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KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR

XI’S PROLONGED UK GOVT ACCUSED DEEPIKA

‘ERA OF SUPPRESSION
TENURE COULD SPELL OF HYPOCRISY AS ON TARGET
IN J&K MUST END’
TROUBLE FOR CPC HANCOCK QUITS

P9 P10 P4 P12

WEATHER
Twin drone explosions at Amidst Sino-India
Partly cloudy sky. The maximum and
tensions, Rajnath
Jammu airport; 2 injured
minimum temperatures would be around

begins Ladakh visit

40 and 27 degrees Celsius respectively.
RAINFALL: Nil
RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Max: 90% Min: 44%
J&K DGP describes the blasts as ‘terror act’; police register FIR under UAPA; NIA starts probe
TEMPERATURE in the vicinity of the IAF
Max: 38.8°C (+1) Min: 26.7°C (-1) station were probably try-
SUN RISES SUN SETS ing to target the helicopter
05:27 hrs 19:23 hrs hangers but failed.
MOON RISES MOON SETS The IAF tweeted two
22:45 hrs 09:58 hrs “low intensity explosions
were reported. One caused
minor damage to the roof
of a building while the
other exploded in an open
THUMBNAILS area.”
It added that “there
was no damage to any
equipment. Investigation STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE mechanisms to reach a mutu-
is on along with civil agen- NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE ally acceptable solution for
cies”. No mention was complete disengagement
made about the drones. With Indian soldiers still from all friction points in East-
After an improvised explosive device ripped through a building in the Jammu Indian Air Force (IAF) station; (right)
The bomb disposal locked in a stand-off with Chi- ern Ladakh so as to ensure
Security personnel patrol the technical area of Jammu Air Force Station in the early hours of Sunday. ��SNS/AGENCIES
squad, forensic experts nese troops at the LAC in East- full restoration of peace and
and top police officers, ern Ladakh, Defence Minis- enable progress in bilateral
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE �The explosions Unlawful Activities (Pre- BSF, CRPF, CISF and other ter Rajnath Singh today began ties. They also agreed that the
JAMMU, 27 JUNE occurred at 1.40 vention) Act (UAPA). security agencies rushed a three-day visit to the region senior commanders of the
The blasts took place to the spot to look into the to take stock of the Indian two Armies would meet soon

I
n the first such attack
Men throw nets into a waterbody for fishing. of its kind in the coun-
In Nadia district of Bengal on Sunday. IANS try, two improvised
explosive devices
BSP to contest UP, U’khand 2022 polls alone: (IEDs) were dropped from
The BSP will not enter into any alliance for Uttar drones at the strategic
Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assembly polls, party Indian Air Force (IAF) heli-
chief Mayawati said on Sunday. In a series of copter base in Jammu in
tweets in Hindi, the former chief minister the wee hours of Sunday.
categorically denied any tie-up with the AIMIM One of the IEDs ripped
for the Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh due through the roof of a build-
next year. The BSP has recently joined hands ing in the technical area
with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. P5 of the IAF station and the
other exploded on the
open ground at some dis-
Vaccination camp guidelines: Following the tance from a hangar in
revelation of a vaccination scam in Kolkata, the which helicopters are
state health department has issued a set of parked. Two IAF person-
guidelines that requires all private vaccination nel suffered minor injuries
camps to obtain prior permission from the and none of the strategic
department and appoint a nodal officer assets was damaged.
The twin explosions
that occurred at about
Classified UK defence papers found at bus stop: 1.40 a.m. shook the adjoin-
Classified documents from the UK Defence ing areas, including the
Ministry containing secret information about a posh Gandhi Nagar colony.
warship and the military were discovered at a The National Investiga-
bus stop in south-eastern England on Saturday. tion Agency (NIA) team
A member of public contacted the BBC on Tues- reached the IAF station and
day morning when he realised the sensitive has initiated investiga-
nature of the contents, . P10 tions into the incident.
The runway and the Air
Traffic Control (ATC) of the
IAF are also shared by the
Airports Authority of India
for civil flights. The strate-
gic headquarters of 26
Division of the Indian
Army that counters ter-
rorist activities along the
Line of Control (LoC) and
a.m, within min-
utes of each other within six minutes of each
other. The police later
�Police later arre- arrested a LeT operative
sted a LeT opera- and recovered an IED
tive and seized an weighing about 6 kgs that
IED weighing 6 kgs was to be planted at some
that was to be pla- crowded place, the reports
nted at a crowd- said.
ed place The intelligence agen-
cies have been anticipat-
�The intelligence ing such attacks as Pak-
agencies have istani official outfits have
been anticipating been for some time using
such attacks as Chinese-made drones to
Pakistani outfits drop arms and ammuni-
have been using tion in the border areas of
Chinese drones to J&K and Punjab.
drop arms in the About six such attempts
border areas of were recently made along
J&K and Punjab the International Border
(IB) in the Samba, Kathua
the hinterland is located and Jammu districts along
a few metres away on the Pakistan. Security forces
other side of the road. at the IB and LoC have
J&K DGP Dilbag Singh been put on high alert.
has described the explo- Security at the Srinagar air-
sions in the high security port were tightened.
IAF station as a terror act Terrorists suspected to
and the police has regis- be operating the drones
tered an FIR under the Sec- from the illegal residential
tions 16 and 18 of the clusters that have come up
explosions. Top brass of the
Western Air Command
have reached here to take
stock of the situation.
Defence Minister Raj-
nath Singh spoke to the
Vice Air Chief, Air Marshal
HS Arora, regarding the
incident in Jammu. Air
Marshal Vikram Singh
reached Jammu to take
stock of the situation.
Jammu Airport author-
ities said that all civil flight
operations are normal.
Total 16 flights were sched-
uled for the day departing
to Delhi, Srinagar, Leh
and Gwalior.
Only two flights, G8
185 and SG 963, were can-
celled due to operational
reasons.
It may be mentioned
that several Kashmiri-ori-
gin terrorists have been
arrested by the police in
Jammu during the past few
days, indicating that they
were planning to target
strategic places here.
Army’s preparedness.
In Leh, Singh interacted
with senior elected repre-
sentatives of Kargil, Leh and
Ladakh Autonomous Hill
Development Council with
the focus on the overall devel-
opment of the regions.
The defence minister, who
is accompanied by Army
chief, Gen M M Naravane, also
met a number of armed forces
veterans and discussed issues
relating to their welfare as well
as national security.
Sources said Singh’s visit
was aimed at sending out a
clear message to China that
India wanted peaceful set-
tlement of the ongoing bor-
der row but was prepared for
any eventuality.
The visit comes two days
after a crucial meeting of
the Working Mechanism for
Consultations and Coordi-
nation (WMCC) in the India-
China border areas at which
the two sides resolved to
maintain dialogue through
the diplomatic and military
to achieve the objective of
complete disengagement .
Interacting with nearly
300 Army veterans, Singh
lauded their unparalleled
dedication in ensuring safe-
ty and security. He said Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s
decision to roll out ‘One
Rank One Pension’ scheme,
ending a decades long wait,
was a testimony to the gov-
ernment’s unwavering com-
mitment towards the welfare
of the veterans.
During his stay, Singh will
inaugurate infrastructure
projects constructed by Bor-
der Roads Organisation (BRO)
and interact with troops
deployed in the region.
He is scheduled to visit var-
ious key formations and
high-altitude bases in the
region to assess the ground
realities. It is Singh’s first
visit to the region after the
Indian and Chinese Armies
pulled back troops from the
Pangong Tso Lake area in Feb-
ruary as part of an agreement.

50K new Covid cases, 1,258 deaths

PTI & SNS
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA, 27 JUNE
A single-day rise of 50,040
fresh Covid-19 infections
took India’s tally to 3,02,33,183,
while the number of active
cases dipped to 5,86,403,
according to Union Health
Ministry data updated on
Sunday morning.
The death toll climbed to
3,95,751 with 1,258 more
people succumbing to the viral
rashtra reported 9,974 new
cases and 143 fatalities, while
Delhi saw 89 new cases and
4 fatalities.
The country adminis-
tered 64.25 lakh vaccine
doses in a day, taking the
cumulative number of jabs
given so far under the nation-
wide inoculation drive to
32.17 crore, according to
data at 7 am. AIIMS director
Dr Randeep Guleria said the
data of phase two and three
Overcome vaccine hesitancy, urges PM
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
In his Mann Ki Baat radio
3,02,33,183 address to the nation on Sun-
day, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi stressed upon ensuring
5,86,403
vaccination for everyone and
removing vaccine hesitancy
against the backdrop of India
launching a massive vacci-
50,040 nation programme to curb the
coronavirus pandemic.
Friends, we have
to keep making
efforts to ensure
that every citizen is able to
avail of safety through the
vaccine. At many places, in
order to end vaccine hesi-
tancy, myriad organiza-
tions and members of civil
society have come forward
PM NARENDRA MODI
of civil society have come for-
ward,” Mr Modi said.
While addressing people in
rural areas, Mr Modi sought
to dispel fears against vacci-
nation.
“I would like to urge you
and all my brothers and sis-
ters in the village to dispel fear,
if any,” Mr Modi said.
He mentioned Weyan vil-
lage in Bandipora district of
Kashmir, and three Nagaland
ments, actions and resolve at
75, have been decided as the
five pillars to celebrate 75
years of Independence.
“Amrit Mahotsav of 75
years of Independence is a big
inspiration for us. Let us learn
to live for the country. The
struggle for Independence is
the story of those who died for
the country, we have to make
this post-Independence time
the story of those who live for
Twitter interim
grievance officer
for India quits
The microblogging plat-
form’s website no longer
displays Dharmendra Cha-
tur’s name as required un-
der the Information Tech-
nology (Intermediary Guide-
lines and Digital Media
Ethics Code) Rules 2021
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE

disease in a 24-hour period.
Active cases now comprise
1.94 per cent of total infec-
tions.
The weekly case positiv-
ity rate has come down to 2.91
per cent, while the daily pos-
itivity rate is 2.82 per cent.
Kerala, currently the worst
affected state, added 10,905
new Covid-19 cases and 62
deaths on Sunday. Maha-
trial of Bharat Biotech’s Cov-
axin on two to 18 years age
group is expected by Sep-
tember.
Delhi cases: Delhi today
reported 89 fresh Covid cases
and 4 coronavirus-linked
deaths while the positivity rate
stood at 0.12 per cent, accord-
ing to the Delhi govern-
ment’s latest health bulletin.
SEE P 2
57,944
3,95,751
UNION HEALTH MINISTRY
FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M.
SUNDAY 27 JUNE 2021
India administered a record
8.6 million doses of Covid-19
vaccines on the first day of a
new phase of vaccination
after the Centre went back to
the procurement of vaccine
doses on behalf of states.
“On 21 June, the next phase
of the vaccination campaign
commenced…and that very
day, the country registered a
record of administering vac-
cines to over 86 lakh people,
free of cost, that too on a sin-
gle day!” PM Modi said dur-
ing the 78th episode of his
monthly radio programme.
“Friends, we have to keep
making efforts to ensure that
every citizen is able to avail of
safety through the vaccine. At
many places, in order to end
vaccine hesitancy, myriad
organizations and members
villages that have achieved 100
per cent vaccination for peo-
ple above 18 years of age.
Prime Minister Modi also
spoke about the important role
played by essential workers.
The PM also spoke about
the ongoing preparations for
Amrit Mahotsav, planned to
commemorate 75 years of
India’s Independence. Freedom
struggle, and ideas, achieve-
the country,” Prime Minister
Modi said.
Mr Modi also paid homage
to athlete Milkha Singh who
died due to Covid and had rep-
resented India in the 1964
Tokyo Olympics and spoke
about some members of the
Indian contingent for the
upcoming Tokyo Olympics
and their grit and determi-
nation.
Twitter’s interim resident
grievance officer for India
has stepped down, leaving the
micro-blogging site without
a grievance official as man-
dated by the new IT rules to
address complaints from
Indian subscribers, accord-
ing to a source.
Dharmendra Chatur, who
was recently appointed as
interim resident grievance
officer for India by Twitter, has
quit from the post.

‘Delta plus has more affinity for Humble origins: President returns to birthplace
The social media compa-
ny’s website no longer displays

lung tissues than other strains’ his name, as required under

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
The Delta plus variant of
Covid-19 has greater affinity
for lung tissues as compared
to other strains but it does not
mean that it will cause severe
disease or is more transmis-
sible, head of coronavirus
working group NTAGI Dr N K
Arora said.
A new viral variant of the
coronavirus, Delta Plus, was
identified on 11 June. It was
recently classified as a vari-
ant of concern. Till now, 51
cases of Delta Plus have been
detected across 12 states,
with Maharashtra reporting
the maximum cases.
Talking about Delta plus,
chairman of Covid-19 Work-
ing Group of the National
Technical Advisory Group on
Immunisation (NTAGI) said,
“Delta plus is having greater
affinity to mucosal lining in
the lungs, higher compared
to other variants, but if it
causes damage or not is not
clear yet. It also does not
mean that this variant will
cause more severe disease or
it is more transmissible.”
He said the impact of the
Delta plus strain will become
clear only as more cases are
identified but it appears that
the disease is generally mild
in all those who have got
either single or double dose
of the vaccine. “We need to
keep a very close watch and
look at its spread so that it will
give us transmission effi-
ciency,” he said.
Arora said the number of
cases identified of Delta plus
variant may be more as there
may be many asymptomatic
individuals also ~ those who
do not have any Covid sympt-
oms but are carrying the virus.
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
LUCKNOW/KANPUR DEHAT,
27 JUNE
President Ram Nath Kovind
on Sunday said he had never
imagined that an ordinary vil-
lage boy like him would have
the honour of occupying the
highest post in the country,
and thanked the people of his
birth place for this.
He was addressing a gath-
ering at the Paraunkh vil-
lage, which is his birthplace,
in Kanpur Dehat district of
Uttar Pradesh. The Rashtra-
pati Bhavan tweeted that in
an emotional gesture, after
landing at the helipad near his
village, Kovind bowed and
touched the soil to pay obei-
sance to the land of his birth.
This is the first time the
president is visiting his village
after taking over his present
assignment. Though he
desired to visit the place ear-
ers of the Constitution and
freedom fighters. He also vis-
ited Milan Kendra and Veeran-
gana Jhalkari Bai Inter College
and addressed a Jan Sam-
bodhan Samaroh.
“According to my family’s
sanskaar (values), the oldest
woman in the village is given
the status of mother and the
oldest man is given the sta-
tus of father, irrespective of
caste or community. Today,
I feel happy that this tradition
of giving respect to the elders
in our family is still continu-
President Kovind touches the soil to pay obeisance to the land ing,” Kovind said.
of his birth at Paraunkh, Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh He said that the scent of
soil and the memories of its
lier, plans could not materi- the country. But, our demo- poeple always remain etched
alise because of the pan- cratic system made this pos- in his heart. “For me Paraunkh
demic, an official statement sible,” Kovind said. “Wherever is not only a village, it is my
had earlier said. I have reached today, the maatribhoomi from where I
“I had never imagined, credit goes to the soil of this get inspiration to serve the
even in my dreams, that an village, this region, and to country,” Kovind said.
ordinary village boy like me your love and blessings,” he “This inspiration has made
would have the honour of said. The president paid trib- me reach from high court to
occupying the highest post in utes to B R Ambedkar, mak- the Supreme Court to the
Rajya Sabha. From the Rajya
Sabha, I moved to the Raj Bha-
van and from there to the Rash-
trapati Bhavan,” he said.
He said that as he was
quite late in his visit this time
and he will try not to delay it
so much next time.
The president said all peo-
ple are from equal back-
grounds. “There have been a
number of prime ministers
from UP, but this is the first
time that the state has given
a president to the country.
Now, the path for the people
of UP to become president has
also opened up,” he said.
The president said that
an attempt is being made to
promote fitness during the
Covid period. “Get yourself
vaccinated,” he said.
Kovind on Sunday morn-
ing reached Paraunkh village
where he was welcomed by
UP Governor Anandiben Patel
and CM Yogi Adityanath.
Information Technology
(Intermediary Guidelines and
Digital Media Ethics Code)
Rules 2021.
Twitter declined any com-
ment on the development.
The development comes
at a time when the micro-blog-
ging platform has been
engaged in a tussle with the
Indian government over the
new social media rules. The
government has slammed
Twitter for deliberate defiance
and failure to comply with the
country’s new IT rules.
The new rules which came
into effect from 25 May man-
date social media compa-
nies to establish a grievance
redressal mechanism for
resolving complaints from
the users or victims.
All social media compa-
nies, with over 50 lakh user
base shall appoint a grievance
officer to deal with such com-
plaints and share the details
of such officers. PTI
02
A day will come soon when there will be no cadre left to open the door
of the saffron brigade party offices in Asansol...
LAW AND JUDICIARY MINISTER MOLOY GHATAK
NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021 AFTER MORE THAN 3,000 BJP SUPPORTERS JOINED TMC IN ASANSOL

Delhi seeks 45L Covid jabs Delhi unlock: Gymnasiums gear up to open; many
yoga institutes prefer to stay online for now
from Centre for July: Atishi PTI
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
‘This’s needed to keep up vaccination pace’; 89 fresh virus cases, 4 deaths logged
Apprehensive about a possible
SNS & PTI Delhi has so far adminis- and 11 deaths on 21 June. third Covid wave, owners of
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE tered over 73 lakh doses since That was the first time that the many yoga institutes in the
the inoculation exercise start- daily count of cases in the city national capital said they

T
he Delhi government
has informed the Cen-
tre that the city needs
45 lakh doses of Covid
vaccines in July to keep up the
current vaccination rate of
1.5 lakh jabs daily, AAP MLA
Atishi said today.
“More than 45 lakh doses
will be needed if the pace of
vaccination increases,” she
said.
According to Delhi’s vac-
cination bulletin, 25 per cent
of the city’s population in the
18-44 age group has received
at least one dose of vaccine.
Ninety-two lakh people in
this age group are eligible for
vaccination in the city.
Atishi said the national
capital administered a record
2.07 lakh vaccine doses on Sat-
urday, of which more than 1.50
lakh jabs were given to youths.
Delhi has 7.06 lakh vaccine
doses available, including 5.4
lakh Covishield doses, at pre-
sent. If the authorities continue
to vaccinate people at the
current pace of 2 lakh shots
daily, this stock will be over in
three days, she said.
“We have written to the
Centre that Delhi needs 45 lakh
vaccine doses to keep vacci-
nating people at the rate of 1.5
lakh jabs per day,” she said
while presenting the vacci-
nation bulletin.
“We have been asking the
Centre to increase vaccine
supplies for the 18-44 age
group because youths are
eager to get vaccinated. They
don't come alone; they bring
senior members of their fam-
ilies with them to vaccination
centres,” Atishi said.
ed on January 16. More than
17 lakh people in Delhi have
received both doses.
Delhi today reported 89
fresh Covid cases and 4 coro-
navirus-linked deaths while the
positivity rate stood at 0.12 per
cent, according to the Delhi
government’s latest health
bulletin.
The national capital has so
far recorded 14,33,934 coro-
navirus cases. Of this, over 14.07
lakh patients have recovered
while its current Covid death
toll stood at 24,965, the bul-
letin stated.
According to the bulletin,
170 Covid cases from earlier
weeks were added to the tally
in the ICMR portal on Satur-
day by Central Jail Hospital,
Tihar Prisons.
Delhi had yesterday report-
ed 85 Covid cases — the low-
est this year — with a positivity
rate of 0.12 per cent and 9
deaths.
Delhi had reported 89 cases
had gone below the 100-mark
since 16 February, when 94
people were diagnosed with
the disease.
The city had recorded 134
cases with a positivity rate of
0.20 per cent and 8 deaths on
22 June. It had registered 111
cases and 7 deaths on 23 June,
when the positivity rate was
0.15 per cent, as per the offi-
cial figures.
On 24 June, 109 cases and
8 deaths were recorded while
on 25 June 115 cases and 4
deaths were logged.
Today’s fresh cases were
detected out of 74,198 tests,
including 54,297 RT-PCR ones,
the bulletin said.
The number of active cases
decreased to 1,568 from yes-
terday’s 1,598. The tally of
Covid patients under home iso-
lation in the city dipped to 478
from yesterday’s 494 while
the number of containment
zones was 1,837, the bulletin
added.
prefer to continue conduct-
ing their classes in the online
mode for some more time
despite the Delhi govern-
ment allowing them to oper-
ate in-person from Monday.
Gymnasiums, on the other
hand, have geared up to
reopen with 50 per cent
capacity with several of them
starting the sanitization
process at their facilities and
even offering special dis-
counts for customers vacci-
nated against COVID-19.
The Delhi government on
Saturday allowed weddings
at banquet, marriage halls and
hotels with 50 people in
attendance, and reopening
of gyms and yoga centres at
50 per cent capacity under the A worker sanitizes a treadmill at a gymnasium in the Capital on Sunday. SUBRATA DUTTA
phased unlock process ini-
tiated with an improvement but we have are online yoga they are gearing up to open staff and only vaccinated
in the city's COVID-19 situ- sessions. Even though many their facilities from Monday. staff have been given pref-
ation. of our old members have Chirag Sethi, vice-presi- erence. Vaccinated members
Neha Vasisht, the founder left the session midway, there dent of Delhi Gym Associa- can also avail special dis-
of Yoga Guru which has sev- are still many who continued tion, said the industry has suf- count offers on their new
eral centres across the city, with their classes.” fered huge losses as gyms were packages.” He said he got at
said she is hopeful about Neelam Kala, who runs closed for almost eight least 25 calls since morning
starting her classes physically Yogsaarthi at Lajpat Nagar said months in the last one year. from members enquiring if
gradually but for now she she prefers to continue with “There was no income gyms will re-open from

Wedding industry heaves sigh of relief as Delhi unlocks
PTI
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
For the wedding industry in the
national capital, it is the per-
mission to reopen rather than
the hope to make some prof-
it that has shown a sliver of hope
after three months of no busi-
ness.
The Delhi government on
Saturday allowed weddings
at banquet, marriage halls
and hotels with 50 people in
attendance, and reopening
of gyms and yoga centres at 50
per cent capacity under the
phased unlock process initi-
ated with an improvement in
the city's COVID-19 situation.
The relaxations will come
into force from 5 am on Mon-
day.
Wedding planners and ban-
quet hall owners welcomed the
Delhi government's decision.
They, however, said they do not
hold any hopes for making prof-
it this season.
“We are glad that we have
been allowed to open at least.
After paying the employees
from our pockets and incur-
ring losses, we will at least be
able to make the ends meet,”
said Sunil Juneja of Precious
Moments Banquets.
He said earlier booked wed-
dings that had postponed will
be given priority now, while new
bookings have also started to
come in.
In the last one year since
the outbreak of the pandem-
ic in March 2020, the wedding
business was severely hit as
episodic lockdowns in March-
September last year and since
April this year prevented any
lavish marriages from taking
place.
Wedding planner Jitesh
Khanna of TheVelvetWeddings
noted that as Delhi main-
tained strict lockdown guide-
lines, disallowed weddings or
any sort of congregation since
April, most planned weddings
were shifted out of the city.
“So now that 50 people are
allowed, we are happy with the
decision. And we are hoping
soon 100 peple will be allowed.
It is any day better than no busi-
ness,” Yadav said.
However, he added, it would
be difficult to maintain the bud-
get as a wedding for 50 requires
just as much preparation as a
wedding of 200.
Shrawan Yadav of Shubh
Muhurt Luxury Wedding Plan-
ners echoed Khanna's thoughts
and said that “they were not
looking at making profits, as
reopening the business was
more important for now”.
The one year of pandem-
ic has not been favourable to
the industry, said Mohsin
Khan of Vivah Luxury Wed-
dings, as he said several peo-
ple postponed their weddings
last November after revision
of Covid guidelines.
“We had no business last
year. This year too, the com-
plete wedding season was lost
due to the lockdown. Either
people postponed their wed-
dings or cancelled their book-
ing altogether,” Khan said.
Over 50 per cent of the
bookings got cancelled this year,
he added.
Khan, who has been in this
line of profession for over 10
years now, said that he is not
thinking about profits, but it
is some relief that the business
has reopened at least.
“Now coronavirus is part of
our life.We have to run our lives
around it, according to it. At
least, we have been allowed to
reopen, if everything goes
right, we will have larger wed-
dings soon,” he added.
prefers to operate only at
complexes where she can
conduct classes in open
spaces.
“We also have a studio in
DLF mall but we are not
planning to open it anytime
soon. We are planning to
conduct classes only at places
where we have open spaces
and maintain Covid guide-
lines with social distancing
norms,” she said.
Dhirendra Singh of Navad-
ha Yoga Health Care Institute
in Malviya Nagar says his
centre remained closed amid
the pandemic for over a year
and it was operational for
hardly two months this year.
However, when the second
Covid wave hit the city in April,
he got back with his online
classes.
When asked if he was
planning to re-open his cen-
tre from Monday, he said, “I
am not planning to open the
centre for now. There has
been heavy losses in business
her online yoga sessions for
some more time till the sit-
uation gets back to normal.
“I am planning to continue
with my online yoga ses-
sions for now. Business loss-
es is part of life and amid the
second wave, I had stopped
talking physical classes at
my centre. Instead I resumed
with online classes. Many
who were uncomfortable
with online mode chose to dis-
continue.
“But we still do not know
how the third wave might hit
us so I will wait and see how
the situation pans out.
Depending on the situation,
I would take a call on whether
to restart the classes in-per-
son at the centre. But for
now I have not got any calls
asking for it as many of the
customers seem quite satis-
fied with the online yoga
sessions,” she said.
On the other hand, gym-
nasium owners said although
they have suffered losses,
during this period but still the
gym owners had to pay their
rent in addition to the fixed
electricity and water bills
besides helping the staff.
This industry has been going
through a tough phase.
“The gym owners do not
have any financial support
and there is hardly any gov-
ernment scheme. These fre-
quent lockdowns have had a
negative impact on the indus-
try. Many gyms have already
shut and many are contem-
plating whether they should
continue in the industry,”
Sethi, who owns three gyms
in the city, said.
Survival becomes tough if
gyms are closed for months
every year, he said, adding
there is a huge burden on the
owners currently.
As he gears up to begin
operations at his gyms from
Monday, he said, “Sanitisa-
tion process has begun,
machines are being checked.
We have reduced 20 per cent
tomorrow. “We have got a pos-
itive response from people.
This shows they are interested
in getting back,” he said.
Sunil Kumar Taank, pres-
ident of Indian Gym's Welfare
Federation, however was not
not much hopeful as he was
apprehensive about delta
plus variant of cornavirus
and possibility of a third
wave.
“Gyms are restarting but
we don't have much faith on
whether we will be able to
carry out business like before
with these frequent lock-
downs. Now again, we read
about delta plus variant and
then a possible third wave.
“Business has been
crushed completely. There is
no guarantee that customers
would walk-in like before. We
have begun the sanitisation
process and are ready for
opening tomorrow with 50 per
cent capacity keeping in
mind all the Covid proto-
col,” he said.

