SUNDAY
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(`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, ` 12 SRINAGAR)
DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA
87.58 m, a billion hearts, first athletics
medal: Neeraj Chopra makes history
EXPRESSAT
OLYMPICS
MIHIR VASAVDA
TOKYO, AUGUST 7
NEERAJ Chopra didn’t even give
it a second glance.
The moment he released the
javelin, he was so sure it would
at least be his personal best that
he turned to his coaches, and
lifted his arms to celebrate. But
From a rank of 200 to
No. 4, golfer Aditi’s
amazing Tokyo run
MIHIR VASAVDA
TOKYO, AUGUST 7
ADITIASHOKstruttedoutonthe
18th green asthoughshe was al-
ways meant to be there. Tipping
her hat, waving one hand, fling-
ing her club with the other, and
soaking in the thunderous ap-
plause from the few hundred
people who stood in a semicir-
cle at the edge of the final hole.
“GoAshok!”someoneroared
from near the main stand. She
quickly returned to the Zen
mode, lined up her final putt,
and those around held their
breath. You could hear the finely
manicured grass of Saitama’s
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18PAGES,`6.00
Chopra’s gold ensured India ended the Games on a high. PTI
Chopra was wrong. It wasn’t his
personal best. The throw, which
travelled 87.58 m, made him an
Olympic champion.
Aditi missed a podium finish
by just a single shot. AP
KasumigasekiCountry Club rus-
tle as the ball rolled over and
plonked into the hole.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
In Khandra, a village of 2,000,
everyone has a Neeraj story
ANDREW AMSAN
KHANDRA (PANIPAT), AUG 7
AS THE Czech Jakub Vadlejch’s
final throw went awfully wide
| Accomplish
and landed way off Neeraj
Chopra’s mark of 87.58 metres,
Khandra, a sketchy village near
Panipat, far away from Tokyo,
wentdeliriouswithjoy.Frombe-
ing a red balloon on Google
Maps, the village transported it-
self on to the Olympics map. It
was the moment under the sun
for the village on the Panipat-
Jind border, with a population of
barely 2,000 — mostly farmers.
The nation’s eyes converged
on this speck of land, a thousand
For100years,Indianathletics
has only been about stories of
near-misses, shattered dreams
and enduring heartbreaks.
eye
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE
HOW TO FORGET
AND WIN
For PV Sindhu, it’s all
about erasing the past
and living in the
moment
PAGES 11, 12, 13
Watching Neeraj on the big screen on Saturday. Andrew Amsan
cameras panned their eyes, and
a million tongues twirled to get
the perfect pronunciation. The
village witnessed the chaos of a
Whenthe time finally came — at
9.07 pm on a muggy night at
Tokyo’s National Stadium — the
sport struck gold.
Chopra’s medal, which came
a little more than an hour after
wrestler Bajrang Punia won a
bronzeinthe65-kgweightclass,
also ensured India’s Olympic so-
journ ended on a high.
Tokyo 2020 will go down as
the country’s most successful
campaign, with a total of seven
medals — 1 gold, 2 silver and 4
bronze.
The glitter of the javelin gold,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Bajrang gains revenge,
bronze in dominating
wrestling performance
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
TOKYO, AUGUST 7
BAJRANG PUNIA defeated
Kazakhstan’sDauletNiyazbekov
Saturday to take bronze in the
men’s freestyle 65 kg category.
Saturday’sboutwasagrudge
match with a medal on the line.
It was at the hands of
Niyazbekov that Punia’s run at
the 2019 World Championship
had come to an end in a contro-
versial semifinal. Competing in
front of his home crowd, the
Kazakh had repeatedly pushed
his fingers into Punia’s face and
grabbed his singlet. Though he
had been cautioned and fouled
city — at least 20 media vehicles
choked the street leading to the
giant screen that was showing
the Olympics live.
PAGE 9
THE REBEL
WHO CHOSE
PEACE
Zoramthanga has steered
Mizoram to being the most
peaceful state in NE. But on
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM its land, he won’t back down
PICTURE PERFECT: Neeraj Chopra
during the Men’s Javelin Throw
final at the Olympic Stadium in
Tokyo on Saturday.
Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters
7MEDALS
Hope & hunger: Why 7 medals
INDIA’S BEST-EVER OLYMPICS
GOLD:
in Tokyo add up to a lot more
NeerajChopra,Men’sJavelin Olympics mother sports: athlet- on Saturday. For India, Tokyo
SILVER: MIHIR VASAVDA ics, swimming, gymnastics. 2020's biggest takeaway came
Ravi Kumar Dahiya, TOKYO, AUGUST 7 That changed Saturday. onSaturday–thegoldinamain-
E
Men’s freestyle wrestling Neeraj Chopra's javelin gold stream mass-sport.
(57 kg) THE OLYMPICS opening parade made sure India will Each one of the
EXPLAINED
Mirabai Chanu, Women’s of nations comes with a crisp leave Tokyo with a TokyoSeven,andsome
weightlifting (49 kg) synopsis about the sporting recordmedalhaul–the who came within
BRONZE: identity of each country. For onegold,twosilverand touching distance of a
Men’s Hockey team yearsnow, India hassaidhelloto fourbronzeovertaking medal, has a unique
Bajrang Punia, Men’s theworldwiththeMC parroting the previous-best tally ● story but a common
freestyle wrestling (65 kg) thatfamiliarline:"Acountrythat of six at the London threadrunsthroughall.
Lovlina Borgohain, has won eight hockey golds". Olympics. But then The Class of 2021 is far
Women’s boxing That the last one was in 1980 is seven is just one more than six. too different from past athletes
(welterweight) an embarrassing rider left un- What’s history-making is for whom just being at the
P V Sindhu, Women’s said. Subsequently, India has got that never ever, since the Dhyan Olympics was the destination –
badminton Singles Olympics medals in shooting, Chand era, has India dominated thisbunchisevenpickyaboutthe
wrestling, badminton but it has- an Olympics discipline the way colour of the medal.
FULL COVERAGE PAGES 17, 18 n’t excelled in any of the 23-year-old Neeraj Chopra did CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Defeated Kazakh wrestler in
freestyle 65 kg category AP
bythereferee,thematchairman
had disagreed and refused to
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Neeraj’s mother Saroj, a
woman of few words, said she
had never seen such fanfare in
the village. Neeraj’s first coach
Jaiveer was at the courtyard of
Chopras’ newly-built home.
Known for his shy demeanour,
he made a hasty retreat as the
camerapersons sought to turn
their attention on him.
Neeraj’s uncle Bhim Chopra,
whose hands were shivering in
nervous excitement during the
event, took one for the team. He
said,“This istheresultof yearsof
sacrifice. We as a family did
everything to help him do well
in the sport. I am really proud of
what our son has done today.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
New Delhi
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Casteist slur case: third accused
held, CM speaks to hockey player
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
DEHRADUN, AUGUST 7
DAYS AFTER the family of Indian women’s
hockey team player Vandana Katariya al-
legedly faced casteist slurs following India’s
defeat in a Tokyo Olympics match, the third
accused in the case was arrested by the
Haridwar police on Saturday on the basis of
a tip-off.
Meanwhile,Chief MinisterPushkarSingh
Dhami virtually spoke to Vandana and con-
gratulated her for performance at the
Olympics. The CM said that Vandana will be
Rajbhar says he
won’t tie up with
BJP if Adityanath is
its leader in UP polls
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
LUCKNOW, AUGUST 7
SUHELDEV BHARATIYA Samaj Party (SBSP)
chief Om Prakash Rajbhar said he will not
enter into an alliance with the BJP if the saf-
fron party decides to contest the Uttar
Pradesh Assembly polls under Yogi
Adityanath’s leadership.
The ex-Uttar Pradesh minister told
PTI that the BJP has to accept its certain
conditions, including carrying out a caste
census in the country and making a leader
from backward caste the chief minister
of UP, if there is to be any possibility of
a tie-up.
Rajbhar, who recently launched the
Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha as a political front
of small parties, said, “There is not going to
be an alliance of the BJP with the SBSP...If
there is any possibility, then the BJP has to
accept our conditions. There should be caste
census in the country, the report of the social
justice committee should be implemented,
the CM should be from backward caste and
also the poor must be provided a uniform,
mandatory and free education as well as free
medical treatment.”
EXPRESS EDUCATION
f rabi season, Chief Secretary
Contact for Advt. Booking: M/s Friends Publicity Service
Ph.: 23276901, 23282028 (M):9212008155, 9212665841.
EXCLUSIVE
WEB
Indian Express
★★★★★ ■4.6
felicitated with Tilu Rauteli award and in-
vited her to his residence.
Vandana’s brother Chandra Shekhar had
lodged an FIR at Sidkul police station
Wednesdayallegingthatwhentheteamlost
the match to Argentina, Sumit Chauhan,
Ankurpal and Vijaypal had danced in cele-
bration, burst crackers in front of Vandana’s
house and hurled abuses with casteist re-
marks against her family. As per complaint,
the accused also said that the Indian team
lost the game due to players from a particu-
lar caste.
Police had on Thursday arrested the two
other accused.
BARGE, TUGBOAT SINK: 10
REMAIN UNIDENTIFIED
Cops collect DNA
samples of bodies
SAGAR RAJPUT
MUMBAI, AUGUST 7
AS DNA samples of 10 family members col-
lected after barge P305 and tugboat
Varaprada sank in the Arabian Sea off the
MumbaicoastduringCycloneTauktaeinMay
did not match with the bodies in its custody,
theYellowGatepolice,whichisinvestigating
the incident, has started collecting samples
of bodiesrecoveredbythepolicestationthat
covers the coastline from Sindhudurg to
Gujarat.
The police said that there is a possibility
that the bodies may have changed hands.
Accordingly,theyhavestartedcollectingDNA
samples and also called for information on
every body recovered between May 15 and
May 25.
According to the police, 75 people work-
ing on P305 and 11 from tugboat Varaprada
were reported missing during the cyclone.
Later, 67 and nine personnel from P305 and
Varaprada, respectively, were identified. Ten
– seven from P305 and three from
Varaprada – were reported missing by the
family members of the personnel working
on the two vessels.
Odisha farmer
dies by suicide
after paddy
distress sale
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
BHUBANESWAR,AUGUST7
AN ODISHA farmer has died two
days after consuming pesticide
following the failure of his paddy
crop and its sale for a low price.
Kaibalya Rohidas, 45, from the
western district of Sambalpur,
was facing economic and mental
stress, said his son, Dasarath.
Unable to get the minimum
selling price, the farmer was
forced to sell the produce at a
minimal cost, incurring a loss of
Rs 1.5 lakh, Dasarath added.
"The Rabi season had not been
very fruitful for us. Due to erratic
rain, the produce was very low.
The total harvest was only around
200 kg. My father could only sell
45 kg of the total produce as allot-
ted under the token system. The
remaining harvest was sold off at
a very minimal price," he added.
"On top of a bad season, he also
had loans of over Rs 70,000 to re-
pay.”
Rohidas died Friday during
treatment.
The police have lodged a case
of accidental death. Authorities
have also initiated a district-level
inquiry. Dhankauda’s block devel-
opment officer Basant Hati said,
"We are inquiring into the matter.
The information regarding paddy
procurement and distress sale is
also being looked into."
Earlier this month, following
allegations of mismanagement in
paddy procurement during the
Suresh Mahapatra had asked all
collectors to ensure that no
farmer faced issues in selling their
produce to the government dur-
ing the kharif season.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
SARPATTAPARAMBARAIBRINGSNORTHMADRAS’BOXINGMEMORIESBACKINTHERING
WhiletheexactyearandoriginofwhentheParambaraicultureinboxingbeganisunclear,itissaidthatthe
SarpattaParambaraiwasoneofthefirstclansofboxingthatwasformed
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FROM PAGE ONE
Hope & hunger
87.58 m, a billion hearts, first athletics
Nooneencapsulatedthisbetterthansilver-
medalwinningwrestlerRaviDahiya,whowas
so distraught at not winning the gold that at
medal: Neeraj Chopra makes history
onepoint,heoffered,half-jokingly,hismedalto
a reporter who merely requested to see it. “I
have to live with the fact that I have silver,” he
said.
Itwasn’tjusthim.
BoxerLovlinaBorgohainshedatearforwin-
ning “only” a bronze. PV Sindhu, the only
woman to win two Olympic medals, said as
much:shedidn’tknowwhethersheshouldbe
sadatmissingoutonanotherOlympicfinalor
be happy that she had one more shot at a
medal.
Another enduring image, perhaps, would
bethatofgoalkeeperSavitaPuniawhosobbed
onthepitchafterlosingthebronzemedalplay-
off to Britain. It didn’t matter to her that the
hockey team had already overachieved by
reachingthatfardespitebeingoneofthemost
underprepared.
Indeed, heading into Tokyo, her hockey
teamhadn’tplayedacompetitivematchsince
November2019andhalf-a-dozenplayershad
got infected with Covid-19 during the second
wave.Andtheyweren’talone.Thesecondwave
had wrecked the preparations of almost the
entireIndiancontingent.
But the government, federations and pri-
vate not-for-profit companies made sure the
elite medal prospects did not suffer a lot.
Samplethis:
■ Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu was sent to
the USA almost overnight just as the second
wave was starting to wreak havoc. She stayed
thereuntiltheOlympics.
■ Wrestler Bajrang Punia, too, stayed in
RussiatopreparefortheGames.
■Theentireshootingteamwasairliftedto
Croatiatoensuretheirpreparationsweren’taf-
fected.
Some, who were infected with Covid, bat-
tled it out in their own ways. Aditi Ashok, the
golfer who fell agonisingly short of a podium
finish, noticed her strength getting consider-
ably sapped post-Covid, which affected the
rangeofhershots,especiallyfromthetee.Still,
throughsheergrit,shechallengedtheworld’s
bestgolfers.
EvenChoprawasadesperatemanjustfour
months ago. An injury had robbed India’s
newestOlympicgoldmedalistofcompetition
forthewholeof 2019.Whenherecoveredlast
year,thepandemicstruckandanotheryearhad
gonewaste,asituationthatpersisteduntilthe
middleofthisyearfollowingthesecondwave.
So, he made an appeal. “Mujhe competi-
tionskibahutzyadazaroorathai(Idesperately
need competitions),” he had said. Once again
thedemandwasmet–beforemovingtoTokyo,
hegottotrainandcompeteinFrance,Sweden
andFinland.
On Saturday, Chopra looked in perfect
shape. He won the gold when javelin throw is
considered to be at its peak given the compe-
tition.Hisfieldincludedoneofthebestthrow-
ersof alltime,Germany’sJohannesVetter,but
Chopraremainedunfazed.
Itwasthesamewiththehockeyteamthat
ended the 41-year wait for an Olympic medal
insomestyletobeatthemightyGermansand
winthebronze.Sentimentalfactorsaside,this
medal means a lot more to the players as it
comeswhenanyofthetopeightteamsiscapa-
bleof beatinganother.
The same was the case with Sindhu, who
acknowledged that the Tokyo bronze was
tougher than the silver in Rio for two reasons:
theexpectationsplaceduponher,andtofight
against what is largely considered the golden
generationof women’ssinglesbadminton.
Sindhu was virtually in a self-imposed ex-
ile since the Covid second wave hit – a plight
sharedbymostIndianathletes.Thismakesthe
record medal haul even more significant.
Chopradidwhathedidwithoutapropercom-
petition for two years. Imagine how good he
couldbewhenPariscomesalonginthreeyears.
AndimaginehowhardDahiyaandLovlinawill
betrainingtochangethecolouroftheirmedals.
Tokyo made it slightly easier for a nation to
imagine.
Aditi Ashok
Sigh,relief,applause.
Ashokhaddonewhatshehadto.Now,her
destiny was in the hands of New Zealand's
Lydia Ko, who simply had to sink her putt to
push the stubborn Indian out of medal con-
tention after six hours of thrilling stroke-play.
Ko didn't miss and, with that, ended Ashok’s
hopesof apodiumfinish.
“Inaregulartournamentwhetheryoufin-
ishsecondorfourthitreallydoesn'tmatter,no
one cares. But, yeah, fourth at an Olympics
where they give out three medals kind of
sucks,”shesaid.
Ashok's disappointment was natural. But
the fact that it went down to the last shot on
thefinalholeofthedecidingday,stayinginthe
mixrightuntiltheendiscreditworthyinitself.
Just imagine: this was a 23-year-old ranked
ENTERTAIMNENT
NAVARASA REVIEW
Somerasasaremore
palatablethantheothers
inthisstarringthewho’s
whoofTamilfilmworld
India’sfirstsinceAbhinavBindrabecamean
Olympic champion at the 2008 Beijing
Games,willendureforlong.
Chopra didn’t just finish on top of the
podium Saturday night. He did it with such
ease, such dominance that it was very un-
characteristicallyIndian,especiallyinasport
like athletics where the country’s athletes
havenotoriouslyunderperformed.
It was poetic in a way that on the morn-
ingChoprawontheelusivemedal,anIndian
athletefellagonisinglyshortofapodiumfin-
ishingolf.AditiAshokshowedincrediblegrit
andfocustoremainincontentiontillthevery
end but finished fourth, joining the heart-
break club that has some of the country’s il-
lustriousathletes.
Chopradedicatedhismedaltoallofthem,
but first and foremost to the legendary
MilkhaSingh,whopassedawayrecentlydue
toCovid-19relatedcomplications.
“First of all, I dedicate my gold medal to
Milkha Singh Sir. He had longed to see this
day and I hope he had been watching this
fromthe heavens,”Chopra said.“Then, to so
many others who came close, including PT
Usha ma’am. This medal is also for all of
them.”
Notthebiggestorbulkiestofthrowers,he
relied on speed to generate power in his
throws. Second in the starting list for the fi-
nal,helaiddownthegauntletinatoughfield
200th, against World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the
US and multiple title winner Ko, standing her
ground with a cold-blooded, nerveless per-
formancewithnooneelsebutjusthermother
byherside.
Thesesortsofthingsdon'thappenalot.And
almostneverattheOlympics.
Heck,sheevenmadetheentirecricket-mad
nationwakeupinthemiddleofthenightfora
gameof golf,gotthemsoinvestedinitthataf-
terfourhoursofintensedrama,thoseobsessed
withsquarecutsandcoverdriveswereexperts
aboutchipsandputts.
Andjustlikethat,everyonestartedrooting
fortheunderdog.
This was new territory for Ashok, who is
used to performing in near anonymity. She
came to Tokyo after a modest performance in
Rio, with the hope of getting some kind of a
rhythm going, given the hurdles she faced to
get here. Like other Indian athletes, the pan-
demic meant she couldn’t travel for tourna-
mentsforthelongesttimeandhadtopractise
atamakeshiftnetatherBengaluruhome.
Then, she got infected with Covid-19 her-
self which, she admitted earlier this week, se-
verely impacted her strength. The stats reflect
this. As per the Ladies Professional Golf
Association, Ashok averaged 246.45 yards off
the tee in 2019, when the last full season took
placeonthetour.Thisyear,itdroppedto238.4
yards.
Herstrugglestogetthedistancewereglar-
ingthroughouttheweek--shewastheshort-
est hitter in the field, 60th out of 60 in driving
distance. On Saturday, Ashok was behind the
two other golfers in her group from the tee by
nearly 10 yards almost every time. She made
up for that with powerful drives on the ap-
proach and once she was on the green, her
short-gamewasalmostflawless.Shehadbeen
No.1inputtingallweek,anddrewnodsof ap-
provalfromhertwomoreestablishedplaying
partners.
Thiswasadramaticdayofgolf,perhapsthe
best the sport has had to offer since it joined
theOlympicprogrammein2016,theIndianin-
terestnotwithstanding.Saturday'sfinalround
began at 6.30 am, earlier than usual, after a
storm was forecast for later in the day. Ashok,
who featured in the leader group along with
Ko and Korda after three high-quality rounds,
startedacoupleof hourslater.
It was a rollercoaster for the young Indian.
AshokstartedthedaythreeshotsbehindKorda.
After the first seven holes, she had catapulted
to the gold medal position, finding herself in
jointlead.
IfAshokwasnervous,shedidnotshow.Ko
andKorda,friendsoutsidegolf,constantlychat-
tedwitheachother:theywouldmakeplansto
meetattheVillage,buygolfinggear,orindulge
in some light-hearted banter. Ashok, on the
otherhand,walkedaroundinnearsilence,talk-
ing only with her mother sometimes. She
would quietly make her notes, decide which
clubtouse,gaugethewinddirectionanddecide
whattrajectorytofollow.
Shewasgrittingitoutallbyherself.Andas
ifthatwasn’ttoughenough,themuch-vaunted
thunderstorm halted play for 45 minutes. At
that point, all that remained to play was two
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021
Shahrukh, Aamir,
Salman: How the 3
Khans changed India
In the latest episode of The Sandip Roy
Show, Kaveree Bamzai talks about how the
three Khans of Bollywood have helped
shape how Indians have seen themselves
since the 90s
ROAD TO 87.58 M GOLD
82.23M: SAF Games gold
medal (2016)
86.48M: World U20
championships first
position (2016)
87.43M: Gold at Dubai Diamond
League (2018)
88.06M: Gold medal at Asian
Games (2018)
88.07M: His personal best,
Indian GP (2021)
withamassivethrowof 87.03m.
“That was our strategy,” his coach Klaus
Bartonietzsaid.“Wewantedtoputpressure
on the rest of the field straightaway and the
only way we could do that was by throwing
big.”
Itwasoneofthoseraredayswhenevery-
thingalignedperfectlyforChopra.Helooked
calmandrelaxed,hadasipofanenergydrink
justbeforehisturncameandannouncedhis
intention. With the second throw, he went
farther,recording87.58m.
Choprabeingwayaheadof thefieldwas
not the biggest surprise. He had done that
duringthequalifyingroundaswell,butwith
shotsonthe17thholeandthepar-four18th.
When the action resumed, Ashok’s putter
couldnotmakeupforthefairwaysshemissed
and the distance she conceded from her tee
shots. In hindsight, her fate was sealed when
shemissedafairlystraightforwardputtonthe
17th. After that, any chance of her winning a
medal depended on Ko dropping a shot.
“Maybe I made too many through the four
rounds,golfinggodswerelike,okay,we'renot
goingtogiveherthisone,”shelaughed.
Amedalmighthavebeenelusive,butwith
herperformanceAshokenteredIndia’s‘hallof
fame’ of the famous fourth-place finishers. To
her,thatwasbarelyanyconsolation.“Youdon't
want to join that club. But yeah, I guess I've
joinedit.”
Bajrang
giveanypointtotheIndian.
OnthatnightinNur-Sultan,trailing7-2and
with the clock ticking down, Punia had put
pressureandlevelledtheboutat9-9,losingon
atechnicality.
The 27-year-old Indian had avenged that
defeatattheAliAlievtournamentinJuneright
beforetheOlympics.Butwithhighstakesand
the disappointment of Friday’s semifinal de-
featperhapsstillonhismind,itwasn’tgoingto
bestraightforward.
Niyazbekov, 32, a three-time Asian
Championandtwo-timeWorldsmedallist,isa
wilyoperator.Hewascomingintotheplay-off
with a win by technical superiority in the
repechageround.Thebronze-medalboutwas
off toacageystart.
Puniatookthematwithhisrightkneeun-
strapped,removingagianttargetforhisoppo-
nentanddissuadinganyinjuryspeculation.
DuringhisthreeboutsonFriday,Puniahad
seemed apprehensive in putting his knee on
thematinsearchoftakedowns.Afterhescored
apointduetoNiyazbekov’spassivityinthefirst
periodonSaturday,Puniawentforatakedown.
He was put in a headlock for his effort, but the
Indian first got free with clever defence, and
thensenthisopponentoutofboundstomake
it2-0.
Likein2019,theKazakhheldontoPunia's
singlet,buttheIndianchangeddirection,rotat-
ingandturningtheKazakhoutofbounds.The
boutwaseffectivelywonthere.
In the second period, it was a Punia show.
Threecleverlyexecuted,quicktwo-pointersas
Punia went for the right leg of his opponent,
who kept looking for a counter which never
came. The Indian was relentless and, at one
point, leading 8-0 and mounted on his oppo-
nent'sback,hechosenottoadvanceandgofor
a technical superiority win. The clock ran out
with8-0onthescorecard.Puniawasthesupe-
riorwrestler,notechnicalitiesneededthistime.
In Khandra
Since early morning, roads leading to
Khandra had special white markers on them.
Nomatterfromwhichsideyouenteredthevil-
lageonSaturday,thearrowsledyoutotheac-
tion—whereahugescreentoshowthejavelin
throwfinalhadbeensetup.Villagersgathered
hours before the final, with children staking
claimtothefrontrows.Excitedcheerswentup
New Delhi
the weather a lot clearer but equally humid
on Saturday, it was expected that others, in-
cluding the sport’s current biggest star
JohannesVetter,wouldraisehisgame.
Vetter was the outright favourite to win
gold,havingrecordedthrowsof90-plusme-
tresforfunthisyear.Buthehadbeenhaving
troubles with his technique and had com-
plainedaboutthetrackbeingslippery.
Vetterdidn’tlookcomfortableduringthe
finalaswell,strugglingtogetapropergripon
thesurfaceandslippingmultipletimes.After
afirstattemptof 82.52m,heturnedoverhis
ankleandslippedduringhisnextthrow.His
thirdthrow,likethesecond,wasalsoafoul.
With the world’s best javelin thrower in
the last 12 months out of the fray, others
struggled to come close to Chopra’s effort.
The next best throw, by Czech Republic’s
JakubVadlejch,wasalmostametreshortand
the bronze medal winner, Vitezslav Vesely,
wasagood2.14mbehindtheIndian.
“Theplanwasjusttogoaftermypersonal
best. I knew if I matched that, I would finish
onthepodium,”Choprasaid.
He did finish on the podium, on the top
too. When he was presented the medal,
Chopra held it firmly, planted a kiss and put
it around his neck. And as the national an-
themplayedoutinthisgiganticstadium,he
teared up. The only time in the night he
seemedoverawed.
forpoorthrowsbyNeeraj’sopponents.
After every throw, TV reporters took turns
to take a video bite from the family. As
Germany’s Johannes Vetter appeared on the
screen, a youngster yelled: “Yahi hai woh!”
Khandar had done its homework well, they
knewVetterwasthethrowertobeat.
While Neeraj was making his throws in
Tokyo,membersofhisfamily,especiallyhisun-
cle Bhim, were giving interviews. The most
asked question was, “Kaisa lag raha hai? (How
are you feeling?)” It’s not hard to guess what
thefamily’sresponsewouldhavebeen.
A16-kmdrivefromPanipatontheAssandh
road where a theka (liquor store) can be spot-
ted every 500 metres, is Khandra. The village,
which is home to nearly 500 families, doesn’t
have a playground, a stadium, or even a gym.
Youngsterseitherworkonthesprawlingfields
ormovetocitiestoearnalivelihood.Theclos-
est,run-downgymisabout6kmaway.
ItwasmayhemattheChoprahousehold—
crackers were burst, sweets were disturbed,
dhols pounded heavily, songs of joy sung out
aloud, feet tapped the floor to the tunes of
bhangra and Hindi pop songs, in no particular
rhymeorrhythm.Itdidn’tmatter;itwasaday
when nothing mattered except for the gold
their chhora (boy) had won miles away in
Tokyo.
Everyone in the village has a Neeraj story
that they tell with unadulterated affection, as
though he was their own son or brother. Like
theoneabouthisnickname,Sarpanch(village
chief);it’sastorythatNeeraj’suncleBhimnever
tiresof narrating.
One day, the story goes, Neeraj’s father
giftedhimasparklingwhitenewkurta,which
he proudly wore to class. So crisp and stately
wasthekurtathathisfriendsbegantocallhim
‘Sarpanch’, a name that has stuck to him ever
since. As Bhim speaks, those around him guf-
fawloudly.
HisuncleSultanhasanotherstory.Ayoung
Neerajhadburnedthekitchendownwhiletry-
ing to swat away bees that were buzzing over
ghee,goesthestory.SultansaysNeerajwasan
“over-pamperedboy”—“Hewasn’tallowedto
doanyhouseholdchores.Wedidn’tsendhim
toworkinthefields.Hewasthefirstkidinour
family and he was like a doll for us.” That kid,
yetanotherstorygoes,hadoncetiedthetailof
acowinaknot.
Beingtheeldestchildinajointfamilyof 17
membersmeantthathisdotinggrandmother
guaranteed he got the lion’s share of malai,
makkhananddoodh(cream,butter,andmilk).
Neeraj would never say no to another gener-
ous helping.He put on a lot of weight, andthe
family enrolled him at a gym. And the rest, as
theysay,ishistory.
The profile of the village will now change,
butNeerajwillnotfallintothetrappingsofstar-
dom,saysthefamily.“Forus,hewillalwaysre-
main a child. Whenever he comes, we try to
make sure that we don’t praise him much be-
cause we don’t want his success to go to his
head. Even now if he comes, you’ll find him
workinginthefields,”saysfatherSatish.
Itsometimestakesavillagetoraiseacham-
pion. Now is the time to relish the fruits of
labour.
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

3 THE CITY
Total Vacant
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021 VACCINATIONS IN TOTAL CASES HOSPITAL BEDS 16,854 16,489
LAST 24 HOURS 14,36,695 ICU BEDS 3,675 3,542
83,841

*Total active cases

Cases Recoveries Deaths Tests

CORONAVIRUS Aug 6
Aug 7
44
72
41
22
5
1
79,168
73,681
IN THE CAPITAL Total 565* 14,11,064 25,066 2,41,55,020

BRIEFLY 2,700 SUCH MARKETS IN CITY

Supply low, will take a
AIIMSoffers
2nddosefor All weekly markets to open year to vaccinate all: Govt
thosegoing
abroad
New Delhi:AIIMSwillpro-
vide the second dose of
Covid-19 vaccine to peo-
from Monday, says Kejriwal grocery shops in the area and
SOURAV ROY BARMAN
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7

THE ENTIRE adult population of

ple who need to travel
abroad for education and
work. The second dose of
Covishield will be admin-
istered on site at AIIMS to
eligible persons, with a
minimum gap of 28 days
between the first and sec-
ond doses. Walk-in vacci-
nation is available and the
facility will be operating
at the New OPD from
Monday to Saturday.
People are to produce
their passport as their
identity proof and carry
necessary documents to
prove their need for trav-
elling abroad. The Delhi
government has set up
two centres for the same
at government schools.
Novaccination
atgovtsitesin
Gurgaontoday
Gurgaon: Covid vaccina-
tions at government sites
in Gurgaon will be halted
on Sunday for the second
time in a fortnight, with
thehealthdepartmentcit-
ingvaccineshortageasthe
reason. The last time inoc-
ulation was called off for
a day was on July 25.
According to officials, al-
though a stock of 14,000
Covishield vaccines was
received on Saturday, they
are awaiting further stock
and expect to resume in-
oculation on Monday.
Rs400crore
investmentfor
JewarToyPark
Noida: An investment of
morethanRs400crorehas
been approved for the up-
coming Toy Park in Jewar.
As per government offi-
cials, 134 companies have
agreedtosetuptheirplants
in the designated area of
the Toy Park. A meeting
was held with several toy
manufacturingcompanies
and land allotment has
been approved. According
to Yamuna Expressway
Industrial Development
Authority officials, the
plants will provide jobs to
at least 6,157 people.
Manheldfor
supplying
illegalarms
New Delhi: Police arrested
a 27-year-old man from
Jaffarpur Kalan and recov-
ered 20 illegal firearms
from him. Mufeed, a resi-
dentof UP’sMathura,used
to allegedly supply illegal
firearmsinDelhi-NCR,dis-
guised as a balloon seller,
police said. ENS
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
CHIEFMINISTERArvindKejriwal
announced Saturday that all
weekly markets in the city will
open from Monday. Trade
unions estimate that there are
around2,700marketsinthecity.
The markets, which prima-
rily cater to lower-income
groups, employ lakhs of small-
scale traders and suppliers and
registerheavyfootfall.Awideva-
riety of products ranging from
vegetables to garments are sold
in these markets.
After the lockdown was
lifted, the government had al-
lowed one weekly market to op-
erate per day in each municipal
zone. That arrangement has
been in place since June 14.
Kejriwal announced the de-
cision to allow all markets
through a tweet: “These are
poor people. Govt is quite con-
cerned about their livelihoods.
However, everyone’s health and
lives are also important. I urge
everyone to follow Covid appro-
A two-storey building collapsed in Northeast Delhi's Nand Nagri on Saturday afternoon. Praveen Khanna
1 dead, 3 injured in building collapse
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
A 62-YEAR-OLD man died and
three others were injured after a
two-storeybuilding collapsedin
Northeast Delhi’s Nand Nagri on
Saturdayafternoon.Initialinves-
tigation has revealed there were
cracks in the building and it was
undergoing renovation.
Accordingtofiredepartment
officials, they received a call at
1.30 pm about the house col-
lapse in an auto market in Nand
Nagri, following which six fire
A weekly market at Karol Bagh. Archive
priate behaviour after these
markets are opened.”
Thedecisioncomesadayafter
themeetingof theDelhiDisaster
ManagementAuthority(DDMA).
Under DDMA guidelines, district
authorities are expected to carry
out random RT-PCR and rapid
tests of vendors as well as cus-
tomers thronging the markets.
Meanwhile, SDM Vasant
Vihar Ankur Prakash Meshram
hasissueda showcausenoticeto
seven market associations, in-
tenders rushed to the spot.
The building had shops on
the ground floor, said DFS
Director Atul Garg said.
The victim has been identi-
fied asKanti Lal (62).The injured
are Dhani Ram (65), his
wife, Anaro Devi (65) and
Rajkumar (64).
Police said Lal and Rajkumar
are Ram’s friends and had come
to see him on Saturday. Ram and
his wife went down to meet
them. They were sitting under a
banyan tree near the building
whenitcollapsed,andthedebris
fell on them.
cluding Sarojini Nagar market,
for failing to issue ID cards to
their shopkeepers and autho-
rised street vendors.
The notice, issued on August
6,states that in a meeting on July
19, the markets had been asked
toissue the identitycards,failing
whichtheywouldhavetofollow
an odd-even scheme. This in-
cludes Sarojini Nagar main mar-
ket, Babu market, Sarojini Nagar
mini-market,Tharejastreetven-
dors, high court relief vendors,
DCP (Northeast) Sanjay Sain
said, “Ram owns the house and
lived there with his family. He
and his wife were rescued and
shifted to GTB hospital. The vic-
tim was found under the debris
andwasdeclareddeadonarrival
at the hospital. Legal action into
theincidentisbeinginitiatedac-
cordingly.”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal took to Twitter to say he
was monitoring the situation
through the district administra-
tion. “This accident of house col-
lapseisverysad.Allpossiblehelp
isbeingprovidedforreliefandres-
tharas, including mochi thara
and press thara. A total of 851
shops function in these markets.
“Andwhereas,despitegiving
ample amount of time & relax-
ations as requested by the asso-
ciations, till date only one mar-
ketassociationhasissuedi-cards
to its members & submitted
compliance;Therefore,thepres-
ident/generalsecretaryof there-
mainingmarketassociationsare
hereby required to show cause
within 3 days of this notice, as to
why they should not be made to
follow odd-even operations for
their shops, as suggested by the
Deputy Commissioner of Police
(Southwest). The reply should
reach the office of the under-
signed by Monday, August 9, 5
pm,” the order said.
Initially,themarkethadbeen
shut due to violations of Covid-
19 curbs. Market associations
had said that they were unable
to follow protocol due to the
presence of several unautho-
risedvendors.Associationheads
said the process of issuing iden-
tity cards is underway.
cue,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
The fire department,
National Disaster Response
Force, local police and civil de-
fence volunteers were involved
in rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, the East MCD in
a statement said the building
wasoldbuttheownerwaserect-
ing columns.
The EDMC Commissioner
said strict action would be taken
against those responsible. In a
meetingheldonFriday,thecom-
missioner had directed officials
tomarkdangerousbuildingsand
take necessary action.
Delhi will not be fully vacci-
nated until next August at the
current rate of vaccine supply
by the Centre, according to the
Delhi government, which has
underlined the need for around
45 lakh doses per month till
December to complete the
vaccination drive by the
end of 2021.
For the month of August,
Delhi has been allotted
16,79,660 doses — 14.72 lakh
Covishield doses and 2.06 lakh
Covaxin doses — by the Union
government, which falls far
short of the demand, according
to the government. It had raised
the matter in a meeting of the
Delhi Disaster Management
Authority (DDMA) on Friday in
the presence of representatives
of the Centre.
In fact, in September, Delhi
needs 60 lakh doses to ensure
that its entire adult population
is covered by at least one dose
so that they become eligible to
take the second dose by
December.
Till Saturday, 51.4 per cent of
the adult population have re-
Woman
cop alleges
rape by
sub-inspector
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
A DELHI Police constable has al-
leged that she was raped by a
sub-inspector, currently posted
with the Special Cell, who
also blackmailed her using her
photographs.
The woman has recorded
her statement under Section
164 of the CrPC before a mag-
istrate.
No arrest has taken place
so far, said police.
The woman wrote in her
complaint that she met the ac-
cused at work.
“She told the police in her
complaint that one day, after at-
tending a PCR call, he took her
to a room in Munirka where he
offered her a cold drink laced
with sedatives. She alleged that
she fell unconscious soon after
consuming it and later realised
that she was sexually abused
by him. He allegedly took
photographs of her as well,”
said an officer.
The woman has alleged that
he started threatening to put the
photographs online.
“She has alleged in her com-
plaint that he was mentally tor-
turing her and sexually harass-
ing her,” an officer said.
Deputy Commissioner of
Police (South) Atul Thakur said,
“On the basis of woman’s com-
plaint,anFIRhasbeenregistered
against the sub-inspector under
IPC sections 376 (rape) and 506
(threatening). Further investiga-
tions are on.”
The Centre has so far allotted 1.01 crore doses to Delhi, of
which 93.76 lakh were administered till Aug 5. Tashi Tobgyal
ceived one dose and 19.42 per
cent have received two doses.
According to a presentation
made by the government, there
are1.5croreeligiblevaccineben-
eficiaries in the city, necessitat-
ing 3 crore doses to administer
two doses.
So far, the Centre has allotted
1.01 crore doses to Delhi, of
which 93.76 lakh were adminis-
tered till August 5. This does not
include vaccinations adminis-
tered at paid private facilities.
At the DDMA meeting, the
government presented two sce-
2 ex-cops convicted
for corruption, court
calls them ‘wolf in
sheep’s clothing’
ANAND MOHAN J
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
OBSERVING THAT they were ex-
pected to perform their duty but
“turned out to be wolf in sheep’s
clothing” instead, a Delhi court
hassentencedtwoformerpolice
officers to four years’ rigorous
imprisonment for compromis-
ing a gangrape case by demand-
ing a bribe from a businessman.
Special Judge Kiran Bansal
convicted the accused persons
Sahashtra Bahu Yadav, former
SHO of Jahangirpuri police sta-
tion, and Dilip Singh Chauhan,
the ASI and initial investigating
officer.
“The convicts, being police
officials, were expected to do
their duty to uphold the law. But
far from performing their duty,
they turned out to be wolf in
sheep’s clothing. Despite being
educated persons and belong-
ing to uniformed force and re-
spectable society, the convicts
demanded and accepted the il-
legal gratification. The uniform
which the convicts adorned
should have made them more
responsible towards society, but
they rather breached the trust,
misused their authority/
power, and conspired with each
other to satisfy their greed,” the
court said.
They have been sentenced to
four years’ rigorous imprison-
ment and a fine of Rs 3,50,000
each. They were convicted un-
der sections 7/13(i)(d) of the
Prevention of Corruption Act,
narios — one envisages 45 lakh
doses per month till December
andthe other examines the situ-
ation if the current pace of vac-
cine allotment continues.
“Scenario 1 — to complete
two doses of all eligible benefi-
ciaries by December, 2021,
around 45 lakh doses are re-
quired every month. Scenario 2
— at present rate of vaccine sup-
ply, it will take till July/August
2022 to complete the two-dose
vaccination of all 18+ years ben-
eficiaries,”accordingtothepres-
entation.
They have been
sentenced to four
years’ rigorous
imprisonment and a
fine of Rs 3,50,000 each
and threatening to file a gan-
grape case against him on the
complaint of a woman.
They demanded Rs 8 lakh as
a bribe, and the businessman
paid them Rs 7 lakh. After this,
the convicts obtained non-bail-
able warrants against him and
registered an FIR in the case. The
businessman was later acquit-
ted by a court after which his
lawyer, Pradeep Rana, filed a
complaint.
The court said corruption
“has penetrated into the grass-
rootsof societyandhasgrownas
a banyan tree in all branches of
public administration”.
Observingthatthepoliceraid
was a “power-packed perform-
ance” to create pressure on the
convict, the court said, “The alle-
gations of rape, whether true or
false, loom large in society and a
respectable person’s life is often
ruined by such accusations.”
“The convicts after creating
panic and threatening atmos-
phere, gave an impression to
the complainant that they
could help him save his honour
and demanded as well as ac-
cepted illegal gratification.
Such instances are classic ex-
amples of why the police force
is no more considered as pro-

After 4-month delay, new Chandni Chowk stretch

1988,andIPCSection120B(pun- tector and even a knock by po-
ishment of criminal conspiracy). lice officials at the door of a re-
The two convicts have been spectable person is considered
accused of conducting a raid at a shameful in the society,” the

likely to be inaugurated post Independence Day

businessman’s house in 2010 court said.

