart
has been trying to use attack in Bombay this evening.
the RSS’ base to make The party is He was 48. He is survived by his
headway, but it has not learning the hard wife and two daughters.
succeeded in any major way that multitudi- Mr. Asif who went to film actor
way. nous India is a Sanjeev Kumar’s residence this
The dominant parties evening complained of chest pain
in all these poll-bound multipolar political and before he could removed to
states are forced to reck- field. There is no hospital he passed away.
on with the smaller option but to adapt Mr. Asif had produced and
political formations. In to India’s political directed a number of pictures
Assam, the BJP cannot including ‘Phool’ and ‘Moghal-E-
afford to ignore the multiverse. Azam’ which was a box office hit.
Bodos. When the Bodo Majoritarianism ‘Phool’ was his first film with the
People’s Front broke has to give way to biggest star cast.
away from the BJP-led rainbow coalitions.

A
coalition alliance govern-
ment creates its own spe-
cial dynamics, which
affects the bureaucracy
Dilip Cherian
uniquely. In Maharashtra, which
has a three-party alliance, this was
seen when the 1985-batch IAS offi-
Dilli Ka Babu cer Sitaram Kunte was named the
state’s new chief secretary. Sources
say that Mr Kunte was ignored by
the previous BJP government dur-
ing whose tenure he was commis-
sioner of the Brihanmumbai
managed to make it to the top post,
although he snuffed the chance of
his batchmate Praveen Pradesh,
who was widely expected to be
appointed to succeed Sanjay
Kumar.
Mr Pradesh had even returned
from the UN in the hope of becom-
ing the new chief secretary. Mr
Kunte’s elevation has led to the
appointment of M.K. Srivastava, a
1986-batch IAS officer, in his previ-
ous office of additional chief secre-
sive content” on social media.
Apparently, it had come to the
notice of the governor’s office that
“some government servants are
indulging in seditious and subver-
sive writings challenging the terri-
torial integrity and sovereignty of
the country” on social media plat-
forms.
Sources say that a copy of Mr
Yanthan’s letter has been also
marked to Union home secretary
Ajay Kumar Bhalla. This suggests,
bers and relatives who were in
“underground organisations”.
However, ominous though it may
sound, some observers feel that Mr
Ravi is merely reiterating the con-
duct rules for government servants
and people should not read too
much into this. Your thoughts?
TENURE ROW
Who has the authority to take a call
on the posting of officers of the
director-general of police rank in
left. The minister recently directed
additional chief secretary (home)
Rajeev Arora to send a panel of offi-
cers to the UPSC to be considered
for the next DGP. According to
sources, once the minimum tenure
of two years ends, the state govern-
ment has the option of deciding to
continue with the current DGP or
replace the officer. In the present
case, the government has extended
Mr Yadava’s tenure beyond
February until further orders.

Coalition karma Municipal Corporation (BMC).

His fortunes changed for the bet-
ter in the Shiv Sena-led govern-
tary for home.

MIND THE ‘S’ WORD

they say, that the governor has
kept the Centre in the loop and may
even have been directed by Delhi to
Haryana? This has become a point
of contention between Haryana
chief minister Manohar Lal
Sources say that Mr Khattar is
unlikely to seek a replacement for
Mr Yadava, who has done a long 15-

takes babu to ment of chief minister Uddhav

Thackeray. However, while the
chief minister and the Congress
A communique issued by T.M.
Yanthan, commissioner and secre-
tary to Nagaland governor R.N.
take action against government
officials posting seditious content.
Apparently, this is the second let-
Khattar and his home minister
Anil Vij. The officer at the centre of
it all is DGP Manoj Yadava, a 1988-
year stint at the Intelligence
Bureau (IB) before returning to his
parent cadre. But Mr Vij, say

chief secy spot Party were said to be keen on his

appointment, the National
Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar
Ravi, to chief secretary J. Alam,
has directed the state government
to warn officials that they could
ter from the governor’s office to the
state chief secretary. Last year, he
had directed the state government
batch IPS officer, reportedly hand-
picked by Mr Khattar for the post.
It appears that Mr Vij wants a
change of DGP despite Mr Yadava
sources, is sticking to his stance.

Share a babu experience! Follow

dilipthecherian@Twitter.com. Let’s
was reportedly less than enthusias- face penal and disciplinary action to prepare a database of state gov-
tic, initially. However, Mr Kunte if they post “seditious or subver- ernment employees’ family mem- having over four years of service multiply the effect.
 NATION
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
pg 7

IN
Al-Badr chief killed
BRIEF
Scindia ‘dismisses’
in gunfight
Srinagar: J&K police on
Rahul’s CM offer
Tuesday claimed that Al- RABINDRA NATH
Badr militant outfit chief CHOUDHURY | DC
Gani Khawaja has been killed BHOPAL, MARCH 9
in a gunfight raging in Tujar
Sharif area outside the Rahul Gandhi’s offer of post
Valley’s northwestern town of chief minister of
of Sopore. Inspector general Madhya Pradesh to senior
of police Vijay Kumar said BJP leader Jyotiraditya
Khawaja was one of the Scindia if he returned to
most wanted militants and Congress on Tuesday
termed his killing as “a major kicked up a storm with the
success” for the security latter calling it a misplaced
forces combating a three- concern.
year-old insurgency in J&K. “I wish Rahul ji had
A report from Sopore said shown similar concerns
that, at least, two militants when I was in Congress”,
were trapped in the area Scindia, who quit Congress
after a joint team of security and joined BJP in March
forces laid siege to it on last leading to fall of
Tuesday evening. Kumar was 15-month-old Kamal Nath
quoted by local news agency government, retorted
GNS as saying the operation while seeking to dismiss
was “carried cleanly on a Gandhi’s offer as misplaced
very specific input which concern.
was received by the police Scindia said he would not
earlier during the day.” like to comment further.
Gandhi had recently told
Hiren’s wife youth wing leaders of
Congress that had Scindia
minister of Rajasthan, T.S.
Singhdeo, chief minister of
Chhattisgarh and Navjot
Singh, chief minister of
Punjab, as he had promised
them earlier”, Scindia loyal-
ist Pankaj Chaturvedi who
quit Congress and joined
BJP in March last, told this
newspaper.
Gandhi’s remarks on
Scindia have raised eye-
brows in Congress circle
here also with a section of
party leaders wondering if
he was throwing a bait (to
make Scindia chief minis-
ter) to woo him back to the
Congress fold.
“Gandhi’s statement cre-
ates an impression that
something is cooking up
between Scindia and
Congress. But, I think it is
an immature statement and
may cause damage to the
party in Madhya Pradesh.
This may alert and antago-
nise two key leaders of

blames Vaze
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal along with BJP supporters arrives to file his nomination for the upcoming state Assembly elec- remained in the party, he Congress in MP, Kamal
tions in Majuli on Tuesday. — PTI would have certainly Nath and Digvijay Singh,
become chief minister (of both of whom are consid-
MP). Scindia was now a ered arch rivals of Scindia”,

Didi warns BJP not to play

Mumbai: The wife of Mansu-
kh Hiren, the owner of the ‘backbencher’ in the BJP.
vehicle found near industrial- “Scindia will be chief min-
ist Mukesh Ambani’s residen- ister only when he is in
ce, has alleged that her hus- Congress”, the former
band was murdered by assis- Congress president said.
a senior Congress leader
here said requesting not to
be quoted.
Interestingly, Congress
MLA and former Union

Hindutva card in Bengal

tant police inspector Sachin
Vaze. In her complaint, she
also said that the vehicle in
question was also in posses-
sion of Vaze since November
2020. Hiran’s wife Vimla also
claimed in her statement,
copy of which is with this
newspaper, that her husband
told her that Vaze had asked
him to get himself arrested
and he would ensure his bail
in a few days. The officer
Scindia’s supporters here
called Gandhi’s statement
as ‘immature’.
“Gandhi is known for
making immature state-
ments. He is not taken seri-
ously by people and his
Asks voters to make ‘April Fool’ of saffron party by defeating Adhikari credibility in public is at the
rock bottom. He has now
RAJIB CHOWDHURI | DC been left with three options
KOLKATA, MARCH 9
minister Kantilal Bhuria,
considered a staunch loyal-
ist of Singh, said Scindia
would be taken back
into Congress if he apolo-
gised in public for quitting
the party.
“Bhuria’s statement is
nothing but a joke since the
question of Scindia return-

Warning the BJP not to

Poll seizures: Assam breaks all to restore his credibility by
making Sachin Pilot, chief
ing to Congress does not
arise”, Chaturvedi said.

play its Hindutva card

had resigned from the police
force in 2007 and joined
Shiv Sena in 2008. He was
reinstated in the police dep-
artment on June 6 last year.
GOYAL REBUTS
against her in the West
Bengal Assembly elec-
tions, Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee, who is
contesting from Nandig-
ram in East Midnapore,
on Tuesday asked the vot-
ers of the hot seat, going
records, items worth `18 cr seized
Guwahati, March 9:
Assam broke all previous
records in seizures of
cash, liquor, drugs and
other goods in the run-up
notified on February 26,
all constituencies in
Assam formed a mini-
mum of three Static
Surveillance Teams (SST)
Conduct came into force,
the agencies have seized
an overall `18.31 crore
worth of items till
Monday, according to the