HC grants interim custody of Rise in cases of depression, panic attacks,

COLLECTION: 110, B.C. RD., Barabazar (Near C.M.S. School) Burdwan, Ph.: married woman to father insomnia due to Covid-related trauma: Experts
0342-2560069 / 8926434614. NEW COMPUTER INDIA: New Market, Benachity,

considering her mental state

Durgapur-713213. Ph.: 9883934508. M: 9732302070. NARAYAN DASGUPTA: PTI of income and decreasing es, they said.
Mahakali Paper Centre, B-9/16 (CA), Kalyani-741235, Nadia. Phone:
9851771877 / 2582-7177 (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.), Sunday Closed. STANDARD BOOK
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE socialisation are exacerbating Patients who had never
I, SANJIT Sen, son of DEPOT: 10/1, Grand Trunk Rd. (South) Howrah Maidan, Howrah-711101. mental health conditions. experienced any mental health
Swapan Kumar Sen, resi- Ph.: 2641-4114 / 2474-5856. RINKU AD AGENCY: Chanchal Bhattacharya, 74,
Inability to mourn with fam- OPD footfall has increased issues in the past are also
dent of 127/D, Muktaram Santiram Rasta, Bally, Howrah-711201. Mobile: 831833485. RAYCOGNISE:
Babu Street, Kolkata- Arghya Commercial Plaza, Upper Ground Floor, Room No. 8, Burnpur Rd., PTI ily members or cope with by 30-40 per cent since the coming to the clinic com-
Asansol-4, Burdwan. Ph.: 933 3104777. Fax: 933 2253099. AISHEE XEROX CEN-
700007, lost my B.Tech
TRE: Khudiram Nagar, Opposite Zilla Parishad, Paschim Medinipur, 721101,
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE grief alone due to Covid con- surge in cases,” said Manish plaining of vague, but signif-
degree certificate in
Kolkata, vide affidavit 9434702050, 9434259909. S. TRIVEDI, Pathakpara, Bankura, (0324) 2320665, straints has led to an increase Jain, consultant, psychiatry icant symptoms like a feeling
9735801256–57. TYPE CORNER, Collectry More (opposite SP Bunglow),
Dt. 25.06.2021 before Krishnanagar-741101, Dist.: Nadia, 9474334978, (03472 257432). KRISHNA
The Delhi High Court has granted the in cases of depression, anxi- department at BLK Hospital of being tired all the time,
Notary Public at DEB, C/o Balurghat Barta, Balurghat-733101. Dist.: Dakshin Dinajpur (W.B.). interim custody of a married woman, ety, insomnia and other men- here. inability to fall asleep, lack of
Kolkata. Please contact: Ph.: (03522) 249230. Mobile: 8759169158 / 09434247137.
@sen_sanjit@yahoo.com whose mental condition does not tal health disorders among peo- People with pre-existing appetite, irritability, inability
appear to be normal, to her father ple in Delhi who have been mental health issues are also to focus on work and other
on the allegation that she has suffered affected directly or indirect- more vulnerable to substance issues, said experts at the
severe mental trauma at the hands ly by the pandemic, experts and impulsive behaviours clinic, founded by Padma Shri
of her husband and parents-in-law, said. during a pandemic. Restric- Dr Kalyan Banerjee.
resulting in a partial loss of her Several hospitals and clin- tion in lifestyles and fear of Many of these patients
KOLKATA HYDERABAD memory and speech. ics in the national capital are COVID-19, both have started have been directly affected by
Statesman House, The Statesman Limited, 2nd Floor, UNI The court said first and foremost registering a spike in the num- taking a toll on their mental COVID-19, where they or
4, Chowringhee Square Building, it was concerned about the state of ber of patients complaining health, he said. someone close contracted
Kolkata-700 001 mental health and physical wellbe- of symptoms related to pyscho- Dr Sameer Malhotra, direc- the infection, or they knew
A.C. Guards, Hyderabad-500004,
Tel: (033) 22127070-76,
Mob: 9866323009 ing of the woman and directed that band and parents-in-law. logical ailments triggered by tor and head, department of someone who has passed
(033) 41071700
Fax: (033) 2212-6181 / 7107-1780 Email: she be examined by a doctor spe- The petitioner's counsel told the post-traumatic stress, they mental health and behavioral away due to coronavirus, doc-
Email: thestatesman@vsnl.com delhistatesman@gmail.com cialising in mental trauma and ill- court that due to mental and phys- said. sciences, Max Super Special- tors said.
statesmandisplay@gmail.com hyderabad@thestatesmangroup.com nesses at the Institute of Human ical torture unleashed by the in- Delhi had reeled under a ity Hospital, Saket said, “There's “India along with most
thestatesmanclassified@gmail.com BANGALORE Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) laws upon the woman, she has suf- brutal second wave of the a definite rise in the cases of countries in the world, has seen
DELHI No. 68, First Floor, Gold Tower, here. fered severe mental trauma, result- pandemic which claimed a anxiety and depression seen a spike in mental health cases
Statesman House, 50 Residency Road, Bangalore-560025. A vacation bench of justices Anup ing in a partial loss of memory and massive number of lives daily, across the population during during this pandemic. A sec-
148, Barakhamba Road, Tel.; 080-22229129, 080-22234813 Jairam Bhambhani and Jasmeet speech. He said an FIR for the alleged with the oxygen supply short- the COVID-19 pandemic”. tion of the patients are turn-
New Delhi-110 001 Email: Singh said the court is of the view that offences of cruelty to married woman age issue at various hospitals, Whereas there has been sig- ing to homeopathy because
Tel: (011) 2331 5911 delhistatesman@gmail.com it would be in the fitness of things and causing her miscarriage without having added to the woes. nificantly high numbers reg- they are uncomfortable tak-
Hiten Rathore bangalore@thestatesmangroup.com that at least for the present and until her consent was also pending against Hospital premises and cre- istered after the second wave, ing psychiatric medicines
hiten.statesman@gmail.com the next date of hearing, the custody them. matoriums had witnessed the hospital have seen many which may be difficult to give
Mob: 9212192123, Tel: 011-43043793 MUMBAI
of the woman and her three-and-a- The counsel for the police sub- distressful scenes, with griev- people coming to terms with up,” Banerjee said.
Ishan House (2nd floor) 5, Kasturi Buildings, Jamshedji Tata half-year-old daughter be given to the mitted that the FIR was under inves- ing family members, many in grief after having lost their fam- Patients who are person-
A-90, Sector II, NOIDA, Road, Mumbai-400 020 petitioner (her father) with whom they tigation and the woman's parents met full PPE kits, trying to come ily members, and suffered ally or professionally unaffected
UP 201 301 Tel: (022) 2202 1045, would reside for the time being and her at her matrimonial home a few to terms with the loss of their depression and significant by the disease or by the lock-
Tel: (0120) 4171421 Email: who would be responsible for their days ago. loved ones. anxiety due to it, he said. down, are also not being
Email: delhistatesman@gmail.com safety and well-being. The woman's husband, who joined Medical experts in Delhi But, people are looking for spared. The most important
delhistatesman@gmail.com mumbai@thestatesmangroup.com “Considering the aforesaid state the hearing along with her, submit- concurred that the family relief from such mental dis- aspect in these cases are the
delhi@thestatesmangroup.com manuelfrancis@thestatesman.com of affairs, first and foremost this ted that his wife has developed men- members were unable to orders through not just allopa- physical presence of friends
BHUBANESWAR CHENNAI court is concerned about the state tal problems but not due to any grieve together after losing their thy but homeopathy too. and loved ones, but due to
Plot 3A, Zone B, Sector A, Mancheswar of mental health and physical well- fault on his part or his parents and dear ones to Covid due to Doctors at Delhi's Dr Kalyan Covid norms, people unable
Industrial Estate, Bhubaneswar-751 010. Fagun Mansion (4th floor), 26, Ethiraj
Tel: (0674) 2588060/61/62/ 2586371, Road, Chennai-600 008, Tel: (044) being of the daughter. In the cir- that he was getting her treated by a safety constraints and social Banerjee's Clinic, which sees to get together or channelise
Telefax: 0674-2588061 28278037, 28224800 cumstances, before taking a final view specialist doctor, who has indicat- distancing norms. rush even on regular days, are grief, the doctor said.
Email: Email: in the matter, it is directed that...(the ed that her mental illness will take The second wave, in many witnessing a significant rise in Some other reasons that
bhubaneswar@thestatesmangroup.com delhistatesman@gmail.com woman) be examined by a doctor spe- some time to heal. cases, saw the whole family patients reporting with psy- could trigger such disorders
statesmanbbsr@gmail.com chennai@thestatesmangroup.com cialising in mental trauma and ill- The court was informed that the testing positive for coron- chological and mental health include fear of long-term
SILIGURI nesses at the IHBAS, New Delhi by woman and her husband have a avirus, and even after death, conditions. effects of COVID-19 and the
LUCKNOW
Spencer Plaza, 18/19, 1st Floor the SHO of Police Station Sagarpur, three-and-a-half-year-old daugh- they couldn't conduct last The clinic has seen a 40 per pervasive negativity around us
Burdwan Road 2/2, Butler Palace (Near Jopling Road), New Delhi in the presence and under ter. rites, leading to sedimentation cent spike in the number of today, he added.
Above Vishal Mega Mart Lucknow-226 001, the s up er vi si on of th e The court, which said the custody of grief inside that triggers men- patients complaining of symp- Dr Kushal Banerjee, senior
Siliguri-734005, West Bengal Ph.: (0522) 2206705 petitioner/father,” the bench said. of the woman be transferred to her tal health disorders, they said. toms related to mental health. homeopath at the clinic said,
Ph.: 9832082429 Email: It noted that the woman was also father forthwith, directed that her In several cases, even About 2,500 prescriptions “A major cause behind the rise
Email: delhistatesman@gmail.com present during the proceedings con- medical examination be completed though there were no fatali- every month, as opposed to in numbers of patients expe-
sil_statesman@yahoo.co.in lucknow@thestatesmangroup.com ducted through video-conferenc- within 10 days and a status report ties in the families, many peo- 1,750 prescriptions per month riencing psychological distress
SHIMLA RANCHI ing and it was evident that she was detailing the opinion of the doctors ple lost their friends, acquain- in the pre-pandemic era, are and post-traumatic stress is
Cabin No. 305, P. C. Chambers not able to communicate by speech and the line of treatment suggested tances or someone they knew being given to manage symp- that our mechanisms for cop-
11/C, Road#1, Ashoknagar, Ranchi - 834
Near Jodha Niwas nor did her behaviour appear to be by them be filed by the State before closely, or they survived with toms like anxiety, depression, ing with irreplaceable loss
The Mall Shimla-171001, H.P. 002
Fax: (0651) 2247054 normal at first blush. it on or before the next date of hear- great difficulty, adding to their panic attacks, insomnia, and are either failing or not being
Tel: 0177-2815000
Email: The court was hearing a habeas ing on July 5. mental stress, doctors said other related symptoms, doc- allowed to kick in due to
Email:
delhistatesman@gmail.com delhistatesman@gmail.com corpus petition filed by the woman's It also directed the woman's hus- on Sunday which coincided tors said. restrictions on our move-
shimla@thestatesmangroup.com ranchi@thestatesmangroup.com father seeking production of his band to furnish to the SHO of the with the PTSD (Post-trau- Patients of mental health ments, activities, and inter-
married daughter and alleging that Sagarpur police station a complete matic Stress Disorder) Aware- disorders whose condition actions. This in turn has made
AIR-SURCHARGE; Kathmandu - Re. 2, Eastern Region - Re. 1 due to matrimonial discord and set of all medical reports, docu- ness Day. had improved to the extent that it imperative that they seek
All other stations in India - Re. 1 offences arising out of it, she was being ments, prescriptions relating to the “Sadness, isolation, grief of it required no medicines, have professional help and guid-
held in illegal detention by her hus- woman immediately. fear of losing loved ones, loss begun to experience relaps- ance.”