ASHNA BUTANI
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
AFTER A four-month delay,
Chandni Chowk’s redeveloped
stretch is likely to be formally
inaugurated in mid-August.
According to authorities work-
ing on the project, the stretch
as well as the scramble cross-
ing in front of the Red Fort are
complete.
The 1.3-km stretch between
Red Fort and Fatehpuri Masjid
was scheduled to be opened by
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
onApril17butwascancelledfol-
lowing a spike in Covid cases in
the city.
While a final date has not
been announced, officials said it
is likely to be a few days after
Independence Day as the areas
will be heavily barricaded
around that time. An aerial view
of ChandniChowkisexpectedto
appear on the live telecast of I-
Day celebrations at Red Fort.
In a meeting between all
stakeholders on July 26, the
progress was deemed satisfac-
tory despite numerous setbacks
such as the lockdowns and
labour shortage owing to the
pandemicinboth2020and2021.
At the meeting,the transport
department was asked to issue
an ‘expression of interest’ re-
gardingtheoperationof vintage-
looking electric golf carts that
will be used to ferry passengers
on the stretch. An official said
these carts are expected to have
three-four rows of seating.
Further, officials also dis-
cussed the redesigning of cycle-
rickshaws.IIT-Delhihadsubmit-
ted two design improvements
for 107 rickshaws — these have
been granted permission to ply
by the commissioner of North
MCD to ply on the redeveloped
stretch.Whileauthoritiesintend
to redesign the rickshaws by
September30,officialsdiscussed
Chowk, 241 streetlights will be
installed.”
Horticulture work is more or
less complete. Said an official,
“Towards the end of the stretch,
we are increasing the depth of
the soil so that we can plant big-
gerplantsandtrees.”Thiswillbe
done in a few days.
Construction of three toilets
hasbeencompleted,andthe last
one is scheduled to be com-
pleted by September 15.
The multi-level parking,
whichisbeing built bythe North
MCD and Omaxe, was reviewed
by the civic body on August 4.
The stretch was scheduled to be opened by Chief Minister Three underground and two
Arvind Kejriwal on April 17 but was cancelled following a overground floors will accom-
spike in Covid cases in the city. Archive modate 2,100 cars and81 tourist
buses. In addition, three floors
will be dedicated to retail spaces
that rickshaw pullers are hesi- cameras are being installed. An andafoodcourt.Theprojectalso
tant to invest in the same. officialsaid,“Sincewehavedone proposes a direct entry through
work on the first few metres of the Chandni Chowk Metro sta-
Final touches the intersections, we will be in- tion.Theparkinglotisscheduled
A total of 197 streetlights line stallingstreetlightsthereaswell. for completion by the first quar-
the entire stretch and 114 CCTV In the arterial roads of Chandni ter of 2022.
Meanwhile, the scramble
crossing at Red Fort, which al-
lows pedestrians to cross in all
directions including diagonally,
has been completed. The pur-
pose of the crossing is to ease
pedestrian movement and en-
sure the theme of the area in
frontof themonument isintune
with that of a redeveloped
Chandni Chowk.
As work on the stretch wraps
up, the same agencies are grad-
ually shifting focus to other ar-
eas nearby. Drawings for corri-
dor improvement of SPM Marg
have been sent to the Unified
Traffic and Transportation
Infrastructure (Planning and
Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC)
for approval and are being fol-
lowed up by the Public Works
Department(PWD).Meanwhile,
atechnicalbidhasbeenreceived
for consultation of the Jama
Masjid precinct redevelopment.
A consultant will soon be ap-
pointed for the project.

New Delhi
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

4 THE CITY
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021 ASHOKVIHAR SIRIFORT SHADIPUR IHBAS S K Y WA T C H
Moderate Moderate Satisfactory Satisfactory
FORECAST: August 8
Generally cloudysky.
101 109 95 83 Moderaterain/
AQI AQI AQI AQI thundershowers
PM 10 PM 10 PM 10 PM 10 500
0 500 0 500 0 500 0
MAX: 33 MIN: 26
0-50 Good 51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 Very Poor 401-500 Severe 1.1°Cbelownormal 0.9°C belownormal

DU to name TAKING CUES FROM MUMBAI POLICE Rs 1.70 lakh: Salary

new college
after Sushma
Swaraj
ARANYASHANKAR
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
DELHI UNIVERSITY (DU) will
nameitsnewcollegetobeestab-
lished at Fatehpur Beri village af-
ter late Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj, the
Registrar said Saturday. The land
has been allotted to DU by the
Delhi government.
“We have decided to name
the upcoming college after the
first woman Chief Minister of
Delhi.Thisisallpartof ourcente-
nary year celebrations,” Gupta
said at a press conference
Saturday.
SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress
over a phone call after the press
conference, Gupta had said, “The
decisionisfinalandhasbeencon-
veyedtotheEducationMinister.”
3-shift system, separating law, order:
New police chief proposes changes
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
TAKING A cue from the Mumbai
Police force, Delhi Police
Commissioner Rakesh Asthana
has told all 15 DCPs that he
wants to implement a three-
shift duty system and enforce
separation of law and order over
the next two months.
Asthana, who took charge of
the force recently, held his first
crime review meeting on
Saturday via video-conferenc-
ing. In the meeting that lasted
one-and-a-half hours, he was
first briefed by Special CP
(Crime) Praveer Ranjan on
Delhi’s crime data over the last
few years after which six DCPs
of crime-prone areas gave him
an update. “After their briefing,
Asthana said that in the next
two months, he wants to imple-
ment three shift duties in Delhi
and also wants a separation of
law and order,” a senior police
officer said.
Following a discussion with
Special CP (police headquarters
and general administration)
Sivagami Sundari Nanda, the
police chief formed a commit-
tee of four special CPs — headed
by Special CP (vigilance) Balaji
Srivastava — and asked them to
classify police stations into five
categories: law and order inten-
Delhi Police chief Rakesh
Asthana held his first crime
review meeting on Saturday
sive stations, crime intensive po-
lice stations, communally sen-
sitive police stations, VIP inten-
sive police stations, and logistics
intensive police stations.
“The committee of three
special CPs (law and order),
along with Special CP (crime),
will divide the police stations
and submit their report by
August 20. Asthana informed us
that he would appoint SHOs as
per the category of police sta-
tions,” said an officer.
Asthana also told the officers
that there have been several in-
stances of policemen misbehav-
ingwithvictimsorcomplainants.
“He told them to treat com-
plainants, victims, and visitors to
police stations politely and with
empathybygivingthemtimeand
attention. He also asked them to
stop taking undue favours from
street vendors and, instead, rope
themintobetheforce’seyesand
ears,” said the officer.
Post the meeting, he inter-
acted with all SHOs and their
staff to apprise them of priori-
ties for the force and to share his
plans for their welfare in the
coming days.
“He told them that an ‘Open
House’ will be held every Friday
for members of the force to
meet him if they have any issues
or grievances. Ensuring that no
police personnel faces any diffi-
culty over bonafide discharge of
duty, he said it is the job of sen-
iors to take care of the force as
mentors and not find fault with
them unnecessarily,” said a
Delhi Police spokesperson.
revision for Delhi
govt ministers, LoP
SOURAVROYBARMAN
NEWDELHI,AUGUST7
THE MONTHLY salary of Delhi
government ministers is set to
increase from Rs 72,000 to
Rs1,70,000undertherevisedpay
structureapprovedbytheUnion
Ministryof HomeAffairsandthe
Delhi Cabinet.
The Delhi Assembly Speaker,
Deputy Speaker,Chief Whip,and
theLeaderofOppositionwillalso
be entitled to the same salary
structureandallowancesasmin-
isters. The revised pay structure
will come into effect after it is
clearedintheAssembly.Delhihas
sevenministers,includingtheCM.
However, the Centre has re-
jectedtheDelhigovernment’spro-
posal for increase of salary every
bursement and free accommo-
dation in all hospitals run by the
government and all other panel
or referral hospitals empanelled
or declared as such by the gov-
ernment” upon paying a
monthly fee of Rs 1,000.
The MHA had approved the
revised pay structure in March
2020.However,theDelhigovern-
ment deferred the implementa-
tion of the hike in view of the
Covid-19 situation, Speaker Ram
Niwas Goel said on Friday.
As reported previously,
salariesof MLAshavebeenhiked
from Rs 54,000 to Rs 90,000 per
month, excluding reimburse-
ments. Moreover, the annual
amountfortravellingwithinIndia
hasbeenraisedfrom50,000toRs
1 lakh, loan for purchase of vehi-
cles from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8 lakh,

‘Environment education to action’: From this

However, he later said the fi- yearforMLAsandministers.There while pension amount has been
nal decision would be taken in are 70 MLAs in the Assembly — revisedfromRs7,500toRs15,000
the Academic Council and 62fromAAPandeightfromBJP. per month.
Executive Council — statutory According to the break-up of Thenewpaystructurewillbe

session, every DU student must plant one tree

bodies of the University.
Construction work for the
college is yet to begin at the 40
bighalandallottedtoDUatBhati
Kalan, Fatehpur Beri.
In March last year, DU had
invited name suggestions for the
college which, it said, would be
a women’s college. A notice
dated March 12, 2020, said: “The
University of Delhi is going to es-
tablish a women’s college at
Fatehpur Beri Village, Delhi, on
the land recently allotted to the
University by the Govt. of NCT of
Delhi. A committee has been
constituted to suggest a suitable
name for the proposed women’s
college. The committee in its
meeting held on March 11, 2020,
has decided to invite sugges-
tions from general public in this
regard.”
Gupta also said it was not fi-
nalyetif thecollegewouldbeco-
ed or a women’s college.
ARANYA SHANKAR
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
DELHI UNIVERSITY Saturday
said it would be mandatory for
all students to plant at least one
tree anywhere in the country, as
part of their programme, in the
upcoming academic session
2021-22. This is being done to
move“environmentaleducation
to environmental action at the
ground level”, officials said.
“From the coming academic
sessionit has now becomecom-
pulsory for every student to
plant at least one tree anywhere
in the country during the course
of their study. This will be appli-
cableattheundergraduate,post-
graduate and MPhil/PhD level.
thatstudentswouldneedtosub-
mit proof of having planted the
trees to their respective depart-
ments and colleges.
A notification in this regard
has been issued. “Each student
should plant at least one native
tree species in his/her native
place/place of stay... The student
should submit GPS coordinates/
site location along with the pic-
ture of the plant to the respec-
tivecollege/department/centre.
Picture should have a placard
containing details such as name
DU has said the sapling will have to be replaced in case of of the tree, name and course of
its death. Archive the student, location and date of
plantation,” said the notification
dated August 6.
The programme will be scientif- tresanddepartments,”Registrar “The student needs to take
ically monitored and evaluated Vikas Gupta said in a statement. care of the tree planted by her-
by the respective colleges, cen- Gupta told The Indian Express self/himself by periodic moni-
toring. For long-term monitor-
ing, the family members/RWA/
localbodiesmaybe involved.Six
monthly reports, photographs
withsomedescriptionof growth
needs to be submitted by the
student...,” it further said.
The notification also states
that the sapling will have to be
replaced in case of its death due
to natural disaster or “unfore-
seen circumstances”.
Meanwhile, more than
1,31,021 applicants applicants
have registered for various un-
dergraduate courses at Delhi
University for around 70,000
seats.Theuniversityhadopened
its admission portal for UG
courses at 8 pm on Monday.
The last date for registration
is August 31.
the pay components, the basic
salary of ministers has been in-
creased from Rs 20,000 to Rs
60,000 per month; daily al-
lowance from Rs 1,000 to Rs
1,500; constituency allowance
from Rs 18,000 to Rs 30,000 per
month; secretarial assistance of
Rs25,000permonth;andsump-
tuary allowance from Rs 4,000 to
Rs 10,000 per month.
Theministerswilladditionally
get Rs 1 lakh annually for travel-
ling within India; Rs 30,000 per
month for two data entry opera-
tors; Rs 12 lakh advance for pur-
chaseofavehicle;Rs1lakhineach
termforthepurchaseofcomput-
ers; laptops and mobile phones.
They will continue to get reim-
bursed for electricity consump-
tion of up to 3,000 units per
month, 700 litres of petrol, and
two home orderlies.
Theyarealsoentitledto“free
medical treatment and/or reim-
implemented only after the pro-
posal is passed in the assembly.
The Delhi Cabinet had on
August3acceptedtherevisedpay
structure for MLAs. “The restric-
tion imposed by the Centre has
forced Delhi’s MLAs to be
amongst the lowest-earning
MLAs in the country whereas
MLAs of states ruled by the BJP
andtheCongressearnaround1.5
to 2 times the amount the MLAs
of Delhi will earn. The salary of
Delhi’s MLAs hasn’t increased
since 2011 and the Delhi govern-
menthadrequestedtheMHAthat
the salary of Delhi’s MLAs be at
par with MLAs of other states.
However, the MHA refused to do
so,” the government had said.
Congress Delhi chief Anil
Kumar has demanded that the
Home Ministry reject the MLAs’
salaryhikeproposal,sayingthere
was no reason for such a huge in-
crease in these pandemic times.

OFFICE OF THE ADDITIONAL CHIEF ENGINEER, PHED,

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELIHI REGION AJMER
LEVEL 6TH, C-WING, DELHI SECRETARIAT, NEW Delhi- 110002 PHONE No. 0145-2624748 FAX NO. 0145-2627671
No. F. ( )/Ar. MP/2021-2022/5663-5713 Dated: 30.07.2021
NOTICE INVITING TENDERS FOR WORKS
PUBLIC NOTICE Bids for the work for Reorganisation of Rural water supply scheme CLUSTER
DARDATURKI for providing functional Tap connections in Block Peeplu under JJM with
Ban on Sharp synthetic/ nylon kite flying thread including popularly one year defect Liability and 5 years O&M in the jurisdiction of PHED Division TONK.
(Estimated cost of work- Rs. 318.82 lacs) are invited from interested bidders upto
known “Chinese Manjha" 23.08.2021. Other particulars of the Bid may be visited on the procurement portal
(http://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in, http://sppp.raj.nic.in) of the state.

This is for the information of the general public that in order to prevent the adverse UBN No.: PHE2122WSOB05614 NIB No.: PHE2122A2494
(Mukul Bhargava)

effects on human beings, cattle population, birds, soil and ecology and in exercise of DIPR/C/7605/2021
Additional Chief Engineer,
PHED, Region, Ajmer.

the powers conferred by section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of
1986) read with Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs' Notification No. SO
667 (E), dated 10th September, 1992, a Notification was issued on 10.01.2017 by
order and in the name of the Hon'ble Lt. Governor of the NCT of Delhi with the
following directions:-
1. There shall be complete ban on the sale, production, storage, supply,
import, and use of kite flying thread made out of nylon, plastic or any other
synthetic material including popularly known as "Chinese manja" and any
other kite-flying thread that is sharp or made sharp such as by being laced
with glass, metal or any other sharp materials in the National Capital
Territory of Delhi.
2. Kite flying shall be permissible only with a cotton thread, free from any
sharp/ metallic/ glass components / adhesives/ thread strengthening
materials.
Any breach of the above directions may be reported to the office of the following:
S. Helpline
Designation Email ID
No. Number
The Commissioner of
1. cp.snshrivastava@delhipolice.gov.in 100
Police, Delhi Police
The Divisional
2. divcom@nic.in 1077
Commissioner, GNCTD
The Chief Wildlife Warden,
3. ccfgnctd@gmail.com 1800118600
GNCTD
The Commissioner, North
4. commr-northdmc@mcd.nic.in 155304
Delhi Municipal Corporation
The Commissioner, South
5. commissioner-sdmc@mcd.nic.in 155305
Delhi Municipal Corporation
The Commissioner, East
6. commissioneredmc@gmail.com 155303
Delhi Municipal Corporation

Note: The violation of directions issued under section 5 of the Environment

(Protection) Act, 1986, or the rules made thereunder shall be punishable
under section 15 of the said Act which includes imprisonment upto five years
and/or with fine which may be extended to Rs. One Lac or with both.
The above said NOTIFICATION is available at: www.environment.delhigovt.nic.in
Sd/-
Dr. K. S. Jayachandran
DIP Shabdarth/0174/21-22 Special Secretary (Env.)

New Delhi

5 GOVT & POLITICS
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, , AUGUST 8, 2021
States not
consulted:
Mamata on
electricity Bill
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
KOLKATA,AUGUST7
PROTESTING AGAINST the
Centre’s move to place the
Electricity (Amendment) Bill,
2020 in Parliament, West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
on Saturday alleged that states
were not consulted properly on
the legislation. She also wrote to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
urginghimto"refrainfrominitia-
tion of the legislation".
Inherletter,
she said that if
the Bill was
passed, it
would “ham-
pertheinterest
ofthecommon
people”.
Bengal CM
Banerjee
wrote, “Power
wrote to PM is too impor-
tantasectorfor
such unilateral
interferences, especially when
'electricity' as a subject is in the
ConcurrentListoftheConstitution
of India and any legislation on a
subjectinsuchalistneedsserious
priorconsultationwiththestates.
Inthepresentcase,therehasbeen
some tokenism of consultations,
but no real exchange of views,
whichisantitheticaltothefederal
structure of our polity”.
“Inthenameofmarketreforms,
thestatewillgiveupitscommand-
ingheight,statePSUswillbecome
sick and ailing and yet forced to
serve areas where no corporate
bodywouldfocus.Allowingcherry-
pickingtoselectprivateentitiescan-
notbethegoalofpublicpolicies...”
TheCMalsosaid,“Suchanap-
proachwouldresultinconcentra-
tionofprivateprofit-focusedutil-
ity players in the lucrative
urban-industrialsegments,while
poor and rural consumers would
belefttobetendedbypublicsec-
tor DISCOMS.”
BJP shared
maximum fake
news in 2014, ’17
polls: Akhilesh
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
LUCKNOW,AUGUST7
A DAY after Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanathsaidsocialmediawas
atpresenta“belagaamghora[un-
bridled horse]”, Samajwadi Party
president Akhilesh Yadav on
SaturdayclaimedthattheBJPgov-
ernment had spread the maxi-
mum amount of fake news dur-
ingtheelectionsin2014and2017
in the state.
Speakingatapressconference
at the party headquarters in
Lucknow, Akhilesh said, “During
the2014and2017pollsinUP,the
BJPwastheonewhosharedmax-
imumfakenews,fakevideosand
rumours...Ifanyonehasexpanded
the 4G network, it was the
SamajwadiPartygovernmentdue
towhichinternethasreachedvil-
lages. Today, when everyone can
speak the truth, then the govern-
ment is panicking. Let the elec-
tions come. The number that I
have predicted for the elections
will come true.”
During the press conference,
former BSP Rajya Sabha member
from Muzaffarnagar Rajpal Saini
joined the SP along with several
other OBC leaders from the BSP
and Congress.
Referring to an interview of
Adityanath to a TV channel on
Friday where he called SP
founder Mulayam Singh Yadav
“abbajaan”, Akhilesh said, “The
CM knows another language. He
can’t hear what the farmers are
saying.Hewantstotaketheelec-
tion in another direction.”
HealsosaidthatAdityanathis
the “first CM of UP who lies so
much”.
Cabinet Secy
term extended
New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary
Rajiv Gauba was given a one-
yearextensionSaturday.Gauba's
tenure was to end on August 30.
Gauba, a 1982 batch IAS offi-
cer of the Jharkhand cadre, was
appointed Cabinet Secretary in
2019 for a two-year period.
Priortohisappointmentasthe
country’s top bureaucrat, Gauba
served as Union Home Secretary.
He had also served as Chief
Secretary, Jharkhand. ENS
PM: Previous govts spoke of poor but didn’t
work for their welfare; MP has uplifted them
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
BHOPAL,AUGUST7
INAveiledattackontheprevious
Congress-ledgovernments,Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on
Saturday accused them of in-
dulginginhypocrisyandsaidthey
chanted the word “poor” many
times each day but did not work
for their welfare.
In a video interaction with
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan
AnnaYojana(PMGKAY)benefici-
aries from Madhya Pradesh, he
alsopraisedthestategovernment
underChiefMinisterShivrajSingh
Chouhan,sayingthatthestatehas
left behind its earlier image of a
“beemaru rajya (sick state)”.
Modi accused the previous
Opp missing in 2nd
wave, BJP workers
risked lives: Nadda
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
LUCKNOW, AUGUST 7
BJP NATIONAL president Jagat
Prakash Nadda on Saturday ac-
cused Opposition parties of “iso-
lating” themselves during the
second Covid wave and spread-
ing rumours on the shortage of
oxygen supply, and praised his
party workers for risking their
lives at that time.
Addressing a conference of
newly elected Zila Panchayat
Presidents and Block Pramukhs
at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in
Lucknow, Nadda, who is on a
two-dayvisittoUP,said:“Allpar-
ties were either in quarantine or
isolation during the corona
(wave). They were limited to just
Twitter and virtual press confer-
ences. But the BJP was the only
partywhosehardworkingwork-
ersdedicatedthemselvestohelp
thehumanitywithoutbeingcon-
cerned about their life… The
Opposition spread a lot of ru-
mours on oxygen. But under the
leadership of Modiji, record oxy-
genwasensuredbywater,airand
roadways within a week… The
BJP president J P Nadda with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath at a party event in Lucknow. Vishal Srivastav
2022 polls: RLD starts
Rahul’s account locked, Congress
Dalit outreach, to says BJP busy intimidating Twitter
cover 13 UP districts
AMILBHATNAGAR
SAHARANPUR, AUGUST 7
THE RASHTRIYA Lok Dal kicked
offits2022UPelectioncampaign
withaDalitoutreachprogramme
in West UP. Through its ‘Nyaya
Yatra’,thepartyislookingtocon-
solidate Dalit votes by carrying
out public meetings and rallies.
Led by journalist-turned-
politician Prashant Kanojia, the
RLD’s two-month campaign will
cover 13 districts. The yatra ite-
nary for each district comprises
multiple stoppages where party
workers will interact with locals
and visit Valmiki temples.
According to RLD functionar-
ies, the party will contest the UP
polls in alliance with Samajwadi
Party -- RLD national convenor
Jayant Chaudhary and SP leader
Akhilesh Yadav had addressed a
joint rally in Mathura earlier this
year on the farmer issues. While
mahapanchayatsheldbytheRLD
arebeingseenasabidtouniteJat
GurjarvotesinWestUP,asimilar
focus is now on OBC communi-
ties in the region for further sup-
port.
“The principles of the consti-
tution need to be emphasized
again in this regime since there
areblatantviolationsoftherights
PM Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh
Chouhan during the virtual address on Saturday. PTI
government of keeping the poor
and villagers away from basic
amenities such as roads, electric-
ity,housing,cookingfuel,banking
etc. He said, “They used to speak
thewordpoorhundredsof times
aday.Theyrecitedthewordpoor
likeasong,butdidnotadopttheir
welfare in practice. Such acts are
called‘pakhand’(hypocrisy).They
Opposition also made every at-
tempt to derail vaccination, but
people of the country did not let
themsucceed,”hesaid,askinglo-
calleaderstoimprovetheirgrass-
roots reach and spread the word
aboutCentralandstateschemes.
Nadda held several organisa-
tional meetings in Lucknow and
will visit Agra where he will ad-
dresscoronawarriorsonSunday.
Referring to former Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s grouse
thatforeveryrupeemeantforthe
needy, only 15 paisa reaches
them,Naddasaid,“Today,wecan
saywithpridethatwhenourPM
sends Re 1, the entire amount
reaches to the last… right bene-
ficiary. This change has been
broughtbyPMModi.Ourparty’s
agenda is to make the lives of vil-
lagers, the poor, farmers, Dalits,
backward communities, the op-
pressed,youthsandwomenbet-
ter,” said Nadda, adding that his
party and government had done
“so much” for farmers.
The BJP leader praised CM
YogiAdityanathforthestate’ssec-
ond rank in the ease of doing
businessindexandbringinginin-
vestment.
of the people. Especially when it
comes to Dalits and other under
represented sections of the soci-
ety. RLD is committed to their
causeandthisprogrammerepre-
sents the same. We have a set of
demands and issues concerning
the most ignored sections of the
society will be raised. We will go
door to door to ensure that the
voiceofthepoorestisheard,"said
Prashant Kanojia, who was ar-
rested by the UP Police last year
forallegedlyspreading“commu-
nal disharmony” with a social
media post.
On Saturday, an RLD convoy
set out from Dak Bungalow in
Deoband to various areas in
Saharanpur, and addressed a
crowd in Sheikhpura village.
The party is looking to raise
theissueoftheHathrasgangrape
andmurdercaseaggressivelyasa
large-scale demonstration is be-
ingplannedinthevictim’sdistrict
by party workers.
SinceSaharanpurisalsoAzad
SamajParty'sbaseinWestUP,the
choice of starting the Nyay Yatra
with this district had a strategy,
said party officials. Even while
Chandrashekhar Azadis keenon
forging a grand alliance with op-
positionparties,ASPisunlikelyto
figure in the SP-RLD equation,
said party sources.
did not give these facilities to the
poor but used to express false
sympathy.”
Modi was presiding over the
‘AnnaUtsav’organisedbytheMP
government to distribute addi-
tional5kgfreerationto1.15crore
families as part of PMGKAY.
Hespoketofourbeneficiaries
from the state: Rajendra Sharma,
PRESIDENT HOSTS MINISTERS
President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday interacted with the Union Council of Ministers and
hosted a high tea for them at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, according to an official communique.
Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers, Vice President M Venkaiah
Naidu was also present, the statement said. PTI
Shah: Modi put a system in place;
development happens automatically
AVINASHNAIR
GANDHINAGAR,AUGUST7
PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModi
has put a system in place in
Gujaratwheredevelopmenthap-
pens automatically, said Union
Home Minister Amit Shah, while
virtually addressing the seventh
day of celebrations to mark the
completion of five years of Vijay
RupanigovernmentinGujaraton
Saturday.
“Narendrabhai(PMModi)has
created a new tradition in the
country’s democracy. A system
has been created in such a way
that even when a leader is not
serving as the chief minister, the
developmentworkgoesonauto-
matically. I am proud that
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
NEWDELHI,AUGUST7
THE TWITTER account of senior
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
was 'temporarily' locked on
Saturday,adayafteraphotograph
he had posted with the family of
the nine-year-old Dalit rape vic-
tim was taken down by the mi-
croblogging site.
The action came after the
National Commission for
ProtectionofChildRights(NCPCR)
issuedanoticetoTwitterIndia,ask-
Afghan security situation a serious matter: Jaishankar
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
NEWDELHI,AUGUST7
The rapid deterioration of the se-
curity situation in Afghanistan is
a"seriousmatter",ExternalAffairs
Minister S Jaishankar said on
SaturdayaftermeetingQatarispe-
cial envoy for conflict resolution
Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani.
Al-Qahtani,theSpecialEnvoy
oftheForeignMinisterofQatarfor
Counter-terrorismandMediation
of ConflictResolution,isonavisit
to India ostensibly to discuss the
latest developments in
Afghanistan.
an autorickshaw driver from
Burhanpur;DilipKorifromSatna;
Chandra Badan Vishwakarma
from Niwari; and Maya Dhurve
from Hoshangabad.
The four were among 1.15
crore families from across the
state who were given 5 kg addi-
tional wheat and rice through
25,453 fair price shops in MP.
People in the list of beneficiaries
in flood-hit districts of Gwalior-
Chambal region would be given
anadditional50kgrationperfam-
ily,apartfrom5kgwheatandrice,
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan had announced on
Friday.
Modiexpressedgriefoverthe
lossoflivesandlivelihoodofthose
affected by rain and flood in the
Gwalior-Chambal region and as-
Amit Shah addressed an
event to mark five years of
Vijay Rupani govt in Gujarat
Narendrabhai has created such a
system in Gujarat, whereby even
afterhehasleftthestate,develop-
ment is happening beautifully,”
Shah said, addressing the “Vikas
Divas”eventheldattheMahatma
Mandir in Gandhinagar.
The Union minister said both
CM Rupani and his deputy Nitin
ingthesocialmediaplatformtore-
movethetweetwhichrevealedthe
identityof therapevictim.
“Shri @RahulGandhi’s Twitter
accounthasbeentemporarilylocked
&dueprocessisbeingfollowedfor
its restoration,” the Congress
tweeted.“Untilthen,hewillstaycon-
nectedwithyouallthroughhisother
SMplatforms&continuetoraisehis
voiceforourpeople&fightfortheir
cause.JaiHind!”
There was no reaction from
Gandhi.
The Congress, on the other
hand,accusedthegovernmentof
S Jaishankar with Qatari special envoy for conflict resolution
Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani, in Delhi on Saturday. PTI
sured them of all help by the
Centre.
Speaking about develop-
ment of the state under
Chouhan, the Prime Minister
said: “I remember the condition
of roads in MP — the state was
infamous for its scams. But to-
day,MP’scitiesaretouchingnew
heightsof cleanlinessanddevel-
opment.If governmentschemes
todayarebeingimplementedon
ground, it is due to the change in
governance.”
PointingoutthatAugust7also
marked the beginning of
Swadeshi movement in 1905,
Modi urged people to purchase
handicraft from local shops and
promote handloom, and warned
them against letting down their
guard against Covid-19.
Patel have continued to provide
speed to development works in
the state “on the path shown by
Narendrabhai”. “Gujarat is either
numberoneorisheadingtowards
being number one in all sectors,”
Shah said.
In the presence of Union
Minister for Road Transport and
HighwaysNitinGadkari,Shahalso
virtually inaugurated and laid
foundation stones for various
projectsworthRs5,300crore,be-
longingtoninedifferentstatede-
partments. Of these, projects
worth Rs 900 crore were part of
his Lok Sabha constituency of
Gandhinagar, Shah said.
“Narendrabhai’sthroneislike
Vikramaditya’s throne and the
person sitting on it imbibes the
powers,” Rupani said.
intimidating Twitter.
“Based on a complaint by the
BJP, the Twitter account of Rahul
Gandhihasbeenlocked.Insteadof
givingjusticetothe9-year-oldDalit
girl,theBJPandtheNarendraModi
government are far too preoccu-
piedinintimidatingTwitterasalso
illegallychasingRahulGandhi.Had
PM Narendra Modi and Home
MinisterAmitShahusedthistime
in ensuring justice for the Dalit
girl...Delhiwouldhavebeenasafer
place,” Congress communication
department head Randeep
SurjewalatoldTheSundayExpress.
New Delhi
Govt writes to
UIDAI, seeks
Aadhaar use
for new voters
RITIKA CHOPRA
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
THE GOVERNMENT has ap-
proached the Unique
Identification Authority of India
(UIDAI) with a proposal to per-
mit the Election Commission
(EC) to use Aadhaar for registra-
tion of new voters.
Aadhaarverificationcouldbe
used for faster delivery of some
other services such as change of
addressaswell,theLawMinistry
has suggested.
Downloading e-EPICs (elec-
tronic Elector's Photo Identity
Card) or Voter Slips could be al-
lowed under Rule 3 of The
Aadhaar Authentication for
Good Governance (Social
Welfare, Innovation and
Knowledge) Rules, 2020, the
government has said.
The Rules, which were noti-
fiedbytheMinistryof Electronics
and Information Technology on
August 5 last year, provide for
Aadhaar authentication “in the
interestof goodgovernance,pre-
venting leakage of public funds,
promoting ease of living of resi-
dents,andenablingbetteraccess
to services for them”.
To use Aadhaar for such pur-
poses, the interested entity has
tosubmitaproposaltotheunion
government which forwards it
to the UIDAI. The Indian Express
has learned that the Law
Ministry's letter to UIDAI was
sent at the behest of the EC, and
that the proposed Aadhaar ver-
ification would be voluntary.
If the UIDAI and the govern-
ment agree, the seeding of voter
cards with Aadhaar for the
above-mentioned purposes
could begin without need for
amendments to The
Representationof thePeopleAct,
1950,andTheAadhaarAct,2016.
In August 2019, the
Commission had written to the
Law Secretary proposing
amendments to the RP Act and
the Aadhaar Act to empower it
to collect and use Aadhaar data
for “cleaning” voters’ lists as a
“back-end exercise”.
The EC had argued then that
Karnataka: Bommai
allocates portfolios,
keeps finance dept
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
BENGALURU, AUGUST 7
KARNATAKA CHIEF Minister
Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday
allocated portfolios to ministers
in his new cabinet, with most of
them retaining the ministries
they had in the previous B S
Yediyurappa government.
Debutant ministers have got
plum portfolios like Araga
Jnanendra (Home) and V Sunil
Kumar (Energy, along with
Kannada and Culture). The Chief
Minister who had on
Wednesday expanded his new
cabinet, by inducting 29 minis-
ters,triedtoplayitsafebyretain-
ing many old faces — 23 of them
were ministers in the previous B
S Yediyurappa cabinet.
Bommai has retained the
Department of Personnel and
Inaseriesoftweets,Jaishankar
said a peaceful and stable
Afghanistanrequiresthattherights
and interests of all sections of the
society are promoted and pro-
tected. “Pleased to receive Qatar
Special Envoy Mutlaq bin Majed
Al-Qahtani.SharedtheIndianper-
spective on recent developments
in Afghanistan. Also the concerns
oftheregionthatIheardduringre-
cent interactions,” he said. “Rapid
deteriorationofthesecuritysitua-
tionisaseriousmatter.Apeaceful
and stable Afghanistan requires
that the rights and interests of all
sections of society are promoted
andprotected.”
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Aadhaar-seeding of voter cards
would help weed out duplicate
entries and bogus voters, and
hence serve the national inter-
est. “This step will also pave the
wayforexploringuseof technol-
ogy for voting and verification of
voter identity in the future,” it
had said in its letter.
As per the EC's proposed
amendment to the RP Act, the
Electoral Registration Officer
(ERO)may,forthepurposeof es-
tablishing identity, ask a person
to furnish her Aadhaar number
and even ask those who are al-
ready enrolled as voters to fur-
nish their Aadhaar to check for
duplicate entries.
However, the proposed
amendment had also said that
no one would be denied enrol-
ment or would be deleted from
the voters’ list for their inability
to furnish Aadhaar or for not
having Aadhaar.
The EC had initiated the ex-
ercise of linking Aadhaar with
EPIC in February 2015, when H S
Brahma was Chief Election
Commissioner. But the exercise
was suspended in August of that
year,aftertheSupremeCourtre-
strictedtheuseof Aadhaartothe
Public Distribution System
(PDS), and the distribution of
LPGandkerosene.TheEChadal-
readylinked38crorevotercards
to Aadhaar by then.
In its final order passed in
September 2018, the apex court
held that although privacy is a
fundamental right, it can be cur-
tailed if there is either a specific
law authorising collection of
Aadhaar or if the interest of the
state is involved or the test of
proportionality is satisfied.
Hence, the Commission’s de-
mand in2019 for legalpowers to
resume seeding of voter cards
with Aadhaar.
While the Law Ministry had
responded positively to the re-
quest and a proposal for the
Cabinet's approval was learnt to
have been prepared, there had
been no development since —
exceptnowthattheMinistryhas
proposed a beginning for
Aadhaar-seeding of voter cards
without amending the law.
Karnataka
CM
Basavaraj
Bommai
Administrative Reforms (DAPR),
Finance, Intelligence, Cabinet
Affairs, Bengaluru Development
and all unallocated portfolios
with himself.
K Sudhakar has retained the
allimportanthealthandmedical
educationdepartment,amidthe
Covid-19 pandemic.
The lone woman minister in
the Cabinet, Shashikala Jolle, has
been made in-charge of Muzrai,
Wakf and Haj. Those with major
changes include Govind Karjol
(water resources),CC Patil (pub-
lic works), B Sriramulu (trans-
port and ST welfare), Murugesh
Nirani (industries).
Al-Qahtani had played a key
role in the Afghan peace process
and his visit to India came amid
mounting global concerns over
escalatingviolencebytheTaliban
in Afghanistan. Qatar's capital
Doha has been the venue for the
intra-Afghan peace talks and the
Gulf country has emerged as a
crucial player in facilitating the
Afghan peace process.
The visit also comes days
ahead of talks among Russia,
China,theUSandPakistanonthe
situation in Afghanistan. The 'ex-
tended Troika' convened by
Russia is scheduled to be held in
Doha on August 11.
 6 EXPRESS NETWORK WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021