DIDI’S CLAIM OF to the polls on April 1, to

NO RAILWAY HELP
DC CORRESPONDENT
KOLKATA, MARCH 9
Railway minister Piyush
Goyal has refuted West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee’s allegation of non-
cooperation by his ministry
officials to the fire brigade in
fighting the devastating fire
which claimed nine lives at the
Eastern Railways’ office in
New Koilaghat Building on
Strand Road in Kolkata on
Monday evening.
Four fire-fighters Girish Dey,
Gaurav Bej, Aniruddha Jana,
Biman Purakait, four railway
staff RPF Constable Sanjay
Sahni, deputy chief commer-
cial manager Partha Sarathi
Mondal, senior commercial
clerk Shrawan Pandey and
senior technician Sudip Das
and an assistant sub-inspector
(ASI) Amit Bhawal of the
Kolkata Police boarded two
lifts against the rule to reach
the source of fire at the 13th
floor of the high-rise.
Seven of them were charred
to death in one elevator while
two others died of suffocation
inside another. Visiting the
spot Banerjee accused “the
railways of non-cooperation
by not providing the building
map to the fire brigade.”
Early on Tuesday Goyal, mo-
urning the loss of lives, tweet-
ed, “Railway officials includ-
ing the GM are at the site and
are working in coordination
with the state govt for rescue
and relief efforts. We are com-
mitted to doing everything
possible to ensure safety of all
concerned. All possible assis-
tance has been provided by the
Railways to the state govt dur-
ing this unfortunate fire acci-
dent. A high level inquiry con-
sisting of four Principal heads
of Railway departments has
been ordered to ascertain the
cause of the fire.”
The inquiry report is expect-
ed in two weeks.
make an “April Fool” of
the saffron party by
defeating her nemesis
Suvendu Adhikari.
At her first rally in
Nandigram after the
announcement of the
Assembly polls and the
candidates’ lists of the
TMC and BJP, Banerjee
told the crowd, “Those
who are playing the poli-
tics of Hindu-Muslim sh-
ould know that I am also a
daughter of a Hindu fam-
ily. Do not try to play the
Hindu card against me. If
you do, explain first
whether you are a good
Hindu or not. The second
phase of the polls, which
includes Nandigram
among many seats, is on
April 1. She said, “Khela
Hobe (Game On). Make
‘April Fool’ of them by
your votes on that day.”
Tearing into her oppon-
ent and former Cabinet
colleague for branding h-
er as an “outsider” in his
home turf, the CM, who
has coined the same slo-
gan against the BJP, won-
dered, “Some people are
calling me an outsider! I
am from Bengal. How can
I be an outsider? The only
difference is my native
place is Birbhum while
yours (Suvendu) is Nand-
igram. Had I been an out-
DMK wraps up alliance with coalition partners
G. BABU JAYAKUMAR
& D. SEKAR | DC
CHENNAI, MARCH 9
The DMK wrapped up its
alliances with the various
coalition partners on Tu-
esday by allotting three
seats to the Kongunadu
Makkal Desiya Katchi,
led by E.R. Easwaran,
whose candidates would
be contesting the April 6
polls in the ‘rising sun’
symbol.
to the Assembly polls
with various agencies
already confiscating over
`18 crore worth of items
and arresting around 110
people in the last 11 days,
officials said on Tuesday.
The highest amount of
seizures worth over `5.72
crore took place during
the 24 hours, starting 9
am on Sunday, an official
said. After the polls were
sider, I should not have
been the CM! An outsider
cannot be a CM here.”
To strike a chord with
the locals a day before fil-
ing her nomination in
Haldia, in the district, the
TMC supremo further
explained why she has
chosen to fight from
Nandigram.
“Bhowanipore was my
home seat. If I would have
contested there, I would
not have to do anything…
When I last visited
Nandigram, it was lying
vacant. It had no MLA
because he (Adhikari)
had resigned. I then
asked you if I could con-
test here. I wanted to
know your stand. You
said it would be great. I
saw your enthusiasm.
Nandigram lives in both
my eyes. That is why I
selected it,” she said.
Party leaders were busy
finalising the seat allot-
ment, a laborious exerci-
se since some of the con-
stituencies are sought by
more than one ally, with
other party honchos too
visiting Anna Arivalay-
am for the negotiations.
Though it might take a
few more days for the seat
allotment to be finalised,
the DMK might announce
its first list of candidates
and constituencies on
and Flying Squads (FS)
each, with some even hav-
ing six such teams each,
he added.
“We have a minimum of
756 teams working across
the state. The seizures by
all state and central agen-
cies along with SST and
FS have crossed all fig-
ures of last elections,”
the official said.
Since the Model Code of
Kamal’s MNM signs
‘MoU’ with allies
G. BABU JAYAKUMAR
& D. SEKAR | DC
CHENNAI, MARCH 9
Actor Kamal Haasan’s
Makkal Neethi Maiam,
which has been scouting
for allies to face the April
6 Assembly elections as a
combine, finally decided
on an alliance with the
Indhiya Jananayaga Kat-
chi of T.R. Parivendhar
and All India Samathuva
Makkal Katchi, founded
by actor Sarathkumar.
A Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU)
signed by leaders of the
three parties, more in the
form of a business deal,
Wednesday, it was
rumoured.
Meanwhile, two small
parties that were earlier
in the AIADMK alliance,
the Mukulathor Puli Pad-
ai led by actor Karunas
and Manithaneya Jana-
nayaga Katchi of Tamim-
um Ansari, expressed th-
eir displeasure over the
DMK not offering them
any seats. The two parties
had given letters express-
ing support to the DMK-
daily seizure report of
the Election Department,
Assam.
It includes `4.27 crore in
cash, liquor (3.58 lakh
litres) worth `5.52 crore,
`4 crore worth drugs and
other narcotics sub-
stances, `1 crore worth
precious metals such as
gold and silver, and `3.52
crore of other items like
different freebies. — PTI
said that MNM would
take a lion’s share of 154
seats, while the IJK and
AISMK will get 40 seats
each.
The agreement, worded
in English and have sig-
natures of three witness-
es, drew flak from many
on social media as the
general practice in the
state is to have such deals
written in Tamil with
just the number of seats
allotted for the parties
mentioned in it.
But the MoU of Haasan
spoke about objects and
goals. It said that parties
join together to bring in
change in Tamil Nadu.
led front after breaking
away from the AIADMK
coalition on the hope that
the DMK would at least
offer one seat each to the
two leaders.
While rumours started
floating that the two par-
ties had withdrawn their
letters of support given to
the DMK as they felt neg-
lected by the DMK, Tam-
imum Ansari denied it.
Another Muslim party,
Indian National League,
PRAFULLA
MAHANTA NOT TO
CONTEST POLLS
MANOJ ANAND | DC
GUWAHATI, MARCH 9
In what has surprised
many political observers,
veteran AGP leader and
two-time chief minister
of Assam Prafulla Maha-
nta, has decided not to
take part in the ongoing
state Assembly election.
Mahanta, who was
denied the party ticket
from Barhampur from
where he won for six con-
secutive terms, said he
was “hurt because of the
party’s weak stand in
defending regionalism, a
cause that formed the
very basis of AGP.”
According to the seat-
sharing agreement
between AGP and BJP,
the Barhampur seat has
gone to the saffron party
which has fielded Jitu
Goswami as its candi-
date.
Mahanta’s decision of
not contesting elections
this time was conveyed
by his wife and former
Rajya Sabha member
Joyshree Goswami
Mahanta.
whose emergent State
executive met in Chennai
on Tuesday, also decided
to extend support to the
DMK-led front. It accused
the AIADMK government
of being subservient to
the BJP at the Centre.
Meanwhile, DMK MP S.
Jagthrakshan, who is in
charge of Puducherry,
came out with a state-
ment denying specula-
tions on his switching
over to the BJP.