AGRASEN KI BAOLI
O
ne of the peculiar-
ities of living in a big
city, and that too
the national capital, is that
one is ignorant about some
of the lesser known but
remarkably magnificent
sites on offer. Jawaharlal
Nehru had observed that
every stone of Delhi has a
h i s t o r y. Tu c k e d a w a y
between Connaught Circus
and Hailey Road, and cam-
o u f l a g e d by t h e s u r -
rounding high rise build-
ings, is the Agrasen ki Baoli
which most of the denizens
of New Delhi might not
have even heard about,
much less seen it. Indeed,
Delhi has two faces — one
which we see everyday and
another that is hidden.
Agrasen ki Baoli, whose
antiquity dates back to the
Mahabharata era, is an
ornate rectangular step
well 60 metres long and 15
metres wide, built by the
legendary Raja Agrasen in
rubble masonry of rocks
and stones, to serve as a
water reser voir. It was
rebuilt by the Agarwal com-
munity, which claimed to
be descendants of Raja
Agrasen, during the rule of
the Tughlaq dynasty in the
14th century. One of the
After SP-ASP clash, HP
to train cops to be calm
HP DGP has asked Police Training College to include mock exercises, drills and simulations on crisis
management in courses in order to train cops to maintain poise in crisis situation or under duress
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
SHIMLA, 27 JUNE
D
ays after an Addi-
tional Superinten-
dent of Police (ASP)
posted with the
Himachal Pradesh CM secu-
rity team and the SP of Kullu
district came to blows in front
of Union minister of road
transport and highways Nitin
Gadkari and HP chief minis-
ter Jai RamThakur, the HP Police
has now decided to train cops
on maintaining poise while
handling crises or under duress.
The directions for includ-
ing mock exercises, drills and
simulations on crisis man-
agement in training courses at
the Police Training College
(PTC) had been issued by the
HP Director General of Police
Sanjay Kundu.
Kundu said the image of the
H’yana extends lockdown till 5 July with relaxations
PTI
CHANDIGARH, 27 JUNE
The Haryana government
Sunday extended the coron-
avirus lockdown by another
week till July 5, while allow-
ing university campuses to
open for research scholars and
practical classes in labora-
tories. “The Mahamari Alert-
oldest monuments of Delhi,
this heritage site is an
example of exquisite archi-
tecture and ancient engi-
neering skills. It spreads
over three visible levels
each of which is adorned
with symmetrically arched
niches lined on both sides.
Noteworthy is the fact that
a single flight of 108 steps
takes one down to the
water level. There is also a
circular well 8 metres in
diameter to the north of the
step well and a small
mosque at the South West
corner complete with a
triple arched entrance.
Legend has it that Agrasen
ki Baoli, now a protected
monument of the ASI, is the
most haunted monument
in Delhi. It's believed that
the black mystical waters
hypnotically enticed peo-
ple to jump to their death
but this has not prevent-
ed 'Bollywood' from fea-
turing the Baoli in a cou-
ple of hit films like PK,
Su l t a n a n d Mo m . A n d
lovers find the place con-
genial for a few moments
of togetherness, far away
from prying eyes. So let
Agrasen ki Baoli be on your
bucket list once the pan-
demic gets over!
HP DGP Sanjay Kundu
HP Police had taken a beating
after the recent incident of an
ugly spat between senior police
officers in front of dignitaries
at Kullu.
“The incident has undone
the cumulative good work by
the HP Police during the last
one year. The incident has
Surakshit Haryana is extend-
ed for another week that is
from June 28 (5 am onwards)
to July 5 (till 5 am) in the state
of Haryana,” Chief Secretary
Vijai Vardhan said in an order
issued under the Disaster
Management Act, 2005.
The state government has
termed the coronavirus lock-
down “Mahamari Alert-Surak-
Monsoon’s beguiling story
G
oing by its pace after
landing at the Kerala
coast, the monsoon was
expected to shower manna
over Delhi by the middle of June.
But if it had really done so, it
would have been a short story,
told briefly. The monsoon has
been like a carefree traveller who
likes to explore. Its movements
have been mystical. What is in
its mind, its body does not
tell. But if the dots of its move-
ment’s map are linked, it comes
out clear that it has still a few
turns to make before telling its
story. Otherwise, what explains,
some days ago, its northern tail
located in Diu, Surat and Nan-
durbar (Maharashtra), its body
stretching from Bhopal, Now-
gong (Chhatarpur, Madhya
Pradesh), Barabanki, Bareilly,
Saharanpur and Ambala, and
the head resting over Amritsar.
It then brought Junagarh, Guna,
Kanpur and Meerut under its
sweep. Thereafter, its advance
became slow, and the regions
denied its generosity included
Delhi and Punjab. The Indian
Met Department (IMD) found
that approaching westerly
winds were blocking its progress
over remaining parts of north-
west India. In place of the
monsoon’s inauguration, strong
gusty winds and thunder-
storms were predicted for
Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and
Delhi. Some parts of the nation-
al capital did get some show-
ers, while people in other parts
of the city read about them in
newspapers only. Delhi has
never been able to know the real
character of its monsoons.
Losing patience, hordes of Del-
hi’ites took their vehicles out,
and left for the hills. It was get-
ting too sultry for them to stay
in the city, and one could spend
some days up in the North, while
the rains took their time to arrive.
Life in the metropolis, mean-
while, resurrected itself in its
markets and other public places.
The lockdown restrictions were
relaxed weekly, and people felt
it was time to unwind oneself.
PENS TAKE WINGS!
I
t is common knowl-
edge that pens have a
habit of “walking off”.
People, particularly in
offices, casually pick up
the nearest pen when they
have to jot down or write
something and forget to
return it. Often, in places
dealing with the public,
like banks and govern-
ment offices, where one
FILE PHOTO
not only become viral on social
media but it has also elicited
a negative and highly unchar-
itable public response,” he
said.
The DGP pointed out that
it was unprofessional to the
point of dereliction of duty and
also raises issues of compro-
shit Haryana (Epidemic Alert-
Safe Haryana)”.
University campuses are
allowed to open for research
scholars, laboratory practicals,
remedial and doubt classes
by adopting requisite social
distancing norms, regular
sanitisation and Covid-appro-
priate behaviour, according
to the order.
There were crowds in whole-
sale markets as well as major
retail shopping centres. Once
again, all caution was thrown
to the winds. The authorities
were getting panicky, every
time pictures appeared in the
media of the devoted shoppers
at their old pastime. One could
easily spot a growing viola-
tion of the“Covid-appropriate”
behaviour and the number of
challans went up to 5000 a
day. By now, none could plead
has to sign a document or
fill forms, there are invari-
ably a few people, who
find themselves without a
pen and so borrow from
the official at the counter
or another client or visi-
tor. Sadly, the borrowed
pen often walks off with
the borrower! The other
day, a young man at a
major city post office was
done with filling up a
form when a woman
mises in the VVIP security.
He instructed police officers
to always remain calm and
poised no matter what the
provocation is, adding that
they must always remain polite
and courteous whether deal-
ing with fellow officers or the
general public.
“An officer’s sense of duty
must always precede their
sense of entitlement and they
need to ensure high standards
of professionalism and grace-
ful conduct,” Kundu said while
urging them to identify short-
comings in their personalities
and address them.
He asserted that all police
officers need to learn and
maintain proper interpersonal
relationships and inculcate
an ‘esprit de corps’.
All police officers need to
learn to apply tact and not be
unduly technical about guide-
Anganwadi centres and
crches under Women and
Child Development Depart-
ment shall continue to remain
closed. These places will
remain shut till July 31 in the
state. The state's Department
of Women and Child Welfare
will release the methodolo-
gy for implementation of var-
ious women and child wel-
ignorance how the masks were
to be worn, or what civil behav-
iour was meant to be. Never
before could one conceive
controlling a medical emergency
would involve the police as
much as health professionals.
The long arm of the police
was fully deployed to enforce
a social behaviour needed to
suppress the spread of the
deadly disease. The health
experts have for more than a
year shared their concerns
approached him to bor-
row his pen. In good faith,
he lent his expensive pen
and proceeded to deposit
his form at the requisite
counter. When he turned
around, he found the
woman missing but soon
spotted her at the other
end of the post office. He
walked up to her and
asked for his pen. The
woman apologised and
said her daughter had
lines as when they respond to
crises and situations, they
have to think fast and be inno-
vative. The general idea is to
solve a problem and not to
aggravate it, Kundu said.
He said that from now on,
it should be ensured by prin-
cipal PTC that we include in
our training curriculum, mock
exercises, drills and simulations
to train officers for temperance
and poise when under duress.
“Officers should not be
misled or misguided by the‘halo
effect’ as power is always
attached to a position and
never a person so they should
always be mindful of this
gospel,” he said.
The DGP urged them to
strive as a cohesive team to re-
establish state police’s image
and also to ensure that such
incidents never happen in
the future.
fare programmes in the state,
the order said.
The relaxations on reopen-
ing of shops, malls, restaurants,
religious places, corporate
offices, gatherings in wed-
dings, funerals, open spaces
etc will continue as current-
ly in place.
According to earlier relax-
ations all shops are allowed
NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021
with people and told them
that the virus spread through
human hosts and citizens must
cooperate by keeping social dis-
tance and wearing masks. But
it has now become a full-time
job of the law enforcing agen-
cies invoking the disaster man-
agement and epidemic dis-
eases laws to punish the vio-
lators. The police were already
in the Covid-19 picture to pro-
vide security to doctors and
health professionals, after they
taken it away. Determined
not to let go as it was an
expensive pen, our friend
insisted that the daughter
be asked to come back to
the post office.
Reluctantly, the woman
called up her daughter,
who initially refused to get
back but, as the young
man was persistent, final-
ly agreed. The teenage girl
stormed in and petulantly
banged the pen on the
HP seeks to become a
medicinal plants hub
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
SHIMLA, 27 JUNE
The Himachal Pradesh gov-
ernment is making efforts to
make the state a hub of medi-
cinal plants and financial assis-
tance is being provided to farm-
ers for cultivation of medicinal
plants under the National Ayush
Mission, a state government offi-
cial said on Sunday.
The official said the recent
upsurge of preference for nat-
ural products, there had been
a revival of interest in medici-
nal plants in the international
markets and besides, these
form the major resource base
of our indigenous health care
traditions.
“The outreach and accept-
ability of Ayush systems, both
nationally as well as globally, are
dependent on uninterrupted
availability of quality medici-
nal plants based raw material
due to which their trade is
growing in volume.
AndasHimachalisbestowed
with rich biological diversity, a
state Medicinal Plants Board has
been constituted under the
to open from 9 am to 8 pm,
malls from 10 am to 8 pm,
restaurants and bars, includ-
ing in hotels and malls, from
10 am to 10 pm with 50 per
cent seating capacity. Swim-
ming pools and spas will
continue to remain closed.
“Now, after duly consid-
ering the fact that although
the Covid positivity rate and
came under attack by rela-
tives of patients at various
health establishments. Unbe-
lievable it might have seemed
a few years ago, Delhi Police has
announced formation of dis-
trict and thana level commit-
tees for public health care
management. Their principal
responsibility will be to ensure
that people observe the Covid-
appropriate behaviour! Is it
not something expected vol-
untarily from citizens of a
counter before the moth-
er-daughter duo walked
out. So much for helping
out, our friend muttered!
TAILPIECE
'W
hy do our politi-
cians ignore the
Corona guide-
lines even as the general pub-
lic is advised to strictly fol-
low them?'' wondered a fel-
aegis of Ayush department for
the promotion of medicinal
plants and related activities in
the hill state,” he said.
He stated that the focus
underthedrivewastomakeeasy
availability of medicinal plants
forthemanufactureofAyurvedic
medicines.
The state government had
introduced policies to pro-
mote the conservation of med-
icinal plants and encourage
farmers to cultivate them and
supplement their incomes. He
further stated that various
farmer clusters had been pre-
pared for this purpose and to
get the benefit of financial
assistance, a farmer cluster
must have at least two hectares
of land.
“A cluster can comprise
the number of new Covid
positive cases have declined,
so as to continue the pre-
ventive and precautionary
measures to contain the Covid
pandemic the 'Mahamari
Alert-Surakshit Haryana' is
extended for another week..,
the order said.
The number of daily
COVID-19 cases, which had
03
major city like Delhi? Delhi
AIIMS Director Randeep Gule-
ria clarified the situation, par-
ticularly for them, when he said
if the crowds in public places
continued at the present level,
the third phase of the pandemic
could be expected in six-eight
weeks. Considering the seri-
ousness of the matter, the
involvement of police in the
maintenance of Covid-appro-
priate behaviour does not
appear uncalled for!
low journalist while watch-
ing a leading politician
addressing a gathering with-
out wearing a mask or car-
ing about social distanc-
ing.
Contributed by: Deepak
Razdan, Bhaskar Roy,
Asha Ramachandran and
Ashok Tuteja
three adjoining villages in a 15
kilometre radius and even
mortgaged land can be used for
the cultivation of these medi-
cinal plants,” he said, adding 318
farmers had availed the bene-
fit since January 2018 onwards.
The official said the Nation-
al Ayush Mission (NAM) in the
year 2019-20 had provided
financial assistance of about Rs
1.28 crore for medicinal plants
componentinthestate.Thestate
governmenthadalsoestablished
herbal gardens in Joginderna-
gar in Mandi, Neri in district
Hamirpur, Rohru in Shimla
and Jungle Jhalera in Bilaspur
to promote production of med-
icinal plants in the state.
“Different types of medici-
nal plants catering to different
agro-climatic zones are being
grown in these herbal gardens
which are used to prepare dif-
ferent types of medicines for var-
ious ailments.
In addition, a Regional-
cum-Facilitation Centre of
Northern Region at the Research
Institute in Indian Systems of
Medicine, Jogindernagar in
Mandi district has been set up.
crossed the 15,000-mark last
month, have now come down
to nearly 100 while the Covid
fatalities have also registered
a sharp fall.
The Haryana government
had imposed the lockdown
in the state on May 3 in view
of the prevailing Covid situ-
ation. It has now been extend-
ed for the eighth time.
Touch up and join Telegram Chennal
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04
NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021
THUMBNAILS
BJP national president JP
Nadda sapling a plant in
New Delhi on Sunday.
AGENCIES
Chh'garh murder case:
Police have cracked a 10-
year-old murder case after
an accused during a casual
conversation with a friend
told him that he had killed
a man in Raipur in 2011, an
official said on Sunday.
After getting the lead, the
police on Friday arrested
the main accused, identi-
fied as Santosh Yadav alias
Ghanshyam (30), and his
associate Lokesh Yadav. PTI
Goa Assembly sessions:
The Goa Forward Party on
Sunday said the BJP gov-
ernment in the state
wants to hold the Assem-
bly session starting from
28 July for just three days.
GFP chief Vijai Sardesai
said his party would
oppose this move as it
would be unfair on the cit-
izens because elected rep-
resentatives will not get
enough time to raise
important issues. PTI
Train robbery: The Railway
Police in Maharashtra's
Thane have arrested two
persons for allegedly rob-
bing two train passengers
near Parsik Tunnel, an offi-
cial said on Sunday. The
incident of robbery took
place on Thursday, in
which the accused duo
robbed a woman passen-
ger and her brother of
their belongings collective-
ly worth Rs 43,000. PTI
Mahakaleshwar temple to
reopen today: The famous
Mahakaleshwar temple at
Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh
will reopen for devotees
on Monday at 6 a.m. after
a gap of 80 days, a mem-
ber said. The entry to the
temple's sanctum sancto-
rum will not be allowed. PTI
Restore statehood before
polls: J&K Cong to Centre
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
SRINAGAR, 27 JUNE
The Jammu and Kashmir
Pradesh Congress Committee
on Sunday demanded that the
Centre make the delimita-
tion process in the union ter-
ritory a transparent and time-
bound exercise followed by
restoration of statehood before
holding assembly elections.
“The home minister dur-
ing the all-party meet said that
the government of India want-
ed to complete the delimita-
tion process followed by hold-
ing of elections. He said gov-
ernment was committed to
restore statehood to Jammu
and Kashmir at an appropri-
ate time, PCC chief G A Mir told.
“Congress party present-
ed its agenda which includes
completing the delimitation
process in a transparent man-
ner followed by restoration of
statehood and then holding
election,” he said.
Mir said the Union gov-
ernment has promised to
involve general public in the
process of delimitation at the
Homeless for 70 yrs, Assam’s Mising community people stare at uncertainty
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
DIBRUGARH, 27 JUNE
About 12,000 people of the Mis-
ing community residing at
Laika and Dadhia villages
inside Dibru-Saikhowa Nation-
al Park of Assam, after they
were rendered homeless some
70 years ago, does not have
access to basic facilities like
electricity, drinking water
and roads even now.
“It is a tale of negligence,
apathy, and suffering due to
inaction of the government
machinery”, they said. Aranya
Kasari, a quadragenarian from
Laika, said, Our children trek
for miles and cross a river to
reach school.
Tejashwi reaches out to Chirag,
tells him to join Bihar Opposition
Says LJP leader can take forward father’s legacy only by joining the fight against Golwalkar’s ideas
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
A
mid signs of chill in
LJP leader Chirag
Paswan’s ties with
the BJP-led NDA, RJD
leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sun-
day reached out to him for
aligning with the Opposition,
saying he can carry forward
his father Ram Vilas Paswan’s
legacy only by joining the
“existential fight” against RSS
ideologue M S Golwalkar’s
thoughts.
With Chirag going public
with his disappointment with
the BJP’s silence over his bit-
ter feud with his uncle Pashu-
pati Kumar Paras for control
of the Lok Janshakti Party
(LJP), Tejashwi Yadav alleged
that the BJP has “disposed of”
and “abandoned” most of its
old allies after coming to
power and gaining maximum
from them.
In an interview, Yadav said
his party has always stood by
Ram Vilas Paswan and
recounted that when the LJP
SEASON’S BOUNTY
A worker plucks pear fruit from a farm near Bhuntar in Kullu district on Sunday.
Tehsil level, if need be.
“The ball is now in the Cen-
tre's court. We will see how
much of the promises they
have made are implemented,”
he said.
In an oblique criticism of
other mainstream parties
who participated in the all-
party meeting, Mir said the
Congress had gone there fully
prepared and placed its agen-
da in the meeting.
“We are not here to score
any points, other parties had
their own way of presenting
their point of view but we had
done our homework.We made
best possible suggestions that
can be implemented in the
current situation,” he said.
Mir said the Centre, in its
presentation, claimed that
Jammu and Kashmir has
returned to normal as there
were no protests or violent inci-
dents while the borders were
also calm.
“Our point is that if all
this is correct, the time is
time for restoration of full state-
hood to Jammu and Kashmir
as promised,” he added.
There is no provision of
minimum healthcare or drink-
ing water supply, Kasari said.
“We want to move out of
here, the sooner the better. We
have lived for generations
here. I don’t want the next gen-
eration to go through the
same ordeal. Can you imag-
ine a life without even the basic
amenities? “Electricity or a
motorable road in the core area
of a park is unthinkable. We
don’t even have basic human
rights. We are cut off from the
rest of the world,” Pranjal
Kasari, a Dadhia villager told.
The plight of a small group
of Mising people, the second
largest ethnic community of
Assam, dates back to 1950
did not even have a single MLA
and Paswan lost the election
in 2009, it was Lalu Prasad
Yadav who sent him to Rajya
Sabha from the Rashtriya
Janata Dal quota. Has anybody
done or sacrificed so much for
any other leader or party in the
country, he asked. “Our party
has decided to celebrate Dalit
messiah, Ram Vilas Ji’s birth
anniversary to commemo-
rate his contribution to the
state, I think this itself is self-
explanatory,” Yadav said.
Significantly, Chirag has
also announced an “aashirvaad
yatra” from 5 July, the birth
anniversary of his father and
party founder Ram Vilas
Paswan, from Hajipur in Bihar.
Asked about his call last
week urging Chirag to quit the
NDA, Yadav said the country
is at a juncture where pro-Con-
stitution, pro-democracy, pro-
farmers and pro-people forces
are on one side and those anti-
thetical to this ideology are on
the other side.
“Late Ram Vilas Paswan Ji
was a socialist and a firm
Era of suppression in J&K must end to make
PM’s dialogue process credible: Mehbooba
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti
said on Sunday that the dia-
logue process initiated by
PM Narendra Modi with
Jammu and Kashmir’s main-
stream leadership can gain
credibility by ending what she
called an “era of oppression
and suppression” in the union
territory and understanding
that a dissenting voice is not
a criminal act.
“Give the people right to
breathe and rest will follow
later,” the former CM said, as
she termed the prime min-
ister’s meeting with a 14-
member delegation from
J&K here on Thursday as a way
forward to end the “sufferings”
of people in the erstwhile state
now under Central rule.
Mehbooba, who was part
of the delegation, made it clear
that the onus was on the
Centre to make the dialogue
process credible, and said it
should initiate confidence
building measures and allow
“people to breathe” and also
when a change in course of the
Brahmaputra river took place
after the great earthquake,
rendering 75 households of
Murkongselek along the
Arunachal border homeless.
The story repeated itself in
1957 with a total of 90 house-
holds in the Aukland area of
Rahmaria revenue circle in
Dibrugarh district becoming
homeless due to river erosion
and forced to move out and
take shelter in the then Dibru
Reserve Forest.
These displaced agrarian
people who prefer to live by
the riverside had crossed the
southern bank of Brahmaputra
and came to this area sur-
rounded by six rivers~Lohit,
Our workers helped the needy during the second wave without any trepidation.
Many others chose to remain active only on Twitter, quarantining themselves
Cong should be fulcrum of any national
coalition against NDA, says RJD leader
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
The Congress is a national
party with a pan-India pres-
ence and it is quite natural
that it should be the ful-
crum of any national coali-
tion against the BJP-led
NDA, RJD leader Tejashwi
Yadav said on Sunday.
He also said that the Con-
gress is in a direct fight with
the BJP on more than 200 Lok
Sabha seats and should focus
on them while allowing
regional parties to be in the
driver’s seat in the other
constituencies.
Asked about the meeting
believer in the idea of social
justice throughout his life.
He fought caste supremacy,
poverty and inequality during
his political journey,” the 31-
year-old leader said.
“The real tribute to him
would be carrying forward
his values and legacy and
that is possible only when
Chirag ji joins this existential
fight against Golwalkar’s ‘bunch
of thoughts’,” the former Bihar
deputy chief minister said, in
a play on the title of one of RSS
ideologue Golwalkar’s books.
AGENCIES
ensure protection of jobs
and land for the people.
“When I say allow people
to breathe, I mean that today
any dissenting note from
any side has to cool his or her
heels in the prison. Recent-
ly, a man was jailed for express-
ing his sentiments that he had
lots of hope from a Kashmiri
advisor. The concerned
Deputy Commissioner
ensured that he was in jail for
a few days despite being
granted bail by the court,”
Mehbooba told.
So, when the prime min-
ister says that he wants to erad-
icate ‘Dil ki doori’, such kind
of suppression has to come
to an end immediately, she
added. At the landmark meet-
ing, PM Modi had said he
wants to remove “Dilli ki
Dibang, and Disang on the
north and Anantanala, Dan-
gori, and Dibru on the south.
Flood erosion thus turned
an agrarian community
dependent on farming and
fishing into forest dwellers.
With the passage of time,
Laika and Dadhia, the two orig-
inal villages of the 1950s, have
now become six settlements
with over 2,600 families of
around 12,000 people.
However, problem began
in 1999 when the forest was
declared as Dibru-Saikhowa
National Park making human
habitation inside the pro-
tected area illegal.
Since then, different dis-
pensations such as the AGP,
TAKING A VEILED DIG AT OPPOSITION LEADERS SUCH AS RJD'S TEJASHWI YADAV
of Opposition leaders and
several civil society members
at Nationalist Congress Party
chief Shared Pawar’s house
here last week, the RJD leader
said he was not aware what
transpired in the meeting.
However, the former Bihar
deputy CM asserted that
definitely all like-minded
parties should come togeth-
er with a common mini-
mum programme to defeat
“this most oppressive, divi-
sive, authoritarian and fas-
cist government”.
“Our leader Lalu Ji had
forewarned in the run up to
2014 election~ “Ye chunaw
tay karega ki desh tootega ya
On Chirag’s remarks in an
apparent reference to PM
Narendra Modi that it was not
right for ‘Ram’ to remain silent
when ‘Hanuman’ is being
killed, Yadav alleged that the
BJP “lures” parties and lead-
ers by promising them “the
moon but the moment their
system realises they are no
longer of utility, they are
dumped in a similar manner
as a fly is thrown out of milk”.
Asked about the political
tussle between the LJP factions
of Chirag and his paternal
Another BJP leader criticises Covid-19 handling in UP
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
BALLIA (UP), 27 JUNE
Criticising the handling of
the Covid-19 crisis in Uttar
Pradesh, a ruling party leader
has claimed that at least 10 peo-
ple died in every village dur-
ing the second wave as no
lessons were learnt from the
first one.
State BJP working com-
mittee member Ram Iqbal
Singh, who made the remarks
on Saturday, is the latest
among the party’s leaders
who have questioned the
management of the coron-
avirus infection in the state.
Singh rued that the Health
Department did not learn
any lesson from the first wave
doori” (distance from Delhi)
as well as “Dil ki doori” (dis-
tance between hearts) in an
effort to bring Delhi closer to
the people of J&K.
“Dil ki doori has to be
decreased with the people of
Jammu and Kashmir and for
that all the draconian orders
passed have to stop. The jobs
and land rights have to be pro-
tected,” the PDP president said.
“First and foremost, the era
of suppression and oppres-
sion has to come to an end
and the government has to
understand that a dissenting
voice is not a criminal act. The
entire state of Jammu and
Kashmir, and I will refer to it
only as a state, has become
a jail,” she said.
Mehbooba, who was the
last CM of the erstwhile state
of Jammu and Kashmir before
abrogation of its special sta-
tus on 5 August, 2019, empha-
sised that among other mea-
sures required as confidence
building measures were pro-
viding relief to the tourism and
trading community of Jammu,
Kashmir and Ladakh regions.
Congress, and the BJP, have
ruled the northeastern state
but no concrete step has been
initiated to rehabilitate them.
Narrating their plight,
Sewali Pegu from Laika said,
the villages remain submerged
for months during monsoon
when the people depend
entirely on government relief
measures. “Humans and pigs
share the same shelter when
the area is flooded,” she added.
Meanwhile, an AGP MLA
of the ruling alliance Ponakan
Baruah wrote to CM Himan-
ta Biswa Sarma on 24 May
highlighting the condition of
the people and pointed out
that at least four attempts
have been made to relocate.
BJP NATIONAL PRESIDENT J P NADDA
bachega (this election will
decide whether the country
will remain or be divided)',
and I think most of the
parties and citizens of our
country have realised this
today like never before,”
Yadav said.
On the Congress not hav-
ing a presence at the meet-
ing and whether the grand
old party should be part of
a national alliance to take on
the BJP, he said the Congress
is a national party with a pan-
India presence and quite
naturally it “should be the ful-
crum of any national coali-
tion against the BJP-led
NDA”.
uncle Paras, the RJD leader
threw his weight behind Chi-
rag and took a dig at Bihar chief
minister Nitish Kumar, saying
those who have engineered this
split were vengeful against
Chirag as he fought against
them in last assembly elections.
“Late RamVilas Ji made Chi-
rag Ji his heir apparent by
appointing him as the party’s
national president and the par-
liamentary leader in Lok Sabha
and it is up to him now as to
how he carries forward his
father's legacy,” Yadav said.
of Covid-19 which led to a large
number of deaths in the sec-
ond wave. “At least 10 people
died from every village in the
state during the second wave
of pandemic”, he alleged.
The BJP leader also demand-
ed that Rs 10 lakh be given to
the kin of those who suc-
cumbed to the infection. He
lamented that after 75 years of
freedom, this district with a pop-
ulation of 34 lakh, has “no
doctors or medicines”.
On being reminded that
during his visit to Ballia, CM
Yogi Adityanath had expressed
satisfaction with the arrange-
ments made by the Health
Department, Singh said the
officials had misled the CM.
He also urged the BJP gov-
Need to redesign welfare
system to meet challenge of
pandemic: Abhijit Banerjee
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
JODHPUR, 27 JUNE
The Covid pandemic has
paved the way for learning
many lessons with regard to
the country’s health situa-
tion and preparedness in
general as well as highlight-
ed the need to redesign wel-
fare systems, Noble laureate
and economist Abhijit Baner-
jee said on Sunday.
While addressing a webi-
nar organised by the city-
based National Institute for
Implementation Research on
Non-Communicable Dis-
eases, Banerjee focused on the
economic aspect of the coun-
try’s health situation, wel-
fare and healthcare systems.
On the economic aspect
of the health situation, he
said that India has a large pop-
ulation afflicted with lifestyle
diseases, which are non-com-
municable diseases (NCDs).
“Many young people died
in the second and first wave
of the pandemic, but their con-
ditions were not detected.
Causalities among the young
has caught us without any
clue,” the economist said,
terming awareness about
NCDs a key challenge.
Banerjee also said that the
welfare system of the country
has not been designed for a
pandemic and stressed on
the need for redesigning the
welfare mechanism to deal with
such situations in the future.
Speaking on different
Targeting of individuals by
Central agencies harmful
for federal structure: Raut
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
MUMBAI, 27 JUNE
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on
Sunday said the deliberate tar-
geting of leaders in the rul-
ing MVA alliance in Maha-
rashtra by central agencies was
harmful for the country’s fed-
eral structure.
Raut was responding to a
query by reporters on the
Enforcement Directorate (ED)
summoning former Maha-
rashtra home minister Anil
Deshmukh in a money laun-
dering case.
Deshmukh was asked to
depose before the investi-
gating officer at the ED’s office
in Mumbai on Saturday in the
money laundering case relat-
ed to an alleged multi-crore
bribery-cum-extortion rack-
et, that led to his resignation
from the post of home min-
ister in April. However, the NCP
leader, whose party shares
power with the Shiv Sena
and Congress in Maharash-
tra, sought a fresh date for
appearance before the agency.
Talking to reporters, Raut
also said Shiv Sena MLA Prat-
ap Sarnaik's letter to Chief
Minister Uddhav Thackeray
highlighted that the legisla-
tor was being unnecessarily
harassed by the ED.
He said if there are com-
plaints, the state’s Econom-
ic Offences Wing (EoW) or the
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)
can investigate them.
“But, central agencies are
brought in under pressure to
ernment to give a diesel sub-
sidy to farmers.
Earlier in May, BJP’s Sita-
pur MLA Rakesh Rathore
expressed resentment over
the alleged Covid-19 mis-
management in the state and
saying that he feared a sedi-
tion charge for speaking up.
“What standing do MLAs
have? If we speak too much,
treason and sedition charges
will be slapped on us as well,
Rakesh Rathore had told,
according to a video clip.
On 9 May, Union Labour
minister Santosh Gangwar
had complained to the chief
minister about the situation in
his Bareilly constituency, say-
ing officials don’t take calls and
government health centres
aspects of the healthcare sys-
tem of the country, the noble
laureate highlighted multiple
consequences of medical
practitioners without any
qualification (quacks) and
indiscriminate and sponta-
neous use of steroids and
their availability.
Citing a study, he said, In
West Bengal, underweight
women frequently take steroids
to put on weight for marriage
and these steroids are easily
available at a local grocer.
Terming the practice by
quacks in rural areas a fully
open phenomena, Banerjee
said that there was no
enforcement to address this
issue and this has triggered
a general culture of abusive
medicine. “Our healthcare
system is being handled by
those who are left out of the
healthcare system”, he said.
The noble laureate also
highlighted the issue of over-
prescribing of medicines for
very normal ailments.
While talking about the
public healthcare system, he
claimed that sub-centres are
empty and nurses are most-
ly not available, which push-
es people to visit quacks.
While an average time
given by an MBBS doctor to
a patient is about two min-
utes, quacks give adequate
time to them hearing their
problems, he claimed and
argued that this was a likely
condition forcing patients
go to quacks.
Taking a dig at the con-
sumerist culture towards
medicine, Banerjee stressed
on the need of development
of a preventive culture instead
of a curative culture. “We are
exposed to demand of med-
icines. We go to the doctor and
tell him “Kuchh to de do (give
us something)”, when he is dis-
inclined to prescribe medi-
cines, he said.
deliberately target...this is
out of frustration over the
inability to form government
here,” Raut alleged, and said
“this is harmful for the fed-
eral structure”.
Asked about Leader of
Opposition in the Assembly
Devendra Fadnavis's com-
ment that he would quit pol-
itics if he failed to restore the
OBC quota in local bodies in
the state, Raut said the BJP
leader in 2014 claimed he
would get quota for the
'Dhangar' community passed
in the first cabinet meeting
after assuming power.
“He was in power for five
years, but nothing happened.
Whether in power or not,
efforts must be taken to resolve
issues of the deprived sections
of society,” the Rajya Sabha
member said. Raut said the
issue of reservation is for
ensuring social equality.
“Please don't politicise a
social issue. Whether you are
in government or opposi-
tion, a responsible leader
should strive to resolve the
issue which the MVA leaders
are trying,” Raut said.
Asked about protests by the
BJP and the Congress in dif-
ferent parts of the state on the
OBC quota issue, Raut said
leaders, in government as
well as from the opposition,
are expected to behave appro-
priately at the time of the pan-
demic. Police took action
against NCP functionaries
for Covid-19 norm violations
during an event, Raut said.
send back patients for ‘refer-
rals’ from the district hospital.
In a letter to Adityanath, he
had also complained about the
big shortage of empty oxygen
cylinders and the high prices
of medical equipment in
Bareilly. A day later, BJP MLA
from Jasrana in Firozabad
Ramgopal Lodhi claimed that
his coronavirus positive wife
was not admitted to an Agra
hospital for over three hours,
with officials saying that beds
were not available.
In April, a ‘confidential’ let-
ter written by UP Law Minis-
ter Brajesh Pathak surfaced on
social media. Pathak had lashed
out at his state's health author-
ities, complaining that beds for
patients were falling short.
Gujarat 2022
Assembly poll
fight will be
between BJP &
AAP: Sisodia
Businessman Mahesh Savani
joins AAP in the presence of
party leader and Delhi Dy CM
Manish Sisodia, in Surat on
Sunday. AGENCIES
SURAT, 27 JUNE
The 2022 Gujarat Assembly
polls will be a straight con-
test between the ruling BJP
and the Aam Aadmi Party,
Delhi Deputy CM Manish
Sisodia said on Sunday.
In Surat to welcome busi-
nessman Mahesh Savani
into the AAP fold, Sisodia said
the BJP was in power for
over two decades in the state
but had failed to bring about
any change, whereas his
party has emerged from the
people, stood by them and
was synonymous with “good
governance”.
“The trust and faith of the
people in AAP is growing. The
2022 Gujarat Assembly polls
will be between the party that
has been ruling without
bringing about any change
and the party that has
emerged from the people,”
Sisodia said. He claimed
people like Savani joining his
party was a sign that the
business community as well
as common citizens wanted
change in Gujarat.
Savani, who belongs to the
politically influential Patidar
community, is known for
organising mass marriages
for orphaned women and also
runs hostels for HIV positive
girls. PTI
 05
Will contest Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in alliance with Om
Prakash Rajbhar-led SBSP and Bhaagidaari Sankalp Morcha.
AIMIM PRESIDENT ASADUDDIN OWAISI
WHILE ANNOUNCING IT WILL CONTEST 100 SEATS IN UP ASSEMBLY POLLS IN 2022
NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021

THUMBNAILS
Jagan govt under Opp fire 5 ministers inducted in BSP to contest
UP, U’khand
Rangasamy-led NDA Assembly polls
over job vacancy claims
CM said 6,03,756 jobs were created in different govt departments in last 2 years
Cabinet in Puducherry alone: Mayawati

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA CM Rangasamy on 23 Ju-

PUDUCHERRY/NEW DELHI, ne submitted the list of mem-

V-P Venkaiah Naidu bats for people’s 27 JUNE

Ending the more than a

Tourists enjoy rafting in
the Beas after authorities
eased relaxation in Covid-
19 lockdown, near Manali,
on Sunday. AGENCIES
bers to be included in his min-
istry to Soundararajan, which
was subsequently approved
movement to preserve, enrich languages month-long suspense over
Cabinet formation, five min-
by the President.
Though the AINRC-led LUCKNOW, 27 JUNE
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA other languages and cul- isters, including two from the NDA had swept the 6 April
VISAKHAPATNAM, 27 JUNE tures. He underscored the BJP, were inducted in the Assembly polls in this Union The BSP will not enter into
need for primary education chief minister N Rangasamy- Territory, Cabinet formation any alliance for Uttar Pradesh
Vice-President M Venkaiah to be in one’s mother tongue, led NDA Cabinet on Sunday. dragged on for long as the saf- and Uttarakhand Assembly
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Naidu on Sunday stressed the as envisaged by National A Namassivayam, K Lak- fron party initially insisted for polls, party chief Mayawati
AMARAVATI, 27 JUNE need for a people’s movement Educational Policy, 2020. shminarayanan, C Djeacou- a deputy CM post, but later said on Sunday.
to preserve languages, com- He noted that persons pre- mar, Chandira Priyanga and settled for the post of the In a series of tweets in