Assam man arrested with heroin injured in encounter COPS LAUNCH MANHUNT TO NAB 4 SUSPECTS BRIEFLY
Guwahati: A man arrested with
heroin, along with cash and gold,
was critically injured after police
personnelopenedfireonhimwhen
he allegedly tried to snatch a con-
stable’s firearm during an escape
bid in Assam's Kamrup
Metropolitan district on Saturday,
an officer said.
The accused is undergoing
treatment at Gauhati Medical
College and Hospital, where his SAD youth leader GOA
Manwho‘made

shot dead in Mohali

condition is stated to be critical,
while the constable has been ad- fakeFBaccount’
JHARKHAND URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
COMP
COMPANY ANY LIMITED
mitted to Azara Rural Hospital, he
said. PTI ofCMgetsbail
(Govt. of Jharkhand Undertaking)
3rd floor
floor,, Pragati Sadan, Kutchery Road, Ranchi-834001, Jharkhand. Panaji: A Goa court
m0iz0 ikoj Vªkalfe'ku dkjiksjs'ku fy0 EXPRESSNEWS Saturday granted bail to a
Ph No.: +91-651-2225878; e-mail Id-Id-;; pdt.juidco@gmail.com SERVICE man accused of creating
CIN: U45200JH2013SGC001752 bZ&fufonk vkea=.k lwpuk vuqHkoh dk;Znk;h
laLFkkvks@QekZs ls bl dk;kZy; ds MOHALI,AUGUST7 a fake Facebook account
National Competitive Bidding Tender Notice in the name of Chief
NIT No.:JUIDCO/NIT/TA/PPP/398 Date :06/08/2021 fu;U=.kk/khu fofHkUu ikjs"k.k [k.Mksa ds A YOUTH leader of the Minister Pramod Sawant
Request for Proposal Appointment of Transaction Advisor for vUrxZr fuEufyf[kr dk;ksZ@Ø; gsrq ShiromaniAkaliDalwasshot and demanding money.
selection of Concessionaire for Managing, Operating and bZ&fufonk,s bZ&iksVZy etender.up.nic.in ij dead in broad daylight in Mohammad Sakir
1. Name of the work Maintaining the facilities developed at Birsa Munda Smriti vkaef=r dh tkrh gSA bZ&fufonk [kqyusa dh Mohali’sSector71marketon Hussain (26), from
Park & Museum and Rabindra Bhawan on Public Private
Partnership (PPP) mode frfFk ij vodk'k gksus dh fLFkfr esa Saturday morning. The de- MathurainUttarPradesh,
2. Tender Fee & EMD Amount Cost of Tender Document: 5,000/- (Rs Five Thousand Only) bZ&fufonk vxys dk;Z fnol es [kksyh ceased,VikramjeetSinghalias was arrested on August 2
(In INR) EMD Amount : 2,00,000/- ( Rs Two Lakh Only) tk;sxhA bZ&fufonkvksa dks fcuk dksbZ dkj.k Vicky Midhukhera, was the under provisions of the
3. Mode of Bid Submission e-tendering ( http://jharkhandtenders.gov.in ) crk;s vLohdkj@foHkkftr djus dk vf/kdkj formerpresidentofSAD’sstu- Information Technology
4. Date of starting of sale of onlineTender 10.08. 2021 at 11:00 Hrs dent wing — the Students Act. Judicial First Class
v|ksgLrk{kjdrkZ ds ikl lqjf{kr jgsxkA
Date & Time of pre-bid meeting 18.08. 2021 at 12:00 Hrs OrganisationofIndia(SOI).He Magistrate Puja Desai
5. d`Ik;k foLr`r tkudkjh] Mkmu yksM] vU; was considered close to the A CCTV grab of the grantedbailtoHussainon
( Virtual Mode) Link : https://meet.google.com/kds-duda-ipc ( 12.00 PM)
6. Last Date/Time for submission of bids 06.09.2021 at 17:00 Hrs
la'kks/kuksa ,oa bZ&fufonk izLrqr djus ds senior SAD leadership. incident in which Vicky a personal bond of Rs
Last Date &Time of Submission of fnukad rd foLrkj vkfn ds lEcU/k esa d`Ik;k Vicky was active in the Midhukhera (left) was 10,000 and two sureties
7. 07.09.2021 at 17:.00 Hrs etender.up.nic.in ij ykWx vku djsaA state’sstudentpoliticsandal- killed. Express of the same amount ob-
Tender Fee & EMD ( Hard Copy)
8. Date of Bid Opening 07.09.2021 at 17:30 Hrs fooj.k fuEu izdkj gS& bZ&fufonk la[;k] legedly had links with some serving that he was in jail
Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company dk;Z dk fooj.k] dk;Z dh vuqekfur ykxr] gangsters,saidpolicesources, since August 2 and probe
9. Tender fee submission address Limited, 3rd Floor, Pragati Sadan, Kutchery Road, Ranchi – [kqyus dh fnukad] /kjksgj jkf'k ,oa fufonk dk addingthatapersonalrivalry portantplayerinChandigarh’s Facebook through a group from here on would pri-
834001 angle is being looked at. The student politics. SAD’s senior formed in the name of slain marily involve informa-
10. Helpline No. of e-Procurement Cell +91 9973768183/8788097721
ewY; ds Øe esa i<+k tk;sA 1- ETC/MU/T-
unidentified men who shot leader Daljeet Cheema said gangster Davinder Bambiha. tion from service
Further details are available on Jharkhand Governmepnt e-procurement website http://jharkhandtenders. 54/2021-22 %& fo|qr ikjs’k.k [k.M] him are yet to be arrested. thathisdeathhadexposedthe This particular social me- providers and other insti-
gov.in Sd/- eqt¶Qjuxj ds vUrxZr 132 ds0oh0 midsUnz MohaliSSPSatinderSingh deteriorating law and order dia post by the Davinder tutes, which would take
PR.NO.250980 Urban Development(21-22):D Project Director (Technical) JUIDCO Ltd., Ranchi iqjk dk okf"kZd vk/kkj ij ifjpkyu dk dk;ZA said that Midhukhera sus- situationinthestate. Bambihagrouphasgoneviral considerable amount of
:0 7-42 yk[kA fnukad 07-09-2021] tainedseventoeightbulletin- Footage from CCTV cam- in which the group has time. Advocate Damodar
¼rduhdh Hkkx ikVZ&1 [kksyus gsrq½ :0 juries that killed him. He said eras in the area showed the claimedresponsibilityforthe Dhond represented the
7500@&] :- 1150@& ¼dj lfgr½A 2- thepreliminaryprobeshowed assailants opening fire at murder saying that accused while state was
ETC/MU/T-55/2021-22 %& fo|qr ikjs’k.k that four men had come to Midhukheraashewasgetting Midhukhera was close to the represented by Assistant
[k.M] 'kkeyh ds vUrxZr 132 ds0oh0 committhecrimeoutofwhich intohisparkedcar.Policesaid Lawrence Bishnoi group. Public Prosecutor P
tworemainedinthecarwhile hehadgonetomeetareales- Midhukhera,whowassaidto Phadte. PTI
midsUnz FkkukHkou ij LFkkfir fofHkUu twofiredthegunshots. tate dealer in the area. beclosetogangsterLawrence
midj.kksa ,oa LVªDpj vfFkZax dh ejEer dk Midhukhera,whobelongs Policeisalsotryingtotrace Bishnoi, was instrumental in
dk;ZA :0 1-57 yk[kA fnukad 07-09-2021] toFaridkotdistrict,wasinstru- the people who posted a so- launching Bishnoi in
¼rduhdh Hkkx ikVZ&1 [kksyus gsrq½ :0 mental in making SOI an im- cial media message on Chandigarh’sstudentpolitics. MADHYA PRADESH
1600@&] :- 590@& ¼dj lfgr½A 3-
ETC/MU/T-56/2021-22 %& fo|qr ikjs’k.k
MPex-minister
[k.M] 'kkeyh ds vUrxZr 220 ds0oh0
'kkeyh&eqt¶Qjuxj ykbZu ij {kfrxzLr
8 killed in
lightning
BRD deaths: UP govt BabulalJain
diesat88
withdraws re-inquiry
iksyhej bUlqysVj dks iksflZyhu fMLd
bUlqysVj ls cnyokus dk dk;ZA :0 1-98 strikes Ujjain: Senior BJP leader
yk[kA fnukad 07-09-2021] ¼rduhdh Hkkx Hazaribag/Medinina and former Madhya

against Kafeel Khan

ikVZ&1 [kksyus gsrq½ :0 2]000@&] :- gar (Jharkhand): Pradesh minister Babulal
590@& ¼dj lfgr½A 4- ETC/MU/T- Eight people,includ- Jain died after a pro-
57/2021-22 %& fo|qr ikjs’k.k [k.M] ing three women longed illness at a hospi-
eqt¶Qjuxj ds vUrxZr uoÅthZr 220 and two girls, were tal in Ujjain. Jain, 88, died
ds0oh0 midsUnz c/kkbZdyka ,oa lEcfU/kr killed in separate in- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Friday night, and is sur-
ikjs"k.k ykbZuksa gsrq vfFkZax fMLpktZ jksM dh cidents of lightning LUCKNOW, AUGUST 7 vived by two sons and a
strikes in Dr Kafeel daughter. The four-time
vkiwfrZA :0 1-00 yk[kA fnukad 07-09-2021] Jharkhand's ADEPARTMENTALre-inquiryor- Khan MLA was first elected to
¼rduhdh Hkkx ikVZ&1 [kksyus gsrq½ :0 Hazaribagh and deredlastyearagainstsuspended the Assembly in 1977
1]000@&] :- 295@& ¼dj lfgr½A v/kh{k.k Palamu districts on Gorakhpur paediatrician Dr from Ujjain North con-
vfHk;Urk fo|qr ikjs"k.k e.My Saturday, officials KafeelKhanhasbeenwithdrawn, shall be made to conclude the stituency, and was later
m0iz0ik0Vªk0dk0fy0 Hkksik jksM] eqt¶Qjuxj said.Thebodieshave the state government has in- disciplinaryproceedings(against elected thrice from
Qksu ua0%& 0131&2608038 i=kad@ No. been sent for post- formedtheAllahabadHighCourt. DrKhan)withinaperiodof three Mahidpur. He was made
2005/ fo0ik0e0¼ETC½½@eq0uxj¼MZN½½@ mortem examina- The government is likely to de- months”. thechairmanof Samanya
dk;iZ kyd vfHk;ark dk dk;ky
Z ;] fnukd a @ DATED 07-08-2021 tion, they added. PTI cide on his suspension in three Dr Khan was suspended in Nirdhan Kalyan Ayog
xkzeh.k fodkl fo'k"sk ie
z .My] iykew months. August2017afterthetragedyand with a minister’s rank in
Additional Advocate General was later cleared of all criminal 2007. Chief Minister
bZ0 VsUMj vfr vYidkyhu fufonk vkea=.k lwpuk Manish Goyal told the HC Friday. charges. Shivraj Singh Chouhan
bZ0&fufonk lwpuk la[;k&EE/RDSD/PALAMAU-01/2021-22 “The order of 24 February 2020 Justice Yashwant Varma said reached Jain's residence
1- dk;Z dh foLr`r fooj.kh % impugned in this petition has now the court would have to in Ujjain to pay tribute.
Ø0 izkDdfyr jkf'k Ifjek.k foi= vxz/ku dh dk;Z iw.kZ djus been withdrawn subject to lib- “considerthejustificationforcon- The last rites were per-
dk;Z dk uke
la0 ¼yk[k esa½ dk ewY; jkf'k :0 dh vof/k erty being reserved for the re- tinuing suspension of the peti- formed with state hon-
1 2 3 4 5 6
iz[k.M foJkeiqj esa iz[k.M fodkl inkf/kdkjh&lg&
spondents (the state) to proceed tioner which was pursuant to an ours on Saturday. PTI
vapykf/kdkjh@i;Zos{kh;@r`rh;@prqFkZ oxZ deZpkjh vkokl in the matter afresh.” orderpassedon22August2017".
1 473.09265 10000.00 947000.00 12 ekg
fuekZ.k rFkk iz[k.M ifjlj dk fodkl ,oa fofo/k dk;ZA A petition filed by Dr Khan “In paragraph 54 of the writ MAHARASHTRA
iz[k.M gqlSukckn esa iz[k.M fodkl
2
inkf/kdkjh&lg&vapykf/kdkjh@i;Zos{kh;@r`rh;@prqFkZ oxZ
deZpkjh vkokl fuekZ.k rFkk iz[k.M ifjlj dk fodkl ,oa 459.11820 10000.00 918500.00 12 ekg
hadchallengedhissuspensionon
August 22, 2017 in connection
petition, it is disclosed that by
that order, initially proceedings 3heldforhoax
fofo/k dk;ZA
iz[k.M Nrjiqj esa iz[k.M fodkl
withthedeathofseveralchildren
duetoallegedshortageofoxygen
were drawn against nine per-
sons. Seven out of those who
callstopolice
3
inkf/kdkjh&lg&vapykf/kdkjh@i;Zos{kh;@r`rh;@prqFkZ oxZ
deZpkjh vkokl fuekZ.k rFkk iz[k.M ifjlj dk fodkl ,oa 464.26667 10000.00 929000.00 12 ekg at a government hospital in were suspended along with the controlroom
Gorakhpur. On February 24 last petitioner have since been rein-
fofo/k dk;ZA
year, the Disciplinary Authority statedpendingconclusionof dis- Mumbai: Three persons
iz[k.M ikadh esa iz[k.M fodkl inkf/kdkjh&lg&vapykf/kdkjh
@i;Zos{kh;@r`rh;@prqFkZ oxZ deZpkjh vkokl fuekZ.k ordered another inquiry against ciplinary proceedings,” said the were arrested Saturday
4 526.66771 10000.00 1054000.00 12 ekg
rFkk iz[k.M ifjlj dk fodkl ,oa fofo/k dk;ZA Dr Khan — a move challenged by court order. forallegedlymakinghoax
2- osclkbZV esa fufonk izdk'ku dh frfFk %& 11-08-2021 him in the court. Goyalprayedthecourt"toen- calls to the Mumbai
3- bZ&fufonk izkfIr dh frfFk ,oa le; %& fnukad 20-08-2021 vijkg~u 5-00 cts rdA The HC heard the petition on able him to obtain requisite in- Police’s main control
4- dk;Zikyd vfHk;ark] xzkeh.k fodkl fo'ks"k ize.My] iykew ds izfrfuf/k }kjk iqfyl v/kh{kd ds dk;kZy; ifjlj esa@eq[; July29andhadsoughtaresponse structions in this respect". room late on Friday. The
vfHk;ark] xzkeh.k fodkl fo'ks"k iz{ks= jk¡ph ds dk;kZy; esa fufonk 'kqYd] vxz/ku dh jkf'k ,oa Affidavit tek djus dh vafre from the government. The AAG Thecourthaslistedthematter police said the trio, driv-
frfFk ,oa le; 23-08-2021 vijkg~u 5-00 cts rdA submitted “that all endeavours for hearing on August 10. ers by profession, were
5- fufonk [kksyus dk LFkku & eq[; vfHk;ark] xzkeh.k fodkl fo'ks"k iz{ks= ,Q0,Q0ih0 Hkou] /kqokZ] jk¡ph
6- fufonk [kksyus dh frfFk ,oa le; 24-08-2021 vijkg~u 02-00 ctsA having a Gatari party at
7- fufonk vkeaf=r djus okys inkf/kdkjh dk uke ,oa irk %& dk;Zikyd vfHk;ark] xzkeh.k fodkl fo'ks"k izee.My] iykewA Shilfata in Thane when
8- bZ&fufonk izdks"B dk nwjHkk"k la0&9304798195 they allegedly called the
9- fufonk 'kqYd jk"Vªh;d`r cSad }kjk fuxZr cSad Mªk¶V@cSdlZ psd tks dk;Zikyd vfHk;ark] xzkeh.k fodkl fo'ks"k ize.My] police control room and
iykew ds inuke ls ns; gks nsuk gksxkA threatened to blow up
10- ifjek.k foi= dh jkf'k ?kV&c<+ ldrh gS] rnuqlkj ifjek.k foi= dh jkf'k dk 02 izfr'kr vxz/ku dh jkf'k ds :i esa tek Dadar, Byculla, and
djuk gksxkA Chhatrapati Shivaji
11- fo'ks"k ifjfLFkfr esa fcuk dkj.k crk, fufonk jnn~ djus vFkok LFkfxr djus dk vf/kdkj v/kksgLrk{kjh dks lqjf{kr gksxkA Terminus railway sta-
foLr`r tkudkjh ds fy, osclkbZV Jharkhandtenders.gov.in ,oa dk;kZy; dh lwpuk iV~V ij ns[kk tk ldrk gSA Stressed Asset Management Branch, Khajpura, Jagdeopath, Bailey Road, Patna-800014
tions, as well as actor
PR.NO.250987 Rural Development(21-22):D
dk;Zikyd vfHk;ark] xzkeh.k fodkl fo'ks"k ize.My] iykewA SALE NOTICE FOR SALE OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES AmitabhBachchan’sbun-
E-Auction Sale Notice for Sale of immovable assets under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement galow in Juhu. Police offi-
of Security Interest Act, 2002 read with proviso to Rule 8 (6) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002. cials said the control
Notice is hereby given to the public in general and in particular to the Borrower(s) and Guarantor(s) that the below described immovable property room received the call at
mortgaged/charged to the Secured Creditor, the Symbolic possession of which has been taken by the Authorised Officer of Indian Bank (Erstwhile
around 9 pm Friday. Soon
Allahabad Bank) Stressed Asset Management (SAM) Branch, Patna, Secured Creditor, will be sold on "As is where is”, “As is what is" and
"Whatever there is" on 25.08.2021, for recovery of bank's dues from the following borrower and guarantors.
after, localpolicestations,
Anti-Terrorism Squad,
Sl. No. Name of the Account Description of the Charged/Mortgage Name of the Amount of Reserve Price Earnest
& Property Mortgagor(s)/ Secured Debt (in Rs) Money
Government Railway
Branch Guarantor(s) Deposit Police and bomb detec-
1. i. M/s Maa Durga Equitable Mortgage-All that part and parcel Ms. Jhalo Devi `2,11,13,755/- `1,70,67,000/- `17,06,700/- tion and disposal squad
SAMB Enterprises, Flat of the property along with present and future W/o Dwarika (Rupees Two (Rupees One (Rupees were intimated that car-
Patna No.102, Ram Prem construction there on: Nath Prasad crore eleven crore seventy Seventeen riedoutsearchesthrough
Enclave, West Property situated at Mauza-Amhara, Thana- lacs thirteen lakh sixty seven lakh six the night. ENS
Anandpuri, Near Jal Bihta, Pargana-Manner, P.S Bihta, District- thousand seven thousand only) thousand
Parishad, Rajapul, Patna, Plot No.-4105, Area-51 Decimal, Plot hundred fifty seven hundred
Patna-800001, Bihar No.4105,4106, Area-9.02 Decimal Total Area- five only) as only) HARYANA
ii. M/s Maa Durga 60.02 Decimal, Computer Code 37, Khata
Enterprises, Office: No.135, 1216, Tauzi No.-16899, Thana No.-
on 23.09.2019
with further Paper‘leaked’,
Manjha House No.7,
Vivekanand Park,
44, within the jurisdiction of sub register office,
Bikram and District Registry Office Patna in
interest, costs,
other charges govtcancels
Road No.2, Near
Alpana Market,
the name of Ms. Jhalo Devi W/o Dwarika
Nath Prasad and bounded as follows: North-
and expenses
thereon less constableexam
Patliputra Colony, Sri Devendra Singh & Angerra Sharma, recovery if any
Patna-800013 South-Sri Bhubaneshwar Mahato & Krishna Chandigarh: Amid re-
2. Sri Raushan Kumar Tamoli, East-SH Bihta-Aurangabad Road & ports of a paper leak,
S/o Suresh Sharma, Krishna Tamoli, West-Sri Deo Kumar Singh. Haryana Staff Selection
Flat No.102, Ram Prem Enclave, West Anandpuri, Near Jal Parishad Rajapul, Patna-800001 Bihar, 3. Smt. Archana Kumari W/o Sri Commissioncancelledits
Srikant Saran, 302, Hope Royal Residency, Vijay Nagar, Rukanpura, Patna-800014, 4. Shri Srikant Saran S/o Ramakant Saran, 302,
Hope Royal Residency, Vijay Nagar, Rukanpura, Patna-800014, 5. Smt. Jhalo Devi W/o Dwarikanath Prasad Singh, Amahara Bihta,
written examination be-
Patna-801118 ing held for the posts of
Detail of encumbrance, Outstanding Dues of Local Govt, Electricity, Property tax, Municipal Tax, etc. if any known to the Bank: Not Known male constables. At least
Last Date & time for Registration and Submission of EMD amount: 23.08.2021 through https://www.mstcecommerce.com/auction home/ibapi 10,300 candidates were
Till 5.00 PM. appearing in the exami-
Date & Time of e-auction: 25.08.2021 from 11.00 AM to 3.00 PM at the platform of http://www.mstcecommerce.com with unlimited extension. nation scheduled to be
Bid incremental amount is Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand Only). Property ID: IDIB1720 held at 35 examination
For further details and Terms & Conditions, Contact: Shri Rajat Sinha (Chief Manager) Mob.: 9162910272 centres across22districts
For downloading further details and Terms & Conditions, Please Visit: (i) https://www.mstcecommerce.com (ii) https://www.ibapi.in of the state. As per the
*Applicable tax to be borne by the bidder. schedule, the examina-
Bidders are advised to visit the website (www.mstcecommerce.com) of our e-auction service provider MSTC Ltd to participate in online bid. For tion was being held on
Technical Assistance please call MSTC HELPDESK No.033-22901004 and other help line numbers available in service providers help desk. For August 7 and 8 (morning
Registration status with MSTC Ltd, please contact ibapiop@mstcecommerce.com and for EMD status please contact ibapifin@mstcecommerce.com. and evening shifts).
For property details and photograph of the property and auction terms and conditions please visit: https://ibapi.in and for clarifications related to However, earlier in the
this portal, please contact help line number '18001025026' and '011-41106131'. day, certain reports of pa-
Bidders are advised to use Property ID Number mentioned above while searching for the property in the website with https://ibapi.in and www.
per-leak surfaced follow-
mstcecommerce.com.
ing which the HSSC can-
Date : 05.08.2021 Authorised Officer
Place : Patna Indian Bank (Erstwhile Allahabad Bank)
celled its exam. ENS