BILATERAL | TIES New Delhi advises British MPs to refrain from practising vote bank politics

India fumes as UK House discusses farmers’ stir

SRIDHAR
KUMARASWAMI | DC
NEW DELHI, MARCH 9
In a stinging rebuke
against the recent discus-
sion in the British Parlia-
ment on the ongoing farm-
ers’ protests, India on
Tuesday summoned and
issued a demarche to
British High Commissioner
Alex Ellis to “strongly opp-
ose the unwarranted and
tendentious discussion on
agricultural reforms in
India in the British Parl-
iament” on Monday on the
grounds that “this repre-
sented a gross interference
in the politics of another
democratic country”.
In a message dripping
with sarcasm, New Delhi
also “advised British MPs
to refrain from practising
vote bank politics by mis-
representing events”.
This is the second Weste-
rn nation to which a demar-
che has been issued by
India in the past three mon-
ths on the farmers’ stir. In
December last, India had
similarly summoned the
Canadian High Commissi-
oner in New Delhi and had
issued a demarche to Can-
ada for its “unacceptable
interference” in India’s int-
ernal affairs in response to
recent comments made th-
en by some senior politicia-
ns there including Canad-
ian PM Justin Trudeau on
the farmers’ protests in
some states in India. New
Delhi had also warned Can-
ada then that “such actions,
if continued, would have a
seriously damaging
impact” on bilateral ties.
In a statement on Tuesday,
New Delhi said, “Foreign
Secretary (Harsh Vardhan
Shringla) summoned the
British High Commissioner
(Alex Ellis) and conveyed
strong opposition to the
unwarranted and tenden-
tious discussion on agricul-
tural reforms in India in
the British Parliament. The
Foreign Secretary made
clear that this represented
a gross interference in the
politics of another demo-
cratic country. He advised
that British MPs should
refrain from practising vote
bank politics by misrepre-
senting events, especially
in relation to another fel-
low democracy.”
Just last week, the British
High Commissioner had te-
rmed the farmers’ protests
against the recently-enact-
ed three Indian farm laws
as an “internal issue of In-
dia”, even as New Delhi had
said last week that Indian
diplomats in the UK are ap-
prising the British Gover-
nment as well as Members
of Parliament and me-
mbers of the civil society
there about the concerned
three farm Bills and also
about the Indian govern-
ment’s efforts to resolve the
issue in talks with farmers.
“This is an internal issue
of India. We look at it. That
is for India to resolve,” the
British High Commissioner
had told reporters last Frid-
ay, in reference to the ongo-
ing protests by farmers pre-
dominantly from some of
the northern Indian states.
“Things that happen in
India have ripples in the
UK,” Ellis said, in an obvi-
ous reference to the large
Indian-origin community
and diaspora in the UK. He
had also referred to a
remark made by British
Foreign Secretary Dominic
Raab in India in December
last year that “your
(Indian) politics are our
(British) politics”.
cmyk cmyk

DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021 pg 8

C
I
N
E
M
A
CINEMA WORLD
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
pg 9

PHILIPPINE COPS, MAYOR

KILLED IN LATEST VIOLENCE
Manila, March 9: Police killed a central
Protesters defy
Myanmar curfew
Philippine city mayor and two of his aides, while
two of the police officers were killed in the latest
deadly violence involving the police force, officials
said Tuesday. “I can only assume that this was a
mistaken encounter," Brig. Gen. Ronaldo de Jesus,
a regional police commander, said. — AP

Military junta curbs media coverage

Yangon, March 9: De- ing video online. The junctions, singing
monstrators in offices of Myanmar songs, chanting pro-de-
Myanmar's biggest city Now were raided by the mocracy slogans and
came out Monday night authorities Monday banging objects togeth-
for their first mass before the measure was er. The diplomatic mis-
protests in defiance of announced. The gov- sions of the United
an 8 pm curfew, seeking ernment has detained States, Britain, Canada
to show support for an dozens of journalists and the European
estimated 200 students since the coup, incl- Union all issued
trapped by security uding a Myanmar Now statements urging the
forces in a small area of reporter and Thein Zaw security forces to allow
one neighbourhood. of The Associated Press, the trapped people to
The students and both of whom have return safely to their
other civilians earlier been charged under a homes.
took part in one of the public order law that Although all have
many daily protests carried a penalty of up been sharply critical of
across the country to three years in prison. the Feb. 1 coup and
against the military's The night's street police violence, it is
seizure of power last protests began after unusual for such di-
month that ousted the police cordoned off plomatic statements to
elected government of part of Yangon's be issued in connection
Aung San Suu Kyi. The Sanchaung neighbo- with a specific, ongoing
military government urhood and were incident. “There is hei-
also placed a major believed to be conduct- ghtened tension caused
curb on media coverage ing door-to-door search- by security forces surr-
of the crisis. es for those who fled ounding Kyun Taw
It announced that the attacks by security Road in Sanchaung
licences of five local forces to seek shelter in Township, Yangon. We
media outlets — the homes of sympa- call on those security
Mizzima, DVB, Khit thetic strangers. News forces to withdraw and
Thit Media, Myanmar of their plight spread allow people to go home
Now and 7Day News — quickly on social safely, ” said the US Em-
have been cancelled. media, and people bassy's statement. By
“These media compa- poured into the streets midnight Myanmar
nies are no longer in neighborhoods all time, there had been no
allowed to broadcast or over the city to show reports of clashes bet-
write or give informa- solidarity and in hopes ween police and
tion by using any kind of drawing some of the protesters, although
of media platform or pressure off the hunted security forces chased
using any media tech- protesters. crowds, harassed resi-
nology,” it said on state On some streets, they dents watching from
broadcaster MRTV. constructed makeshift windows, and fired
All five had been barricades with what- stun grenades. They
offering extensive cov- ever was at hand. In the also were some reports
erage of the protests, Insein district, they of injuries from rubber
often with live steam- spread across road bullets. — AP

Palace silent on Harry,

Meghan tell-all interview
London, March 9: Bu- damaging claims
ckingham Palace is said emerged around the 39-
to be in turmoil on year-old former actress'
Tuesday, a day after suicidal thoughts as a
Prince Harry and newly-married Duchess
Meghan Markle's expl- of Sussex. Harry, 36 and
osive interview with Meghan also revealed
American chat show some racist undertones
host Oprah Winfrey within royal ranks as
was aired in the UK and unnamed royals raised
even Prime Minister concerns over the skin
Boris Johnson was tone of their first-born
asked to comment on son, Archie, even as
the allegations of they were told he would
racism that had not be made a prince
emerged. and therefore not pro-
According to some vided with security.
British media reports, a "I have always had the
palace statement has highest admiration for
been prepared but the Queen and the uni-
Queen Elizabeth II is fying role that she plays
yet to sign it off as cri- in our country and
sis talks continue after across the
Commonwealth,” said
Prime Minister Boris
Johnson, when asked
about the allegations
during a Downing
Street briefing.
“As for all other mat-
ters to do with the royal
family, I have spent a
long time now not
commenting on royal
family matters and I
don't intend to depart
from that today," he
said, refusing to be
drawn into the contro-
versy. Opposition
Labour leader Sir Keir
Starmer said allegati-
ons made in the inter-
view should be taken
“very, very seriously”.
— PTI

EQUATORIAL GUINEA
EXPLOSIVES DEATH
TOLL RISES TO 98
Dakar, March 9: The death toll
from a series of explosions at a mil-
itary barracks in Equatorial
Guinea rose by dozens to at least 98
killed after more bodies were recov-
ered, the government said Tuesday.
The blasts on Sunday in the
Mondong Nkuantoma neighbour-
hood of the coastal city of Bata also
wounded at least 615 people, author-
ities said. The government said that
316 of the injured have been dis-
charged and 299 remain in care in
various hospitals in the city.
More than 60 people were also res-
cued from under the rubble by the
civil protection corps and fire serv-
ice, the government said. President
Teodoro Obiang Nguema said the
government will hold an emer-
gency meeting to look into how vic-
tims can quickly receive aid from
Equatorial Guinea before interna-
tional aid arrives.
Investigations into the blast have
begun, he said in a Tuesday state-
ment. The president initially the
explosion was due to the “negligent
handling of dynamite” in the mili-
tary barracks and the impact dam-
aged almost all the homes and
buildings in Bata. The vice presi-
dent, who is also charged with
defense and security, Teodoro
Nguema Obiang Mangue, said
Tuesday that investigations so far
showed the fire may have begun
when a farmer set fire to his plot to
prepare it for food production and a
breeze spread the flames to the
nearby barracks where the high-
caliber ammunition was stored.
Images shown on state TV showed
plumes of smoke rising above the
explosion site as crowds fled. Roofs
of houses were ripped off.
Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich West
African country of 1.3 million peo-
ple located south of Cameroon, was
a colony of Spain until it gained its
independence in 1968. Bata has
roughly 175,000 inhabitants. — AP

● THE GOVERNMENT said that 316

of the injured have been discharged
and 299 remain in care in various
hospitals in the city. More than 60
people were also rescued from
under the rubble.
CINEMA WORLD
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD |
WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
pg 10