Rivers rise: The water level
of Mahananda, Kankani,
and Parman rivers are flo-
wing above the danger le-
vel at various places like
Purnea and Araria districts
due to continuous rain for
last one week, and villages
located on the bank of ri-
vers are under threat . IANS
Lakha Sidhana booked: A
day after tens of thou-
sands of protesting farm-
ers entered Chandigarh
after breaking barricades
and facing water cannons,
local police on Sunday
booked gangster-turned-
activist Lakhvir Singh, alias
Lakha Sidhana, and Rajin-
der Singh Deep Singh Wala,
vice-president of the Kirti
Kissan Union. IANS
TN shadow agri budget:
The PMK on Sunday rel-
eased Tamil Nadu's shad-
ow agricultural budget for
the year 2021-22. IANS
T
he Andhra Pradesh
government has come
under severe criti-
cism from the Oppo-
sition for its claims of having
filled up more than six lakh job
vacancies in different gov-
ernment departments, in the
last two years.
Political parties, includ-
ing the TDP, have also accused
the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led
dispensation of ‘cheating’ un-
employed youth in the state
by releasing an employment
calendar to fill just 10,000
positions, after making tall
promises to give lakhs of jobs
before coming to power.
On 18 June, Jagan had
released the ‘job calendar,’ fix-
ing the schedule for recruit-
ment of 10,143 posts over the
next nine months. During
the event, the CM claimed
6,03,756 jobs were created by
his government in the last
two years. Also, he said 51,387
posts in the newly created Pub-
lic Transport Department
were filled while it was noth-
ing but absorption of State
plementing the efforts of
the government in order to
deliver the benefits of our lan-
guage traditions to future gen-
erations.
Highlighting the power of
language to unite people
across generations and geo-
graphies, Naidu called for a
concerted efforts to preser-
ve, enrich and propagate
our languages, cultures and
traditions. Speaking at the 6th
annual ‘Rashtretara Telugu
Road Transport Corporation
employees into the governm-
ent. Through the AP Public Ser-
vice Commission, 2,475 regular
posts were filled but the
process began during the pre-
vious TDP regime in 2017-18.
TDP MP Kinjarapu Ram-
mohan Naidu attacked the
chief minister for “backstab-
bing” the youth in the name
of the job calendar. “As Oppo-
sition leader, Jagan promised
to fill 2.30 lakh vacancies and
also give 26,000 teacher posts.
“But now he released a
Samakhya’ conference, he su-
ggested Telugu people should
come together as one for the
cause of Telugu language
and the revitalisation of our
local traditions.
Noting that neglecting a
language will lead to its de-
cline, Naidu said it is the duty
of each individual to preserve
and promote one’s mother
tongue, without belittling
jobless calendar for filling
just 10,000 posts. It’s nothing
but leaving the hapless youth
in the lurch,” he said.
State BJP chief Somu Veer-
raju sought to know what ha-
ppened to the 2.40 lakh jobs
that Jagan promised before
coming to power. “This gover-
nment has not issued a sing-
le job notification through
APPSC but is resorting to false
propaganda that it has filled
6.03 lakh vacancies. This is no-
thing but cheating the unem-
ployed youth,” he slammed.
sently occupying the high-
est constitutional offices of
the country, including the
President, Vice-President,
Prime Minister and the Chief
Justice of India all had pri-
mary education in their mo-
ther tongue. “People should
not have the false impression
that one cannot succeed
and grow in life if they learn
in their mother tongue. We
have many past and present
exemplars to disprove that”.
Jana Sena Political Affairs
Committee chairman Nadend-
la Manohar demanded that a
white paper be published wi-
th details of department-wise
vacancies and a firm recruit-
ment schedule.
CPI state secretary K Ra-
makrishna demanded a fresh
job calendar be issued noti-
fying vacant government posts.
Congress state working presi-
dent N Tulasi Reddy demanded
10 per cent reservation for ec-
onomically-backward among
upper castes in govt jobs.
A K Sai J Saravana Kumar were
sworn in as ministers by Lt-
Governor Tamilisai Soundara-
jan in front of the Raj Nivas.
All the ministers took oath
in the name of God. Chief
minister Rangasamy, among
others, was present on the
occasion.
The portfolios of the min-
isters were not revealed.
Lakshminarayanan, Djea-
coumar and Priyanga rep-
resent lead partner AINRC,
while Namassivayam and
Saravana Kumar are from
its ally BJP.
This is the first time the
saffron party is part of a min-
istry in the Union Territory.
The exercise also saw a
woman member become a
minister after a 41-year gap,
with Chandira Priyanga being
sworn in.
Late Congress leader Re-
nuka Appadurai was the last
woman minister from the UT
during 1980-83 and handled
the education portfolio in the
MDR Ramachandran (DMK)-
led coalition ministry.
Assembly Speaker.
Soon after leading his alli-
ance to a win, AINRC founder
Rangasamy was sworn-in as
CM on 7 May but no other
Cabinet member was sworn-
in. Later, BJP’s ‘Embalam’ R
Selvam was elected unoppos-
ed as Speaker of the Pudu-
cherry Assembly on 16 June.
AINRC emerged victori-
ous from 10 segments out of
the 16 seats it contested in
the hustings and heads the
NDA here. The BJP annexed
six of the nine seats it con-
tested. The NDA enjoys the
support of three nominated
members belonging to the BJP.
The House has a total of
33 MLAs, including the three
nominated ones.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Sunday extended his
best wishes to the ministers
in the Puducherry govern-
ment who took oath earlier
in the day. He tweeted: “... May
this team work with determi-
nation and fulfil the aspira-
tions of the wonderful peo-
ple of Puducherry.”
Hindi, the former chief min-
ister denied any tie-up with
the AIMIM for the Assembly
election in Uttar Pradesh
due next year.
“A news channel is broad-
casting news since yesterday
that in the upcoming UP As-
sembly elections, BSP will con-
test along with (Asaduddin)
Owaisi’s party AIMIM. This
news is completely wrong,
misleading and devoid of
any fact. There is not even an
iota of truth in this. The BSP
vociferously denies this”.
“The party wants to clar-
ify that barring Punjab, the
BSP will be contesting the
Assembly elections to be
held in UP and Uttarakhand
alone, and will not be enter-
ing into any alliance with
anyone,” Mayawati said in
another tweet.
The BSP has recently join-
ed hands with the Shiromani
Akali Dal in Punjab.
Her party had tied up with
Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi
Party and RLD in UP for the
2019 Lok Sabha polls. PTI

BJP working to balance social 19-yr-old girl

equation in its favour in UP
INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE
The saffron camp
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNEbelieves it will clear
the air about the false
Ahead of next year’s Assemb-
ly polls in Uttar Pradesh, the
BJP is working on to balance
the social equation in its favour
by reaching out to all castes and
communities in the state. The
saffron camp believes it will clear
the air about the false narra-
tive that the BJP is ignoring some
communities or favouring
some and so social equation
will play an important role in
next year’s Uttar Pradesh
Assembly polls to repeat the
party’s 2017 performance.
Apart from some major
caste groups, there are many
who have influences in differ-
ent parts of the state. “There
are many sub-castes or com-
munities having influence in
few districts like big one hav-
ing presence across the state.
These small groups will be
playing a crucial role decidi-
ng results in seats of their influ-
ence. Every caste and commu-
nity is important and we are try-
ing to reach them,” a senior Uttar
Pradesh BJP leader said.
“The BJP government in
Uttar Pradesh is working on
Prime Minister Narendra Mo-
di’s vision of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka
Vikas’, but our political rival
abandoned
with baby
becomes SI
narrative that the
BJP is ignoring some
communities or
favouring some
always tries to create a false nar-
rative that a particular caste or
community is neglected or
ignored in current rule, which
is not true. To dispel such false
narrative, we are reaching these
communities in coming days,”
a Uttar Pradesh BJP leader.
As per plan the BJP has
decided to give prominence to
leaders of these communities
and castes in the party, who will
reach out to their respective
communities.
“Leaders of communities
and castes in the party will be
asked to start dialogue and
establish connections with
people to dispel the false
narrative and explain BJP is
committed for inclusive growth
and never ignored or side-
lined anyone,” a party insider
said.
Another Uttar Pradesh BJP
leader claimed the exercise to
balance social equations in
the state will be completed in
next couple of months.
SNS
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 27
JUNE
A girl, who was abandoned by
her 'life-partner’ and family
when she was just 19 with her
6-month-old baby has become
a police sub-inspector now
The story of Anie Siva says
how she overcame the chal-
lenges she faced by will power
and confidence. Anie Siva, a
native of Kanjiramkulam in
Thiruvananthapuram dis-
trict, was a first year degree stu-
dent at Kanjiram kulam KNM
Government College, when
she started living with her
boyfriend against the will of
her family. However, after she
gave birth to a baby, the man
left her.
Though she returned home
after being abandoned, the
family did not accept her
back. She started living with
her son in the back yard of her
grandmother’s house.
Annie recalled how she
made money to make a living.
“I started selling curry pow-
der and soap first. Later, I
became an insurance agent.

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06 NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021 Vol. CXXXXX 150

Incorporating and directly descended

The Great Disrupter A MEMBER
OF THE

from THE FRIEND OF INDIA - Founded 1818

Thanks to vaccinations and the lifting of social restrictions, the handshake is making a ASIAN VOICES
Killed for dowry comeback though ‘pressing the flesh‘ still faces an uncertain future. In the recent summit Were people the
S
that US President Joe Biden had with Russian President Vladimir Putin, their fulsome
ixty years after Parliament enacted the Dowry
Prohibition Act and 16 years after the Protec- handshake could send a message that the old way of greeting may make a comeback missing link in
tion of Women from Domestic Violence Act
came into force, dowry deaths continue to prolifer-
Covid response?

I
ate. In fact, India has the highest dowry-related ncidentally, a few days after the
deaths in the world with Uttar Pradesh leading the world celebrated Juneteenth to
states, according to the National Crime Record mark end of slavery, a Webinar
Bureau. NV Ramana, Chief Justice of India, has hosted by International Antiviral Soci-
described dowry deaths as a “pestiferous” crime ety (IAS) USA had put spotlight on
where women are subjected to cruelty by covetous “Nothing Without Us: Civil Society
husbands and in-laws. The week that has just ended Solutions to the Covid-19 Pandemic”.
Inequities and social injustices that
witnessed at least one dowry death a day in Kerala,
have plagued most of our population,
socially one of the most advanced states in India. has only allowed tiny number of rich
The week began with the tragic death of a 23-year- elites to amass enormous wealth and
old final year BAMS student, married to an assistant power. When the public health emer-
motor vehicle inspector two months ago. According gency ensued with the spread of the
to the bride’s father, the groom had demanded a corona virus, these very inequities and
plot of land valued at Rs 2 crore, 100 sovereigns and social injustices not only got exposed
a luxury car to tie the nuptial knot. He was not sat- but were dangerously pronounced
isfied with the Toyota Corolla presented to him. The thereby crippling the response.
woman was reportedly tortured to death within Jim Pickett, co-founder of Inter-
national Rectal Microbicides Advo-
weeks of marriage. A twenty-four-year-old nursing
cates and Senior Director of Preven-
graduate was found burnt to death in the residence tion Advocacy at the AIDS Foundation
of her in-laws in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday of Chicago, who was moderating the
night. She was being tormented by her husband for session, said that biomedical strate-
not bringing a dowry of Rs 3 lakh. On Tuesday a gies to diagnose, prevent, and treat
woman who got married to an Uttarakhand gov- Covid-19 are urgently needed, and

ernment employee on 21 March was found hanging
in her husband’s house. On Wednesday, another
woman was found dead in her house in Thiru-
vananthapuram following an alleged assault by her
husband, the son of a late Malayalam film artist.
The list is endless.
According to the Kerala State Crime Record
Bureau, 65 brides were found dead/murdered
under mysterious circumstances during 2020-21.
Kerala men set a new trend last May when a 25-ye-
ar-old was found dead in her marital home. Inves-
tigations revealed that her husband got her bitten
by a deadly cobra soon after the honeymoon was
over to get rid of her. There are enough laws, wom-
en’s commissions and relevant sections in the Indi-
an Penal Code to tackle the menace of ‘pestiferous’
crimes against women, but their implementation is
tardy. Women’s commissions prefer to play the role
of mediators and try to save marriages, rather than
bring culprits to book. In the case of the BAMS stu-
dent, parents of the victim had been persuaded to
withdraw the police case filed by them. Prof VT
Rema, activist and former principal of the Govern-
ment Arts College, says investigating agencies do
not pursue dowry-related deaths with diligence
because of lethargy and inherent weaknesses. The
heart-rending events of last week prove beyond
doubt that law enforcing agencies must be more
vigilant to make Kerala a safer place for women.
Former Chief Minister Oomen Chandy of the Unit-
ed Democratic Front government led by the Con-
gress wanted government employees to sign an affi-
davit stating that they would neither accept nor
give dowry. Any violation should attract instant dis-
missal from service. Before it could be put into
effect, the government changed in Thiruvanantha-
puram and the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front
took over with Pinarayi Vijayan as Chief Minister.
Final flip
I
t has been more than a year
since an outbreak of a new
strain of coronavirus was first
reported in Wuhan, China.
Declared a pandemic by the
World Health Organization in
March 2020, it has now infected
more than 179.3 million people
in 223 countries and with 3.9 mil-
lion deaths as of 23 June. More
will perish in the coming days/
months despite the vaccine drive
in full swing in many countries.
India too has lost close to 400,000
of its people as the second wave
was particularly severe. Though
Covid-19 appropriate behaviour
by people is being advised, there
are always violators. If this trend
does not change, a third wave
could be more devastating.
This commentary shall ad-
dress two issues: the drive to vac-
cinate as many people as possi-
ble to combat the virus, and how
Covid-19 has emerged as the
biggest disrupter in human lives
and how lifestyles have changed
almost overnight.
First, like other countries,
India too has launched a massive
vaccination drive and aims to
inoculate all of its 1.1 billion
adults by the end of the year. So
far, it has vaccinated only four
per cent of its people compared
to New Zealand, which has inoc-
ulated all its citizens.
Two domestic manufactur-
ers are already on the job. India
has also roped in a Russian com-
pany to get the Sputnik 5 vaccine.
Imports have started and domes-
tic production in collaboration
Yoga Day, muted this time by the consideration. This is a gamble send a message that the old prac- efforts to rapidly develop these tools
virus, Prime Minister Narendra that is not worth taking, as pro- tice of greeting can be adopted. are underway worldwide. Accelerated
Modi hailed the “protective” tecting human lives should have This was a rare moment of physi- research enhances the need for civil
properties of yoga against the got precedence over hosting the cal human contact. It was a dra- society input to ensure ethical devel-
virus. The worrying fact is that Games for assumed glory for matic turnaround from the experi- opment and access to these tools
the vaccination drive significant- Japan. The less said on this the ence at the G-7 summit in Corn- worldwide to ensure social justice. In
ly slowed at a time when the sec- better. wall where the leaders were seen this context, community engagement
ond wave was causing havoc due Prime Minister Yoshihide elbow-bumping and maintaining necessitates innovative structures,
to a shortage of jabs and hesitan- Suga has also accelerated the vac- a six feet distance at outdoor mechanisms, and actions, said Jim
cy. The sudden surge in the cination efforts and aims to com- events. while explaining the key role for the
April/May period overwhelmed plete the vaccination programme Though the virus is still there, Covid Advocates Advisory Board
the health care system in many by November 2021. Japanese uni- the US has lifted most Covid-19 (CAAB) which currently connects over
places. versities and companies have restrictions. Vaccinated citizens 125 people worldwide. CAAB's efforts
There is also a segment of also begun their own drives for have been told they do not need are directed towards the achievement
people who still do not have con- on-site inoculations. The initial masks. Social distancing has of social justice, health equity and the
fidence in the vaccines providing target is to inoculate the under- become a thing of the past and defense of human rights, said Jim.
full protection. This is another 65s. As an aging society, the onus domestic travel is back in full Social and racial injustices and
bother. There are lies on Suga to pro- swing. But the fear still remains in inequities that Covid has brought to
reports that even tect the elderly citi- minds of the people. Friends greet
medical doctors zens. There are each other with a brief wave and
who had taken both already over 65,000 handshakes are still frowned upon.
the jabs have fallen centenarians in Hugging, generally a com- the forefront has also resulted in the
victim to the virus Japan and the mon practice in many countries grim reality that many racial and eth-
and people are number is in- including India, is out of bounds. nic communities are at heightened
doubting the vac- creasing. This is a Prime Minister Modi’s “hug diplo- risk of getting sick and dying from
cine’s efficacy and challenge for Suga. macy” is unlikely to make a come- Covid, such as, people of colour. These
developing cold The second is- back. Kissing to greet someone, social determinants of health have his-
feet. In Marxist jar- sue to be addressed never common in the US but very torically prevented them from having
gon, Covid-19 can is how Covid-19 common in Australia and in fair opportunities for economic, phys-
RAJARAM
be explained as a PANDA has been the big- Europe, is almost unimaginable ical, and emotional health.
“socialist” virus that gest disrupter in for most. Rob Newells, Director of National
does not distinguish The writer is Senior Fellow
the Nehru Memorial Museum
at daily lives. The However, this has unlikely Programmes for Black AIDS Institute,
between race, reli- and Library, New Delhi common practice deterred younger lovers. On such said that they rose to the challenge
gion, caste, nation- of greeting people occasions, virus fears just disap- early in the pandemic. Interventions
ality, status, etc. with a handshake pear. Also, the fear of transmission like delivering groceries to the people
while attacking. While it could has lost its lustre as people are of the virus does not seem to have in need, and more importantly, get-
take some time for doubters to refraining from touching another prevented molestations and rapes, ting the right information to the com-
come on board, in the Philip- person’s hand for fear of con- though the numbers of cases have munities also became a priority. “Each
pines President Duterte has tracting the virus. On the contrary, either fallen or are being underre- one, teach one! It boils down to
threatened that those who refuse other forms of greeting such as ported. empowering others to tell the stories,”
to take the jab shall be put in jail fist-bumping have emerged as While the handshake is Rob said, who is doing his best to
with a view to enforcing compli- increasingly popular. unlikely to make a comeback any ensure that people themselves
ance. However, thanks to vaccina- time soon, other forms of greeting become the messenger and harbinger
With less than a month away tions and the lifting of social
to go for the Olympic Games to restrictions as the virus has started
such as fist-bumping, brief waves,
or alternatives such as an Indian-
of right information that empowers
them and their fellow beings.

I f Anil Kumble weren’t heading the global panel
keeping an eye peeled on cricket’s technical
nitty-gritty, and pointing at the way forward,
much of the predominantly Indian griping about
the World Test Championship would have been bot-
tled up so no one up top was rubbed up the wrong
way. It had less to do with our customary regional
one-upmanship than conflicting personal ambi-
tions, which were inevitable in the country
bankrolling the game so lavishly. But India, the
team, performed so very underwhelmingly in the
with Dr. Reddy’s Lab in Hyder-
abad is in the news. The govern-
ment is coordinating on issues
such as pricing, sourcing, storing,
supplying and other related
issues in cooperation with the
states.
On 21 June, International
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
begin in Tokyo, Japan is also on to ebb, the handshake is making a style “Namaste” could become Rob also commented on vaccine
an overdrive with its vaccination comeback though “pressing the more popular. The pandemic has hesitancy or medical mistrust that
programme. Though there still flesh” faces an uncertain future. In upended many things about affects the response to Covid. “Our
remain good reasons to cancel the recent summit that US Presi- everyday life and therefore has role is to honestly answer every single
the Games, Japan and the IOC dent Joe Biden had with Russian become the biggest disrupter of question so that people are informed
have decided to take the risk to President Vladimir Putin in Gene- human living style. Willy-nilly enough to make the right decision” he
go ahead as sane counsel for can- va, their fulsome handshake in mankind needs to be prepared to said. “People will listen to folks they
cellation did not merit much front of the world’s cameras could accept new rituals. trust”.
editor@thestatesman.com

Sundarbans fate & Kolkata

rain-affected, stop-and-start final, losing by eight
mere babe in the wood in Government” in the Con-
wickets to New Zealand at Southampton, that India, the world of politics. He stitution. Even the lists of
the country, could be said to be too numb to find WORTHY WINNERS
has been completely out- division of powers, under
fault with others in the wake of it. It was, after all, SIR, Sujit Choudhury’s Calcutta city from the ond city of the Empire’ foxed and can now do little the seventh schedule, are SIR, New Zealand’s cricket
the third match in the tournament between the two article, ‘If the Sundarbans British, today’s Salt Lake was at risk from the ‘liquid except weep at the man- named as the Union list, team have created history by
teams, with India finishing on the losing side on fall, Kolkata will be next’ area, historians say, used mass’ of a delta that is ner he is becoming irrele- State list and Concurrent winning the maiden World Test
each occasion. Captain Virat Kohli was reduced to (The Statesman, 24 June to be the main city and the wont to repeatedly bulge vant in Bihar politics. list. “Union government” Championship mace, defeating
Kyle Jamieson’s bunny, with the New Zealand seam- 2021) reminded me a rele- Lower South Circular into the sea. That threat Yours, etc., Anthony is a justified term because the mighty Indian team by 8
er bowling 84 deliveries to the Indian to concede vant observation of Ashwi- Road, that’s Chowringhee still prevails. Henriques, it is used in the Constitu- wickets at Southampton. The
but 30 runs in the WTC cycle and thrice giving him ka Kapur, India’s Youngest now, used to be city’s Yours, etc., Jaydev Jana, Mumbai, 23 June. tion. match provided much thrill
Green Oscar winner, ‘The southern border, beyond Kolkata, 24 June. The Tamil Nadu gov- and excitement to cricket lovers
his marching orders, twice in the summit show- Sundarbans is our first which were the Sundar- RIGHT STEP ernment is respecting the who want to see the longest
down itself. India’s middle-order batting averaged and greatest wall of bans forests. NAIVE SIR, A few days back the essence of the supreme format of this beautiful game
24 in the match, with Cheteshwar Pujara looking defence against nature’s P Greenough, refer- SIR, Chirag Paswan is Tamil Nadu Government law of the land and this is survive.
as much at sea as his captain. Rohit Sharma and fury. Without a healthy ring to WW Hunter’s extremely naive to expect decided to use the words an example of constitu- The Kiwi captain Kane
Ajinkya Rahane looked composed while they lasted, Sundarbans, there will no account, mentioned that the BJP to come rushing to “Union Government” ins- tional morality. Williamson stamped his
but were outplayed when set. And the opener Shub- Calcutta. the downed world of for- his aid and quell the rebel- tead of Central govern- As the late Nani authority over this most fasci-
man Gill, after so much noise made by some of In- So there has never mer Sundarbans being lion in the Lok Janshakti ment. Palkhivala said, “The sur- nating version of the game with
dia’s best-known icons of yesteryear, fell far short of been a better time to vastly larger than the visi- Party. Political parties will This has led to a new vival of our democracy his superb batting skills and
the popular expectations stirred by the stellar ma- salute its role in our sur- ble Sundarbans of the pre- always put self interest disagreement among and the unity and integrity commendable leadership. After
vival.’ Indeed, history tells sent (1875) and wondered first and unless the BJP political parties. But it is of the nation depend upon winning the toss, he took all the
gniloquence in the media. Maybe, as the anatomy
that the edge of the Sun- if ‘the site of an earlier finds some benefit in help- an important step towards the realisation that consti- right decisions. But the player
of the defeat is placed under further, closer scrutiny darbans used to be much Kolkata had slid beneath ing Chirag out, there is no keeping the spirit of the tutional morality is no less who stole the show was Kyle
later on, people might also ask each other why, in closer to the city (Calcut- 30 feet of silt and saltwa- way it will do anything to Constitution alive. essential than constitu- Jamieson who not only
dire need of what nowadays is called out-of-the- ta) proper. ter, who can say it would help him. The founding fathers tional legality.” stunned the fancy Indian bat-
box thinking, Ravichandran Ashwin, who took both In 1756, when Siraj- not happen again? The Events in the LJP have never used the word “Cen- Yours, etc., Mohit ting line-up by taking 8 wickets
the wickets in the New Zealand second innings and ud-Daulah recaptured the worry then was that ‘sec- shown that Chirag is a tre” or the words “Central Rawal, Ujjain, 24 June. in the match but also scored a
topped the competition’s wicket-takers’ list, was crucial 21 runs in the first
given only 10 overs? Would a double-spin attack innings.
right from the beginning on a sixth-day track have All in all, the Kiwis deserv-
helped? Remember, too, that despite India boas- ed to win this much-awaited
final as they played superb
ting a supposedly lethal pace attack, the first wicket cricket. From the Indian point
in both essays fell to Ashwin. Did dropped catches, of view, the way they lost a ma-
precisely when India couldn’t afford them, hint at tch they could have easily dra-
inadequate preparation or the recurrence of an old wn will cause disappointment.
problem? As Kohli finds himself obliged to haul the The performances of their key
assorted baggage now into the Test series against players like Jasprit Bumrah and
England, he must wonder where his team will find Cheteshwar Pujara proved
the skills to counter Anderson and Co. Kumble, in costly for their team. India also
the ICC, was saddled with the task of pushing a squ- played outstanding cricket to
reach the final and deserve
are peg into a round hole. He was up against Covid-
praise. Hopefully, India will
19. Kohli, who had been the reason why Kumble learn from their mistakes.
had had to relinquish his role as India’s chief coach, Yours, etc., Iftekhar Ahmed,
was only leading his team in a final. He says there Kolkata, 24 June.
should have been two more matches in the final
but no one is sure India would have won them.