New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021
Single-doseJ&J Uphill climb for pahadi restaurant, name cooks up storm
vaccinecleared,
willbeIndia’s
fifthCovidshot
KAUNAIN SHERIFF M
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
THEDRUGregulatoronSaturday
granted the American pharma
giant Johnson & Johnson emer-
gency use authorisation for its
Covid-19 vaccine, paving the
way for J&J's Indian subsidiaryto
introduce in India for commer-
cial use the first single-dose vac-
cine against infection with the
novel coronavirus.
The single-shot vaccine, de-
veloped by J&J subsidiary
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, has
been shown to be 85 per cent ef-
fective in preventing severe dis-
ease in phase 3 human clinical
trials.
This is the second Covid-19
vaccinetobegrantedemergency
use authorisation through the
fast-track approval route by the
Indian drug regulator.
On April 13,India changed its
policy on regulatory approvals
for foreign manufacturers to
commercially market their
Covid-19 vaccine in the country
— waiving the pre-condition of
phase 2-3 clinical trials for those
vaccines that have been granted
emergency approvals by regula-
tors in the US, EU, UK, and Japan,
and those listed by the WHO.
On June 29, the American
biotechnologyfirmModernabe-
came the first foreign company
tobegrantedemergencyuseap-
proval for its mRNA vaccine un-
der the liberalised regulatory
regime.
AfterSaturday’sapproval,J&J,
like Moderna, will not be re-
quiredtoconduct bridgingstud-
iesinIndiatoestablishthesafety
of the vaccine.
“India expands its vaccine
basket! Johnson and Johnson’s
single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is
given approval for Emergency
Use in India. Now India has 5
EUA vaccines. This will further
boostournation'scollectivefight
against #COVID19,” Union
Minister of Health & Family
Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya
said in a tweet.
The four other vaccines that
have been granted emergency
use authorisation in India are
Serum Institute's Covishield,
whichistheIndianversionof the
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine,
Bharat Biotech's Covaxin,
Russia's Sputnik V, and
Moderna’s mRNA vaccine.
LPG tank leaks in
Mumbai hospital,
58 patients shifted
SANJANA BHALERAO &
YOGESH NAIK
MUMBAI, AUGUST 7
AT LEAST 58 patients, 20 of
whom were being treated for
Covid-19, were shifted from the
BMC-run Kasturba hospital at
Agripada in central Mumbaiand
around 400 residents from
nearby buildings were evacu-
ated following liquid petroleum
gas (LPG) leak at the hospital
premises on Saturday.
The incident occurred at
11.34aminthehospital'sLPGgas
yard, which supplies gas for
cooking and equipment sterili-
sation purposes. The capacity of
the above-ground gas tank is 10
metric tonne (MT). It is sus-
pected that the tank joint rup-
tured while excavation work
was being undertaken in the
vicinity.
At the time of the incident,
thetankwashalf full.Inovertwo
hoursaftertheincident,thestor-
age had dropped to 3.5 MT.
“This morning, somebody
was working with an excavation
machine near the LPG tank. It is
suspected that the JCB touched
the tank, causing
the leakage,” said
Kishor
Ghadigaonkar,
Assistant Divisional
Fire Officer of
Mumbai Fire
Brigade.
While the hos-
pital with 934 beds
is spread over a
large area, the ef-
fects of the leakage
were primarily felt
by occupants of
building 148 abut-
File
The vaccine has been
developed by J&J subsidiary
Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
“We are pleased to let you
know that on 7th August 2021,
the Government of India issued
Emergency Use Authorization
(EUA) for the Johnson & Johnson
Covid-19 single-dose vaccine in
India,”Johnson&Johnsonsaidin
a statement.
While Saturday’s approval
paves the way for J&J to bring its
vaccine to India, talks with the
Indian government continue on
the contentious issue of indem-
nity. Multiple rounds of discus-
sions have taken place with
Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J, and the
negotiations are now in their fi-
nal stage. On July 27, the Centre
informedParliamentthatateam
of officials is in “continuous dia-
logue”withPfizer,Moderna,and
J&J to discuss and address “vari-
ous issued including the issue of
indemnity”.
Globally, pharmaceutical
companies have supplied their
Covid-19 vaccines only after in-
demnities have been given
against the costs of compensa-
tion for severe side effects due to
vaccination.
Significantly, in August last
year, Hyderabad-based
Biological E Limited had entered
into an agreement with Janssen
Pharmaceutica NV for the cre-
ation andenhancementof man-
ufacturing capacities for the sin-
gle-dose Covid-19 vaccine.
J&J is using its flagship AdVac
vaccineplatform,whichwasalso
used to develop and manufac-
ture Janssen’s European
Commission-approved Ebola
vaccine regimen, and construct
its Zika, RSV, and HIV investiga-
tional vaccine candidates.
Janssen’s AdVac vectors are
based on a specific type of ade-
novirus, which is genetically
modified so that it cannot repli-
cate in humans and cause dis-
ease.
Kasturba hospital in central
Mumbai. Express
ting the LPG gas yard. The two-
storey building has five wards,
including an ICU and two labo-
ratories.
In all, 58 patients present in
thebuildingatthetimeof thein-
cident had to be evacuated. “The
patients were shifted to another
building. Kasturba hospital has
alargecomplex,”saidAdditional
MunicipalCommissionerSuresh
Kakani, in charge of BMC health
and disaster management de-
partments. The BMC also had to
evacuate residents from build-
ings near the hospital.
Thecivicbodyhasorderedan
inquiry into the incident. “We
have asked the fire brigade to
submit a report," Kakani said.
THREE YEARS DEGREE PROGRAMME
IN HOTEL MANAGEMENT
(For 10+2 Pass Out Candidate with Min. 50%
Marks with English as a Compulsory Subject )
LALMANI VERMA
DEHRADUN, AUGUST 7
A NONDESCRIPT restaurant
promising Indian, Chinese,
Tandoori and Chaat food, with
localrecipesonitsmenu,andthe
photo of a cherubic child chuck-
lingnexttoatandoorsteakonits
board,ishardlythestuff of haute
cuisine. However, in six days of
operations, Dehradun to Delhi,
'Pyari Pahadan' has cooked up a
storm.
Owner Preeti Maindoliya,
protestersargue,hasinsultedthe
hill people to "matrashakti
(womanpower)"withthename
of therestaurant.Oneof thepro-
testers, who allegedly assaulted
Maindoliya, has been arrested.
AB.Tech,Maindoliya,26,says
running a restaurant was her
DELUGE IN PRAYAGRAJ
A man rows his boat through a flooded Ganga following heavy monsoon rain in Prayagraj,
Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday. AP
MP flood toll 24; minister faces ire
IRAM SIDDIQUE
BHOPAL, AUGUST 7
ANGRY residents gheraoed and
shouted slogans against Union
Agriculture Minister Narendra
SinghTomarwhenhevisitedthe
flood-ravaged Sheopur district
of MadhyaPradeshsonSaturday.
At least 24 people have died
inthelastoneweeksinceAugust
1 in rain-related incidents in
Gwalior-Chambal region, in
northern Madhya Pradesh, offi-
cials said on Saturday. Flood has
impacted more than 1,250 vil-
lages in the districts of Gwalior,
Shivpuri, Sheopur, Datia,
Ashoknagar, Bhind, Morena and
Guna, they said.
On Saturday, Tomar was vis-
iting Kataria Bazar in Sheopur
city, and began walking with the
TRACKING THE SECOND SURGE
524 NEW CASES: 17,546
ACTIVE CASES: 4,06,629
DAYS SINCE
PANDEMIC
BEGAN TOTAL VACCINATION: 50,10,09,609
DAILY DEATHS TOTAL DEATHS
281 4,27,652
TESTS TODAY: 18,91,272 | TOTAL TESTS: 47,84,24,922
WEEKLY POSITIVITY: 2.52% | OVERALL POSITIVITY: 6.67%
STATES REPORTING MOST CASES
STATE NEW
CASES
■ Maharashtra 6,061
■ Tamil Nadu 1,969
■ Andhra 1,908
■ Karnataka 1,610
■ Assam 986
STATES REPORTING MOST DEATHS
STATE TODAY’S
DEATHS
■ Maharashtra 138
■ Odisha 64
■ Karnataka 32
■ Tamil Nadu 29
■ Andhra 23
Note:DataasonAug7;vaccinationnumbersasofAug6.Kerala didnotreportitsnumbersonSaturday
The restaurant in Dehradun. Express
first dream, and so she decided
to pursue it after two years of
working as an electronics engi-
neer. She took up an 180 sq ft
residents to console women
who were weeping after losing
their goods in the flood, when
angry shop owners gheraoed
him and shouted slogans.
According to witnesses, the sit-
uation worsened soon and the
people told the minister that he
was too late to pay them a visit.
OnFriday,localresidentshad
raisedslogansagainstthecollec-
tor, Rakesh Kumar Shrivastav,
and Superintendent of Police
Sampath Upadhyay.
In a video of the incident,
Tomar can be seen surrounded
by angry local people, who were
demanding action against dis-
trictofficials.Manypeoplein the
crowd were heard demanding a
letterwiththeircomplaintstobe
handed over to Tomar.
Madhusudhan Khandelwal,
a trader from Kataria Bazar, said
WEEKLY CFR OVERALL CFR
1.24% 1.36%
ACTIVE WEEKLY TOTAL
CASES POSITIVITY VACCINATION
71,050 3.14% 4,63,76,886
20,286 1.26% 2,48,21,006
20,375 2.58% 2,33,90,769
24,292 1.12% 3,23,50,283
11,633 0.81% 1,20,89,630
TOTAL WEEKLY OVERALL
DEATHS CFR
1,37,277 2.09%
6,419 3.03%
36,773 1.86%
34,289 1.59%
13,513 0.88%
ONE & HALF YEAR PROGRAMME
IN HOTEL MANAGEMENT
(For 10+2 Pass Out Candidate with
English as a Compulsory Subject)
space in the Banjarawal area of
Dehradun, and named her
eatery'PyariPahadan'.Thename
had always appealed to her as
he suffered losses of nearly Rs 4
lakh as water flooded the store-
room stocked with grain and
seeds. Similar has been the case
with many others, he said.
“Thepeoplewereangryatthe
districtadministration.They(ad-
ministration) not only failed to
alert us but were nowhere to be
seen after the rain,” Khandelwal
said. “We are angry at the minis-
ter(Tomar)andotherleadersfor
posting such officials here...they
could not even provide drinking
water four days after the flood.”
While water has begun re-
ceding, garbage and animal car-
cassesareleftbehindinSheopur.
With most of the drinking water
for the city's residents coming
through borewells, many said it
was a huge struggle since mud
water was coming out of
borewells.
Kerala looks to ensure
first dose for all senior
citizens by August 15
SHAJU PHILIP
THIRUVANANANTHAPURAM,
AUGUST 7
KERALA WILL begin a Covid-19
vaccinationdrivefor thoseaged
above 60 starting Monday to
ensuretheygetatleastoneshot
by August 15
Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan said at a meeting that
the state would directly obtain
20 lakh doses and hand it over
to private hospitals, which
would be allotted vaccines on
the basis of facilities.
He said the drive, which
would continue till the end of
this month, was also aimed at
completing the vaccination of
final year degree and post-
graduate students as well as
teachers of lower and upper
primary school teachers.
A large chunk of high
CFR school, higher secondary
2.19% teachershadbeenalreadyvac-
0.66% cinated as part of inoculating
those on recent election duty.
1.27%
The Chief Minister said
1.35% business establishments and
0.69% organisations are free to join
handswithprivatehospitalsto
ensure shots for their targeted
EXPRESS NETWORK 7
'Pahadan' was what her class- calls threatening that unless she ing any links and condemning
mates from the plains called her changed its name the restaurant the attack on her. "Bhawana
in college, she says. Her mother would be vandalised. Pandeyisnotassociatedwiththe
moved from Dhumakot, their On August 2, Rawat report- UKD. Names of some other per-
village in Pauri Garhwal, hit by edly arrived with Bhawana sons associated with the UKD
migration like many other vil- Pandey and Pramila Rawat, and haveappeared in the matter and
lages in Uttarakhand, to help her Maindoliya was assaulted, caus- will be probed. The UKD fully
run the restaurant. ing her to pass out. Her mother supports the victim and will co-
But within an hour of the Neelima filed a complaint at the operateingettingtheguiltypun-
restaurant opening on August 1, PatelNagarPoliceStationandan ished," a release by UKD state
a man later identified as FIR was lodged against the three president Kashi Singh Airy said.
Surendra Rawat did a Facebook under IPC Sections 354 (assault Pandeyclaimstohavefought
Live from the site, objecting to on a woman with intent to out- forUttarakhand'sstatehood,and
the name. Later, he arrived with rage her modesty), 323 (volun- sayssheisasocialworkeraspiring
some women, who allegedly tarily causing hurt) and 506 to contest the next Assembly
threatened Maindoliya, calling (criminalintimidation).Surendra elections. Denying raising hands
the name an insult to ma- Rawat has been arrested and against Maindoliya, she says,
trashakti and pahadis. "I told probe is on, Pradeep Rana, "Would you like it if somebody
them I was also a pahadi, and Station Officer, Patel Nagar, said. callsyourmotherorsistera'pyari
had been born and brought up While Maindoliya says she pahadan'?" Pandey also claims
in Pauri Garhwal district," says was told the three were associ- that Pramila Rawat is a leader of
Maindoliya, the daughter of a ated with the Uttarakhand theUKD.Pramilawasn’tavailable
government teacher. Kranti Dal (UKD), the political for comment. FULLREPORTON
Soon, she says, she also got outfit issued a statement deny- www.indianexpress.com
Rajasthan sees UP: 7 years after court order,
80 rain-related sexual assault FIR registered
deaths this of the police station where the
monsoon EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE FIR was filed said.
LUCKNOW, AUGUST 7 He added that the case has
been registered against the hus-
HAMZA KHAN SEVEN YEARS after a local court band and brother-in-law of the
JAIPUR, AUGUST 7 ordered registration of an FIR on woman, who moved court
sexualassaultandothercharges, againsttheminAugust2014.She
AS MANY as 80 people have the Gonda police finally com- accused her husband of harass-
died and 55 have been injured pliedwiththedirective.Thecase ment and brother-in-law of at-
in rain-related incidents in was registered only after the tempted rape. She moved court
Rajasthan this monsoon. court issued a fresh directive to after the local police did not file
Most deaths have been file the FIR. anFIRonhercomplaint.Herhus-
recorded in Bundi (16), followed “I wasn’t aware of the court band is a daily wager in Gujarat.
by state capital Jaipur (15). As directive issued seven years ago. Thecasehasbeenfiledunder
many as eight persons have died I came to know of the matter IPCsections354-A(sexualharass-
in Tonk, followed by six in Kota, only after the local court again ment), 323 (punishment for vol-
and four in Sawai Madhopur. directed filing of the FIR on untarilycausinghurt),506(crim-
Nineteen other districts have
recorded 1-3 deaths. Most of
the deaths in Jaipur were re-
August 4,” the officer-in-charge inal intimidation), and others.
ported after lightning struck a
watch tower near Amer Fort
last month, which had led to
the death of at least 11 persons.
At least 125 animals have
died so far. The details were
shared by government offi-
cials during a presentation be-
fore Rajasthan Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot on Saturday. The
CM announced a sum of Rs 5
lakh to the kin of the deceased
and Rs 2 lakh to those injured.
Meanwhile, over 150 per-
sons were rescued in Kota's
Sangod Saturday even as Army
personnel joined rescue opera-
tionsinHadotiregion.Theopen-
ing of gates of Bhimsagar dam
had led to flooding in some vil-
lages, prompting rescue work.
Over the past four days,
SDRF and other agencies have
rescued over a thousand per-
sons, mainly from the Hadoti
region, which is reeling under
heavy rainfall.
Normally, till August 6, the
state receives 291.49 mm of
rain. This year it has received
327.21 mm of rain, which is
12.3 per cent more.
local people. The bed-ridden
would be vaccinated at their
homes, as part of ensuring first
dose for those aged above 60.
In Kerala, 53 per cent of the
eligible population (above the
age of 18) have got one dose.
Only 22 per cent of them, how-
ever, got two shots.
Meanwhile, an expert team
deputed by the Union govern-
ment has found that 5,042 per-
sons in Pathanamthitta district
who have taken two doses of
vaccine have got infected.
Health Minister Veena
George told the media that the
analysis demonstrated the ef-
fectiveness of the vaccine.
8987276070/9 608271879
0631-2952143, 8252620411
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 8 OPINION
Across
THEAISLE
PCHIDAMBARAM
Website:pchidambaram.in
Twitter @Pchidambaram_IN
The pivot to climbing out of
every hole — be it concerning
the economy, education,
social intercourse or festivals
— is vaccination. Unless we
vaccinate all the people of
India, we will be on a start-
stop mode that will take us
nowhere. Regrettably, the
vaccination drive has not only
fallen behind schedule, it is
also highly inequitable
Caste in the UK, and why
Ambedkar matters
Dalitality
SANTOSHDASS
santoshrdass@googlemail.com
ON JUNE 30 this year, Gray’s Inn, the in-
ternationally recognised seat of jurispru-
dence,unveiledaradicalportraitof itsfor-
mer alumnus Dr B R Ambedkar and
inaugurated a room named after him. It
was the culmination of years of discus-
sion between the Federation of
AmbedkariteandBuddhistOrganisations
UK (FABO UK) and Gray’s Inn.
Commissioned and donated by FAB
OUK, the David Newens oil painting of
Ambedkar is based on a 1946 black-and-
whitephotobyrenownedphotojournalist
MargaretBourke-WhiteforLifemagazine.
Radical? Ken Hunt, the writer, observes,
“Unlike his (Ambedkar’s) usual poses,
Bourke-White’s shoot captured him in a
relaxed mood at his home in Delhi. He is
on his veranda with a cascade of
bougainvillea beside him.” His smile en-
gages, and, like Mona Lisa’s, his eyes will
followfuturelegaleaglesaroundtheroom.
Lord David Alton of Liverpool, Master
AliMalekQC,DrAmbedkar’sgreat-grand-
son Sujat Ambedkar and I gave speeches
before the portrait’s unveiling. Lord Alton
is a staunch supporter of our campaign
against caste-based discrimination and
regularly refers to Dr Ambedkar in parlia-
mentary debates on equality legislation,
anti-castediscriminationlaw,andthedis-
crimination Dalits and Adivasis face.
The campaign to publicise caste dis-
crimination experiences in Britain began
in the ’70s with such committed
Ambedkarites as FABO UK’s Arun Kumar.
For over two decades, Dalit organisations
have actively lobbied for a law to address
the impact of caste discrimination. It is in
essence no different to other forms of dis-
crimination—say,ondisability,sexualpref-
erence,genderorrace—alreadyoutlawed
in Britain. That’s why groups want it to be
protected under the Equality Act 2010.
I came to London at the age of eight
from Punjab. Britain’s pro-equality legis-
lation helped give redress from the caste
discrimination we faced.
Powerful Hindu and Sikh lobbies op-
pose the law and argue “caste conscious-
ness...doesnotexist”here,orbizarrely,that
thelegislationwillintroduceit.Thispatent
falsehood is laid bare by the prevalence of
On the
LOOSE
LEHERKALA
leherkala@gmail.com
WHEN US gymnast Simone Biles unex-
pectedly withdrew from the Olympics
saying she wasn’t in the right headspace,
it created a furore. It has never happened
that an athlete of Biles’s calibre has caved
intoagonisingpressure,preferringanexit
bang in the middle of a competition.
Even one Olympics ago, Biles would
have been berated for poor sportsman-
ship but the post-pandemic buzzword
dominatingtheinternationalnarrativeis:
mental health. Twitter India itself has
noted a 108% increase in mentions of the
term ‘wellness’ and a surge in popularity
of hashtags like #selflove #LoveYourSelf
and #MentalHealthMatters.
Pandemic: Beyond the economy
THE PANDEMIC is likely to remain with
us for some more time. The healthcare
infrastructure will be strained, people
will be infected, lives will be lost and
families will be devastated. The only de-
fenceisvaccination.Indiaisdoingworse
than any of the other G-20 countries in
vaccinating the adult population — only
10,81,27,846 people have received two
doses of the vaccine against the target of
95-100 crore.
The consolation is, economic losses
can be recovered. Closed businesses can
be reopened; lost jobs can come back;
reduced incomes can be restored;
drawn-down savings can be rebuilt; ris-
ing debt can be pared; borrowed
money can be repaid; and impaired
confidence can be revived. An economy
that has slid can be put back on the
growth path.
LEARNING DEFICIT
Life, however, is more than physical
existence. Life is living with dignity.
There are many deficits that can rob a
human being of dignity. Among them
is incomplete school education. It is
trite that a person with a school educa-
tion has a better chance to a life with
dignity than an unlettered person. And
a person with a proper college educa-
tion has an even better chance. The
foundations of a good education are laid
in school. Literacy and numeracy are
gurdwaras and temples in the UK serving
specific castes. The suggestion that the
Indo-Pakistanidiasporagrowsupmiracu-
lously unaware of caste here was rub-
bished in the 2019 BBC television docu-
mentary Hindus: Do we have a Caste
Problem?. In February 2020, The Sunday
Times reported howUKIndiandatingand
matrimonialsitesreinforcecastedivisions.
The anti-caste-law lobbies promote
“education” as the way forward. In 2013,
I appeared on Newsnight, BBC2’s flagship
weekly current affairs programme, hours
before a parliamentary debate and an im-
portantvoteoncastelaw.JeremyPaxman,
the show’s combative host, and I shred-
ded the anti-caste-law representative’s
feeble arguments. “Would you have an
educativeapproachforraceorgenderdis-
crimination?” Of course, we wouldn’t!
Formed in 2008, the Anti Caste
Discrimination Alliance (ACDA) is one of
theleadingorganisationsfightingforsuch
a law. In May 2021, together with the
Ravidassia community, ACDA saw
through the prosecution of a London-
based Sikh man who had produced hate-
filled, caste-related diatribe on TikTok.
The government wants to repeal the
2010 caste law provisions based on a
flawed consultation.Theargumentisthat
principlesinonecaste-relatedcase,Tirkey
v Chandok, from 2015 should be enough.
But this case could be overturned.
It’s also imperative that more people
learn about Dr Ambedkar.
In 1991, the Ambedkar Birth
Centenary Celebrations Committee in-
stalled a blue plaque outside 10, King
Henry’s Road, in London. It reads ‘Dr
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, 1891-1956,
Indiancrusaderforsocialjusticelivedhere
1921-22’.Whenthepropertycameonthe
market in 2014, FABO UK proposed that
the then government of Maharashtra
fund the purchase of what was already a
place of pilgrimage. It took a solid year of
badgering the government, and many a
sleepless night worrying that some prop-
erty developer might buy it.
Myhopeisthatouranti-castediscrim-
ination movement, the Ambedkar
Museum, Gray’s Inn and other initiatives
stillinplanningactasinspirationstothink
creatively about the emancipatory proj-
ect that Dr Ambedkar launched.
The writer is one of the leading figures in
the campaign to outlaw caste-based
discrimination in the UK
Suraj Yengde, the writer of Caste Matters,
curates the fortnightly Dalitality column
Quitting is the new winning
Depending on one’s worldview, this
display of fragility can feel either like
righteous self-preservation or a euphe-
mism for a cop-out. Recently, it feels like
the world has done a dramatic U-turn,
from stigmatising mental health prob-
lems to embracing them manically. So
much so that while the greatest specta-
cle of human endurance is on, quitting is
being hailed as some sort of noble act.
What would happen if soldiers became
immobile thanks to panic attacks before
battle? Or if doctors and nurses started
having breakdowns and not showing up
for duty?
Civilisation is held together by a tan-
gled web of small and large commit-
ments, and we all have our little roles to
play. The fact is, all work is, occasionally,
painful. Not wanting to strive, resolutely,
the cornerstones.
What is the state of school educa-
tion in India today? ‘Learning deficit’ is
an acknowledged reality and an impor-
tant measure of the state of school ed-
ucation. Ask what proportion of chil-
dren enrolled in Class 5 can read a text
prescribed for Class 2? According to the
Annual Survey of School Education
(ASER) 2018, the proportion was 50.3%.
When the children reach Class 7, the
proportion that can read a Class 2 text
rose to only 73%. The enormity of the
learning deficit will hit one like a
sledgehammer.
Drill deeper. If we measure learning
deficits by gender, urban/rural, religion,
caste, economic class, parental educa-
tion and occupation, and private/gov-
ernment school, the magnitude of the
deficit grows larger as we slide down
the socio-economic ladder. A child born
in a village to low-education, low-in-
come parents whose occupation is farm
or casual labour, belonging to a
Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled
Tribe (ST) or Other Backward Class
(OBC), and studying in a government
school, lags far behind a child enrolled
in an urban, private school and sup-
ported by high-education, high-income
parents belonging to one of the ‘for-
ward’ or upwardly mobile castes.
This is a self-evident truth, now
proven conclusively by ASER and simi-
lar studies.
She
SAID
SHIVANINAIK
shivani.naik@expressindia.com
IN AN ideal world uncontaminated by
overzealous sports officials, their only
mandate over what women should wear
in sport would extend to choosing colour
schemes of the polyester medal ribbons.
And in ensuring every athlete with jelly
ligaments has proper taping. Like, not
leave India’s top woman wrestler Vinesh
Phogatrudderlesswithouta physio,if she
had a strong chance of getting a medal.
Sports policing of athlete outfits could
focus on ensuring that sneaker soles and
spikes or swimsuits don’t accord undue
advantageonthetrackorthepool.Butex-
ceedingtheirbrief,sport’sofficialdom de-
cides that it will not only have an opinion
but also air it, on what women will wear
when they compete.
German gymnasts gave it a long, hard
thought over this summer, and decided
they will not take on additional pressure
of discomfort wearing bikini-cut leotards
atTokyoOlympics. Instead,theyoptedfor
unitards,whichincidentallyarenotanov-
elty for those watching. Men have always
been wearing them.
Smartankle-lengthsandlong-sleeved
gear in cherry red, with geometric pat-
terns for a yoke, and a snazzy tattoo pat-
tern at the ankle which accentuated the
pointed toes — the design that German
gymnastssportedmergedaestheticswith
acrobatic comfort.
Beyond Germany, woman gymnasts
in Europe have rebelled this Fall against
the unspoken tradition of wearing leo-
tards that are highly sexualised and
minutely photographed from uncontrol-
lable angles while women are flinging
themselves in the air, and chosen to be
more concerned about sticking landings
and not breaking their necks.
German Elisabeth Seitz nailed her un-
even bars routine, but not before declar-
ing: “We wanted to show that every
woman, everybody, should decide what
to wear. On competition day, we will de-
cide what to wear.” For a sport that has
not quite completely resolved yet the
traumatisedfalloutof asexualabusescan-
dal in the US, the apprehensions of the
Germans were not imaginary.
Elsewhere, the European Beach
Handball governing body showed some
remarkable thickness in imposing fines
on the Norwegian team for turning out in
shorts instead of the mandated bikinis.
The stipulations are so outrageous that,
after 15 years of disapproving, the players
couldn’t bother less, and their home fed-
eration didn’t think twice about shelling
everyday, is rarely depression, anxiety —
frightfully misused terms these days.
Stress is universal and a fear of failure
hauntsallof humanity.Idreadwritingthis
piece fortnightly. I’m convinced every
timeIbeginthatI’mahopelessfraudwith
nothing new to say. While largely true, I
do it anyway because leaving my editor in
the lurch is not an option.
MaytheironynotbelostthatinTokyo,
theathletewhosuccumbedtonervesand
bailed last minute grabbed the media
limelight, while the ones who set new
world records remain relatively obscure.
Quick, name the two 13-year-old girls
who won the first ever medals for skate-
boarding, without Google? Everyone re-
members Biles.
While one can certainly empathise
with how difficult it must be to perform
A CRUEL JOKE
All the above were before the pan-
demic hit India, and the first lockdown
on March 25, 2020. On that day the
schools were closed and, after 16
months, they remain closed in most
states. During this period, we have wit-
nessedthemuch-hypedonlinelearning,
internalassessments,automaticpromo-
tions and even grades for passing, with-
out exams, Class 10 and Class 12.
Concedingthatmanyof thesestepswere
inevitable, was the hype necessary?
Prof ReetikaKheraof IIT-Delhiquotes
ajointstatementof UNESCOandUNICEF
that said “schools must be the last to
close and the first to reopen” and reads
out the grim statistics: only 6% of rural
households and 25% of urban house-
holds have computers; only 17% of rural
areas and 42% of urban areas have
Internet facilities; and the vast majority
of familiesdonothavesmartphones.The
boast about online learning in the India
of 2020/2021 is a cruel joke on the chil-
dren of India.
BE JUDGE AND JURY
An average child in India starts with
a learning deficit. And if she has no
learning for 16 months and more, imag-
ine how rapid will the backward slide
be? The governments — Centre and
states —have stood by helplessly. As a
One small length of
legging, and a giant leap
Sarah Voss of German gymnastics team, that wore unitards instead of bikini-cut
leotards, at the Tokyo Olympics, seeking their right to wear what they want. AP
out the ridiculous fines on their behalf.
Sample the stupidity as fleshed out by
The New York Times: “Women must wear
bikini bottoms ‘with a close fit and cut on
an upward angle toward the top of the
leg’, and those bikini bottoms cannot be
longer than 4 inches”. The corresponding
men players could “wear shorts at least
fourinchesabovetheknee,providedthey
are ‘not too baggy’”.
Beach volleyball women’s players are
split on the topic of whether shorts ought
to be allowed, with practical considera-
tions of sand clinging to the pockets.
The entire Muslim world with its
women athletes bounding out to partici-
pate in every sport possible, meanwhile,
is grappling with the skittish issue of why
women wearing a hijab — or not, as the
case may be — is anyone else’s concern.
Egyptian beach volleyball player Doaa
Elghobashy has competed at the Games
for a decade wearing ankle-length tights
and a head scarf. Smashing an unreturn-
able spike gives her immeasurable glee.
Watchers should try following the sport,
she reckons.
Serena Williams was wearing a baby
literally when she won an Australian
Open. The French crinkling their noses at
her bodysuit was plain bad form.
At the heart of this debate is women’s
free choice — to compete feelingcomfort-
able, feeling not being ogled at and feel-
ing good about their game.
As a corollary, women do not want to
at a stratospheric level, it’s also true that
the Games embody a brutal Darwinism
— the Olympics is the ultimate test of the
survival of the fittest.
The many meltdowns we are seeing
all around is also a (not entirely surpris-
ing) culmination of the ‘participation tro-
phy’generation.EveninIndia,progressive
schools frown upon rankings — first, sec-
ond, third is infra-dig and prizes are freely
distributed not on merit, but for showing
up.Thistrend(of everyoneisgreatintheir
own special way!) has infiltrated the dis-
course in all aspects of our lives. Drug ad-
diction and alcoholism are “illness”, not
poor decision-making. The conversation
around obesity is fraught, dare one dwell
on the huge health risks. Instead, ‘body
positivity’ celebrates size in all its forms.
In this environment, praise for those
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021
nation, we have failed our children and
made no effort to find a way to mitigate
the unfolding disaster.
Schools must reopen soon. Before
that,thechildrenmustbevaccinated.The
pivottoclimbingoutof everyhole—beit
concerning the economy, education, so-
cial intercourse or festivals — is vaccina-
tion.Unlesswevaccinateallthepeopleof
India,wewillbeonastart-stopmodethat
willtakeusnowhere.Regrettably,thevac-
cination drive has not only fallen behind
schedule, it is also highly inequitable. On
May 17, over 500 renowned scholars,
teachersandconcernedcitizenswroteto
Prime Minister Modi on the inequalities
that have emerged among the vacci-
nated: between urban (30.3%) and rural
(13%); between men (54%) and women
(46%);andbetweenthepoorstates(1.75%
in Bihar) and the rich (7.5% in Delhi).
The pandemic was unprecedented
and can overwhelm any government.
Allowing for that, the government that
assumed to itself all authority under the
National Disaster Management Act and
took all the decisions in the last 16
months must be judged on the out-
comes: did it contain the spread of the
infection, did it reduce the number of
deaths and did it achieve the self-de-
claredtargetof fullyvaccinatingtheadult
population of India by the end of
December 2021? In the meantime, did
it spare a thought for the children of
India? You be the judge and the jury.
bejudgedforindulginginfashionontheir
BigCompetitionDayseither.Paintednails,
prettybraidsof wrestlers,hairpartedtwo-
ways for the sprints, dyed a flaming red to
streak on the track, an aura of curls and
stylised flags on running tights, lipstick
and eye shadow — the tyranny of the
trudging tracksuit ended a while back.
Tokyo’s newest contrivance from the
broadcasters zoomed in on swimmers —
both male and female — as they wrapped
uptheirswimswithlimberdownsinout-
doorshowers.Buttherovinggazeof cam-
eras while athletes compete isn’t the only
problem. Outdated marketeers insecure
about selling their sport, and untrusting
of every sporting disciplinebeing capable
of producing exciting match-ups, has led
to years of dress diktats from the suits.
Defiance was long due when women
knew in their bones that they could com-
pete just as well without this skin-show-
ing compulsion, that in fact dissuaded
many budding careers after puberty hit
and body image issues cropped up.
The talent oozing out of Tokyo’s bad-
mintonwomen’ssinglesfinalbetweenTai
Tzu Ying and Chen Yufei was so mes-
merising that you didn’t notice that the
two had turned up in shorts. Badminton
had once contemplated a compulsory
skirts rule. The current golden generation
emerged right after the dress-code was
summarily dumped.
Skills, not body-hugging skins,
were enough.
whocanpushthemselvestosuperhuman
featsisalmostabackhandedcriticism,like
theyarenotdoingenoughforthosewhose
anxieties stood in their way.
There is nothing quite like the
Olympics to remind us of our own inad-
equacies and at the same time provide
an opportunity for reflection. The things
we imbibe from watching sport, even if
you don’t play anything, are setting goals,
discipline, and crucially, honoring your
place in a team. It is great progress, that
the aura of shame surrounding peoples’
worst vulnerabilities is dissipating.
However, an Olympic pedestal is the pre-
serve of that minuscule minority that can
conquer panic, the defining characteris-
tic of a true champion.
The writer is director, Hutkay Films
New Delhi
Fifth
COLUMN
TAVLEENSINGH
Twitter@tavleen_singh
Rape, caste
and politics
THERE ARE things in Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s ‘new India’ that have got
worsethantheywereintheoldIndia.One
of them is the false narrative that is spun
by his spokesmen and supporters on so-
cial media every time a child or a woman
is brutally raped and murdered.
The National Crime Records Bureau
(NCRB) says it recorded 32,033 cases of
rape in 2019, which means that 87 Indian
women were raped every day. Of these,
15% were children. The statistics are
shameful, but it is not the statistics that
should worry us as much as the strenu-
ous efforts made in the ‘new India’ to
change the narrative at the behest of po-
litical leaders at the highest level.
Last week it was only when Dalit ac-
tivists took to the streets in protest that
arrests were made in the case of the nine-
year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly
raped and murdered by a priest and his
three cohorts. The alleged rapists deny all
charges and claim that the child died of
an electric shock she got from a water
cooler. But this does not explain why they
were in such a hurry to cremate the
child’s body, even when her mother tried
to stop them.
The story has been reported in detail
in this newspaper and needs no repeti-
tion. It is the politics I want to talk about.
This is because I was sickened by the
insensitivity with which spokesmen of
the Bharatiya Janata Party responded to
the child’s death. They were more both-
ered by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
having gone to offer his condolences to
the dead girl’s family than the horror of
what happened to her. Sambit Patra, who
is the TV face of the BJP, spoke in crude,
ugly detail about what had happened to
Dalit women raped in Rajasthan and with
his fixed smug smile asked why Rahul
Gandhi did not visit their families.
If he believed this strengthened his
case that Rahul went for political and not
compassionate reasons, he achieved the
opposite result.
This column is no fan of Rahul Gandhi
or Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,
but I applaud them for going to the home
of this wretchedly poor Dalit family and
offering financial and legal help. It is the
very least that political leaders should do
since they are unable to prevent this
most shameful of crimes from happen-
ing with such relentless routine that
India is sometimes referred to derisively
as the rape capital of the world. It should
shame us all that this is not a major po-
litical issue. And that not one of Modi’s
women ministers thought they needed
to offer help and condolences to the dead
girl’s family.
Smriti Irani was the shrillest critic of
Sheila Dikshit’s government when
Nirbhaya was brutally raped and mur-
dered.SheisnowMinisterof Womenand
Child Development but did not care to
even tweet about the tragic death of this
little girl. Was it because she was Dalit or
because one of the alleged rapists is a
priest in a temple that adjoins the crema-
torium in which the girl died?
Itisnotasif MrsIraniwasstayingaway
from Twitter last week. She found the
time to tweet this about the women's
hockey team. ‘An inspiration! Each one of
you have renewed hope, emboldened as-
pirations... each one of you epitomizes
strength,skill&fortitude.Youareourgirls,
our pride #ind onwards to a stronger fu-
ture.” The Prime Minister and several
other ministers tweeted in similar tri-
umphant fashion about the hockey team.
But, not one tweet about the little Dalit
girl. Why?
Is itbecausethe DelhiPolice comesdi-
rectlyundertheHomeMinisteranditwas
important to bury the story as quickly as
possible? Changing the narrative when a
rape becomes political and reflects the
awful realities of caste and poverty is
something that has become the norm in
the ‘new India’. When another Dalit girl
was raped, murdered and cremated by
the police in the dead of night in Hathras
last year, the Chief Minister of Uttar
Pradesh tried to make it into an ‘interna-
tionalconspiracy’againsthisgovernment.
A Muslim journalist who was arrested on
his way to Hathras was implicated in this
so-called ‘jihadi’ conspiracy. A year later,
he remains in jail.
These foolish attempts to change the
narrative can never work. The narrative
will change only when our political lead-
ers stop turning their faces away from the
horrible truth that not much has changed
inthe‘newIndia’whenitcomestocrimes
against women.
Another horrible truth that we need
to face up to is that usually the women
and children who get raped and killed
comefromDalitfamilies. Attherisk of be-
ing charged yet again by BJP trolls of be-
ing ‘anti-Hindu’ and ‘anti-India’, I am go-
ingtosaywhatourpoliticalleadersdonot
like to admit. In rape cases the victims are
usually Dalit and the rapists upper caste.
Thisiswhyjusticeisrarelydone.Thisis
why the police use intimidation to get
charges dropped. If rape cases manage to
come to trial, more than 90 per cent of
rapists get away with their barbarous
crimes.Whathaschangedin‘newIndia’is
thatinBJPstatesafalsenarrativeiscreated
toobscurefacts.UnlessthevictimisHindu
and the rapist Muslim. Then we have ar-
rests under new ‘love jihad’ laws.

9 SUNDAY STORY
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021
TORA AGARWALA
I THE REBEL WHO
NTHEyear2000,weigheddownbyli-
abilities,andwithfewavenuesforrev-
enue, Mizoram had managed to ex-
tract Rs 182.45 crore as “bonus” from
the Centre. First of its kind, the pack-
age,extendedbytheAtalBihariVajpayeegov-
ernment, came to be known as a “peace
bonus”—awardedtoMizoramforbeing“the
most peaceful state in the Northeast”.
Back then, if one were to ask the man
who made it happen and who was just two
years into his chief ministership,
Zoramthanga would possibly have smiled
and said, “Peace pays”, a catchphrase the
rebel-turned-politician is fond of using.
Because,eversinceitemergedfromatwo-
decade-long insurgency in the mid-1980s,
peaceiswhatthehillstatehasprideditselfon
—evenitstourismpitchisbasedonthat.Since
the militant outfits laid down arms in 1986,
few if any insurgents are recorded as having
gone underground. The Mizo Accord of June
30, 1986, between the Mizo National Front
(MNF) and the Government of India is per-
haps the most successful of its kind in the
country.Securityexpertsoftencallitthe“only
insurgency in the world that ended with the
stroke of a pen”.
The last fortnight though has been far
frompeacefulforMizoram.First,inwhatwas
possibly the bloodiest standoff in its old bor-
der dispute with Assam, six policemen from
Assam were killed. Assam issued an unusual
traveladvisoryagainsttravellingtoMizoram;
MizoraminstitutedanFIRagainstAssamCM
HimantaBiswaSarma,amongothers;Assam
responded with counter-FIRs — with the
diminutive Zoramthanga going toe-to-toe
with Sarma, arguably Northeast’s most in-
fluential political leader.
Those who know him saw shades of
Zoramthanga of old — the college graduate-
turned-MNFrebel,whojoinedthearmedin-
surgency, rose to second only in stature to
the legendary Laldenga, and survived in the
bush for 20 years. He penned down an auto-
biography in Mizo recording all this, and is
currently writing his memoirs in English.
The insurgency was the result of the
Mizos feeling neglected at the hands of the
larger Assam state it was a part of then, and
New Delhi. In a culmination of the anger, on
February 28, 1966, the bank clerk-turned-
rebel Laldenga led Operation Jericho to cap-
ture Aizawl. For the first and only time in the
history of independent India, the govern-
ment, led by Indira Gandhi, ordered air raids
on its own territory. The violence raged on
for two decades, before the MNF declared
peaceandjoinedelectoralpolitics.Powerhas
since largely remained with the party, first
under Laldenga and then his personal secre-
tary and closest aide, Zoramthanga.
Now into his third term, Zoramthanga is
known as frank and outspoken, but also soft
and pacifist — a carefully cultivated image.
“His politics has never been combative. He
barelyattackshisopponentsevenduringpoll
campaigns.Andif thereisascandal,heprob-
ably won’t even make a statement — at best,
issue a press release,” says a senior Aizawl
journalist,whoaskedtoremainanonymous.
“Zoramthanga does not betray that side
of him which pushed him to take up guns.
Rebel leaders need not fit the stereotype of
being tough and uncompromising,” says
Patricia Mukhim, Editor, Shillong Times.
Robert Romawia Royte, a Cabinet minis-
ter in the MNF government who is close to
Zoramthanga,saystheCMnever“scoldsany-
one”, not even a “peon”, but can “be tough
when the situation demands it”.
Given this record, over the years, the
Central government — from the Vajpayee-
NUMBER PLATE
150%
The increase in salary of Delhi MLAs — from
Rs 12,000 a month (Rs 53,000 with allowances) to
Rs 30,000 (Rs 90,000 with allowances. Still, they
remain the third lowest paid in the country after
Kerala (Rs 2,000 a month), West Bengal (Rs 10,000)
Watching Nikki didi play
ABHISHEK ANGAD
EARLY FRIDAY morning, as the Indian
women’shockeyteamwalkedontotheastro-
turf at the Oi National Stadium in Tokyo for
their semifinal match against Great Britain,
thousands of kilometres away, people trick-
led into a hall lined with asbestos sheets and
tooktheirplaceonaruginfrontof aprojector.
Hesal, a tribal village in Khunti district of
Jharkhand, listed as Naxal territory, seems a
long way from eventhe state capital. On days
such as these, when the rains churn the mud
roads, the distance is even longer. Yet, even
with its non-existent roads and crushing
poverty, the tribal village has sent at least 12
hockeyplayerstothestateandnationalteams.
Nikki Pradhan, the defender in the Dream 16
teamthatplayedinTokyo,grewuphere,play-
ing with bamboo balls and sticks.
Hesal is home to about 60 families, 80%
of them tribals. The village has only one
health sub-centre that mostly stays shut and
noschool,with mostchildren walking down
to nearby Pilaul.
It was this walk to school that was to
change Nikki’s life, along with an other chil-
dren of her generation. At the Pilaul Middle
School was “Mahato sir”, Dasrath Mahato,
THE SUNDAY PROFILE
CHOSE PEACE
His years as an armed insurgent are two decades in the past. Since then,
Zoramthanga has helped Mizoram emerge as NE’s most peaceful state. When it
comes to land though, the 77-yr-old CM won’t back down, as Assam just found
led one to Narendra Modi’s — has sought
Zoramthanga’s help to reach out to other
rebel groups in the Northeast. In an inter-
view, he once said, “It is my life’s mission to
bring peace here.”
Sincethe1990s,theMNFhasbeenanally
of the BJP, before it even registered a pres-
ence in the Northeast, and is now a part of its
Northeast Democratic Alliance. In local,
state-level politics though, the MNF and BJP
often fight each other.
To dissect the events of the past week
then, it is important to not just look at
Zoramthanga alone, but Mizo society as a
whole, for whom land is the most important
asset. “It’s not just Zoramthanga. Any other
Highest paid legislators
Inclusive of annual allowances, Telangana has the
highest paid legislators in the country (Rs 2.87 lakh
a month), followed by Haryana (Rs 2.07 lakh) and
Maharashtra (Rs 1.8 lakh).
Monthly salaries of MLAs exclusive of all
allowances are the highest in Assam (Rs 80,000),
followed by Gujarat (Rs 78,800) and Maharashtra
(Rs 67,000)
A LETTER FROM
HESAL
JHARKHAND
BIHAR
JHARKHAND
Hesal
Ranchi WEST
BENGAL
Khunti
who played hockey for Bihar from 1978 to
1981 and who joined the school in 1988 as
Assistant Teacher. “He wasn’t a sports
teacher but every game period, he encour-
aged us to play hockey. He trained anyone
who showed an interest, including me,” re-
calls Shashi, 32, Nikki’s sister, elder to her by
Given his record of peace,
Centre seeks Zoramthanga’s
help often to reach out to NE
rebel groups... For standoff
with Assam, one must look
beyond him, at Mizo society
Mizoram CM would have taken a similar
stand,” says an observer in Mizoram. “When
it comes to issues of ethnicity, whether it’s
against the Brus or for the Chins (from
Myanmar), or land, they will rally together
across political lines, no matter what.”
Smallest increase
Despite its low-paid MLAs, West Bengal has also
seen the smallest hikes in salaries (Rs 5,000 to Rs
10,000 in 2017). CM Mamata Banerjee, who does
not take any salary, is entitled to a smaller sum (Rs
27,000) than MLAs from other states. Kerala MLAs
get lower salaries than Bengal’s, but make up for it
in allowances — getting overall Rs 62,000 a month
with allowances, compared to Bengal’s Rs 61,800
As the women’s hockey team made history and almost landed a podium finish in Tokyo,
geographies away, a Jharkhand village celebrated a game that is often their way out of hardships
Againsterraticpower,patchynetwork,watchingtheOlympicsemifinal. Abhishek Angad
five years, who played hockey for Bihar and
Jharkhand, and now works for the Railways.
“We would play with bamboo sticks and
bamboo balls. Sir took us to tournaments in
villages, including with men. After Class 8,
those of us who played the game reasonably
well were sent to the Bariatu Girls’ Hockey
Illustration: Suvajit Dey
Adds Mukhim: “Land (in tribal commu-
nities)belongstoclans,nottotheState...This
is the primary difference in our understand-
ingof landasaconstitutionalentity,andland
as a living space which tribal ancestors
handed down to their people. International
boundaries are often meaningless.”
As Assam raised the heat on an old land
claim, Zoramthanga had to show he would
do whatever was in his power to protect the
territory. In the several rounds of talks with
Delhi, his representatives refused to budge
even an inch. “They would say, ‘Sorry, that’s
my CM’s position’, and that was that,” says
an official from Assam privy to the talks.
Earlier, in March, following the military
Tax relief
The Acts that mention the wages of legislature
members from Haryana, Punjab and Andhra
Pradesh, who have among the highest allowances,
also specify that the tax incurred on this income is
to be borne by the state
CenterinRanchi,aboardingschoolforhockey
players. Before we left for Ranchi, he handed
Nikki and me food and money,” says Shashi.
Mahato, who is now general secretary of
the Khunti unit of Hockey Jharkhand, says,
“Around 77 of my students, including the
Pradhan sisters, have made it to several top
coup in Myanmar, Zoramthanga had simi-
larly stood up to the Centre. While the gov-
ernment ordered that borders be closed to
Myanmarrefugees,Zoramthangawelcomed
themasfellowbrethren,invokingacommon
tribal lineage. Around 10,000 refugees are
believed to have crossed over to Mizoram,
and have been given official support.
“Zoramthanga does not shy away from
speaking his mind,” says the observer, “even
if it’s unpopular vis-a-vis the Centre.”
His oratory is another skill Mizoram
knows Zoramthanga for. “It is this that even-
tually helped him become the top MNF
leader after Laldenga’s death. Everybody
loves his speeches, with their bombastic
words,” says Dr Lallianchhunga, a professor
of Political Science at Mizoram University.
In April 2020, soon after the Covid pan-
demicstarted,Zoramthangahadleftsocialme-
diainsplitswhenhecameoutofavideo-con-
ferencewiththePMonthesituationsayinghe
felt perplexed. “They were speaking in Hindi.
And I don’t understand a word of Hindi.”
Twodecadesafterhechosepeaceoverin-
surgency,the77-year-oldremainsanendear-
ingpersonalityinMizoram—oftenseenplay-
ing badminton, cracking jokes, an ordinary
man. Married after he came overground,
Zoramthanga and wife Roneihsangi have a
son and a daughter who keep a low profile.
At the same time, Zoramthanga has
proved he can be shrewd, knowing when to
push the right buttons. “Take the develop-
ment fund in 2000. It is said he made several
rounds of Delhi for it. He does not care much
for protocol... if he needs funds, he will go
down right to thejointsecretary,” says a sen-
ior journalist from Aizawl.
Another example of his skills of persua-
sion is the Lengpui airport, perhaps the only
one in the country to be owned by the state
government and not the Airports Authority
of India (AAI).
Under his uncontested reign in the state,
there has been a significant improvement in
roads,apartfrominhealthcareandeducation.
However, in the last three years, the MNF
government underZoramthangahas invited
some criticism. Many complainit’s a dispen-
sation that “talks more, does less”.
“Sometimes,peopledon’ttakehimseriously
because he says a lot of things that never re-
ally pan out... for example, the CM’s obses-
sion with importing bamboo species for
more than a decade now,” says the journal-
ist, adding that there is a “sense of lethargy”.
The pandemic has also left the state reel-
ing under a severe financial crisis, with
salaries reportedly delayed and several de-
velopment projects stalled.
Senior Congress leader Lalsawta says the
biggerproblemisthattheZoramthangagov-
ernmentis “wasteful”.“At the end of the day,
it is about the management of finances. The
CM holds the finance portfolio.” Claiming
that any of the other 26 MNF MLAs would
make a better CM, Lalsawta says, “The prob-
lem is that Zoramthanga talks too much... A
person has to think before he speaks.”
Lalduhoma, the founder-president of the
Zoram Nationalist Party, which is part of an
anti-Congress, anti-MNF alliance, says that
while on the border issue Zoramthanga has
theirfullsupport,“whetherit’sthepandemic
or development or financial issues”, the gov-
ernment has failed. “Mizoram has only one
RT-PCR lab,” he points out.
The two also ask why the root cause of
the boundary issue — the border demarca-
tion with Assam — had not been addressed
by the CM. “No one has the political will,”
says Lalduhoma. But, as his minister Royte
puts it: “Zoramthanga did what people ex-
pected of him. In a week, we saw his matu-
rity, how he listened to the people — and for
Mizoram, that’s what matters.”
NUSHAIBA IQBAL
level circuits… It is a matter of great pride.”
Hehasaregret,though.“Khuntistilllacks
basic facilities for training. Simdega (the dis-
trict from where Salima Tete, the only other
Jharkhand player in the Olympics team,
hails) has 13 day centres for hockey, two
boarding centres for women and three for
men, where education, training and lodging
are taken care of. Khunti has only one board-
ing centre each for men and women, apart
from eight day centres,” Mahato says. The
district has two astroturfs, but they are
mostly under water during the rains.
But every such challenge only spurred
Hesal’s girls and boys to come out stronger.
Afterplayingnational-levelhockeyfor10
years, from 1998-2004, Hesal girl Neelam
Mundu, 32, took to teaching the game. In
2017, she was recruited by Tata Trusts for its
programme to “professionalise grassroot-
level hockey” in India. Since the pandemic
began, Mundu says, she has not been able to
travel much to hold lessons.
“I get Rs 8,000 a month to teach hockey.
When I took to the game, we thought if we
playedwell,wecouldatleastgetintoaschool
where our food and accommodation were
takencareof,whereweatleastdidn’thaveto
worry about getting married off," she says.
One of Munda’s students is Junita
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
TAKE 5
PAPRICHAAT,PARLIAMENT
MONU SINGH KASBA, 22
VENDOR AT SANT NAGAR, DELHI
Derek O’Brien with a spread of
papri chaat as a message to the
Modi government. PTI
‘Can’t work in the
farm any more...
get tired. This is
what I know best’
On the speed at which the
Modi government has been
pushing Bills through
amidst Opposition protests,
TMC MP Derek O’Brien
asked if it was making
legislation or papri chaat.
Monu Singh on his hard life
as a papri chaat maker:
ASHNA BUTANI
1 How long have you been in
this profession?
I come from a family of farm-
ers in Gwalior, but have been sell-
ing street food in Delhi for four
years now. My brother came first,
and I followed. I have been seeing
him make street food since I was
10. Nobody taught me, I saw oth-
ers, picked the skill. Now I sell aloo
chaat, papri chaat and golgappas.
2 What all goes into a papri
chaat?
I use potatoes, onions,
tamarind chutney, curd and a
pinch of chaat masala, adding all
to the papri. I use the same sweet
and tangy chutney for golgappas
and chaat, preparing it whenever
it gets over.
3 How has Covid hit your
work?
When the lockdown was an-
nounced in March last year, I was
back home. I didn’t return for six
months, but had to continue pay-
ing house rent of Rs 3,000. This
yeartoo,Iwentbackfearinglosses
after Covid hit again. The uncer-
tainty and lack of customers leave
me hopeless most days. I make
around Rs 600 on average daily, of
which Rs 300-400 is my profit.
4 Will you consider going
back to the village?
We grow wheat and paddy on
our 1.5-acre land, but kheti ki aa-
dat choot gayi hai, main khet mein
bahut thak jaata hoon (I am not
used to farming, it makes me very
tired). Making street food comes
more naturally to me.
5 What do you think of
papri chaat figuring in
Parliament?
I don’t know much about it,
would not like to comment on it.
Pradhan, a Class 8 student of a private school
in Khunti. From 7 to 9 every morning, Junita
walks barefoot with her hockey stick to the
Khunti Sports Shop, where Mundu coaches
her and 25 other girls and boys. The hockey
stick cost her Rs 400, so she had to shelve her
plansof buyingshoes.OnFriday,sheskipped
practice to watch the Olympic semifinal.
While sad the team lost, she says, “I saw
Nikkididiplay.Ienteredthesportduetoher.”
Standing beside his under-construction
house,Nikki’sfatherSomaPradhan,aformer
constablewiththeBiharPolice,is a proudfa-
ther, but it took him long to get here. “I was-
n’t happy about the girls playing this game. I
did not know much about it. People used to
tell me that no one would marry my girls if
they played hockey.”
Soma points outthat Hesal doesnot have
toiletsstillwhilepoweriserraticandthemo-
bile network patchy. “Even while we were
watching the match, we missed some part
of it,” he says, adding that in June, a power
failure meant he got news of his daughter’s
selection for the Olympics two days later.
OnFridaymorning,surroundedbycheer-
ingvillagers,he felt hisheartweighingdown
as his daughter leaned against her hockey
stick after an agonisingly close match. “But
at least the girls played well,” he says.