Cuomo probe
team named
Gov. ‘sexually harassed’ female aides
Albany (US), March Katz said in a stateme- be allowed the appropr-
9: New York Attorney nt. As a top federal pro- iate time to complete
General Letitia James secutor in Manhattan, her investigation rath-
on Monday appointed a Kim played a role in its er than undermine her
former federal prosecu- investigations of corru- role and responsibility
tor and an employment ption in state governm- as the chief law enforc-
lawyer to investigate ent, including a case ag- ement officer of the sta-
allegations that Gov. ainst one of Cuomo's cl- te of New York.”
Andrew Cuomo sexual- osest friends and aides. Assembly Democrats
ly harassed female The appointments were caucusing Mond-
aides. Joon Kim, who came as New York law- ay as legislators face
was the acting US attor- makers were privately increasing pressure to
ney for the Southern debating whether to take a stance. Cuomo,
District of New York join calls for Cuomo to meanwhile, appeared
for parts of 2017 and resign, or urge patience with Black clergy mem-
2018, will join the empl- while the investigation bers Monday at a vacci-
oyment lawyer Anne plays out. nation site in New York
Clark, in conducting A group of 21 women City. The event was
the probe, the attorney in the state Assembly closed to reporters, but
general's office said. released a statement Cuomo said Sunday he
“There is no question Monday asking that has no intention of res-
that they both have the James be given time to igning and believes he
knowledge and backgr- complete her probe. can continue to govern.
ound necessary to lead The group included the Several women, inclu-
this investigation and the no. 2 Democrat in ding three former me-
provide New Yorkers the Assembly, Majority mbers of Cuomo's staff,
with the answers they Leader Crystal People- have accused him of
deserve,” James said in Stokes. The lawmakers making inappropriate
a statement. began working on the comments about their
The lawyer for Charl- statement Sunday nig- appearance, asking qu-
otte Bennett, one of the ht after the Senate's top estions about their sex
aides making an accu- leader, Andrea Stewart- life and, in some cases,
sation, said the selec- Cousins, called on Cuo- giving them uncomfort-
tion of the two to carry mo to resign. “We conti- able hugs or unwanted
out the probe showed nue to support our Att- kisses. The governor
James was taking the orney General, the first has denied touching
matter “very seriously." woman, and the first anyone inappropriate-
“We are encouraged by African American wo- ly, and said some of the
the experience and bac- man to be elected to allegations are false.
kground of the attorne- this position, as she But he has acknowl-
ys who will be investi- launches this investiga- edged, and apologized
gating Charlotte's clai- tion,” it said. for, engaging in “ban-
ms," attorney Debra “We request that she ter” in the office. — AP

FLOYD DEATH:
PAUSE ON JURY
SELECTION
Minneapolis, March
9: The judge overseeing
the trial of a former
Minneapolis police offi-
cer accused in the death
of George Floyd on
Monday paused jury
selection for at least a
day while an appeal
proceeds over the possi-
ble reinstatement of a
third-degree murder
charge.
As hundreds of
protesters gathered out-
side the courthouse to
call for the conviction
of Derek Chauvin,
Judge Peter Cahill said
he does not have juris-
diction to rule on
whether the third-
degree murder charge
should be reinstated
against the former offi-
cer while the issue is
being appealed.
But he said prosecu-
tors' arguments that the
whole case would be
impacted was “tenu-
ous.” Cahill initially
ruled that jury selec-
tion would begin as
scheduled on Monday,
but prosecutors filed a
request with the Court
of Appeals to put the
trial on hold until the
issue is resolved.
The judge then sent
the potential jurors
home for the day, while
prosecutors tried to
contact the appellate
court.
Cahill took a recess to
give the Court of
Appeals time to
respond, but planned to
bring attorneys back
into the courtroom
Monday afternoon to
deal with other matters.
Cahill said he would
proceed with the trial .
— AP

CDC: VACCINATED
PEOPLE CAN MEET
WITHOUT MASKS
New York, March 9:
Fully vaccinated Amer-
icans can gather with
other vaccinated people
indoors without weari-
ng a mask or social dist-
ancing, according to lo-
ng-awaited guidance
from federal health offi-
cials. The recommend-
ations also say that vac-
cinated people can co-
me together in the same
way such as in the case
of vaccinated grandpar-
ents visiting healthy ch-
ildren and grandchildr-
en. The guidance is des-
igned to address a
growing demand, as
more adults have been
getting vaccinated and
wondering if it gives
them freedom to visit
family members, travel,
or do other things like
they did before the
Covid-19 swept the
world last year. — AP
 HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
pg 11

quick Worst-hit sectors

 Firms keen on hiring apprentices MUTUAL FUND AUM
HITS `32.3 L CR
DESPITE `10K CR
Foreign investment
is good for women
BITES back in job mkt EQUITY OUTFLOW
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, MARCH 9
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, MARCH 9

INDICATORS % The asset under manage-

ment (AUM) of the mutu-
Foreign investment is good
not just for the economy
Sensex 51,025.48 1.16 SANGEETHA G al fund industry touched but for women as well.
Nifty 50 15,098.40 0.95 CHENNAI, MARCH 9 a new all-time high of Foreign direct investment
over Rs 32.29 lakh crore in (FDI) and the operations of
S&P 500* 3,891.38 1.83 Some of the worst pan- February on continued multi-national enterprises
Dollar (`) 72.92 0.46 demic-hit sectors have re- bull run in the equity (MNEs) tend to have a pos-
Pound Sterling (`) 101.35 -0.03 entered the job market this market post-budget and itive influence on the eco-
year, but with a tight fist. the return of investors to nomic well being of
Euro (`) 86.84 0.13 Travel & hospitality and hybrid funds and ETFs women.
Gold (10gm)* (`) 43,996▲35 0.07 beauty & wellness, which amid divergent trends. According to a UN study
were battered by the lock- Data released by the involving India and
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 67.77 -0.69 downs and subsequent Association of Mutual Bangladesh, increased FDI Bangladesh and India to The report also looked at
IN 10-Yr bond yield 6.206 0.00 travel restrictions, are Funds in India (Amfi) and operations of MNEs understand this phenome- India's foreign investment
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 1.544 -0.050 back in the job market shows despite higher out- are associated with higher non. In the Bangladeshi liberalisation in the 1990s
with intentions to hire flow of Rs 10,468 crore (Rs employment of women textile and garment indus- to explore the role global
* As of 8:30 PM IST apprentices. 9,253 crore in January) and positive social try, firms with FDI hire integration plays in
With companies focusing from pure equity funds improvements in India. significantly more female enhancing female empow-
on cost optimisation, for the eighth month in a MNEs influence gender administrative workers erment. Areas of the coun-
large-scale apprenticeship jections, which not only al HR practices and going row and debt fund inflow equality in host countries and production workers try with a stronger foreign
GST fraud of over has become the new trend
in the post-pandemic job
indicates an overall
increase in hiring, but the
for apprentices," said
Jaison Chacko, secretary
of a mere Rs 1,734 crore,
mark-to-market gains in
directly through employ-
ment practices and indi-
than domestic firms. This
is true even after control-
presence reported declin-
ing number of rapes,