Tracking the 2004 tsunami
ELIZABETH FRANKENBERG,
CECEP SUMANTRI AND
DUNCAN THOMAS
O
n 26 December 2004, waves
triggered by a massive
earthquake slammed into
the coastlines of countries
ringing the Indian Ocean. The death
toll was enormous. Worldwide, it is
estimated that about 230,000 people
died that day. Aceh province, on the
northern end of the Indonesian
island of Sumatra, was hit hardest.
There, more than 160,000 people –
nearly 5 per cent of the local popula-
tion – were killed. In the worst hit
areas, survivors lost their homes and
livelihoods and saw their communi-
ties reduced to rubble.
Over the months that followed,
governments, religious organisations,
NGOs and individual people deliv-
ered substantial support for humani-
tarian assistance and rebuilding.
Multi-year reconstruction projects
began and Indonesia committed to
building back better. Much of what
has been learned from that disaster is
relevant when considering how the
world will recover from the coron-
avirus pandemic.
In the immediate aftermath of
an event like the 2004 tsunami, the
path forward is not clear. So how
have those from affected regions
fared since the day the waves crashed
ashore? Over the last 16 years, we
have followed people and their fami-
lies who were living along the coasts
of Aceh and Northern Sumatra, the
two most northerly provinces in
Sumatra, as part of the Study of the
Tsunami Aftermath and Recovery
(STAR).
Experiences of the disaster and
its aftermath, and the meaning peo-
ple take from them, have varied.
One young man we spoke to lost
his wife, child, and 27 other family
members in the disaster, but has
since remarried. He says that the
time since the tsunami has taught
him that life sometimes brings hap-
piness and sometimes not, but that
affection is critically important.
Another young man who lost a
wife and child has also remarried. But
he told us that the time since the
tsunami has not brought any positive
changes in his life, though he is
deeply committed to earning the
money to support the education of
the two young children he now has.
Our data covers the population
before the disaster and measures
exposure to the disaster in terms of
impacts on both places and people.
We have been able to measure the
disaster’s various impacts on wellbe-
IT CAME TO MIND | MANISH NANDY
How people change
Raj called to say he would see
me on Saturday.
He lived in New Delhi but was
visiting his daughter in Boston and
planned to come to Washington for a
tour.
He arrived at the Dulles Airport
and I picked him up from the airport
lounge since I lived close by. We spent
a leisurely morning over coffee and
cookies.
Raj was in college with me in
Kolkata. He was a short, quiet per-
son, usually by himself. I saw him in
the students’ lounge, mulling some-
thing on a chessboard, and asked if I
could join him for a match. We
CROSSWORD
ing and shed light on some of the key
drivers for recovery.
Death is the most extreme con-
sequence of exposure to a disaster.
Some deaths are immediate, but oth-
ers may occur over the years as sus-
tained exposure to stress takes its toll.
Teasing out how disasters affect mor-
tality risks is complicated, but can
provide clues about what will hap-
pen when disasters strike in the
future.
We have found that the groups
least likely to survive the tsunami
were older adults and young chil-
dren. Among adults, women were
less likely to survive than men.
Tracking mortality among sur-
vivors in the years after the tsunami
provides direct evidence on people’s
resilience. We see resilience as the
ability to minimise the negative
impacts of difficult situations and
move forward effectively afterwards.
The devastation caused by the tsuna-
mi has the potential to “scar” people,
resulting in their premature death.
But equally, the survivors may have
protective traits that are associated
with better health and longevity.
We examined mortality for sur-
vivors at five years and ten years after
the tsunami. We found that among
adults, both these factors are in play
and that they operate differently for
men and women.
Five years after the tsunami,
there is clear evidence that for male
survivors who were aged 50 and
above when the disaster took place,
those from heavily affected areas
were more likely to still be alive than
those from relatively unaffected
areas. This shows that over this peri-
od, certain protective traits of sur-
vivors (perhaps general fitness)
appear to exert a stronger effect on
longevity than any “scarring” ele-
ments of the event.
But for women over 50, the
reverse was true: we found that sur-
vivors from heavily damaged areas
were at higher risk of dying over the
next five years than women from
unaffected areas.
These basic patterns were still
apparent ten years after the disaster.
But by this point, the evidence shows
that in particular, post-traumatic
stress for older men or the loss of a
spouse for older women decreased
the likelihood them still being alive.
Although the two events are of course
extremely different, these results
should encourage us to reflect on
what the long-term health effects of
the COVID pandemic might be.
We’ve also been looking at the
evidence for how the extraordinary
stresses of the tsunami affected sur-
Illustration: Debabrata Chakrabarty
played two or three times. He sat with
a fiercely resolute look and beat me
easily each time. When I compli-
mented him on his skill, he brushed
it aside, saying he had got it from his
brother, who was the true master.
We lived in an ample apartment
close to the college and my parents
encouraged me to bring friends
home. Possibly they wanted to know
the kind of friends I was spending
time with. I invited both Raj and his
brother. When they came, Raj was his
usual reticent self, but his brother
spoke a lot, mostly about chess, both
to mother, serving tea, and me. But
we both liked Raj more, his diffident
ACROSS
8 Scottish city will, it's reported,
provide an agreement that cannot
be revoked (4,4)
9 Cries “I've made a mistake!” (6)
10 Veg sent back by European port is
passed out (6,4)
11 Gloom emerges as last of dark
spirit is knocked back (4)
12 Window of gold by the sea in
Cannes? (6)
14 Russian holy man heading for
Romania, like the Russian president (8)
NOTE: Figures in parentheses denote the number of letters in the words required. (By arrangement with The Independent, London)
vivors’ health and wellbeing. A large
fraction of the people in our study
reported high levels of post traumatic
stress symptoms; for some, these
resolved quickly but for others, they
persisted for several years.
Our evidence shows that 13
years after the tsunami, adults who
directly experienced the tsunami had
thicker waists, were more likely to
have elevated inflammation levels
(indicating infection or illness), and
more likely to have difficulties regu-
lating glucose levels.
These patterns point to a long-
term scarring that gets under the skin
and will likely affect disease progres-
sion and mortality in the years to
come. Specifically, several established
biological markers indicate that some
survivors who directly experienced
the tsunami are at higher risk of
chronic illnesses such as heart dis-
ease and diabetes. Again, this raises
questions as to how the stresses of
the Covid-19 pandemic will affect
long-term health.
For very young children, we
found that exposure to the tsunami
could leave its mark on growth. Child
height is a powerful predictor of
health, mortality and socio-econom-
ic status in adulthood. It is largely
determined in the first few years of
life. We document that children who
were in utero at the time of the
tsunami were small at birth and sig-
nificantly shorter at age three.
For many of the children, these
deficits were made up in subsequent
years and they eventually attained
the same height (given age and gen-
der) as peers not yet conceived when
the tsunami took place. This suggests
that, at least in this dimension of
wellbeing, resilience is high, although
we cannot rule out longer term con-
sequences of rapid catch-up growth
that may be linked to elevated risks of
poor health in adulthood.
We have focused here on differ-
ences in the evolution of health by
level of exposure to the tsunami and
the stress it caused. But efforts to
help affected populations meet basic
needs and recover after the disaster
changed the environment, possibly
in ways that positively affected peo-
ple. Indeed, the results for children’s
nutritional status are likely attribut-
able, at least in part, to improve-
ments brought about by humanitari-
an assistance and reconstruction.
In addition to providing imme-
diate help for things like water, food,
clothing and shelter, over time assis-
tance programmes provided work
opportunities as well as funds and
materials to rebuild houses, schools,
health facilities, community centres,
personality and quiet way of
acknowledging hospitality.
Raj took an inordinate interest in
my father’s library. That pleased me
because books were an important
part of my life. Unlike many of my
friends, who read books only because
they had to or were told to, I read
books for fun. They represented a
world of imagination and adventure.
Raj and I found a wide area of
discussion. We talked about books we
had read, endlessly and with enthusi-
asm. When he mentioned a book he
was reading, I started reading the
same book so that we could discuss it
in depth. It turned out to be a very
good idea, for I discovered that Raj
had a very different perspective from
mine. For instance, when we both
undertook to read The Brothers Kara-
mazov, my interest focused on the
fiery Dmitri and the gentle Alexei, the
eldest and youngest brothers, while
Raj obsessed about Ivan and his
struggle to reconcile unjust suffering
with a benign God. Later, we both
read Nabokov’s classic Lolita, and
while I was quite swept by Humbert’s
lust for a nymphet, Raj wondered a
lot about Dolores’s reaction and
Quilty’s quick, crazy intervention.
I felt I learned quite a bit from
Raj because I realized that literature,
like life, can be seen from different
angles. All the angles may not all be
equally valid, but they tell us how rich
the tapestry of life is.
We would take long walks
together, in Kolkata’s serpentine
15 One doesn't believe in roast
chicken? (7)
17 Polish drinking half of beer in
booze joint (7)
20 At the speed of sound, two
seconds of manliness (8)
22 Young at heart learn about
fairytale (6)
24 OK, I need help with love (2-2)
25 Pub brewed, I suspect, something
spiky and difficult to get through
(6,4)
27 Unconventional iron telephone
kept inside (6)
mosques, roads and other infrastruc-
ture. These efforts were extremely
successful.
We found that among those who
owned homes that were destroyed,
80 per cent had a replacement house
within five years of the disaster.
Those who were economically worse
off before the tsunami were more
likely to receive an assistance house.
Both quantitative data and in-depth
interviews suggest that the housing
programme was the most important
type of assistance people received.
Opportunities for paid work are
also fundamentally important for
people’s economic recovery. Early
programmes offering food in return
for clean-up work and the massive
reconstruction programme under-
taken to “build back better” provided
such opportunities.
The end result was a rise over
time in the proportion of adults who
reported working — an impact that
was strongest for prime-age men but
made less of a difference for older
men, for whom the strength require-
ments of the work may have been too
much. And we found an uptick in
work for pay (rather than unpaid
work or family care) among women
from heavily damaged areas in the
aftermath of the disaster.
Not all of those who wanted jobs
were able to find them nearby. Migra-
tion towards heavily damaged areas
picked up quickly, both because
those who had left shortly after the
tsunami returned home and because
people from undamaged areas
moved towards the work opportuni-
ties that arose from reconstruction.
streets, avoiding vendors for whose
wares none of us had money, rapt in
our talk about imagined people, their
joys and miseries, and the fanciful
events that intertwined their lives. We
talked so earnestly that people over-
hearing us might believe that we
were discussing real people who
made a great difference in our lives.
In a sense, it made a great difference
in our life indeed, for we were not
only gaining an insight into great lit-
erature, we were also exploring,
through each other’s eyes, life itself.
I so loved and cherished our
walks that I often came back home
and told my mother of our chat and
what new things I had discovered.
When Raj came next to our home,
mother would narrate my pleasure of
discovery while serving him tea and
biscuits. Raj endeared himself by
invariably saying modestly that he
had just read an interesting book and
briefly commented on it, while I was
the person that had gleaned the real
message of the book. That was Raj’s
style, an easy modesty coupled with a
pleasant way of passing the credit to
another.
After college our paths diverged,
for he went to another town. Occa-
sionally we talked on the phone,
before I went abroad and became
enmeshed in overseas travel.
When I went to pick him up at
the airport, we had not met for
decades.
We had some difficulty identify-
ing each other but we gladly
28 With last bit of peroxide, denture
could be sterilised (8)
DOWN
1 In favour of self-sacrifice (6)
2 According to Paul Simon you can
call ... for dinner? (4)
3 Edge clear with this type of fuel?
(4-4)
4 Like Pavlov's dogs in servitude (7)
5 Pieces of publicity covering battle
honours (6)
6 Element of upholstery upset
mother of French-polisher? (4,6)
NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021
This offset some of the population
losses from people dying in the
tsunami or moving away from the
damage shortly afterwards.
Understanding how people and
populations are affected by events
outside their control and evaluating
the effectiveness of policies and pro-
grammes is critical in responses to
disasters, pandemics and other
threats to population health and
wellbeing. The implications of these
events are complex and continuously
evolving, and patterns vary with age,
sex and other socio-economic and
demographic characteristics. It is dif-
ficult to overstate the diversity of
experiences and outcomes in the
years following the tsunami and it is
critically important that we under-
stand the factors that drive this diver-
sity.
Our research highlights the
importance of policies that mitigate
post-traumatic stress, help people get
back into stable housing, and provide
opportunities for paid work. They
have important benefits for physical
and for psychosocial health, as well
as for economic wellbeing. As the
world continues to struggle with
Covid and attempts to restart eco-
nomic progress, safety nets that
address health, stable housing and
economic opportunity are likely to
pay off.
The writers are, respectively, Cary S
Boshamer Distinguished Professor of
Sociology, University of North Carolina,
Director of Capacity Building, SurveyMETER
and Norb F. Schaefer Professor of
International Studies, Duke University. This
article was published on
www.theconversation.com
embraced, and I took him home. I
felt genuinely thrilled to have been
rediscovered by an old friend, who
had traveled far to see me.
I was happy to see him trim and
sprightly, looking younger than his
age. He spoke of his happiness to see
his daughter and his admiration for
the charm of Boston. He had clearly
retained an active and receptive
mind, however quiet was his
demeanor. His placidity was almost
reassuring, for it meant that in some
fundamental way he had retained
something of his old self. I poured
some tea for us both. Our conversa-
tion was warm and hearty.
Then, at last, after we had gone
over our recent history, we talked
about our families and exchanged
news of old friends, I came to what
had initially bound us together. I had
been looking forward to hearing what
he has been reading and what new
ideas he could surprise me with.
I asked, “Raj, you were such an
avid reader. Always exploring new
authors and ideas. Tell me, what have
you been reading recently?”
Came the stunning reply, “I just
read the day’s newspaper. I don’t have
the time for books.”
Indeed, people do change.
The writer is a Washington-based
international development advisor and had
worked with the World Bank. He can be
reached at mnandy@gmail.com
NO 28956
7 Evaluate one with extremely plump
rear (8)
13 TT Champion crashes a moment
before victory (5,5)
16 Locks up unusually sour delights (8)
18 My set-up, practical for lots of
people where I live (8)
19 Inferior bird captured by chance
(3-4)
21 Appalling abuses beneath the
waves (6)
23 A sin that's allowed (6)
26 Little bit of dope which you can
smoke to get high (4)
07
100 YEARS AGO
OCCASIONAL NOTE
The new number just issued of the “Jour-
nal of Indian Industries and Labour”
shows that this publication cannot fail to
be of great interest and value to all inter-
ested in the industrial development of the
country. Sir Thomas Holland contributes
an article on the principles governing the
grant of mineral concessions in India, and
amongst other subjects dealt with are
those of the Rajputana salt industry, the
hydro-electric survey of India, factory chil-
dren and education, leather trades and
shoe manufacture, chemical research for
the development of industries, technical
and industrial education in Bengal, and
other matters. If the industrial develop-
ment of India is in its infancy, it is certain-
ly being well nursed; and it is not very easy
to suggest anything more than is already
being done by the provision of expert
research and advice, the work of boards of
industries, and other means of official or
unofficial assistance. Those who have con-
verted the word “bureaucratic” into a term
of reproach probably have not the least
idea of the amount of beneficial work that
is done for the country through bureau-
cratic channels. One of the most interest-
ing of the papers in the new issue of the
“Journal” is Mr. J.W. Meares’ review of the
hydro-electric survey. “At the present
time,” writes Mr. Meares, “as a direct result
of the war, the whole world is examining
its waterpower resources while endeav-
ouring to conserve its fuel resources.
NEWS ITEMS
CHARGE OF
CHEATING &
BREACH OF TRUST
The police yesterday submitted a challan
before the Third Presidency Magistrate
against J.S. Craddock, a European charging
him with cheating and criminal breach of
trust. It is alleged that accused represented
himself to Mr. L. Mackenzie, of the Imper-
ial Bank, as the nephew of Sir Reginald
Craddock, Lieutenant-Governor of Burma,
and thereby induced him to give him a let-
ter of introduction to the Manager of the
Central Bank. On this he obtained a loan of
Rs 6,000. Thereafter, accused is alleged to
have taken the loan of Mr. Mackenzie’s
motor car on a certain day and pledged it
with Karnani Bank with a view to repaying
the money he borrowed from the Central
Bank. Accused was lying ill in hospital and
the case was adjourned.
COST OF NEW
KIDDERPORE
BRIDGE
Regarding the apportionment of the cost
of construction and the maintenance of
the new Kidderpore Bridge, the Works
Special Committee of the Calcutta Cor-
poration have resolved to affirm their pre-
vious resolution that the contribution by
the Corporation of 20.1 per cent of the
net cost should be on the condition that
the reconstruction of other bridges in
Calcutta is undertaken by Government,
when necessary, on the same terms, viz.;
that Government should bear the cost of
the reconstruction of a bridge of the same
type and dimensions as the existing
bridge. They agree, however that the pro-
portion of the contributions of the vari-
ous local authorities concerned should
be settled in each individual case, when a
bridge on the boundary of Calcutta is
concerned.
CUTTING UP LOWER
CIRCULAR ROAD
The draft reply to the Government in
connection with the application of the
Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation for
an alteration in their licence regarding
the period of option to purchase the
undertaking is down for consideration
on the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting of
the Calcutta Corporation. The draft letter
was published in The Statesman on
Thursday last. The action of the Calcutta
Electric Supply Corporation in cutting up
Lower Circular Road shortly after it was
asphalted has also come under the
notice of the General Committee, who
have directed that enquiries should be
made of the Bombay Corporation and
other municipalities as to their experi-
ences and difficulties, and whether they
would be prepared to take joint action
for securing the amendment of the Indi-
an Electricity Act.
RETIREMENT OF
INDIAN CIVIL
SERVANTS
In the House of Commons Sir Charles Yate
drew attention to what he described as the
widespread desire of Civil Servants in India
to take advantage of the proposals of the
Government of India with regard to pro-
portional pensions for those to whom ser-
vice under the Reform Scheme was
uncongenial. Mr. Montagu said that he
and the India Council had for some time
been giving attention to the whole ques-
tion in consultation with the Government
of India, and he hoped that the matter
would be settled during the next week or
so. He recognised that the matter was very
urgent, and he was doing his best to expe-
dite things.
08
NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021
THUMBNAILS
Gaana expects to reach
500-mn subscriber: Music
app Gaana is expecting to
reach a 500-million sub-
scriber base in the next
three years with diversifi-
cation on content in
regional languages, inde-
pendent music and trac-
tion overseas, a top offi-
cial of the company said.
The company is also
expecting to start making
profit in two years time.
“Even though we have
reached significant num-
bers, the potential to
reach 500 million is very
imminent in terms of lis-
teners with Gaana. We are
currently at 185 million
monthly active users. PTI
Moneyboxx Finance:
TNBFC firm Moneyboxx
Finance Ltd (MBFL), which
provides small-ticket loans
in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, on
Sunday said it aims to
triple loan disbursement to
Rs 180 crore during 2021-
22 by expanding its opera-
tion to new geographies.
With the assets under man-
agement of Rs 62 crore,
the company had dis-
bursed loans of Rs 55 crore
during the financial year
ended March 2021. The
company plans to enter
Uttar Pradesh by opening
branches in the western
part of the state, MBFL
said in a statement. PTI
478 infra projects: As
many as 478 infrastruc-
ture projects, each worth
Rs 150 crore or more,
have been hit by cost
overruns totalling more
than Rs 4.4 lakh crore,
according to a report. The
Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementa-
tion monitors infrastruc-
ture projects worth Rs
150 crore and above. Of
the 1,768 such projects,
478 reported cost over-
runs and 525 were
delayed. PTI
Nissan initiates production
ramp-up: Japanese car-
maker Nissan has initiated
a gradual ramp-up of pro-
duction at its Chennai
plant as it looks to cater
to the pent up demand
for its models across
domestic and internation-
al markets, according to a
top company official. PTI
DLF sells 551 independent floors in Gurugram since
October 2020 for over `1,200 cr on better demand
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
Realty major DLF Ltd has
sold 551 luxury independent
floors in Gurugram since
October last year for over Rs
1,200 crore and is planning to
launch more such residential
units this fiscal to encash
strong demand, a senior com-
pany official said on Sunday.
In an interview , DLF Home
Developers Ltd Senior Exec-
utive Director Aakash Ohri
expressed confidence that
the company would achieve
its sales guidance of average
Rs 1,000 crore a quarter, dri-
ven by need for home own-
ership and upgradation to
bigger homes with better
amenities amid the Covid-19
pandemic.
“We have done phenom-
enally well in terms of sales.
We sold over Rs 3,000 crore
worth homes during 2020-21
fiscal despite the Covid pan-
Some states concerned about e-commerce rules, fear loss of jobs
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
Some states, mostly those
ruled by non-BJP parties, are
apprehensive about the new
set of e-commerce rules pro-
posed by the Union Con-
sumer Affairs Ministry to
check mis-selling and fraud-
ulent discounts, as they fear
there could be a negative
impact on jobs and market
access for MSMEs created by
various digital platforms in
recent years.
These state governments
plan to suggest strong safe-
guard measures in the pro-
posed rules to ensure that
any changes in the Consumer
Protection (E-Commerce)
Rules, 2020 do not hamper their
economic growth engines and
Cairn to target more firms to
recover money due from govt
Cairn will bring lawsuits in several countries to make firms liable to pay the $1.2 billion plus interest
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
A
fter Air India, Britain's
Cairn Energy PLC
plans to target assets
of state-owned firms
and banks in countries from
the US to Singapore as it looks
to ramp up efforts to recover
the amount due from the
Indian government after win-
ning an arbitration against levy
of retrospective taxes.
A lawyer representing the
company said Cairn will bring
lawsuits in several countries
to make state-owned firms
liable to pay the $1.2 billion
plus interest and penalties that
are due from the Indian gov-
ernment.
Last month, Cairn brought
a lawsuit in the US District
Court for the Southern Dis-
trict of New York pleading
that Air India is controlled by
the Indian government so
much that they are 'alter egos'
and the airline should be held
liable for the arbitration award.
“There are a number of state
enterprises which we are con-
sidering for enforcement
action. Enforcement action will
NTPC targets 60 GW renewable
energy capacity by 2032
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
State-owned power giant
NTPC on Sunday said it has
set a taget to install 60 gigawatts
(GW) of renewable energy
(RE) capacity by 2032.
NTPC has become India's
first energy company to declare
its energy compact goals as part
of the UN High-level Dia-
logue on Energy (HLDE),
according to a statement.
“NTPC has set a target to
demic,” he said.
Ohri said the housing sales
picked up fast after the first
quarter which was muted
because of the nationwide
coronavirus lockdown.
“People want to pick up
good products from credible
developers. They want better
amenities and high quality of
safety, security and services
in residential complexes,” he
said.
Ohri highlighted that the
company's decision to mon-
revenue collections, officials
from those states said.
However, it would be kept
in mind that their sugges-
tions do not come in way of
the proposed rules enhancing
the overall consumer protec-
tion framework, they assert-
ed. Declining to be identi-
fied, these officials said it is a
sensitive matter that needs to
be tackled carefully as pro-
tecting consumers' interest is
as important as safeguarding
jobs, MSMEs and lakhs of
self-employed individuals
including artisans, weavers and
those in agriculture and allied
sectors who have been ben-
efiting immensely from the
growth of the e-commerce
sector.
The officials said formal sug-
gestions on the draft rules
be soon and it may not be in
the US,” Dennis Hranitzky,
head of the sovereign litiga-
tion practice at Quinn Emanuel
Urquhart & Sullivan, a law firm
representing the company,
said.
A three-member interna-
tional arbitration tribunal
that consisted of one judge
appointed by India had unan-
imously in December over-
turned levy of taxes on Cairn
retrospectively and ordered
refund of shares sold, dividend
confiscated and tax refunds
withheld to recover such
demand.
The government of India,
despite participating in the
arbitration proceeding over
install 60 GW of renewable
energy capacity by 2032,” it
added.
The country's largest power
producer is also aiming 10 per
cent reduction in net energy
intensity by 2032.
NTPC is among the few
organisations globally to
declare its energy compact
goals.
Further, NTPC has declared
that it will form at least 2
international alliances to facil-
itate clean energy research and
etise several small land parcels,
which it owned in Gurugram,
through development of inde-
pendent floors have paid off.
“We have launched and
sold 551 apartments since
October 2020,” he said, adding
that the company would con-
tinue to focus on the devel-
opment of independent floors
in DLF phase 1-5 and new
Gurugram. The sales value of
these 551 units is around Rs
1,230 crore.
Since October, DLF has
would be made to the Centre,
which has invited sugges-
tions till July 6, would be made
after deliberating all the issues
and after consulting all stake-
holders.
A large number of foreign
and domestic investors and
In the wake of such crisis, we had to move quickly and manage a near
overnight transition to a virtual working model.
four years, has not accepted
the award and has filed a 'set-
ting aside' petition in a court
in Netherlands - the seat of the
arbitration.
Pressed by its sharehold-
ers some of whom are biggies
of the financial world, Cairn
is seeking to recover the award
by confiscating assets and
bank accounts of state-owned
entities in foreign countries.
“The (arbitration) award is
registered and either recog-
nised or soon to be recognised
in several countries, and Cairn
will continue to ramp up
enforcement proceedings
around the world to pursue
the value of the award for its
international shareholders,”
promote sustainability in
energy value chain by 2025.
The targets were unveiled
in the recently held 'Ministe-
rial Thematic Forums for the
HDLE' event. The commitment
from NTPC has been made
public on UN's website as
well. The United Nations is set
to convene a high-level dia-
logue in September 2021 to
promote the implementation
of energy-related goals and tar-
gets of the 2030 Agenda for Sus-
tainable Development. NTPC
has been taking various steps
in increasing its green ener-
gy portfolio by adding signif-
icant capacities of RE sources.
Earlier, the company had
planned to have a minimum
of 32 gigawatt (GW) capaci-
ty through RE sources con-
stituting nearly 25 per cent of
its overall power generation
capacity by 2032.
launched these floors between
Rs 11,000 per sq ft and Rs 15,000
per sq ft in DLF phase 1 to 5.
The price range is Rs 3 crore
to Rs 5.6 crore including the
GST.
In DLF Gardencity, New
Gurugram, independent floors
have been launched at Rs
6,000-6,500 per sq ft. The tick-
et size is Rs 1.25-1.7 crore. DLF
has started construction of
these independent floors and
will deliver them in the next
two years.
Ohri noted that plots and
independent floors continue
to remain an attractive invest-
ment option due to lower
investment cost and high
returns. “Based on the demand
and learnings from last year,
this year our focus is to scale
up launches of new prod-
ucts, revamp our premium and
mid-income housing offerings
and continue to monetise
our finished inventory across
regions,” Ohri said.
other business entities, who
have either invested in vari-
ous e-commerce platforms
or are doing business with
them, are also said to be wary
of certain proposed rules,
including on 'fall-back lia-
bility', flash sales, or deep
he said.
He, however, refused to
either name the companies
that Cairn will target or the
countries where lawsuits will
be filed.
Cairn has already got the
arbitration award registered
and recognised in the US,
the UK, Netherlands, France,
Canada and Singapore.
In case of Air India, the
national flag carrier has time
till mid-July to file a plea con-
testing Cairn lawsuit, sources
aware of the matter said.
The airline, which is in
the process of being privatised,
is likely to argue that it is a sep-
arate entity and not the alter
ego of the Indian govern-
ment and cannot be forced to
pay for any liability of the gov-
ernment, they said.
Cairn has identified $ 70 bil-
lion of Indian assets over-
seas for potential seizure to
collect award, which now
totals to $1.72 billion after
including interest and penal-
ty.
The assets identified range
from Air India's planes to
vessels belonging to the Ship-
ping Corporation of India,
Petrol crosses `100 in Bihar after
another round of price hike
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
Petrol price soared past Rs 100-
a-litre mark in Bihar after
fuel prices were hiked again
on Sunday on the back of a
surge in international oil
rates.
Petrol price was hiked by
35 paise per litre and diesel
by 25 paise, according to a price
notification of state-owned fuel
retailers.
The increase, second in as
many days and 31st in less than
two months, took rates across
the country to fresh highs
with Bihar becoming the lat-
est state to see petrol cross Rs
100-a-litre mark.
Petrol and diesel prices
were hiked by 35 paise per litre
each on Saturday.
In Delhi, petrol hit an all-
time high of Rs 98.46 a litre,
India’s crude
steel output
grows in May:
worldsteel
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
India registered a 46.9 per
cent year-on-year growth
in its crude steel output at
9.2 million tonnes in May,
according to worldsteel data.
The country had produced
5.8 MT steel in the same
month a year ago.
“The production of the 64
countries reporting to the
World Steel Association
(worldsteel) was 174.4 MT
in May 2021, a 16.5 per cent
increase compared to May
2020,” the global industry
body said in its latest report.
According to the world-
steel data, China had pro-
duced 92.3 MT of steel in the
same month last year. Last
month, Japan's output
increased to 8.4 MT from 5.9
MT in May 2020. The US pro-
duced 7.2 MT steel in the
month under review. PTI
discounting and data sharing.
Their apprehensions
include greater liabilities for
online retailers for goods and
services sold on their platforms,
which could also impact the
ability of e-commerce players
to raise funds going forward
and may prompt existing and
prospective investors to put
in place additional measures
to safeguard their returns.
Major e-commerce players
such as Amazon and Wal-
mart/Flipkart, as also some
industry bodies, are also like-
ly to submit their views on these
proposals soon.
A senior official of a big non-
BJP-ruled state said there is a
view that the proposed rules
can disturb the state's busi-
ness ecosystem, especially
with regard to MSMEs and
DEEPAK S PAREKH
HDFC LIFE CHAIRMAN
and properties owned by state
banks to oil and gas cargoes
of PSUs, the sources said.
Once a court recognises a
state-owned firm or bank as
the alter ego of Indian gov-
ernment, Cairn can seek
attachment or seizure of its
assets including bank accounts
to recover the amount it was
awarded by the arbitration tri-
bunal.
The move is similar to a
court in the British Virgin
Islands ordering in December
last year hotels in New York
and Paris owned by Pakistan
International Airlines to be
used to settle a claim against
Pakistan's government by a
Canadian-Chilean copper
company. Crystallex Inter-
national Corp had brought a
similar lawsuit to attach prop-
erty of Petroleos de Venezuela,
S.A (PDVSA), the state-owned
oil company of Venezuela, in
Delaware couple of years back
after the Latin American coun-
try failed to pay the firm $1.2
billion that an arbitration tri-
bunal had ordered to pay in
lieu of the 2011 seizing gold
deposits held and developed
by the firm.
while diesel is now priced at
Rs 88.90 per litre.
Fuel prices differ from
state to state depending on
the incidence of local taxes
such as value-added tax (VAT)
and freight charges.
While petrol had crossed
Rs 100-a-litre mark in
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu
MG Motor to drive in 2nd electric
model in India in next two years
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
MG Motor India can launch
a new electric vehicle with a
price tag below Rs 20 lakh mark
in the country over the next
two years, according to a top
company official.
The model would be the
automaker's second electric
vehicle in the country after the
ZS SUV which is currently
tagged between Rs 21 lakh and
Rs 24.18 lakh (ex-showroom).
“We have been very pleased
with our electric vehicle prod-
uct performance till now. We
intend to launch more elec-
tric cars in the future and
hopefully we can look at a car
below Rs 20 lakh as our sec-
ond EV in the future,” MG
Motor India President and
Managing Director Rajeev
Chaba said. The automaker,
which also sells models like
Hector and Gloster, has so far
sold around 3,000 units of ZS
small entrepreneurs and will
also limit the choices for con-
sumers, rather than safe-
guarding their interest.
He pointed out that MSMEs
contribute almost two-thirds
of the annual revenues gen-
erated on just two major plat-
forms Amazon and Flipkart
and that itself runs into thou-
sands of crores of rupees,
while there is a big chain
involved comprising of busi-
nesses, self-employed indi-
viduals, warehouses, farm-
ers etc and these platforms
have created lakhs of jobs in
the recent years.
Among various measures,
the draft amendments propose
banning of fraudulent flash
sales and mis-selling of goods
and services on e-commerce
platforms.
Cabinet secy-led panel
holds crucial meeting
on bank privatisation
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
Inching a step closer to pri-
vatisation of two public sec-
tor banks, a high-level panel
headed by the cabinet secre-
tary recently held a meeting
to thrash out various regula-
tory and administrative issues
so that the proposal could be
placed with the group of min-
isters on disinvestment or
Alternative Mechanism (AM)
for approval.
Pursuant to the announce-
ment made by finance min-
ister Nirmala Sitharaman in
her 2021 budget speech, the
NITI Aayog has suggested a
couple of bank names for
privatisation to the Core
Group of Secretaries on Dis-
investment headed by Cab-
inet Secretary in April, sources
said.
The meeting of the high-
level panel deliberated on
the recommendation of the
and Kashmir, Odisha, Tamil
Nadu and Ladakh, several
towns in Bihar saw that level
after the steep price hike.
In Patna, petrol now comes
for Rs 100.47 a litre and diesel
is priced at Rs 94.24 a litre.
Among metro cities, petrol
is already above Rs 100 in
Mumbai, Hyderabad and
Bengaluru.
In Mumbai, petrol now
EV in the country. When asked
about the timeline for the
product launch, Chaba said,
“We are not defining the time-
lines now due to the Covid sit-
uation and shortages of essen-
tial materials, especially chips.
So hopefully in two years, we
can do it.”
On expectations in terms
of policies to drive the growth
of the EV sector, he said that
the government has already
lowered the tax on electric vehi-
cles and the only thing required
now is the development of
charging infrastructure.
“Both the government and
industry are working on it.
Hopefully, things would again
pick up once Covid thing
subsides,” Chaba said.
The automaker is also
looking to drive in a mid-
sized SUV later this year in
order to muster volumes and
move ahead in the direction
of fully utilising its Halol-
based (Gujarat) manufac-
CAIT urges govt not to dilute
draft e-commerce rules
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE
Domestic traders' body CAIT
on Sunday urged the gov-
ernment not to dilute the
draft of e-commerce rules
under any pressure of foreign-
funded online firms. In a
communication to PMModi,
the Confederation of All India
Traders (CAIT) said it has
been observed that voices of
terming the rules as stringent
is being created. “In the wake
of expected pressure tactics
of foreign funded e-com-
merce companies against
the draft of e-commerce
rules...(we urged) him (prime
minister) to ensure that no
dilution is made in draft of
e-commerce rules under any
NITI Aayog on 24 June, sources
said, adding the panel would
after tying up all loose ends
will send the names of the
shortlisted PSU banks to AM
for consideration. Headed
by the cabinet secretary, the
members of the panel include
secretaries in the depart-
ments of Economic Affairs,
Revenue, Expenditure, Cor-
porate Affairs and Legal Affairs,
as well as the secretary of
administrative department.
The panel also has the Depart-
ment of Public Enterprises,
Department of Investment
and Public Asset Manage-
ment (DIPAM) secretary as its
member.
According to sources, the
panel also examined issues
pertaining to protection of
interests of workers of banks
which are likely to be priva-
tised. Following a clearance
from AM, it will go to the
Union Cabinet headed by
the PM for the final nod.
Changes on the regulatory side
to facilitate privatisation
would start after the cabinet
approval.
Central Bank of India and
Indian Overseas Bank are
reported to be probable can-
didates for privatisation.
costs Rs 104.56 a litre and diesel
comes for Rs 96.42.
Rates of diesel, the most
used fuel in the country, have
crossed the Rs 100-a-litre
mark in Sri Ganganagar and
Hanumangarh in Rajasthan
as well in a couple of places
in Odisha.
The hike on Sunday is the
31st increase in prices since
May 4, when state-owned oil
firms ended an 18-day hiatus
in rate revision they observed
during assembly elections in
states like West Bengal.
In 31 hikes, the price of
petrol has risen by Rs 8.06 per
litre and diesel by Rs 8.37 a litre.
Oil companies revise rates
of petrol and diesel daily
based on the average price of
benchmark fuel in the inter-
national market in the pre-
ceding 15 days, and foreign
exchange rates.
turing facility which has an
installed capacity to roll out
about one lakh cars per
annum.
Chaba said the SUV launch
got delayed by a few weeks due
to the second wave of Covid-
19 and is now expected to hit
the market in the last quar-
ter of this calendar year.
The company expects the
SUV to be a volume genera-
tor for the company.
In 2020, the automaker
had sold 28,162 units, as com-
pared with 15,930 units in 2019
and aims to grow by around
70 per cent this year riding on
the new launch and improved
Covid situation.
India has seen a robust
increase in SUV sales over the
last few years. In 2015, the SUV
segment contributed only
13.5 per cent to the overall pas-
senger vehicle sales. This
number became about 26
per cent in 2019 and rose to
29 per cent in 2020.
pressure,” CAIT said in a
statement. The draft rules
after examining the sugges-
tions and objections should
be notified without any fur-
ther delay, it added.
It alleged that unethical
and law violating business
practices of foreign funded
e-commerce companies has
forced closure of a large num-
ber of shops in the country.
“Traders of India are not
against e-commerce but are
of the considered opinion that
e-commerce is the most
promising business avenue
of the future, and traders
should also adopt it as a
stream of their business
beside conducting business
activities in their physical
shops,” it said.
 09
It was a slip of the tongue. He (Pakistan Prime Minister Imran
Khan) had clarified it.
PAKISTAN INFORMATION MINISTER FAWAD CHAUDHRY
ON KHAN DESCRIBING AL QAIDA LEADER OSAMA BIN LADEN AS A ‘SHAHEED’ (MARTYR)
NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021