10 ECONOMY
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021
‘PRIVATECOMMUNICATIONSTOBEUNREADABLE’;CHILDRIGHTAGENCIESWELCOMEMOVE
AppletocheckiPhonesforchildabusepics;
a‘backdoor’,claimdigitalprivacybodies
PRANAVMUKUL
NEWDELHI,AUGUST7
APPLEISrollingoutatwo-prong-
ed mechanism that scans photo-
graphs on its devices to check for
contentthatcouldbeclassifiedas
Child Sexual Abuse Material
(CSAM). While the move is being
welcomed by child protection
agencies, advocates of digital pri-
vacy,andindustrypeers,arerais-
ingred-flagssuggestingthetech-
nology could have broad-based
ramifications on user privacy.
As part of the mechanism,
Apple’s tool neuralMatch will
check for photos before they are
uploaded to iCloud — its cloud
storageservice—andexaminethe
content of messages sent on its
end-to-end encrypted iMessage
app. “The Messages app will use
on-device machine learning to
warn about sensitive content,
whilekeepingprivatecommuni-
cationsunreadablebyApple,”the
company said.
neuralMatchwillcomparethe
pictures with a database of child
abuseimagery,andwhenthereis
a flag, Apple’s staff will manually
review the images. Once confir-
med for child abuse, the National
Center for Missing and Exploited
Children (NCMEC) in the US will
be notified. At a briefing Friday, a
dayafteritsinitialannouncement
of the project, the Cupertino-
RBI WATCH
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Propelled by gain
in currency assets,
reserves skyrocket
past $620 billion
NEW RECORD FOR FOREX RESERVES
Foreign currency assets
Gold
SDRs
Reserve tranche position
Total
in million US dollars; source: Reserve Bank of India/Reuters
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,AUGUST7
THE NATION’S forex reserves
surged by $9.427 billion to
record high of $620.576 bil-
lion in the week ended July
30, according to the latest
data from the RBI.
In the previous week
ended July23,theforeignex-
change — or forex — reserves
had declined by $1.581 bil-
lion to $611.149 billion.
In the reporting week
ended July 30, the rise in the
reserves was on the back of
an increase in foreign cur-
rency assets (FCAs), a major
component of the overall re-
serves, the Reserve Bank of
India’s (RBI) weekly data re-
leased on Friday showed.
BRIEFLY
Hindustan
CopperQ1netup
NewDelhi:HindustanCopper
on Saturday reported a 53.6
per cent rise in consolidated
netprofitatRs45.63crorefor
the quarter ended June 30,
2021, against Rs 29.69 crore a
year ago. PTI
‘Virginlistingon
LSEplanned’
New Delhi: Virgin Atlantic
Airways is planning to list on
the London Stock Exchange,
Sky News reported. The plan
received positive responses
from institutional investors
and an announcement could
come soon, it said. REUTERS
‘POTENTIAL PRECEDENTFOR GOVT ENTRY’
WHILE COMPANIES like
WhatsApp have opposed
traceability, experts suggest
that Apple’s decision to
scan photographs on its
devices could set a potential
precedent to provide the
government entry into
encrypted systems
based tech major said it will roll
out the system for checking pho-
tos for child abuse imagery “on a
country-by-country basis, de-
pending on local laws”.
However, this move is being
seen as building a backdoor into
encryptedmessagesandservices.
In a blog post, California-based
non-profit Electronic Frontier
Foundation noted: “Child exploi-
tation is a serious problem, and
Appleisn’tthefirsttechcompany
to bend its privacy-protective
stanceinanattempttocombatit.
Butthatchoicewillcomeatahigh
price for overall user privacy.
Apple can explain at length how
itstechnicalimplementationwill
preserve privacy and security in
its proposed backdoor, but at the
endof the day, evena thoroughly
documented, carefully thought-
out, and narrowly-scoped back-
door is still a backdoor”.
The non-profit added that it
July 23
2021
July 30
2021
567,628
36,884
576,224
37,644
1,546 1,552
5,091 5,156
611,149 620,576
FCA increased by $8.596
billion to $576.224 billion in
the reporting week.
Expressedindollarterms,
the foreign currency assets
include the effect of appreci-
ation or depreciation of non-
US units like the euro, pound
and yen held in the foreign
exchange reserves.
Gold reserves were up by
$760 million to $37.644 bil-
lion in the reporting week,
the data showed.
The special drawing
rights (SDRs) with the
InternationalMonetaryFund
(IMF) rose by $6 million at
$1.552 billion.
The country’s reserve po-
sition with the IMF also in-
creased $65 million to $5.156
billion in the reporting week,
the data showed.
AFTER CHINA PROSECUTORS INITIATE LAWSUIT
Will inspect WeChat’s ‘youth mode’, says Tencent
REUTERS
BEIJING, AUGUST 7
TENCENT SAID it would investi-
gate the functions of its popular
social messaging app WeChat’s
“youthmode”,afterBeijingpros-
ecutorsinitiatedacivilpublic-in-
terest lawsuit against a sub-
sidiaryof thecompanyonFriday.
Prosecutors had said the
“youth mode” on WeChat does
notcomply withlawsprotecting
minors. “We will earnestly in-
spect and check the functions of
WeChat Youth Mode, accept
user suggestions humbly and
sincerely respond to civil public
interest litigation,” the company
AP file
was “impossible to build a client-
side scanning system that can
only be used for sexually explicit
images sent or received by chil-
dren”.“That’snotaslipperyslope;
that’safullybuiltsystemjustwait-
ing for external pressure to make
the slightest change”.
In its statement, Apple has
notedthattheprogrammeis“am-
bitious” and “these efforts will
evolve and expand over time”.
Apple’smovehasputthespot-
light once again on governments
and law enforcement authorities
seekingabackdoorintoencrypted
services, and experts are looking
forsignsthatestablishifApplehas
changeddirectioninafundamen-
tal way from its stance as an up-
holder of user privacy rights.
So much so that less than a
yearago,Reutershadreportedthat
the company was working to
makeiCloudbackupsend-to-end
encrypted,essentiallyamovethat
Covid cover for health workers:
1,016 claims settled, paid till Aug 4
Till August 4, 1,016 claims have been settled and paid
under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package:
Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting Covid-19,
the government informed Parliament
NEWCLAIMSETTLEMENT
SYSTEM:
WitheffectfromMay28,anew
systemofclaimsettlementhas
48 hours: Time mandated to the insurance company to make payment to claimants, on the
basis of certificates furnished by district collectors and counter signed by state nodal officers
China regulators meet delivery
firms, seek stronger labour rights
REUTERS
BEIJING, AUGUST 7
CHINA’S DELIVERY platform
companies including Meituan
and Alibaba’s Ele.me recently
joined a meeting with govern-
ment regulators on improving
safetyandlabourrightsfordeliv-
ery workers.
Food delivery platforms, in
the spotlight due to China’s reg-
ulatory reforms, have attracted
severe criticism on social media
for their treatment of delivery
workers, most of whom are not
coveredbybasicsocialandmed-
ical insurance.
The meeting included offi-
cials from the Ministry of Public
Security and the Ministry of
Human Resources and Social
Security,accordingtoaSaturday
notice on WeChat by the
WeChat team said in a post on
Weibo.
The lawsuit was initiated by
Beijing’s Haidian District
People’s Procuratorate against
Shenzhen Tencent Computer
SystemsCoLtd,accordingtoafil-
ing posted on JCRB.com, a web-
site run by China’s top prosecu-
tor. The document did not say
how WeChat’s “youth mode”
broke Chinese law.
It said it could support other
agencies and organisations that
intended to bring lawsuits
against the Tencent unit and
asked them to contact the pros-
ecutor’s office within 30 days.
Tencent did not immediately re-
spond to a request for comment.
Apple wins
court ruling in
patent verdict
New York: Apple persuaded
a US federal judge to throw
outa$308.5millionjuryver-
dict it lost to a licensing firm
forinfringingapatentassoci-
atedwithdigitalrightsman-
agement. As per the judge,
Personalized Media Com-
munications intentionally
delayed filing the patent ap-
plication. REUTERS
meantthedevicemakercouldnot
turn over readable versions of
them to law enforcement. This
was, however, dropped after the
FBI objected. The latest project is
beingseenasalmostmakingafull
circle, with the proposed system
potentiallysettingthestageforthe
monitoring of different types of
content on iPhone handsets.
Criticising Apple’s decision,
Will Cathcart, head of Facebook-
owned messaging service
WhatsAppsaidinatweet:“Iread
the information Apple put out
yesterday and I’m concerned. I
think this is the wrong approach
andasetbackforpeople’sprivacy
all over the world. People have
askedifwe’lladoptthissystemfor
WhatsApp. The answer is no”.
beenimplemented,accordingto
which,claimpapersarenow
beingexaminedbydistrict
collectors
Food delivery platforms, in the spotlight due to
China’s regulatory reforms, have attracted severe
criticism on social media for their treatment of
delivery workers, most of whom are not covered
by basic social and medical insurance
Ministry of Emergency
Management, which also at-
tended.
Firms should strengthen
safety and labour rights protec-
tions, and not set performance
indicatorswhichharmthehealth
of workers, according to the
meeting.
AlibabaGroup,itssupermar-
ket operator Hema Xiansheng,
Dada Nexus Ltd and other firms
also joined the meeting and re-
portedontheireffortstoimprove
safety and labour rights.
Investorsbelieveamajorshift
A display of Tencent at the China International Fair for Trade
in Services. Prosecutors had said the “youth mode” on
WeChat does not comply with laws protecting minors.
“ThisisanApplebuiltandop-
erated surveillance system that
could very easily be used to scan
private content for anything they
oragovernmentdecidesitwants
to control. Countries where
iPhones are sold will have differ-
entdefinitionsonwhatisaccept-
able,” he argued.
Globally,Applehasaround1.3
billion iMessage users, of which
25-30millionareestimatedtobe
inIndia,whileWhatsApphastwo
billion global users, around 400
million of which are from India.
Thisalsocomesinthewakeof
thePegasusscandal,whereIsraeli
private cyber-offensive company
NSO Group exploited the loop-
holes in apps such as iMessage
andWhatsApptoprovideitsgov-
ernment customers access to the
devicesoftheirtargetsthroughin-
stalling a spyware. These targets
include human rights activists,
journalists, political dissidents,
constitutional authorities and
even heads of governments.
In India, through the IT
IntermediaryGuidelines,thegov-
ernment has sought traceability
of originator of certain messages
or posts on significant social me-
diaintermediaries.Whilecompa-
nieslikeWhatsApphaveopposed
traceability, experts suggest that
Apple’sdecisioncouldsetapoten-
tialprecedenttoprovidethegov-
ernment entry into encrypted
communication systems.
22.12lakh
Healthcare providers, including
community and private health
workers who have been in direct
contact with and care for Covid-
19 patients, who are eligible for
comprehensive personal
accident cover of Rs 50 lakh
under the scheme
SCHEME
IMPLEMENTATION:
InareplytotheLokSabhaon
Friday,MinisterofStateforHealth
BhartiPawarsaidtheschemeis
beingimplementedviaan
insurancepolicyfromNewIndia
AssuranceCompanyLtd
Source: Government of India/PTI
isunderwayinChinaasthegov-
ernmentaggressivelypursuesre-
formaimedatcuttingcost-of-liv-
ing pressures at the expense of
businesses,roilingstockmarkets.
A set of reforms announced in
July by China’s market regulator
pushed food delivery platforms
inChinatoguaranteetheirwork-
ers with income above mini-
mumpay,insuranceandarelax-
ation in delivery deadlines.
Investors are worried about
the rising cost of employing rid-
ers by the platforms, Reuters had
previously reported.
File
Crude Watch
OIL FALLS ON DEMAND WORRIES
New York: Oil prices fell about 1 per cent lower on Friday, posting to
their steepest weekly losses in months, on worries that travel curbs
will derail global recovery in energy demand. Brent crude fell 0.8 per
cent to $70.70, and US WTI crude by 1.2 per cent to $68.28. REUTERS
AMENDMENTS RECOMMENDED TO IBC
Panel points out NCLT vacancies
to MCA: How appointment
delays are affecting resolutions
KARUNJITSINGH
NEWDELHI,AUGUST7
THE PARLIAMENTARY Standing
CommitteeonFinancehascalled
out the Ministry of Corporate
Affairs on persistent vacancies in
NationalCompanyLawTribunals
(NCLTs) leading to delays in cor-
porate insolvency under the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
(IBC).Thecommitteehasalsorec-
ommended that the IBC be
amendedtopreventfrivolouslit-
igation and non-adherence to
deadlines under the IBC that can
lead to value destruction.
The committee recom-
mended that the IBC strictly pro-
hibitthesubmissionforresolution
plans after the deadline for plans
andthatrecoveriesundertheIBC
be measured against an interna-
tional benchmark.
WhyarevacanciesintheNCLT
amajorissue?
Thecombinedstrengthof the
currentNCLTbenchesaroundthe
countryiscurrentlyonly29mem-
bers against the total sanctioned
strength of 63 members.
Thecommitteenotedthatde-
laysintheadmissionofinsolvency
cases by NCLTs and the approval
of resolution plans were the key
reasons behind the non-adher-
ence of timelines under the IBC.
As of March 31, 2016, 79 per
cent of the total cases under the
IBC had been pending for more
than270days,theinitialtimelimit
envisagedforaresolutionprocess
under the IBC.
Thecommitteenotedthatde-
laysonthepartof theNCLTinad-
mitting cases allowed defaulting
owners the opportunity to divert
funds and transfer assets and,
therefore, the NCLT should be re-
quiredtoadmitadefaultingcom-
TOTAL INCOME MODERATES MARGINALLY
BoB clocks Q1 profit
of `1,209 cr on dip in
bad loan provisioning
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 7
HELPED BY a fall in bad loans
provisioning, Bank of Baroda
(BoB), on Saturday, posted a
standalone profit of Rs 1,208.63
crore during the quarter ended
June 2021. The bank had re-
ported a net loss of Rs 864 crore
in the same quarter a year ago.
Total income moderated
marginally to Rs 20,022.42 crore
from Rs 20,312.44 crore in the
samequarterayearago,BoBsaid
in a regulatory filing.
The bank’s asset quality im-
proved with the gross non-per-
forming assets (NPAs) falling to
8.86 per cent of the gross ad-
vances as on June 30, 2021, from
9.39 per cent by the end-June
2020. However, net NPA ratio
rose to 3.03 per cent from 2.83
per cent as on June 30, 2020, the
banksaid.Asa result,totalprovi-
sions and contingencies for the
quartereasedtoRs4,111.99crore
from Rs 5,628 crore a year ago.
Provisioning Coverage Ratio
including floating provision
stoodat83.14percentasonJune
30, 2021. A penalty of Rs 41.75
lakh has been imposed on the
WeChat’s “youth mode”, when
turned on, limits young users’
access to some games and func-
tions, such as payments or find-
ing nearby friends.
Chinese authorities have
called for minors to be better
protected from online dangers,
asentiment echoedbystate me-
dia this week which criticised
the video gaming industry as
well as online platforms that
help promote celebrity culture.
Tencent on Tuesday announced
new curbs on minors’ access to
its flagship video game, “Honor
of Kings”, after its shares were
battered by a state media article
that described online games as
“spiritual opium”.
New Delhi
ONLY 29 MEMBERS AGAINST 63 SANCTIONED
■ The combined strength of
the current National
Company Law Tribunal
benches around the
country is currently only 29
members against the total
sanctioned strength of 63
members
pany into insolvency
proceedings and
handovercontroltoa
resolution profes-
sionalwithin30days.
“The MCA, as the
nodal ministry,
should take greater
responsibility to streamline the
operational processes in
NCLT/NCLAT while constantly
monitoring and analysing the
workflow,disposalandoutcomes
withregardtoresolutions,recov-
eries, time taken, etc.,” the com-
mittee noted.
Whatarethekeyconcerns
aroundfrivolouslitigation?
A number of high profile
cases under the IBC — including
those of Essar Steel, Bhushan
Power & Steel and Binani
Cement — saw multiple deci-
sions being challenged by stake-
holders. Experts have called
many of these appeals frivolous
attempts to slow down insol-
vency proceedings.
TheStanding Committee has
also said that cases in which
creditors have evaluated resolu-
tion plans submitted after the
specified deadline would disin-
centivise bidders from bidding
within prescribed timelines and
that such plans also contribute
to delays and value destruction.
In the insolvency proceed-
GROSSNPAsAT
8.8%OFADVANCES
■ The bank’s asset
quality improved with
gross non-performing
assets (NPAs) falling to
8.86 per cent of the
gross advances as on
June 30, 2021, from 9.39
per cent by the
end-June 2020
■ However, net NPA
ratio rose to 3.03 per
cent from 2.83 per cent
as on June 30, 2020,
Bank of Baroda said
bankbyReserveBankof Indiafor
the quarter ended June 30, 2021,
it said. As per the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) circular, the bank
has opted to provide the liability
for frauds over a period of four
quarters, it said.
Accordingly, the carry
forward provision as on June
30, 2021 is Rs 349.45 crore
which is to be amortised in the
subsequent quarters by the
bank, it said.
Q2: Berkshire Hathaway
sees higher profits, buys
back shares worth $6 bn
JONATHANSTEMPEL
NEWYORK,AUGUST7
WARREN BUFFETT’S Berkshire
Hathaway Inc on Saturday said
many of its businesses are enjoy-
ing strong recoveries from the
early depths of the coronavirus
pandemic, fueling rebounds in
profitsandrevenue.Thecompany
Buffetthasrunsince1965alsosig-
naledthebillionaire’sconfidence
initsfuturebyrepurchasing$6bil-
lion of its own shares in the sec-
ondquarter,evenasitsstockprice
regularly set new highs.
Second-quarter operating
profitrose21percentto$6.69bil-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
■ As of March 31, 2016, 79%
of the total cases under the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code had been pending for
more than 270 days, the
initial time limit envisaged
for a resolution process
under the IBC
ings of Bhushan
Power & Steel Ltd,
the NCLT had di-
rected the commit-
teeof creditors(CoC)
to evaluate the reso-
lution plan submit-
tedbyLibertyHouse
Pte after the CoC refused to con-
sider the plan as it was submit-
ted after the deadline for resolu-
tion plan submission.
“These bidders typically wait
for the H1 bidder to become
public and then seek to exceed
this bid through an unsolicited
offer that is submitted after the
specified deadline ... As a result,
genuinebiddersarediscouraged
from bidding at the right
time.The overall process is viti-
atedandtherearesignificantde-
lays leading to further value ero-
sion,” the committee noted.
Whataretheotherkey
recommendationsbythe
committee?
The committee also
recommended that the IBC be
amended to provide micro,
small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs), which are
operational creditors under the
IBC, with greater protection in
the current economic
environment. The IBC currently
prioritises financial creditors
over operational creditors.
FACELESS
ASSESSMENT
I-T Dept
issues three
email IDs for
registering
grievances
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,AUGUST7
UNDER THE faceless or e-assess-
ment scheme, the Income Tax (I-
T) Department on Saturday noti-
fied three official email IDs for
taxpayers to register grievances.
“In a move aimed to further
improve taxpayer services in
alignment with the Taxpayers’
Charter, the Income Tax
Departmentcreates dedicated e-
mailidsforregisteringgrievances
inrespectofpendingcasesunder
theFacelessScheme,”thedepart-
ment said on its official Twitter
handle.“Forfacelessassessments:
samadhan.faceless.assessment@i
ncometax.gov.in; For faceless
penalty: samadhan.faceless
.penalty@incometax.gov.in; For
facelessappeals:samadhan.face-
less.appeal@incometax.gov.in,”
the department said.
Underthefacelessassessment
system, a taxpayer or an assessee
is not required to visit an I-T de-
partmentofficeormeetadepart-
ment official for income tax-re-
lated businesses.
The Warren Buffett-run
company’s 2nd quarter
operating profit rose
21% to $6.69 billion
lion, or about $4,424 per Class A
share,from$5.51billion,orabout
$3,463 per share, a year earlier.
Net income rose 7 per cent to
$28.1 billion, or $18,488 per Class
A share, bolstered by unrealized
gainsinBerkshire’s$192billionof
investmentsinAppleInc,Bankof
America Corp and American
ExpressCorp.Revenuejumped22
pecentto$69.1billion. REUTERS

THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE
POINT OF VIEW
Column Writing
How the Jaipur Column at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan was built to commemorate the transfer
of the British capital to Delhi
Shivani Naik
P
V SINDHU makes history by
clearing browser caches of her
competitive life. Her secret to
succeeding on a badminton
court is remembering, unfail-
ingly, to forget. Win or lose;
rinse, don’t remember, don’t repeat.
There was the BWF (Badminton World
Federation) World Championships gold
medalshewonin2019,byforgettingthetwo
stinging losses for silvers of 2017 and 2018.
This time at Tokyo, Sindhu carefully erased
all thoughts of gold or silver to nail a bronze,
making this her back-to-back medalling in
the Olympic Games. The disappointment of
going down in the semifinals was scrubbed
clean after the initial tears. It is how Sindhu
is staggeringly successful, in obliterating
landscapes of losses that would leave most
others wandering and lost.
Badmintonrevelsinitsdisappointments.
It nurses regrets and carefully curates every
despondency. Malaysian legend Lee Chong
Wei never won the Olympics or World
Championships titles. Indonesian Olympic
champion Taufik Hidayat just couldn’t crack
the All England Open championships.
Taipei’s Tai Tzu-Ying, who is the closest a
muggle can come to Wingardium Leviosa,
controlling a feather with a wizard’s wand,
risked being told she was altogether inade-
quate had she not made it to the badminton
podium this time.
Sindhu, too, was told she can’t win
the finals, the peren-
nial doubts tarnish- ● ● ●
ing all her silvers.
Sindhu herself
barely ever publicly
‘Best present’ is
indulged in these
long, meandering
Sindhu’s own
post-mortems. invention, an
Askherabouther
second match at original tense
Tokyo where she
faced Hong Kong’s which means living
Cheung Ngan Yi,
who had dragged unburdened
her into an 87-
minute wringer at before a rally
the 2017 Glasgow
● ● ●
World Champion-
ships,whereshewas
on all fours, panting heavy, and could barely
stand up. Memories like that — an almighty
plod even before Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara
tested her in the famous final — can leave
bruises thatcan jump up at anervystage like
the Olympics. Not for Sindhu, who has a
sketchy recall of that match.
“But every time we get onto the court, it’s
a fresh match and I don’t think about what
has happened before. We, of course, make
strategies from the earlier games, but every
time you come on the court, you don’t think
about past matches. You just come with a
mindset where you need to give your best
present,” she says, after winning her bronze.
“Best present” is Sindhu’s own invention —
an original tense that means living only in
that moment, which is an unburdened, un-
tangled, isolated few minutes before a rally.
She didn’t know whether to be sad about
the lost gold or be happy about the second
chance. Her Korean coach Park Tae-Sang
wasn’tquitespoutingNietzschethatevening
after she lost the semifinals, by telling her
“Blessedaretheforgetful,fortheygetthebet-
ter even of their blunders”. He did pithily tell
herthoughthatthefourthplacewouldleave
her wretched. Ice bath, recovery massage,
dinner, sleep...and memory of the semifinal
brushed aside.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind;
the prayer of a bronze accepted, the wish for
gold, resign’d.
Sindhu is the reigning world champion;
she has won a bigger medal at the Rio
Olympics in 2016. The bronze is only the
thirdsteponthepodium.ButSindhusawthe
next 24 hours with algorithmic ease: one
medal, two countries gunning for it, and a
Chinese southpaw with suspect backhand,
“Hulk, Smash”.
■ ■ ■
Sindhu has enjoyed an upbringing of a
FirstWorldathlete.Thatisnottosayherfam-
ily didn’t face financial struggles or that she
didn’t go through the uncomplaining repeti-
tionsduringpracticetokeepherbodyfit. But
marked as a special talent, not shy of work-
ing hard, she didn’t struggle for facilities. She
had it all — top-notch academy, high-per-
formance coaches, shuttles, international
tournaments,andseamlessfundingfromthe
establishment.Sindhu’sathletic,rangygame
was meant to succeed if she could keep her-
self uninjured and agile. It needed fine chis-
elling like the Bidri metal craft and not a dra-
matic DIY store makeover.
Getting on the Forbes list of highest-paid
women athletes in 2019, showered by spon-
sors, Sindhu never had to claw at the basics
or build a pucca house, like some others who
won at Tokyo. She earned her privilege and
preserved it, and stayed within the comfort-
able straight and narrow on tricky issues,
non-committal on anything that could
eye
AUGUST 8, 2021 | WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM | PAGE 11
ARTS etc
The Night of Longing
Documentary filmmaker Payal Kapadia on
winning L’Oeil d’Or, love, discrimination,
and the future
doreallywellandgetthosemedals,”shesays.
Though all she remembers is settling in
nicely at her sophomore Games.
Ask her about routines of medal-chasing
athletes, and she forgets she’s one among
them, talking in third person. “Those top
shuttlers get into a routine. I noticed how
they do things and how every athlete has a
different exercise workout,” she recalls.
There’s a kaleidoscope of movements as
sherevsuptheenginefortheknockouts.Like
the forced perspective filmmakers have in
movies such as The Lord of the Rings, Alice in
WonderlandorKingKong,whereobjectslook
largerbyplayingwithspaceanddistance,for
Sindhu, opponents appear in sharp focus.
Yamaguchi fetches up, life-sized in the quar-
ters. Cue: Forget just how endlessly the
Japanese can retrieve.
“Therewerelongrallies.Therearenoeasy
or short matches against her. So, I have to be
patient and put the shuttle in the court and
use my attack, even though she retrieves,”
she says. Getting bogged down by the
prospect of atough grind isn’t Sindhu’s style.
But nothing went right in the semifinals
against Tai. A dream of a gold ended, just like
that.TheTaiwanesedictatedpoints,unveiled
trickery and packed the Indian off. The lost
semifinal meant Sindhu could miss out on a
medal at the Major League for the first time
in five years. She cried, then stopped, and
erasedthethoughtforfirstandsecondplace.
And then, it began, the slashing at the
prospect of a dreaded fourth finish.
Looking back, while Tai has dominated
completely, Sindhu
● ● ● latchedontoa safety
thathelpedhercope.
Resentments, Ask her if she mulled
over lost points and
reputations, she waves it away
with a long “Noooo”.
reversals, “Iplayedmybest.
Sometimes, it hap-
railroading pens that it might
just not be your day.
by opponents So, yeah, if I might
have won the first
leave Sindhu set, it would have
been different.
unperturbed Perhaps, the net-
cord was the differ-
● ● ●
ence,” she muses.
Thishappenedatthe
18-18 stage in the first set. A net-cord is con-
sidered poor luck when the shuttle nicks the
net and can fall on either side. Thin margins
are bonafide blemishes, and a scaffolding
comes up around her confidence, where she
will not, for the moment, admit and analyse
how strong Tai was. Scratch the match,
move on.
Day of the bronze match, breakfast is
bread, egg, bacon sausage and some milk.
The match is scheduled for the late evening.
Lunch is katsu curry and rice, and other
Japanese food. “More than that, since our
match was in the evening it was like ‘When
will I play...when will I play...and, when will
I get onto the court?’ That was the only thing
going on in my mind,” she says. Fade the ex-
pectations, focus on actions. When she was
younger, Sindhu would bite her nails before
a nervy match. Then nail-art happened.
Polish and glitter didn’t taste good.
Her opponent that day, China’s He
Bingjiao, was a compact player and techni-
callyproficient,butSindhuwouldhavenone
of it. She figured the bronze was the most
coveted thing, that moment, for the two na-
tions. “Everybody was aiming for that medal
tomaketheircountryproud.HeBingjiaohas
AP
really good wrists so her deception also was
very good. But, again, it was important that I
nudge her away from the Athletes lead fish- am in every point, even if she was covering
pleasant and polite. India bowl lives, but in the ab- leads. I made sure even though I’m leading,
remained an indulgent sence of square-meal I don’t give her easy points. I maintainedthat
country, but Sindhu was strugglesorrancour,they and got the medal,” she says simply.
only one dip away from tend to keep their life The bronze morphed into a sympathetic
facingtheproverbialcold hacks simple. When the pat on Tai’s back as the Taiwanese waited for
shoulder. Yet, this was Olympics draws came the award ceremony, dealing with her loss
badminton, and she lost out, it was evident that of a gold. “I congratulated (China’s) Chen
plenty on either side of playersstrewnacrossher Yufei. Of course, Tai was feeling bad so I just
her five medals at the path from the quarters told her everything will be fine,” she recalls.
World Championships onwards could trip her “Silver’s a good medal,” the bronze winner
and two at the Olympics, up. The preparations had told Tai.
of which one was gold. In been to her satisfaction It was the warmest of exchanges, where
the absence of any major and she would get down Sindhu forgot her own disappointment and
turbulence that ails to shedding old, dam- got into the shoes of the silver medallist. At
Indian athletes, her aged statistics by declar- Rio, she had realised she was the only one on
struggles in her snugly ing every opponent the court to lead Spain’s Carolina Marin
cloistered universe were as tough. through her early moments with the gold.
of theeliteFirstWorldva- Not everything went She might have become India’s biggest
riety: How to forget a as planned. But she female Olympian, but Sindhu has a healthy
stinging loss and move shrugged off both the relationship with a loss. And the bronze. At
on to the next medal. snub to her wish of being the 2013 World Championships, when she
a flagbearer and the won her first, she knew the enormity of it. “I
■ ■ ■ snapping at her heels by was super, super happy. I wasn’t very expe-
Japan’s Akane riencedthen.So,gettingsomethingnewwas
Around this New Yamaguchi in the quar- exciting,”sherecalls.Ayearlater,againatthe
Year’s at the UK, after a ters with the same non- World Championships, the medal shape-
happy snowy Christmas chalance. Resentments, shifted into the “first time for a second suc-
enjoying her freedom reputations, reversals, cessive bronze.”
PTI
from minute-to-minute railroadingbyopponents She makes her peace with bronze, then
monitoring, Sindhu would post an emoji- SMASHING IT leave her completely unperturbed. If it’s all she forgets about it. In December this year is
bookended message: “Life’s not about ex- PV Sindhu on the court at the Olympic the same, she’d rather sit back with some the World Championships at Huelva, Spain,
pecting, hoping and wishing, it’s about do- bubble tea and look to the next match. Marin’s hometown, where she’ll defend her
Games last week, where she took the bronze;
ing, being and becoming.” It was the first of Landing in Tokyo, Sindhu enjoyed being title. “It’s the first time I’ll be defending my
thesemotivational“forself”Post-its thatyou with coach Park Tae-Sang at Shamshabad in her terrain. “Olympics is everybody’s title; it’ll be exciting,” she says.
realised she buys into: ignore expectations, airport, Hyderabad, on their return dream come true. The Athletes Village itself Spotless sunshine. Eternal Mind.
remember actions. from Tokyo is a nice place. There are lots of athletes who Same Sindhu.
New Delhi

12 P O I N T
The Doctor
Will Now
Hear You
A takeaway from this pandemic
has been that most patients need
empathy more than just medicines
Chandrakant Lahariya
O
NE EVENTFUL evening in mid-April 2021, af-
ter holding back for a while, I posted my con-
tact details on a few online social platforms
and circulated them widely on social-media
groups, indicating my availability for COVID-19-related
telephonic medical consultations. This may appear in-
significant; however, it was a major personal decision.
Fourteen years ago, I had made a conscious choice to
practise public health and policy and stopped attending
patients. However, this was not just another April in
India. A ferocious second wave of COVID-19 pandemic
had stormed the country and people were in frantic
search of medical advice and health services.
In the days to follow, the messages and phone calls to
seek health advice became routine. People had a variety of
questions, including on clinical symptoms, when to get
tested for SARS-CoV2, the interpretation of RT-PCR reports,
Ct value, D-Dimer, CRP and HRCT. Home isolation proved
difficult for many and people had multiple queries on how
to make it work. Of course, there were requests for hospital
beds, getting tested and for oxygen cylinders (which no
one was in a position to help with). There were pressing
queries regarding how to keep one’s child protected from
infection when both parents had tested positive.
Many physicians rue that telephonic consultations
are impersonal and lack the connection of an in-person
patient consultation. Hippocrates — the father of medi-
cine — would probably have agreed. However, this was a
pandemic and unlike anything anyone alive had wit-
nessed. The phone calls brought much-needed relief to
people in distress. For a few days in late April and most
of May, the trend of calls I received became my personal
barometer of the pandemic situation in the country.
I had thought the calls would stop once the second
wave began to decline. However, that did not happen.
Instead, there was a major change in the nature of ad-
vice being sought. Now, it was much less about medical
conditions but more on preventive and promotive types
of health advice. A large proportion was from people
who had recovered from COVID-19. A few had symp-
GETTYIMAGES
DOCTOR ON CALL
After the second wave, people needed preventive advice
toms of post and long COVID-19 and many were wor-
ried that they may have contracted the virus without re-
alising it. There were people who were seeking advice
on whether they could go to a religious place and take a
holy dip in a sacred river; a few others wanted to visit a
hill station with family and friends. Someone’s father
had received one shot of vaccine and was insistent on
having a meal with his friends in a restaurant and his
son wanted to know how to convince his father to re-
frain from it. These may appear irrelevant issues but
were of immediate pressing concerns to people. A
mother in Lucknow got distressed as her 18-year-old
daughter developed fever and rashes after vaccination;
the fever continued for 11 days. A 73-year-old retired
professor of ophthalmology in Kolkata developed a se-
vere reaction after the first vaccine shot and wanted ad-
vice on what to do with the next one; a concerned hus-
band of a 28-year-old pregnant lady, who had already
had COVID-19 in the first trimester, wanted to know
whether his wife should get vaccinated and when; the
father of a six-year-old boy in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh,
whose son was bitten by a stray dog and had level III
bite, was worried about his child’s health, even though
his anti-rabies vaccination had begun. There have been
many other questions regarding behavioural issues in
school-going children, the opening of schools, and about
the selection and types of COVID-19 vaccines.
In these consultations, I prescribed medicines to a few,
changed their ongoing treatment occasionally, but for
nearly all I needed to counsel them on various preventive
and promotive aspects. Nearly everyone needed a little
better understanding of their clinical symptoms. More
than physical illnesses, people were stressed due to either
their own or their family members’ illness or possibility of
it. Information was available from various sources, yet
that online information was no alternative for a human
voice or advice from a qualified medical doctor.
A few weeks ago, I received a call from an elderly
lady, who had consulted me a few times and was now
doing fine. She said, “Every time I consulted other doc-
tors, they either gave me more medicine or changed the
medicine. You were the one who patiently listened to
me and gave me good advice. Now onwards, you are my
doctor.” I am yet to take a call on whether I will continue
to provide medical consultation or go back to public
health and policy work. However, for me, there is one
lesson from this pandemic — India needs physicians and
a health system, who and which recognise that while
medicines may be needed to cure some, most seeking
health services need attentive listening and empathy
from healthcare providers to heal.
Thewriterisaphysicianandepidemiologistandco-authorof
Till We Win: India’s Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic
EYE, THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE
From Where I Stand
Once a testimony to imperial British invincibility and the transfer of capital,
the Jaipur Column stands witness to a dynamic republic
Living History
An Indian Express
collaboration with the
Rashtrapati Bhavan
Sunil Trivedi
A
S YOU drive on Rajpath, up
Raisina Hill towards the
Rashtrapati Bhavan, a tall col-
umn in the skyline comes into
view. The pillar, known as the
Jaipur Column, was intended to serve as a
testimony to the invincibility of the British
Raj. Perhaps, those who built the Viceroy
House did not envisage the possibility of an
end to British imperialism. The Jaipur
Columnalongwithfourothercolumnsinthe
adjoining North and South Blocks tell an in-
teresting story of how the twists and turns
of history are not hostage to the rulers’ per-
ception of the future.
The Jaipur Column is the centre of attrac-
tion at the expansive forecourt
of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Motorcades of the President of
India and visiting heads of
statesandgovernmentspassby
thepillar,whichalsomarksthe
beginning and culmination of
theprocessionalpathfromand
to the Bhavan.
Pillars, columns and
obelisks have, of course, been
built since ancient times to
commemoratevictoryanddo-
minion.Theirsignificancecon-
tinued in the colonial empires,
too.TheBritishbuilta152-ftpil-
lar in their first capital of India,
Calcutta, in the early 19th cen-
tury to mark their victory over
theMarathasandtheGorkhas.
The Ochterlony Monument,
named after David Ochterlony
who led their forces, has been
renamed Shaheed Minar.
Nearly a century after erecting that pillar, the
Britishbuiltanothercolumnintheirnewcap-
ital, Delhi. Madho Singh II, the Maharaja of
Jaipur, donated a princely sum of 14,000
pounds for its construction.
ThearchitectoftheViceroy’sHouseEdwin
Lutyens, who designed this column, took in-
spiration from the Roman Trajan Column; he
even labelled his sketches of the column by
the same name. That marble pillar has been
themostcelebratedprototypeforcommem-
orative pillars built by the Europeans.
At a short distance outside the main en-
trance of the Rashtrapati Bhavan stand four
identicalcolumns,modelledontheAshokan
pillars by Lutyens’ collaborator, Herbert
Baker. Placed in front of South and North
Blocks of the secretariat buildings, the
columns were gifted by the dominions of
With a Little Help
from My Friends
Perfect friends show us a mirror to what we rather not
see, keep us sincere and make us strive to be better
SLICEOFLIFE
SuvirSaran
Suvir Saran is a chef, author, educator
and world traveller
JULY 30 was Friendship Day. Friends I fondly
remember thought of me with caring affec-
tion, but my closest friends didn’t pause to
pay heed to the day’s pageantry. What does
it say about Friendship Day that many of us,
who count our friendships as our most pre-
cious treasures,were unmovedby the dayor
totally lost to its happening?
I have never looked at friendship as my
gateway to popularity. I was not the least
O F
(Clockwise from above) The Jaipur Column; a Dominion column; a close-up of the inscription on the Jaipur Column
popular guy in school, but not the most pop-
ular either. In fact, my friendships in school,
bar a couple, were rather superficial and
meaningless. My classmates were friends of
utility forthe mostpart. Wehad tostudy and
play together; we had to socialise and make
peace with one another.
As I grew older, friendships of pleasure
came my way. Friendships of pleasure are
those that take a relationship between two
people beyond mere usefulness. These are
friendships where we begin to share
common passions and indulgences, where
we find the ability to connect. These are
bondsthatgobeyondschool,jobs,social-net-
working groups, gardening or book clubs.
But, as pleasurable as these friendships
are, they also have their limitations. They,
too, can be friendships with barriers and
boundaries. We keep in touch throughout
the year, but often just enough to keep
abreast of each other’s happenings in life,
and never more than is needed to simply
keep a connection going.
As I scan through my mental book of
friends, I see more often than not names of
those about whom I know little beyond the
cursory superficialities. It is this reality that
makes me remember what Papa told us
about life and friendships. He said we should
align our lives with those who are like-
minded and who will help us stay on our
track of self-growth. People we can count
on, in every crucial moment, who will laugh
and cry with us. Those who will be there for
us when our own betray us. And, so, he told
us to be open to welcoming such friends into
V I E W
COURTESY:RASHTRAPATIBHAVANPHOTOARCHIVES
POLE POSITION
SUVIRSARAN
CHERRY- our lives and, once we find them, to give
PICKED them respect and care, love and affection,
trust and confidence, and, above all, full ac-
After much trial and
cess to our lives and our loves. These friends
error, we choose he called the perfect friends.
perfect friends, who I’m luckythatIhave afewperfectfriends.
can be of any age, We might be broken and scarred, ebullient
and who can or not or ecstatic, but we can show our cracks and
last a lifetime failures to one another and never have to put
on any airs or make up any stories. With
these friends, I have a mirror showing me
what I might never want to see. They keep
me honest and make me strive daily to be a
better person and a more sincere human be-
ing. These perfect friends listen to me, give
me support and strength, stand by my side
as my world slips from under my feet. They
ensure that I don’t sink with it, but make me
watch what I am losing lest I be foolish
enoughto repeatthemistakesfrommypast.
Without this help, to take into account what
I lack and what ails me, I can never become
better and bigger versions of myself.
Perfect friends are people we have taken
our time to choose. They can be our age or
youngerorolder.Inmyclutchof suchfriends,
I see my connection to what was and what
will be, and so I have friends my grandpar-
ents’ age and some who are younger than
any children I could have had. These friend-
ships keep me grounded in reality, happily
New Delhi
AUGUST 8, 2021
Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South
Africa to celebrate the Imperial Delhi proj-
ect. On top of each column is a miniature
naval ship, reminding the onlookers that
Britannia then ruled the waves. A little to the
west of these four dominion-columns,up an
incline, about 555 ft from the main gate,
stands the Jaipur Column.
Together,thesefivecolumnswereamong
thehighlightsof theinaugurationof Imperial
Delhi in 1931. They appeared like architec-
turalodestoanempirebuilttolast.Butforces
of history were chipping away at the very
foundations of the empire, of which the
Jaipur Column was a new ornament. It was
erectedtocommemoratethefoundationlay-
ing of Imperial Delhi by King George V and
Queen Mary on December 15, 1911. It would
be completed after about two decades.
Fromitsbasetothetop,theJaipurColumn
is 145 ft tall with an average diameter of six-
and-a-halffeet.Britishoak-leaf patternscover
the entire pillar, which stands on a cube-
shaped white pedestal resting on a double
base of red sandstone. On each of the four
sidesof thepedestalarepresentedthemesof
imperial domination. At the very top of the
column is a bronze lotus, an
Indian motif that Lutyens in-
corporatedinthedesignof the
Viceroy House, too. From the
lotus emerges a six-pointed
Starof India,madeof glass.The
Starwasinstalledasareminder
of the Order of Knighthood is-
suedbyQueenVictoriatohon-
our Indian princes and chiefs,
along with British officers and
administrators,whoservedthe
empire in India. Inside the col-
umn,asteeltuberunsthrough,
tyingthe lotus and the star to a
block in the foundation.
A statue of Viceroy
Hardinge,the“founder”ofNew
Delhi, stood at the base of the
Column, facing east, surveying
the vista up to the War
Memorial Arch (now India
Gate) and beyond. It was re-
movedafterIndependenceand
shifted to Kingsway Camp, the site of the
Coronation Durbar of 1911.
With the Viceroy’s House eventually be-
coming Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Jaipur
Columnceasedtobeasymbolof imperialsu-
premacy. Conceived as an ornament to the
“temple of imperial power” in the words of
LutyensscholarASGButler,todaythisimpres-
sive pillar defines the path to the sanctum of
a robust republic, the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
After Independence, the Jaipur Column
stands witness to the Change of Guard cere-
mony that takes place in the forecourt every
Saturday. The seniormost regiment of the
Indian Army, the President’s Bodyguard, en-
trusted with the ceremonial duties of the
Presidentof India,dressedintheirtraditional
best with swords and lances, are also part of
the parade which is a visual treat.
If yougoclosertotheColumn,youcansee
inthebas-reliefsonthenorthandsouthfaces
ofitspedestal,theobverseandreversesidesof
the Great Seal of the Empire. The map of the
capital(asitwasplannedthen)isontheeast-
ernside.Aninscriptionrunsthroughthebase
of the column. “The classic inscription at the
base of the Jaipur Column,” Robert Grant
Irving,therenownedhistorianoftheEmpire’s
art and architecture, noted, “was a noble epi-
taphforBritishruleandfittingcounselforthe
future masters of India.” It reads:
“In thought faith,
In word wisdom,
In deed courage,
In life service,
So may India be great.”
SunilTrivediisofficeronspecialduty(research)
withthePresident’sSecretariat
afloat in dreamy lands of fantastical living.
Theyarefriendswhocareandhavethecom-
fort of knowing they can speak up and scold,
challenge and warn; they are not afraid of
the truth.
We must strive to have a handful of such
friends, as then we will know that we have
lived a life worth living. What better way to
leave this earth than knowing we mattered
beyond the ordinary? And so I hope to daily
feedtheseperfectfriendswithlovethatkeeps
usconnectedbeyondaday.Ittakesalifetime
of honest back-and-forth to keep these per-
fect friendships perfectly comfortable.
Unlike the family we inherit and have
close bonds with, these are people cherry-
picked by us after much trial and error, and
once we find them, it is up to us to feed the
bondof friendshipwiththerightdoseof hon-
esty, integrity, drama, tedium and laziness.
Perfect friendships can last a lifetime or a
short time. Sometimes, it takes many such
friendships,forgedandlost,beforewerealise
the virtues of a perfect friendship. But once
weexperienceit,nothingismoresacredand
precious. These are friendships where am-
munition gifted from us about our own fail-
ureswillneverbecomeweaponswieldedfor
ourdestruction.Perfectfriendskeepourfail-
ings in their hearts and teach us how to cope
with them, how to improve upon them, and
how to move forward. And so, these are the
friends that are perfection personified.
This past Friendship Day didn’t send any
messages from my perfect friends my way.
A single day cannot define a friendship, just
asValentine’sDay,Mother’sDay,Father’sDay
or Sibling’s Day cannot define the love we
have for our spouses, parents, or family
members. But Friendship Day reminded me
that utility, pleasure and perfection are all
parts of the world of friendship. The day
brought a flood of memories — some sweet,
some sad, but all ratherpersonal and special,
eachtakingmebacktothepeopleandplaces
that mean the world to me. If this is what a
daylikethisdoesforus,thenIthinkitis good
to mark it and celebrate those we love, re-
spect, admire, adore, have lost to life, or lost
touch with.