`20,100 cr found market. Out of the 18 sec-

in Nov.-Jan.: FM
The government has detected
GST fraud of Rs 20,124 crore
between November 9, 2020
and January 31, 2021, finance
minister Nirmala Sitharaman
said. A special drive against
unscrupulous entities for avail-
ing and passing on input tax
credit (ITC) fraudulently on the
strength of fake/bogus invoic-
es is being carried out, she said
in a written reply to the Rajya
Sabha. She said 2,692 cases
were booked by the officers.
Printed & Published by
K. Sudhakar on behalf of Deccan
Chronicle Holdings Limited, Printed at
Deccan Chronicle Press at Deccan
Chronicle Holdings Ltd. #563/9/D&9/E,
Behind Andhra Bank Pet Basheerbagh,
Kompally, Ranga Reddy Dist. Editor:
T.Venkatram Reddy, RNI Reg
No.APENG/2008/24282. © All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or in
part without written permission of The
Editor, Financial Chronicle ® is
prohibited.
tors reviewed
Teamlease Services for its
by
Apprenticeship Outlook
Report for January to June
2021, more than 16 were
keen on hiring appren-
tices. This is because
apprentices are paid
stipends, and not wages as
in case of regular employ-
ees, and usually stipends
are far less than regular
wages.
While manufacturing,
automobiles and ancillar-
ies and retail are the lead-
ers in hiring apprentices,
more services sectors are
now taking baby steps in
the job market.
The hiring intents of
travel & hospitality and
beauty & wellness were at -
10 per cent and -5 per cent,
respectively, in the previ-
ous half-year between July
and December 2020. They
have now made a remark-
able turnaround with a
growth of 34 per cent and
31 per cent, respectively.
"What is very interesting
to note is the current pro-
fact that sectors like travel
and hospitality as well as
beauty and wellness which
were adversely hit by the
pandemic, are now show-
ing aggressive turnaround
in their apprenticeship
hiring sentiments," said
Sumit Kumar, vice presi-
dent-NETAP, TeamLease
Skill University.
However, the hospitality
industry is not in full
agreement with the survey,
dismissing it as a city-spe-
cific trend. "It is not a gen-
eral trend. The hospitality
sector is far from a signifi-
cant recovery and that will
happen when internation-
al travel and MICE (meet-
ings, incentives, confer-
ences and exhibitions) seg-
ments pick up. But compa-
nies in places which have
reported lesser pandemic
cases and increased flow of
domestic travellers could
be hiring apprentices. With
limited revenue and high
operational cost, hospitali-
ty companies are looking
at ways for cost optimisa-
tion by avoiding tradition-
general of the Federation
of Hotels and Restaurants
Association of India.
According to
Teamlease report, around
the
41 per cent of the employ-
ers are keen on hiring
apprenticeships in the
January-June period, 8 per
cent higher compared to
the previous half year.
There is buoyancy towards
the concept of apprentice-
ship and more than 58 per
cent of the companies
reviewed were keen on
increasing their appren-
ticeship hiring.
More employers are real-
ising the merit of the
apprenticeship model to
build a robust pipeline of
employable talent, it said.
"In fact, from 2018, to
now, we have seen a 2.5 per
cent annual growth in
employers, who are willing
to increase their appren-
tice intake. This positive
momentum has happened
despite the dip in the
labour market during the
Covid-19 lockdown," said
Kumar.
equity-oriented funds
and inflows from system-
atic investment plans
(SIPs) helped the average
AUM for February to rise
to Rs 32.29 lakh crore.
Hybrid funds and
exchange traded funds,
including gold ETFs, saw
inflows worth Rs 4,702
crore and Rs 3,898 crore,
respectively.
N. S. Venkatesh, chief
executive, Amfi said: “SIP
AUMs as also retail equity
folios, are at an all-time
high at Rs 4.21 lakh crore
and 8.07 crore, respective-
ly, reflective of continued
disciplined approach
adopted by the retail
mutual fund investors."
However, the monthly
SIP contribution for
February 2021 has come
down by Rs 495 crore (to
Rs 7,528.14 crore) owing to
less number of working
days in February and the
shortfall would get accu-
mulated and reflected in
March 2021 monthly data,
the Amfi chief executive
said.
rectly through spillovers
in local labour markets.
On an average across
developing countries, for-
eign affiliates employ
about 5 percentage points
more female administra-
tive workers than local
firms, finds a report of the
United Nations
Conference on Trade and
Development (Unctad).
In South Asia, multi-
national enterprises have
higher shares of female
ownership, female man-
agers and female work-
force composition, espe-
cially for the production
workforce, than local
enterprises, basically
because of laggard domes-
tic policies toward women.
In South Asia, an area of
the world with poor poli-
cies and practices regard-
ing women, it appears that
an expansion of foreign
investment may help with
female empowerment,
says the Unctad.
The Geneva-based body
studied the situation in
ling for firm size, location
and industry type. The
same holds in India, where
FDI improves gender out-
comes in terms of employ-
ment. This result is con-
firmed from both the
household- and firm-level
panel data.
In India, increased FDI is
associated with higher
employment of women,
particularly unskilled
women. In addition to the
positive impacts of foreign
investment on female
employment, research has
shown important positive
social improvements for
women in terms of reduc-
tions in crime and delayed
marriage and childbear-
ing with the expansion of
foreign investment.
Increased FDI decreases
the probability that a
woman is married or has
children at age 20. This
supports the argument
that FDI can impact not
only female employment
but also women's family
life decisions.
showcasing a positive soc-
ial spillover from multi-
national enterprises.
Meanwhile, a Moody’s
report said closing gender
gaps widened by the pan-
demic could help boost the
recovery of emerging
economies and improve
their credit ratings.
Major emerging
economies have increased
measures to help women,
who have been dispropor-
tionately hit by the pan-
demic as lockdowns forced
many to leave their jobs to
take care of their children.
Help includes direct cash
transfers, training and
credit lines for female
business owners, Moody’s
Investors Service.
Implementing similar
measures coupled with
more structural changes
to secure women’s access
to education and employ-
ment could bring sustain-
able recovery with
improvements in produc-
tivity and consumption in
developing nations, it said.