Jinping’s prolonged tenure Delta Covid variant likely driving huge

infection surge in S African province
could spell trouble for CPC severe infection,” Madhi said
on Saturday.
The NICD on Friday said
When succession looms, it can be very destabilising if process is not well defined, say analysts nationally there had been
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA remain as a paramount leader By abolishing term limits 18,762 new Covid-19 infections
BEIJING, 27 JUNE during the reshuffle of the and succession norms Xi has and 215 Covid-19 related
party's governing bodies as the bought himself more time to deaths overnight, with 63 per

A
s China's ruling
Communist Party is
set to celebrate its
centenary on 1 July,
experts warn that the poten-
tial of President Xi Jinping's
continuation in power, unlike
his predecessors, could poten-
tially be “very destabilising”
for it in the future in the
absence of a successor.
Ironically, in its 100th year,
the Communist Party of China
(CPC), as it is officially called,
relies on Xi just as it depend-
ed on its founder leader and
principled ideologue 'Chair-
man' Mao Zedong, who held
a vice-like grip on it until his
death in 1976 after the party
was established in 1921.
Mass mobilisation of labour
to improve agricultural and
industrial production but
ended with a string of poor har-
vests resulting in famine, and
the 1966 'Cultural Revolu-
tion', which resulted in the
deaths of over 1.5 million
people, the party was revived
by moderate paramount leader
Deng Xiaoping.
Deng's political invention
of collective leadership struc-
ture which kept the party
intact accommodating all
groups and sections of the 90
million-strong member CPC
after his death in 1997 has gone
back to one leader party with
the emergence of Xi at the helm
in 2012.
China in 2018 approved the
removal of the two-term limit
on the presidency, effective-
ly allowing Xi, 68, to remain
in power for life.
While Xi's supporters pro-
jected his leadership as the
need of the hour for China
which is facing global adver-
sity, analysts warn that his con-
tinuation in power after two
terms unlike predecessors is
potentially destabilising.
It was normal practice that
a successor to the General Sec-
retary of the CPC is named dur-
ing the second tenure of the
party leadership.
With no clear successor in
sight, observers expect Xi to
twice-a-decade Party Con-
gress next year will shed light
on how he plans to tackle
succession and avoid a crisis
within the party. It could prove
to be his biggest challenge and
will shape the party for decades
to come. Xi has said that one
way to evaluate a political
system is to see whether the
leadership succession is law-
abiding and orderly.
But unlike his predecessors,
Xi did not endorse a succes-
sor at the end of his first term
in 2017, and observers do not
expect one to emerge in the
new leadership line-up next
year as well. That could spell
trouble for the party, accord-
ing to Steve Tsang.
When succession finally
looms, it can potentially be very
destabilising if the structure
and/or process is not clear and
well defined, Tsang told the
Post. His view was echoed by
Nis Gruenberg.
establish his vision of the
party-state and his national
project for China, Gruenberg
said.
But he has also inserted
enormous uncertainty into the
leadership system again, which
in the end could destabilise
the leadership system as soon
as Xi as unchallengeable power
centre has gone.
Bringing in new blood will
be crucial to avoid a succes-
sion crisis, something that
would have a wider impact,
given China's economic heft,
according to a joint report by
the Centre for Strategic Inter-
national Studies in the US
and the Lowy Institute in Aus-
tralia.
It is to paraphrase Napoleon
declaration that the conditions
are right for the previously
slumbering lion to roar and
he will see to it that it does,
Tsang told at a press confer-
ence earlier.
ASSOCIATED PRESS director of Vaccines and Infec-
JOHANNESBURG, 27 JUNE tious Diseases Analytical
Research Unit at Wits Uni-
The Delta variant of Covid-19, versity, told news channel
identified in at least 85 coun- ENCA.
tries and first detected in Madhi's comments came
India, is likely responsible as hospitals reported a short-
for the exponentially rising age of beds and burial organ-
daily number of virus cases isations in Gauteng, espe-
in South Africa's economic cially affecting the Indian
hub, Gauteng province, a community.
leading epidemiologist has said “The only way to explain
here. what we are currently seeing
Official data would be is the seeding of a new vari-
released by the National Insti- ant coupled with the waning
tute of Communicable Dis- of immunity.
eases (NICD) next week, but “Those individuals that
it is likely to show that there have been infected (in the first
had been an increase in the two waves) are still suscepti-
transmission of the Delta ble to being re-infected, espe-
variant, which is 60 per cent cially when there is a new vari-
more transmissible than the ant that evolves that is rela-
Beta variant -- first identified tively resistant, but they still
in South Africa, Shabir Madhi, remain protected against
cent of cases in Gauteng
province.
Madhi said the current
third wave, which is causing
more infections and deaths
than the previous waves, had
surprised him and many oth-
ers.
“All indications are that
we are probably dealing with
a spread of a new variant, the
Delta variant in particular.
“The magnitude of this is
completely unexpected and
the worst part is that this is
not yet the peak of these hos-
pitalisations. In all likelihood,
the peak of the hospitalisations
will only occur in the next 23
weeks, including the number
of people that are dying. That
number is going to continue
increasing, which is really
concerning,” he said.
Madhi called for a ban on
all mass gatherings as the
most important way to reduce
the number of infections.

Riots in Lebanon over economy At least 46 Taliban militants CELEBRATION VIBES

injure 10 soldiers, protesters killed in Afghanistan clashes

ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIRUT, 27 JUNE
Lebanese troops deployed in
the northern city of Tripoli early
Sunday taking positions
around major state institutions
after a night of protests and
riots against worsening living
conditions left several pro-
testers and 10 soldiers injured.
Sporadic protests were
reported throughout Lebanon
on Saturday as the country's
20-month economic crisis
worsened. The World Bank
described the crisis as one of
the worst the world has wit-
nessed in 150 years. It is cou-
pled with a political deadlock
that has left Lebanon without
a government since August.
The largest protests were
in the southern port city of
Sidon and in Tripoli, Lebanon's
second largest city and most
impoverished. Sporadic
protests and road closures
took place in the capital Beirut.
Lebanon has been suffer-
ing severe shortages of vital
products including fuel, med-
icine and medical products,
angering the public. It’s cur-
rency hit a record low Satur-
day, reaching 18,000 pounds
to the US dollar. The pound
has lost more than 90% of its
value since the crisis began.
In October 2019 protesters
called for the removal of the
political class has been blamed
for corruption and misman-
agement that has ruined the
country's economy.
INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE
KABUL, 27 JUNE
At least 46 Taliban militants
were killed and 25 others
injured in fierce clasheswith
security forces in
Afghanistan's Takhar province,
the Ministry of Defence said.
The clashes occurred on
Saturday when the Afghan
National Defense and Secu-
rity Forces (ANDSF) backed
by local Public Uprising Forces
and supported by the Air
Force targeted a Taliban con-
voy and militants' aggregations
in the suburban districts of
Dasht-e-Qala and Rustaq.
Among the victims were
eight outstanding members
of the Taliban outfit, the
statement noted, without
saying if there were any casu-
alties on the side of the secu-
rity forces.
Two militants' vehicles
and a number of their
weapons and ammunition
were also destroyed. The
northern Afghan provinces
have been the scene of heavy
clashes and battles in recent
weeks as Taliban militants
continued their battles against People walk past China national flags and Hong Kong flags for the celebration of the 24th
anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China in Tai Po New Town, on Sunday. AP
government forces.

Blinken, Lapid meet in Rome amid reset US-Israel relations
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROME, 27 JUNE
US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken and Israeli Foreign
Minister Yair Lapid will meet
in Rome on Sunday as their
new governments look to turn
the page on former President
Donald Trump and former
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, whose close
alliance aggravated partisan
divisions within both coun-
tries.
Now, with Trump side-
lined in Florida and Netanyahu
leading the opposition, Pres-
ident Joe Biden and Prime Min-
ister Naftali Bennett are
focused on pragmatic diplo-
macy rather than dramatic ini-
tiatives that risk fomenting
opposition at home or dis-
tracting from other priori-
ties.
That means aiming for
smaller achievements, such
as shoring up the informal
cease-fire that ended last
month's war with Gaza's mil-
itant Hamas rulers and replen-
ishing Israel's Iron Dome
defence system. A major push
to revive the long-dormant
peace process between Israel
and the Palestinians could
unsettle the delicate balance.
Nobody thinks it's a good
idea to start charging through
on a major new peace initia-
tive, said Ilan Goldenberg, a
Mideast security expert at
the nonprofit Center for a
New American Security. But
there are things you can do qui-
etly under the radar, on the
ground, to improve the situ-
ation. That approach
of managing the conflict rather
than trying to solve it
may succeed in papering over
domestic divisions. But it also
maintains a status quo that the
Palestinians find increasing-
ly oppressive and hopeless, and
which has fueled countless
cycles of unrest.
The Americans and Israelis
will try to work out differences
away from the public, as in
Biden's quiet” diplomacy,
when he privately urged
Netanyahu to wind down the
Israel-Hamas war ahead of a
truce that took effect 21 May.
They know you can have
a pitched battle, or handle it
behind closed doors and try
to move the policy, said US
Democratic pollster Mark
Mellman, who worked as a
consultant on Lapid's cam-
paigns.
Both governments will try
to preserve Israel's fragile
governing coalition, in part by
reducing provocations that
played a part in sparking the
11-day war that claimed at least
254 Palestinian lives and killed
13 people in Israel.
The new coalition in Israel
shares little beyond the con-
viction that Netanyahu had to
go. It's composed of eight
parties, each effectively with
veto power on decisions. So
if even one party bolts, Israel's
government would be at seri-
ous risk of collapse, with
Netanyahu waiting just off-
stage.
At least in the short term,
Lapid, a centrist, will be Israel's
point man on repairs to the
tattered relationship with
Biden and the Democrats.
‘Like a hell’: Ethiopia airstrike
survivors recall massacre
ASSOCIATED PRESS including his sister-in-law, people and injured dozens
ADDIS ABABA, 27 JUNE who suffered burns on her face, more. Many died when soldiers
hands and legs. Outside, he blocked medical teams from
Maerg was serving customers said, he saw dozens more reaching them, or from taking
at his cafe in Ethiopia's Tigray bodies. As time passed, he them to hospitals in the region-
village of Togoga when the mil- watched in horror as sur- al capital, Mekele, just 60 km
itary airstrike occurred, filling vivors realised that Ethiopi- away, health workers said.
the room with dust and bring- an soldiers were blocking The military said the
ing down debris that struck medical aid from arriving. airstrike targeted Tigray fight-
him on the head. “We feel very angry because ers dressed in civilian clothes
Everything was covered a lot of lives could have been who had gathered to celebrate
in black smoke, it was like a saved,” he said. Martyrs' Day. But witnesses
hell, he told The Associated Such witness accounts are told the AP that although
Press by phone, recounting one emerging after Ethiopia's mil- fighters loyal to Tigray's for-
of the deadliest attacks in the itary has said it was responsi- mer leaders had been active
Tigray conflict. There was so ble for the airstrike that struck in the surrounding country-
much blood. Seven people Togoga's busy marketplace side days before the airstrike,
were killed in his cafe alone, on Tuesday, which health offi- armed men were not in Togoga
and some 30 were wounded, cials said killed at least 64 on the day of the attack.

LEISURE
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RED EYE/Bill Yates & Mel Casson SUDOKU