AUGUST 8, 2021
Through the Stillness
Filmmaker Payal Kapadia on her latest documentary, A Night of Knowing Nothing, which won the
Golden Eye award at the recent 74th Cannes Film Festival, and longing for a different future
Suanshu Khurana
T
HERE IS something fundamen-
tallydeliberateaboutletters,the
wayitswordsallowforjourneys
never taken before. Mumbai-
based filmmaker Payal Kapadia
uses the tenderness and vulnerability of the
written word as the main filament of her lat-
est film, A Night of Knowing Nothing — a fleet-
ing glimpse into the world of its anonymous
protagonist, L, while cataloguing her love let-
ters to her beloved, K.
“It’sanessayfilmthatmixesrealityandfic-
tion,” says Kapadia, 35. The film uncovers the
stateof anation.Inthiscase,theideaof being
young in contemporary India.
Thefilm,producedbyPetitChaos,aFrench
production house, has won the Oeil d’or: Le
Prix du documentaire (The Golden Eye, the
DocumentaryPrize)attherecent74thCannes
Film Festival, making Kapadia the first Indian
to receive the honour since the award’s initi-
ation six years ago. Kapadia’s film was up
against numerous other films, including the
AcademyAward-winningEnglishfilmmaker
AndreaArnold’sCow,AmericandirectorTodd
Haynes’TheVelvetUnderground,Irishdirector
Mark Cousins’ The Storms of Jeremy Thomas,
and veteran Italian director and actor Marco
Bellocchio’s Marx Can Wait.
Kapadia places the love story in concomi-
tance with the politics of the day. As it docu-
ments a relationship, the film archives con-
temporary realities. From caste
discrimination,communalism,subversionof
freedom of speech and expression, and cen-
sorshipof politicaldissent,useof nationalism
totrampleonconstitutionalloyalties,toright-
wing nationalists holding sway — issues that
have been significant to India and the world
in the last decade. “We’ve started seeing pol-
iticsassomethingseparatefromus,butthat’s
not the case. A filmmaker’s political position
showsclearlyinherfilm.Noonecanshyaway
from that...and love is also political, no?
Especiallyinourcountry,wherefallinginlove
comes with a great deal of social complica-
tions,” says Kapadia, in an email interview
from Paris.
AgraduatefromPune’sFilmandTelevision
Institute of India (FTII), Kapadia roped in
Bhumisuta Das, another FTII graduate, as the
film’s narrator. Even as L, who is a student at
FTII,talksof love,it’snotwithoutthemention
of caste since K’s parents won’t accept her,
since she is from a lower caste. The shadowy
realitiesofotherincidentsthatdisruptedcam-
puslifeiswhatKapadiatrainsherlensat—be
ittheUniversityofHyderabadstudentRohith
Vemula’s suicide in 2016, FTII protests a year
ago,wherethestudentsrefusedtoacceptac-
tor-turned-politician Gajendra Chauhan as
their chairperson, the Jawaharlal Nehru
University (JNU) protests the next year or
those at other universities.
‘I create between the worlds
of fiction and non-fiction’
Tamil filmmaker
Pa Ranjith on his latest
film Sarpatta Parambarai,
regional politics, and the
struggles of daily shooting
during a pandemic
Arun Janardhanan
TAMILFILMMAKERPaRanjith’slatestouting,
Sarpatta Parambarai (released in July on
Amazon Prime) has actor Arya as Kabilan, a
boxerfromBlackTowninoldMadras.Thefilm
issetinthe’70s,innorthChennai,aworking-
classregionwhichhadbeen,fordecades,sup-
plyinglabourerstothecity.Ittellsthestoryof
a socially-backward community, who loved
the boxing game. Excerpts from a telephonic
interview with Ranjith (38):
How much of the film is fictional?
I’m not a historian or researcher, neither
am I an academic nor are my movies docu-
mentaries. I experiment and create between
the worlds of fiction and non-fiction. I have
certainresponsibilitiesasanartist,andmyfo-
cus lies there. I ensure that I’m not distorting
the facts when I use my creative freedom.
The film captures the days of the late chief
ministers M Karunanidhi and MG
Ramachandran (MGR), and the
Emergency. How do you see the contrast
between the two leaders?
The movie is set between 1975 and 1978,
when Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK,
founded in 1949) was ruling the state. The
AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam, founded in 1972), led by MGR,
was emerging as a regional party. The movie
looks at the political stand taken by the par-
ties but beyond that there was nothing for or
against any particular party. If it is about the
sale of illicit liquor, for instance, people irre-
A R T S
Kapadiausessilencethroughthefilmeven
whenthereisferventactivityonscreen—stu-
dents dancing, police manhandling. Her
monochrome shots, many from FTII, are
mergedwithother“foundfootage”toevokea
sense of melancholy.
The film title, too, she says, was “found”.
Kapadia’s partner and the film’s cinematog-
rapherandeditorRanabirDashadtakensome
photographsoftheFTIIcampus,whenthetwo
were students there. On one of these shoots,
he stumbled upon a poem on a wall, titled A
Night of Knowing Nothing. The poet was un-
known.“Thetitleinvokedavulnerability.The
film could be perceived as one long unpre-
dictable night,” says Kapadia.
Ranabir and Kapadia shot stray conversa-
tions in 2016-17, but there was no holistic vi-
sionuntil2019.Thetwothengotmorefootage
from filmmakers and friends, apart from
archival material, and decided to bind these
“seeminglydisconnectedimages”throughthe
“fictional”letters.TheywereinspiredbyChris
Marker’sSansSoleil(1983)andMiguelGomes’
Redemption(2013),whousedhybridformats
innon-fiction.“Weusedtoolsfromrealityand
sometimesmadeupnarrativestospeakabout
our personal truth,” she says.
In 2015, months before Kapadia began to
shoot A Night of Knowing Nothing, she was at
spective of politics engaged in that. There
were MGR supporters within the traditional
DMK families, too. The character Rangan
Vaathiyaar (played by Pasupathy) and his
family are an example. I tried to show the
work done by both the parties. Obviously,
DMK was at the forefront of opposing the
Emergency,anditwasthemostaffectedbyit,
EYE, THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE
e t c
GUILLAUMELUTZ,QUINZAINE
MANY TRUTHS the forefront of the infamous four-month
(Clockwise from protests at the FTII campus that were held
against the appointment of Chauhan as the
above) Payal
new chairperson. On the 68th day of the
Kapadia and Ranabir protest,whilethestudentsabandonedclasses,
Das at Cannes; stills PrashantPathrabe,thethendirector,issueda
from her films — notice to the 2008 batch to vacate the hostel
Afternoon Clouds; and asked for an assessment of film projects,
And What is the which were mostly incomplete. Calling it “ir-
rational”,thestudentsheldhimcaptiveinhis
Summer Saying;
office.Thiswasfollowedbyamidnightcrack-
A Night of down by the police where five students were
Knowing Nothing arrested.About35studentswerelaternamed
inthechargesheet.Kapadiawasoneof them.
Shewaschargedwithdisciplinaryaction,lost
her scholarship and the opportunity to par-
ticipate in an international exchange pro-
gramme, alongside a few others.
FilmmakerVikasUrs,Kapadia’sbatchmate,
whowasoneof thefivestudentsarrested,re-
calls those tough months. “Like for a lot of us,
andforPayaltoo,Ithinkthefilmisacatharsis,”
says Urs.
After her 13-minute short film Afternoon
Clouds made it to the 70th Cannes
International Festival Cinefondation in the
competition category in 2017, FTII decided to
support Kapadia with a letter and travel ex-
penses.Theauthoritiesobservedthatshehad
been “disciplined”. Kapadia, however, does
HAND AND GLOVE
(Above) Pa Ranjith on the sets; a film still
from Sarpatta Parambarai
too.Eldershavetoldmethatthereusedtobe
boxerswhosportedtheDMKsymbolontheir
jacketsatarenas.Theperiodalsosawtheris-
ing popularity of the AIADMK. If I had set the
movie in the 1980s, AIADMK would have
been the dominant party.
How was it to shoot during
the lockdown?
The movie was budgeted at nearly Rs 13-
15 crore, the cost exceeded eventually. We
finishedtheshootinabout63days,butmain-
taining the realistic feel was a real struggle.
Weneededcrowdsforscenesandthatwasa
challenge in the lockdown. Some, who were
infected with the coronavirus, had to leave
the set, while some never returned. Then
there were important actors who weren’t
abletocompletetheirportionsduetothein-
fection. We had to reshoot, edit those parts,
not delve into theissue. The matter is still on-
going in a Pune court.
Her mother, veteran artist Nalini Malani’s
politically motivated works has had quite an
impact on Kapadia, too, who grew up watch-
ing “a lot of arthouse cinema”. And, thus, at
the heart of the film is an intense sense of
yearning.“Maybe,thisyearningcanbetrans-
latedintoadesireforacertainkindofidea,fu-
ture or society,” she says. So, will A Night of
Knowing Nothing eventually see the light of
day in India? Kapadia is optimistic.
She recalls one of her mother’s collabora-
tions with former National School of Drama
director Anuradha Kapur in 1997. Based on
German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s short
story, The Job, Malani had created the sets for
the performance. A 12-year-old Kapadia sat
in the audience and watched the lines pro-
jectedonthewalls—“Bythesweatofthybrow,
thy shall fail to earn thy bread”.
“These words still ring in my body. I feel a
sense of hopelessness that my parents’ gen-
eration failed to bring about an idea of India
that was as inclusive as they had hoped for.
Perhaps, the status quo was not challenged
enough. So, now, we need to have greater ac-
cessibilityinartpracticesforthosewhodon’t
read about discrimination in books but who
face it in their daily lives,” she says.
and replace them with new characters. Each
frame was important in the boxing se-
quences. It had three layers — mob in the
backdrop, actors at the front row, and the
arena. Daily shooting was a real challenge.
How do you script your films?
I always have a notepad with me. I keep
writing my thoughts and I transfer them to
the computer later. For Sarpatta Parambarai, I
approached the writer Tamil Prabha, who is
familiar with Chennai’s Dalit life. Before we
could finalise the script, there were eight or
ninedrafts.Everydraftsawthebirthanddeath
of many characters. For instance, one of my
favourite characters was Rathi, whom we let
go of. She was a daring woman, who ran a
meatshop,andwasthesisterofDancingRose
(Shabeer Kallarakkal).
Do you think Sarpatta is your best movie?
Allmyworksaremyfavourites.Kaalawas
obviouslymybesteffort,and Iwas happy the
way it triggered debates in society. But, I love
Attakathi (2012), Madras (2014) and Kabali
(2016), too. Personally, I am not fully happy
with my movies. Each movie helps me to do
the next. The criticisms I received for my pre-
vious films have helped me in Sarpatta
Parambarai. So, I cannot compare them.
Could you tell us about the casting in
Sarpatta Parambarai?
AryaandIweretalkingaboutaprojectfor
alongtime.Finally,whenhecamewithapro-
ducer, the project became a reality. Arya had
immensetrustinme.Whilealltheactorswere
of darker complexion, I worried about Arya’s
look, and he went all the way to get a tan.
Maybe,withoutAryaIwouldn’thavehadthis
kind of freedom in selecting the characters.
How has it been working with
cinematographer G Murali?
GMuraliandSathyanSooryanareamong
the cinematographers I always wanted to
work with. I connect with them visually.
Murali played a huge role in making Madras
better. He relates to my frames and under-
stands politics and ideologies.
How do you curate your music?
Iseemusicasanimportanttoolthatmakes
themovieexperiencedeeper.IfindSanthosh
Narayanan a suitable colleague as we share
aesthetics, emotions and politics. In Sarpatta
Parambarai, the guitar was used initially, and
I wanted it to be replaced with traditional in-
strumentsliketheparai;bringingthesoundof
north Madras was the aim.
New Delhi
13
DOWN IN
JUNGLELAND
RanjitLal
Ranjit Lal is an author,
environmentalist and
bird watcher
The Root of
the Matter
Why transplanting trees is
a bad idea
T
HEY ARE undoubtedly the most unglamorous
parts of a plant, but without them no plant —
tree, bush or grass — can survive. The taller the
tree is the deeper will its root go. Its under-
ground spread can be as much as three times the diame-
ter of the tree’s canopy. Roots also serve as repositories of
nutrients (which is why some roots, like sweet potato and
beet, are so nutritious!), especially in winters when the
tree above shuts down food-producing operations.
Significantly, they also anchor the tree or plant into the
ground and are designed to withstand astounding
amounts of force, be it wind or rain. Roots are categorised
into various types — depending on their function and
where and how they grow. Not all roots, for example,
grow from the bottom of the plant, heading south, some
— called adventitious roots — sprout from the trunk and
branches and stems and may head in any direction!
The roots are specialised in providing all that the plant
or tree needs. Heading the charge into the earth is the root
cap, which, as it plunges down, sloughs off, leaving a slimy
lubricant in its wake and revealing what’s called the apical
meristem, which is kind of loaded with fresh root caps (I
guess rather like fresh drilling bits), ready to elongate and
dig on. Then, root hairs develop at the end of these to ab-
sorb the moisture and nutrients, and send these upstairs
to the tree or plant!
Roots have power. They can split granite — and every-
one knows that it is foolhardy to grow a fig tree too close
to a house; it will insert its roots into the foundations,
weakening the structure. Many historical monuments
have been clasped by the python-like roots of fig trees of
various kinds and are crumbling under the onslaught.
Perhaps, one day, long-term time-lapse photography
might be able to reveal how roots crack apart solid rock.
They are usually covered with mud, but roots are
savvy. They can sense the force of gravity, and they can
snuffle out sources of water and nutrients and sense ob-
stacles in their paths. More than all that, they form a vital
part of the plant’s intelligence and communications net-
work. Root hairs cultivate fungi in a symbiotic relationship
in what is called mycorrhizae. The fungi comprising a
RANJITLAL
THE GREEN NETWORK
A banyan sending down prop roots
mass of threads called hyphae spread far and wide be-
yond the root network, supplying the plant with water
and nutrients such as phosphorous, even making barter
deals with other plants in the region. In return, it charges a
hefty fee of up to 30 per cent of the plant’s sugar produc-
tion. This has been dubbed the “wood-wide-web”. Roots
can also sense what the plant is in need of: and will adjust
its actions accordingly — growing slower or faster or
deeper as the need maybe — or actively seeking out water,
if that’s what is required. The plants and trees growing in
arid, desert areas, like the notorious Prosopis juliflora
(Vilayati kikar), may send its roots down more than 50 m,
which is why it is such a pain to remove!
All roots do not grow underground. The prop roots of
the banyan sprout from branches and are used as column
supports for the tree: secondary thickening of these roots
and of other “buttress roots” at the base of the tree, help to
support the huge stupendously heavy structure.
Alternatively, the almost thread-like adventitious roots of
the coconut palm may extend in a mesh 8 m across, far
wider than the crown, and there may be 13,000 of these
holding the tree firm in gales and typhoons.
Some roots even grow at canopy level. In dense rain-
forests, where the canopies of trees form a kind of roof,
dead leaves and detritus starts to collect and decompose.
The roots of the notorious strangler fig (also adventitious
roots), clasp themselves around a host tree and suck up
nutrients in parasitical fashion, and eventually kill its host.
I remember being stunned by one such in Corbett; all that
was left standing was the strangler fig’s scaffolding with
absolutely nothing in the middle.
Other roots grow upwards, from the ground or from
the base of the plants. Mangrove roots grow this way and
are equipped with high-quality filters, which remove the
salt from briny waters.
Anyone who has tried to rip a plant out by its roots will
know how difficult it is. The plant or sapling clings on its
mesh of roots holding firm. This is just an indication of
how important a root network is to hold the soil together.
Which is why felling trees on forest slopes is an invitation
to landslides after the first showers. As far as grasslands
are concerned the same holds true — if you remove the
grass by its roots, the soil loosens up and is quickly blown
or washed away. Most roots love it where it’s dark and
damp underground. Expose them to fresh air and sky and
they will wither and die; which is why transplanting trees
may not be such a clever idea after all.
 14 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021

I,Bhavna Aggarwal D/O-Pramod I Shanti Kumari D/o Brahma

Classifieds
PERSONAL
We, Hari Shankar Mahato &
Amrita Shankar Mahato, from
RZ-439/12B, St. No. 13,
Kailashpuri New Delhi, would
like to change our son’s name
Siddhartha Shankar Mahato,
born on 29.06.16 at Behl
Hospital Naraina Vihar New
Delhi, to Siddhartha Shankar
Singh. An affidavit for the
same is made on 02.08.21
0050181991-1
I,Vanshika Nagaar,D/o Sunder
Nagar,R/o I-85/4 Block-I, Hari-
Nagar Extn.Badarpur,New
Delhi-110044,Have Changed
Gupta W/O Sanjeev Aggarwal
R/O-A-8, Surya Nagar,
Ghaziabad,U.P.-201011,Have
Changed My name To Bhawna
Aggarwal,For All Purposes.
0040579357-3
I,Asha kumari Lal w/o Upendra
Lal R/O C12 Divine Grace
Sector Omega1 Greater Noida
GB Nagar,UP-201310,have
changed my name to ASHA LAL
for all future purposes.
0040579318-1
I,Arsh S/o Akhtar Ali R/o.H.NO-
343 I.P Extension Part-1,Pocket-
C,Sector-33,
Faridabad,Haryana-
121003,Have changed my name
Mohammad Arsh Mansoori,for
all furposes. 0040579357-1
I,Angoori,W/o Shri.Sunil Saini
Singh R/o 624Gha 239A, New
Gulista Colony, Lucknow,
Lucknow Chinhat, Uttar
Pradesh-227105, have changed
my name to Sonal Singh
0070749107-1
I Shagun D/o Sh. Sudhir Kumar
W/o Mr. Anirudh Gupta R/o H-
5/37, Sector-11, Rohini, Delhi-
110085 have changed my name
to Shagun Agarwal for all
purposes.
0040579332-3
I Noor Fatima Alias Noor Fatma
Alias Nuhi D/o Syed Mohd Yusuf
and W/o Afsar Husain Rizvi R/o
851, Sector-M, Ashiyana, LDA
Colony, Kanpur Road, Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh-226012, have
changed my name to Nuhi Rizvi
0070749096-1
PUBLIC NOTICE
PUBLIC NOTICE
BE IT KNOWN TO ALL THAT MY CLIENT
SMT. SHASHI RANI W/O SHRI BHARAT D/O
LATE SHRI BAKSHI RAM R/O RZ- C-3/35-A,
MAHAVIR ENCLAVE NEAR DDA PARK ,
PALAM DWARKA ROAD NEW DELHI-110045
HAS DISOWNED AND DISINHERITED
HER SON AKSHANSH SHARMA AND HIS
WIFE DISHIMA FROM HER ALL MOVABLE
AND IMMOVEABLE PROPERTIES AND
ASSETS. BOTH OF THEM ARE NOT
UNDER THE CONTROL OF MY CLIENT
AND REGULARLY THREATENING HER TO
IMPLICATE IN FALSE CRIMINAL CASES.
MY CLIENT IS HAVING NO CONCERN WITH
THEM IN ANY MANNER WHATSOEVER .
IF ANYBODY DEALING WITH THEM WILL
DO SO AT HIS/HER OWN RISK, COST AND
CONSEQUENCES AND MY CLIENT AND
THEIR OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS SHALL
NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR THEIR ANY OF
ACTS OR DEEDS WHATSOEVER.
ROHIT KUMAR, Advocates
Ch. No. – 286 Western Wing , Tis Hazari
Courts, Delhi-110054
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is issued to the General Public at
PUBLIC NOTICE
My Client Sh Bhim Singh S/o
Birkha Ram R/o Vpo Bharthal
village South west Delhi, Delhi-
110077 have disowned her
Daughter Ritu from his all
movable and immovable
properties due to their mis-
behavior & bad conduct.
Anybody dealing with them in
any manner whatsoever Will be
doing at his/her own cost, risk &
responsibility.
KAMAL SINGH (Advocate)
EnrI.No.D-748/2014.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Be it known that my client Sh. Madan
Lal, S/o Late Sh. Baldev Singh R/o- C-
403, Swami Dayanand Apartment,
Sector-6, Plot No-5, Dwarka, South
West District, Dehli-110075 have
disowned and severed all their relation
with his son namely Ashwini Kumar,
and his wife namely Babli Kumari alias
Dipanshi, debarred them from his
moveable and immovable properties/
PUBLIC NOTICE
This is notified for the General Public
that my client S. Bhupinder Singh, S/o
Late S. Joginder Singh and my client's
family all R/o C-16, Street No.6, First
Floor, Krishna Park, Tilak Nagar, New
Delhi-110018, have severed their
relations with his real Elder Brother S.
Tejinderpal Singh, his wife Sdn.
Kanwaljeet Kaur, and their sons
Harsimrat Singh, Gunitpal Singh and
Namanpal Singh all R/o M-1/1, New
Mahavir Nagar, Top Floor, Street No.6,
New Delhi-110018 because of their
rude, ill and cruel behavior with my
client and his family. Tejinderpal Singh
threatened my client and his family. My
client's wife Sdn. Manpreet Kaur lodged
a police complaint in this regard against
him. At present there is no movable or
immovable undivided ancestral
property. If any person deals with them
or advance any loan, will do so on
his/her own risk and consequences. My
client and his family will not be
responsible for their any act and deed.
MANMOHAN SINGH (Advocate)
B-62, Shanker Garden, Vikas Puri,
New Delhi-110018

My Name Vanshika Nagar,for
all purposes.
0040579359-4
I,Sanah Gambhir D/o-Vishal
Manav Gambhir R/o 80/56-A,
Ground-Floor, Malviya-
R/o-34, Jangpura
Road,Bhogal,New Delhi-
110014,have changed my name
to Anita for all future purposes.
0040579357-8
I Nisha alias Anjeeta Devi D/o
Sh.Prem Singh W/o Sh.Sanjiv
Kumar R/o 113, Asoudha
Todran, Tehsil Bahadurgarh,
Distt. Jhajjar (Haryana)-124505
have changed my name to
large that our client Mr. Wasi Ahmad S/o Sh.
Mohd. Ahmad R/o B—570 Gali No . 5 Kabir
Nagar Delhi-110094 & B-12/84, Gali No. 7 Near
Chhapar Wali Masjid Kabir Nagar Delhi-110094
has disowned and debarred his son namely
Amir (having Aadhar No. (366852776598) and
his wife smt. Sana Saifi from his property
bearing No. B-570 Gali No.5 Kabir Nagar Delhi-
110094 & B-12/84, Gali No. 7 Near Chhapar
Wali Masjid Kabir Nagar Delhi-110094 as well
as other movable and immovable property
assets, due to their mis- behaviour from
all other things in his past, present and
future, due to some certain issues or
''IMPORTANT''
personal difference. Anybody dealing
with them in civil and criminal matter
shall be doing at his/her own risk, cost
Whilst care is taken prior to
and reasonability.
acceptance of advertising
Sd/-
RANJEET KUMAR SINGH
copy,itisnotpossibletoverify
ADVOCATE

Nagar,New Delhi-110017,Have
I,Amanpreet Kaur W/o. Sh
Changed My Name Sana
Gambhir,for all purposes.
0040579359-3
Sukhdev singh R/o-A-81, Uday
Vihar,Nilothi-Ext, Nagloi west-
Delhi-110041, have changed my
name Geeta Rani to Amanpreet
Anjeeta Devi for all purposes.
0040579332-1
I,Harpreet Singh S/o Baljinder
including but not limited to ancestral property
throughout India and severed all his ties from
3057, NEW LAWYER CHAMBER,
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA its contents. The Indian
him because of his acts and conduct which are BHAGWAN DASS RAOD
not acceptable to our clients. Our client has no
control over Mr. Amir and his wife Sana Saifi
NEW DELHI-110001 Express (P) Limited cannot be
and henceforth has no relationship / concern
whatsoever from him. By this notice our client held responsible for such
caution general public at large that any person

Kaur,for all future purpose

Singh Dua R/o 143,Mount dealing with Mr. Amir and his wife Sana Saifi in contents, nor for any loss or
I,SUNIL KUMAR, S/O.MAHAVIR Kailash, East of Kailash,Delhi- any manner whatsoever shall do so at their own

SINGH TYAGI, ADD-R3A.28,29, 0040579307-1 110065, changed name to

MOHAN-GARDEN UTTAM-
NAGAR,NEW DELHI-
110059.Changed my name to
SUNIL TYAGI,permanantly.
0040579359-5
I,STUTI BARMAN W/O SORBH
CHADHA R/O-C-11/4 DLF
PHASE-1,GURGAON HARYANA-
I,ASHU SHARMA ALIAS ARUSHI
Harpreet Singh Dua.
KAPUR W/O PRADEEP KUMAR
R/O-W-TOWER NO-
5,FLAT.NO.301,COMMONWELTH
I Nigam D/o Sh.ILAM Chand W/o
VILAGE DELHI-110092,HAVE
CHANGED MY NAME TO ARUSHI
KAPUR.
0040579357-4
0040579357-9
Sh.Devender Kumar Dhiryan
R/o 204, 2nd Floor, Block-C,
Sector C-6, Slwan Public
School, Trans Delhi Signature
City, Loni Dehat, Ghaziabad,
risk and cost and our client shall not be liable
and responsible for any acts, commission and
damageincurred as a result of
omission of Amor in any manner whatsoever.
Raj Kumar ,Advocate transactions with companies,
Ch. No. – 228, Western Wing,
TIS HAZARI COURTS, DELHI- 110054 associations or individuals
PUBLIC NOTICE advertising in its newspapers
KNOW all men by these presents that
Sh. Rajinder Sharma, S/O Late Sh.
or Publications. We therefore
Lakhi Ram Sharam, and Smt. Daya recommend that readers
Sharma, W/O Sh. Rajinder Sharam,
Both R/O 209/B, 82/12, Sukhbeer make necessary inquiries
Nagar, Rohini, Sector-38, Karala,

122002,HAVE CHANGED MY
NAME TO STUTI CHADHA.
0040579357-5
I,Rishabh Singhroha,S/o Sanjay
Kumar,R/o 79,4th Floor,Sai
Enclave,Sector-
23,Dwarka,Delhi-110077 have
changed my name to Rishabh
Singroha for all future
purposes.
0040579367-1
I,Pramod Kumar Gupta S/o
Diwan Chand R/o-14W
18/2,East Moti Bagh,Sarai
Rohilla,Malka Ganj,North
Delhi, Delhi-110007,have
changed my name to Pramod
Gupta.
0040579357-10
I,Pankaj Kumar S/o Dharam Pal
Singh,R/o RZD-1/47-B,
Jeewan-Park, Pankha
Road,Uttam Nagar,New Delhi-
110059,have changed my
name to Punkaj Kumar.
0040579359-9
I, Tania Singh D/o,Late Jitendra
Pal Singh R/o-B-96, Devli-Road,
Duggal Colony, Khanpur,
N.Delhi-62 have changed my
name to Tanya Singh.
0040579362-5
I, Son Veer R/o H.No.4,
Prahladrpur Village, Delhi
Cantt, Moradabad Pahari,
Delhi-110010, have changed my
minor daughter’s name from
Khushbu to Khushboo, for all
purposes. 0040579325-1
I, Satpal Rohilla S/o Ram Kishan
R/o H.No.125, Village & Post
office Rawta, New Delhi-110073
have changed my name from
Satpal to Satpal Rohilla, for all
future purposes.
0040579337-2
I, Santosh Rai S/o Janardan Rai
R/o B-4, Ganesh Nagar, Pandav
Nagar Complex,
Shakarpur,Delhi-110092 have
changed my name to Hriday
Bharti. 0040579362-1
Uttar Pradesh-201102 have
changed my name to Neha
Dhiryan for all purposes.
0040579332-2
I Neelam W/o Shashi Bhushan
Mishra R/o G-24, Brahma
Apartment, Sector-7, Plot No. 7,
Dwarka, New Delhi -110075
have changed my name to
Neelam Mishra. 0070749076-1
I Mohan Lal S/o Late Ram Babu
R/o Lotus Boulevard Tower-10,
Flat.No.1506, Sector-100,
Noida-201304, have changed
my Name to Mohan Lal Verma
Permanently. 0070749110-1
I Afsar Husain Alias Syed Afsar
Husain Alias A.H. Rizvi S/o
Akhtar Husain Rizvi R/o 851,
Sector-M, Ashiyana, LDA
Colony, Kanpur Road, Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh-226012, have
changed my name to Afsar
Husain Rizvi 0070749095-1
I, ARADHANA KUMARI W/O SH
MANISH KUMAR SARAN, R/O 5A
TAKSHILA APPT, ABHAY KHAND
Delhi-110081, have severed all their
relations with their son Sanjeev
Sharma S/O Sh. Rajinder Sharma and
daughter in law Bhawna Dixhit, W/O
Sanjeev Sharma, D/O Sh. Kailash
Chand Dixhit, due to their cruel
behaviour and extreme cruelties. My
clients have divested/Dis-own them
from all their moveable and
immovable property henceforth.
Who-so-ever deals with them, shall do
so at his risk and responsibility in
future.
INDRA MANI (ADVOCATE)
Ch. No. 308, Western Wing,
Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi- 54
i d 3 5hRLY(2)
PUBLIC NOTICE
My client Tejpal Singh and his wife
Meera Devi, R/o House Number- B/97,
Gali Number-07, Ambedkar Colony,
Chattar Pur, South Delhi-110074 have
disowned their son Kuldeep and his
wife Kajal from their movable/
immovable properties and have cut off
their family relations from them due to
their disobedient and quarrelsome
nature and my client were not/are not/
shall not be responsible for any Act of
Kuldeep and his wife Kajal in any
manner.
Sd/-
Pramod Kumar Rath
Advocate
R/o. C-71, Lower Ground Floor
Greater Kailash-I New Delhi-48
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public at large is informe that my clients
before sending any monies or
entering into any agreements
with advertisers or otherwise
acting on an advertisement in
any manner whatsoever.
PUBLIC NOTICE
On behalf of my client Sh. Raj Kumar
Ahuja, aged about 64 years R/o G-
29/176-177, Sector-3, Rohini, Delhi,
has ended/severed all his concerns and
relations with his son Puneet Ahuja and
his wife namely Naveta due to miss
conduct/ miss behave, daily quarrels
and creating ugly scenes in the home
and here disown/debar them with all
intention and purposes from all his
movable and immovable property. My
client further declares that he is not
responsible for their acts deeds,
omissions of their manner/behavior in
present and future.
Sd/-
SUNIL KUMAR
(Advocate)
OFF:- 73-B, AD-BLOCK,
PITAMPURA DELHI-34
PUBLIC NOTICE
PUBLIC AT LARGE IS HEREBY INFORMED BY
WAY OF THIS NOTICE THAT MY CLIENT SH.
SHYAM SINGH RATHORE S/O LATE SH.
CHANDER BHAN SINGH RATHORE R/O RZ-
2552/27, TUGHLAKABAD EXTN. NEW DELHI-19
AND SH. DEEPAK SHARMA S/O SH. ASHA RAM
SHARMA R/O RZ-2085/26, TUGHLAKABAD
EXTN. NEW DELHI-19 HAVE CONSTRUCTED A

I, Ram Kishan S/o Deep Chand Sh. Rajinder Kumar S/o Late Sh. Tilak
PROPERTY BEARING NO. RZ-346, GALI NO. 19,

I,Neelam kumar,W/o 3, INDIRAPURAM, GHAZIABAD, TUGHLAKABAD EXTN. NEW DELHI-19 UNDER

R/o H.No.125, Village & Post Chand and Smt. Omvati W/o Sh. COLLABORATION AGREMENT WITH SANJAY

Ghansham dass kumar,ho.no-
3, 4/8 Marla,Model Town,
Gurgaon, Changed My name to
Neelam Kumari.
0040579359-2
I,MAHI, D/O.VARSHA GUPTA,
I, Prem Singh Patwal S/o Bishan
201014 HAVE CHANGED MY Rajinder Kumar both R/o B-85
office Rawta, New Delhi-110073 Raghubir Nagar J.J. Colony, New Delhi-
NAME TO ARADHANA SARAN 110027 have severed and extinguished
have changed my name from all their relationship with their son Sh.
Ramkishan, Ramkisan to Ram 0070749080-1 Prince Kumar and his wife Smt.
Kishan, for all future purposes. Rachna and further has disowned them
form all their immovable and movable
properties as they are disobient and not
0040579337-1
LOST AND FOUND under the control of my clients. Anyone
does any thing with them shall do so at
his own risk and my clients shall not be
GUPTA AND AMIT GUPTA BOTH S/O LATE SH.
RAM JI LAL GUPTA R/O- RZ-346/19,
TUGHALKABAD EXT. ND-19. WHEREBY 1ST,
2ND AND 3RD FLOOR OF THE SAID
PROPERTY BELONGS TO MY CLIENT FOR
WHICH THE OWNER HAS TO EXECUTE SALE
DEED IN FAVOUR OF MY CLIENT.
THEREFORE, PUBLIC AT LARGE ARE
INFORMED THROUGH THIS NOTICE NOT TO
PURCHASE ANY RIGHT, TITLE AND INTEREST
IN THE SAID PROPERTY THROUGH ANYONE
OTHER THAN MY CLIENTS.