GAMES Katyayani fastest, smashes records

SHORT TAKES
Bhadradri off to
flying start in TCA
Hyderabad: Bhadradri District
emerged victorious in the open-
er of the Telangana Cricket
Association’s U-16 Inter Districts
State Championship which was
played at Bhadradri Stadium,
Manuguru, here on Tuesday.
Riding on Jashwanth’s 3/15,
Bhadradri bowled out Jangaon
District to a paltry 56 and
clinched a 87-run victory while
the other match saw a tie
between Warangal Uraban
District and Khammam District
as Vinay Gayle (5/15) was the
pick of the Khammam bowlers.
BRIEF SCORES
■ Bhadradri District 143/7 in 20
overs (Arjun 34 n.o, Pavan
Kumar Jummala 31, Uday Raj
1/22) bt Jangaon District 56 in
14.5 overs (Jashwanth 3/15).
■ Warangal Urban District 104 in
16.1 Overs (Pardhipan 40, Vinay
Gayle 5/15) tied with Khammam
District 104 in 18.4 Overs
(Karthickeya 22, Pardhipan 3/13).
Gym test event in
Tokyo cancelled
Tokyo: A gymnastics test event
in Tokyo for the Olympics that
would have included athletes
from outside Japan was can-
celled on Tuesday. The Japan
Gymnastics Association and
international governing body FIG
said the All-Around World Cup
scheduled for May 4 was off. It
was to be the last of an artistic
gymnastics series doubling as
Olympic qualifiers, but the other
two World Cups in Germany and
Britain were also previously can-
celed because of the Covid-19
pandemic. The Tokyo WC will be
replaced by a local event with
only Japanese gymnasts to test
the venue for the Olympics.
Travel restrictions were cited as
a prime reason for the
cancellation. — AP
Live on TV
FOOTBALL
English Premier League: Manchester
City vs Southampton from 11.30 pm
on Star Sports Select 1, HD
Champions League: Round of 16,
second leg — PSG vs Barcelona
from 1.30 am (Thursday) on Sony
Ten 2, HD; Liverpool vs Leipzig 1.30
am (Thursday) on Sony Ten 1
WWE
NXT: Bouts from 6.30 am
(Thursday) on Sony Ten 1, HD
Abhilash, Nithya, Nihar, Charles also win multiple medals at State swimming meet
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9
Katyayani Golem emerged the
fastest swimmer by setting new
meet records in the 6th Senior
Inter District Swimming
Championship organised by the
Telangana Swimming
Association at Zion Swimming
Academy in Hyderabad.
The 15-year-old won the 50 as
well as 100 metres Women’s
Freestyle events with record tim-
ings to stamp her authority in the
pool. The ninth standard student
of Nasr Girls’ School in
Hyderabad set a new meet record
by clocking 0:28:12 in the 50
metres race before cutting
through the 100 metres with a
cool timing of 01:03:67.
Gagana Sri of Hyderabad was a
distant second in 0:34:15 while
Shaik Sajida of Ranga Reddy
came third with a time of 0:47:80
in the 50m event.
On the men’s side, Ch. Abhilash
of Khammam was the fastest of
the meet, clocking 0:55:56 to win
the 100m freestyle race ahead of
M. Navaneeth of Ranga Reddy
(1:05:38) and K. Thanmay
Rhitwick of Hyderabad (1:10:70).
Abhilash bagged four other
titles. He clocked 0:26:28 in 50m
freestyle, 0:27:12 in 50m butterfly,
01:00:57 in 100m butterfly and
02:05:04 in 200m freestyle.
Vritti Agarwal of Ranga Reddy
put up a great show in women’s
freestyle to claim four titles as
she clocked — 02:13:76 in 200m ,
5:05:01 in 400m, 10:05:06 in 800m
and 18:30:75 in 1500m.
Sri Nithya Sagi of Ranga Reddy
won three titles, in the women’s
backstroke categories. She
clocked 0:32:70 in 50m, 01:12:46 in
100m and 02:36:30 in 200m.
Ranga Reddy’s B. Sai Nihar too
garnered three titles. He timed
04:46:92 in the 400m individual
medley, 02:14:04 in 200m back-
stroke and 02:21:89 in 200m indi-
vidual medley.
Charles Finney of Ranga Reddy
too accumulated two freestyle
titles — 11:10:94 in 800m and
20:59:54 in 1500m event.
TSA secretary M. Rama
Krishna and treasurer Umesh
Gandle gave away the prizes.
THE RESULTS
■ 50m Freestyle Men: 1. Ch.
Abhilash (Khammam) 0:26:28, 2. M.
Suhas Preetham (Hyd) 0:27:26, 3.
M. Hanuman (Hyd) 0:28:40.
■ 50m Freestyle Women: 1.
Katyayani Golem (Hyd) 0:28:12, 2.
Gagana Sri (Hyd) 0:34:15, 3. Shaik
Sajida (RR) 0:47:80.
■ 50m Butterfly Men: 1. Ch.
Abhilash (Khamam) 0:27:12, 2. M.
Suhas Preetham (Hyd) 0:29:23, 3.
M. Hanuman (Hyd) 0:29:34.
■ 50m butterfly Women: 1. Aditi
Katyayani Golem (right) poses with her certificate alongside coach
Alekhya after setting a meet record at the Telangana State inter-dis-
trict swimming championship held in Hyderabad.
Nadella (Hyd) 0:38:77, 2. Shaik
Sajida (RR) 0:56:20, 3. G. Abhi
Chandana (Warangal) 01:05:60.
■ 50m Back stroke Men: 1. Y.
Hemanth Reddy (RR) 0:28:60, 2. M.
Suhas Preetham (RR) 0:29:32, 3. M.
Hanuman (Hyd) 0:31:69.
■ 50m Backstroke Women: 1. Sri
Nithya Sagi (RR) 0:32:70, 2. T. Sai
Pragna (Nizamabad) 0:40:04, 3.
Hema Varshini (RR) 0:40:86.
■ 50m Breaststroke Men: 1.
Shashank Yadav (Hyd) 0:37:83, 2. G.
Ashish Teja ( Warangal) 0:38:08, 3.
Ishan Dubey (Hyd) 0:38:40.
■ 50m Breaststroke Women: 1. M.
Rithvika (Nizamabad) 0:38:36, 2. T.
Sai Pragna (Nizamabad) 0:44:20, 3.
Srijani (RR) 0:44:92.
■ 100m freestyle Men: 1. Ch.
Abhilash (Khammam) 0:55:56, 2. M.
Navaneeth (RR) 1:05:38, 3. K.
Thanmay Rhitwick (Hyd) 1:10:70.
■ 100m Freestyle Women: 1.
Katyayani Golem (Hyd) 01:03:67.
■ 400m Individual Medley Men: 1.
B. Sai Nihar (RR) 04:46:92, 2. Stash
Joseph (RR) 05:27:10.
■ 400m Individual Medley Women:
1. Nisha Ganesh (RR) 06:51:97.
■ 200m Freestyle Men: 1. Ch.
Abhilash (Khamam) 02:05:04, 2.
Mohal Gupta (Hyd) 02:33:35, 3.
Arjun Kandoi (Hyd) 02:34:42.
■ 200m Freestyle Women: 1. Vritti
Agarwal (RR) 02:13:76, 2. Dhriti
(Hyd) 02:59:90, 3. Eeshitha
Rasamayi (Warangal) 04:05:60.
■ 200m Butterfly Men: 1. M.
Vishwas Reddy (RR) 03:07:18.
■ 200m Butterfly Women: 1. Aditi
Nadella (Hyd) 03:49:55.
■ 100m Breaststroke Men: 1. G.
Vishnu Vardhan (RR) 01:23:35, 2.
Udit Kothari (Hyd) 01:23:64, 3.
Ishan Dubey (Hyd) 01:30:06.
■ 100m Breaststroke Women: 1. M.
Rhitvika (Nizamabad) 01:29:03, 2. T.
Sai Pragna (Nizamabad) 01:34:85,
3. Sri Jani (RR) ) 01:36:55.
■ 100m Butterfly Men: 1. Ch.
Abhilash (Khamam) 01:00:57, 2. M.
Vishwas Reddy (RR) 01:02:85, 3. M.
Hanuman (Hyd) 01:02:97.
■ 100m Butterfly Women: 1. Aditi
Nadella (Hyd) 01:30:01, 2. Nisha
Ganesh (RR) 01:30:60, 3. Sr Mani
(Warangal) 02:34:73.
■ 400m Freestyle Men: 1. Yash
Varma (RR) 05:21:01, 2. Arjun
Kandoi (Hyd) 05:32:31, 3. M.
Rajender (Hyd) 05:40:68.
● Katyayani, a ninth
standard student of Nasr
Girls School, set new
meet record by clocking
0:28:12 in the 50 metres
freestyle race before
cutting through the 100
metres with a cool
timing of 01:03:67.
● On the men’s side, Ch.
Abhilash of Khammam
was the fastest of the
meet, clocking 0:55:56
to win the 100m
freestyle race. Abhilash
also won the 50m
freestyle, 50m butterfly,
100m butterfly and
200m freestyle races.
■ 400m Freestyle Women: 1. Vritti
Agarwal (RR) 5:05:01, 2. Eeshitha
Rasamayia (Warangal) 08:32:93.
■ 100m Backstroke Men: 1. Y
Hemanth Reddy (RR) 01:04:17, 2. M
Suhas Preetham (Hyd) 01:05:57, 3.
Duansh Sharma (Hyd) 01:12:33.
■ 100m Backstroke Women: 1. Sri
Nithya Sagi (RR) 01:12:46, 2. Aditi
Nadella (Hyd) 01:27:22.
■ 800m Freestyle Men: 1. Y. Charles
Finney (RR) 11:10:94, 2. M. Rajender
11:37:10, 3. Akhil Nagula (Warangal)
19:28:87.
■ 800m Freestyle Women: 1. Vritti
Agarwal (RR) 10:05:06, 2. M. Anitha
(Karimnagar) 22:26:12, 3. Soumya
(Karimnagar) 22:36:73.
■ 200m Backstroke Men: 1. B. Sai
Nihar (RR) 02:14:04, 2. Duansh
Sharma ( Hyd) 02:42:85, 3. Arjun
Kandoi (Hyd) 02:44:90.
■ 200m Backstroke Women: 1. Sri
Nithya Sagi (RR) 02:36:30, 2. Aditti
Nadella 03:07:75.
■ 200m Breaststroke Men: 1. G.
Vishnu Vardhan (RR) 02:57:43, 2.
Stash Joseph (RR) 02:57:77, 3. Udit
Kothari ( Hyd) 03:00:31.
■ 200m Breaststroke Women: 1. M.
Rhithvika (Nizamabad) 03:01:40, 2.
Nisha Ganesh (RR) 03:19:51, 3. G.
Srijani (RR) 03:26:30.
■ 200m Individual Medley Men: 1. B.
Sai Nihar (RR) 02:21:89, 2. G. Vishnu
Vardhan (RR) 02:35:29, 3. K. Arjun
Kandoi (Hyd) 02:49:00.
■ 200m Individual Medley Women:
1. T. Sai Pragna (Nizamabad)
02:59:22, 2. Gagana Sri R. (Hyd)
03:20:98, 3. Dhriti K (Hyd) 03:24:37.
■ 1500m Freestyle Men: 1. Y.
Charles Finney (RR) 20:59:54, 2. K.
Raghavender (Khammam)
22:30:93, 3. K. Lalit Sagar (RR)
22:32:68.
■ 1500m Freestyle Women: 1. Vritti
Agarwal (RR) 18:30:75, 2. Eeshitha
Rasamayi (Warangal) 33:41:05.
India’s Smriti Mandhana en route to her unbeaten 80
against South Africa in their second ODI in Lucknow on
Tuesday. The hosts won by 9 wickets — BCCI
Smriti, Jhulan star
as India level series
Lucknow, March 9: shared an unbeaten 138-
Veteran Jhulan Goswami’s run partnership for the
four-wicket haul was beau- second wicket with India
tifully complemented by overhauling the target in
Smriti Mandhana’s
sparkling 80 not out as
only 28.4 overs to bounce
back from their eight-wick-
Indian women outplayed
South Africa by nine wick-
et loss in the first ODI.
Mandhana blasted 10
ets in the second ODI to fours and three sixes while
level the five-match series Raut dropped anchor at
1-1 here on Tuesday. one end but also hit eight
The 38-year-old Goswami boundaries.
returned with figures of Earlier, Lara Goodall was
4/42 and she was ably sup- the most successful
ported by fellow seamer batswoman for South
Mansi Joshi (2/23) and left- Africa as she scored a 77-
arm spinner Rajeshwari ball 49, while skipper Sune
Gayakwad (3/37) as India Luus chipped in with a 57-
dismissed South Africa for ball 36. — PTI
a paltry 157 after opting to Brief scores: South Africa 157 in
field. 41 overs (Goodall 49, Goswami
Opener Mandhana (80 not 4/42) lost to India 160/1 in 28.4
out off 64 balls) and Raut overs (Mandhana 80 not out,
(62 not out, 89 balls) then Raut 62 not out).
CONSISTENCY, FITNESS ARE
JHULAN’S SUCCESS MANTRAS
Lucknow, March 9: In her late 30s, veteran India
pacer Jhulan Goswami knows that consistent per-
formance, backed by supreme fitness, is paramount to
stay relevant in the Indian women’s cricket team.
Goswami, who is 38, is the highest wicket-taker in
women’s ODIs with 231 scalps.
“Representing India is the biggest motivation for me.
I don’t think you have to look elsewhere for motiva-
tion,” Goswami said.
“You cannot belong to the team if you don’t perform
your best everyday. It’s important for us to maintain
our fitness and come out strong on the field. It’s not
going to be easy,” she added.
The pacer from Bengal had called it quits from T20I
format in 2018 in a surprise announcement ahead of
the T20 World Cup in the West Indies. — PTI
 GAMES
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 10 MARCH 2021
pg 12