ACROSS DOWN
1 Face covering (4) 1 Scanty (6)
3 Neatly displayed (7) 2 Seafood (6)
8 Unyielding (7) 3 In some manner (5,1,7)
9 Blemish (5) 4 Hazards (5)
10 Quick (5) 5 Annual (6)
11 Determine (7) 6 Peril (6)
12 Fragrance (7) 7 Lag behind (6)
18 In relation to (3-1-3) 13 Accident (6)
20 Hue (5)
21 Unwanted plants (5)
14 Openly admitted (6)
15 Valuable things (6) DADDY DAZE/John Kovaleski
22 Sloping letters (7) 16 Fine layer (6)
23 Contempt (7) 17 Against (6)
24 Drinking-places (4) 19 View (5)
SOLUTIONS TO YESTERDAY’S CROSSWORD irections Make a 2 to
7 letter word from the
ACROSS 10 Laptop, DOWN 12 Problem, letters in each row.
Add points of each
1 Bling, 13 Saddle, 1 Brawl, 14 Despite, word, using scoring
4 Curd 15 Step, 2 Inspect, 16 Poker, directions at right, 7-
17 Overseas, 18 Emmys, letter words get 50- Sudoku is a number-placing
(Blinkered), 3 Genre, point bonus. "Blanks"
20 Rock 19 Argon. used as any letter puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with
7 Absent- 4 Cumulus, have no point value. several given numbers. The
minded, climbing, 5 Range, All Judd’s words are
21 Dram, in The Official object is to place the numbers 1
8 Bluebell, 6 Petrol, Scrabble Players to 9 in the empty squares so
9 Earn, 22 Sheen. 11 Author, Dictionary(Merriam-
Webster) and OSW that no row, no column and no
Official Scrabble answer to 3x3 box contains the same
By arrangement with The Independent rabble and Scrabble Tiles are registered trademarks. All Words(Chambers).
number. The difficulty level
Figures in parentheses denote
rights in the game are owned in the U.S.A by Hasbro Inc., Judd’s solution previous
in Canada by Hasbro Canada Inc., and elsewhere by J.W. increases through the week.
the number of letters in the words required Spear & Sons Limited, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc.
tomorrow.
10-25-12
puzzle
10
NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021
WEATHER
CITY MAX(°C) MIN(°C)
SINGAPORE 30 26 R
HONG KONG 32 29 R
TOKYO 27 20 H
LONDON 22 14 R
DUBAI 41 32 S
SAN FRANCISCO 20
NEW YORK 34
14 H
24 H
MOSCOW 31 20 R
S= sunny, CL= clear,
H=hazy, R= rainy...
THUMBNAILS
Various groups from the
LGBT community gather to
celebrate sexual diversity
in the main plaza of Mexi-
co City. AP
Four people dead in US hot
air balloon crash: Four peo-
ple were killed and one
person was critically
injured following a hot air
balloon crash in the US
state of New Mexico,
authorities said. The acci-
dent took place in the city
of Albuquerque on Satur-
day. The balloon hit a
power line after which the
basket that the passen-
gers were riding in
detached and crashed.IANS
Covid vaccine walk-in cen-
tres open across England:
Adults in England will now
be able to get a Covid-19
vaccine without an
appointment at hundreds
of walk-in sites that have
opened amid a resurgence
of new cases, local media
reported. In the "grab a
jab" campaign, those aged
18 and over can turn up at
the National Health Ser-
vice (NHS) drop-in sites like
football stadiums, the-
atres, mall car parks and
shopping centres IANS
Transgender rights, Regional election poses
religion among cases crucial test for French far right
US justices could add
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, 27 JUNE
A closely watched voting
rights dispute from Arizona
is among five cases standing
between the Supreme Court
and its summer break.
But even before the justices
wrap up their work, likely
later this week, they could say
whether they'll add more
high-profile issues to what
already promises to be a con-
sequential term, beginning in
October.
This month, the court has
already issued big decisions
on health care and religious
freedom. And next term, the
high court has agreed to take
on cases about abortion
and guns. The court could say
as soon as Monday what it will
do about these issues await-
ing action.
Transgender rights: Virginia
school board is asking the court
to uphold a policy, struck
down by lower courts, that
prohibits transgender stu-
dents from using school bath-
rooms that correspond with
their gender identity.
The case has been around
for six years, since then-high
school student Gavin Grimm
filed a federal lawsuit over the
Gloucester County board's
refusal to allow him to use the
boys bathroom.
Religion: The justices just
wrapped up a case involving
a church-affiliated foster care
agency that declined to work
with same-sex couples, ulti-
mately siding with the agency.
Now they'll have to decide
UK govt accused of hypocrisy
as health minister quits
Hancock announced his resignation on Saturday, a day after apologising for breaching Covid norm
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
LONDON, 27 JUNE
B
ritain's health secre-
tary has resigned after
a tabloid splashed
photos and videos of
him kissing an aide in his
office breaking the same coro-
navirus social distancing rules
he imposed on the nation.
While Matt Hancock was
swiftly replaced, the scandal
was another blow to Prime
Minister Boris Johnson and his
Conservative government,
which has repeatedly come
under criticism for incom-
petence and hypocrisy in its
handling of the pandemic
over the past year.
People have made huge
sacrifices to beat the pan-
demic and what riles them is
the whiff of hypocrisy that peo-
ple make the rules and don't
stick to them themselves,
Conservative lawmaker
Andrew Bridgen told the BBC
on Sunday.
Hancock announced his
resignation on Saturday, a
day after apologising for
breaching social distancing
rules after the Sun tabloid
Death toll in Florida collapse
rises to 5; 156 still missing
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SURFSIDE, 27 JUNE
Rescue crews found another
body in the rubble of a col-
lapsed 12-story condomini-
um tower near Miami on Sat-
urday, raising the death toll to
five as they raced to recover
any survivors while fighting
back fire and smoke deep
inside the concrete and metal
remains.
Miami-Dade Mayor
Daniella Levine Cava
announced the new toll at an
evening media briefing, say-
ing the discovery of the body
dropped the number of unac-
counted for down to 156. She
said crews struggling through-
out the day in the debris also
found other unspecified
human remains.
whether to hear other cases
involving religious freedom
claims.
Alternately, they could
send the cases back to lower
courts for review in light of their
recent decision.
Property rights: A chocolate
company's expansion plans
are at the heart of what could
be the court's biggest case
about property rights in years,
if the justices take it.
The case involves a prop-
erty the city of Chicago took
by eminent domain in order
to allow the Blommer Choco-
late Company to expand.
Agreeing to hear the case
would give the court the
opportunity to overturn a
2005 case that has been round-
ly criticised by conservatives.
Freedom of speech: A book
that became the Hollywood
movie War Dogs is at the cen-
ter of what could become a
landmark First Amendment
case. Shkelzen Berisha, the son
of the former prime minister
of Albania, says the book
harmed him by falsely link-
ing him to would-be arms
dealers from Miami.
He sued for defamation and
wants the justices to revisit the
high bar the court has set for
public figures to win defama-
tion lawsuits.
Berisha's complaint stems
from a landmark civil rights-
era case, New York Times v. Sul-
livan. Public figures can win
defamation lawsuits only if
they can prove that the per-
son publishing the falsehood
knew the statement was false
or not.
published images showing
him and senior aide Gina
Coladangelo embracing and
kissing in his office.
The Sun said the images
were taken on May 6, before
lockdown rules were eased to
allow hugs and physical con-
tact with people not in one's
own household.
Hancock, who is married,
wasn't the first senior British
politician caught red-hand-
ed for breaking the govern-
ment's own COVID-19 rules.
Johnson's former top aide,
Dominic Cummings, was
accused of undermining the
government's stay home mes-
The mayor also said the rea-
son the missing number went
down by three was because
authorities had identified
three bodies. Officials said
the remains they find are
being sent to the medical
examiner, and they are also
gathering DNA samples from
family members to help iden-
tify them.
Throughout the day, she
noted, rescue workers con-
tinued to go over the massive
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS, 27 JUNE
A decisive, second round of
voting in France's regional
elections on Sunday is being
scrutinised as a litmus test of
whether the anti-immigration
far right is gaining in accept-
ability before the French pres-
idential election next year.
Marine Le Pen, leader of
the far-right National Rally, has
spent a decade trying to cast
off the extremist reputation
that made the party anathe-
ma to many French voters in
its previous guise as the
National Front. A failure to win
control of a region Sunday
would mark a stinging setback
for the rebranded party.
There were plenty of hand
sanitiser bottles but not many
voters at a polling station in
Saint-Quentin in northern
France as Sunday's elections
Experts: Impact of Derek Chauvin case on policing yet to be seen
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS, 27 JUNE
Former Minneapolis police
Officer Derek Chauvin's con-
viction and lengthy prison
sentence in George Floyd's
murder could lead to better
police hiring and training,
law enforcement experts say.
It could spur more effort to
build trust among officers
and communities.
And it might have made the
public and future jurors more
receptive to longstanding
complaints about police inter-
actions with minorities.
Even so, the case was so
unusual from bystander
video of Chauvin kneeling
on Floyd's neck for 9 1/2 min-
utes to police department
brass testifying against him
that it's difficult to say it was
a watershed moment for last-
ing change.
The conviction was criti-
cally important, in part,
because of how blatant the vio-
lence was and because of the
When you have a contagious variant like the Delta virus, a three-day (lock-
down) doesn't work. If we're going to do this, we need to do it properly.
sage during Britain's first
lockdown in 2020 when he
broke a travel ban and drove
across England to his par-
ents' home.
The breach caused a furor
and was widely seen to erode
public trust in Johnson's gov-
ernment.
And Neil Ferguson, a lead-
ing government scientific
adviser who advocated for
strict lockdown rules, quit
his position in May 2020 after
it emerged he didn't practice
what he preached and allowed
his girlfriend to visit him at
home.
At the time, Hancock
mountain of debris with res-
cue dogs and sonar searching
for any survivors. Our top
priority continues to be search
and rescue and saving any lives
that we can, she said.
Earlier, she said, a blaze very
deep” in the debris had posed
incredible difficulties to the
rescue teams because of the
flames.
At one point Saturday, a fire
hose blasted one of the lower
floors on the north side of the
tower as white smoke or steam
streamed out, and a bitter, sul-
fur-like smell hung in the air.
A crane removed pieces of
debris from the more than 30-
foot pile in the city of Surfside,
and scores of rescuers used big
machines, drones, micro-
phones and their own hands
to pick through the rubble.
got under way. Paris voting sta-
tions that sometimes see lines
stood largely empty, other
than a few elderly voters.
Turnout nationwide was less
than 13 per cent by midday.
A record-low turnout of 33
per cent in the first round of
voting on June 20 proved
particularly damaging for the
National Rally and Le Pen's
hopes of securing a regional
breakthrough to bolster her
2022 presidential campaign.
The party has not previous-
ly won a region.
Polls had suggested that Le
Pen's party had some momen-
tum, with legitimate ambitions
to win control of leadership
councils in one or more of
France's 12 mainland regions.
But the apathy last week
also infected National Rally
voters. Only in one region, in
the southeast, did the party
finish first. Its candidates
way in which the video could-
n't allow the lies that police
often tell in these situations
to dominate the narrative,” said
Sheila A Bedi, a professor at
Northwestern University's
Pritzker School of Law and
director of the school's Com-
munity Justice & Civil Rights
Clinic.
But the outcome in Chau-
vin's case including his 22
1/2-year sentence doesn't
address deep-rooted issues of
race and violence affecting
police interactions with minori-
ties that don't result in charges
or convictions against officers,
said Bedi, who has been
involved in numerous use-of-
force lawsuits against the
Chicago Police Department.
“And until we get at that, I
caution anyone to celebrate
the conviction and sentence
as a victory,” she said.
Officers accused of brutality
or other misconduct against
Black people rarely go to trial,
and among those who have,
the list of acquittals and mis-
remarked that the social dis-
tancing rules in place are
there for everyone and are
deadly serious.
On Sunday, many ques-
tioned why Johnson publicly
stood by Hancock after evi-
dence of the latest rule breach
emerged. Johnson had
expressed confidence in the
health minister, and his office
said he had considered the
matter closed after Hancock's
apology, despite widespread
calls to fire him.
Boris Johnson should have
had the guts, the spine, the
awareness, the judgment, to
sack him on Friday, said
Jonathan Ashworth, the oppo-
sition Labour Party's health
spokesman.
Hancock had come under
fire for his leadership in the
government's response to the
pandemic long before the
publishing of the intimate
photos.
He was accused of crony-
ism for hiring his friend, busi-
nesswoman Dido Harding,
to run the much-criticised
national test and trace system.
Questions were also raised
after the government award-
As variant rises, vaccine plan targets ‘movable middle’
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, 27 JUNE
Thrown off-stride to reach
its Covid-19 vaccination goal,
the Biden administration is
sending A-list officials across
the country, devising ads for
niche markets and enlisting
community organizers to per-
suade unvaccinated people to
get a shot.
The strategy has the trap-
pings of a political campaign,
complete with data crunch-
ing to identify groups that can
be won over. But the message
is about public health, not ide-
ology. The focus is a group
health officials term the “mov-
able middle”, some 55 million
unvaccinated adults seen as
persuadable, many of them
under 30.
“We’re not just going to do
the mass vaccination sites,”
said Health and Human Ser-
elsewhere were all relegated
to second place or lower,
with some openly abandon-
ing all hopes of winning in
round two.
A major question in the
runoff is whether voters will
band together to keep Le
Pen's party out of power as
they have in the past, repulsed
by her anti-immigration and
anti-European Union pop-
ulism and the racist, antise-
mitic image that clung to the
National Front, which was
founded by her father, Jean-
Marie Le Pen.
The party dominated the
first round of the last region-
al elections in 2015 but col-
lapsed in the runoff as par-
ties and voters joined togeth-
er against it. The National
Rally's best chance of a first-
time regional victory is in
the southeastern Provence-
Alpes-Cte d'Azur region.
trials is longer than the list of
sentencings after conviction.
That includes acquittals in
recent years of officers tried
in the deaths of Philando
Castile in suburban Min-
neapolis and Terence Crutch-
er in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Eleven non-federal law
officers, including Chauvin,
have been convicted of mur-
der for on-duty deaths since
2005. Of those, the nine who
were sentenced before Chau-
vin received sentences rang-
ing from six years, nine months,
NEW SOUTH WALES PREMIER GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN
AS SYDNEY EXTENDS LOCKDOWN TO MORE AREAS
ed a lucrative coronavirus
testing contract to a compa-
ny run by a pub landlord near
Hancock's former constituency
home. Hancock has denied
involvement in the contract.
Some are now also asking
how Coladangelo, a close
friend of Hancock's from uni-
versity, landed her job as a non-
executive director at the
Department of Health.
The scandal came on the
back of wider accusations
from the opposition about
sleaze in the Conservative
party.
Last month, former Prime
Minister David Cameron was
called before lawmakers to
answer questions about lob-
bying work he did to win gov-
ernment funds for a now-
bankrupt financial services
company. Lucy Powell, a
Labour lawmaker, said the
fact that Hancock wasn't fired
reflected poorly on Johnson's
judgment.
I'm afraid it feels to me that
the prime minister has a very
dangerous blind spot when it
comes to issues of integrity and
conduct in public life, she
told Sky News.
vices Secretary Xavier Becer-
ra. “It’s door to door. It’s mobile
clinics. We’re doing vaccina-
tions at church, the PTA meet-
ing, the barber shop, the gro-
cery store.”
Officials have seized on a
compelling new talking point,
courtesy of the coronavirus.
The potent delta variant that
has ravaged India is spread-
ing here. Now accounting for
about 1 in 5 virus samples
genetically decoded in the
COLOURS OF LIFE
Candles stand in front of a closed and cordoned off department store in the city centre of
Wuerzburg, Germany on Sunday.
to life behind bars, with the
median being 15 years, said
Philip Stinson, a criminal jus-
tice professor at Bowling
Green State University.
Still, Minnesota Attorney
General Keith Ellison said
Friday that the outcome was
a step toward accountability,
even if not total justice. And
he urged federal, state and local
lawmakers to pass laws to
improve policing, saying Chau-
vin's sentencing was by itself
not enough.
Chauvin's high-profile case
Classified UK defence
ministry documents
found at bus stop: Report
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
LONDON, 27 JUNE
Classified documents from the
UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)
containing secret information
about a warship and the
British military was discovered
at a bus stop in south-east-
ern England, according to a
media report on Sunday.
The MoD said an employ-
ee reported the loss of the doc-
uments last week, which were
discovered by a member of the
public in a soggy heap behind
a bus stop in Kent early on
Tuesday morning, the BBC
report said.
One set of documents
reportedly discusses the like-
ly Russian reaction to HMS
Defender's passage through
Ukrainian waters off the
Crimea coast on Wednesday
and another lays out plans for
a possible UK military pres-
US, the more transmissible
mutation has gained a foothold
in Mountain West and heart-
land states. The White House
has lent its top names to the
vaccine push.
President Joe Biden visit-
ed a mobile vaccination site
in Raleigh, North Carolina, on
Thursday. Earlier in the day,
first lady Jill Biden held the
hand of a woman at a drive-
thru vaccination site in Kissim-
mee, Florida.
likely led more people to
believe longstanding com-
plaints about police interac-
tions with Black people, even
if his actions were blatantly
wrong, experts said. And that
could make jurors less likely
to simply believe police ver-
sions of events in the future.
Extreme cases by their
nature open up public aware-
ness... but it doesn't necessarily
result in across-the-board
reform because the situation
was so unique, said former fed-
eral prosecutor Jeffrey Cramer,
senior managing director of
the consulting firm Guidepost
Solutions.
What would be the reform?
Don't put your knee on some-
one's neck for 9 1/2 minutes?
Still, the testimony of Min-
neapolis Police Department
officers, including the chief,
that Chauvin violated his
training though highly unusu-
al could make officers think
twice about using force.
And if it does, it's a good
thing, Cramer said. Anyone
ence in Afghanistan after the
US-led NATO operation there
ends this year.
“It would be inappropri-
ate to comment further,” an
MoD spokesperson said, as
it was confirmed an investi-
gation has been launched
into the incident.
A member of the public,
who wishes to remain anony-
mous, found the 50-odd pages
of documents and contacted
the BBC when he realised
the sensitive nature of the con-
tents. The BBC believes the
documents, which include
emails and PowerPoint pre-
sentations, originated in the
office of a senior official at the
MoD.
The documents relating to
the Royal Navy's Type 45
destroyer, HMS Defender,
show that a mission described
by the MoD as an “innocent
passage through Ukrainian ter-
ritorial waters”, with guns
covered and the ship's heli-
copter stowed in its hangar,
was conducted in the expec-
tation that Russia might
respond aggressively. On
Wednesday, more than 20
Russian aircraft and two coast-
guard ships shadowed the
warship as it sailed about
19-km off Crimea's coast.
Doug Emhoff, the hus-
band of Vice President Kamala
Harris, has racked up thou-
sands of frequent flyer miles,
visiting at least 18 or 19 states
by his count.
The administration also
has recruited celebrities and
athletes, including country
music star Brad Paisley and
the Tampa Bay Lightning
hockey team. It has teamed
up with Twitch and Riot Games
to reach online gamers and
with Panera and Chipotle to
offer free food to those getting
a shot.
It’s unclear how well the
levers of persuasion are func-
tioning. Vaccination rates
have dropped below 1 million
a day, and there’s no sign yet
of a turnaround. The admin-
istration has acknowledged
that it will fall short of its goal
of having 70% of adults vac-
cinated by July Fourth.
AP
that's been in this game long
enough knows that it comes
down to hiring practices and
training, but at the end of the
day it's a certain officer in a
certain situation. And I don't
see these situations ending
anytime soon.
Knowing that their encoun-
ters could be captured on
cellphone video also could give
officers pause, experts said.
Minneapolis police original-
ly said Floyd died in a med-
ical incident.
But video shot by 17-year-
old Darnella Frazier showed
Chauvin ignoring Floyd's pleas
that he couldn't breathe and
continuing to press his knee
into Floyd's neck even after the
Black man was dead.
But Kirk Burkhalter, a crim-
inal law professor at New York
Law School and a former 20-
year New York Police Depart-
ment detective, said police are
being asked to do too much,
especially in situations involv-
ing people with mental health
issues or minor crimes.

Bolstering defences
New Delhi is ramping up infrastructure to counter China’s advances in
border areas of the North-east and Ladakh
NAVA THAKURIA
T
he recent visit of Union
defence minister Rajnath
Singh to the North-eastern
region was significant as Chi-
nese forces at the borders continue to
get reinforced. Singh dedicated 12
roads, built by the Border Roads
Organisation, to the nation. Attend-
ing a meet at Lakhimpur locality in
eastern Assam on 17 June, he inaugu-
rated the 20 km long-Kimin-Potin
(double lane) road along with nine
other roads in Arunachal Pradesh and
one each in the Union Territories of
Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The projects were implemented
by the BRO under the Arunank, Var-
tak, Brahmank, Udayak, Himank and
Sampark initiatives. Speaking on the
occasion, Singh commented that the
new roads hold strategic and socio-
economic importance as they would
play an important role in strengthen-
ing national security as well as pro-
moting development in the region,
which is surrounded by five foreign
countries, namely Nepal, Bhutan,
Tibet-China, Myanmar and
Bangladesh. Better road connectivity
always helps in mobilising troops and
necessary equipment along with
ration, medicines and other goods to
strategically important locations, said
Singh. He also said that the projects
were part of the Centre’s Act East pol-
icy where special emphasis is given
on the overall development of the
Eastern border areas.
“A strong North-east is essential
for India’s security and progress,” said
Singh at the meeting, where Assam
chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister
Pema Khandu, Union minister Kiren
Rijiju, India’s Chief of Defence Staff
Bipin Rawat and BRO director general
Rajeev Chaudhry, among others, were
present. Jitendra Singh, the Union
minister responsible for development
of the North-eastern region that acts
as a gateway to South-east Asian
nations, was virtually present on the
occasion.
Singh did not forget to pay trib-
utes to soldiers in the line of duty who
showed exemplary courage during
the Galwan river valley incident last
year against the aggressive Chinese
Armed Forces. Saluting the brave sol-
diers who laid down their lives for the
nation, he asserted that India being a
peace-loving nation had never shown
hostile intent against any country, but
New Delhi would not tolerate any
misadventures towards its sovereign-
ty and integrity.
It was a year since the Galwan
valley conflict in Ladakh on 15 June
and the Indian Army paid homage to
the supreme sacrifice of its personnel
SHRADHA R CHHETRI
I
t is not being naive but ignorant
to believe that there are no trans-
gender people or non-binary per-
sons in Sikkim. It is the state’s
excruciatingly minimal, or rather
non-existent, effort to support organ-
isations for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Queer and/or Question-
ing, Intersex and Asexual and/or Ally
community and spread awareness to
address the discrimination against
them. Whether willingly or otherwise,
the state has no legislation or laws for
the protection of the LGBTQ+ com-
munity, evidently because its under-
standing of queerness is abysmal.
Both in Sikkim and the rest of the
country, learning queer history is seen
as optional by corporations and gov-
ernments. No one bothers to know
about the Stonewall riots, which hap-
pened on this day in 1969 in New York
City, and how 28 June came to be
observed in subsequent years with
pride marches across the United States
and the world. Corporate bodies
“pinkwash” themselves now for 30
days in June and forget about the
community until the next Pride
Month. It only goes to show the com-
modification of queer lives at a time
when serious measures need to be
taken to ensure their dignity, rights
and safety, both at home and in public.
The Union ministry of social jus-
tice and empowerment was estab-
lished to protect the rights of all citi-
zens who were under the threat of
discrimination or violence. Women,
children and the LGBTQ+ community
are beneficiaries of the MSJE’s poli-
cies and schemes, yet it is pertinent to
note that the queer community has
always been on the fringes of society
and even departmental policies. The
Transgender Protection of Rights Bill
2019 is a testament to this.
The bill is a revision of the Trans-
gender Persons (Protection of Rights)
Bill, 2018, which lapsed in the Rajya
Sabha. It is a piece of hollow legisla-
tion with several lacunae – lack of
transgender people on the panel
(state and Central), tone-deaf decla-
rations and overlooking the Supreme
Court’s landmark judgement in the
National Legal Services Authority case
by laying a wreath at the Leh War
Memorial. A defence statement men-
tioned the bravery of 20 soldiers, who
laid down their lives, without a single
shot being fired, to defend the nation,
and also caused heavy casualties on
the opposite side in the clash.
Beijing initially did not acknowl-
edge any casualty or injury to People’s
Liberation Army members in the high
altitude (over 17,850 feet) clash. New
Delhi, however, officially declared its
casualties while preventing the Chi-
nese misadventure. Accordingly, all
the martyred soldiers were sent to
their respective home localities for
cremation with full national honours.
China admitted only in February
this year that five military officers and
soldiers were killed in the Galwan
face-off. Unconfirmed sources, how-
ever, claim that at least 45 PLA mem-
bers were killed in the conflict and
they were all buried at a nearby local-
ity. The Chinese media, under strict
control of Beijing, remained silent
over the matter.
Recently, the Global Times
reported an event where Chinese citi-
zens paid tributes to their soldiers
commemorating the Galwan episode.
Quoting a number of netizens, the
government-controlled media outlet
reported the valour of their soldiers
by saying that Chinese people and
history would never forget the heroes
PREJUDICE RATHER THAN PRIDE
Like the rest of the country, Sikkim is yet to ensure the rights of
transgender and non-binary people
of 2014 that upheld transgender peo-
ple’s right to self-determination.
Currently, the bill has provisions
for a certificate of identity (of having
become a member of the third gen-
der) issued by the District Magistrate,
on the following conditions – first, the
person has undergone a gender reas-
signment surgery, and second, a
report from a psychologist at a gov-
ernment hospital.
The conditions are problematic,
and invalidate or bypass the all-
important principle of self-identifica-
tion. The Nalsa judgement remains
important to the transgender com-
munity because it considers self-
determination/self-identification and
that is completely overlooked in the
framing of the Transgender Bill 2019.
For clarity, it is crucial that one learns
the difference between gender identi-
ty and sexual orientation. The Nalsa
judgement explains, “Gender identity,
therefore, refers to an individual’s self-
identification as a man, woman,
for protecting the country’s sacred
borderland.
The violent India-China stand-
off at the Galwan valley reminded
people of both nations about the 1962
War. Soon after the Communist gov-
ernment captured Tibet in 1959, the
14th Dalai Lama had to flee and tem-
porarily settle in Dharamshala in
Himachal Pradesh. Han Chinese sol-
diers invaded many parts of
transgender or other identified cate-
gory... Sexual orientation refers to an
individual’s enduring physical,
romantic and/or emotional attraction
to another person.
“Gender identity and sexual ori-
entation, as already indicated, are dif-
ferent concepts. Each person’s self-
defined sexual orientation and gen-
der identity is integral to their per-
sonality and is one of the most basic
aspects of self-determination, dignity
and freedom and no one shall be
forced to undergo medical proce-
dures, including sex reassignment
surgery, sterilisation or hormonal
therapy, as a requirement for legal
recognition of their gender identity.”
In 2019, the Electoral Commis-
sion of India had declared that three
transgender people would be voting
(which would mean that their identi-
ties should have been verified by the
government) in that year’s General
Election, but a day or two later they
retracted their statement, saying that
The newly built Kimin-Potin road
Arunachal Pradesh including the
sacred Tawang valley. PLA troops even
arrived in Tezpur town of Assam.
Claiming a large area of
Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, the
Beijing administration justified the
invasion. Unprepared Indian forces
under the leadership of then defence
minister Vengalil Krishna Kurup
Krishna Menon in Jawaharlal Nehru’s
central cabinet suffered heavy casual-
a mistake had been made and there
were no such people identified by the
ECI.
The social justice and welfare
department has no quantitative data
on the queer community of Sikkim.
Although its primary objective is
working for the welfare of others,
there is a hint of hesitancy when it
comes to applying that to people
whose sexuality and gender don’t fall
in the two limiting binaries of male
and female. Queer activists have been
hounding their doors for years and
journalists have sought answers time
and again but to no avail.
A teenager wants to run away
from home because of the transpho-
bic slurs their family uses against
them – do they need companies to
change their logo to rainbow hues in
June, or a safe place and legal systems
to protect their life and dignity? A per-
son who identifies as queer is physi-
cally attacked outside their house –
will the media report their case and
NEW DELHI, MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021
ties.
After that conflict, another con-
frontation between the two countries
happened in the Pangong area dur-
ing August last year. Earlier, several
such Chinese contraventions were
reported between 2016 and 2018
including the infamous 2017 Doklam
logjam. By now, 11 rounds of military
talks between India and China have
been organised, but all along, Chinese
soldiers remain active in all disputed
regions.
Beijing recently launched the
newly tracked 435-km Lhasa-
Nyingchi rail line, a dream project of
President Xi Jinping and the ruling
Communist Party of China ahead of
its centenary celebrations on 1 July.
The fully electrified high-velocity rail
line connects the capital of Tibet and
goes to around 17 kilometres off
Arunachal Pradesh’s northern border
up to Nyingchi town, where some
battalions of the PLA are stationed.
The Chinese regime has also built a
highway linking Lhasa with Nyingchi
airport.
Satellite imagery confirms that
China has lately undertaken various
infrastructure projects near the bor-
derline. They have constructed some
permanent structures in the Ladakh
area and rehabilitated many villages
in the Doklam plateau. A Chinese vil-
lage with hundreds of dwellers has
also been reported in the disputed
Arunachal Pradesh border areas. All
such developments would enable the
PLA to mobilise troops and military
equipment faster, as and when need-
ed.
A few weeks ago, exiled Tibetan
leader Lobsang Sangay called the
term “Indo-China border conflict” a
misnomer. Speaking to a group of
journalists in Guwahati, the former
head of the Dharamshala-based Cen-
tral Tibetan Administration argued
that many Indians believe that Tibet
is a part of China and they prefer to
use the term, but in reality China was
never a neighbour to India.
“When Tibet was an independent
country, only 75 Indian soldiers guard-
ed the entire border as more troops
were not needed,” said the Harvard
University-educated politician, while
adding that the same border presently
needs to be guarded by thousands of
soldiers. It has now turned into the
Indo-China border and compelled
New Delhi to enhance Budgetary allo-
cations to safeguard its Northern
Himalayan front, said Sangay.
Facing the heat, New Delhi has
also reinforced its troops with
enhanced artillery in the Eastern and
Northern international border areas
by deploying over 50,000 armed per-
sonnel. Moreover, the Central gov-
ernment has emphasised on
improved military infrastructure in
such localities, where the govern-
ment-owned BRO has been entrust-
ed with enhanced annual Budgetary
allocations and higher responsibili-
ties.
The writer is the Guwahati-based Special
Representative of The Statesman
then immediately proceed to forget
the incident until something more
serious occurs?
One feels the media, and not just
the one in Sikkim, must do better.
Journalists are quick to question
everyone and everything else but
themselves. Insensitive questions,
lack of research and passive-aggres-
sive language while reporting or writ-
ing is something to be checked and
corrected. We hold others account-
able for their mistakes but what about
us in the media?
On the other hand, departments
and bodies set up for the welfare of
the marginalised need to understand
that queer people cannot be excluded
from that category. They need to step
up to lend resources to people who’ve
already begun research on the com-
munity, create a safe space for those
who have been disowned by family or
face abuse at home and work, and
make sure that boards or panels set
up for queer people include members
of the community itself.
The issue of transgender invisi-
bility in Sikkim can largely be credited
to the strict hetero-normative struc-
tures in culture and society, where
anything that does not fall under the
banner of male or female is seen as
unwanted and unnecessary. The Con-
stitution of India’s fundamental rights
state the right to equality for all yet
those who pledge to work towards
that often exclude the queer commu-
nity.
Being able to live without the
rigid and limiting idea of gender bina-
ries or sexuality; understanding the
many intersections of caste, culture,
politics with queer discourse and
replacing prejudice with understand-
ing – such are the basic tenets people
must adhere to as we observe Pride
Day today.
The writer is a freelance journalist based in
New Delhi
11
PLUS POINTS
Scribe dead
Manipur lost one more scribe to Covid-
19 as Ukhrul-based television journalist
Thotshang Shaiza (in photo) succumbed
to novel coronavirus infection-related
ailments on 12 June. Shaiza (52), who
worked for the ISTV cable news channel
alongside a Tangkhul newspaper, passed
away while undergoing treatment at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical
Sciences in Imphal. The Manipur Hill-
Journalist’s Union and Ukhrul District
Journalist’s Association have condoled
his untimely demise.
The state earlier lost Saikhom Shan-
tikumar (51), who worked at the news
desk of Ireibak daily newspaper in
Imphal, to the pandemic. Prior to him,
senior journalist Sagolsem Hemant
passed away from Covid-19 complica-
tions while undergoing treatment.
Hemant (65) worked for various news-
papers like Pudin, Eikhoigee Panthung
and Ningtam Lanpao.
Meanwhile, Tripura lost two scribes
namely, Jitendra Debbarma and Tanmoy
Chakraborty, to Covid-19 complications
while Assam witnessed the demise of
more than 10 journalists to virus-aggra-
vated ailments. Two eminent Assamese
author-journalists, Dr Lakshmi Nandan
Bora and Homen Borgohain recently lost
their battles to Covid-19 complications.
Earlier, the state witnessed the
deaths of Rubul Dihingiya, Anirban
Bora, Kalyan Barooah, Nilakshi Bhat-
tacharyya, Aiyushman Dutta, Jadu
Chutia, Shivacharan Kalita, Golap
Saikia, Ashim Dutta and Dhaneshwar
Rabha from Covid-19-related illnesses.
India remains at the top of the list of
Covid-19 victims among journalists with
over 245 casualties, followed by Brazil
(239 dead), Peru (163), Mexico (112),
Colombia (66) and Italy (58). Other
severely affected countries include
Bangladesh (53), the United States (49),
Iran (32), the United Kingdom (30), Pak-
istan (27), Nepal (19) and Afghanistan
(nine), among others. According to the
Geneva-based Press Emblem Campaign,
over 1,500 journalists have died from
Covid-19 in 77 countries till the second
week of June this year.
– NAVA THAKURIA
Disputed oil wells
The Nagaland government has shut
down three wells of state-run energy
giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Limited for allegedly not obtaining prior
permission before starting drilling activ-
ities. Dimapur deputy commissioner
Rajesh Soundararajan had shot off a let-
ter to ONGC earlier this month, asking it
to stop operations at the three wells. The
letter, a copy of which is available with
PTI, stated that a report was received on
9 April regarding setting up of drilling
activities at Piheku, Tokishe and Nikihe
villages, “which are under Dimapur dis-
trict”.
Sources, however, said the sites fall
under a disputed area with Assam.
Soundararajan, in the communique to
ONGC executive director for Assam
Arakan Basin, claimed that the company
carried out drilling activities “without
the prior permission from the Govern-
ment of Nagaland. Therefore, you are
requested to submit clarification in this
matter... at the earliest. Further, the
authority concerned is hereby asked to
stop all activities in the above said area
in the meantime,” he said.
Queries sent to ONGC officials
remained unanswered. When contact-
ed, a senior official of the Nagaland gov-
ernment said, “Discussion is underway
between the government and ONGC. We
are awaiting a reply from the company.”
The sources said the area where the
drilling wells are located is not under the
control of Nagaland. “The Central
Reserve Police Force is in charge of the
area and it has a separate border magis-
trate,” one source said. He said ONGC
has been operating there for some time,
and while one well is at the exploration
stage, another is already producing.
There has been no activity at the site in
Tokishe village, the source claimed.
“As far as we are aware, ONGC got
all the necessary permission like explo-
ration and mining licence from the Gov-
ernment of India and Government of
Assam,” officials in Assam said.
–PTI