ADD-49,GIAN PARK,KRISHNA
NAGAR EAST DELHI-110051,
Changed My name to MAHI
I Sheila Tahilramani W/o G T liable for their any act and deed. Sd/-
Singh Patwal R/o-1756, Laxmi Sd/- KAUSHIKESH KUMAR
Bai Nagar, New Delhi- Ramani R/o C1A, Gangotri TILAK RAJ SANDHU ADVOCATE
Laywer’s Chamber No. 183, Block-II,
Advocate
110023,have changed my name Appartment, Alaknanda, (Enl. No. D/250/1983)
Delhi HIgh Court, New Delhi-110003

KAUR, permanantly. Prem Singh to Prem Singh Kalkaji, New Delhi have lost my FD-31, Shivaji Enclave, New Delhi-27

0040579359-7 Patwal for all future Original papers Allotment

I,Krishan Singh Yadav,S/o-
Late.Sh.Tota Ram Yadav,R/o-
House.No.736,Sector-
9,Gurgaon,
Haryana-122001,inform that in
my,Naval Pension records&
Passport my,father name Tota
Ram &wife name Raj-Bala
wrongly-written instead of
correct father,name Tota Ram
Yadav &wife name RajBala
Yadav.
0040579362-7
I,KHUSHBOO, D/O.VIKRAM RAI,
ADD-C-3/58,GALI.NO-1
SECOND-PUSTA SONIA-VIHAR
NORTH EAST DELHI-
110092.Changed my name
toKHUSHBU, permanantly.
0040579359-6
I,Jaideep Kumar,S/o Satish
Goel,H.No.386/19,Railway-
Road Near Syndicate Bank
Kath Mandi,Bahadurgarh
Distt.Jhajjar (Haryana),have
changed my name to Jaideep
Goel.
0040579362-8
I,JITENDRA KUMAR
CHAUDHARY,R/OH.NO.T444
Dr.A.K-Road P.O.BARTALA
KOLKATA WEST-BENGAL
PIN:700018,have Changed my
Name,From JITENDRA KUMAR
CHAUDHARY to JITENDRA
KUMAR CHOUDHARY,VIDE-
AFFIDAVIT DATED-
07/08/2021,BEFORE NCT-
DELHI.
0040579362-10
I,Inder Preet Singh S/o,Hardev
Singh,R/o-F-301,Amrit-G/H
Society,Rashmi
Apartment,Harsh
Vihar,Pitampura,Delhi-
110034,have changed my
minor daughter’s name
Jaspreet Inder to Jaspreet
Inder Kaur.
0040579362-3
I,Harshita Nayyar D/o Narender
Nayyar,R/o 9368/3,Street
no.8,Paharganj,Multani
Dhanda,Delhi-55,have declare
Harshita Nayyar and Harshita
are,the names of one,and the
same person.
0040579357-7
I,Gurbaksish Kaur,D/o S.
Gurmeet Singh R/o-20B/65-A,
Tilak-Nagar,New Delhi-
110018,Have changed My
name,from Gurbaksish Kaur
to Gurbakshish Kaur,for all
future purposes.
0040579357-2
I,Gulshan S/o Dayachand
Sharma,R/o B-66 Gali-9,New
Modern Shahdara Delhi-
32,have changed My name to
Gulshan Sharma,for all
purposes.
0040579357-6
purposes.Prem Singh and
Prem Singh Patwal both are
same person. 0070749125-1
I, Paramvir Doon S/o Ranbir
Singh Doon R/o-H.No-1821,
Sector-17A, Gurgaon, Haryana-
122001have changed my name
to Paramvir Singh Doon.
0040579362-6
I, PIYUSH AGGARWAL R/O E-9
ASHOK VIHAR PHASE-1 DELHI-
110052,HAVE CHANGED MY
MINOR SON NAME KRISHAY TO
KRISHAY AGGARWAL.
0040579359-1
I, Nitesh Kumar S/o Shri Hans
Raj R/o H.No.4, Tower
Enclave,Phase-2, Khurla
Kingra, Jalandhar,Punjab-
144014 have changed my son’s
name from Ayaan to Ayaan
Bhagat for all future purposes.
0040579359-8
I, Md Amirul Hassan S/o
Mohammed Anzarul Hassan
R/o H.No.614, Street No.12,
Zakirnagar, N.Delhi-110025
have changed my name to
Mohammed Amirul Hassan.
0040579362-2
I, Mamta W/o Sonpal R/o H.No.4,
Prahladrpur Village, Delhi
Cantt, Moradabad Pahari,
Delhi-110010, have changed
my name to Sita, for all
purposes. 0040579325-2
I, Kanika Gupta W/o Harshit Jain
R/o C-3, Mansrover Park,
Shahdara, Delhi-110032, have
changed my name to Kanika
Jain. 0040579362-9
I, Govind Singh Negi S/o Bal
Singh Negi R/o RZ-C-1/52,
Vinodpuri, Vijay Enclave,Palam
Dabri Road, New Delhi-110045
have changed my name Govind
Singh to Govind Singh Negi for
all future purposes.Govind
Singh and Govind Singh Negi
both are same person.
0070749124-1
I, GAUTAM MANI S/O SH.MANISH
KUMAR SARAN, R/O 5A
TAKSHILA APPT, ABHAY KHAND
3, INDIRAPURAM,
GHAZIABAD,201014 HAVE
CHANGED MY NAME TO
GAUTAM MANI SARAN
0070749079-1
I, Anmol Rattan W/o Deepak
Sachdeva R/o-WZ-74, Madipur
Colony, Paschim Vihar, N.Delhi-
110063 have changed my name
to Ayisha Sachdeva.
0040579362-4
I URMIL NARESH CHANDER
AURORA,W/O NARESH
CHANDER AURORA R/O B-5,
JANGPURA-B, NEW DELHI-
14,have changed my Name
URMIL NARESH CHANDER
AURORA to URMIL AURORA and
I shall hereafter be known-as
URMIL AURORA.
0070749126-1
Letter, Possession Letter, DDA
Possession Letter, Sight
Possession, Challan etc.of
above said property. Finders
may contact at above address.
0040579332-4
I, Neha Gupta W/o Mr. Rakesh
Gupta R/o H.No.13, Jagdish
Nagar, Jwalapur, Haridwar,
Uttarakhand-249407 have lost
my Original Allottment Letter
No.3939 dated 5/11/2007 of
Residential Flat No. SNC-202,
Shipra Neo, Shipra Sun City,
Vaibhav Khand, Indirapuram,
Ghaziabad, U.P. at Lajpat
Nagar, Delhi on 01/08/2021,
which was issued to me by
Ghaziabad Development
Authority and Shipra Estate
Ltd. If found contact Neha
Gupta at Mob.No.-9837045564.
0040579309-1
It is notified for the information
that Lost my original qualifying
Marksheet & certificate of
10th-class Roll.No-
8720249,passing year-
2015,issued by CBSE board,has
been actually lost. Candidate
Name-Mayank Joshi,R/o-WZ
1605/2,Mother Diary
Road,Nangal Raya,West Delhi-
110046,Pin-110046.
0040579367-6
MATRIMONIAL
CHRISTIAN
PUNE settled Keralite Christian
RC Boy (30/ 160 cm) BE, B.Tech,
MBA, Working/ Business,
Malayali all Christian Girls.
Contact: 9867770184.
0070747896-1
OTHERS
5’6; 34yr, ismaili, gujrati boy,
college diploma, UK-40K ,
Upper class family, seeks slim.
V.beautiful,well educated girl
age 22-32, English spoken,
Caste No Bar, mob
447710022617, email
aka_mun2k13@hotmail.com
0040578663-1
PUBLIC NOTICE
It is for general information that I,
Vinay Kumar Srivastava S/o Sh. Jay
Shankar Lal Srivastava R/o H.No. S-
22, Flat No. G F -1, Near Daya Nand
Park, Shalimar Garden Ext.-1,
Shalimar Garden, Ghaziabad, Uttar
Pradesh-201005 declare that name
of mine and my father has been
wrongly written as Vinay Srivastava
and Jaishankar Lal. Srivastava in my
Passport No. K0145667. The actual
name of mine and my father are
Vinay Kumar Srivastava and Jay
Shankar Lal Srivastava, which may
be amended accordingly.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public notice is hereby given that the
share certificate No. 425 for (1)
ordinary share bearing Distinctive
no. 412 of New Saraswati Co-
Operative Group Housing Society
Ltd. in the names of Neeru Chawla
and Deepali Chawla have been
reported lost/stolen and an
application for issue of Duplicate
Certificate in respect thereof has
been made to the society office, to
whom objection if any, against
issuance of such Duplicate Share
Certificate should be made within 14
days from the date of publication of
this notice. Share Certificate is not
mortgaged nor any loan taken
against the flat.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is hereby given to public at large
that my client SMT. MITHLESH SHARMA
W/O LATE SH. SHIV KUMAR SHARMA
R/O B-79, ASHOK VIHAR PHASE-1,
DELHI 110052, have severed all relations
with her sons SH. JITENDER SHARMA
S/O LATE SH. SHIV KUMAR SHARMA
and SH. RAJESH SHARMA S/O LATE
SH. SHIV KUMAR SHARMA R/O B-79,
ASHOK VIHAR PHASE-1, DELHI 110052
and her daughter SAROJ SHARMA D/O
LATE SH. SHIV KUMAR SHARMA W/O
VIRENDER SHARMA. My clients shall
not be responsible for the act and
omission of JITENDER, RAJESH and
SAROJ. My clients have debarred her
both sons JITENDER and RAJESH and
her daughter SAROJ from all her movable
and immovable property and they shall
have no claim and right in the properties
of my client.
Sd/- HARSH BAHL (Advocate)
Aligarh Smart City Limited (ASCL)
Off: S-10, Manish Chamber 4,
Sector-12, Dwarka, New Delhi
Manasi Ganga Building, Baraula By-Pass, Aligarh, U.P 202001, India
Notice Inviting e-Tender ( NIT)- National Competitive Bidding- RFP No- 41/ASCL/2021-22
Chief Executive Officer on behalf of ASCL invites Bids on two bid system through e-
procurement for the following work:-
Name of Work Esti- Earnest Period Publication Pre-Bid Last Date & Date of
mated Money of com- Date & Meeting Time for Technical
Cost Deposit pletion Time date submission Bid
of Bid Opening
Design and Rs. Rs. 40 12 08.08.21 16.08.21 30.08.21 31.08.21
Construction of 19.26 lacs Months 3 pm at 3 PM up to 1 P.M at 4 PM
Redevelopment crore onwards
of Jawahar
(Naqvi) Park on
EPC Mode in
Aligarh (3rd Call)
The time and date for opening of financial bid to qualified bidders shall be intimated
separately. A non refundable amount of Rs. 40,000/ (Rupees forty Thousand only) to
be paid as Tender Fee. The detailed RFP is available at the website -
https://etender.up.nic.in Apart from the other conditions mentioned in the RFP,
Bidder must also fulfil the criteria mentioned in GOI Office Memorandum number F.
No. 6/18/2019-PPD dated 23rd July 2020 issued by Ministry of Finance, Department
of Expenditure, Public Procurement division. Bid would be summarily rejected in
case of non-fulfillment of aforesaid Office Memorandum dated 23rd July ‘20 and
EMD shall be forfeited for those bidders. For more details, contact through email:
aligarhsmartcityltd@gmail.com
Chief Executive Officer, ASCL
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021 Calendar 15
BRIDGE If it’s your YOUR WEEK AHEAD
SUNDAY CROSSWORD 2333
Dealer:South Vulnerable:East/West

NORTH QUICK CLUES

ACROSS
Birthday ARIES (Mar21-Apr 20)
Mars’changing
positionisgood
LIBRA(Sept24-Oct 23)
Finally,thepersonal
stressleveldrops.
♠ A3 8. Find the place of (6) indicationof a Tuesdayand
❤AQ63 9. Small dogs (8) successful,though Wednesday
♦ 10432 WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
10. Grandstand (8) Sunday August8 intense,weekasyoucouldhope emphasiseyourfinancialaffairs.
11. Annually (6) for.Yousee,thisenergeticplanetis The Moonindicatesareluctance
♣962 1H 12. Capital of Austria (6)
There are surprises in the air although in a
yourpersonalruler,anditsnew toincreaseyourexpenses,but
more positive and productive manner.
SOUTH 1S 3H 3S 4H 13. One-storey home (8) locationmeansthattheoddsare thereareothersignsthat
15. Says harsh things about? Passions are rising, and a new enthusiasm
♠ QJ Pass Pass Pass (7) could carry you to fresh heights and
firmlystackedinyourfavour.Do domesticcostsmaybeaboutto
notletanyonegetthebetterof you escalate.Thismaybenobadthing,
17. Indian river - "and a mar"
❤KJ109742 anagram? (7)
unparalleledachievements. orpullthewooloveryoureyes. if youarereapingtherewards of a
♦ K96 20. Respectful (8) TAURUS(Apr 21-May21)
partner’sworldlysuccess.
♣A 22. Unlucky accident Monday August9 Thosetwolively SCORPIO (Oct24-Nov22)
(6) Recent romantic stars linger on. Being
South plays in 4H after a 1S bid from West and a 3S raise by East. West planets,Mercuryand Youstandtobenefit
23. Organisation providing a service for
leadsthekingofclubs,nottheexpectedspade,andSouthwins.Thislooks the public (6) romanticisnotalwaysaboutbeinginlove.It's Venus,areboth morethan most
likeacoldcontract. Doyouagree? Youcan,ifyouwish,playforanovertrick. astateofmindinwhichtheworldaroundyou supportingyouthis peoplefromthis
Assumingyoujustwantyourgame,howdoyougoaboutit? 25. Agricultural worker (8)
week.Youwillthereforeget week’sstunning
26. Terrifying (8) isasinspiringandimaginativeaspossible. whateveryouwantinpersonal Martianmovements.Thoseareas
TheWestHand:S-109872H-8 D-AQJ5C-KQJ 27. A dead body (6)
TheEastHand:S-K654H-5 D-87C-1087543 Down matters,mainlybecause other of yourlifewhichwillreceivea
AnamelessgreedydeclarerIknowwontheclubanddrewtrump. Heledthe 1. Genuine or real (4,4) Tuesday August10 peopleareboundtofallforyour freshshotof inspirationincludeall
queen of spades, taking the sure finesse, but it was not so sure this time. 2. Extending throughout the country You're heading for a practical and cautious undoubtedcharms.Theonly overseascontactsand
Eastwonhiskingandreturnedadiamond. WesthadtheAQJofdiamonds cloudonthehorizonisyour connections,highereducation
sohewonthistrickandlaterwontwomore.Oops. Whatisbetter? (10) year. Even if you are going all out for crazy
3. Italy's football league (5,1) tendencytobe provokedby and legal questions.Partners will
Southjustlostsightoftheball. Allhehadtodowasclaim. Winthecluband objectives, you should still do so one
go to dummy with a heart, both opponents following. Ruff a club. Go to 4. Person or thing needed and ready peoplewholetyoudown,but shareyourgeneralgoodfortune,
dummy with a heart and ruff another club. Lead the queen of spades. The to be of use in an emergency? methodical step at a time. Pay attention to then,whocanblameyou? you’llseetothat.
oddsarethatWesthasthekingandtheoddsarethatifhehasithewillcover (5-2) everydetail.
the queen. When he does not cover the queen there is a big likelihood that 5. Ms Chopra of Bollywood (8) GEMINI(May22-June21) SAGITTARIUS (Nov23-Dec22)
hedoesnothavetheking.WhatdoyoudowhenWestplayslowonthequeen
Theredefinitelyseems Yourfinancialstars
ofspades? 6. Renowned director ___ Nair
(4) 23. Sprays for young persons (6) fuzz (7) Wednesday August11 tobealotgoingon havebeenstrong fora
Forgetthefinesse. Taketheaceandleadaspadeback. Youdonotcarewho
wins this trick. In fact, East wins and he plays a diamond. South plays low 7. Verdi opera, one of his earliest (6) 25. One female in freight transport 21. Challenge one politician on gun You'vegotawonderfullysharpmind,but behindthescenes. numberof months
andWestwinswiththejackbutheisonlyabletotakehisace. Hewasend- 14. Air (10) disappears (8) running (6) whetheryoutellotherpeoplewhatyouare Youmay berightin now,somuchsothat
played. 26. Indian city rainfall relating to land 22. Was wanting paramour finally in
16. ___ ___ has his day? (5,3)
and its cultivation lustful setting
thinkingisuptoyou.Onethingiscertain, insistingthatsomethingneeds yourattitudestomoneymayhave
18. Examine or analyse the cause of explaining,butwhat exactly? The beenthroughacompleteU-turn.
Tip:ForanyonewhoissneeringatWest's1Sbid,IpointoutthatEast-West
the disease (8) (8) (3,3) andit'sthatyou'reenteringabrand new
canmake4SbarringNorth'ssomehowfindingawaytogiveSouthaclubruff. 27. How the twister got around to 24. International development agency emotionalcycle. airof generalmysteryissuchthat You’renowenteringabrief period
19. Packed tightly, forced or crammed? youmay havetowaitalittlewhile whenyou’llbemuchbetterat
being in the red (6) students were initially girls !
Dealer:North Vulnerable:East/West (7)
(4) longerforthedusttosettle,orthe givingmoneyawaythanearning
21. Young bird of prey (6) Down
1. Put around by the perimeter (8)
Thursday August12 fogtoclear.Plus,setasidesome it.Indulgeyourcharitable
NORTH EAST 22. Rhythm instrument (6)
Indecision is inevitable, even desirable. Do timeforpleasure. instincts,and alwaysdoyourbest
♠ K43 ♠ A65
24. Ex-Indian captain ___ Contractor 2. Used - but not by digital watches
(6-4)
Solutions to 2332 you have enough money? How should you bypartners.
(4) CANCER(June 22-July23)
❤ A74 ❤K105 3. Writer given credit on getting in QUICKCLUESAcross: 8Volume,9 spend it? Are long-term investments more Jupiter,thatwisestof CAPRICORN(Dec23-Jan20)
(6) Partakes,10Effluent,11Getsby,12Attila,
♦ KQJ75 ♦ 63 CRYPTIC CLUES
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SOLUTION SUDOKU 4556

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SUDOKU 4557

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SOLUTION: MELEE, RATIO, MOUTON, PRIMLY

ICAR-INDIAN VETERINARY JAMMU

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER
AND KASHMIR Himachal Pradesh
Public Work Department
RESEARCH INSTITUTE JAL SHAKTI PHE (QC&PD) DIVISION, HMT, SRINAGAR INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)
IZATANGAR -243 122, BAREILLY (U.P.) Phone: - 0194- 2496307, E-Mail: -xenmandp@gmail.com 1.The Executive Engineer , Shimla Division No-III, HPPWD , Shimla-3 on behalf of Governor of H.P invites the item rate bids, in elec-
CORRIGENDUM-II
Walk-in-Interview Subject: Rate Contract for Supply of liquid chlorine to be refilled in
tronic tendering system, from the eligible class of contractors registered with HP.PWD., for the work as detailed in the table.
Sr. Name of Work Estimated Cost Starting date EMD Cost of Time Deadline
A Walk-in-Interview is being conducted for engagement departmental chlorine tonners (in chlorine tonners of No. of download-
ing Bid
Tender Allowed for submis-
sion of bid
capacity 900 kgs) for Water Treatment Plants of Jal Shakti .
of One (01) Senior Research Fellow in NASF project PHE Department Kashmir Srinagar.
1 Construction of DDUZ Hospital building at Shimla
(C/O two No’s Modular Operation theatre).
Rs. 12-08-2021 Rs.
1,58,500/-
Rs.5000/- Nine
Months
19-08-2021
1,25,72,119 /-
on, "Studies on host pathogen interaction and Ref: 1. This office e-N.I.T. No. PHE/QC&PD/10/e-Tender Dated: 2 C/O parking for GAD residences at Benmore Shimla Rs. 21,34,685/- 12-08-2021
Rs Rs.500/- Two Months 19-08-2021
(SH:- C/O Steel structure for parking of various GAD
development of vaccine against zoonotic 16.07.2021. residences at Benmore Shimla).
42,700/-
2. This office corrigendum-I vide No. PHE/QCPD/2297-2300
coronaviruses". Dated: 30.07.2021. The bidders are advised to note other details, of tenders from the department website, www.hptenders.gov.in.The Executive
Due to poor response, the critical dates for said e-NIT is rescheduled Engineer reserves the right to accept/reject any tender/application without assigning any reason.
Candidates fulfilling the eligibility criteria available at the hereunder: “HIM SUCHANA AWAM JAN SAMPARK”
3104/HP
Institute's website http://www.ivri.nic.in may directly S. No Particular Date Time
report to Dr. C.Madhan Mohan, Principal Scientist 1 Clarification end date 11.08.2021 03.00 P.M.
and CCPI, Division of Veterinary Biotechnology, 2 Bid Submission end date 13.08.2021 03.00 P.M.
IVRI, Izatnagar along with copies of original documents 3 Bid Opening date 14.08.2021 02.00 P.M.
for an interview to be held on 27.8.2021 at 11.00 AM. No All other terms and conditions in the NIT shall remain unchanged. AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT
Sd/- HIMACHAL PRADESH
TA/DA is admissible for the interview. No. PHE/QCPD/2368-71 Executive Engineer,
Dated: 07.08.2021 PHE QC&PD Jal Shakti Deptt. NOTICE INVITING E-TENDER
DIPK-6171/21 HMT, Srinagar O/o The Sub Divisional Soil Conservation Officer,
Banikhet Distt. Chamba (H.P.).
Telephone No. 01899254624 e-mail: sdscobanikhet@ymail.com
HIMACHAL PRADESH On line bids on item rate basis are invited by the Sub Divisional Soil Conservation Officer Banikhet Distt.
HORTICULTURE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (HPHDP) Chamba, (H.P.) on behalf of Governor of Himachal Pradesh, in electronic tendering system in two covers for
(Govt. of Himachal Pradesh) the under mentioned works from the contractors/firms of “C” & “D” class enlisted with HPPWD and HP Jal
Shakti Vibhag.
Dyerton Bizhub, Talland Bypass,
Shimla, H.P. 171001 (1) Name of Work: - Construction of Kissan Information Centre at Drabber (Salooni) Tehsil Salooni
District Chamba (H.P.). Amount put to tender - Rs. 13, 58,822/-, EMD: - Rs. 34,000/-, Time of
REQUEST FOR APPLICATION FOR MATCHING GRANT Completion: - Nine Months, Cost of Form: - Rs. 1000/-
SCHEME FROM ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS/ENTREPRENEURS (2) Name of Work: - Construction of Residential Building at Lachori Tehsil Salooni District Chamba
(H.P.). Sub Head:- Construction of Retaining wall to Agriculture Building Complex at Lachori Tehsil
Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Development Project (HPHDP) Salooni Distt. Chamba (H.P.) Amount put to tender - Rs. 7, 43185/-, EMD : - Rs. 18,600/-, Time of
is inviting applications for Matching Grant Scheme from eligible Completion: - Six Months, Cost of Form: - Rs. 1000/-.
applicants/ entrepreneurs interested to invest in horticulture 1. Tender document and other instruction can be downloaded or viewed online from the portal https://hpten-
value chain in Himachal Pradesh. ders.gov.in by the firms /individual registered on the website, which is free of cost.
Thegrant(30%oftheeligibleprojectcost for male applicant and 2. As the bid are to be submitted online are required to be encrypted and digitally signed, the bidders are
35% in case of female applicant or specially abled applicant, advised to obtain Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) from suitable vendors or from any authorized agency
withmax, grant amount capped at INR60Lakh for all at the earliest.
categories)willbeprovidedoncompetitivebasis with mandatory 3. Key dates:-
equity contribution by the applicant/entrepreneur. The Request
for Application (RFA) i.e. application form, eligibility criteria and 1. Date of Online Publication 12.08.2021After5:00 PM
other necessary information are available on the Project website 2. Download of e-tender Document From 12.08.2021 05:00 PM up to 05:00 PM 26.08.2021
(www.hds.hp.gov.in). The duly completed application may be 3. Date of Submission of e-tendering From 12.08.2021 05:00 PM up to 05:00 PM 26.08.2021
submitted via email (hdp-pd-hp@gov.in)or can be procured from 4. Physical submission of Earnest Money Deposit and cost of Up to 11:00 AM 27.08.2021
and submittedat HPHDP Office, Shimla (Ph- 8894497175) or tender document.
office of Deputy Director of Horticulture (DDH), Kangra (Ph- 5. Date of opening of Bid Up to 11:30 AM 27.08.2021
7781004578) or DDH, Mandi (Ph-9811185010) or DDH, Solan
(Ph- 9311018839) during office hours on or before 05.09.2021. Conditions:-
Project Director 1. The e-tender documents shall be uploaded online in two covers:-
Himachal Pradesh Horticulture I) Cover-1 shall contained scanned copies of “eligibility information”
Development Project (HPHDP) II) Cover-2 shall contain “Financial Bid” on the prescribed form.
0311/HP
2. Cover-1shall contained scanned copies of following eligibility information” (Scanned copies to be
uploaded)
I) Earnest Money in shape of NSC/saving account on any of the Post Offices in Himachal Pradesh/Time
POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL Deposit Receipt of any nationalized bank, demand draft duly pledged in the name of the Sub Divisional
Soil Conservation Officer Banikhet Distt. Chamba, (H.P.) (By designation) OR Certificate of exemption
EDUCATION & RESEARCH, CHANDIGARH of Earnest Money Deposit or through e-payment. However in case of e-payment physical submission
SHORT TERM TENDER NOTICE of document is not required.
II) Cost of tender form in shape of demand draft of Rs 1000/- only or through e-payment.
FOR PROVIDING MEDICAL RECORD SERVICES III) Certificate of Registration HPPWD and HP Jal Shakti Vibhag in appropriate class and latest renewal
Sealed tenders are invited under ‘two bid system’ from reputed firm companies/ organi- thereof.
zations/ proprietary firms/ partnership forms/ AOP/ LLP/ agencies, either by themselves or IV) Income tax & GST registration and latest clearance certificate thereof.
as a duly authorized person, Manager/Managing Director/CEO or any other functionaries
duly competent, having capacity and proven track record of providing Medical Record
V) Affidavit not more than two work in hand.
Services for manning minimum 93 counters (8 hrs shift for six days in a week) and 5 coun- VI) Affidavit all the information with the bid is correct.
ters (running throughout the year 24 x 7 x 365 in three shifts) for the Postgraduate Institute VII) Work done detail in last five year attested by Executive Engineer.
of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh for a period of SIX MONTHS on Lump VIII) A scanned copy of undertaking that I have accepted all the terms and conditions stipulated in form
sum outsourcing basis, which would include all the elements of cost of labour, EPF, ESI, PWD 6 & 8 as well as special terms and conditions appended along with schedule of quantity and
Gratuity, Bonus, GST, replacement cost, uniform and Identity Cards cost and other likely cost NIT before quoting the rates in the BOQ chart and that I have Visited the site of work before quoting
to be borne by the bidder and margin/profitability as thereof as a single unit, which would the rates,
remain the same throughout the contract term of six months and would not deviate/change 3. Cover-2 shall contain BOQ where contractor will quote his offer for each item.
under any circumstances of escalation on any of the cost elements referred above and like- 4. The tenders of contractor/firms who fail to fulfill the eligibility information will be summarily rejected.
ly changes may come into enforce during the contract terms on account of any changes in
the legislative law pertains to above cost elements. 5. The contractor will submit the original document in respect of Ernest Money and cost of tender form in the
Last date for submission/receipt of tender (s) is 16.08.2021 till 1:00 PM in the office of
office of the Sub Divisional Soil Conservation Officer Banikhet, Distt. Chamba, (H.P.) on or before
Sr. Administrative Officer (H), near Reception Counter No. 17 or main fee counter No. 16, 27.08.2021 up to 11AM.
Nehru Hospital (Old PGI), PGIMER, Chandigarh and the tender will be opened by the 6. The negotiation/clarification, if any will be taken from successful contractors only in respect of error and
Tender Committee in the presence of bidders or their authorized representatives, who may omission, technical aspects and in case on finalized bid.
opt to remain present on the same day at 15.00 PM. in the Committee Room, (Adjacent to 7. Earnest money of L1 and L2 may be retained for a period of 120 days.
Senior Administrative Officer (H) Medical Superintendent Office, Nehru Hospital, PGIMER, 8. The representative of the firms should inspect the site himself and make conversant with the site condi-
Chandigarh by the Committee constituted by the competent authority of the Institute. In case tions.
the day of opening of tenders is declared holiday, the tenders will be opened on the next 9. If the tender opening day is a holiday, the tenders shall be opened on next working day at the same time
working day at the same time but the tender box will be sealed on the day and time, as and venue.
scheduled above. The tenders received after the above said scheduled date and time will not
be considered. No tender by FAX/or any other mode will be entertained. Tender Form can
10. The offer of the tender shall be kept open for 120 days.
be downloaded from the website (www.pgimer.edu.in) an application accompanied with NOTE: - In case of failure of supply/ net connectivity problem, the tender shall be downloaded on the restora-
Demand Draft for Rs. 5000/- (non-refundable) as the cost of tender form in favour of the tion of same.
Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh. HIM SUCHNA AVAM JAN SAMPARK.”
DIRECTOR 3093/HP