WEIGHT & WATCH Azhar flicks, says

SHORT TAKES
Sharath downs
world No. 16
Doha: Indian paddler Achanta
HCA mess is old
Sharath Kamal stunned world
number 16 Patrick Franziska to
progress to the men’s singles
Stokes reveals players had sudden weight loss during last Test DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9

pre-quarterfinals of the World

Table Tennis Star Contender
series here on Tuesday.
Sharath Kamal, ranked 32, beat
his higher-ranked rival from
Germany 12-10, 3-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-
9 in the second round match.
He will now face the winner of
the match between Egypt’s
Ahmed Saleh and German
Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the pre-
quarters on Wednesday.
However, G. Sathiyan and
Manika Batra bowed out after
suffering defeats in their
respective singles second round
matches. While world number
63 Batra lost 7-11, 6-11, 7-11 to
Japan’s Mima Ito, who is ranked
third in the world, Sathiyan was
beaten by Japanese sensation
and world No.5 Tomokazu
Harimoto 4-11, 5-11, 8-11.
Delhi to bid for
2048 Olympics
New Delhi: The Delhi govern-
ment aims to host the 2048
Olympic Games and it will cre-
ate whatever infrastructure and
facilities required for it, Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
said on Tuesday. Delhi hosted
the first Asian Games in 1951,
and the ninth edition in 1982.
“Delhi will bid for the 2048
Olympic Games. We will create
whatever infrastructure and
other facilities are required for
it,” Kejriwal said during a post-
budget press conference.
Presenting the budget earlier in
the day, Deputy Chief Minister
Sisodia said, “There is another
big dream related to sports
which I am placing before this
house... It is a dream to organ-
ise the Olympic Games in Delhi.
“The 32nd Olympic Games are
to be held in Tokyo. The next
three host cities have also been
decided. Our government aims
to bring the sports facilities and
the atmosphere towards sports
competitions to such a level
through the new Sports
University that we can apply to
host the 39th Olympic sports
competitions for 2048,” he
further said. — PTI
Ahmedabad, March 9:
Ben Stokes has revealed
that he and his team-
mates endured sudden
weight loss during the
fourth and final Test
against India here after a
stomach illness hit the
tourists before the match.
England lost the Test
series 1-3 after going
down in the final match
by an innings and 25 runs
last week.
“Players are totally com-
mitted to England and I
think that was empha-
sised last week when a
few of us went down with
illness that made operat-
ing in 41 degree heat par-
ticularly taxing,” Stokes
told UK’s Daily Mirror.
“I lost 5kg in a week,
Dom Sibley 4kg and
Anderson 3kg among oth-
ers. Jack Leach was duck-
ing off the field in
between bowling spells
and spending more time
than is ideal in the toilet.”
Rishabh Pant and
Washington Sundar scor
ed 101 and 96 respectively
to guide India to 365 in
their first innings. The
hosts then returned to
dismiss England for 135 to
win the match.
“This is in no way an
excuse, because everyone
was ready to play, and
India and Rishabh espe-
cially produced a terrific
performance, but I take
off my hat to the effort
that was put in by players
who gave everything they
had to try and win for
England,” Stokes said.
England drew a lot of
flak from former players
following their perform-
ance but Stokes said it is
important to shut that out
to focus on improving the
game. “Pundits have a job
to do and that’s fine. But
their responsibility isn’t
to make us better players
and a better team. That is
our job and that is what
we have to focus on,” said
Stokes. — PTI
I lost 5kg in a week,
Dom Sibley 4kg and
ASHWIN WINS
Jimmy Anderson 3kg
among others. Jack
Leach was ducking off
PLAYER OF THE
the field in between
bowling spells and
MONTH AWARD
spending more time
Dubai, March 9: India’s
than is ideal in the premier off-spinner
toilet. Ravichandran Ashwin
— BEN STOKES was on Tuesday named
England star the ICC men’s Player of
all-rounder the Month (February) for
his stellar show against
England in a four-match
Test series at home which
his side won to qualify for
the World Test
Championship final.
England’s Tammy
Beaumont was adjudged
the women’s Player of the
Month.
In the three Tests he
played, Ashwin scored a
106 in the second innings
of India’s second Test vic-
tory over England at
Chennai and took his
400th Test wicket in the
third Test victory at
Ahmedabad.
Besides the century,
Ashwin scalped a stagger-
ing 24 wickets against
England in February to
help India pocket the four-
match Test series 3-1 and
help his team secure its
spot in the WTC final
against New Zealand at
the iconic Lord’s in June.
Scoring a total of 176
runs across these games
and taking 24 wickets,
Ashwin was the unani-
mous choice to win in the
men’s category for
February and garnered
the most votes in the fan
vote, the ICC said.
England Test captain
Joe Root and West Indies
Test debutant Kyle
Mayers, who scored a 210
to help his team success-
fully chase 395 and win
the first Test against
Bangladesh, were nomi-
Ben Stokes in this file photo. — AP nated alongside
Ravichandran Ashwin for
the honour. — PTI
A day after being criticised
for Hyderabad being
ignored as a venue for the
upcoming IPL, Hyderabad
Cricket Association presi-
dent Mohammad
Azharuddin hit back at for-
mer secretary and BCCI
interim president N.
Shivlal Yadav saying his
team is in the current situ-
ation because of the mis-
management of previous
regimes.
Azhar was all aggression
as he addressed the press
flanked by Apex Council
members at the Gymkhana
ground on Tuesday. “I just
cannot drag the IPL to
Hyderabad,” he burst out.
“I went all the way to
Ahmedabad and spoke to
the BCCI secretary, who
said he would do his best
but with Chennai and
Bangalore already in, the
BCCI was not in favour of a
third venue in south India.
It was tough but I tried my
best. I tried to phone the
Governing Council mem-
bers also but they didn’t
answer my calls. However,
I am still at it. If something
were to go wrong at any of
the venues, Hyderabad
should be part of the back-
up plan,” he explained.
“Today, past officials are
making a hue and cry
about IPL not being played
in Hyderabad, I would like
to ask them why did they
not have a match in the
City during the 2011 World
Cup?” he countered.
Taking a dig at past bod-
ies, Azhar said: “The HCA
was burdened when we
took over. There were tax
and PF issues with appeals
and showcause notices
pending. We somehow set-
tled everything by paying
heavy fines.”
Then, “institutional
clubs have been privatised,
leading to court cases that
have stalled a round of the
league matches. How
could Union Bank of India
become Kun? Similarly,
district teams are being
HCA president Mohammad
Azharuddin addresses the
press on Tuesday.
controlled by individuals,”
he continued.
“So much muck has gath-
ered in the HCA over the
years. If this goes on I may
have to write to the Board
and the Government and
ask them to initiate
inquiries with different
agencies into the wrongdo-
ings of the past that are
having a cascading effect,”
he said.
However, Azhar conceded
HCA league standard need-
ed improvement. “I saw a
batsman who said he
scored a double century
and two tons but he could-
n’t even connect a single
ball at the nets,” he
revealed. For the record,
all the teams play in the A-
1, 2, 3 divisions.
Asked about the team
selection controversy for
the Vijay Hazare Trophy,
Azhar said “we will defi-
nitely look into it. This has
been happening for so
many years.”
He attributed the delay in
conduct of AGM to Covid
restrictions. “Now, we will
make all pending appoint-
ments such as the selection
committee, cricket adviso-
ry committee among oth-
ers at the AGM this month-
end. However, I spoke to a
lot of senior players but
they want money to be on
the panel. Nobody wants to
work for free,” he said.
As a parting shot, Azhar
reassured his team and
cricketers that he is hands-
on: “I am on the front foot,
will always be.”

Jaidev, Ganesh, Rahul, Arvind top

Tilak, Abrar, Khader, Harshith, Shakeer, Krishna, Babillail, Nikhil, David,
Subhajit, Ghazi, Afzal, Arjan, Jayant, Nishant, Mudassir also shine in league
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, MARCH 9