SHAFALI'S RECORD
Opener Shafali Verma (photo, left) on Sunday became the
youngest Indian cricketer to make debut across formats
after being picked for the first ODI against England
Women. The Haryana girl took 17 years and 150 days
to make her debut across format, making her the
fifth youngest cricketer overall in the list, head-
ed by Afghanistan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
For more updates www.thestatesman.com
THUMBNAILS
No Olympics for Serena:
Serena Williams said she
will not go to the Tokyo
Olympics, but did not want
to say why during her pre-
Wimbledon video confer-
ence with reporters Sun-
day. “I'm actually not on
the Olympic list. ... Not
that I'm aware of. If so,
then I shouldn't be on it,”
Williams said.
Yuvraj in talks with club: A
Melbourne-based cricket
club has claimed that it is
very close to striking a
deal with Yuvraj Singh and
Chris Gayle for its T20
games this summer. The
Mulgrave Cricket Club,
who play in Melbourne's
Eastern Cricket Associa-
tion (ECA) third-tier com-
petition, said they are also
in talks with West Indies
legend Brian Lara and
South Africa great AB de
Villiers.
Subs give Italy 2-1 win over Austria, spot in quarters
AGENCIES
LONDON, 27 JUNE
W
ith three exquisite
touches of con-
trol, technique and
finishing, Federi-
co Chiesa ended 95 minutes of
Italian frustration.
This record-breaking team
is off to the quarterfinals of the
European Championship with
a defense that finally allowed
a goal after more than 19 hours
but with a national team-record
12th straight victory.
After breezing through the
group stage at Euro 2020, Italy
was made to fight for its 2-1 vic-
tory over Austria on Saturday
in a last-16 game that came to
life in extra time.
It was Roberto Mancini's
substitutes who made the dif-
ference with the goals from
Chiesa and Matteo Pessina at
Wembley Stadium.
“We needed some fresh
energy,” Mancini said, “and
the guys who came on were bril-
liant.”
An unmarked Chiesa
brought down Leonardo Spinaz-
zola's high cross with his head,
controlled the bouncing ball with
his right boot and then used his
other foot to shoot low into the
net.
“Usually when the ball
arrives like this you try a first
time on the volley,” Chiesa
said.
“But I think the goal came
because I was composed, I
West Indies beat South
Africa by 8 wickets
AGENCIES
ST GEORGE'S, 27 JUNE
Evin Lewis (in photo) made
71, including a half-century
from 22 balls, to steer the West
Indies to an eight-wicket
win over South Africa in the
first of five Twenty20s.
South Africa fell short of
a par total when it was held
to 160-6 from its 20 overs after
being sent in.
Lewis took his 71 runs
from only 35 balls and shared
partnerships of 85 for the first
wicket with Andre Fletcher
and 39 for the second with
Chris Gayle to set up the
West Indies' win.When he was
out in the 12th over, the West
Indies were 124-2 and with-
in sight of victory.
Gayle's and Andre Russell's
unbroken 37-run partnership
for the third wicket carried
the West Indies past South
Africa's total in only 15 overs.
Gayle finished 34 not out
from 24 balls and Russell
was 23 from 12 deliveries.
The West Indies innings
included 15 sixes, seven of
which were hit by Lewis.
“I was confident today
and backing my ability,”
Lewis said. “This wicket is
excellent for batting, it's
important to cash in.
“We felt they were 30 or
40 runs short because these
were excellent conditions.
Andre Fletcher and I just
tried to get a good start in the
power play, most impor-
tantly, and then try and build
from there to get the victo-
ry.”
Printed and published by VINOD KUMAR GUPTA for THE STATESMAN LTD, Statesman House, 148 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi ��Editor: RAVINDRA KUMAR ��Executive Editor: ARYA RUDRA ��Printed at Vibha Publication Pvt Ltd, D-160 B, Sector 7, NOIDA 201301 (UP). ��The Statesman Ltd. RNB REG. No. M-8905,RNI No. 507/57
Deepika on target, gold rush for India at Archery World Cup
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
PARIS, 27 JUNE
Star archer Deepika Kumari led
the show with supreme author-
ity to grab a hat-trick of gold
medals as India made an
unprecedented clean sweep at
the World Cup Stage 3 here on
Sunday for a perfect build-up
to the Tokyo Olympics in less
than a month's time.
In the absence of the world
number one Korea, the Indi-
ans faced little challenge to win
the women's individual, team
and mixed pair events with
Deepika a constant in each of
them, playing back-to-back
four matches in less than five
hours.
Having secured Olympic
qualifications, Korea, along
with other Asian heavyweights
like China and Chinese Taipei,
skipped all the World Cups in
the build up to the Tokyo
Games.
was relaxed and I was focused.”
The goal rolled the clock back
25 years to when European
Championship games were
last played in England and his
father Enrico Chiesa scored
for Italy. Euro '96, however,
ended in the group stage for Italy.
Now it's onto a quarterfinal
meeting in Munich on Friday
against the winner of Sunday's
match between defending
champion Portugal and top-
ranked Belgium.
“Ideally we would like to
avoid both,” Mancini said, “but
it's not possible.”
After scoring seven goals
without reply in the group
stage, Italy didn't have it so easy
against an Austrian team play-
ing in the knockout stage at a
European Championship for
the first time.
“After 90 minutes we said that
we just had to improve the
quality of the final passes,”
Spinazzola said,“and finally the
goals arrived in extra time.”
Individual skill produced the
breakthrough from Chiesa.
Italy's second was more about
calmness in a goalmouth scram-
ble. Pessina, who came on
midway through the second half,
sent the ball into the far cor-
ner of the net in the 105th
minute.
“In this team everybody
can score and this is our main
strength,” Pessina said.
“We are a great group.”
The group spirit was clear
in the raw emotion of the goal
Saturday's match, the first
to be played at St George's
in Guyana, was also the first
between the West Indies and
South Africa since the 2016
Cricket World Cup which
the West Indies won. But the
West Indies has won only two
of its last seven T20 series.
South Africa made a solid
start, led by the in-form
Quinton de Kock who hit 37
from 24 balls. It was 95-2 in
the 11th over, set for a com-
petitive score. But, though
Rassie van der Dussen bat-
ted through the last half of
the innings to make 56 from
38 balls, the innings lost its
momentum.
Fabian Allen bowled well
early and took 2-18 from
four overs and Dwayne Bravo
stifled any late rally, taking
two wickets with consecutive
balls in the 19th over.
Lewis and Fletcher gave
the West Indies the perfect
start, putting on 85 in only
seven overs. Fletcher was
looking strong when he was
run out taking a bye, beaten
by Lungi Ngidi's direct hit at
the non-striker's end.
Proteas captain Temba
Bavuma rotated his bowlers
but couldn't constrain the
West Indies' scoring.
India topped the medals tally
with four gold medals as
Abhishek Verma had clinched
the solitary top medal in the
compound section on Satur-
day.
India's gold rush began
with the women's recurve
team of Deepika, Ankita Bhakat
and Komalika Bari notching up
a comfortable win over Mex-
ico, shrugging off the disap-
celebrations as teammates col-
lapsed on Pessina, a late injury
replacement in the squad.
“He's not a player I have nec-
essarily unearthed he has been
doing brilliantly for Atalanta,”
Mancini said. “He has cer-
tainly proved that he is a top
player and I think he will have
a great future with Italy because
I think he is only going to get
better.”
Italy was also celebrating in
extra time after setting a world
record for minutes played with-
out conceding a goal in inter-
national soccer.
The previous record was
Mithali's fifty helps India post 201/8 against England
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
BRISTOL, 27 JUNE
Skipper Mithali Raj (in photo)
led from the front with a patient
72 to guide India Women to a
modest 201 for eight against
EnglandWomen in the first ODI
of the three-match series here
on Sunday.
Mithali held India's innings
together following two early dis-
missals after the visitors were
sent in to bat. She shared two
crucial partnerships -- 56 runs
with Punam Raut (32) and 65
with Deepti Sharma (30) -- to
take India forward.
But the start was far from
impressive as India lost both
the openers cheaply.
Touted as the next big thing
in Indian women's cricket,
teen sensation ShafaliVerma's
much-anticipated ODI debut
lasted just 14 balls from which
Alleged misbehaviour by PCB official led
to Younis Khan quitting as batting coach
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
KARACHI, 27 JUNE
Alleged misbehaviour of a Pak-
istan Cricket Board official
withYounis Khan led to the for-
mer captain quitting his bat-
ting coach position with the
national team ahead of the Eng-
land tour.
A highly reliable source
close to the PCB said that You-
nis wanted to join the team's
bio-bubble few days later and
that conversation with a board
official led to him stepping
down as batting coach.
“The real and factual rea-
pointment of missing Olympic
qualification last week.
In a repeat of theWorld Cup
first stage final where they
struggled to clinch the gold, the
trio this time did not even
drop a set to win their second
world title in two months.
Eyeing their first-ever gold
medal together, Deepika and
husband Atanu Das, who are
India's best medal hope in
also Italy's and was set with goal-
keeper Dino Zoff in the team.
The Italians went 1,143 minutes
between 1972 and 1974 with-
out allowing a goal.
But Italy soon conceded
for the first time in 1,168 min-
utes, from a set piece in the 114th
minute when Sasa Kalajdzic
headed the ball in from a cor-
ner.
“Maybe Italy was a little bit
nervous,” Austria defender
David Alaba said.
The Austrian comeback
ended there, however, and Italy
held on for its 31st straight
unbeaten match another
she scored 15 runs with the help
of three fours.
Shafali, who became the
youngest Indian cricketer to
make debut across formats on
Sunday, perished in search of
too many big shots when she
miscued a Katherine Brunt
son is thatYounis had asked the
PCB to allow him to join the
mandatory bio-bubble for the
England tour after a few days'
delay as he had to undergo a
complex dental treatment in
Karachi, the source said.
“Younis had come down to
Lahore for three days to attend
the conditioning camp set up
at the High Performance Cen-
ter for the England tour.
“But when it was announced
that all players and officials will
have to start quarantine from
20th July before boarding the
flight to England,Younis request-
ed the PCB to allow him to return
archery in the Olympics,
bounced back from a 0-2 deficit
to down the Netherland's Sjef
van den Berg and Gabriela
Schloesser 5-3.
That was the only time
India faced some challenge on
the final day here as they dis-
played fine composure to reign
supreme.
Deepika blanked 17th
ranked Russian Elena Osipo-
va 6-0 to cap a perfect three out
of three in the recurve women's
section, her fourth individual
World Cup gold medal.
The World No 3 had won it
in Guatemala City 2021, Salt
Lake City 2018 and Antalya 2012.
Overall, she has nine gold, 12
silver and seven bronze medals
in the World Cup.
“This is the first time I've won
all three medals in aWorld Cup.
I'm really happy but at the same
time, I've to continue improv-
ing as we have some very, very
important competitions lined
national team record.
Video review helped, too.
Austria took 63 minutes for
its first shot, then found the net
two minutes later. Alaba head-
ed the ball across the penalty
area and Marko Arnautovic
nodded the ball past Italy goal-
keeper Gianluigi Donnarum-
ma. But the video review showed
Arnautovic's right boot was
offside.
“We are disappointed and
sad,” Austria coach Franco
Foda said.
“We need justice in football
but today it hit us. It was a close
offside and we have to live
(2/35) delivery to Anya Shrub-
sole at mid-on in the fifth
over.
Smriti Mandhana (10) fol-
lowed soon when Shrubsole
(2/33) went through her defence
before Punam and Mithali
resurrected the innings.
After the early dismissals, both
Punam and Mithali played
cautiously but did not hesitate
to punish the bad balls.
When the partnership was
just starting to flourish, Punam
departed by handing a simple
catch to Sophie Ecclestone
off Kate Cross.
India vice-captain Har-
manpreet Kaur's (1) poor form
continued as he didn't trou-
ble the scorers much, sneak-
ing one to Amy Jones off Eccle-
stone (3/40).
It was a struggle for expe-
rienced campaigner Mithali
early on. She found boundaries
to Karachi and undergo the den-
tal treatment and give him
permission to join the team late,
the source added.
He disclosed that a PCB offi-
cial with whom Younis spoke
told him clearly that he could-
n't join late or he would miss
the series in England due to the
Memorandum of Under-
standing (MoU) with the Eng-
land and Wales Cricket Board
(ECB) for quarantine protocols.
“Apparently during the
course of the conversation
things heated up when the
official told Younis that he
should then just go to theWest
up,” Deepika said.
Less than a month from now,
the Indian archers will be chas-
ing their elusive Olympic medal
dream among the best in the
world.
“We do not have any
Olympic medal in archery, so
it's really important that we keep
improving and keep up the
show,” she said.
In the semi-final, Deepika
used all her experience to pro-
duce two spectacular opening
sets to lead 4-0 against 20-year-
old Ana Vazquez of Mexico
before sealing a 6-2 win.
Deepika shot 29 each in the
first two sets, while an under-
pressure Ana faltered with two
8s to concede the match.
In the mixed pair final,
fifth-seeded Atanu and Deepi-
ka complemented each other
well as the latter came into her
own after a sluggish start to give
themselves a perfect anniver-
sary gift in advance.
with it.”
Denmark beats Wales
Still riding a wave of emotion,
Denmark won again at the
European Championship.
And they won a big one at
a stadium that means a lot to
them.
The Danes advanced to the
quarterfinals at Euro 2020 by
beating Wales 4-0 on Saturday
in Amsterdam, getting two
goals from Kasper Dolberg
exactly two weeks after Chris-
tian Eriksen collapsed on the
field during the team's open-
ing match.
Eriksen had to be resusci-
tated with a defibrillator and
spent several days in the hos-
pital before returning home last
week.
Both Eriksen and Dolberg
played for Ajax, the team that
plays its home matches at the
Johan Cruyff Arena. Much of the
crowd of 16,000 was cheering
on the Danes.
“It feels like a home game,”
Dolberg said. “This stadium,
which is very special to me, it's
fantastic.”
Dolberg, who was given his
first start of the tournament by
Denmark coach Kasper Hjul-
mand, scored a goal in each half.
Joakim Maehle scored the third
in the 88th minute and Mar-
tin Braithwaite added the fourth
in injury time.
It was the second match in
a row that Denmark scored four
hard to come by, notching up
her fifty in 95 balls with a four
off Shrubsole. Together
with Deepti, Mithali then
added 65 runs for the fifth
wicket before the former was
dismissed, LBW to Shrubsole.
But soon after Deepti's dis-
missal, Mithali changed gears
and hit three boundaries in an
over, slicing and lofting Shrub-
sole to amass 15 runs off the
44th over.
Just when Mithali was look-
ing dangerous, Ecclestone got
rid of her in the 46th over as
India slumped to 180 for 6.
Shikha Pandey (3) and Jhu-
lan Goswami (1) remained
unbeaten to help India get
past the 200-run mark.
Brief scores: Indian women
201/8 in 50 overs (M Raj 72, P
Raut 32, D Sharma 30, S Eccle-
stone 3/40, A Shrubsole 2/33,
K Brunt 2/35)
Indies as his request could not
be entertained at such a late
stage, the source revealed.
He said that after an
exchange of some words,You-
nis also lost his cool and told
the PCB official that it is bet-
ter he not go on the tours to Eng-
land and West Indies.
“Later PCB Chairman, Ehsan
Mani and CEOWasim Khan also
spoke to Younis to sort out the
matter but the former captain
who is known to be tempera-
mental said he didn't want to
carry on working as batting
coach any longer, said the
source.
NEW DELHI
MONDAY 28 JUNE 2021
Postal Reg. No. DL (ND)-II/6088/2018/-19-20
times, after beating Russia 4-
1 to qualify for the round of 16
after losing its first two match-
es. Denmark is the first nation
to score four or more goals in
consecutive matches in the
history of the European Cham-
pionship.
“We needed the love and
support and that's what gave
us wings,” Hjulmand said of the
crowd in Amsterdam.
After soaking up early pres-
sure by Wales, Dolberg struck.
He took a pass from Mikkel
Damsgaard in the 27th minute
and cut infield from the left
before curling a right-foot shot
into the far corner. He doubled
the lead in the 48th minute when
he scored with a low shot after
NecoWilliams' attempted clear-
ance went straight to him.
Dolberg knows all about
about scoring in Amsterdam.
He found the net 45 times in
119 matches for Ajax from
2016-19 before signing for
French club Nice.
“I think we have a star strik-
er in Kasper,” Hjulmand said.
Saturday's strikes brought
his tally at the Johan Cruyff Arena
to 31, with the other 29 com-
ing for Ajax.
“Today when we were walk-
ing ... to the stadium I felt that
it was something very, very
special for me,” Dolberg said.
“Today everything feels right.”
Dolberg became the first
Danish player to score at least
twice in a match at a major tour-
nament since Nicklas Bendt-
‘Unrealistic to give opportunity
to all youngsters in Sri Lanka’
MUMBAI, 27 JUNE
India head coach for the tour
of Sri Lanka, Rahul Dravid, on
Sunday said it is unrealistic to
expect that all the youngsters
picked for the limited-overs
assignment will get a game as
they try to make an impres-
sion ahead of this year's T20
World Cup.
The series marks the coach-
ing return of Dravid, who is
based in Bengaluru as the
chief of the National Cricket
Academy. The second string
squad, led by Shikhar Dhawan,
has six uncapped players.
“...I think it's probably
going to be unrealistic to
expect us in a short tour like
this with three games, or three
one-dayers to give everyone
an opportunity...and the selec-
tors will be there as well,”
Dravid declared in the pre-
departure press conference.
Among the players who are
fighting for a place in the T20
squad for this year'sWorld Cup
are the capped trio of Ishan Kis-
han, Suryakumar Yadav and
Sanju Samson. The Sri Lanka
series starts with the ODIs
from July 13, followed by T20s
from July 21.
The World Cup, originally
scheduled in India, is set to be
held in the UAE in October
because of the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
The three T20s in Sri Lanka
hold more importance than
the ODIs as it will be the last
set of international games
India play before the mar-
quee event.
“There are a lot of people
12
ner against Portugal at Euro 2012.
With Wales increasingly
ragged, Maehle made it 3-0 with
a powerful shot when he had
time and space to control the
ball and beat Wales goalkeep-
er Danny Ward. Braithwaite's
goal was initially ruled offside
but allowed after a video review.
HarryWilson was sent off in
the 90th minute for a foul on
Maehle asWales slumped to its
worst loss in a competitive
match since being beaten 6-1
by Serbia in September 2012.
“We're all hurting. We did-
n't want our supporters to
watch us going out like that,
Wales coach Rob Page said,
adding he believed there was
a foul on Kieffer Moore in the
build-up to the second Denmark
goal.
The Danes will next play
either the Netherlands or the
Czech Republic in the quar-
terfinals in Baku on Saturday.
Wales had an early chance
to take the lead when captain
Gareth Bale sent a swerving shot
just wide in the 10th minute.
He shot wide again two min-
utes later as he attempted to
break an international goal
drought that has now reached
15 matches.
Wales managed only one
shot on target in the entire
match. Denmark had eight.
“We showed real heart, said
Bale, one of Wales' key players
when the team reached the
semifinals at Euro 2016 in
France.
in this squad who are push-
ing for places or looking to
cement their places in the
World Cup coming up, but I
think the key goal of everyone
in the squad and in the team...is
to try and win the series,” the
former India captain said.
“These are the only three
games before the World Cup.
I am sure that you know the
selectors and management
would have a pretty fair idea
by now as to what is the kind
of squad that they are looking
for.”
With the Test team in Eng-
land at the moment, Dravid
said this tour can't be looked
at as an India A tour where most
players get to play.
Dravid has stated in the past
that one of the reasons for his
success as an India Under-19
and A coach was the strategy
to give every travelling play-
er a game to build their con-
fidence.
“There is an opportunity
for may be one or two places
that, maybe, the team man-
agement or the selectors
might be looking for, spots that
they might want to fill, and
give them a few more options,”
he said.
“That would be the goal
probably over the next three
T20s and to win the series. It
is slightly different (from the
A tour). When you're at a
developmental level all of
those tours are slightly differ-
ent to something like this.
“It will be a great learning
experience for the young kids
even if they don't get to play,”
said Dravid. IANS
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