New Delhi

16 THE WORLD/SPORT
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021
TOPOFTHE
WORLD
A rainbow balloon in
Budapest in June. Reuters
HUNGARY
Curbsonsalesof
LGBT-themed
children’sbooks
HUNGARY ORDERED shops
on Friday to sell children’s
booksseenaspromotingho-
mosexualityin“closedwrap-
ping”, stepping up restric-
tionsthathavesetPMViktor
Orban on a collision course
withtheEU.Thebookswere
banned from being sold
within200metresofaschool
or church. The order is the
first to spell out the implica-
tions of a law passed in June
banningtheuseof materials
seenaspromotinghomosex-
ualityatschools. REUTERS
MYANMAR
NewASEAN
envoysayswants
fullaccess
THE BRUNEI diplomat ap-
pointedbyaSoutheastAsian
regional bloc as its special
envoy to Myanmar said on
Saturdayheshouldbegiven
fullaccesstoallpartieswhen
hevisitsthecountry,where
the military overthrew an
elected government.
Speaking a day after his ap-
pointment by the
Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, Brunei’s
Erywan Yusof gave no date
for his visit to Myanmar,
whose civilian leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and other offi-
cials have been detained
since the February coup.
REUTERS
Australia win
4th T20 to end
losing run in
Bangladesh
ASSOCIATES PRESS
DHAKA, AUGUST 7
LEGSPINNERMITCHELLSwepson
claimed a career-best 3-12 as
Australia ended its losing run in
Bangladesh with a hard-fought
three-wicketvictoryinthefourth
Twenty20 on Saturday.
Swepson, one of the two
changes by Australia, used his
googly and quicker deliveries to
perfection to limit Bangladesh to
104-9.
Bangladesh, which had al-
readyclinchedthefive-matchse-
ries,createdachancetomakeit4-
0 by reducing Australia to 65-6 in
the11thoverbutAshtonAgarand
Ashton Turner batted sensibly to
help the side overhaul the target
with six balls remaining.
Agar was key in the 105-7
winning total, making a run-a-
ball-27withtwofoursandonesix.
After combining for a match-
changing 34 runs with Turner,
Agarwasdismissedbyfastbowler
Shoriful Islam when the side was
six runs from victory.
Australia won with Turner on
9 and Andrew Tye on 4.
Offspinner Mahedi Hasan
brokethroughinthefirstover,dis-
missing captain Matthew Wade
for 2. But Dan Christian appeared
set to win the match on his own
when he struck Shakib Al Hasan
for five sixes in his one over.
The arrival of fast bowler
Mustafizur Rahman shifted the
momentum when he removed
Christian after his 39 off 15 balls.
“We’ve worked hard over the
lastfewgamesandnothadthere-
sultgoourway.It’shardworkout
there,”AustraliacaptainMatthew
Wade said. “The way Dan played,
that’s the difference between
moving and losing sometimes.
We needed big runs up top, and
that changed the match.”
The fifth and final T20 is on
Monday.
BRIEFSCORES: Australia105for
7 (Christian 39) beat Bangladesh
104 for 9 (Swepson 3-12, Tye 3-
18) by three wickets
Knife attacker
injures 10 in
Tokyo train,
wanted to ‘kill
happy women’
REUTERS
TOKYO, AUGUST 7
THE MAN alleged to have
wounded 10 people in a knife
attack on a Tokyo commuter
train late on Friday told police
he became incensed when he
saw women who “looked
happy” and wanted to kill
them, Japanese media reported
on Saturday.
Police arrested the 36-year-
old man in another part of Tokyo
after he slashed and stabbed
people in the attack at about
8.40 pm (1140 GMT) on Friday
on a train on the Odakyu Line in
the western part of the city, me-
dia reported.
One victim, a female univer-
sity student, was seriously
wounded, while the rest suf-
fered less severe injuries.
The Sankei newspaper re-
portedthatthesuspecttoldpolice:
“IbeganfeelinglikeIwantedtokill
womenwholookedhappyabout
six years ago. Anyone was fine, I
justwantedtokillalotof people.”
Other media, including
broadcaster NHK, reported sim-
ilar quotes from the suspect.
A police spokesman said
they had nothing further to
share on the details of the case
when asked about the media
reports on Saturday.
Violent crime is rare in Japan
but there have been a spate of
knife attacks by assailants un-
known to the victims.
Rescue workers carry a
person through a train
station in Tokyo. Reuters
Root, Bumrah set up intriguing final day
SHAMIK CHAKRABARTY
AUGUST 7
JOE ROOT drove Shardul Thakur
past mid-on and let out his emo-
tions.Hisbattingformhaddipped
sincemid-February.Hiscaptaincy
hasbeenunderthescanner.Atthe
pre-matchpressconference,Root
was asked about if the next 10
Tests–fiveagainstIndiafollowed
byfiveintheAshes–coulddeter-
mine his captaincy future. The
Englandcaptaindidn’tbrushaside
the question and sort of agreed
that the results in the two high-
profile series might have a bear-
ing. Then again, he is not an aver-
age Joe and his masterclass gave
histeamachanceatTrentBridge.
Root’s 21st Test century, his
firstinEnglandinthreeyears,was
one of the best of his 106-game
career. For the first time in four
days, the sun shone unfettered
and play was uninterrupted. The
pitchandconditionsbecameeas-
ier for batting. But Root was up
againstatop-classIndianpaceat-
tack spearheaded by Jasprit
Bumrah,whobaggedafive-forin
England’s second innings to an-
nouncehisreturntoformafterthe
WorldTestChampionship(WTC)
final lull. The hosts posted 303 in
their second innings to give India
avictorytargetof209.Rootscored
109 of those runs.
Indiamadeastrongstarttothe
chase but lost KL Rahul to finish
Day 4 at 52/1.
It was a gripping day of Test
cricket; a day which in Indian
sporting context belonged to
Neeraj Chopra. Not often does an
India-England game gets over-
shadowedbyothersportsevents,
but87.58mhasnowbeenetched
in sporting history.
From England’s point of view,
however,Rootheldthekeytothe
day.At46/2andtrailingby95runs
onfirstinnings,troublebeckoned.
After a streaky four against
Bumrah to get off the mark, Root
steadilygrewintothegame.Astiff
breeze was blowing across the
groundandMohammedSirajwas
getting his inswingers going.
England’s batting talisman at-
tested his intent with a couple of
gorgeous boundaries against the
bowler. Back-to-back fours off
Afghanhonourguardsholda wreathof flowers withaportrait
of DawaKhan Menapal,directorof Afghanistan’s Government
InformationMediaCentre,inKabulonSaturday. TheTaliban
shotandkilledMenapalonFriday. AP
Taliban enter north
Afghan provincial
capital, lawmaker says
TAMEEM AKHGAR
& KATHY GANNON
KABUL, AUGUST 7
TALIBAN FIGHTERS entered the
capitalof northernAfghanistan’s
Jawzjan province Saturday, a
provincial lawmaker said, after
sweepingthroughnineof 10dis-
tricts in the province.
Thegovernmentdidnotdeny
lawmaker Mohammad Karim
Jawzjani’s claim that Taliban
fightershadenteredSheberghan,
but said the city had not fallen. If
the city falls, it will be the second
provincialcapitalinasmanydays
tosuccumbtotheTaliban.Several
other of the country’s 34 provin-
cial capitals are threatened.
On Friday, the Taliban took
control of the southwestern
Nimroz provincial capital of
Zaranj, where the government
says it is still battling insurgents
inside the capital.
Sheberghan is particularly
strategicbecauseitisthestrong-
hold of US-allied Uzbek warlord
Rashid Dostum, whose militias
are among those resurrected to
aid the Afghan National Security
and Defence Forces.
Heavy airstrikes were re-
portedbyresidentsofSheberghan
who also said the Taliban had
The 5/64 on Saturday was Jasprit Bumrah’s second five-for at Trent Bridge.
Mohammed Shami were even
better. Root was taking the game
to India.
ViratKohlitriedtokeephisop-
posite number off strike and at-
tackthedourDomSibley.Theploy
nearlyworked.Forawhile,Root’s
battingbecamealittletwitchy.He
regained his rhythm by hitting a
four off Shami that also took him
to his half-century.
Kohli versus James Anderson
is not the only subplot of the se-
ries. This is also Root’s challenge
to go shoulder to shoulder with
his ‘Fab Four’ mates – Kohli, Kane
WilliamsonandSteveSmith.This
was his 10th Test hundred as
England skipper. Only Peter May,
Pak NSA: US not
seeking military
base in Pakistan
Islamabad: Pakistan’s
National Security Adviser
MoeedYusufhassaidthatno
USofficialorlawmakerasked
foramilitarybaseinPakistan,
rejecting reports that the
Biden administration was
seeking American military
bases in the country to influ-
encedevelopmentsinneigh-
bouring Afghanistan. Yusuf
made the comments as he
wrappeduphis10-daytripto
theUS.Hemetseniorofficials
duringhisvisitbeforeleaving
for Islamabad, Dawn news-
paper reported on Saturday.
“The word base was not
mentioned, not even once,
duringourtalks,exceptinthe
media,” Yusuf said. PTI
freed prisoners from the city jail.
Taliban fighters have swept
through large swathes of
Afghanistan at surprising speed,
initially taking districts, many in
remoteareas.Inrecentweeksthey
have laid siege to several provin-
cialcapitalsacrossthecountry. AP
GrahamGoochandAlastairCook
are ahead of him.
Back to his best
Bumrah copped flak for his
performance in the WTC final.
Coming back to the red-ball fold
afterafewmonths,thefastbowler
was undercooked against New
ZealandinJune.Now,heisbackin
hiselement.Thedeliverythatdis-
missedawell-setRootpitchedon
the fifth-stump channel and an-
gledin,carryingtheextrabounce
ofthesecondnewball.Rootedged
it to Rishabh Pant.
Sam Curran’s scalp was
equally important. The left-han-
der,asishiswont,wasfrustrating
50 held in Pak
over attack on
Hindu temple
M ZULQERNAIN
LAHORE, AUGUST 7
PAKISTAN’S LAW enforcement
agencies on Saturday arrested
over 50 people, including the
main suspects, allegedly in-
volved in an attack on a Hindu
temple in a remote town of the
country’s Punjab province, a day
aftertheSupremeCourtadmon-
ished the authorities for their
failure to protect the shrine.
They also booked 150 people
in connection with the attack on
Wednesday.
Amobattackedthetempleat
Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan
districtof theprovince,some590
kms from Lahore, in protest
against the release of an eight-
year-oldHinduboy,whowasar-
rested for allegedly urinating in
a local seminary.
“More than 50 suspects have
been arrested so far through
analysis of video footages in a
shameful ransacking incident at
a temple in Rahim Yar Khan,”
Punjab province Chief Minister
Usman Buzdar tweeted. PTI
Journalists briefly
held in Pak over
‘scandalous’ talk
Lahore: Pakistani authorities
briefly detained two prominent
journalistsin LahoreonSaturday,
drawingcondemnationfromhu-
man rights activists, political
leaders,andthecountry’smedia.
A senior official from
Pakistan’s Federal Investigation
Agency (FIA) said Amir Mir and
Imran Shafqat were detained af-
terposting“scandalouscontent”
on social media. The FIA later
said the two had been released
on bail after questioning.
Thecontentinvolvedavideo,
which was an informal round-
table discussion where journal-
ists discussed the Army’s role in
politics and the judiciary in
Pakistan. The video was posted
on YouTube, the FIA said. AP
AP
India.England’sleadwasswelling
alarmingly.Bumrahaccountedfor
Curran with a short delivery that
cramped the latter for room. A
brilliant yorker castled Stuart
Broadnextball.Thepacerfinished
with5/64from19oversontopof
his 4/46 in the first innings.
England had one significant
partnership – 89 runs between
Root and Sibley for the third
wicket – surrounded by a few
more useful associations. Root’s
partners were letting him down.
Jonny Bairstow looked good, but
pulledaSirajhalf-trackerstraight
to Ravindra Jadeja at deep square
leg. The field positioning sug-
gested that India were expecting
DELTA VARIANT SPREADS ACROSS COUNTRY
USnowaveraging100,000
newCovidinfectionsaday
Increase from average of 11,000 new daily cases in June
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUGUST 7
THEUSisnowaveraging100,000
new Covid-19 infections a day,
returningtoamilestonelastseen
duringthewintersurgeinyetan-
other bleak reminder of how
quickly the delta variant has
spread through the country.
The US was averaging about
11,000 cases a day in late June.
Now the number is 107,143.
It took the US about nine
months to cross the 100,000 av-
eragecasenumberinNovember
beforepeakingat about250,000
in early January.Casesbottomed
out in June but took about six
weekstogobackabove100,000,
despite a vaccine that has been
given to more than 70% of the
adult population.
The seven-day average for
daily new deaths also increased,
according to data from Johns
Hopkins University. It rose over
the past two weeks from about
270 deaths per day to nearly 500
a day as of Friday.
Thevirusisspreadingquickly
through unvaccinated popula-
tions, especially in the South
where hospitalshavebeen over-
run with patients.
Health officials are fearful
that cases will continue to soar if
more Americans don’t embrace
the vaccine.
“Our models show that if
we don’t (vaccinate people), we
could be up to several hundred
thousand cases a day, similar to
our surge in early January,”
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention director Rochelle
Walensky said on CNN this
week.
The number of Americans
hospitalised with the virus has
also skyrocketed and it has got-
ten so bad that many hospitals
are scrambling to find beds for
patients in far-off locations.
Bumrah copped flak
for his performance in
the WTC final. Coming
back to the red-ball
fold after a few months,
the fast bowler was
undercooked against
New Zealand in June.
Now, he is back in his
element.
it. Dan Lawrence, after playing a
superbshot,shuffledalittletoofar
across against Thakur to be
trapped leg-before. Jos Buttler
shouldered arm to an incoming
delivery from Thakur to be
bowled.
FromIndia’sperspective,all20
wicketsinthematchwenttotheir
fastbowlers.Thepacequartetdid
their job, although Shami didn’t
have a good day on Saturday.
Another157runsarerequiredfor
victory on the final day, as the
onus shifts to the batsmen.
SCOREBOARD
England (1st innings): 183
India (1st innings): 278
England (2nd Innings): 303
RBurnscPantbSiraj18(49b,3x4),
DSibleycPantbBumrah28(133b,
2x4), Z Crawley c Pant b Bumrah
6(7b,1x4),JRootcPantbBumrah
109 (172b, 14x4), J Bairstow c
Jadeja b Siraj 30 (50b, 4x4), D
Lawrence lbw b Thakur 25 (32b,
4x4), J Buttler b Thakur 17 (22b,
3x4),SCurrancSirajbBumrah32
(45b, 4x4), O Robinson c Rahane
b Shami 15 (12b, 2x4), S Broad b
Bumrah0(1b),JAndersonnotout
0 (2b)
Extras: 23 (b 5, lb 2, nb 10, w 6).
Bowling:JBumrah19-2-64-5,Md
Siraj 25-3-84-2, Md Shami 15.5-
1-72-1, S Thakur 13-1-37-2, R
Jadeja 13-3-39-0.
India (2nd Innings): 52/1
KLRahulcButtlerbBroad26(38b,
6x4), R Sharma batting 12 (34b),
C Pujara batting 12 (13b, 3x4)
Extras: 2 (lb 1, nb 1)
Bowling: J Anderson 5-1-12-0, S
Broad 5-1-18-1, O Robinson 4-0-
21-0 At stumps Day 4
India need 157 runs
New Delhi
People wait in line to get a Covid test to travel overseas at an
airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AP
E
E X P L A I NE D
Hesitancy
overmasks,
● vaccines
THEDELTAvariantisdriving
thelatestsurgeincasesinthe
US,andpreliminaryresearch
intheUKsuggeststhateven
vaccinatedpeoplecaneasily
transmitthisstrainof the
virus.Vaccinationsdo,how-
ever,offerstrongprotection
againstseriousillness.Butthe
UShasseenvaccinehesitancy
inalargesectionof thepopu-
lation,andthequickspreadof
Deltahascoincidedwitha
sharpsurgeinhospitalisation
anddeathrates.Expertssay
thesituationhasbeenwors-
enedbyarisinghesitation
amongpeopletowearmasks,
andthescrappingof mostso-
cialdistancingnorms.
Houston officials say the lat-
est wave of Covid-19 cases is
pushingthelocalhealthcaresys-
tem to nearly “a breaking point,”
resulting in some patients hav-
ing to be transferred out of the
city to get medical care, includ-
ing one who had to be taken to
North Dakota.
Messi to hold conference;
PSG in talks, reports say
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUGUST 7
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN and
LionelMessiareinnegotiationson
a contract after financially trou-
bledBarcelonawasunabletokeep
the superstar, a person with
knowledge of the negotiations
told The Associated Press on
Saturday.
Messi’s legal team is in Paris
andnegotiationshaveseenanan-
nual net salary of around 25 mil-
lion euros ($29.5 million) dis-
cussed which would be lower
thanhisBarcelonapay,theperson
saidonconditionofanonymityto
discuss ongoing talks.
Barcelona announced that
Messiwillgiveanewsconference
at the Camp Nou on Sunday at
noon local time (1000 GMT) but
has not specified what it is about.
Even so, Barcelona’s coach and
playersdidnotwaittomakepub-
lic their tributes and farewells to
the star.
Barcelona bid farewell to
Messi in statements and social
mediapostsonThursday,making
him the most desired free agent
insoccerhistoryafterhiscontract
expired. The Catalan club had
hopedtokeepMessi,whoagreed
to a pay cut, but it still wouldn’t
have complied with the Spanish
league’s financial regulations.
PSG coach Mauricio
Pochettinowasincontactwithhis
fellowArgentineasBarcelonaan-
nounced on Thursday that Messi
would be leaving the club he
joined as a 13-year-old before
winning every major trophy and
world player of the year titles.
FundedforadecadebyQatari
sovereignwealth,PSGisoneofthe
fewclubsintheworldthatcanfi-
nanceadeal.Theclubisexploring
sponsorship deals in South
Americaonthebackofbeingable
to sign Messi. There was no im-
mediate response from Messi’s
media team. PSG, which was
opening its French league cam-
paign later Saturday against
Troyes,didn’trespondtoanemail
withquestionsseekingcomment.
Messi led Barcelona to 35 ti-
tles, including four Champions
League crowns, while also earn-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
UK PM decides
not to self-isolate
after aide tests
positive for Covid
ADITI KHANNA
LONDON, AUGUST 7
THERE WAS growing anger
within the Opposition Labour
party ranks on Saturday over UK
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s
decision to not self-isolate fol-
lowing an aide testing positive
for Covid-19.
Downing Street said Johnson
willnotfollowthegovernment’s
10-day quarantine guidance for
people who come in close con-
tact with someone who goes on
to test positive for Covid-19.
According to the Guardian, a
senior government source said
that Johnson and the official in
question were “side-by-side” on
several occasions.
However, the PM’s
spokesperson said Johnson was
neverinclosecontact“with any-
one who has tested positive”.
The Labour party accused
Johnson of “cooking up a reason
to be above the rules”. PTI
“Nothingwill everbethe
same,notCampNou,not
thecityof Barcelona,not
evenourselves,”veteran
defenderPiquesaidina
messagetoMessi. Reuters
ingarecordsixBallond’Orawards.
But club president Joan Laporta
deemedretainingthebestplayer
in club history, even at a 50% dis-
counttohispreviouswages,astoo
risky to its beleaguered finances.
While Messi waited to speak
on his future, Barcelona’s coach
and players used social media to
express their farewells to the 34-
year-old star.
Coach Ronald Koeman said
Saturday that “it is still difficult to
grasp that you will never play
again for Barcelona.”
Veteran defender Gerard
Pique,whohadplayedwithMessi
since the time both were
teenagers at Barcelona’s youth
academy, said late Friday that
“nothing will ever be the same,
not Camp Nou, not the city of
Barcelona,notevenourselves.We
meteachotherwhenwewere13
years old and had our careers be-
fore us. What a career! If we had
written it ourselves, it could not
have been better.”
Left back Jordi Alba, who de-
veloped an almost unstoppable
passingconnectionwithMessifor
theArgentinetoscore,saidthat“it
hasbeenaprivilegetosharethese
nine years with you. How I en-
joyedyourpassestomeetmyrun
and my pass back to you that al-
ways worked. And how much I
am going to miss you,” Alba said.
 17 SPORT
How Tokyo’s 7 medals would impact the trajectory of Indian sport
HEALING
NEERAJ’SGOLD
FOR YEARS it hurt —the two fourth-place
finishes of Milkha Singh and PT Usha at
the Olympics. It was the closest that
Indian athletics reached the vicinity of
the podium. As much as Milkha and Usha
were romanticised and revered, there
was still a part of their own psyche that
refused to come into grips with the near
miss. No longer though, as Chopra’s
historic throw in Tokyo shall exorcise the
ghosts of Rome and Los Angeles. Usha
herself thanked Chopra for realising her
unfulfilled dream. Beyond that, Indian
athletics now has a legacy, a precedent
and pioneer, and a totem who is just 23
years old, who has just begun his career
and with the potential to take Indian
athletics to further heights.
COUNTRY
1. China
2. USA
3. Japan
MEDAL TALLY
G
38
36
27
S
31
39
12
B
18
33
17
TOTAL
108
4. ROC
5. G Britain
20
20
26
21
23
22
6. Australia 17 07 22
7. Germany 10 11 16
8. Netherlands 10 11 12
9. Italy
47. India
10
01
*G- Gold, S- Silver, B- Bronze
10
02
19
04
HIGHLIGHT REEL
BASKETBALL
DURANTSTEPSUP
Kevin Durant scored 29 points and
joined Carmelo Anthony as the only
three-time men’s gold medalists in
Olympic history. Jayson Tatum
added 19 and the US held off France
87-82 on Saturday to win the title.
FOOTBALL
BRAZILTAKETHECROWN
Malcom scored in the 108th minute
andBrazilwonitssecondconsecutive
goldmedal inmen’ssoccerwith a 2-1
victoryoverSpain.Brazilalsowongold
onhomesoilfiveyearsagoattheiconic
MaracanaStadium.Neymarstruckthe
winner in a 5-4 shootout after a 11
draw with Germany. Brazil had a 1-0
lead at the half but Mikel Oyarzabal
tieditforSpaininthe61stminuteoffa
cross from Carlos Soler.
ATHLETICS
FELIXEXITSONAHIGH
Allyson Felix made her record-setting
11thtripafterstarringastheheadliner
on a 4x400 relay win that featured a
who’swhoofAmericanrunning.With
thegoldmedaldanglingfromherneck
andtheStar-SpangledBannerplaying
in the near-empty stadium. “I took a
momentjusttoclosemyeyesandtake
itinonelasttime,”Felixsaid.Afterthe
final race of the final Games of the 35-
year-old sprinter’s career, Felix leaves
thestagehavingwonthemostmedals
of any track athlete in US history.
From Khudan to Tokyo, Bajrang Punia’s love for wrestling pays off
NIHALKOSHIE
AUGUST7
IT IS a story that dates back to when wrestler
BajrangPuniawasabout13-years-old.Balwan
Singh, his father, still narrates it with pride. At
adangalnearKhudanvillage,wherethefam-
ily is from, Bajrang grappled with a heavier
wrestler and defeated him.
“The other pehelwan was about 15 kilo-
gramsheavier.Bajrangdidn’thesitate.Heout-
muscled his opponent. I think it was an exhi-
bition bout. There are no videos of it. But I
rememberhegotthebetterof hisopponent,”
Balwan says, chuckling with joy.
Medals his son won in Asian Games,
Commonwealth, World Championship,
and now the Olympics are close to his
heart, but there is a reason Balwan remem-
bers this particular day.
The little-known win convinced Balwan
his boy was meant to be a wrestler. He was
to put the family’s name back in the
wrestling spotlight. In telling fashion too,
by out-manoeuvring Kazakistan’s Daulet
RENAISSANCE
HOCKEYBRONZE
FORTY ONE years of crushing pain is over.
For long, it seemed Indian hockey was
quietly rolling down the slope of
ignominy, its heyday a sodden reel of the
past, beyond redemption and retrieval.
The longer the wait for an Olympic medal
continued for the record Olympic
champs, the lonelier Indian hockey felt.
But the men’s bronze medal—and the
near bronze medal of the women’s
team—could potentially wake up the
sleeping giant. Hockey’s stature and
popularity could soar, the team would
only emerge stronger, bag more laurels,
and the sport in the country of hockey’s
Bradman, Dhyan Chand, would witness a
second wind that could reinstate the
departed glory.
87
56
Well begun is half done
69
63
Chopra’s first throw of 87.03m put pressure on the rest of the field and almost decided the gold at the outset itself
46
37
33 SHIVANI NAIK
39
07
MUMBAI, AUGUST 7
THE 87.03 metres throw. Not to be mis-
taken for that 87.58 metres one which
fetched Neeraj Chopra the gold.
Chopra’s first rush in the final - the
opening act, India’s first step in track & field,
Chopra’s rocket take-off, his open challenge
to Johannes Vetter to see who was better
on the big night - was the defining moment
of India’s 2020+1 Olympics climax. The
87.03 joined a pantheon of statistical coin-
cidences, harbingers of blazing medals
India has won over the years in Olympic fi-
nals.
That the gold medal was sealed with the
very first of six throws is clear. Some might
even say that the message went out to the
field in qualification itself. Chopra 86.65m
bt Vetter 85.64m.
But on Finals Day, it was the 87.03m that
set the tone, even while it was clear that
85m was going to be the new 90m of
javelin this summer. While Chopra con-
templated gunning for the Olympic record
(90.5m) as well as his personal best, it was
the impact first throw and “steady” second
that actually brought home the gold.
“If your first throw is good, you gain
confidence. And it also automatically puts
pressure on all the other athletes plus you
yourself feel good about yourself,” he
would explain later.
But going big on the first throw sits
nicely with all of India’s medals that have
come on the back of aggressive opening at-
tempts in Finals.
Abhinav Bindra’s 10.7 on the first shot
in the Beijing 10m air rifle Finals. Gold.
Gagan Narang’s 10.7 four years later in
London. Bronze. Vijay Kumar’s 5/5 in Rapid
Fire Pistol. Silver. Shooting success has
come on the back of that first near-perfect
shot.
A good start sets the ball rolling, though
the last shot could be just as important, or
any other attempts delivered in the course
of a final. So, Bindra bookended his final
with 10.7 and a Hulking 10.8. Narang fin-
ished with another monster 10.7. The con-
fident first stride - either to take the lead,
like Chopra did (and never let go) when the
best effort gets the medal, or to get into the
groove, when scores add up - has been the
hallmark of forays into medal territory.
Finals for Indians have also gone down-
hill if the starts were poor, middling or sim-
ply not enormous. In shooting, Jitu Rai (9.5),
Joydeep Karmakar (10.1) previously, and
Saurabh Chaudhary (10.1) in Tokyo, are
cases in point.
Niyazbekov 8-0.
Strong, fearless
A pehelwan himself, Balwan realised that
a young Bajrang had two qualities that the
akharasacrosstheregioncouldnotteach–nat-
ural strength and fearlessness. Now 27,
Bajrang’scomebackswhentrailinginthefinal
minute is the stuff of legends. He fought back
from the brink during the gold medal match
of the Asian Championship and the bronze
medalboutattheWorldChampionshipstwo
years ago.
His father is amused when asked how he
remainsconfidentthoughtheclockisrunning
down.“Evenasateenager,hewonboutsafter
staring at defeat. He is mentally strong but
equallyimportantishissmartness.Heisquick
to spot a window of opportunity and backs
himself. I was like this in my younger days.”
BalwanisathomeinSonipat.Sixyearsago,
the family moved from Khudan and closer to
the Sports Authority of India centre where
Bajrangtrains.Thereissignagefixedacrossthe
boundarywallwithpicturesofBajrangatfelic-
itations. The Olympic rings painted at the top
MESSIAH
MIRABAI’SSILVER
FOR 21 years, Karnam Malleswari’s bronze
remained India’s only weightlifting medal
in the Olympics. Though a popular sport, it
seemed drifting down the drain after it got
embroiled in doping scandals. The sport
was teetering in an existential crisis when
Malleswari’s spiritual heir burst into the
circuit from Imphal, with a beatific smile
and charming demeanour. She showed
nerves of steeliest steel to overcome
injuries and hurt and chart a new path in
India’s weightlifting history. A path that
would be devotedly followed by a
thousand unknown Mirabais in the
country. The most inspiring of India’s
medals could inspire a barbell revolution,
and no doubt restore the credibility of the
sport in the country.
An 87.03m to kick off the contest dumped almighty pressure on Johannes Vetter, and also put the gold seemingly out of
reach of the Czechs and German Julian Webber. AP
The 7s and 8s in Archery this time to
kick off for Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das
have proven more damaging than anything
in the clutch - which is assumed to be the
weakness. But the poor starts can bring
challenges undone.
Psychology of a fast start
An 87.03m to kick off the contest
dumped almighty pressure on Vetter, and
also put the gold seemingly out of reach of
the Czechs and German Webber. While it
may be simplistic to assume that Chopra
was the form player going into Tokyo, it will
rank as one of the smartest tactics to go all-
out at the start, and draw desperation and
rushed mistakes from Vetter by baiting him
to go for ‘90m or no gold’ scenario.
While the top eight throwers got six at-
ofthebuildingreflectthehouseowner’sstatus.
In the evening Balwan sits on the porch,
passersby nod in acknowledgment.
Unfulfilled career
Balwanwrestledindangalsforagoodpart
of his youth. A promising university-level
wrestler, he dropped out because he had to
tend to the three-acre land the family owned.
Times were tough back, Balwan says. “I don’t
wanttomakeitsoundlikeitwasaburden,but
I had three daughters and two sons. You have
to think of the future too when you have a big
family.Whenthetimecomes,peoplewillask
what the father does or how much land he
owns,” Balwan adds.
Throughallhistroubles,hisonedreamwas
to get his sons into wrestling.Harinder, the
olderson,followedinhisfather’sfootstepsand
joinedanakhada.Butlikehisfather,hehadto
give it up and work in the fields. Bajrang was
the last big hope. “Bajrang was not mischie-
vous and he towed the line at home. The only
time we had to be strict with him was when
his obsession for wrestling went overboard.
But nobody really complained. We wanted a
SUCCESSOR
LOVLINA’SBRONZE
IN MARY Kom’s Olympics swan-song,
she found her successor too—Lovlina
Borgohain, the doughty, gritty boxer
from Baromukhia. Like her mentor, she
has technique, tactical awareness and
composure to be more than a one-off, to
be a talisman of women’s boxing in
years to come, to rule the world for
many more years. In her bouts in the
Olympics, she illustrated Mary-like
tenacity to not surrender and keep
fighting, even if your adversary has a
better repertoire and reputation, as was
the case during her semi-finals. Her
emergence came just around the time
when women’s boxing was slithering
away from public eyes. Her emergence
would catalyse its reemergence.
tempts, the bar was set on an above-aver-
age 87m throw at the outset, which surely
would’ve upset their own pacing or mo-
mentum-building, knowing that Chopra
had fired home a biggie and might have
enough in the tank to go even further.
While Vetter’s fidgety restlessness pre-
ceded his reputation as the 90+ thrower,
coming into the Olympics he was strug-
gling to find his rhythm, which would’ve
given Chopra confidence. Still, it was auda-
cious to go for 85+ in qualification, way
above the expected 82-mark. And to sow
nettling doubts about just how much fur-
ther he could go.
As gold medals go, this was taking it
away from the field in a fast-break even be-
fore others could settle in and grip their
spears.
Bajrang’s father Balwan Singh (second
from right), mother Om Pyari (right)
and older brother Harinder (centre) at
their home in Sonipat. File
pehelwan in our family.”
Bajrang’smotherOmPyarienforceddisci-
pline in the house. However, seeing Bajrang’s
passionforthesportsheadmitstosparingthe
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021
SUSTENANCE
WRESTLING’SSILVER,BRONZE
SINCE THE Beijing Games, India has been
churning out world-class wrestlers at a
breezy clip. But winning medals,
especially in Olympics, is indispensable in
sustaining the legacy
from going askance.
All it would take is a
poor outing for an
Olympic sport to go
out of fashion. But
Ravi and Bajrang
ensured that
wrestling would continue as India’s most
prolific medal-winning stream in this
century. Bajrang’s medal was more or less
guaranteed, the colour of the medal was
the only speculation, he is ranked second
and considered one of the finest.
For India, the 210 kg entry of weightlifter
MirabaiChanuwhenshewonsilverwasabold
start.Itwasn’tthattheIndianwasintendingto
gostraightforthattotal.Butinwhatwasapsy-
chologicalmasterstroke,themereentrynoting
was bound to put pressure on Chinese Zhizhi
HoutothinkifherSnatchworldrecordwasin
danger - even if it wasn’t.
India’s gold medals come in all manners.
Thefirsthockeyteamsentoutin1928returned
as Olympic champions, and then hockey
couldn’tstopwinning.AbhinavBindracould-
n’t stop standing still in deep focus to pick the
first individual gold at Beijing. On Saturday,
NeerajChopra’sjavelincouldn’tstopflying.Not
after a 87.03m first throw. Somewhere in be-
tween that first statement of intent and the
elusive, coveted 90m mark, came the golden
mark of 87.58m.
rodafewtimes.Shetoohasatreasuretroveof
stories about a young Bajrang. But this one
cracks her up even today.
ItwasaSundaymorningandBajranghad-
n’t woken up till 9 am. She went towards his
bed to jolt him awake only to step back sur-
prised. Bajrang had placed pillows and sheets
insuchawaytogiveanimpressionthathewas
in the bed. He was nowhere to be seen.
“He had left home at 3 am. We knew if he
was not at home or in the immediate sur-
roundingshewouldbeattheakhada.Thatday
he went to the akhada and didn’t return till
noon. I scolded him for trying to fool us but in
my heart, I was happy to see his drive,” Om
Pyari says.
BajrangfirstfollowedhisbrotherHarinder
to an akhada in Khudan. This was a practice
mostyoungstersfollowedinthearea.“Almost
everysecondorthirdhouseinandaroundour
villagehassomeonewhohasbeenawrestler,”
Harinder says. Soon it was obvious who was
the more talented of the two.
Prodigy on tractor
A special day on the dangal calendar is
New Delhi
CONTINUITY
SINDHU’SBRONZE
Though she could not upgrade her silver
in Rio, her bronze was well-yearned,
accomplished as it was against a tough
pool of competitors. As with the wrestlers,
it was important that she keeps winning
medals so as to keep the torch of tradition
flickering, to reassert India’s stakes as one
of the badminton powerhouses of the
world. The medal could fuel her for more
glory and a shot at completing the medal
set in Paris. It also put her in a unique
position among the pantheon of some of
India’s greatest sportspersons because of
now having been there, and done that,
across two Olympic Games. A silver and a
bronze now matches the haul of Sushil
Kumar and solidifies her legacy as one of
the best.
Former coach
recalls a chubby
youngster
NITINSHARMA
PANCHKULA,AUGUST7
JAVELIN COACH Naseem Ahmad remembers
the day in 2011 when a chubby 13-year-old
namedNeerajChopracametotheTauDeviLal
Sports Complex in Panchkula. The teenager
travelled over four hours from his native,
Khandravillage,nearPanipat,toenquireabout
the process of getting admission at the sports
academy that had one of the only two syn-
thetic tracks available in Haryana at the time.
Thatwasabigstepfortheyoungstertotake
inhisbuddingathleticscareer.Anevenbigger
one, the biggest yet, came on Saturday, when
helaunchedajavelin87.58metresattheTokyo
Olympic Stadium to become only the second
individualgoldmedallistattheOlympicsfrom
the country.
It’sanachievementthathascreatedmem-
ories, and one that has brought back quite a
few for Ahmad.
“IstillrememberhowNeerajwouldwatch
his seniors training at the nursery,” recalls an
emotional Ahmad.
“He’d sit with his notebook and take tips
from them. He would never shy away from
training and would always set targets of win-
ning each day’s round with the group. To see
him win the gold medal today on the biggest
stage is the greatest joy for us. And I am sure
he will be spending time with the javelin
throwersfromtheothercountriesjustlikehe
didherewithhisseniorsandfriendsposttrain-
ing or competition.” shares an emotional
Ahmad.
Choprafirstlearnttheartofjavelinthrow-
ing from coach Jaiveer Singh in Panipat. In
Panchkulahetrainedfrom2011tillearly2016.
Butitwasn’tjustthefieldeventAhmadwould
make him train for. At the stadium near the
foothillsoftheShivalikRange,Chopra’smorn-
ing sessions would be followed by him train-
ing with the long-distance runners, and then
the javelin event again in the evening.
StayingatthehostelinPanchkulawithhim
werealsoafewfriendswhousedtotrainwith
himinPanipat.Theyweren’tbereftofChopra’s
constant questioning about the sport either.
NarenderRanbir,aParalympianfromLondon
2012 and Rio 2016, and silver medallist at the
2014 Para Asian Games, shared a room with
Chopra when they were in Panipat.
Read full story on Indianexpress.com
Shivaratri.Ifawrestlerchoosesto,hecancom-
pete in at least a dozen bouts. Bajrang was al-
wayseager.“Myfather,BajrangandIwouldgo
onatractorfromonevillagetoanother.Bajrang
wouldfinishonecompetitionatoneplace,hop
onto the tractor and we would go to the next.
He must have been around 10 but everyone
couldseehewastalented,”Harindersayslook-
ing back.
Thelittlejoysofbeingonthewrestlingcir-
cuitmadeBajrangdeterminedtoworkharder.
“SometimeshewouldwinRs10,onotherdays
it was a box of ladoos, or a bag of oranges and
some churma. In winter, the prize was kilo of
rewariorgroundnuts.Wehadatoughlifeback
then. Little things were precious. Bajrang and
I discuss those days fondly,” Harinder says.
OnFriday,ashisyoungerbrotherbeganhis
questforanOlympicmedal,Harinderwenton
apilgrimageof15templesinhisvillage.“Ihave
beendoingthissinceBajrang’scadetdays.On
days he is competing, I am praying for him. I
don’t check my phone nor do I ask anyone
about the result. Only when I get back home
do I get to know the result. Prayers ensure
Bajrang never disappoints.”
 18 SPORT
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, AUGUST 8, 2021
Used to celebrating fourth-place finishes till now, India has a golden tale to savour, thanks to Neeraj Chopra’s historic effort
GOLDEN ARM: Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won India's first-ever athletics gold medal, with a best throw of 87.58 metres on his second attempt. AP
NIHAL KOSHIE
AUGUST 7
MORE THAN half a century after Milkha
Singh looked back for a fraction of a second
and37yearsafterPTUshaforgottodipatthe
finishlineresultinginheart-breakingfourth-
place finishes, the glorious flight of Neeraj
Chopra'sjavelingavethecountryitsfirst-ever
track and field medal, a gold.
Chopra’s speed on the runway, the wide
block, long pull of the throwing arm, won-
derfulalignmentof the spear with his motor
movements and balance came together on
the day it mattered most as he was the
supreme thrower at the Olympic Stadium.
The Indian looked relaxed in a white head-
band and fluidly threw 87.03 metres in his
first attempt. Chopra’s turn was second on
the roster for the first three rounds (after
which the bottom four get eliminated) but it
was clear he was the man to beat.
Helookedbackathiscoachingstaff inthe
standsandliftedhisarmsevenbeforehissec-
ond throw could land. It was recorded at
87.58 metres,which was tobethebest inthe
final.Choprabeingwayaheadof thefieldwas
notthebiggestsurprise.Bytheendof thefirst
threethrows,thecontemporarystarinmen’s
javelin and the favourite to win gold,
Germany’sJohannesVetterwasout.Looking
displeased with the runway, Vetter, a man
who has made 90-metre-plus throws look
routine,nevergotclosetohisbest.Afterafirst
attempt of 82.52 metres, he turned over his
ankleandslippedinhisnextthrow.Histhird
throw, like the second, was also a foul.
It was ironic that the German bowed out
even as two of his countrymen, biomechan-
icsexpertDrKlausBartonietzandcoachUwe
Hohnwere in Chopra’scorner watchinghim
out-class the field. Once Vetter exited with
Chopra taking the early lead, the rest of the
field was fighting for silver and bronze.
Chopra dropped to 76.79 metres in his third
throwandfouledthefourthandfifthbuthad
the historic gold almost in the bag by then.
On the final attempt,hewent all out to regis-
ter 84.24 metres.
Near-misses end
Weightlifting, boxing, badminton,
wrestling and hockey had brought goose-
bumpswhichlastednearlyafortnightduring
the course of the Tokyo Olympics. However,
the breakthrough gold medal from the 23-
year-old from Khandra village in Panipat
ended years of near misses, tales of which
have been romanticised with each retelling
but were actually stories of heartbreak and
shattered dreams.
Onceeveryfouryears,acountryobsessed
with the price of gold, hoped and prayed for
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I dedicate this medal to Milkha Singh. Hopefully hewill be watching from the heavens.
87.58 m, a new high
GOLD AND COUNTING
Cash awards and other perks for
Neeraj Chopra
Haryana `6 cr, govt job
Punjab ` 2 cr
Union Govt ` 75 lakh
BCCI ` 1 crore
CSK ` 1 cr, Jersey No.
8758.
amedalof anycolourwiththefamedringson
them. Now 74 years after Independence,
Indianathleteswon’tfeellikeoutsiderswhen
they walk into an Olympic Stadium again.
Being an ‘Olympian’ won’t matter as much
as it did before Chopra’s medal. The bar has
been set higher. Grassroot coaches have a
fresh story which ends on a happy note.
MilkhaandUsharemaingiantswhoinspired
generationsof athletestoaspiretoaprecious
medal. But with one gigantic throw into the
Tokyonightsky,Chopratookthesporttonew
heights. Despite bags of medals at the Asian
Games and Commonwealth Games, the
Olympics seemed a bridge too far even for
some of India’s greatest athletes. Until
Saturday evening.
The penultimate day of the Tokyo
Olympics began with golfer Aditi Ashok,
ranked 200 in the world, playing outstand-
ingly well but finishing outside the medals
by one stroke. A few hours later, wrestler
Bajrang Punia won bronze in the 65kg
freestyle category to make it six medals and
match India’s best-ever performance from
the 2012 London Olympics.
Fittingly, it was Chopra who broke the tie
in an event that really took off in the country
just five years ago when he won the gold at
the World Junior Championships to become
an overnight star. As a kid, he was made fun
of, being called ‘sarpanch’ for being over-
weight. He got his early lessons on how to
throwajavelinwatchingvideosonYouTube.
Now his physique and technique are what
hundreds of aspiring throwers will try to
copy. The anticipation of a medal was high
becauseof howeasilyChoprahadglidedinto
the final. He qualified with a throw of 86.65
metres to even top 2017 world champion
Vetter. But the javelin throw is an event lit-
tered with banana peels. Stories of the best
fallingshortof thepodiumonthebiggestday
are many.
Power and technique need to fuse per-
fectly else it can go all wrong. Just like what
happened with Vetter. Throwers had com-
plained about the track which made it diffi-
cult for them to get a grip leading to the fear
of slipping. Yet, Chopra’s movements were
NEERAJ CHOPRA
AFTER WINNING THE GOLD MEDAL
smooth and he didn’t look troubled at all.
Some of those who were proven performers
atmajoreventsfoundthecombinationof the
‘sliding feeling’ andthe testing weather con-
ditions too difficult. Anderson Peters of
Grenada, Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and
Tobago, Julius Yego of Kenya and Marcin
Krukowskiof Polandhadallfailedtoadvance.
ThereremaineddarkhorsesinGermany’s
JulianWeber,Pakistan’sArshadNadeemand
CzechRepublic’sJakubVadlejch,yetthiswas
meant to be a two-horse race between the
best thrower in over a year in Vetter and
Chopra. Vadlejch took silver and his compa-
triot Vítezslav Vesely took bronze to take the
othertwoplaces onthepodium ona historic
night for India.
Restless wait
Though Chopra made it look easy on
Saturday, he had his share of troubles. Like
most other athletes, he had a restless wait at
the national camp in Patiala as the clock
tickeddowntotheOlympics.Withcountries
notallowingflightsfromIndiaduringthesec-
ondwaveof thepandemic,Chopracouldonly
watch as competitions began in parts of
Europe. Vetter was already laying down the
marker with 90-plus throws.
Beingstuckinaconstantcycleof training
duringpeaksummerattheNationalInstitute
of Sports in Patiala had got to the youngster.
In mid-May during a press interaction over
videocalling, Choprahadexpressedhisfrus-
tration.“Itisverydifficulttotraininsuchheat.
Even if you just stand on the ground for five
minutes, it is next to impossible (to train).
Now it is hot and in June, it is going to get
much hotter. It is going to be very hard to
train,” India’s Olympic medal hope had
lamented. The Athletics Federation of India
had made calls around the world but it was
getting increasingly difficult for Chopra to
reach a destination abroad.
“It is getting difficult because along with
training, I need competition. Most of 2019, I
missed because of injury and in 2020 and
2021, nothing has happened because of
Covid. Howlong will one be patient? Now in
2021, the other athletes abroad are compet-
ing but we have not been able to.”
Atthatpoint,Chopra was losing precious
time just months before the Olympics. But
after weeks of waiting Chopra and biome-
chanical expert Bartonietz could travel to
France. During his European stint, he gradu-
ally hit his stride, starting off with a best
throw of 86.79 metres in his first competi-
tionandfolloweditupwith83.18metresand
80.96 metres. He skipped major events, a
WorldAthleticsContinentalTourandalsothe
Diamond League at Gateshead to give his
body rest. It was the most well-timed break
by an Indian athlete.
hibited. The Indian Express ®
ELASTICITY, PERFECT
ANGLE, SPEED: WHAT
WORKED FOR NEERAJ
HEIS notthestrongestorthetallestbut
Neeraj Chopra’s supreme athleticism
and elasticity makes him a special tal-
ent, says Dr Klaus Bartonietz, the
Germanbiomechanicalexpertwhohas
trained India’s first ever gold medallist
in track and field. Dr Bartonietz breaks
it down in simple terms when he says
Chopra is the ‘dhanush’ (bow) and the
javelin is the arrow.
All-round athlete
NeerajChopradidsomesprintingand
somejumpstoensureheretainedhisex-
plosiveness before the final, says Dr
Bartonietz. “His biggest strength is his
athleticismIwouldsay.Heisanall-round
athletewhospecializesinthejavelinbut
hisbodycapacityissuchthat(heisgood
at) sprinting, jumping and lifting.
Speed on the runway
Thebiggertheyarethehardertheyfall.
Germany’s Johannes Vetter lost rhythm,
looked ungainly and twisted his ankle in
his second throw. “We know Vetter is a
greatathleteandhehas90-plusthrowsbut
he faces technical problems,” Bartonietz
says.WhatmadeNeerajstandoutwasthe
speedontherunway.“Hewasthefasteston
therunway.Hehastogainenergyandthen
putthatenergyintothejavelin.Whenyou
areslowitishardtodothat.”
Elasticity over power
Chopra is muscular and lean but his
elasticity is what really helps him. “You
needtogettheenergyintothejavelin.For
thatyouhavetohaveastrongblock.Vetter
isagreatblocker.Neerajisabletobendlike
a bow. His body elasticity goes into the
javelin.Itisnotjustbrutalpower.
Angle of release
Chopra’s throws were flatter than
most and it helped in the javelin travel-
lingfurther.“Ifyousee,someofthethrow-
ers threw very high. Then the javelin
comes down faster, five metres more in
height than five meters in length. You
need to get into some body positions so
youcanwork(release)inamorehorizon-
talway.Hisanglewas36to 34 degrees.
NIHALKOSHIE
Chopra knew he was on verge of
doing ‘something unique’ in final
EXPRESSAT
OLYMPICS
MIHIR VASAVDA
TOKYO, AUGUST 7
ALL NEERAJ Chopra needs is a good night’s
sleep. India’s newest gold medallist hasn’t
had a proper nap since he checked into the
Games Village. At times, it was because of
performance anxiety. On other occasions,
likethedayof hisqualifyinground,itwasthe
competition timing. And on most occasions,
it’s been the dope-control officers.
“IcameherefromSwedenandtherewasa
significanttimedifference,”hesaid.“So,ittook
some time to get used to this. I would sleep a
littlelate,sowashopingtosleeptillalittlelater
inthemornings.Butthedopingcontrolofficers
wouldshowupat5.45amor6amforthepast
twodaysandwhiskmeaway.”
On the bus from the Olympic Village to
Tokyo’s National Stadium on Saturday,
Pakistan’s javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem
was flipping through some pictures on his
mobile phone when he stopped at one im-
age and showed it to Chopra, seated next to
him. “It was our photo from the Asian
Games,” Chopra said. “He was saying how,
throughthatphoto,peopleinPakistanequate
us to Abdul Khaliq and Milkha Singh.”
The mere mention of Milkha Singh made
Chopraemotional.Somuchsothatduringthe
highest point of his career, the 23-year-old
spared a thought for those who came agonis-
inglyclosebutcouldnotscalethepeak.India’s
first Olympic track and field champion dedi-
catedhismedaltothem.
“When Milkha Singh ji passed away, I felt
very bad. I wanted to meet him with an
Olympicmedalbecausethatiswhathisdream
was.Itissadthathe’snotamongus butIhope
he’s seeing us from above and is happy that
with this (medal) his dream has come true,”
Choprasaid.“EvenotherathleteslikePTUsha,
who missed out on a medal by centimetres, I
hopethey'reallhappy.”
Chopra hurled the javelin 87.58m during
the final, becoming only the second Indian to
winanindividualgoldafterAbhinavBindraat
theBeijingGames–andthefirsttowinamedal
New Delhi
Neeraj Chopra is the first Indian athlete
to have won gold in javelin throw at
Commonwealth Games and the Asian
Games, in 2018. AP
of anycolourintrackandfield.
He recorded his longest throw in his sec-
ond attempt, with no one coming close to his
mark; the kind of dominance rare and unex-
pected given the competitiveness of the field.
Chopra, who topped the qualification round
as well, said he was confident of achieving
‘something unique’ although he said he was
targeting only his personal best.
“Afterthesecondthrow,IthoughtI'dgetmy
personal best. The Olympic record is 90.57m
and it did cross my mind to target it,” Chopra
said. “I think I tried to overdo it. My last throw
wasalittlemorestablebuttheonesinbetween
werenotgreat.”
Thelastthrow,however,didnotmatter.By
then,healreadyknewthegoldmedalwashis.
The evening’s next best thrower, Czech
Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, could only manage
86.67m.Choprasaidhisheartrateincreasedas
the competition neared its end. “These are all
greatathletessoitwaspossibletheycouldturn
around the competition with just one throw,”
Chopra said. “So all I thought was we need to
be prepared for any kind of throw they may
manage.IwasconfidentIwoulddosomething
unique.” Chopra broke into a measured, im-
promptu celebration after his final throw. He
then bowed to the turf, wrapped a Tricolour
around his shoulders and did a lap of honour.
“All the hard work, all the injuries, everything
that’s happened over the last five years, went
away(withtheNationalAnthemplaying).Ifelt
allthehardshipswereworthit.”
He didn’t get overly emotional on the
podium.A‘current’passedthroughhisbodyas
the anthem played but Chopra ‘didn’t want to
cry’onthepodium.
He just wants one thing. “Proper sleep. It’s
beenawhile.”