K. Jaidev Goud, G. Ganesh,

G. Rahul Singh, T. Tilak
Varma, A. Arvind Swamy,
M. A. Khader, Harshith, Md
Shakeer, Mohammed
Babillail and P. Nikhil
hogged Tuesday’s spotlight
in the Hyderabad Cricket
Association’s league match-
es.
Jaidev of Secunderabad
Nawabs slammed splendid
160 off 174 to take his side to
a competitive 389 against
Jai Bhagwathi, for whom
Md Abrar Mohiuddin
scalped 5 for 62 in a three-
day match.
Combined District’s
Ganesh (160) and Rahul
(148) of AOC and Gemini
Friends’ Tilak Varma (111)
whipped mangnificent tons
against Ensconse, Zinda
Tiliamath and Evergreen
respectively.
The next best on the show
was Baalaji’s Arvind, son of
Gymkhana groundsman
Mallesh, who proved his
mettle and snared a bril-
liant fifer (5/8) to bundle
Khalsa for a paltry 111.
Khader (5/37) of UBI and
Bottling’s Harshith (5/37)
also impressed in the three-
day league.
In the two-day league
matches, Shakeer (170) of
Postal belted engrossing
century while New Blues’
Nikhil (133), Mahbubnagar
District’s David (116),
Subhajit (110) of Sayi Satya,
Green Turf ’s Syed Afzal
(104) and Visaka’s P. Arjan
Raj (100) also stroked tons.
Meanwhile, Babillail of
Deccan Wanderers scalped
6 for 25 while SN Group’s
Nishant Reddy (5/41)
bagged his fifth fifer of the
season. Tirumala CC’s
Jayant Reddy (5/18) too did
well with the ball as did
New Star’s Mirza Mudassir
Baig (5/74) and Ghazi
Abbas (5/91) of Hyderabad
Wanderers.
Brief scores:
THREE-DAY LEAGUE
■ Secunderabad Nawabs 389 in
K. Jaidev Goud 160
84.5 overs (K
— 174b, 23x4, 3x6, E. Rakesh
A. Arvind Tilak Varma Md Abrar
60, Md Abrar Mohiuddin 5/62)
vs Jai Bhagwathi 2/0 in 4 overs.
■ Combined District 324/7 in
68.4 overs (Rithwik Surya 31, B.
Vikram 77, G. Ganesh 160 —
164b, 23x4, 2x6 , Shareef
Pathan 3/25) vs Ensconse.
■ AOC 432 in 89.1 overs (G G.
Rahul Singh 148 — 119b, 26x4,
Sachinanand Pandey 77, Amit
Pachera 70, Sachin Shinde 48,
Neel Chakravarthi 3/66, N.
Anirudh 3/43) vs Zinda
Tiliamath.
■ Gemini Friends 257/9 68.5
overs (T T. Tilak Varma 111 —
140b, 11x4, 4x6, Abdul Ela Al
Qureshi 53, M. Abhirath Reddy
43, G. Aniketh Reddy 3/52,
Vamshi Krishna 3/58) vs
Evergreen 38/2 in 13 overs.
■ Khalsa 111 in 35.2 overs (A A.
Arvind Swamy 5/8 — 8-4-8-5,
G. Arjun 4/31) vs Baalaji CC
226/7 in 39 overs (Paras Raj 90
batting, B. Raja Shekar 68,
Prithvi Reddy 4/50).
■ UBI vs Deccan Chronicle 253
in 65.5 overs (VVarun Goud 98,
E. Srikar Reddy 65, M. A.
Khader 5/37 — 11-2-37-5) vs
Union Bank of India 100/2 in 29
overs (Naveen Reddy 54).
■ Cambridge XI 189 in 61.2
overs (Ashish Srivatav 39,
Vinay Yadav 34, Rishiket
Sisodia 36, Amit Singh 36,
Harshith 5/37 — 16-4-37-5) vs
Hyderabad Bottling 145/7 in
23.1 overs (Vinay Goud 47 bat-
ting, Mohit 3/45, Shashank
3/21).
■ EMCC vs SCRSA (EMCC did
not turn up for the match,
SCRSA claimed walkover).
Points: SCRSA 6, EMCC 0.
■ Jai Hanuman vs R Dayanand
(Jai Hanuman did not turn up
for the match, R. Dayanand
claimed walkover). Points: R
Dayanand 6, Jai Hanuman 0.
■ Rohit XI 179 in 41.1 overs (M.
Nitin Sai Yadav 55) vs Sri
Chakra 156/1 in 39 overs (Sai
Koushik 60, T. Rohan 82 bat-
ting).
■ Charminar vs Apex CC (Apex
CC did not turn up for the match,
Charminar claimed walkover).
Points: Charminar 6, Apex 0.
■ Gouds XI vs Mahmood CC
(Mahmood CC did not turn up
for the match, Gouds XI
P. Nikhil Subhajit
claimed walkover). Points:
Gouds XI 6, Mahmood 0.
TWO-DAY LEAGUE
■ Postal 438/8 decl. in 76.1
overs (MMd Shakeer 170 — 160b,
21x4, 3x6, Jyothi Sai Krishna 117
— 138b, 15x4, 2x6, Nishanth
Yadav 58, K. Chandrakanth 45)
vs Galaxy 31/1 in 8 overs.
■ MCC 118 in 36.2 overs (K.
Arjun Reddy 50 n.o,
Mohammed Babillail 6/25 — 10-
4-25-6) lost to Deccan
Wanderers 120/1 in 19.1 overs
(Kanthi Kiran 43). Points:
Deccan Wanderers 5, MCC 0.
■ New Blues 423 in 83.4 overs
P. Nikhil 133 — 146b, 4x15, 6x6,
(P
Vipin Choudhary 36, Sumeet
Joshi 87, Waseemuddin 42, K.
Sri Harsha 4/104) vs Classic
53/0 in 8 overs.
■ Mahbubnagar District 263 in
72.4 overs (D David 116 — 160b,
13x4, Kishore 33, MD Shadab 31,
Y. Chay 3/72) vs Yadav Dairy
22/1 in 15 overs.
■ Sayi Satya 271 in 60.5 overs
(Jitesh Reddy 45 n.o, Subhajit
Nag 110 n.o — 104b, 12x4, 3x6,
Ghazi Abbas 5/91 — 18-2-91-5)
vs Hyderabad Wanderers 71/1
in 23 overs.
■ Green Turf 290 in 55 overs
Syed Afzal 104 — 95b, 17x4,
(S
Gauram Sarika 92, Abdul Baqhi
31, S. Vigesh 4/43) vs Oxford
Blues.
■ Visaka 307 in 77.5 overs (P P.
Arjan Raj 100 — 118b, 13x4, 3x6,
Md Farees Shareef 63, A.
Vigneshwar 53, Rithish Reddy
33, Shaik Sahil 4/56) vs Vijay
Hanuman 23/0 in 6 overs.
■ RJCC 235 in 75 overs
(Shrunjith Reddy 97, B. Jayant
Reddy 5/18) vs Tirumala CC.
■ New Star 159 in 53 overs
(Yash Raj 49, Mirza Mudassir
Baign 39 n.o, Nishant Reddy
5/41) lost to SN Group 161/5 in
31.4 overs (D. Saran 34, Avinash
Goud 41 n.o, Bhanu Prakash 52
n.o, Mirza Mudassir Baig 5/74).
Points: SN Group 5, New Star 0.
■ Balaji Colts 328 in 76 overs
(Karun Kumar Patnayak 93,
Mohd Saleh Amoodhi 93, Shaik
Muddasir 51, Harsha Vardhan
Varma 3/49) vs Telangana 36/2
in 12 overs.
■ Pasha Beedi 266 in 74 overs
(Kush Jog 95, K. Sundesh 44,
Ghazi Abbas Nishant
Gautam 55 n.o, Ranjith Kumar
3/40, Varun 3/52) vs Kosaraju
34/0 in 9 overs.
■ Young Citizen 67 in 27.3 overs
(Ananth 4/28) lost to Brothers
XI 71/6 in 13.4 overs (Likith 36,
Rohan Kumar 3/25, M. Sai Arun
3/15). Points: Brothers XI 5,
Young Citizen 0.
■ Future Star 237 in 56.5 overs
(Pavan Rathvik 88, Salaman
Bawazir 37, Shiva Srikanth
Naidu 4/44) vs Deccan Blues
123/4 in 29 overs (M. Dhanush
65 batting).
■ Osmania 275 in 66 overs
(Hruday 84, Ashrit 57, Ramesh
3/32) vs Hyderabad Titans
140/2 in 22 overs.
■ Khammam District vs PJLCC
121 in 42.4 overs (Liakhath
Hussain 40, Appa Rao for 39,
Shaik Azhar 3/31) lost to
Khammam Dist 125/3 in 16.2
overs (Jay Prakash 64, Akhil 3
n.o). Points: Khammam District
5, PJLCC 0.
■ International 109 in 26.2
overs (Prem Sai 34, SM Tanuj
4/33) lost to Young Masters
111/4 in 29.3 overs (Krishna
Patel 51, SM Tanuj 33 n.o, K. V.
Karthikeya 4/48). Points: Young
Masters 5, International 0.
■ Eklavaya 78 in 25 overs
(Avatar Sahani 31, MA Jaweed
4/37, Dheeraj 3/13) lost to
Canara Bank 82/3 in 30.4 overs
(Arvind Shetty 43, D. Varun
3/23). Points: Canara Bank 5,
Eklavaya 0.
■ Azad CC vs Kishoresons
(Kishoresone did not turn up
for the match, Azad CC claimed
walkover). Points: Azad CC 5,
Kishoresons 0.
■ Sri Shyam CC vs Medak
District (Medak District did not
turn for the match, Sri Shyam
claimed walkover). Points: Sri
Shyam 5, Medak District 0.
ONE-DAY LEAGUE
■ Deccan Colts 370/6 in 47
overs (Purina 77, Manoj Kumar
79, Tanvik 35, Vinod 55,
Giribabu 38, Rahul 3/77) bt AB
colony 104 in 30 overs (Nitin
36, Kamal 5/14).
■ Lal Bahadur CC 197 in 45
overs (Pranav 46, Chanda 46,
Prem Sundar 4/31 )bt Mahaveer
CC 158 in 43.5 overs (Raheem
37, Sushil 3/28, Chanda 3/55).

Regd. No. HQ/SD/509/2021-23

Printed and Published by K. Sudhakar on behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited. Printed at Deccan Chronicle Press situated at Plot No. 9
Alwal Village, Vallabh Nagar Taluk, Medchal Malkajgiri Dist. Telangana and Published at 36, S.D. Road, Secunderabad-3.
RNI Registration No. 3081/1957. Editor: Kaushik Mitter